texts: Securing base of floor cabinets to concrete

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I need to install floor cabinets to concrete floor. I see that there is a suitable board on the top of the back of a cabinet to secure the top but was wondering about the base. Should I attach a pressure treated 2x4 to the cocnrete floor 3/4" (thickness of the cabinet) and inside the cabinet so that I can screw the cabinet base to it on the other side?

I can see no other way to affix the bottom. Unless the bottom, for some reason (the weight of the counter top) does not need to be secured.


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I removed some trees and now widening my driveway as illustrated in the image below. Not sure how to proceed because I'm stuck on the following questions:

What type of driveway is it?  Dirt?  Crushed blacktop?  One thing I'm pretty sure of is that there must be a layer of crushed stone or gravel underneath because my driveway has been quite stable.
If I widen the driveway, do I have to change the crowning from the solid blue line to the dashed blue line or can the high point remain where it is?
Can what I'm trying to do be accomplished by adding material (i.e. 3/4" crushed stone + something finer - if so, what?) on the right. What I'm trying to avoid is a major digging project which achieving a consistent look across the width of the driveway.


texts: Ceiling Fan with light kit and remote on 2 different switches

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I want to install a ceiling fan that has a led light kit and an included remote control 2 different wall switches (one for fan and one for light).

The fan only has 3 wires (one for the motor, one for neutral, and one ground). There is no wire for the light. There are 4 wires coming out of the ceiling to use 2 switches and I would like to use the existing wiring in my house.

My question is how can I wire the fan to control the light and the fan on 2 seperate switches that are in my house. The fan also has an included remote control that I would like to use, if possible.

Instructions for the fan:
https://images.atgstores.com/pdf/278/irenehuggerlk-installation.pdf


texts: How do I properly lay a tongue and groove plywood subfloor in a remodel?

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When laying T&G plywood subfloors, do all of the edges need to be supported around the perimeter of the room? If so, I may need to add some sort of blocking in my project and I'm not sure of the best approach since the walls are sitting over the joists and therefore there is nothing for the edges of the plywood to sit on.

Do I need to run board parallel to the joist with the wall on it so the entire edge of the plywood sits on top of it? I've heard that I should use "blocking" and also that it should be "continuous" but these are contradictory terms to me at the moment.

From what I've gathered, blocking would be boards inserted perpendicular to the joists and to the edge of the plywood that needs support and therefore not be "continuous". The other option would basically be sistering the joist with the wall on it which could prove difficult since there are pipes and wires in the way.

Could someone please clarify what needs to be done?


texts: Do I need to lay plywood before I lay down cementboard?

texts: I'm remodeling my Bathroom and I had to lay down new 2 x 6" T&G boards. I plan to lay tile so I bought Hardiebacker (cement backer board). I was planning on laying down the backer board, lay thinset over T & G boards then backer board, but after reading a lot of sites I'm not sure if this is the best way to go. My tile area will be about a 4' x 5' foot section on the floor. I'm also reluctant to put down 1/2" plywood then backer board then tile because it will create a big lip between the bathroom and hall way.


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I purchased a Sonoff Touch which requires a three-way wiring system for lights, however, I only have live-neutral and no ground in my old house.

As you will see in the second image this is the circuit diagram of a livolo light switch which uses a half wave essentially to regulate the ac and use that dc to power its internals. I would like to know if there is a way to power a sonoff in a similar manner? Any other solutions would be appreciated! Thanks in advance


texts: Old electric baseboard heater thermostat wiring

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I have a question about an old federal pacific baseboard heater thermostat's wiring.
I disconnected this thermostat 2 weeks ago, thinking that we were going to remove the heater. Now we've decided to keep the heater, and I don't remember how the thermostat was wired.
The therm box has two lines in it: one in, one out. Each line has 1 black, one white, and one bare ground.
I have attached a pic of the back of the thermostat. It only has 3 places to connect. Poles 2, 3, and 4.
Can anyone help me out and tell me what hooks to each pole?


texts: What caused a new caulking job around a tub to develope pin holes within hours

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please help... I had a contractor replace old caulk around my bathtub yesterday. Last night I noticed a small pinhole which at first looked like a speck of dirt, Today there are several more pinholes, and the one that I noticed last night is now larger today. I notified the contractor and he tried to say I got the caulk wet or tried to clean it which did not happen. I knew that it would take at least 24 hours before I could run water in the tub or take a shower.  This guy is adamant that I did this...
I would like to know what caused these small pinholes.. To me, it looks like the caulk lines are too thin and when it dried, it separated causing the pin holes.


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I would like to have two thermostats controlling a single furnace. However I'm not 100% sure how I would need to wire everything to achieve the correct effect.

Assuming a thermostat simply acts like an on/off switch, I think that I could run another set of wires in parallel to the existing ones. I believe the current thermostat simply uses two wires. Would this work? Are there considerations as to the type of furnace or thermostat?

I'd add the second thermostat in the basement and normally keep it at a low temperature unless I'm in the room. As it is now with the thermostat upstairs, it's very difficult to keep a consistent temperature below.

I don't want to move the upstairs thermostat because if I'm not in the basement I don't care how cold it gets and the upstairs would become inconsistent.


texts: Water Droplets Forming Inside AC with Irregular Air Flow

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We've been using a Hitachi Split Inverter Type Air Conditioner for over a year now, and we recently had it service cleaned about three months ago (the recommended schedule is every eight months).
However, we recently noticed that some water droplets are forming inside the air conditioner: the first is on the metal grill-like section behind the two removable air filters, and the second is on the ceiling of the opening where the air is blown.
Another problem we noticed is that after a few days of being turned on, the air flow becomes irregular, as if the engine is having difficulty blowing air (e.g. instead of a steady "whiiiiirr," we get a "whirr... whirr... whirr...").
Based on the manual, the only maintenance we are allowed to do is just to remove the two air filters, rinse and dry them, and then put them back.
Any other maintenance needs to be called on their service department.
This seems to be so the warranty does not become invalid and for inexperienced users to avoid damaging the units.
Because of how limited the recommended maintenance is on the user's side, the only option we've tried is to just turn off and unplug the unit for some time (e.g. overnight or for two days). This seems to resolve the issue temporarily, but it keeps coming back.
Our first hunch is that some cooling and drain parts have frozen over, which is causing some water to collect, but water leaks very rarely and we only keep our unit in Dry mode.
The drain tube needing cleaning might also be a possibility, but we haven't checked yet because, as mentioned above, we recently had the indoor and outdoor units service cleaned about three months ago.
Any idea as to what could be causing water droplets to form despite the unit being in Dry mode, and any advice on our situtation?


texts: Outdoor kids playset - type of lumber use/look for

texts: I'm looking at getting a wooden playset (one of those with a rock wall, swings, slide, and small clubhouse up top) and I was wondering what type of lumber I should be looking for. Not so much the type of tree it came from but the treatment of the lumber after it was cut up. Should I find a set that is made from pressure treated wood or a non treated wood? I would guess that pressure treated wood would last longer and be less maintenance but is that safe for kids to play on for hours at a time? If I went with the non-treated wood, I'd apply a deck sealant to the pieces as I'd build it.


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My house had several cable runs left from the previous owner that were cut and redone with every TV service they tried. A handful of the runs were brought in from the outside of the house through external walls. (My external walls are all brick.

The cables were all cut to about 6 inches in length and pointed down to prevent water from coming in when I bought the house.

I would like to remove these completely, but I have no idea what to fill in the hole with...

Can I just fill it with Silicone caulking? When I had Fios come out and rewire the box to use the clean cable runs and cat6 runs I installed in the attic, they used a translucent blue goo that hardened after about 10 minutes where they ran the cable into the house, can I fill it with that? If so, what is the goo and where can I buy it?

Thanks!


texts: Electric wall heater keeps tripping off. What might be the causes?

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Just moved into a new house that uses in-wall electric heaters. Sooner or later, we'll be switching to a heat pump, but until then, I need these as it's getting cold.

Our first floor has two heaters connected to one thermostat. One runs fine, but the other keeps shutting off requiring that I take the front panel off and push in the reset button.

If I reset it, place the cover back, it runs fine for about 10 minutes then trips off.

If I reset it but don't place the cover back, it runs just fine and never trips off.

What is the cover doing that could be causing this unit to keep tripping off?

UPDATE:

I'm giving Ed the credit as his theory seems to fit the solution I came up with: I flipped the vent cover over.

The cover on it had all the fins pointing down. However, this heater wasn't the same as the other heater with the same cover...which seemed specifically designed for this cover. So, on a whim, I just spun the cover 180 degrees so the fins slanted up and the heater hasn't tripped since. Seems as if the upward fins allow more of the heat to get pushed out preventing the heat trip.


texts: Is my "two room, two switch, four lights" diagram correct?

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I have four lights altogether in two rooms that I want to power with one service. Each room has a SPST switch that will turn on two lighting fixtures in that room. I want to be able to turn the lights on in each room without having to worry if the other switch in the other room is on or not, so I do NOT want a three way switch setup.

I am also concerned with having to wire grounds in all my resistors as well. Do I need to, or is just wiring lead/neutrals going to work? I did not think it was necessary so my diagram does not have grounds included. However, my Romex is 14/2, so if I have to, the option is there.

I have been researching many videos/tutorials for this schematic, but can not find any that match what I am trying to do. I have also looked for some related answers here on Electrical Engineering, but could not find any that match. From what I know about parallel wiring, I believe I have this schematic correct, but I just need to make sure. Measure twice, cut once.


texts: Did I fry my Furnace Control Board? (C -> G rewire attempt)

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So while I was attempting to figure out how to get our fan to run independent of our heating/cooling, I looked at our thermostat wiring and discovered that it only had wires running to C, W, Y, and RC/RH.  I'd read that it was common in older homes for the "G" fan relay wire to get used as the Common wire, so I tried swapping the wire from C to G to see if it would work (and popping in batteries onto the thermostat, knowing that it was no longer getting power from the C line).
But it turns out I missed the critical part where you have to re-wire the control HVAC side as well.  So effectively, I likely ended up wiring the "Common" line to the "Fan Relay" line on my thermostat.  I switched the wire back to the original position on the thermostat, but it looks like I may have already done damage, as the thermostat now no longer powers up without batteries, and with batteries, I'm unable to start up the cooling or the heating system.
Is it possible that I fried the control board on the furnace, just by attempting this wire switch?
Additional context: It looks like the thermostat is functioning properly, in that I can hear it "clicking" on to attempt to turn on the heating or the cooling system... but it just doesn't seem to trigger anything on the HVAC side.


texts: Identifying a metal item buried in my backyard

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I was digging up a bush stump so we can pour a concrete pad for a condensing unit.  As I dug I uncovered the top of a metal object approximately 3-4ft long and 1.5 feet wide.  It's made of some kind of metal (hard to tell with a fair amount of earth still covering it).  It seems flat on the top and no apparent pipes so far.  I was thinking it might be an old buried fuel oil container, but from what I've researched its fairly small for that.  Any ideas?
Additional info: its about 6 inches from my foundation and another 6 from a more recent addition that protrude from the house.
I should also mention there was an oil storage tank in the basement but that was at least 6-10 ft away and has no obvious connection to this area.


texts: The dishwasher fills with water, but it doesn’t seem to be spinning, only producing heat. Upon opening you can see water on the bottom, it drains the water fine if I cancel the cycle. I’ve tried resetting using the 1-2-3 button cycle on front which did not work. No matter if the cycle is on tough normal light or express it doesn’t seem to work. I can hear intermittent clicking. All of the LEDS work. Any help would greatly be appreciated. The model is: kitchen aid KDFE104DSS4


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I know that knob and tube wiring needs an air gap to dissipate heat.

I know that modern sheathed cable does not need an air gap.

I know both are made of copper, one is grounded, one not. So why does one need an air gap and one does not?


texts: Need to run underground wire 530 feet from main 200 amp box, not sure how to get started?

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Basically i have the electrical service routed down to my main meter, then a 200A breaker box off of that.  This is permanently mounted to a service-pole outdoors.

I need to add power from that pole to a small cabin 530' away. There will be a 100A panel at the cabin.

I am worried about voltage drop, but will only need about 50A of service to the cabin.

I will be able to bury the wire 3' without problem I suspect, but I am not sure what gauge wire to use.


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96% furnace. The air intake was not directed and terminated outside as the old furnace was.  The installer said that over the years it has been determined that the inside basement air is better for the furnace.  Outside air intake is now old school. The pipe was there from the old furnace.  I’m not sure why they didn’t reattach it( instead cut it off ).
Also there isn’t any name plate on the furnace.  Installer said that happens at the factory.  Many brands come off the same line.  I looked inside for serial a number / date tag and found nothing. Seems like there is always something around the burner box area. Outside the furnace on the side is a model number G96vtn1002130a enter image description here


texts:
I have a 100 year old house in the Midwest. I took off a chair rail trim that was put up in the last couple years. Removing it peeled off several layers of paint from the wall in a few spots. And looks like it may have gone down to the plaster in a couple of the spots.  There's now a line around the room that's maybe 1-2mm below the level of the current painted surface.

What would be the best way to smooth this out? Sanding and spackling? I'm a total noob to this.


texts:
I recently bought a desk lamp from the 70s at an auction site, but sadly it did not survive shipping. Even though I will most probably be compensated by the shipping company, I wonder if there are any good ways of repairing the lamp?
It is made of plastic, and gluing it is a possibility, but there will still be visible cracks. Is there any good way of covering these cracks, perhaps? I'm really a newbie when it comes to repairing things, but very much willing to try with this lamp:)
I'm attaching some images -- any suggestions on how to repair it


texts: Running multiple camera cables from outside to indoors, do I use bushing and wall plate?

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I'm installing a security camera system.  The DVR will be inside, connected to 8 cameras outside.  All cables will terminate at the DVR. I have a picture of the cables below.  I'm going through a stucco outside to drywall on the inside.  I'm really not sure how to manage this many cables like this.  I've done coaxial TV cable, which uses a coaxial bushing on the stucco side and anchors to a wallplate on the drywall side.  But with 8 cables like this, do I use a single bushing on the outside stucco wall?  I can add a standard wallbox like the one in the picture, but what kind of a face plate would I use since I'm feeding the cables all the way through?
Thanks, if somebody knows the right way to do this.


texts: Run electrical wire outside in for new lightings for cathedral ceiling

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This is my living room and I am planning to install 9 recessed lights on the cathedral ceiling.

There is no attic space and there should be just 4-5" gap on top before it hits the roof.

I don't want to bring down the ceiling entirely just for this job. Notice that there is one light on top already but it's in the wrong location so it's not useful. The joists are going left/right to top beam. So running the existing wire to other locations will require drilling through ALL the joists.

One other information to know is that I have access to attic space NEXT to this living room area and I can see a big "triangle" so I could drill from there.

I have two options:

Run new wiring from the attic space (blue rectangle) to OUTSIDE the house and into the sides of the cathedral ceiling. I can drill holes from left and right (circles) where there are air vents into the top space of the ceiling:

I assume I could use outdoor wires and then just fill the hole with some hole filler material to seal it.

Drill 6 big holes (red rectangles) on the wall and drill on top to make a hole into space of the ceiling. Then run wiring from the wall up the ceiling.

This is more difficult as I just cannot figure out how to run the wire from the switch to inside the wall through these 6 holes. I assume I have to drill side-way through all the studs to run the wire. But this option seems "more right" than the first one.

Please let me know your thoughts on the two options or if there is a better way.

Thanks


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My bathroom sink drain was clogged.  Since drain stop had been out, figured something fell down hole into  p trap.   Anyway, when I went under sink, learned P Trap piece was connected to pipe with duct tape.  When tape was removed, top of pipe leading to cast iron drainpipe was corroded and crumbled in my hands.   Figured I would disconnect this pipe at base and get a new matching piece to replace it. (This pipe was about one and a half feet long with a small curved bend at top that P Trap attached to.)

Problem is I can not remove this pipe from cast iron pipe going down through floor.  Threading is on outside of cast iron, but this pipe is inserted into cast iron.  Should I attempt to cut this pipe and couple a new pipe to it? Or do I need to get plumber to do this?


texts: How to fix noise in my bedroom since change of furance/ac but not air ducts?

texts: I had furnace company back out and he told me it is probably a problem with a damper but it would be hard to find out where.  It is only loud in my room on second floor but not in other bedroom next to mine.  It is waking me up at night and I need to find out what to do.  Will air duct cleaning place come out be able to solve?  I vacuumed all ducts myself when we got new furnace-could this have caused the problem??  I really need to get this fixed!  Thanks


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A two-pole 30 amp breaker keeps tripping on a brand new dryer and is tripping more often as time goes on (was originally tripping every few weeks or so, now doing it every day), so I figured it would be worth a shot to just replace the breaker and see if that fixes it or the source is something deeper.

Unfortunately, the main panel doesn't seem to have a main 100-150 amp breaker or is a split bus, as I flipped all the breakers on the top half of the panel but the dryer was still live. It looks to be hooked up straight to the meter, so I don't think there's any sort of main switch upstream.


texts: I'm building an outdoor chest out of wood (frame) and PVC sheet (sides), it is approx 2 1/2 ft wide, 1 1/2 ft deep, 1 ft high. The box opens from the top like a toy chest, blanket trunk, etc. I need a lock for the top (lid). I'd like the lid and associated lock to be appropriate for exterior conditions (e.g., rain), not require a key (a combination lock, ideally digital or some form of keyless entry), and lock when the lid is closed (i.e., not require the user to actually lock the chest, it is locked whenever the top is closed). All of these characteristics are very important, especially that the lock engages whenever the lid is closed and requires no additional actions by the user. I've been looking at a few options but none of them quite meet my needs. Cam locks and mortise chest locks are either for interior use or require the lock to be engaged (rather than locking as soon as the lid is closed). Rarely do I see a lock that is not keyed. Can anyone assist?


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Background:

I have a Frigidaire fridge, model #LFHB2741PFAA with a double door refrigerator on top and a pull out freezer of the bottom. The ice maker is located in the upper left corner of the fridge. Two months ago the ice maker stopped working, so I had an appliance repairman come take a look. He showed me that the fan had been frozen stuck. His solution was to take everything out of the fridge for a few days and unplug the fridge to let everything thaw out. The ice maker just stopped working again and I noticed the fan in the ice maker is frozen stuck again, and the ice maker tray is filled to the top with ice that is rapidly melting.

Question:

Can I just use a hair dryer to thaw out the fan? I remember the appliance repair man saying not to do it, but I can't remember why. The only thing I can think of is the heat damaging the components in the ice maker. If that is the case will low pressure compressed air (at room temperature) be okay?

As an alternative solution, can I remove the ice maker tray so the ice maker warms up to the temperature of the fridge, thus melting the ice?

Is there another solution, that doesn't involve unplugging the fridge?

Why does this happen? Could it be from leaving the fridge door open for too long and having condensation build up on the fan? Could it be caused by low water pressure to the fridge?

Thanks,

Joel


texts: Efficiently heating an unfinished basement room

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My basement is almost completely finished except for a 180 sqft room. This room is right next to a utility space containing a high efficiency Lennox furnace. This photo is looking into the utility space from the room I plan to finish:

I'm planning to remodel/finish the room to be used as a home office and close off the furnace space, but I need a way to heat the room (cold long winters here in MT).

I thought about underfloor electric radiant heat, but it's expensive and not nearly as efficient as my furnace.

Given that the furnace is so close and accessible, is it possible to add a separate zone off the furnace to a single vent near the flow? Or any better ideas?


texts: Can a homeowner without a Section 608 EPA license legally connect his own gauges to his own air conditioner if the unit uses 410a refrigerant?

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It has been suggested by at least one moderator on this site that EPA Section 608, which restricts who can purchase and handle refrigerant, including who can connect a set of manifold gauges to a unit, applies only to CFC and HCFC refrigerants  (class I and II refrigerants).
Can someone please clarify if it is legal or illegal for a homeowner without an EPA license to attach his own manifold gauges to his own equipment if it is charged with an HFC such as 410a?
From reading sections of the statute (not just the EPA summary) it is my understanding that effective November 15, 1995, Section 608 applies not only to CFC and HCFC refrigerants, but also their "substitutes." [The EPA has separately stated the term "substitutes" is not meant to restrict the sale of refrigerants that do not contain Ozone Depleting Compounds, such as 410a.  Federal Register/ Vol. 70, No. 70 / Wednesday, April 13, 2005 / Rules and Regulations / ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY /40 CFR Part 82 [FRL–7899–3]. ]
Best answer from the EPA website:  http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/technicians_contractors_faq.html

Is EPA technician certification required to service R-410A systems?
No, at this time EPA technician certification (i.e., EPA Section 608 certification) is not required in order to service R-410A systems or other stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems containing HFCs.

It appears this activity is legal, provided the 410a is not intentionally released into the atmosphere.  +100 to Tyler for being first and closest to this answer.


texts: Did my dryer stop because the ground and neutral wires were connected?

texts: The ground wire from the cord and the neutral wire from the dryer were wired together the dryer ran great for about 25 min then quit. Would that be a reason for it to stop?


texts: About a week ago , I had someone to come in and replace my old RA116 stack switch with a Honeywell R8184G oil primary ,  for the first day it was fine, next thing I know the furnace turned off and didn't come back on until I pressed the reset, it then runs for a short period of time before it turns off again and the only way to start up back up is to press reset again. I should probably also mention that when it does run the fan turns on too early and stays on too long any help would be greatly appreciated


texts: Why is my refrigerator over-cooling to the point of freezing?

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Whirlpool  Mod.# GB2FHDXWQ01 Ser. # K02883627

With no change in use habits, temp dropped well below freezing in refer ruining produce in crisper drawers. Raising set temp has not raised box temp. This happened once about a year ago and seemed to self correct after some time. Nothing I did then seemed to help, same now. Why? Thanks.

Also, periodically, this thing will fill bottom of freezer (below frig.) with ice til water overflows basin. Easy to deice but a pain and now less than a week since last icing. turned off ice maker, no help. Temp now set at 3 out of 7 and holding right at 32 on bot shelf. 7 was usual set #. I hesitate to start replacing parts with no real idea what's happening. Jim.


texts: How can I open this door latch with the knobs removed?

texts: So my stupid roommates not only put tape in the door but also took the knob off. I closed it while doing laundry and they dont know where the knob is or pieces to open it. Can yall help


texts: How can I trace the path of plumbing lines inside walls without cutting holes?

texts: I am looking to install a shutoff valve for an outdoor faucet, and to do that, I need to locate the pipe leading to that faucet. I tried to trace it by listening for the hissing sound when the water was running, but that doesn't seem too reliable. Any better ideas (other than cutting holes in my walls)?


texts: Is it feasible to add a garbage disposal with this kitchen setup?

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Location: US, NYC. I am doing a partial renovation of a small kitchen in a 2-family house, and trying to keep the cost down if possible. Plumbing done, cabinets and backsplash installed, countertop and sink are coming soon. At this late stage, I've discovered that NYC recently allowed garbage disposals (I always thought they were illegal), and I'm wondering how feasible it is to add one.
The setup is on the diagram below. Questions:

There is an approximately 2 foot long approximately horizontal drain pipe run (usual 1.75 inch PVC) between the vertical drain line and the P-trap. Most of this pipe is behind drywall and cabinets and cannot be realistically changed at this stage. Would a garbage disposal be strong enough to push waste through, or would things get stuck in the horizontal pipe?
And what if the pipe is not quite horizontal, but slopes slightly?
Are there height restrictions for where the garbage disposal's output should be in relation to the P-trap and the horizontal drain pipe?
The P-trap is under the center of the sink, but my sink model drains on the right side. Are there any restrictions on the shape or type of the drain connection from the garbage disposal to the P-trap?
There is no dedicated switchable electric outlet under the counter for a garbage disposal, so I thought of plugging a wireless garbage disposal switch into the same double outlet as the dishwasher. Bad idea? Otherwise, the wiring job would be a bit complicated and would require breaking the backsplash.
Generally, does anyone have experience with garbage disposals in NYC?


texts: Can I straighten a 2x4 with just a planer?

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I never used a planer before so forgive my newbie question.
So if I have a bunch of rough 2x4's that have inconsistent sizes and may be a bit twisted, can I use an electric/cordless planer to make them straight? Like besides being flat, to have exact width and heights? Basically have them ready for gluing them together.

Or is it impossible and really need a tool like this (which is expensive):

?


texts: Smart Thermostat for Electric Baseboard Heaters

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I've seen some posts on line about smart thermostats for electric baseboard heaters but they all seem to be about installing Nest with relays and some complex electrical work.

Is there a method of controlling 240V electric baseboard heating using remote programable thermostats without cobbling together a makeshift system? I am asking about an approach, not a brand recommendation.

Maybe I'm missing something but I can't find any information  out there!

Any help here is appreciated. Thanks!


texts: Is this an adequate junction box wire job using a standard electric box? (pic included)

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I needed to splice a wire to repair nicked wire insulation, but I didn't feel like running to Lowe's just for a junction box.  Instead, I used a regular electrical box.

The wire comes up from the floor and into the bottom of the box.  The repair piece comes in from the top and will be wired up to the electrical outlet.  I twisted the wires together with pliers and nutted them all up real tight.  There are no exposed conductors outside the nuts.

I flipped on the power and, to my surprise, it worked!  However, before I seal up the wall, I want to know if I did this right.


texts: Vapor and moisture barrier for "above ground" basement

texts:
I'm finishing the basement of my home in New Jersey, and I'm a bit confused about the general guidance for basement moisture and vapor barriers.

My "basement" is built from concrete block. However, two walls are completely above grade, one wall is 1/2 buried, and one wall is 1/4 buried. Most of the stuff I've found online talks about preventing ground moisture from diffusing into the wall. However, ground moisture won't be a problem at all on at least two walls.

I'm planning on insulating either with Roxul rockwool insulation or with polyiso foam. (I haven't decided yet.) The polyiso foam comes with a foil backer that behaves as a moisture and vapor barrier. If I use the foam, I would put a thin layer behind the studs and then thicker in between.

I also am planning on spraying on a concrete sealant such as RadonSeal prior to building the walls and floor. We've never had any water problems in basement (probably due to the limited below grade sections) but I figure that it can't hurt.

Where do I put a moisture barrier (if anywhere) and where do I put a vapor barrier? If I use foam, which side faces which direction?


texts: To use a US shower head in India or elsewhere abroad?

texts:
So, I asked this question as I wanted to use this water purifying/ dechlorination/ calcium type of shower head outside the US.

I had also posted a similar question on Amazon, but I realize it needs knowledge of Plumbing parts and standards and if/ how they vary across the Globe.

Any experts share their wisdom on whether US based shower heads can be used in India and/ or other nations abroad? Directly or with some attachments/ fixtures?

Update: I figured someone here knows or can point me to "information" on standards of such things across nations.

For example, I was able to google Electrical Plug/ Socket Pins types and voltages etc and now know how most of it operates.

http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity_by_country

I found some orgs, but not yet any information on standards:

http://www.worldplumbing.org/
http://www.indianplumbing.org/
Is there a similar US site?

Any resources for plumbing that point out standards?

https://www.amazon.com/Culligan-WSH-C125-Wall-Mount-Capacity-Showerhead/dp/B0006VVN1S/

Q: Could this be used in India? and its filtering purifying mechanism be recharged/ replaced in time?

A: The only requirement for using this filtering showerhead is that it fits the pipe you want to attach it to.

It might be possible to use some kind of connecting pipe fitting to make the showerhead fit.

It filters using a replaceable cartridge.

The cartridge says it's good for 6 months or 10,000 gallons. I am the only one using mine and the cartridges don't last 6 months. I have to replace mine every 5 months but I love what it does to the water!


texts: How can I locate and solve this water hammer problem, and what are its effects on the human body?

texts:
I live in an 180 sq.ft. single room apartment with kitchen area, and is pretty much a simple box like shape.

For a year, I have heard noises that sounds like a rod banging in the wall and its vibrations are felt throughout the room. The noise is echoed in the room when I close the door and one small window.

Even when the door and windows are open, the noise can be heard as an echoed sound, making it difficult to determine where the actual plumbing pipe(s) are located, i.e: either in left, right, front, back or top wall(above my roof is terrace so assuming an pipe passes from top wall).
The echoing of noise is creating problem to identify the location of sound. I put my ear to the wall and try different locations to identify the location of pipe(s) but failed due to echoing effect of sound and the vibration.

The management of the building where I stay is not concerned about it, and the people here do not think it is a big enough problem to be concerned about, since they only hear it for 4-5 minutes.

But hearing it for 8-9 hrs a day creates a problem for me. The vibration is in the range of 0.2MMI to 0.7MMI (Mercalli Intensity Scale). Will this vibration affect my health?

When I hear the noise, I checked the machine which pumps the water in the above water tank located on terrace, but that was switched off at that time. I checked 4-5 times and everytime it was off, so I do not understand what could be the problem. What would be the cost if I call a professional plumber to solve the problem? My area of residence is Mumbai, India.

The water tank that is located on terrace has circular valves which when opened, the water flows to each room via pipes that are outside the wall as gravitational forces act on it.

How can I solve this problem?


texts: How can I wire a GFCI receptacle and a combination switch/receptacle device?

texts:
We are trying to install an outside receptacle box. We have one GFCI receptacle and one switch/receptacle combo. We want the combo to be protected by the GFCI. We also want the switch to control the bottom half receptacle of the combo.  The power source also feeds lights in an outside building past the box we want to install.

Can this be done?


texts: Bathroom and hallway lights keep turning off

texts:
I wonder if any one can give me some advice. We have been having problems with our bathroom and hallway lights. If hall way light is on and you then turn on bathroom light to go in bathroom. Bathroom light turns on but after a minute or so bathroom light turns off.

If I go out side bathroom  and try switching off and on bathroom light nothing happens. If I turn off hallway light then try switching bathroom light on, bathroom light will turn on again fine. But then hallway light won't turn on.  If I turn off bathroom light hallway light still won't turn on. But if leave for a while both lights will turn on.

It also happens the other way round too. So If I have bathroom light on and turn hallway light on after a while hallway light turns off if I turn off bathroom light I can some times get hallway light to turn back on

What could be the problem. I don't think it's the bulbs. The bulb in both lights are fairly new and have tested both in different lights and they work fine.

Could it be the switch.  Both the bathroom and hallway lights are on same switch, or could one of the lights be shorting the other or is it more likely a wiring problem. Any advice before I call out a electrician.

Bathroom light is like a square box on ceiling  and hallway light is a normal pendant light hanging from ceiling with a energy efficient bulb in it.

Any advice much appreciated
Thanks in advance


texts: How can I safely connect a 240v shallow well pump to a switch?

texts:
I have a shallow well supplying utility water on a rural property. It's currently plugged into a standard 120v outlet. I'll be running a dedicated 240v circuit using 12/2 cable so I can use the pump's optional 240v mode. I'd like to use a common double-pole switch (four-way) to allow us to disable the pump when we're not on the property rather than always unplugging it.
Should I hard-wire the pump's cord into the switch in a junction box, or should I install an aftermarket 240v plug? If the latter, what plug type is appropriate?


texts:
For some reason, this summer, the fruits I got had lost of fruit flies.  It led to an infestation in my apartment, which I got rid of using a cup containing a shallow amount of apple cider vinegar, to which I added a few drops of dish detergent.  I covered the cup in saran wrap in which I poked 3 holes that were more than big enough for a fruit fly to enter through.

Part of the problem is that I don't change the kitchen garbage every day.  It is a 10L garbage can, and it would be very wasteful to change it every day because I generate a neglegible amount of daily waste.  So even though my cider trap kills the existing fruit flies, whenever I lift the garbage lid to throw stuff out, more flies come out.  They eventually get trapped by the cider, but it's annoying.  I've taken to squirting the vinegar into the garbage can whenever I open it.  It seems to keep the problem under control.  In fact, lately, it seems to have eliminated any fruit flies even when lifting the garbage lid.  The vinegar does dry up, so it's probably too hostile an environment for the flies to mature form the larvae stage.

However, I have found larvae around the edge of the garbage can.  It's a good quality can, SimpleHuman 10L.  They seemed quite inanimate, probably due the the vinegar.  For good measured, I soaked them again, then wiped them up.  Unfortunately, dead-looking larvae also seemed to be in crevices in the garbage can that required vacuuming.  Now, I took the precaution of tossing the vacuum bag, but it was a huge waste because it was largely empty.

So my question is, how likely is it that these dead looking larvae are actually alive but inanimate because of the vinegar trauma, but still have a potential to revive?  What if they are simply very sedentary and not dead?  If they are likely to revive, then I have to throw out an almost empty vacuum bag every time I vacuum up such larvae, which is not only wasteful but expensive for high end vacuums and environmentally criminal.

P.S. Some of the crevices were such that even vacuuming left one or two, and I drenched them in 70% isoproppyl alcohol.  I later read that fruit flies saturate they offspring with alcohol, so that probably wasn't a great idea.

P.P.S. Just a heads up...vinegar is not the greatest thing to spray into a garbage can.  It may be a high end stainless steel can, but the screws will turn into molten pulps of rust.  Isopropyl alcohol is a good alternative.

P.P.P.S. I posted this to usenet and Stack Exchange.


texts: Correction for garage door opener that leaks current to bulb?

texts:
I've got an Alister Access 3000 garage door opener.  The normal light bulb is a standard rough service 60 watt incandescent.  It has the unfortunate side effect of melting the plastic lens cover over time.  So, this time when I ordered a new lens cover I also ordered a Genie garage door opener LED bulb as that won't be so hot.

However, after installation and about 10 seconds after plugging the door opener back into the power the LED starts to glow softly.  It goes full brightness when it should, but instead of "off" it always glows slightly.  Presumably this door opener was not designed with such a sensitive light bulb in mind.  Any easy modifications to keep it from glowing?  Does not seem to be a huge problem (and honestly it makes for a nice night light when coming in the ped door in the evening), but I feel like I should at least attempt to correct it...


texts: What size breaker and wire do I need for a kiln drawing 32 amps at 240 volts?

texts: Wiring for a ceramic kiln 32 amps 240 volts


texts: So I thought I understood the charts for natural gas pipe sizing but now that I have added everything up I am confused. The gas line coming from the road to the meter is only 1” line. So it doesn't make sense to me to go bigger than 1” but if you add up my appliances they add up to 305000 and the farthest run would be about 50’ from the meter. (I should probably clarify I plan on running one line from the meter 30’ to a manifold then branching off the manifold for each appliance) That means I would need 1 1/4 for my first section of line to the manifold. But that's bigger than the line coming from the road. My plan was to use CSST for everything but it's sounding like I may be better of running 1 1/4” iron pipe to the manifold. Could someone help me understand this better?  Thanks.


texts: How can I cut detailed wooden monograms out of 1/4 inch plywood?

texts: What is the best way to cut a 20 inch vine (font) monogram with a circle around it, out of 1/4 inch Baltic birch plywood? I have seen them everywhere but I'm finding it extremely difficult to cut out with my jig saw. Are there better tools and/or techniques available that would make it easier?


texts: April Aire 600 powers off while furnace is firing

texts:
After having a new furnace and AC installed in the summer of 2018, replacing my 20-year old equipment, the existing AprilAire 600 whole-house humidifier behaves differently than before.

During the time that the furnace burners are not firing, the humidifier panel is lit, the water runs when it needs to, and the humidity is adequate in moderate weather.  When the burners kick on, the humidifier control panel powers off completely and nothing happens until the burners kick off again. Once the burners turn off, the panel powers up, displays an error message (r1) for a few seconds, and resumes operation.  This is really only a problem when the weather is really cold because not enough water gets to the panel when the furnace fires more frequently.
The furnace is Trane, 2-stage and the AC is American Standard, 1-stage. The AprilAire controller is digital, and the thermostat is Ecobee.

Is there a common or likely mistake during install that could cause these symptoms?

Furnace model: S9V2B080U3PSBA
AC model: 4A7A6030J1000A


texts: What are my options to fix cold and drafty floors over a vented crawl space?

texts:
I have a 1950s bungalow that sits on a crawl space.  The crawl space is vented and has moisture problems (which I should/will fix, but that's not the main point of this question).  R19 insulation is installed between the floor rafters.  Some of the floors sit on OSB, while the older/non renovated parts sit on slat subfloor.

The floors are extremely cold and drafty.  What are my options to keep the floors warmer and less drafty in the winter?

Will crawlspace encapsulation help?  What would be the most effective solution to fixing the cold/drafty floors?


texts: 3-way switch not working properly: why will one switch not turn off the light?

texts:
I wired this setup approximately 15 years ago. It worked perfectly, it’s in the master bath.

I changed a single light switch in the bedroom, a regular black white and ground. After that, the 3-way in the bathroom isn’t working properly.

I can turn the bathroom light on from either switch but the opposite switch won’t turn the light off. I’m baffled. Any ideas?


texts: How should I connect my Lutron Casetas switch with only one hot (black) wire?

texts: Within the wall switch box, there is a single black wire, neutral wire, and ground wire. I'm installing the Lutron Caseta dimmer (doesn't require a neutral wire connection). On the Casetas, there are TWO black wires. How do you recommend I connect the two components?


texts: Circuit is broken when switch is screwed into box, but not outside of box

texts:
1954 House with original (cloth over rubber) wiring on the main floor.  Replacing fan and light with simple overhead light fixture and toggle switch with a dimmer switch.  Box has an incoming conduit and an outgoing conduit.  When I pulled out the toggle switch, one screw had a dark wire and the other screw had two dark-colored wires attached.

Box Contents:  2 green (ground) wires nutted together, 2 white (neutral wires nutted together), and 3 dark-colored wires (one is hot, two are not).

After installing the dimmer and capping off the other dark-colored wire, my bathroom and hallway lights were out. When I tried to connect the third dark-colored wire to the switch, reinstall and turn the power back on, the circuit broke.

I figured out that this was a switch loop, removed everything, looked for signs of frayed wires, tried to organize as much as possible, pigtailed the ground wires, pigtailed the hot/bathroom/hallway wire, re-nutted everything, taped around the edges of the nuts, and turned the power back on without putting the switch back in the box.  Everything worked fine.

When I added everything back to the box and tried to screw it down, the circuit popped.  I turned it all off and waited a day thinking that maybe I had fried the dimmer the first time.

Tonight, I re-inspected and connected to a regular single pole switch.  With the power off, I put the switch in the box, screwed it down and then turned the power back on.  The hallway light turned on, but when I hit the switch on the GCFI lightswitch/power combo in the bathroom, the circuit broke again.  When I removed the switch from the box and tried again, all of the lights and switches work.

Can the electrical box be bad?  Any ideas?

This is in a plaster/lathe wall and is not able to be pulled or easily cut out.  Does it sound like I have a short in one of the wires and its only happening when put into the box?


texts: I am trying to find out if I can use a 14/3 cable to power two separate circuits, and to do that I know I must use two separate phases, but I am not sure how to do that.


texts: Can I drill 3-1/2" holes through five joists?

texts: I need to move a toilet to the other side of room approx. 6 ft. I will have to drill a 3.5 in hole for the waste line in five floor joists on the second floor. Can I double them and still drill the 3.5 in hole and be in compliance?


texts: Length of insulated copper line set for a central air conditioner

texts: How long can a insulated copper line set for a central air conditioner be outside the home?  Is there any problem with it being as much as 10 ft.?


texts:
What tools and materials do I need to replace a fence post?  What steps should I follow?

For example, a fence post in the middle of a 6-foot tall wood privacy fence.  Each panel has two 2" x 4" (nominal = 1½" x 3½" actual) rails.  The ground is topsoil over a mix of sand, silt, and rocks.


texts: What are the names for a light-duty hoist/pulley system components?

texts:
I'm planning to create a storage rack for tires in my garage, similar to this one:

Only that my garage has high ceilings, and I want to hang it way higher. It's not safe to climb up the ladder with big SUV wheels in hand, so I'm planning to install a simple system of two pulleys to help me raise and lower the wheels (Raise them one by one to the needed height, and then just pivot them into their place on the rack by hand).

So basically I need something like this bike lift, but only with one hook:

What are the proper names for the components of this system? I think I need one pulley with hook, and one pulley with a brake and a bracket to attach to the ceiling. I'm not asking for a product recommendation, I'm just asking for correct names for these things because using these terms I can't find anything.

A related question is, would it work to buy a bike rack like this, and only install one hook on it? It lists capacity of 100lbs, so should be enough for one tire.


texts:
I just moved into a 2 family apartment. The porch leads to two doors,
one for the upstairs apartment, and
one for the downstairs apartment.

The upstairs entryway has a relatively thin space
to the side of the stair bannister,
but wide enough for my commuting bicycle,
(although I'll probably roll it in backwards,
so the handlebars never get caught). I plan to place my bicycle there,
but I want to ensure that I do not scuff up the walls,
as I roll it in and out each day.

I want to cheaply line the walls
without altering (scuffing, penetrating) the walls. I figure 3 planes of material could do it,
(for the left, right, and back walls),
but I'm not sure of which material could be:

Sturdy enough to stand on its own weight
Thin enough to not significantly reduce the already small space
Light enough to rest against the wall without cutting into it if it shifted slightly
Purchased in sizes 5 ft. tall
Cheap
Possibly still aesthetically pleasing

Ideas included:

Corregated cardboard (where could I get sizes large enough)
Sheetrock/drywall (I think these max at 4 feet)
Plastic (what type? clear would be aesthetically pleasing)


texts: What are the specs for the Aprilaire 600 humidity sensor?

texts:
The manufacturer replied to me that the humidity sensor used in their devices is "proprietary".  They didn't even answer my first question: "is the device based on capacitance or resistance?"

In this other stackexchange question I asked about how I might alter the circuit to deliver more humidity than the device does when turned to the maximum setting; the device reads 45% and turns off while my house only gets to 35%.  That question presumes a mechanism based on capacitance based sensor, and includes a circuit for how to "fool" the device into seeing a lower humidity than the sensor "sees".

In order to execute on this modification, though, the information I'm asking for in this question would be very helpful.  Regardless if the humidity sensor turns out to be resistive or capacitive technology, knowing the specification would allow me to design a circuit modification.

Has anyone been able to find the specifications or do your own test on the humidity sensor component used in Aprilaire humidity controllers?

The sensor on my controller looks like this:


texts:
I am looking to add some storage space to my bathrooms by installing some wall-mounted, pre-built upper cabinets.  The bathroom is arranged such that the only reasonable location for a cabinet would be directly behind/above the toilet.  The bathroom's vent fan is directly above the toilet, and installing the cabinet here would mean that the vent fan would be pointing at the top of the cabinet.

I'm concerned that I might be inadvertently blocking the vent fan's airflow and reducing its effectiveness.  How much clearance is required below a vent fan for it to operate normally?  I haven't found any such numbers in product manuals or install instructions, could there be an relevant building code?

I don't know the particular model of my vent fans, but this is a US home around 10 years old.  The bathrooms have 9-foot ceilings.  The fans are mounted near-ish the walls, but have at least 30 inches clearance on the sides and 48 inches in the front.


texts: I have a Frigidaire gas wall oven that is no longer heating. It was working off and on the past couple of weeks but now is not heating at all.  All the electrical functions work and the igniter mechanism is turning on and heating (see picture), the gas is just not triggering.  The separate range/stove right next to it is working fine.  I saw this video that says there's a thermal switch in the back but I wanted to see if others have ideas about this before I pull the oven out of the cabinet.


texts: Combining polyiso and mineral wool for class A fire rating

texts: You aren't supposed to install Polyiso in your house without putting something like drywall in front of it in order to meet fire code, unless you're using something like Dow Thermax which meets fire code by itself.  Generally speaking, could I put mineral wool over the rigid foam board instead of drywall?


texts:
So I was doing some work in the garage a few months ago and dislodged about a lemon size chunk of what at the time I thought was just some old concrete which fell on me and left some dust on a sweatshirt I was wearing.

Fast forward a few months and it turns out it's most likely asbestos.

Main questions:

Does washing remove/reduce asbestos? This sweatshirt has been washed multiple times since this happened.
Is my washing machine and are any other clothes that were washed with the item above contaminated?

For question #1:

This link would appear to say yes.
However some other questions on this site seem to say no to #1 and yes to #2.

What is the correct answer?


texts: My 50 amp GFCI Breaker tripped periodically so I disconnected the load wires from the lugs and turned it back on And after about a minute it tripped again. I then changed the breaker and it tripped again. It is a new 200amp service. Is the main 200 amp breaker bad or could it be a load imbalance from the power source, there is a commercial water well across the road.


texts: What are the black tubes protruding from my basement slab?

texts:
My house in Canada is 14 years old . From original construction, rising up out of the concrete basement floor are 18"  black tubes about 3/4 inch O.D. in three different locations . What are they for ?  Can I cut them off at floor level and seal them off ?  Any info is greatly appreciated .
.


texts: Can 12"x12" ceilings on ground floors typically be made solid/permanent?

texts:
This sort of ceiling:

would normally be found in a basement. The justification is to maintain easy access to electric, gas, and water fittings.

What if you see such a ceiling on the ground floor of a bungalow? Do you say:

I can replace this with solid boards. It will take a small bit of time and money, but it can be done, or
Whoever left this ceiling easily accessible meant for it to remain this way. If I replace it with solid boards, I'll forever (even if not often) need to break a section to fix something, and then meld the hole.


texts: Hanging unframed stained glass-type panels

texts:
I have two stained glass panels that are literally just glass all along the edges.  They are roughly about three feet by about a foot each.  I think they were panels in a piece of furniture originally.  I scored them at a garage sale for like 10 bucks - so I couldn't pass them up.

Anyway - I would love to hang them in my bay window - in the two middle bay window panels that do not open.

My question is - how do I do this?  I am not a glass-maker so am not going to try to drill holes in the glass.  I also do not solder so I am not looking to make a frame and hooks that way.  I would in fact simply lean them against the window - but they are a few inches short and would lean on the actual windows themselves.  Plus I have two cats so I need them secure.

I am open to almost anything that does not require a huge expense and/or weird specialty tools.


texts: How do I build an "internal frame" for a reclaimed wood door?

texts:
I heard that doors like the one below are made with an internal frame, and then it receives the faces of reclaimed wood.

How is the frame constructed and how are the wood boards fastened to the frame? I tried to find some instructions or diagrams without success.


texts:
A plumber came out to my house yesterday and had this tool on his arsenal which was basically a 3 or 4 ft long thin (1/2") fiberglass pole with a metal tip on the bottom and a handle on top which makes it look like the letter T. Here's a quick sketch of it I made in paint:

He used it to help find the cleanout for the waste line before digging by pushing this tool into the ground.

I think it would be a handy tool to have, but cannot put a name to it that works in search queries. What is this tool called?


texts: LED bulb won’t work in a standard outside porch light fixture

texts: I can’t get LEDs to work together in twin wired Port Charlotte lights. I can put in an incandescent light with an LED bulb and just the led works. I put both LEDs in and neither works. I put both incandescent lights in and they both work. Power shows present on voltage meter. Could it be the switch? I have a standard light switch from 50 years ago technology


texts:
I am wanting to build my own spacious house. This is on my pretend world where my family members are the first to be on the planet after scientists so there are no building codes just yet. I have looked up "How to build an exterior wall". Some of the pages I looked at say to do the floor first and then attach the wall to the floor. Others say to do the wall and floor at the same time or to build the walls first and then the floor.

So I looked up "How to build a wood floor". The pages I looked at for that say to build the exterior and interior walls first and then attach the floor to the walls.

So which should I do first, the walls or the floors?


texts: Replace o-ring on Ideal Standard 'Silver' Bidet

texts:
Ideal Standard 'Silver' Bidet has this little swivelling nozzle on the spout. The o-ring on this deteriorated over time, leading first to leakage around the nozzle, then it came off all together. Photo shows the various parts:

A: Remaining end of tap; note bulbous shape.
B: Inner part of swivelly nozzle (bottom view).
C: Inner part of swivelly nozzle (top view).
D: Outer part of swivelly nozzle with worn-out o-ring.

I have a heap of replacement o-rings of different sizes, but I can't figure out how to put it back together. Clearly B/C screws together with D. I surmise (perhaps incorrectly) that the o-ring serves, not only to provide a water seal, but also to physically retain B/C on the bulbous part of A. But there's not much of a lip inside C to retain the o-ring. And how to put the pieces together? I can preinstall the o-ring over A, but can't then persuade it into C. I can preinstall in C, but when I try to push it on A, the o-ring just slides down inside A, refusing to ride over bulbous A.

Any ideas?


texts:
When I'm trying to sleep I hear a high pitched, ringing noise. I can only hear it if everything else is quiet. I've considered if this is a medical issue, such as tinnitus, but before jumping to conclusions I would like to check the room itself for sources of noise. Are there any tools available for doing that? I installed an app on my smartphone for measuring the sound level, but I don't think it's very accurate.

I know my baseboard heater sometimes squeals but I turn it off and can still hear the noise. Also my computers power supply sometimes whine but I tried unplugging it.

Why don't I just go somewhere really quiet to see if I can still hear the noise in my ear so I can find out if it's a medical problem or really is the house? There actually aren't as many places as quiet as the bedroom (but if you have any suggestions let me know). I've tried going to a library but even the shuffling around of people is nosier than my bedroom at night.


texts: Why did the fill valve in my toilet pop up?

texts:
The fill valve in one of my toilets popped up with enough force that it lifted the toilet cover up and nearly off the toilet. Anyone heard of this happening, and any ideas what might have caused it? I pushed it down and it clicked, and now everything works again (see picture).
My best and only guess is that it has something to do with in-tank toilet cleaner thing that was in there (we moved in recently, I didn't know it was there). Maybe it was floating around free and got caught on something? I'm not sure, this all happened when I wasn't in the room.
Bottom line is I'm probably going to replace the fill valve, I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight into what might have happened.


texts: Can I put 42W CFL bulbs into a fixture marked as "R20 Halogen bulbs up to 50W max"?

texts:
Both the fixture and the bulbs are E26 standard medium socket; so they definitely fit.

And I'm pretty sure the wattage is fine (42w < 50w).

I'm just worried about causing a safety hazard... Would combining these non-"R20 Halogen bulbs" into this "R20 Halogen bulb only" fixture create an unsafe lighting installation?

I should mention that the fit is rather tight, and that although 100% of the bulb and 50% of the base of the bulb are uncovered, the bottom half of the bulb's base is tight against the edge of the fixture.

Please let me know if additional information is needed.


texts: Why are there 2 wires taped together? 2 white and 2 black

texts: I'm switching out all my outlets and found that every white and black wire has an additional one taped to it. What is the reason for this and should I redo the connections with caps?


texts:
I have a guesthouse with an unusual door, 32" x 76", and it needs a screen door.

Home Depot has tons of cheap-o screen doors that could be cut down to maybe 32" x 78" safely, but an additional two inches will probably cost my screen door structural integrity.

I've thought about building a screen door, but -- well, I lack some of the tools I think I'd need, namely: a planer, a joiner, and mortise and tenon jigs. I have a table saw, but it's disassembled and I have no where to actually run it. I do have a circular saw, a router, a jigsaw, a miter saw (chop saw), and a hand drill (all electric).

I could order a custom screen door for $250-300, but I can't believe there isn't a less expensive solution out there. I spent $300 for the door itself -- and can't believe I should have to spend another $300 just for a screen door.

Most of the plans I've found on the net require tools I don't have, and are overly complicated for my guesthouse's needs.

Here are a couple of possibilities, and I'd really love your feedback:

Could I accomplish what I want with just some pegs and maybe a couple of L-brackets? Or will that be too weak with the constant slamming of the door?
Is there a simple way to construct a mortise and tenon jig that would enable me to use only my router and maybe a drill for this project?
Am I missing some other obvious option?

Where are you when I need you, MacGyver? ("macgyver" should really be a tag here on diy.)


texts: I replace the cartridge (1225) on my Moen bathtub faucet. It is still leaking. I removed the cartridge and noticed there were grooves in the valve body. I want to know if there is a fix without replacing the valve body.


texts:
What's the correct orientation for a plug in this outlet? What are line, which are neutral, which is ground?

It's from India.


texts: How can I verify the integrity of smoke detector interconnect wires?

texts:
I inherited an existing installation of four smoke/CO detectors. They are all First Alert 3-wire AC-powered units. The test button on each detector produces some weird behaviors:

Some detectors only sound locally, without producing alarms elsewhere.
One detector sounds locally and also produces alarms all over the rest of the house (very loud; I can't tell for sure if every detector is sounding).
One detector doesn't sound locally, but produces alarms elsewhere in the house.

Something is obviously amiss here, and I intend to figure it out. Before I accuse the detectors themselves of being faulty and replace some/all of them (they are only two years old), I want to verify the integrity of the interconnect wire that they all share. Problem is, I can't do a simple continuity check because I don't have multimeter probes (or arms) nearly long enough to stretch across the house.

I'm thinking, after cutting the breaker, of temporarily tying the interconnect wire at one of the detectors to either hot, neutral, or ground and verifying that same continuity exists within all the other detector boxes, but I don't know if that's the best way to go about it.

Anybody have any better ideas for determining if my problem is the detector(s) or the wiring?


texts: What fire hazard considerations are there when creating a cable hole between rooms?

texts:
Can't believe this hasn't been asked before, but I can't seem to find anything so...

I've currently got a very light, very thin 32" TV mounted on the bedroom wall. It's perfect - except for the fact that I'd love to make it a bit more minimalist and put the cables through the wall it's mounted on, into the fitted-cupboard in the room behind it.

In my mind, the best way of handling this is to drill a hole straight through the wall into the cupboard, reinforce it with a bit of metal piping or something, then block both ends with some sort of plastic/sponge filler.

However, I'm worried about fire safety - I've heard that if you start to play around with holes between walls, it can seriously degrade the compartmentalization of the rooms and fire can spread more easily.

Am I insane? Too cautious? Or are there serious considerations when mucking about with the integrity of 'rooms'.


texts: I had a pre-existing area remodeled to add a shower stall. Within a week the drain is extremely slow. Nothing has entered the new drain. It drains when I use a plunger, but continues to drain slowly right after. What could be causing this problem?


texts: Where can I store outdoor patio or deck furniture over the winter?

texts:
I have a variety of plastic / wood / metal patio furniture that I am looking to store over the winter.
Unfortunately, I don't have space inside to store it.
We usually see temperatures of about 10 degrees below freezing during the winter.

What is the best way to store it?


texts: How to remove an old wood stove brick chimney?

texts:
I need to remove what is left of an old wood stove chimney that was partially removed from the top at roof level (one story) and the opening roofed over.

What is the best way to break out the bricks?


texts: How to fit clothing rails into plasterboard to hold adequate weight?

texts:
I am converting hallway storage into a wardrobe.  The dimensions are

h 234cm
W 132cm
D 45cm

I would like to put up two rails for clothing and some shelving for loose items

My question is how would I fit the rails into plasterboard style walls so they can support the weight of potentially many clothes.

Are there certain fixtures or fittings I can buy? Is there anything  I should consider before I start?


texts: Is it normal for the A/C to be dripping from top pvc that's coming from attic?

texts:
I thought I remember being told that water should drip (condensation) from the bottom pvc that comes out of the house but it should never drip from the top pvc.  I thought he told me that if it dripped from the top it meant the "pan" was full and needed to be emptied.  I was told recently that it's normal for them to both drip some because of the humidity right now.

I'm not sure which answer is correct and if there is something I need to do about it now.


texts: What do I need to consider when enlarging a basement apartment by opening up an attached garden shed?

texts:
I would like to open up a wall made of cinder bricks between a finished basement  (back split) and the garden shed that is an original  part of the house.

I would then have the garden shed space framed in and insulated.  I would put in a door between these two spaces and the garden shed would then be used a a closet for the apartment.

Do I need to have 6 foot steel heading installed?


texts: Should I install gutters before addressing draining in the yard?

texts:
My house doesn't have gutters or downspouts, so I'm planning to install them. Parts of the yard also remain wet for days after a rain, so I'm planning to install some kind of drain system in the yard (as well as fill in low spots, address slope, etc) to drain much of the water out to the front of the property.

The downspouts would tie in to the drain system, but should I install them first? Is it necessary for the downspouts to be present in order to tie them into the drains, or would I just need to know their likely locations?


texts:
My kitchen is an extension of the house. Most of its walls are outside walls. It's extremely cold in winter (down to 7 degrees celcius). Its unique window seems old too.

The problem is it's very humid, to the point that mold formed at several spots. Food inside cupboards has also been affected by the humidity. (for instance sugar is not powder any more but forms pieces).

Why is it so humid? Can the possibly reduced air tightness of the old window be the culprit?


texts: Is it Okay for ceiling light bulb sockets to have open gap to attic?

texts:
I was noticing the filthy green bottle flies in my home thinking they are sneaking through an open door. But their numbers keep increasing even though I keep killing them.I investigated and it turned out they are coming from attic possibly through ceiling light bulb sockets.

I started putting net around socket along many bulbs and there numbers has decreased significantly. I even captured one in the socket and it's now not there so only way to escape is that it has gone to attic (or if its hiding behind the bulb).

Is this normal that the bulb socket has some kind of narrow opening to the attic where they can sneak through and come from? Should I fix this issue?

I have full insulation in attic and there is no way I can walk there so that's another part of my question, what should I do? I live in boston area, could the winter freeze finish them off if in worst case I don't do anything and just fix the ceiling sockets and block them?


texts: can i use an inline exhaust to vent a kitchen and bathroom?

texts: I have 2 bathrooms and a kitchen that are currently unvented.  I would like to install an inline exhaust fan to service all three.  I will be putting the exhaust fan just inside a gable that will have an exhaust port to the outside.  Are there any issues with having a kitchen and bathroom share exhaust ducting?  They will all have dampers at the intake vent.  See picture for diagram.  I have already calcuated the CFM needed for the kitchen which will be about 360 CFM and will be getting an appropriate fan.  Are there any issues, safety or otherwise, with the sharing of the ductwork?  Grease buildup?


texts:
Our window screens haven't been replaced in the better part of 2 decades, and I'm interested in replacing them. The previous screens have warped on some windows and it always seemed that really tiny insects like gnats could get past the screens even when they were new.

What am type of screens should I look for to protect against small insects like gnats?

My window dimensions L =83cm (32.6), H = 60cm (36.6)


texts: Honeywell RTH5160D Thermostat Wiring w/ Heat Pump

texts:
I have installed a Goodman heat pump and a Honeywell RTH5160D thermostat. I chose that thermostat because it is supposed to switch automatically between cooling and heat modes. The system has been working fine all summer for cooling. But, I cannot get the system to switch to heat mode. I made sure the reversing valve wire is set for the O circuit. Goodman heat pumps use the O circuit. How I suspect the problem may be in the wiring where the heat pump, air handler and thermostat are wired together.

Edit (11/20/2019)
Sorry for the delay in getting back. Thanks for your help! Model number for the Goodman is GSH130181 (1.5 ton). Here's a link to the manual and wiring diagram: Goodman GSH130181 Installation Manual. System operation is described on page 25 of the manual. That may help.

The hp is currently running with the 19 year old Ruud air handler. I haven't yet gone through the torturous process of putting the Goodman air handler in the attic crawl space. But, my impression is that the wiring is pretty standard.

One issue could be that Ruud used the B circuit and Goodman uses the O circuit for the reversing valve. The thermostat is set for O, but it's a Ruud air handler. I don't know what the implications of that are.

I'm wondering if the problem might be that the reversing valve is stuck on the Goodman. It was about 3 years old when I got it, and sat in storage for 10 years. If I can located the reversing valve, I'm going to try frapping on it with the handle of a crescent wrench and hope to jar it loose.

Beach


texts: I'm in the process of choosing a material for a new kitchen counter.  One that I'm considering is a honed Nero Mist granite.  I'm trying to find out from someone who has the same type of granite how often they have to seal it.  I've read that some granite needs yearly sealing.  Concerning black granite, I've read that they don't need sealing as often.  However, that seems to be canceled out by another source which stated that honed granite often needs to be sealed more frequently that highly polished granite.  If you have this material, can you please let me know how it's holding up and how often you have to seal it?  Thanks!


texts: I have an Insinkerator 777ss disposal. It is hardwired.  When I flipped the switch it popped the breaker.  I removed the hot lead from the disposal, reset the breaker and flipped the switch.  Nothing happened and the breaker remained set.  I assume this means there is a short in the disposal?  I connected the hot lead and now when I flip the switch nothing happens and the breaker stays on. Is my next step replacing the disposal?  Any assistance is appreciated.


texts: How can I attach wooden shelf ledgers to concrete foundation walls?

texts:
I am installing some garage shelves for my friend. She wants it strong so she can climb up them, and load it with heavy boxes. It’s no problem for me except that these walls, which will go floor to garage door open height, have concrete foundation walls til about half way up (52”). My design for shelves is like most with ledger boards going horizontal. But how will I attach my ledger boards to the concrete retaining wall? I see lots of information online for brick walls, just not concrete.

It’s a newer house probably built in 2015 so the concrete should be good quality. I do have access to a hammer drill as well. I will be using lag bolts on the section that’s in the wood studs, just wondering about the bottom concrete half.


texts: Fixing green coloration on clapboard siding

texts:
My wife and I are in the process of closing on a home and we're planning some initial renovations we want to make before we move in.

We noticed that there's a small area (maybe ten square feet) of the north side of the house that has some slight green coloration on the siding, which is painted clapboard. It might be mildew or algae.

Who would be the best contractor to remedy this? Does it need to be sanded down and repainted, or is it possible to "clean" clapboard?


texts: Can my garage electrical panel be right beside the door?

texts:
My house has a single-car garage, with the whole house's electrical panel on its exterior wall.  I'm thinking about adding a bump-out on the garage to make space for a second car.  The problem is that the addition would need to knock down the wall where the electrical panel is.  I'm planning to redo the electrical panel for the house to upgrade the ancient wiring and increase the amperage, so I want to move the electrical panel to a suitable place to allow for the future garage addition plans.
Is there any issue with the electrical panel being within a foot of the side door that leads to the outside of the garage?  Here is an image of the existing panel location with the proposed new location.  In theory, I could shift the door a foot or two to the right if needed.

Maybe this new picture will help to clarify the situation more.  The idea is that I want to add space for a second car, but I don't want to be without electricity in the house during the construction process of the addition.  Since I'm already planning to redo the electrical wiring in the whole house before I even start on the garage addition (down the road), I want to move the electrical service to a better place.  I've looked into some more options, and I think it might be possible to have the main service connect strictly at a box on the outside of the house, then run to an interior wall further inside the house where the breaker panel will be.
So, the plan is as follows:
Stage 1:  Gut and remodel existing house interior, replace all electrical wiring from the 1970s, etc.
Stage 2:  In a couple of years, add on a second garage space, which is made easier by the proper planning of the electrical changes during Stage 1.


texts: Not sure how to fix this drywall with paper showing

texts: I'm trying to fix my wall for the first time and I've no clue on how to fix this wall with paper showing. I've applied "ready Patch" on top of the paper and after couple minutes you could see the paper bubbling up. Do I have to cut the paper out first and then apply compound? Why there's paper in the first place? What would be the proper way to fix this? What materials do I need?


texts: Add a toilet to washing machine drain line

texts: Are there any disadvantages to adding a toilet so that the toilet waste drains into the washing machine drain? We have a small home and it only has one toilet. There are four people who live here so we are looking to maximize our space by adding a toilet in the garage. Is this possible? Any pitfalls?


texts: How do I identify the speaker setup for these ten in-home speakers?

texts:
I inherited a rat's nest of speaker wires (USA), where each of the 10 cables (8 are purple, 1 is gray, 1 is blue) contains 4 wires: black, white, red and green.

There are five rooms with 2 speakers each, embedded inside the walls.  I have yet to be able to access the wires behind any, or even open the shells encasing them.

These all come out of the same part of the wall and were hooked up to a basic home audio switch system that has been removed.

I am used to more modern speaker wire, but I am not replacing the speaker wire (today).

How do I identify which wire goes to which speaker, and how they are hooked up?  A friend suggested using a nine-volt battery and listening for static.  How should I proceed if I do that?

Regarding the photo of the nest:

3 cables (2 purple, 1 gray) are severed at the stump (far right)
2 purple cables are white/black twisted and red/green twisted (top left)
2 cables (purple and blue) have untwisted wires
2 purple cables (bottom left) have wires meeting each other, combined: red to red, white to white, and black to green, black to green.
1 cable seems unnecessarily patched into another cable through some odd yellow inserts (bottom)


texts: How to select a good quality Duplex Outlet . . .?

texts:
I tend put a lot of effort into select products.

I am searching for recommendations on good quality duplex-outlet and how much I should consider paying for it.

At the local box store, I can purchase a duplex-outlet for as little as $0.59 or as much as $8-$10 or maybe more. (Excluding GFCI and AFCI). I don't trust the $0.59 outlets in my own home. Not sure I really need to pay $20 for a standard duplex-outlet just for piece-of-mind.

Tamper Resistance (TR) seems to be the main requirement. So I bought a Tamper Resistant (TR) duplex-outlet and it was a bear to insert a plug. I bought another TR duplex-outlet, and the plug seems to fall out a little. I think I paid about $3.50 or so for the second one.

The Leviton 20 Amp Industrial Grade Weather/Tamper Resistant Self Grounding Duplex Outlet, White seem like a quality product.

I wish there was a "Consumer Reports" type organization to recommend/guidance on these types of things.


texts:
I recently had a Rheem Tankless Water Heater installed. The rtgh-95dvln-2.
They installed the pump kit meant for the water heater, the ap17920. However, I do not have a dedicated recirculation line, so they used one of those under the faucet bypass valves to have the recirculation go through the cold line.

The pump gets the hot water there but the bypass valve is thermostatic and closes when it gets to temperature. The water heater keeps running the pump until the water at its inlet is 15 degrees less than its outlet set temperature. Since the valve closes, the water never makes it back to the heater and the pump stays on and gets quite hot.

I have unplugged the pump because I think its not good for the pump to run without any flow. I am trying to find the best solution. I believe my options are:

Run a dedicated line for recirculation. However, I have a finished basement and its really not even realistic unless I remove a considerable amount of drywall. I could perhaps get a line halfway there (to the kitchen) but I was hoping to get hot water to the far bathrooms. Could I have a dedicated line and the bypass valve?
Re-wire the pump to use a timer. I was thinking a smart-home timer so I can set it on for a minute or two, then off every half hour or so. I'm hoping with such a small interval, the pump will not overheat.
Replace the pump with an ECM pump? I have been told that these are variable speed pumps and if there is no-flow, they will simply shut off. Any suggestions for one? The current pump has a flange and a drop in replacement would be nice.


texts: When planning motion sensor placement for a security system, is it preferable to install it facing windows, or not?


texts: How do I glue glass top to a wooden base

texts:
I made a log table and now I'm trying to put a glass top as you can see in the picture.

The issue is that the glass top is not sticking to the log. I tried various things such as clear adhesive bumper pads etc from Lowes but nothing is working. The bond is not strong enough and I have two seven years old who keep bumping into the table.

Does anyone know what I should be using to glue the glass top to the top of the log.


texts: Turning and tacking carpet where it meets vinyl flooring

texts: I had new carpet installed and I had them cut it so I can turn and tack the carpet over the edge of my new luxury vinyl plank.  Now I'm looking for tips on how to get a nice straight carpet edge and what fastener (carpet tack. special stape, etc.  I should use for tacking.  I absolutely do not want to us one of those nasty metal edges.


texts: How can I remove a mouse stuck in the air duct above a kitchen exhaust fan with built-in microwave?

texts:
Last night I heard noises in the cabinet above the microwave. There was nothing there but I heard squeaking and movement from the lower part of the metal air duct in the center of the cabinet.

I am not sure how to approach removing the mouse from that space... This microwave was installed decades ago and I have no idea how to remove it.

So I am thinking that it may be possible to remove the lower part of the metal air duct?

Not even sure what these parts are called. Open to ideas.

Can't imagine the mouse being able to climb back to the roof and so I need to deal with this and soon.

Thank you for your help!

Edit: I am adding images for clarification:

The microwave and fan assembly seems to be held in place by two long screws in the front part of the wooden cabinet. I presume there's some kind of bracket in the back


texts: Exhaust Fan in small half bathroom on first floor

texts:
Hi, I would like to add an exhaust fan in my small half bathroom on the first floor (it’s a 2 floor semi-attached home).  The bathroom becomes very humid and takes a few minutes to eliminate odors.  I’m planning to hire an electrician to install the fan with a switch button.  Based on the picture, can you please advise if I can add a fan directly to this exhaust/air duct vent or if I’m required to have an insulation tube leading outside the roof.  The house is a flat roof and I don’t have an access point to the attic (or area between my celing and roof).  Also, my electrician has sent a few fan suggestions but they are not appealing as they look like attic or laundromat fans.  Does anyone have an exhaust fan suggestion that can fit into this vent and appealing (preferably white colored)?  The measurements of the vent are 14 inches by height and 13 inches by width.  Thank you so much for your support.

Here are some photos of the vent behind the grill:


texts: Upstairs room too hot - can I install a room-to-room fan to blow hot air back into the high-ceiling living room?

texts:
I'm in a narrow, vertical, townhouse style three story house. My upstairs bedroom gets too hot, and downstairs gets too cold.

I found I could fix the downstairs problem by running the HVAC fan full time. I think it works because there are quite a few downstairs vents. The air intake and the thermostat are both on the second floor, and by leaving my fan running more air is mixed from the different floors.

However, my third floor consists of just a single bedroom and there's a single vent. The room is kind of "suspended" above my living room, which has a high ceiling.

What are my options for fixing the third floor problem? I wonder if I could install some kind of fan into the wall, that would blow hot air out of the third story bedroom and into the living room (as there's a shared wall), so it would pull cooler air up the stairs and into the bedroom. That way more mixing would occur and my room temperatures could average out.

Or is that a bad idea? Should I just hire someone to balance the vents?


texts: Rewire attic fan from switched to always-on

texts:
I have an attic fan wired to a thermostat that I'd like to come on whenever it's hot enough. The problem is, the fan is wired to a circuit that's operated by the light switch for the stairs into the attic, which also controls the light at the top of the stairs, as well as a pull-chain light in the attic. I don't want to have to leave the light at the top of the stairs on to get the fan to run! I also don't want to convert that light to a pull-chain light, since it's the only light in the stairs, and at the top. There's another switch installed just before the fan, apparently for code purposes, but it doesn't make much sense to me to only have the fan live when the wall switch in the stairs (and cosequently the light) is on.

Is there an easy way to convert the switched-hot attic fan to always-hot, while keeping the two light fixtures between the fan and the switch as switched-hot? I say always-hot, but I would leave the final switch operating the attic fan only in case of emergency.


texts: Grohe shower leaks from faucet when shower head is selected

texts: I have a Grohe shower head, diverter and faucet (for the bath). In the last week I find that when I run the shower, I also have water coming from the faucet into the bath. What do I need to do to fix this?


texts: Trouble with kitchen pull-out faucet universal hose?

texts:
(I am using terms as shown in this exploded view)

A few months back the hose for my kitchen pull-out faucet broke. I went to the home improvement store and bought a universal replacement hose. I had no trouble connecting the hose to the faucet base, and there are no leaks there.

However, I have had endless trouble with leaks at the end of the hose that connects to the pull-out spray head. I believe this is because I am unable to get the retaining clip (c-clip) into the right groove in the hose stem.

Please see the pictures below showing the hose and the slide nut for the spray head. As far as I can tell, the trouble is that the slide nut is too "tall" and the hose stem does not protrude far enough out to allow me to slip the c-clip into the retaining groove. This causes the hose to slide out slightly and leak water out of the slide nut.

Does my conclusion seem right to you? How should I solve this? I've tried wrapping the hose stem with teflon tape to create a tighter seal, but it lasts a couple weeks at the most. Do I need a specific hose for this spray head (Moen)? My home improvement store only has two universal hoses, and both have the exact same hose stem.

Do I need a new spray head entirely? That may be difficult to find one that matches the existing faucet.

Compare to this image, which shows the c-clip retaining groove well above the slide nut.


texts:
I bought this new set of door knob and strangely the screws are positioned vertically like below photo.

Also the lock in vertical is unlock. Is that right?

UPDATE 1

It is this model that I bought

Kwikset Signature Hancock Polished Brass Keyed Entry Door Knob

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kwikset-Signature-Hancock-Polished-Brass-Keyed-Entry-Door-Knob/1000208209


texts: Repressurising baxi duo tec 2 28ga combi boiler?

texts: I have a towel radiator that really needs bleeding however I'm concerned that my boiler is going to need repressurising after bleeding. Most tutorials I have seen have had 2 blue taps that you need to open in order to increase pressure, however mine has 4 black taps and a yellow tap. I can see that it also has a notice about a pressure relief valve? Sorry I'm a novice at these things but don't really want to have to call someone out. The boiler is a baxi duo tec 2 28 ga combi. Any help appreciated.


texts:
I was in my room today with my laptop and phone plugged in and the ceiling fan and light on when I heard a loud pop near the light and fan. All the power in my room went out, as well as the second bedroom and the master, but the rest of the house is just fine. I reset the tripped breaker, which was just for the second and third bedroom. The master should have been fine if it was just a breaker problem, but none of them are still working.

After flipping all the breakers off and on, nothing changed. What's weird is that my phone and laptop have both been plugged in like that before with no problems. The house is about 12 years old, but we seem to be having problems with the electricity, as in the past few months, the fire alarm has randomly gone off a few times and the garage door opened without anyone pressing a button. Anyone have any ideas as to what this could be?


texts: Help with c wire on American standard air handler

texts:
there is no"C" indicated. Model TWE040E13FB
 I have taken pictures of the connections and looked at the wiring diagram however I cannot figure out which wire is any help would be appreciated thank you


texts: What are some ways to find a leak in a pipe?

texts:
I have a leak somewhere under my sink in the kitchen. I have a number of junctions/pipe/hoses there (6 lines), and one of them has a leak. It doesn't happen all the time, only when there is back pressure (like when the garbage disposal runs), and not all the time then. I've checked everything, and there is no obvious location of the leak. The leak isn't a gusher, but it's not a drip either. I've spent a fair amount of time under the sink looking for the leak, but no luck.

When I have a leak in a tire, I can put it in water and watch for the bubbles. Is there a powder or substance that I can apply to the pipes and connections that will show a leak in a similar way? If not, any suggestions on finding the source of the problem?


texts: Fluctuations in electricity use while we are on vacation

texts:
We went on vacation for two weeks recently and I noticed that our PG&E bill had some unusual behavior.

Our overall bill wasn't that much lower than it was when we were home.
Different days had very different amounts of energy use. One day (63 degrees average temperature) had 5 kWh of energy usage and a few days later (65 degrees average temperature) PG&E reported 15 kWh of energy usage.

What could cause such fluctuations in our electricity use? We closed the windows and blinds and unplugged most disposable electronics except the TV (which was turned off), refrigerator and a small Coway air purifier (left on by accident). The refrigerator was installed within the last five years.

A smart home app sends alerts any time the doors open or close, and it did not fire for the entire vacation, so there's no chance family members or kids were secretly home.

We have a gas heater, no A/C and the we set the thermostat to "eco mode" = 50 degrees = while we were gone.

edit Here's a photo from the low energy day, 5kWh of energy use:

And high energy usage - note the different scale on left hand side.

No one was in the house on either of these days.


texts: Carrier Weathermaker 9200 Humidifier Ecobee blows 3amp fuse

texts:
I have a Carrier weathermaker 9200 with a bypass humidifier attached. I just moved into this house a year ago and the humidifier never worked with the humidistat. I tested the solenoid by putting a 24V transformer directly on it from my sons rechargable car and that worked. It opened and water started flowing. I thought maybe it had bad humidistat since nothing happens when I turn the knob. just hear a little click. Since the house already had an ecobee I figured I could use that to control the humidifier. Ran a wire to the ACC+ on the ecobee. Connected the other end to the solenoid. Then ran the other end of the solenoid to the COM on the control board. Not sure if that is correct because everything I look up says C terminal but there isn't a C terminal only COM. Reconfigured ecobee to add humidifier as 1 wire ACC+.  When I turn everything back on and start the humidifier from the app the 3 amp fuse blows. It happened twice so I guess I have it wired wrong. I currently have it disconnected. Looking for help.  Thanks,
Jeff
Updated: Added Schematic and ecobee connections and furnace control connections. Humidifier is a Carrier humcclbp2417 with A2012-2118 Solenoid.


texts:
I have a bathroom tiled with granite tile floor and walls.  the granite is sealed with xypex (seems to be still well sealed) and is a salt and pepper quartzite granite. (see pic)

one of the tiles has a dark stain on the surface about 6 ft up and to the right of the toilet, exactly where you might put your hand if you were urinating into the toilet.  so I am assuming its mostly just natural oil from someone's hand, but there may be other gunk in there (ewwwwwww).  anyhow, I have removed lots of stains from granite and stone on horizontal applications (acetone and/or poultices) but this ones awkward.  poultices wont stay in place, acetone runs off before it has a chance to work.  tried brake cleaner and various degreasers, all to no avail.  I made some progress just standing there spraying and wiping acetone, over and over again, but its too inefficient. I also tried spraying acetone on a sponge (which it attacked) and taping it up under some plastic film (the acetone dissolved the tape glue) but it didn't work.  anyone have any ideas?


texts: Water inside both bulbs in bathroom fixture

texts:
I noticed the bathroom light was going dim, so I went to change the bulbs. When I took the glass bowl cover off, water poured out of it . . . and then I saw that both light bulbs had water IN them.
My landlord says they can't look at it til the end of the week, and I am concerned about this. Can I safely remove the bulbs? Do I need to find the breaker and turn that off?
At this time, there is no water dripping from the ceiling or the fixture, but there still is water in both bulbs.
Thank you in advance


texts: Gluing metal and glass pieces of a lamp (Artemide Demetra)

texts:
I need to fix a Artemide Demetra Parete (Wall) lamp. When it was hit by accident, its arm swung against a cabinet standing next to it apparently hard enough for its cover disk to come off. As you can see in the two pictures, the cover was apparently fixed to the base by six glue spots. For what I can determine the body is made of metal, the cover of glass.

My question is this: what sort of glue (or other mechanism) is used by best-industrial-design-practice in such cases? If it is indeed a glue, it has work with metal and glass, tolerate a heat source close by, and allow removal by repair staff without a hassle.

(Don't pay attention to the white traces visible in the 2nd picture: they stem from preliminary attempts at repairing with perhaps ill-suited material that was at hand.)

UPDATE Four of the six posts are slightly higher. Their tops are metal-colored (without paint), the other two tops are white (like the rest of the body). There are no traces of any alternative material on any post. If there was any such material, it may have come off when the cover fell off, but it would seem unlikely that this happened everywhere at once. There are also two small notches adjacent to the lower posts, perhaps their only purpose was for inserting the cover at the right angle of rotation.


texts: How to repair void in edge of subfloor from rot?

texts:
Started what I thought was an easy job of placing "peel and stick" tile and grout in my downstairs bathroom, but that was until I removed the quarter round at the base of the tub.

It is not all the way through. I've been under the house to check, plus I cannot poke through it with a screwdriver.

What can I do here? It is such a small area that I'm not enthusiastic about laying new subfloor.


texts: I'm re-grouting my shower enclosure.  Original grout is cement based, probably sanded.  Is it advisable to consider an epoxy based grout for the re-grout project, or stick with a cement based at this point?