texts: How to convert from Downdraft cooktop range to hood

texts:
As a part of kitchen renovation I have to decide between replacing our down draft with another or to replace it with a cooktop and a hood.  I am trying to get some perspective on what is involved and how to proceed if we want to replace with a cooktop plus a hood.
The range is on an interior wall with a single piece of cabinets that extends on both sides.

It looks like the wall has to be cut to access the vent and cabinetry has to be cut to make room for a hood.
Is this feasible/advisable?  Is it easy to hook a hood to the existing vent?
The problems with downdraft are 1) high cost 2) accumulation of grease in the well.
Cooktop is cheaper by itself, but of course renovation cost + hood is likely to be the more expensive option.
With a hood I won't see the grease but I wonder if it accumulates in the vent just in the same way a chimney accumulates soot.  So perhaps a well is better?


texts: How bad is it to have low spots in a mini-split line set?

texts:
I'm about to install a mini-split system in my shop, and several online sources have recommended strongly against coiling extra line set length, because it creates a low spot that traps condensed refrigerant oil.
But in practice I've seen many installations that have low spots in the lines. How bad is this really?
In my case, I have about 5' of line outside, but I'd like to mount the unit as high on the wall as possible. I can't get much higher than where the line set exits the building, and I can run it horizontally from there, but that makes things a little less aesthetic. I'd like to know what my options are.
I don't want to cut the line if I can avoid it, because I don't want to risk flaring the ends (it would be my first time).


texts:
I am renovating a cabin including complete re-siding so I thought I would use this as an opportunity to upgrade the electrical service to 200amp (currently 100amp). Two reasons, 1) might want to add real HVAC in the future, 2) the current service is not up to code and down-right dangerous (as you can tell from the attached picture). In the picture the black box is the location of the interior (now main) panel. The red box is my proposed new meter/panel location/mast.
I was going to do this by putting in a 200amp panel outside and make the interior 100amp panel as a subpanel.
The building is on a steep hill and I need to add a handrail about 36" above the stairs and if I need to keep the meter no more than 6' above "ground" level that gives me approximately 36" for panel and meter if stacked (I need the panel above the handrail so it can open). I'm not excited about having the meter and panel side-by-side (making 4/0 Al bend around corners seems a lot of work) so I've been looking at meter/panel combos such as the Square D SC2040M200C which puts the meter roughly at 5' above "ground" level and gives me 20 spaces. Or the SC3042M200PS which is a little less deep.
I tend to shy away from "combo" things as I feel they eventually limit your flexibility however, I can't imagine 200amps in a load center with 20 spaces/40 circuits wouldn't serve me fully in the future (famous last words?).
Comments on the combo panels and this panel in particular?
Thank you.

Addendum:
I surveyed the area again this weekend and unfortunately there is a huge tree in the way of moving the utility supply any further to the right. As it is, where the service attachment is now, the service drop runs a little less than 5' feet away from the tree. I talked again with the inspector who admitted "it's best not to" have anything over the stairs but felt the meter was OK as there wasn't another good level place for a drop. He agreed to leaving the meter where it is (but lower) and running to a panel in my basement even though the clearance is only 6'3" high from floor to ceiling in the basement. I asked him about an outside disconnect and he said it wasn't required (yet) but a good idea and recommended a "combined meter base disconnect".
This leaves me in a quandary - Leave the meter where it is and put the panel inside (both of which are not 100% compliant) or something else. I could put the drop to the left (as per my updated picture); this should be an acceptable landing but puts the panel in the way of "traffic" and the mast head will be close to 24' above ground (30' maximum I believe). I also don't relish the idea of having to bore through cinder block (or should I exit the panel on the side and run my branch feed through the rim joist like my pciture?). However, this should eliminate concerns about meter location, panel location, and height of my basement).
Any additional suggestions at this point would be greatly appreciated (@ThreePhaseEel et al).


texts: Why is there copper in the corner of my shower behind the tile and drywall?

texts:
I am in the middle of the demolition of my old shower and have come across this copper strip in the corner.

What is this used for? I assume it is somehow supposed to prevent water damage?


texts: What could cause staining in a toilet bowl?

texts: I have one toilet that works fine, but the bottom of the bowl looks like those you see in gasoline station restrooms.  I can scrub it with a toilet brush and a dose of bleach and most of it clears up, but the bottom still looks stained.  Is it that the china has gotten old and is retaining stains?  A woman told me that it is because of the wax ring, but I doubt that.  I was thinking may a paint store would have an epoxy that would fix the stain.   Would that be the way to go?


texts: Replacing light bulbs with receptacles in garage

texts:
I'm trying to improve the lighting in my garage. Currently it has several simple bare-bulb lampholders, and I am installing larger hanging LED fixtures that have a cord with a plug.

Initially, I tried using an adapter that screws into the light socket. Unfortunately, this does not make proper contact with the center terminal of the socket, and the plugged-in light fixture did not initially work. I attempted to bend the center terminal out slightly to make better contact. That worked for a while but the light stopped working after just a few minutes. If I wiggled the plug, the light would flicker and I could hear arcing inside the fixture - not good! Reading reviews of several similar adapters, this seems a common problem.

I purchased some Leviton 1228 receptacles which are designed to fit a round electrical box. Unfortunately, when I went to install them, I found that the existing electrical boxes have the screws at a 2.75-inch spacing instead of the more common 3.5-inch spacing. This simply does not fit, and I have not been able to locate any similar receptacles that would fit.

I have considered replacing the fixtures with lampholders with built-in outlets (which do have the spacing). However, I do not want to have an empty socket or install bulbs in these locations. I'd also prefer not to cut the plugs off the end of the light cords and hardwire them into the box.

Are there receptacles that are designed to fit a round box with 2.75 inch screw spacing, or some other good solution to connecting these light fixtures?


texts: Entertainment Area is cooling required with this setup? Where to position fans?

texts:
I am getting my entertainment area setup and I wanted to get opinions on where I should install intake/exhaust fans and if it would even be required.
Within my "nitch" I am going to have an amplifier, Xbox, AV Receiver, and potentially a center speaker or BlueRay player. (not sure just yet).
I am skeptical if any sort of cooling will even be needed considering my setup but I am honestly not sure. My question is:

Would cooling even be required considering my setup?
If I did add cooling (required or not) where should I setup the box fans at?
I want to make sure the area stays cool (i.e: doesnt over heat)

I am attaching pictures to give more insight on my setup. Also below are a few notes.

Fireplace is electric.
The entertainment area will have the devices squeezed in close to one another but nothing is technically "sealed off"
There are two access panels on each side of the fireplace so there is a small 1 inch gap on each side which allow fresh air in.

Thanks ahead of time :)


texts: What are some ways of controlling moisture in the crawlspace?

texts:
I live in Los Angeles. I have a vented crawlspace.  The vents are about 6" x 15" or so.  I have about one every 6' or so along the walls of the house. The floor of the crawlspace is dirt.

I eventually want to insulate the crawl space. I've read that if I insulate the crawlspace, the insulation may hold onto moisture that may develop in the crawlspace. So, as a first step, I need to get the moisture levels under control before I insulate.

My question is what are some ways of controlling moisture in the crawlspace?

I've read that the dirt can be a source of moisture, so putting down polyethylene sheeting on the floor is one step to minimizing moisture.

I've also read that since I have vents, during warm days the temperature difference between the outside and the crawlspace potentially can cause condensation in the crawlspace wall.

I've also read that I should not close up the vents b/c that would prevent air flow which would then trap moisture.

There are so many things to consider and I can't figure out what is the right technique.


texts:
First question, I am moving and have friends helping. How do they disconnect the ice maker from the water line?  Are there specifics they need to follow?

Second question, I am moving a frig. It will be placed in the garage of the new house without a water line. What do I do to the ice maker connection so it doesn't grow mold. It will be used but without water.


texts:
I have a garage with a peaked roof supported by 2x6 trusses spaced at 48". I want to insulate the attic space.

How should I proceed?

I'm planning to toenail 2x4s perpendicular to the trusses (spaced at 24"), then install  a vapor barrier and sheetrock (on the underside of the trusses). Finally, I'll add insulation on top of the trusses.

I'll have a single trap door for entry into the attic.

Am I missing anything?


texts:
I know that it is to code to use two 15 Amp Receptacles on a 20 Amp breaker.

Is it acceptable to use a 15 Amp switch that controls the bathroom lights, which is on a 20 Amp breaker, along with an outlet (not switched)?

This is important because I would like to use a wifi-enabled smart dimmer switch, most of which are rated for only 15 Amps.

Thanks!


texts: Adjacent room light switch causing LED lights to display tiny bit of light

texts:
I have three rooms in my basement that have all their ceiling light circuits wired up in sequence. They are all single switch circuits and the first two rooms have 4 ceiling lights each and the last (the bathroom) has two circuits in it. One switch controls two ceiling lights and the other controls a ceiling light and small exhaust fan.

All the ceiling lights are 15 watt recessed lights.

I have them all wired up the same as this diagram except move the second switch to a separate box and add two more circuits, plus more lights on each circuit. It's pretty basic wiring. Each switch has three wires going to each box, the first going to the lights, the second coming from the power source, with the third wire continuing to the next circuit. The neutral wires are all connected in each and the grounds are all connected.

This wiring diagram belongs to do-it-yourself-help.com. The original image can be found here: https://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/wiring_switches.html

I noticed two nights ago when my wife went to the bathroom when she turned on the bathroom light, all 4 ceiling lights in the bedroom showed a TINY amount of light and then subsequently dimmed! LED lights take a few seconds to turn off, slowly dimming in the process. It was quite noticeable, but you can only see it in the dark. It's not enough to get around in the dark though.

Is this normal? Do I have a problem with my wiring setup?? Do LEDs behave this way?

Edit - this morning I tested with a voltage sensor, and it does indeed beep for a split second when hold it up to the bedroom light wire while turning on the bathroom light. The same for every other circuit. This indicates a small bit of power goes through the wire. Is it traveling back through the entire neutral wire, even on the other circuits?


texts: Proper fasteners for Post/Beam/Joist intersection

texts:
So I am building a deck, and I have a point where a post, the deck beam, and a joist all meet together as shown in the (crude) drawing attached. What would be the appropriate fasteners to use in this case? I can notch the post if needed.

To clarify, I plan on fastening the joist to the beam using a just hanger, but I'm not sure how to secure the beam to the post since the joist hanger would be in the way of most fasteners used to connect the beam to the post.

Thanks


texts: Plumber asking for a lot more money, after starting work

texts:
A plumber gave me a quote to bring natural gas to a standby generator, which I accepted.  He began work today.  This evening he sent me an email saying that to install a larger gas meter would cost at least an additional $2,500.  (An increase of over 50%.)  He used the words "a class 500 meter bar".  He says he is willing to negotiate.

It should have been clear to the plumber that the 250 meter would not run the stove, oven, house heat, clothes dryer, and hot water heater, as well as the new whole house generator.  So he low balled me with his proposal.

What options do you suggest?

Update One:
I have decided to tell the plumber to pick up his tools (which I have relocated to the driveway), and to give me an accounting for the supplies he purchased, and a refund for the money I gave him that he has not spent.

I guess I also need to tell the city building dept to take his name off the building permit.

Does this sound reasonable?

Is there anything else I should be thinking about or doing?

Update Two:
The plumber should have disclosed the cost of everything up front that was a necessary part of the project.   A couple of hours after I complained to the electrician who recommended the plumber, the electrician sent me an email saying the plumber only intended to charge $400 additional for the meter bar, not the $2500. The $400 is about what it costs. I have sent an email to the plumber to call me if this is true. (I do not have his tele number and it is not on his prop.)  Would you recommend rehiring this plumber?

Update Three:
On the advice of the city plumbing inspector, I called the county official in charge of consumer protection in such matters.  It seems that official is also the person in charge of issuing plumbing and electrical licenses.  That official got some documentation from me and then called the plumber.  He negotiated a $1,000 refund from the plumber.  The check is to be made out to me but sent to the official.  Then it will be forwarded to me.  I am optimistic. (This is not an ideal solution because the original plumber did no professionally competent work, so I am still out $1,000 of the $2,000 I gave the plumber up front.)


texts:
Rented a cabin for vacation use for a year.  It has a covered back deck that was power washed, not allowed to dry in December by landlord and then "sealed" with awful Thompson's.  Smell is awful and would like to sand it down and reseal with Ready Seal. Deck doesn't get any sun.
Suggestions on how to proceed?


texts: Is there a filter-reminder thermostat that uses run-time instead of total time?

texts:
My HVAC filter is in my crawlspace and is a hassle to change. I don't want to change it more than needed. "Change it every month" is bogus advice because in some months (like May) we don't have to run the HVAC at all.

I'd like a thermostat with a filter-change reminder that is based on how long the filter has been in use, not how long it has been installed. That is, I'd like only the time when the blower is on to count against the filter's lifetime. Is there a product like this?

For instance, does this unit count time in this way?


texts: Can I use this smart dimmer switch with these wires?

texts:
Kasa Smart Dimmer Switch
http://imgur.com/a/HW0aEcf
I have been able to hook it up so that the switch itself will turn on and connect with my phone, but I just can't get the light to turn on with this switch. I tried hooking it up the same way the old one was hooked up and it didn't work. I tried hooking it up according to the writing on the switch, and that didn't work. I have tried leaving some wires out, different wires in different places, turning the whole breaker board off and on again(just in case) and I have not been able to get the light to turn on. I'm wondering if this will even work with this kind of setup.


texts:
I am new Home owner. I want to change locks and do it myself. I have never used a screwdriver set before and do not own one.

If anyone can recommend what tools I will need to change the locks.

Thank you.


texts: I just installed a new Kohler toilet. It flushes fine but after the flush the level of water in the bowl slowly drains. Why would this be and is it anything to worry about?


texts:
I guess that this German sign tells me to search for the mains water supply in front of and left of this sign.

But what unit do these numbers have? Does 05 mean 5cm? Or 0.5m?


texts: Can I install batts under rafters in partially obstructed knee wall space?

texts:
I have an unconditioned knee wall space.  I wish to condition it but am faced with a small dilemma.  My concern is: can I install fiberglass against the rafters (assuming I have baffles), if the vaulted ceiling leading up to the ridge vent is obstructed by foam insulation?  Picture to illustrate.

Where is says "Install blocking and rafter baffle...", the vaulted ceiling in the conditioned space adjacent to the knee wall, is open-cell foam.  Therefore, I'm concerned that not providing a clear air path from eave to ridge vent would cause moisture buildup even if I had baffles along the rafter.  Right now supposedly it's not a problem because part of the knee wall attic does have airflow (it's not regularly shaped), but if I restrict the channels to between the rafters only, about half of them are blocked by the vaulted ceiling's foam barrier.


texts: How do I install vapor-retarder underlayment paper under vinyl floor planks?

texts: Do I overlap the sheets of paper or are the seams supposed to lay flat against each other? Is it okay to use nails to hold it down, or does it have to be stapled?  Can I use silicone to seal the seams?


texts: what should i use to wire this bathroom?

texts:
I'm in the process of finishing my basement. So far, framing's done, HVAC ductwork's done, and I'm now working on the electricals.

So I've got a 60amp subpanel bringing in power, and off of this, I have a few circuits. This question is about the bathroom circuit.

I need to wire the bathroom with a GFCI outlet, (and downstream from it) a couple of lights and an exhaust fan. In addition, the GFCI will also supply 6 other receptacles, one of which will probably serve a refrigerator. I've already bought a 20amp AFCI breaker (and also have a couple of spare 15amp AFCIs, so can use either).

Here are my questions:

Can I use a 15amp AFCI to supply this bathroom and the additional outlets, with 14 gauge wire?
If I must use the 20amp, can I use 12/2 only up until the GFCI and then 14/2 from that point onwards? Of course, the light and fan will use a 14/3 for convenience.
Is it acceptable to chain a refrigerator off of a bath circuit? No dishwashers, garbage disposals, etc.
In the future, will this (either 15amp or 20amp) breaker support a portable microwave oven? Say, 1000W?


texts: Can you shorten class B water heater vent pipe?

texts: New gas hot water heater is 5" taller than old (of course the same size would be too easy).Flex water and gas lines -no problem; but the class B ( double wall ) exhaust vent is ? Can it be cut? How? I need to remove 5". There is an 18 " straight run ( no joints) up into the attic, and straight up through the roof; very simple layout. At the bottom ,it has 2 adjustable elbows to connect to the heater, they can't reasonably be cut. It is near the side of the house so the attic clearance is about 18" at the vent so I don't want to work there if possible. The vent is nominally 3" , actual O.D. about 3.5 "


texts: Position of door stop vs lock striker plate

texts: When positioning the door stop after installing a lock set striker plate on an interior door (e.g. bathroom, bedroom etc) should I give the door more wiggle room (the striker plate allows the latch to go back and forth about 1/4") or make it more snug? I like the snug idea but would also like to provide some room for possible warping in the future.


texts: My basement drain is backing up a bit recently. Before I call a plumber, or rent an electric sewer snake from Home Depot, can sewer pipes freeze? It is January after all (and my house is in Canada).


texts: Remove tv plaform on metal guides from old tv armoire

texts:
I have an armoire originally used to hold an old style TV.  I want to remove a platform that was to hold the TV.
The platform is wood and on metal, ball bearing, guides so that the tv could be pulled out and rotated.  I can't find any release hinges/levers, and there are no exposed screws.  The guides are not unlike drawer guides  so  I assume there must be some way to release the guides.
Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Do type-2 surge protectors render type-3 protectors redundant?

texts: If you have a type-2 surge protector installed in your main breaker panel, does that render redundant any type-3 protectors plugged in to various outlets throughout the house? The only way I can think of that type-3 surge protectors might still be useful is if they are more sensitive than the type-2 surge protector in the main breaker panel. Otherwise, they would seem to be pretty useless, though not harmful. (I am not considering RF filtering in this question, which I think is a separate subject.)


texts: How can I attach a kick down door stop to a hollow metal door?

texts: I have a hollow-core metal door out to my car port, and it gets a lot of traffic.  I'd like to add a kick-down door stop to the door.  I think one option is to drill pilot holes and use self-tapping screws to secure the stop to the front part of the door.  But I'm worried that this will bend the door's sheet metal.  Should I instead drill all the way through the door and bolt the door stop to a plate on the other side?  If so, is there any way to make that look nice?


texts:
Finishing off our large attic space and we went with 3" of closed-cell spray foam (hot roof application) on the slanted ceilings.

My concern is heat transfer through the joists. We live in MN and the winters get cold. Some options I've considered for the ceiling:

1) Just drywall. Pros: It's easy and less expensive. Cons: I'm concerned that the heat transfer through the joist will somehow show on the drywall and instead of a nice smooth ceiling, you'll see joist lines.

2) 1/2" of rigid foam (R-3) and then drywall. Pros: Creates a buffer between the visible drywall and the cold joists. Cons: May not be enough R-value to really protect the drywall and ideally rigid foam should go on the exterior side of spray foam. So maybe it's just a waste of money.

3) Drywall and then covered with a layer of shiplap. Pros: I'm not sure this has any pros other than that this is a look that the wife likes and provides another layer of material that might stand up to cold spots better. Cons: I don't really think it's any better than just drywall in terms of heat transfer on the joist.

What's the smart thing to do in this situation?


texts: All subsections of the 2014 NEC 210.8(A & B) start off with "All 125v, single phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles..."  I see no such requirement for 220v outlets.  Can a 220v outlet be installed without GFCI protection?  I'm thinking specifically in a workshop/garage setting, but this could apply to dryer or oven as well.


texts: How should I wire an exterior light where there's a load bearing post in the way?

texts:
I'd like to put an exterior light fixture between my two garage doors.   The spot where it "belongs" has a post made of six (!) sistered 2x4s in the wall (presumably supporting the headers for the garage doors) and I'm looking for a way to get a wire from a shallow box (set into the 3/4" wood siding) into the empty space next to the post.   I could drill a hole on an angle, but it would have to penetrate at least two of the 2x4s, and I'm concerned that may compromise their strength too much.

What options do I have (if any) for a light in this spot?


texts: Door knob (lever handle) only engages in one direction

texts:
The lever handle door knob on my front door can be turned either way, but only engages when turned turned one way. Can I make it work in both directions?

At rest, the bolt is engaged, as desired. When the knob is pulled up, the bolt is retracted as desired. But when the knob is pushed down, nothing happens: the bolt remains engaged.

I'm not sure if it matters, but the mechanism on the outside is a handleset:

Related to Doorknob only turns one way, but mine turns it just doesn't engage.


texts: How much clearance do I need above a floor vent?

texts:
I am building a custom shelving unit that will sit over an inconveniently located floor vent/diffuser. My thought is to raise the bottom shelf up on stubby legs so that it does not block the vent. The question is, how tall do these legs need to be to gain sufficient clearance?

The register itself is a standard 4" x 10" opening. It seems to me that the space I am creating under the shelf is functionally equivalent to if I were extending the vent with a 90 degree turn. By this logic, I believe I should only need 4" of vertical clearance under my shelf. As long as I do not create a bottleneck that is any smaller than the cross-sectional area of the vent itself, it should be fine, right?

Is this reasoning correct? I've read various recommendations, some saying that I need as much as 18" clearance. This seems like ridiculous overkill to me.


texts:
I would ideally like this buy the below bracket, but I can't find any reseller.
Searching for angle bracket oval adjustable hole doesn't give anything similar, so I am guessing this kind of bracket have a particular name.
Does anyone know what it is called?


texts: Electrical wiring capped with wire connectors exposed to weather: bad idea?

texts:
I noticed what appears to be electrical wiring exposed at the peak of the gable end of our office. I don't have any way to know if there's current flowing to those wires.

Is that a problem?  I assume that it isn't a good long-term thing, but I guess I can't actually back that up. Anybody?


texts: Preventing Rodents (rats) from Returning to existing burrows

texts:
When dealing with rodent (specifically Rats) infestation and or prevention. What is the best way to deal with new rats finding the existing burrows (even after the entrances have been sealed).

IOW - After evicting several rats and about a week past since any activity - an existing hole was re-opened. Assuming these arent the same rats, but new ones (hence the time gap) -- how/why do they find the areas of interest, and what can be done to mitigate this?

Original Question - not a direct Home Improvement Question

  CITY/ALLEYS/RATS -- I get it, they exist

  We have an area in the back yard, that had an impressive rat burrow
  under a concrete slab. After 2 months of smoke and traps, we got 8
  rats evicted. We've closed the holes, and for over week there has been
  no movement around the known entrances.

  Just this AM, there was digging at one of the most frequented
  entrances.

  Im trying to understand how rats work. Do they migrate to other
  feeding areas/burrows through the week, and are now coming back to
  this one? Or is this a new potential potential occupant for that
  burrow - but how do they know it's there?


texts: What is the standard distance between a table and a banquette?

texts:
We just moved into a new condo that has a small area (43"x120") off the kitchen that I am thinking of converting to a dining nook with a narrow table. Considering the dimensions, it seems inappropriate to put chairs on the long side that is against the back wall, so I was thinking a banquette on 2 sides (one short, one long), to create a restaurant-style booth.

I have figured out the size of the banquette (18" wide seat, slightly angled with the back at 95° to the seat, giving me an approximate width of 22"), but to know how wide I can make the table, I need to figure out the proper spacing between a fixed banquette and a table. What is the standard for that?


texts: Smoke Detector wiring - impacted by 2 breakers?

texts:
dig if you will the picture of one of my smoke detectors and the curious (for me) wiring.  Actually, I've taken many pictures, but each is just a mess and I think will make it harder.  We have ~7 detectors hard-wired in the house, no battery backup that I'm aware of (15 years old and surely dead anyway).

Behind the first detector I'm replacing are two romex wires each with black,white,red,ground... and then one black,white,ground romex wire... so we have three hot black wires coming into this single smoke detector that were all twisted together by color as you'd expect.

So I separated the black wires to test voltage independently and:

If I turn off a certain 15A breaker, then the black/white wire loses power

If I turn off a certain 20A breaker, then both of the black/white/red wires lose power.

I have to turn off both breakers if I want to work safely, but I don't understand and fear some GFCI circuit issue (the 20A is poorly labeled Kitchen GFCI and indeed turning it off impacts both the wires I mentioned and a GFCI outlet in the kitchen).  Most curious to me is that I have untwisted and separated all black wires and the 20A breaker is supplying power to both of the BW/Red wires independently.

Is it normal / OK?  I think maybe this 2001 wiring job is no longer a recommended configuration, but do you think I should call an electrician to dig more?

Thank you


texts: I have an indoor/outdoor fan that has a GCFI reset plug at the end of the power cord that has tripped and will not reset.  Can you tell me the proper method to replace it?  I have extremely limited experience in electronic repair and would need some pretty detailed advise if possible...any help would really be appreciated!


texts: how to correct a crooked joint of brick veneer and drywall

texts: Installed brick veneer around a fireplace but failed to put a guideline where it met the gype wall.  The line is slightly crooked... any ideas to hide this?  If I rip out the bricks on the edge and reset them in a straight line, I'm wondering if the mortar will have a different color than the rest of the wall given that it comes from another batch.


texts: How can I repair my shower that is leaking from the back of wall?

texts: I had my shower remodel a couple of years back, from plain old shower to now cement tile. Now I noticed that when I go to turn the water on, there is water coming up out from the back of the shower wall. I didn't think much of it, til last night when I came to notice there is water coming from underneath my bedroom floor. My bedroom wall faces my shower wall. Can you help me in telling me what it might be?


texts: Can a white neutral wire be used as a three pole traveler wire?

texts: I live in a 1977 vintage apartment building in the US. I have two 3-pole switches for my bedroom entry light, which are not working correctly. The one switch must be left in the "up" position all the time in order for the other switch to be able to turn the light on or off. They do not work independently of each other like they should. Upon opening up both double gang switches, I noticed that one of the white neutral wires on each switch is separated from the others. Could that be the missing traveler wire? Also, does a three pole connection require use of a 14-3 cable, which has a red wire which I hear is the only color for a traveler wire. One double gang box has four 14-2 cables. The other has three 14-2 cables and one 14-3 cable, but that is already being used for a switch controlled outlet.


texts:
I just wanted to get confirmation on this.

Can I ground more than one wire per single slot/screw on a ground busbar in a sub panel?

Just to be clear, this is a sub panel with separate neutral and ground busbars.


texts: Should our kitchen sink vent through the roof?

texts: Our kitchen sink vent pipe goes up through the ceiling but not through the roof, should it go through the roof?


texts: Just moved into a new (to us) house and one curve of the bottom step was falling apart. I would like to replace the bottom two steps with plain steps like the rest of the staircase. I’m hoping to get a read on how complicated and to go about it? Thank you!


texts: How can I install a GFCI receptacle to provide protection to other devices?

texts: I currently have in my shop, a 20 amp outlet directly below my panel which is approximately halfway along one of the walls.  Instead of having the GFCI outlet at the end, I would like to replace the existing outlet with a 20 amp GFCI outlet and add regular outlets to the left and to the right of it along that wall. Can I pigtail the black and white wires?  Will the outlets be protected?


texts: Why am I reading 20V at the receptacles on one household branch circuit?

texts: I have a series of three household receptacles through which I am getting maybe 20 volts.  All other receptacles in the room on other circuits have normal voltage.  I replaced the breaker and tightened the wires, but it had no effect.  What should be the next thing to check?


texts: Can I use OSB in place of timber as structural element

texts:
In few answers I've been advised to reinforce OSB shelf with wooden beam for rigidity over time. Hence interconnected questions:

Isn't OSB supposed to be more stable to elements comparing to wood? Isn't that what's all the adhesive in it is for.
Tables give me tensile strength of OSB few times smaller than wood. Can I replace 18mm x 36mm wooden beam safely with 2* 50mm strips of 22mm OSB screwed and/or glued together? That'd give me 50x44 "beam" section -- should be quite enough.
Should OSB surface and edges be treated if I plan indoor use with no proximity of water. For it's tensile characteristics to remain same over time.


texts: Replacing thermostat on Sanyo mini split

texts:
I have an old Sanyo KMH 0922 mini split.  The air conditioning seems to work OK.   Last winter on heat it  was either on or off the thermostat wouldn't control the temperature correctly.

This winter initially the thermostat seemed to work correctly for a few weeks. It would cycle the unit on and off at what seemed to be the correct temperature. Now the unit isn't coming on and the standby light on the thermostat is staying on.

I think that the thermostat is bad and I'm wondering if I could replace it with just a standard thermostat. Could I take the wires out of the old thermostat and plug them into a new normal thermostat? Are the wiring color codes the same?  I've replaced a few thermostats for furnaces and HVAC units.

I have a second mini split that shares the same outdoor unit.   It works fine.

This unit is quite old and Sanyo is gone from this market (bought by Panasonic) so new thermostats are no.longer available.


texts: Why do my LED lights stay on, even when the switch is off?

texts:
I have two LED lamps in my corridor, and when I switch them off, they keep emitting light (not very strong, but it's annoying at night).

What can it be? How can I fix it?


texts: Stained Plaster - Waterproof primer before or after patching

texts:
I have a water stained plaster ceiling. The leak has been fixed. A lot of the old paint has peeled off and needs to be patched. I've noticed a few other patch jobs in this old house that are bubbling up.

I think this is due to moisture. Should I put something like Kilz over the water stain, and then patch and paint? Or should I patch, paint with Kilz and then paint. It seems like if I don't get something between the water stained plaster and my patch compound, it's going to bubble up.


texts: I have a surplus 120/240vac generator that has a problem with AC voltage invading the DC control circuit. The invading voltage is erractic. My Fluke 86-5 digital meter is to slow to accurately read fast moving voltage. It's useless to track and view this voltage. I tried a Simpson 260 but it does not have the capability to block DC while on the AC position. And it does not read frequency. So does anyone have a suggestion of a good analog meter that can read what I need to see?


texts: Poured door transition - Safe to dig around?

texts:
In the back of my house I have an addition that just sits on a perimeter foundation (no basement).  I've got some moisture problems and some grading issues, so I'm putting a french drain around the foundation.

I'm trying to dig down about 24" or so below surface (36" or masonry exposed).  My plan is to repair the masonry, apply asphalt sealant, layer of 8mm plastic, and then thr french drain (garden fabric, #4 stone, 4" perforated drain pipe w/sock, 1:100 inclination).

When digging, I got to the door and realized that the concrete transition at the door opening appears to be poured and overhands the cap of the foundation by 6-8" (see photos).  I'm thinking it's not safe to remove it and I'm going to have to leave all the dirt and soil around and near the door and come out a foot or two.  This means I can't deal and plastic there like I wanted.  Is this my only option?


texts: What are some options for a 90 degree turn in a long hallway for laminate flooring?

texts: We are continuing down the hallway from the living room. There's a 90 degree turn to go past the four bedrooms. How do we make that turn or do we go cross wise in that part of the hallway? I was thinking a staggered corner by running all the way then turn the corner and go down that section. Then repeat the second row staggering at the corner.


texts: Why don't they make wood cutoff blades for 4.5" grinder?

texts: Many times I used a chisel to cut off a hard-to-reach piece of lumber, I was wishing I had an adequate blade for my 4.5" grinder, as I don't own an oscillating tool.  Why is it hard to find?  Is it because they would be dangerous?


texts: Identify this screw head (was: Security Torx)

texts:
Am attempting to open an old device cover (an adapter) and it has these screws (please see attached image, sorry for the bad quality, I couldn't get better focus than this.)

Would really appreciate if someone could guide me identify it and/or point to where to obtain a driver for it. (Or even more awesome if any tips of opening it using any hack without a specialty driver, if possible!)

Update Addendum

Well I am happy to report that — thanks to the help and solution below — I have acquired & successfully opened the Tamper-proof/Security Torx screw using the bit! (see more bad images below, :D Though I notice that a kind contributor has edited my original picture and fixed some text too, thanks!) :)


texts: GFCE-protected outlet trips, GFCI outlet doesn't

texts:
I recently moved into this house. I have a GFCI-protected outlet on an island in the kitchen (on the right in the picture): it is protected by a GFCI outlet on the wall (left of the stove in the picture). When I plug my vacuum cleaner into the outlet on the island and start the vacuum, the outlet trips within about a second and I have to go push the reset button on the outlet on the wall. I plugged the same vacuum cleaner into the wall outlet and was able to run it for 15 seconds or so without problem (I didn't try to run it longer).

What can I do to diagnose where the problem lies? Can I fix it myself (I can do straightforward stuff like turn off the circuit and change the outlet, matching the existing wiring) or do I need to call an electrician? Is it a safety issue if I choose not to fix anything and put outlet covers on the island outlet so it doesn't get used?


texts: How can I improve my gasoline can spout?

texts:
As anyone living in the United States that has bought a gas container in the past several years knows, fuel/gasoline container spouts have changed. The new spouts have a locking/safety mechanism and I have yet to find one that isn't a real pain. The locking mechanism is a minor annoyance, but they leak more often than not when I dispense gas into my lawn mower.

How can I fix/rig my gas can so it works more like the old gas can spouts?


texts: Should I try to repair an A/C condensate pump that has suddenly started getting real noisy?

texts:
So my Little Giant Condensate pump suddenly started getting real noisy when it kicked on. I pulled the cap off the unit and the water sure is dirty in there. I have done nothing with the unit in the 12 years I have been in the house.

So do you think it could just be a dirty clogged unit that I can fix by cleaning, or should I just replace the thing?

Also, what kind of maintenance do you do on these little pumps?


texts: Is heat a practical way to kill structual mold?

texts: So heating the whole house or affected rooms up to 45 50 degrees C for long enough to also heat and kill any mold in exterior walls as well as mold on the surface?


texts: How to add a fuse/breaker to an extension cable

texts:
I have a Bayco 800 cord reel  that (insanely!) has a non-replaceable 10A fuse in the outlet that I blew.
I was going to replace the end with something like This: , but then I'll have a 16awg wire (in the reel) on a 15A breaker.
Is there any way to add a 10A breaker-like-device to a 3-prong outlet so just this reel will be protected from > 10A?
If not a breaker, is there at least a way to add a replaceable fuse to a 3-prong cable?


texts: Will the existing supply wire for my 60A subpanel be adequate for a 100A subpanel?

texts:
We recently moved into a older home and there is a garage detached from the house about 100 feet from main breaker box. There is a electrical panel under the meter (outside of home) with a 60 amp breaker that feeds the garage. I was wondering if anyone knew how to identify the electrical wire running from 60 amp breaker to sub panel in barn/garage?

I want to upgrade to 100 amps and thought there might be a chance that the wire already ran the 100 feet would be rated for the boost in amperage. Also, what wire would be ideal, copper and aluminum, for running new 100 amp service line 100 feet to detached barn/garage?

Thanks,
Josh A.


texts:
I'm honestly kinda surprised that nobody has tried that (at least, my Google Fu failed me in finding someone that did).

I just bought my first home and noticed something. My outdoor coil for my heat pump sits right behind my house. Due to it's location, it's always in the shade and the temperature around it is much lower than the temperature in the sun. I was wonder (how stupid this idea is) if I were to put some sort of reflectors so that the sun hits the outdoor coil thereby warming it up and putting that heat in the house, would it be worth it? I already have an vague idea of what I need to do but figured I'd get some advice before trying it out.


texts:
We just purchased our home this summer, so I've never gone through the process of turning off the sprinklers for the winter (we're in Utah, so hard freezes are possible). The stop-and-waste valve is buried about 5 feet underground. I tried using a standard irrigation key, but to no avail. After working on it a bit with my neighbor (who sells sprinkler supplies for a living) we're stumped. I've dug down 90% of the way to valve, and ended up cutting off the PVC pipe to get a better view. Here's what I'm seeing:

I tried sticking a pry bar between the notches in the tube there to turn it, but it's not budging, plus that's not a good long term solution, as much as I like digging holes in the snow. I'm at a loss for what to even call this, much less where to get a key for it. Another thing to note is that the tube moves back and forth 1-2 inches in one direction. Almost makes me wonder if it's some kind of adapter on top of the standard stop-and-waste key. The tube won't come up though (I tried sticking a pair of pliers in there and yanking, but it's pretty firm).

Another piece of information that might possibly be pertinent is that the home was HUD owned for about a year. I'm not sure if they go through the process of turning off the sprinklers when they winterize the home (the sprinkler valve was open when we moved in). My gut tells me no since it was already open, and also because the water was off at the street.


texts:
As the title suggests, an interior door has suddenly stopped latching as it should.  Previously, the door would close just fine, though perhaps you had to apply more pressure than most doors, it would latch and lock just fine.  Currently, you can push it closed, but the knob is basically just a prop because you can push or pull the door open without turning the knob -- the latch just doesn't catch anymore. The major issue with this is that the door currently separates the half bath from the full bath.  Strange design, I know, but basically if this door is open, you're staring at the other toilet.

Can anyone suggest a solution or explain why this change in latch function has occurred?


texts: Is it safe to use a GU10 adapter in a E27 recessed fixture?

texts:
I've got some downlights in my kitchen that have an E27 socket and had E27 fluorescent bulbs in them:

I generally dislike the light these put out and was looking to replace them with halogen spots. Given that there's a 240V supply to each fitting, I originally looked at swapping out the whole fitting for new GU10 fittings and just re-wire them.

The problem is that the holes in the ceiling for the old fittings are far too big for any new fitting to fit. Plan B was to buy some E27 to GU10 adapters, and just screw these into the sockets.

This works great, the light is much better. However, I have two questions:

Is this safe (I'm thinking heat dissipation)?
As you can see from the picture, there's now a significant gap around the bulb, due to the fact the bulb is much smaller than the original E27 bulb. Is the solution to this to just buy a bigger bulb? Do these exist? Or do I need some form of adapter?


texts: Hello, I want to add a 100 amp panel for multiple RV services

texts: I want to add a panel for 2 RV plugs at 50 amps each and have 4 110volt plugs. I like doing things myself so I know what is going on, on my own property. I know I'll have to have it inspected by an electrician to be approved but to save cost of hours I'll do all the work myself and have it inspected along the way. So I have a 200 amp service that I will be connecting to, the run will be approximately 300 ft, I already own 4/0 aluminum cable 600ft long and the 100amp service panel that I want to go to. It will all be buried in conduit from main panel to sub panel. I'm just wondering if the 4/0 will be sufficient to carry that load with no issues?  I don't want to drop another $4000.00 on cable if I can avoid it. I want the 110 services to be 30 amps per 2. So is this possible or should I consider something else?


texts: How can I mount outlets securely where drywall was cut from around outlet ears?

texts:
My contractor's worker (son) cutout the drywall from around the outlet ears on my receptacles in each room. Apparently, he didn't know what he was doing... Now my outlets are loose in the wall.  If I tighten them up they fall far behind the plates on the wall and are not flush. Its unsightly not to mention an big gap between the plate and the outlet...

Are there any brackets I can use to flush the outlets?


texts: How can I remove an oily stain from raw wood before painting?

texts:
I need to paint my front porch, but there is a small stain that appears to be oil, grease, or a similar substance. (Water beads on it, despite there being no paint or finish.) Here's the stain in context:

And here is a tight zoom on just the stain itself:

How does this affect the prep or the painting?


texts: Can I float click laminate diagonally without transitions in my space?

texts:
I'd like to float click laminate on our floor in a continuous manner without transitions. I'd like to float diagonally, but am open to another orientation if this isn't feasible.

I understand floating diagonally results in more wasted material and brings the added challenge of recalibrating your angled cuts as walls are not straight, but I like the character diagonal placement brings. If I'm not mistaken, on the plus side, laying diagonally can help avoid the problem of thin board strips running alongside walls due to how many distances need to be accounted for in a given space.

Questions

Is floating a continuous floor possible given the diagram below?

If yes, I'd love an explanation for how I can achieve the result...

Is diagonal placement possible, or do I need to go another way? Which direction would you recommend laying the boards if not diagonal? I assume the direction holds throughout all of the areas? The product I'm heavily considering comes in 6-1/8" wide planks.
Is there a recommended room to start in?

For diagonal placement in particular, all of the resources I've read so far talked about "starting in the middle of the room", but there's really no "middle" with my space (especially in the kitchen where there's an island and a nook jutting out).
Any specific pitfalls I should watch out for given my floor shape?

If no, can you help me understand why?

I had a "pro" consultant come to my home, measure my space, and he told me the whole area could be floated without transitions, but since he quoted me upwards of $15K, I'd like some more data points to do it myself.

Floor Plan

The teal area represents everywhere the flooring will be laid. Total area is roughly 1080 sqft.
The longest stretches, as you can see from the diagram, are just under 38 feet long. Perhaps this is a non-issue if I lay diagonally though?
There are only three doors (the colored lines in the lower area).
I've added some letters for narrow areas in case it helps to refer to said areas in your answer.


texts: Correct gauge of wire to power 2 ceiling lightnings

texts:
I was attempting a simple home improvement project that has slowly become a bigger job than I expected.

So my aunt had a light bulb hanging from the ceiling in the corridor and wanted it replaced with a "chandelier". I thought I could hang the chandelier in the electrical box but it turned out to be a fake ceiling and long story short the beam where I ended up hanging the thing is not close to the electric box on the ceiling that powers the lamp.

Adding to this she asked me to put a second chandelier opposite of the first one.

My question is, can I use a short 1.5mm2 wire connected to the box, use a wago 3 holes connector and power the 2 chandeliers each 1,5m from the box is opposite directions with 10, 40 watt bulbs each?

Or would this be too much for the wires to handle? I cant really make the math and I don't feel secure in my calculations.

I don't exactly know what gauge of wire is beyond the electrical box. The breaker in the electrical box for the lights is 10 amps. I'm in Denmark, so if someone also knows where I can read the Danish code about such things it would be helpful.

As an additional question, the wires are both "separated" just the blue and brown and I was going to run them trough a plastic "rail" that is a full cover, can this be problematic? (I mean do to heat, do these even heat much?)

If the two chandeliers are too much, would one be ok?

Any help appreciated :)


texts: Reline chimney or "chimney kit" on furnace exhaust

texts:
I had my brick chimney inspected, and the inspector found that the cracked clay tiles in the two flues (one for a gas fireplace, one for the furnace and gas water heater) need to be replaced.  He recommended a flexible stainless steel liner for the utility flue at a cost of about $3,200.  I also had an HVAC guy in to replace a crack in the water heater exhaust, who noticed some signs of condensation on the elbows of the furnace and water heater exhaust.  He recommended instead that he "could put a 'CHIMNEY KIT' on the furnace and run double wall vent pipe to the chimney" for only about $900.
Obviously, I'd like to spend less, but I'm wary of taking shortcuts on the exhausting of gases from my house.  Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on using a chimney kit into the chimney instead of relining the chimney for 3.5x as much?


texts: What is this garage pipe contraption and can I use it to shut down outside water?

texts:
I'm actually asking because I was searching my garage for some way to turn off external water for the winter and this was the closest thing that I could find. Unfortunately I have no idea what it does or why and would love it if anyone could shed some light!  The bottom of that vertical pipe stack dissapears into the concrete below the garage.  The horizontal pipe thing is unconnected (at least in the garage.  No idea what is happening in the wall.

Edit: As requested, adding a close up of the gauge on top:


texts:
I want to achive a very simple look with fluorescent lights. I want to hang a fluorescent tube from the ceiling with as little as possible. Was thinking maybe hanging them just in the cord to each end and put the ballast up in the ceiling.

Is this possible? I guess it could be quite dangerous but can it be done, and how could I do it?


texts: My Finish nailer will shoot just fine. Afterwards, it hangs up or sticks. Doesn't reset immediately. There is always a 5- 10 second delay, unless I disconnect air hose. I don't like doing that because it will sometimes fire another nail after re-connecting air. Any ideas how to fix this? Thank you, Dane.


texts: What subpanel and number of circuit breakers should I install in a detached garage?

texts: I no longer am dealing with my contractor. Long story.  But he ran 2 10-3 wires out to my garage for power.  I think he was planning on putting a 30 amp breaker on the panel in the house for each wire and a sub panel in the garage for each wire.  Is this OK to do?  If so, what kind of sub panel should I get? How many breakers can run on each sub panel?


texts: What are some tools for diagnosing powerline networking problems?

texts:
We've had problems with a number of devices that communicate over power lines -- both the TED 5000 electricity monitor and most recently a pair of Netgear powerline networking adapters.

I've tried a first pass of trying to find a particular appliance that might be generating noise, but even with all the breakers off but one we still have the same problems.

I'm looking for suggestions as to what I can do to diagnose this problem...is there any way for me to diagnose the magnitude of "noise" on the circuits?  Are there other things I should try?


texts: Does an outdoor hot tub receptacle and breaker both have to be GFCI?

texts: I know outdoor receptacles have to be GFCI, however my hot tub manual specifically says the breaker should be GFCI (does not mention the receptacle). I know there is also a GFCI near the hot tub motor as well. If the receptacle is already GFCI, does it make sense to have a GFCI breaker as well, isn't that a waste? I suppose I could only use a GFCI breaker and not a GFCI receptacle outside, but inspectors seem to frown on that and it's a pain to reset all the way in the basement if there's ever an issue. I'm in New York State USA.


texts: How can I make suction cups stay securely to a tiled shower wall?

texts:
I am trying to hang a mirror in the shower and it simply will not stay on the wall. It does not weigh more than a couple of pounds. There are two suction cups.

Things I've tried:

Cleaning the tile surface before attaching
Using water on the suction cups
Using soapy water on the suction cups


texts: How should I repair the cracks in my ceiling before painting?

texts:
I want to repaint my ceiling, but I can’t quite tell what’s going on. Is there a layer of drywall? Plaster?

What should I do if I just want to repaint?


texts: Is there a list of status codes for Maytag Bravos Quiet Series 300?

texts: The Maytag Bravos Quiet Series 300 washing machine has a display. It displays codes sometimes. Is there a list of status codes?


texts:
I bought some LED lights that have a 3 prong plug.
I want to wire them into my roof directly to the positive/negative wires in the light socket.
Bunch of questions -
Is that a bad idea?
Can I connect neutral to ground?
I assume that's likely against code?
What are the dangers?


texts:
Recently (4 days ago) I replaced a solid radiator with a column one. On removing the solid radiator the wallpaper was as you might expect an old colour.

I managed to find an opened tin of paint the same colour that we used 3 years ago when we painted the room and applied it to the wallpaper before fitting the new radiator.

However, once it dried it was clear there was an unusual smell coming from the paint. It smells like washing does when you forget to take it out of the washing machine for a day or so. It smells like damp/off water. There is certainly something bad about the paint...

The smell is still there after 4 days so I want to seal the section of paint with something and repaint it with a fresh tin. Luckily I haven't plumbed in the radiator yet so this will be a quick job.

My question is: what's the best thing to seal the bad paint with? Obviously I want to prevent the smell coming through. To hand I have the following:

PVA glue (could also do a mix with water)
Zinsser BIN sealant http://www.zinsseruk.com/product/bulls-eye-1-2-3/

I'm happy to go and buy something else of course. What's the best way to seal off this smelly paint?


texts: Can I safely wire a generator switch to two electrical panels

texts:
I saw one similar question, but I want to be sure if I can do what I would like to do with the transfer switch. Here's the setup:

Siemens 200 amp main panel outside wall fed by meter. This panel uses one common bar to terminate both the neutral and ground wires. This panel then feeds a
200 amp Cutler Hammer interior subpanel. The neutral and ground use separate bars.

I want to install the transfer switch to the inside panel which has all the circuits I want to use except one, a 20 amp double-pole breaker for well pump in the OUTSIDE panel. Isn't this virtually like having all breakers in one panel?

So... I would like to route two pairs (red and black) from transfer switch to outside panel to feed the double pole well pump breaker to get water in power outage. Since the neutral and ground from the outside panel feed to the internal panel, then all I need to do is bring the neutral and ground from the transfer switch into the interior panel, right? Bringing those two also to the outside panel would be a no-no ground loop, right?


texts: Replacing a standard 2-gang light switch with an electric dimmer switch

texts:
I'm looking for a some assistance in fitting a new electric dimmer light switch. I'm in the UK if that makes a difference.

I am trying to replace my existing two-gang light switch with a LightWaveRF two gang dimmer but am not sure where to start as the instructions are telling me to look out for colored cables that aren't present in the existing switch.

Here's my original light switch setup:

grey wire - brown sleeve was in the top right, brown wire in top left

Here's the LightwaveRF:

I have tried many combinations without any luck, all outcomes results in one flickering light?


texts: Why can't my radiator heat up my bedroom?

texts:
My living room, 3.3m x 4.4m, is easily heated up by a double  panel, double fin radiator.

My bedroom on the otherhand (2.7m x 3.9m) struggles to be heated by double panel, single fin radiator. It was originally a single panel radiator which was replaced to address the lack of heat.

Both rooms are exposed on 2 sides, and the living room has also has a glass balcony door.

Originally a single panel radiator was on the bedroom internal wall, when installing the double panel radiator, it was installed under the window to improve convection.

For good measure I attached some radiator foils behind all the radiators although it hasn't resulted in a noticeable improvement.

The living room curtains rest on a shelf that protrudes ever so slightly over the radiator (less than an inch) and is directly above it. Same for the bedroom, but the shelf is about 20cm higher than the radiator.

I'm struggling to understand why the bedroom is struggling to be heated up. The radiator will be boiling hot to touch yet this isn't translating into a warmer room. The flat generally has poor insulation due to concrete walls but I have no issues heating up the living room.

EDIT - pictures: http://imgur.com/a/mJIoU

Further info:

I did a few checks using a thermal leak detector (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Decker-TLD100-Thermal-Detector/dp/B0044R87BE) and had the following findings.

Aiming the detector at the middle of the rad towards the top, I got a living room reading of 57.3C and a bedroom reading of 55.9C. I pointed it at the window away from an area above the rad and got a reading in the living room of 16.1C and bedroom 12.3C.

I think the difference can possibly be explained by the fact the living room had a balcony so the windows are not as exposed as much to the elements.

Using the same device and incense sticks, I've previously hunted around for draughts and did the 'classic' check using paper between the window and the frame to test the strength of the grip between the two (paper didn't slide out at all).

The thermostat is branded Salus and it turned up to max. Hot air is definitely emanating from the top


texts: What do I do with the neutral wire when there isn't a place for it?

texts: I'm trying to replace a 3 prong dryer cord with a 8 gauge wire. The control box has a three prong dryer wire that was originally connected to it. I don't have that type of outlet so I'd like to hook it directly to the 8 gauge wire which is already there and connected to a 50 amp breaker. My wire has a neutral but the wire I'm replacing did not. Not sure if I can cap the neutral, not hook either of them up. Stuck. Please help. Thanks


texts: How do I connect a 240 to 110V transformers that measures 55V AC on both the "hot" and "return" wires?

texts:
For a European-style city power supply (240 V AC 50 Hz) attempting to accommodate appliances from another country (USA, 110 V AC 60 Hz), how should a "Nippon" ungrounded transformer be wired up?

The supply voltage for the neighborhood is 240 V AC. The ungrounded 1500 W Nippon transformer steps that down to 110V but leaves the frequency unchanged. Most 110V appliances (heaters, etc) plugged into the 110V side work fine. However, the voltage on each leg of the 110 side ("hot" and "return") are both 55V AC relative to Earth ground. And when I try to connect "active" power regulating loads to the 110V outlet, my the GFIC breaker on my 220V power source eventually trips, whether I've grounded the power supply and/or transformer case to earth ground or not. The troublesome appliance is a 110VAC to 12V DC power supply, battery charger and solar charger system. A lower power transformer from Australia (500 W) does not cause this problem.

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong with the wiring of the new transformer?


texts: How do I find the source of a slow leak in a roof that has been repaired?

texts: We have had a slow leak for 20 years. The roof has been replaced. We still have the leak, so how do we find the leak?


texts: Converting light socket to outlet, what do I do with ground?

texts:
I'm swapping out a light socket for some outlets in the garage, and the ground wire is running through a little clip in the box, with some extra coming out from there, not enough to hit my green screw on the outlet though. Wondering what to do with it, figured the options are:

Disconnect ground from the box and connect it to the green pole on my outlet.
Leave ground attached to box and splice extra length to reach green pole.
Ignore ground on outlet (assume this is a bad idea).

Here's what I'm working with:

Which of the first two options is proper, or something else altogether?


texts: How can I increase deck board gap without removing the boards?

texts:
My friends just bought a new house that has a deck that has gone mossy/moldy.  The sellers pressure washed the deck and replaced a few soft boards, but the real problem is that there isn’t enough gap between boards for good drainage

I’ve suggested lifting the deck boards and regapping them but with all of the other repairs to be made, my friend was considering running a circular saw down each gap and taking a little bit of wood off each board

Is there a shortcut way to do this?   I would think that a circular saw would leave a corner that’s more likely to split and splinter as it’s no longer rounded over, but a router would be a royal pain to keep straight the whole length of each board

I don’t even know if it’s nailed or screwed down, as it was buried in snow when I was last over there.  (I suspect it’d be easier to lift a nailed down deck than a screwed down one)


texts: Broke outdoor spigot from its pipe, discovered pipe is PVC instead of metal. How to repair this?

texts:
This spigot comes out of my walkout basement wall outside (with plastic sidings). It had this stupid anti-siphoning attachment that restricted water flow, so I tried to twist that off and broke the pipe behind the spigot. Surprise! The pipe the spigot is on is a small PVC pipe.

The pipe goes through about 30 feet of walls. Would I need to rip those walls out to repair this? Or do I only need to remove the siding outside and "glue" or "fuse" things back somehow?


texts: Switching to three-prong outlets where ground wire is present

texts:
(I absolutely welcome suggestions for improved title – there's two facets to this question)

I have a 1960s home with a few three prong receptacles and many two prong receptacles. I read some online guides and they suggested that as long as I can verify ground on the box, I can screw one of those handy green pigtails into the box and attach that to the receptacle.

After taking a good look inside some of the boxes I see that there is in fact:
a) a ground wire inside the bundle, and
b) it's twisted with its counterpart ground wire leaving the box, and
c) it's screwed into the box.

So, the box is grounded, though I don't have a third wire to ground the receptacle.

It seems to me that the most craftsmanlike way to do this would be to remove those ground wires from the box, untwist them and retwist with a third wire, screw them into the box again and run that third grounded wire to the receptacle.

However, I'll need to get the parts (whatever bit that is that screws wires to the box), wire and tools to do it that way. I have a perfectly good alternative, which is to screw a green grounding pigtail into a waiting hole on the box, knowing the box is grounded.

Am I missing something unsafe here? The box is in the loop as grounding conductor, but that's a pretty common setup anyway.
Will my inspector/the NEC get annoyed at me for this? I can't find anything specifically relating to multiple ground wires from the same circuit in an outlet.


texts: How can I attach cable clips to an outside wall?

texts:
I have plenty of cable clips that work great indoors, but I want to attach a cable to an outside pebbledash wall. The existing cable clips, which have broken, appear to have been nailed into some kind of plug, but I can't see what.

What is a good technique for attaching cables to a wall that won't accept a simple nailed clip?


texts: Is one circuit connected to two breakers safe?

texts:
We redid our bathrooms and had an electrician come in and put in new wiring for outlets, heater/fan/lights and heated floors. He had to replace the electrical panel, because the house is older (1956) and didn't have enough space to accomplish the task. So he installed a new electrical panel. Everything was fine for a while.

Then the lights started to flicker and electronic devices started to pop on and off.

Then 1/2 the house started to lose power. No breakers were tripped.

We called the electrician and he said the power loss was probably coming from the pole and to call in the power company to check the line.

Power company came out, checked the line and determined it's something in my house that's causing the outage.

Since then the power has gone out for up to 24 hours at a time. Flickering lights signal the outage. Now being an old house they have most of the lights along one line. Dining room light, kitchen fan light and several outlets in our bedroom are on the same line (it's a ranch) on one side of the house, the other side has multiple fixtures and outlets as well. I went down to the electrical panel (surprise nothing labeled) to see which circuit breaker was causing the problem. Went up and down both sides of the panel, but not once did the lights or outlets go out. Finally I turned off one side of the panel (left) and then started to turn on breakers one at a time and discovered 2 separate breakers 6 down from each other combined, turn off the power to the lights and outlets along this line.

Now with the old box, no problems, electric did not flicker, nor did only 1/2 the house lose power.

Question, what did the electrician do and is it safe to be on 2 breakers like that until he can come out and look at the problem?

Thanks


texts: Should the oven heating coil stay on the whol time you are baking?

texts: We have a Frigidaire electric stove. Should the oven heating coil stay on the whole time we are cooking? For example, turn the oven to 350 for 30 minutes. Coil turns red, then goes to black, theb back to red or sometimes not back to red unless I raise the temp. a few degrees.


texts: I have a slope and my fence installer only dug down into the clay hardpan 1.5 feet for a 6' fence. He put concrete in the hole but I think it's way too shallow. Since the land slopes I am thinking of building the area up with soil around the posts which would add the needed depth but I don't know if I should use concrete around the posts, since it would need to bond to the concrete just poured this week. Any ideas? Make a shorter fence or pull them out and start again?


texts: I am remodelling a bathroom.  The current tub/shower combo that previous owners installed says "Fontaine" on the front but otherwise has no model number or anything I can find.  It works fine, except that the tub/shower selector (the small one on the bottom in the attached pics) is stuck on shower and can't be turned.  I'm guessing there is a cartridge there that can be replaced?  Any ideas how I might find the part and replace it though?  Or is there something else I can do to free it up?  I hate to have to replace the entire fixture over this.


texts: Secret documents digital safes without an overriding key?

texts:
Are there any safes which can be opened with a programmable keypad combination or thumb fingerprint but do not come with a key?

I am concerned about the fact that if somebody steals my key they will bypass the digital circuit.

I'm looking for a mid range solution. Box strength is not an issue. Size is about half a meter cubed.


texts: I have an easy arm chair that I bought from Ikea. Recently its extra-long-screw that used to be on the sides of the chair got loosened somehow. I tried to tight it by force but it is like super loose and it seems like there used to be something that holds the screw to the chair. How can I tighten it? The screw used is given below:


texts: Correct gutter installation to prevent ice dams?

texts:
We had new guitars, downspouts and gutter guards installed and now there's a huge ice dam.

Should the downspout that collects water from upper levels be sitting in the valley?

The downspout empties into a lower gutter on our sun porch, which is in the NW area of the roof.

We live in Minnesota.


texts: Weird brown line behind bathtub caulking

texts:
Earlier today, I found cracks in the caulking around my shower, so I removed the caulking to look for any mold or water damage. When I shone my iPhone light in that area, I found a weird brown line. (I tried scraping it away; it came off easily.) What is this line, and what may have caused it?
The first photo is a wide shot, to show what kind of shower I own. The second photo is a tighter shot of the area where I found the discoloration. The third photo is a close-up of the discoloration before I scraped it away.
Thank you for your time.


texts: So, in this DIY basement finishing project of mine, I've learned more than I ever thought I could know but I've been able to correct many simple mistakes so far. Here's my latest, I have basically just finished up with the framing for my basement following 99% of the builders plans that were left when they built this home two years ago. Here is my latest dilemma: the plans call for a 28" door into the bathroom. I was going over all of my work, and noticed for whatever reason, I framed that rough opening for a 32" door. Meaning the rough opening right now is 34". I suppose I could install a 30" door and would be able to cover up the 2", but if I want to install the original 28" door, what's the best way to go about closing in these additional 4"? Sorry if there is rambling on this post, but I've heard good things about this site so I figured I'd look for advice here. Thank you!


texts: Furnace keeps cycling on and off until it's up to set Temp

texts:
I have a Philco 80,000 btu two stage with variable speed blower, high efficiency furnace with a two wire thermostat, on/off. The furnace 6.5 years old and when the thermostat calls for heat the furnace cycles normally but only for 5 minutes then it shuts down and starts the whole process over again until the thermostat is satisfied. I have bypassed all the sensors except the pressure sensors as they are a little harder to bypass. I have wired across the thermostat wires too.
 I have checked the flame sensor by pulling the wire off and it still senses a flame for about 2 seconds then shuts off.I have tried the fan on different speeds and even run the furnace with the lower door off. It's an updraft model. I think it has been like this from new as I thought it was the way a 2 stage worked but then I talked to a few people and they said no it should keep running until it reaches set temp. LED green/red/yellow.  Green and red led never flicker   So there you have it.
 I hope some one can help me fix this thing as next would be the circuit board and more money, for now it will just keep on cycling.
Thank You for any help.
Paul


texts: How to spackle a plaster/drywall to firmly hold a magnetic door lock with plastic nails?

texts: The problem is that the wall half of the magnet has come off the wall, leaving a hole in the wall. I tried to plug the hole in the wall with DryDex Sparkling & Nail Hole Filler, but it was not solid enough to hold the magnet's nails after drying overnight. What do you recommend?


texts: Is it acceptable to have two circuits with a shared hot but different neutrals?

texts:
I am working on cataloguing the hodge podge electrical system in my old house. There is an old fuse box that was converted to a junction box when they put the breaker box in. Inside this box there is one hot coming from the breaker panel that is used to power two different loads. The strange thing to me is that the loads have different neutrals.

Here is a simplified diagram of what I found:

The red and blue loads are connected to a common hot, but they lead to different neutrals. As you can imagine there are a bunch of different circuits coming from the breaker panel.

The house has old steel conduit running from light to light in the attic and all these lines are THHN or older cloth-and-rubber wire in conduit. Nothing is Romex. Here is the conduit grouping:

Conduit 1: 3/4" steel conduit from breaker panel to junction box. Contains 9 THHN conductors including the hot and both neutrals shown in diagram.

Conduit 2: 3/4" steel conduit from junction box with red load hot and neutral.

Conduit 3: 3/4" steel conduit from junction box with blue load hot and neutral.

Anybody have an opinion about this?


texts: Is convenient/needed to relocate while asbestos is removed from external panles in my flat?

texts:
In my building there are some works happening. I asked about asbestos to contractors and they told me probably won't be a problem because asbestos was banned from UK long time ago.

But now seems they have found some in external panels in all windows. They told us in a letter

  "The removal of AIB asbestos can now be carried from outside of
  building. However we still need to gain access to your property to
  seal around the panels. This should take 10-15 minutes to complete..."

After researching online and I have read that AIB asbestos is one of the worst. The contractors are watering the walls and told us to close the windows so I guess they have already started to remove AIB asbestos from other flats.

I have 5 months kid and I am worried about this. Should I arrange that my family moves away for some time during asbestos removal?

What is the risk involved?

I have some reasons to flee:

AIB Asbestos is the most dangerous
2 adjacent buildings with 6 floors each one and 4 flats per floor makes 48 flats.
My kid is only 5 months old.
Even if the removal is from outside they need to protect each flat.

And some reasons to feel safe...

Seems that they are watering the walls to avoid having dust and preparing plastics to protect each house.
The removal is going to be from outside.
The works are ordered by local council.


texts: How can I remove excess tile mortar from grout lines?

texts: I laid a tile floor in my bathroom and used too much mortar, which pushed up between the tiles.  There wasn't enough room for grout in some places, and now it looks messy and is difficult to keep clean.  Is there a way to remove some of the excess between the tiles?  I had though maybe I could soak it section by section with vinegar and then use a tool to dig some out.  Another option I can think of would be to do the same without the vinegar.  Does anyone have suggestions?  I'd rather not have to remove the whole thing and start over.  Thanks!


texts: How do I stain pine without streaks or blotches?

texts:
I did some test staining on pine scraps, and I ended up with a cross grain arc that's darker than everything else. Where did I go wrong? (Or is it just the pine?)

(Related to this question, as a follow-up. I realized I had already accepted an answer to the original, so this should be a separate question.)

I recently built a pine bench, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to stain it. My wife and I decided on Minwax Hickory Gel Stain because we wanted a darker finish. The Home Depot paint/stain department employee also recommended it along with Minwax Wood Conditioner for staining pine.

I applied the Minwax Wood Conditioner (oil-based) to a scrap 1x12, and then 15 minutes later I applied the Minwax Hickory Gel Stain (also oil-based) with a foam brush and wiped it off with a rag 5 minutes later. I noticed there was an arc of darker color going against the grain on the test scrap. Any ideas how this happened?

I made very sure that I sanded with the grain (by hand), starting with 100 grit, moving to 150, and finally 220. The only thing that I can think of is I wiped the sawdust away with a very slightly damp rag, without paying attention to grain direction. Then about 15 minutes later I applied the wood conditioner. Could the be the cause of the streaking? I'd like to figure out the cause before I move onto staining my actual project.

Also, I applied a second coat of stain 8 hours after the first. I let it sit for about twice as long before I wiped it off this time. I didn't notice much of a difference in color from the first coat. Is there something about gel stains that it doesn't matter number of coats/how long it's left on?

EDIT: Here's a photo (the streak starts in the bottom left and goes toward the top right):

The random little spots running in a line vertically are test distressing marks I applied, to see how they would turn out when stained.


texts: How often do I need to drain Boiler Expansion Tank?

texts:
I have an old style (without a bladder) expansion tank installed on my heating system. Recently i noticed that the water pressure fluctuates a lot in the system and wonder if that maybe because the expansion tank doesn't have enough air any more.

How often does one usually need to drain expansion tank?

What are other reasons for water pressure to fluctuate a lot during the day (almost hitting the limit when the safety valve is about to trigger).


texts: What coating to put on a flat roof so that it can be walked upon?

texts:
The house we've bought has an two-storey outbuilding.  The access to the second storey is some steps up the outside and then a 5 x 1 meter walkway along the back, with a door half way along it.  That walkway is also the ceiling for the (uninsulated) workshop underneath.

Due to various failings of whoever put it up originally, the roofing felt on this walkway has leaked, and the plywood underneath it is dangerously rotten, to the point that I've managed to put a hole through it to downstairs - not ideal.

I'm going to strip it all off, and start again.  The joists, thankfully, appear to be fine.

I plan to add firring strips to create a bit of a slope so that water doesn't pool on it, and lay 18mm ply (or OSB?) on top of that, and then coat in a suitable waterproof material.

The question is, what IS that material?  I frequently hear that one shouldn't walk on roofing felt - so what coating IS ok to walk on?

Thank you


texts:
I'm looking at getting a lot of concrete work done and am looking to educate myself past the minimal anecdotal information I posses to be better armed when talking to contractors.

What kind of reinforcing mesh should I insist on - sheets or roll? I've heard that roll is hard to make sure it's in the middle of the concrete and that improperly placed mesh can lead to rust stains on the concrete. (links are examples, not what I expect to purchase)

For some context, this is primarily for a driveway and garage floor.


texts: Can I replace the thermopile with a thermocouple in my water heater, and have it work properly?

texts: I'm having a tough time finding a thermopile at Home Depot, and lowes. I can find thermocouples all day long, and I can rig the wiring so I have no loose ends.  However, I know those two units don't generate the same amount of power. If I swap to the thermocouple, will I achieve "desired operation"?


texts: My new drywall patch is thinner than the old one? Why?

texts:
I purchased two large sheets of drywall for my garage ceiling and to patch some large holes on the wall. I installed wood strips to support the drywall patch. Everything went smoothly until I test fitted the new patch. For some unknown reason, the new patch is about 1/16 to slightly more than 1/8 thinner the the old patch, creating a noticeable inset. The edges are not flush anywhere around the patch.

I encountered this problem before when I used 1/2" instead of 5/8". I made sure to get 5/8" this time. I went to the trouble of measuring the thickness with a caliper and the new was 5/8" and the old was .647. I do understand that drywall is slightly tapered on the edges.  I also went to the trouble of screwing down the drywall edges of both to ensure they are seated correctly.  The finish on the old drywall cannot account for the discrepancies in thicknesses. What gives and how do I level it out without making a big huge mess?

EDIT:

Turns out the sheetrock is the same thickness, but the studs are not straight. I realized that the sheetrock screwed to the laths was on the same plane as the old drywall, but the ones screwed onto the studs were off, sometimes significantly. I really need to get out of the woodworker and machinist precision mentality and realize construction has a much higher error margin.


texts:
I am under contract on a house in AZ. There is obvious termite damage. The termite inspector found half a dozen spots (in rooms that hadn't been painted recently) near ceiling and top of walls where tubes where showing thru drywall. And, there's this in about 5 spots in the attic, mostly on top 1/3rd of horizontal 2x6s (that I could find easily):

...and this sporadically around fascia board. It looks like some fascia board was replaced and some wasn't. All of it was freshly painted and caulked. But, much (about half), you could easily break with your hands due to termites.

and caulked over...

My dilemma is obvious. My issue though, is that no one I hire seems willing to say anything other than: "This house had termites recently." --- well, you don't say?! Thanks for that!

How does one determine / asses the actual damage on a house that's had termites? Should I get another company that does the infrared imaging? Let's say I want to sell this house in 3 years. I'm confident I can repair visible damage, like fascia boards and I know the approximate cost. I want to know is there stud damage? Is the attic considered unstable at this point? How much of an issue is this and how often will it be an issue on future resale? Is it going to be like selling a meth home?


texts: How to wire 3 separate switches to a single exhaust fan

texts: I have installed multi port exhaust fan in the attic to serve 3 separate bathrooms.  How can I wire the fan so that the fan can operate independently from a switch in any of the bathrooms?


texts:
I just finished installing a cork tile floor (US Floors brand). If I do say so myself, it looks gorgeous! Cork is not generally recommended for a bathroom, but we felt that a half-bath should be a safe bet (not nearly the moisture around as in a full bath).

But just for peace of mind, I thought it might be a good idea to seal the cork -- the tiles themselves are pre-sealed, but not the joints (which are incredibly tight, but something could get through).

What should I use? Or should I even attempt to seal it?


texts: How should I ventilate an air-tight concrete room?

texts:
My house has an unused cistern that abuts the foundation.  I've cut a doorway into it from my basement and would like to use it as living space.  I would like to install a door to obscure and soundproof the room, but that would cut off the only source of air to this air-tight space.

I can install a vent by drilling through the basement wall at another location, but I am wondering how can I safely ventilate the 600 ft³ room so that several people can sit in it for hours at a time.

I would prefer a smaller hole, which will I imagine will require an fan as opposed to just a hole.  Does this mean I would also need a second hole to return air, or could enough air escape around the door?


texts: How can I add ventilation to my basement office?

texts:
I have a finished basement with an office, guest bedroom and bathroom. All about 700 sq ft.
I work 12+ hours in the office and really need to get some fresh air circulating by extracting stale air. I'm looking for a good method of doing this. I had considered running an air vent with a slow/continuations fan or a high volume fan that I can turn on a time for 15 minutes. The office is adjacent to a utility room and I'm concerned that too much of an exhaust could extinguish the water heater pilot light and cause other problem.
I do have an air-in vents (heat/cool), but nothing going back out (circulating).
The office is next to a window which opens to a window well.
Any advice would be appreciated.


texts: 300 ft Ethernet run parallel to 120v circuit

texts:
There is a boardwalk through a wooded marsh approximately 250ft long with no line of sight between the ends. Along one side of that boardwalk is an electrical circuit.
I need to establish an Ethernet connection between both ends of said boardwalk to transmit video feeds.

If I were to run an Ethernet cable on the opposite side of the boardwalk, might there be appreciable interference from the 120v 60 Hz AC circuit running in parallel for that 250ft with approximately 3ft of separation?

Would Cat 5e vs Cat 6 make much difference?


texts: Water filter effectiveness for lead removal

texts:
In light of the recent lead contamination in Flint, MI (USA) - I've been wondering which, if any, media are effective for removing lead from household tap water.

I currently have a custom filter system I build myself with 3 standard 10" filter housings containing (in order)

Activated Alumina
KDF 55 / GAC
0.5 micron Carbon Block

My intention at the time was to use alumina for fluoride, KDF/GAC for chlorine & chloromine, and the carbon block as a final stage for taste and any particulate that came through from the first two filters.  I know these technologies can filter more than the above but my question is, are any of these capable of removing lead and either way, is there another media that would be good to consider adding in to the system for this purpose?


texts:
I am putting together a bar top on my deck, and don't want to use pressure treated wood on the top surface (as I understand it that would be ill advised for an eating area). An option I am considering id using untreated Southern Yellow Pine lumber that is covered in solid stain.

Will the stain provide any protection against the elements?


texts: Why do garbage disposal companies suggest using cold water with their products?


texts: How to Identify an Unknown or Poisonous Gas

texts:
Situation
My office has a meeting room that is located on the ground floor with inward facing windows towards the bottom of very small and stuffy open air interior. This area is surrounded by six floors of residential property above and one subterranean level below our meeting room. The building dates from the 1900's. The courtyard in terms of appearance has lots of weird pipes and wires installed ad-hoc over the years alongside open lift shafts.
Problem
Every time me and my colleagues enter this room if the meeting is over ~30 mins we leave with symptoms of fatigue, dizziness and a reduced mental ability, it takes about 1-3 hours to overcome these symptoms.
Ideas
There is no question of complicity on behalf of the business and I'm cleared to buy whatever device is necessary to determine the cause of the issue but I have no idea how to deliver a diagnosis without wasting money. Ideas I've considered are:
Carbon Monoxide? - We have no gas burning appliances and none are in sight in the interior space which is empty.
Is it mains gas? - I can't smell gas.
Is it radon? - There is no history of mining in area.
Research
I've looked online for gas detectors but it seems you can only buy detectors for each type of gas, Butane, Radon and CO are the main ones. Most of these are in the $20 area but can cost up to $200.
Question
Is there a multi gas detector that can detect and indicate the precise cause? Online research does not point conclusively to any of them.
If not, how to proceed?


texts: Why is my aircon increasing relative humidity?

texts:
My HVAC unit in the bedroom seems to increase humidity when turned on. I live in the tropics so humidity is 50-80% on average. Even if its 55% outside turning aircon on it seems to reach a level around 70% and stay there. We don't lower the temp that much. from 30C down to 26C.
The unit is oversized but my understanding is that might make it ineffective at dehumidifying but shouldn't increase humidity right?
The unit does have a cool mode vs a dry mode. Cool mode the fan doesn't turn off even if the fan is set too low. Dry mode can reduce humidity < 60% but it reduced the temp to 22C regardless of the temp setting which is too cold for us.
The outside compressor is 10M+ from the bedroom so I worry the pipes aren't sealed as they are old. The compressor and aircon are new though.
I did recently buy a seperate dehumidifier (rated at 15L). When the dehumidifier is turned on when the aircon is it will produce a lot of water (about 5L from 9pm-7am) but the humidity doesn't go much below 70. In fact it might start at 60 and end up at 70 in the morning.
We also have a air-filter which is effective at removing outside PM2.5 during the night at a low airflow setting which makes me think the room is reasonably sealed from the outside. We do have an ensuite bathroom but we've blocked the ventilation holes between in the door inbetween.
Whats going on? Is there anything I can fix on the aircon unit, for example is it problems with leaks in the pipes?


texts: How can I install a steel sink if the mounting rails don't fit through the cutout?

texts:
I need a stainless steel double bowl kitchen sink (33 × 22, standard size). All the ones I see have these rails under the edge. This is to clamp the sink to the counter.

The hole I have cut is a bit too small so the sinks with rails won't drop in as the rails prevent that. Is there a stainless steel sink that doesn't have the rails underneath but some other way to clamp?

I really can't modify the hole for this project. Am I stuck with acrylic?


texts: Cable With Same Plug And Slot (RJ11), What's The Purpose?

texts:
I know most connectors that have the same type of plug and slot, or slot and slot, are generally used as extenders. However, I have a cable that's far too short to be useful as an extender. Yet, it's clearly RJ11 (6P2C) for both its plug and slot ends. What's the purpose of this connector, or any similar to it?

I have pics here (the first pic got some reflection and blur, but I can assure you that it's 6P2C):


texts: Options for a small, single room AC with no windows, no drainage possibilities, and not water vapor based

texts:
There is a room in our apartment which we use as an office that is always 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. The apartment is cooled using a standard central AC, however the room in question does not have a vent on that AC. I think the reason for this is it likely was previously part of the adjacent bedroom, which is separated by a thin, non-load bearing wall.

Because I use this room frequently, I'd like to add a small single room or portable AC unit inside of it. Here are the constraints that I have to work with:

The room does not have any windows, and cutting a hole through the wall to use to drain an AC unit is not an option
I cannot cut any holes through the wall into the adjacent bedroom
I think water evaporation based AC units are out of the question since it would not only counteract the central AC that does work brilliantly in the other rooms, but also the office contains a lot of expensive electronics that I'd rather not damage with water
Adding a vent in this room to the central AC isn't an option

If that doesn't eliminate all types of feasible AC units, it at least seems to eliminate the bulk majority of them. I've been unable to find an AC unit that could work in this type of situation. Maybe part of that is because without drainage or water vapor, I'm not sure how one would work. I guess if there was a type of unit that drained into a bucket, that would work. Does such a thing exist, or does anyone have any brilliant insight in terms of ideas?


texts: I am planning to put in a concrete widewalk around the corner of my house. I want to have a wood gate at the corner. Do I first put in the gate and pour the sidewalk around the posts or lay the concrete and attach the posts after.


texts: I am trying to get a long screw out of the box for a ceiling fan. The head is not stripped and the screw only comes out a little and then hits a point where it stops. I have tried screwing it back in and then out, but still no luck. This particular screw is attached to the fan box in the wall and to the attachment that holds the extension pole of the fan. Any ideas on what I can try?


texts: i just recently open a wall in my basement but there is a post on the center of the wall that Im contemplating on removing. So, my idea was to apply a steel plate to the side of the beam and some adjustable post on each side of the beam, ill take any input on this thanks


texts: How can I determine if dishwasher control panel needs replacing?

texts:
Three year old dishwasher just stops filling with water one day. The diswahser continues through the remainder of the cycle without ever filling with water. If the water supply is available, are there any mechanical issues to investigate? If this is indicative of a faulty control panel, how can I test that?

I'd like to confirm it is the control panel before I replace it.


texts: Can you wire a 30A 2P standard circuit breaker "downstream" from a 60A GFCI 2p circuit breaker?

texts:
Will this still provide GFCI protection?  Is this against code?  Does this represent a hazard?

I have a subpanel with a 60A GFCI circuit breaker, that I want to use that to feed to 2 30a 240v receptacles.  I'm looking to have GFCI protection on the lines, but also make sure the lines are protected for their rating.


texts: Shower drain removal with no rubber gasket

texts:
I'm trying to take out a shower pan. I have the drain cover off but am having trouble with the drain itself. Everything online suggests that I need to drill some holes and shimmy the gasket out to free the pan from the floor.

But my drain has no such gasket. It seems like instead there is a soft metal, I can drill into it but have not had much luck loosening.

Does anyone know what this is or how I can remove it? The home Was built in the mid 80s and I believe the shower is original.

Thanks!

Katy


texts: Do I need to dismantle the ballast on a metal halide bulb fixture before replacing with an LED bulb?

texts: Is it necessary to dismantle the ballast on a metal halide fixture before popping in a corncob type LED bulb? Halide is 120w, LED will be @45w.


texts: Where to get a fireplace door retaining clip

texts:
I have glass doors on my wood burning fireplace. The doors don't want to stay fully closed and I think the reason why is that the clips that hold them in have deteriorated over the years.

I've looked at the big box stores to try and find new hardware like the attached but I'm not having any luck. The way they fit is that they sit toward the top of the door. A screw goes through the clip from the inside of the door and then a brass knob acts as the nut on the outside of the door. The curved part you can see in the side profile is what is supposed to catch the top of the door frame to hold the door closed.

Does anybody know if this type of clip has a specific name or where I can order a couple?

Pictures of the clip and how it engages with the door frame: