texts: I have a light switch that crosses multiple breakers

texts:
The switch is part of a 3way gangbox.  I recently had the panel updated to a 220 from 100.  But the electricians didn't map it any better than it was already mapped and just essentially gave me more capacity but no more information for the tune of 5K.
My issue is that I'm trying to turn off a switch so that I can set it up for a smart switch but I can't identify which breaker it's on.  It appears to be on several.  Why would it be wired that way?  Why would someone wire a switch across multiple breakers?   Here's the test - kill all of the power everything goes out.... great I'm safe!  BUT flip the breakers one by one and this thing still lights up with the tester and the voltage is high enough for me to wonder why it and what it's connected to.
Thoughts?
Rob


texts: Door open lightswitch for sliding closet doors

texts: My closets are the kind with door doors, either of which slides to the side, overlapping the other. I'd like to have the light inside the closet come on when either of the doors is opened. This is for new construction - how do I wire this up?


texts: How can I wire a single gang 3-way fan control and dimmer?

texts:
My client's new fan is installed on a 3-way switch above stairs. The switches are located top and bottom, on separate breakers. The fan and light are operated simultaneously. The light attachment has an on/off toggle, and remains off. There are no pull chains. Simple yet unfinished.

Modern Fan Co 'Stratos' included single pole, single-gang fan + light control unit. I'm guessing this will not accommodate, unless I convert to single pole. They offered one 3-way option, while also recommending Lutron (90$ each I believe).

In a nutshell:

Are two 3-way single-gang dimmer + fan controls necessary?
Is snaking necessary?

I'm not clear if the current wiring (3-way, 3-wire) would support 4 different controls (via single gang, two locations).

Would I need to snake additional wires? Upper would be more practical from attic. Lower may increase difficulty, and most likely be out of budget.

The supplier's tech-guy practically threw his hands up in the air and recommended a remote, unfortunately the manufacturer suggested against this.

I often defer unknowns to professionals when I have multiple clients waiting. I feel like nothing is out of my league. I've installed 40+ fans in my lifetime, and I'm confused here.

Spending more than a few hours on this install is unacceptable by my standards. Therefore I'm setting some time aside to educate myself, and avoid costs.

Explaining this to clients and salespersons can be strenuous. Any input is greatly appreciated!


texts: Suggestions for a replacement garage door opener

texts:
My garage door opener has finally failed and I need to buy a replacement. I'm looking for suggestions on the pros and cons of different types of openers.

Here are the details of the current setup:

Fiberglass 2-car garage door. (It is about as basic as you can get, no windows, no extra weight, etc).
It is NOT located anywhere that noise is an issue (below a bedroom for example).
I am not opposed to chain drive as that is what I have, but I've been looking at either belt or screw drive. Smooth beats noise in this case, see #2 above.
One car has an integrated opener button and the other car will need a remote. There is also a need to add on a couple extra remotes for friends/family access.

What type of garage door opener would be best for this situation?


texts: calculating screwpiles requirement in clay ground

texts:
Does anyone know a good way of calculating screw-pile requirements in clay ground? I'm in the Netherlands and this old seafloor so carrying soil type is going to be at least 10m deep before it there is just peat and clay.
Location doesn't allow permanent building foundations (concrete slap) and is logistically challenging(everything needs to be carried there by hand) so screw-pile seems like a great option just need to figure out how many I need.


texts: Where do I install an outside mount for blinds?

texts: I'm installing faux wood blinds in my home.  I prefer the outside mount because it looks better on my windows, however the molding is a weird design.  The head casing and side casing don't meet at a nice 90 degree angle.  Instead, there is joining piece that connects the two casings at a 45 degree angle.  The joining piece is small, maybe an inch.  But if I'm hanging blinds, where should have them start: at the top of the head casing or the top of the side casing?


texts:
I want to light a cabin.

I have the following:

75w 12V Coleman solar panel (two bare wire ends)
Large car battery from a Jeep
Even larger (boat?) battery - an Optima Yellowtop 34/78
50/10/2A 12V battery charger
100w AC/DC car inverter

My cabin will be unoccupied most of the time, so my thinking was to use the solar panel to trickle-charge the battery(-ies) over the week, and then use the batteries to power the lighting - either LED or incandescent with the inverter.

Budget is minimal so although LED lighting would be simple, we already have mains light bulbs so perhaps using the inverter is an option to avoid having to purchase LED strips.

What are my next steps to charge the battery from the solar panel? What can I use, and do I need anything else?


texts: Do front loader washing machines need more electricity?

texts:
I am planning to buy a washing machine. I see online that front loaders use more electrical power (around 1500 watts) than top loaders (max 500 watts).

If that's true, then why are front loaders called energy efficient?


texts: Should I fill this gap between floor boards and wall?

texts:
Currently fitting some new skirting board, I have the opportunity to fill some gaps that exist between the original floorboards and the brick wall. (1930s build). I'm considering squirting some expanding foam in this gap (mainly for insulation, but also mice) before fitting the new skirting.
My question is whether I should. Is there's a good reason to leave this gap and not fill it in? Possibly the gap is there for a purpose. Ventilation, damp etc?

Not easy to see in the image, but may help to describe. That's a modern laminate floor on top of the old boards. The large gap is one of several all around the room where a brick has been left out probably deliberately. It's not this I am considering filling, but the thin (1 inch or so) gap indicated by the yellow arrows.
Below the floor boards is a void of about half a metre until you hit soil, which seems to be dry. There's no cellar and I have no access down there without pulling up the floor. None of the walls are external, except one used to be before an extension was added.
Fill it or leave it?


texts: Why did one of my recessed lights in a group stop working?

texts:
I have 4 recessed lights on a single switch/circuit. One of them stopped working. I assumed that the bulb went bad, but have replaced it with multiple known-working bulbs. Also confirmed that the center contact makes good contact with the bulb.  The socket is connected to the box with armored cable.
Could something in the box itself have gone bad? How would I trouble-shoot this?


texts:
I got this Bergin AC motor which was from a pool pump, but now I want to use it to power a saw.

For this I need to invert its rotation direction. How can I do that by just switching wires?

The four cables at the top just go to the power switch. Unfortunately the metal housing can not be opnened.


texts:
I have an LG L8E3092ST Oven/Range, and it's been working great for years.

However, the oven has recently started randomly turning off mid-cycle, flashing PF on the screen, and resetting the clock. Once I reset the clock, I can re-enter the cycle and resume.

The PF seems to indicate power failure, which is strange - no other appliances/lights turn off at the same time, and the oven switches instantaneously to "pf mode" - it doesn't have any period of true power failure where it's not able to turn on.

A few ideas for what might be happening:

Something has changed such that my electrical system can't support the oven sometimes under normal load.
The oven is over heating somehow.
My house electricity is momentarily flickering out, fast enough that I don't see the lights dim, but slow enough that the oven detects a power failure.

Would appreciate thoughts on what might be up here.

Thanks!


texts: 6-outlet wall mount with dual active plugs and widely spaced outlets

texts:
I'm looking for a wall outlet adapter converting two outlets to six, like this GE one. However, for reasons I don't comprehend, that adapter (and all its clones) have only one active plug, the other being a plastic dummy. Adapters that plug into both outlets do exist (example) but the outlets they provide are too closely spaced for most wart transformers.

Are there hybrids between these two wall outlet adapters?


texts: Technique for driving hinge screws to minimize misalignment

texts:
When fitting hinge screws I've noticed that, unless the pilot holes are centered exactly on the holes in the hinge and at a precise (within 2-3 degrees) horizontal/lateral right angle to the hinge plate, the edge of the screw head is always misaligned with the hinge hole by the time the two come in contact.

In this case, the countersinks in the screw heads and hinge holes are a close size match, so even small discrepancies in position/angle end up with the head displaced to one side by up to a millimeter.

Driving it to resistance forces the head into the center position (I presume either by the metal bending or, possibly, the screw thread giving way slightly) but it still ends up tilted in its final position.

In DIY videos concerning hinge installation, instructors, DIYers and professionals often drill pilot holes, almost casually, at funny angles, and drive the screws straight in without thought to position. I'm thinking they must have the same problems but aren't bothered by it or using a method unknown to me.

Is this just me being needlessly perfectionistic? If not, can my technique be improved?

I'm also interested to know if it's usually the (stainless steel) screw bending or the thread (in hardwood) giving way that repositions the head of a misaligned screw when it's driven to resistance.


texts: Does a single-gang double timer switch exist?

texts:
I have a single gang outlet that current has a double/split switch installed controlling an inside light and an outside light.  Ideally I'd like to have the outside light on a timer.

Does a single gang double switch exist that will let me control the inside light and provide and on/off schedule/timer for the outside light?

I cannot replace the single gang with a double gang.


texts: I knocked a small cabinet over after waking up in the middle of the night and it fell and hit my door frame, chipping it. As this is a rental I need to fix it, although I have very little diy experience so an easy method would be great


texts: Does anyone recognized this PEX Crimp System (Make/Model)?

texts:
Does anyone recognized this product?
Looks like a good idea.
There is this red spacer ring to help position and hold the crimp ring in the right place.
I want to know more about it.


texts: How to get building materials to a difficult to access site?

texts:
What methods are available (in the UK) to get building supplies (listed below) to a site at the end of a steep (1 in 2.25 in parts) grass track. Given that a lorry or van would have a near zero chance of traversing the track in its current state, as the grass is far too slippery.

I will access the property day to day by quad-bike with large  shallow tread tyres to prevent the track turning into a mud slide. As this domestic only access will mean at most a couple of trips a day, the track shouldn't get churned up. However repeated trips in quick succession with vehicles carrying heavy building materials would quickly damaged the grass track. I would like to keep the grass track at all costs, so laying down a concrete or aggregate surface is not a popular option with me.

The project is a renovation. The building that is on site is in relatively good repair (awaiting structural survey) and only internal work will be required (fingers crossed).

The property is 520 metres (±15 metres), as the crow flies, from the nearest public road. From the road there is an overall vertical drop of 35 metres (±2 metres). Any zip wire would have to cross a valley which at its deepest would be 60 metres (±2 metres) below the height of the zip wire. Such a zip wire passes over the land of a landowner who is happy to have a zip wire flying overhead but not with any structure on the ground that interrupts their grazing animals. (Added this detail in response to A. I. Breveleri's greatly appreciated answer.)

I would be grateful if you could provide these 3 things: A description of the solution, An order of magnitude cost, Any other information or experience you feel is relevant.

The building supplies will likely include:

Windows [I am most nervous of this]
Small timbers, for floor support
Breeze blocks
Concrete (in it's liquid form) for flooring
White goods
A kitchen (Not pre-assembled obviously! However funny for everyone watching that would be.)
Doors
Carpets

The building supplies will not include:

Bricks or stone for external stonework (there is a building on site already)
Roof tiles/slates (the roof on the building is in a good state of repair)

The (possibly crackpot) ideas that I have had are:

Cover the track in a temporary road surface, which would provide grip and hopefully prevent the grass from being damaged.
A zip wire of sorts with a bucket or other container to hold materials.(There is line of sight between a public highway and the property)


texts: What batteries are available for powering outdoor LED lights?

texts:
I'm trying to build one of these myself (TLDR;
It's a lighting setup for outdoor usage to illuminate a pingpong table).
I would like to know what sort of batteries are available that might help me power this.
I'm a novice and the only types of batteries I'm aware of are
AA/AAA batteries, button cells and car batteries.
Are there batteries that lie somewhere in the middle of this spectrum and are easily available?
I'm looking for a rechargeable battery that can power this setup for 2-3 hours.
I'm suspecting that the LED lamps might require somewhere around 20-30 watts.
As for the rest of the setup I'm thinking of using PVC pipes to build the stand
that holds up the lights and some sort of clamps at the bottom to clip it onto the
net of the pingpong table, while the battery itself can rest on the ground.


texts:
I have a wiring problem after replacing an outside outlet.   I checked my wires with a multimeter,  Hot is 121v, the common shows good and ground is good.
When I place a plug in 3 light tester it indicates wiring is correct. I show 121v with meter on hot and common.  Also on hot and ground. But, nothing works. Not even a 5w night light.this line goes through a GFI outlet. Which tests good, and when tripped also shuts off new outlet.
What am I missing?


texts: How do I move this light box over a few inches in the wall?

texts:
I need to move the existing power over to where the hole is in the image. There was a strip light and I’m replacing with a single light.
The blue box is anchored to the frame. The cable is too short to feed over.
*I’ll be adding a wood finish to the wall, so the light fitting will anchor on that.
Is there an product that allows one to join electric cables - so that I can make the line longer to fit? Should I remove the blue box and get something else to use on the wall?


texts: Should I apply lacquer over a wall papered with book pages?

texts: I just wallpapered my library with old book pages, and I'm worried that the wallpaper paste will eventually dry up and peel away from the wall. Should I apply a layer of lacquer on top of the pages?


texts: What's the proper way to address a moisture issue in a concrete slab?

texts:
About 4 years ago my wife & I purchased a home. It was approximately 10 years old at that time. The foundation is a concrete slab.

Approximately 2-3 years before we purchased the house, the previous owner had an addition built on the back of the house. They poured a new slab for this addition. It appears that the slab was not appropriately treated to resist moisture.

Fast forward to the present - we notice dark spots in the wood floor in the addition. It appears we have moisture coming up through the slab.

We have had two plumbers and a landscaper come in to look at it. There is no plumbing in the addition and both the plumbers and landscaper have suggested there may be old irrigation lines under the addition. We did investigate this possibility and discovered that there are old sprinkler lines, but they have been disconnected and capped. There was an issue with the neighbor over-watering his lawn, with the result that water was pooling next to the addition. We have spoken to him about this and it has been resolved. We also did some landscaping to slope the ground away from our house and back into his yard. Finally, we also installed gutters so when it does rain, the water is directed away from the house and directly into drains. I should mention that we are in Southern California, and the water table in our area is very deep and there is little danger of heavy rain.

After all this, I am reasonably certain we have addressed the source of the moisture, but the damage is done & it's now time to undertake repairs.

We are going to have a professional replace the flooring. We have gotten two estimates so far, but frankly, none of these flooring professionals seem to have a clue what to do. We want to remove the old damaged flooring, eliminate mold (if any), apply some sort of waterproofing to the slab, and replace the flooring. We did some research into products for sealing the slab, but neither of the contractors we've talked to seem to know anything about them.

Here's what I understand needs to be done:

rip out old flooring
clean the slab with bleach to remove mold (if any)
allow the slab to dry out
apply something to seal the slab against future moisture incursion
apply flooring

I have two questions: first, is this plan correct? Am I missing any steps or are there any that are not correct? And second, what sort of products can be used to seal the slab? A plastic sheet barrier? Some sort of "paint on" sealant?


texts: Replaced the washer in an outdoor faucet...now it is too tight to turn on/off...wrong washer?

texts: The faucet turned on and off fine before.  It was just leaking, so I replaced the washer.  Now it is too tight to turn on and off.  But it doesn't leak.  Could the old washer have been trimmed to make it fit?


texts: How do I replace or repair a motion sensor PIR lens?

texts:
The PIR lens/translucent cover for my motion sensor for my outdoor light kit broke.  Crumbled to the touch after about a year outside despite being made for outdoors.

The sensor is now way too sensitive without it, but the sensor does still work.

Is it possible to replace this PIR lens, or do I have to throw the baby out with the bathwater and replace the whole sensor piece?

I am not asking where I can buy this part (and I am reaching out to the manufacturer now that I have the part name); I just want to know whether it is possible (and worth my time)  to replace this part or the whole item.

Alternately, can I repair it?  Is there some sort of frosted tape I can use here?


texts: If I'm attaching a freestanding deck to cement landing, is it ok to have it sloped and not perfectly level?

texts: When I took the original measurements of the step height, I didn't take into consideration the sloping cement landing areas off the last step. So my deck height, plus the 1" decking board is about 1/2" or so lower than the top of the step.  The attachment will butt up against the house, and extend to the right just past the pile of gravel, even with the back of the bottom step (rectangle shape).


texts: How can I make my concrete countertop smoother?

texts:
I think I used the wrong concrete mix. It had rocks in it so when I tried to get it level, but I really struggled.

I then went and bought some self leveling cement to try to balance everything out. It looks better but it is not flawless.

I whitewashed it to give it a white look because the white pigment didn't take.

My next step was to seal it with Valspar Wet seal.

My questions are:

Will the sealant fill in the grooves to give a smooth leveled feel?  Or Would Epoxy be better for the job?
Looking at the pictures, what would you do to give this a professional touch, or make it as clean as possible?

ALT. option

Should I build up the edges with  melamine board so that it becomes 2 - 2.5 inches, then pour more concrete on top?

I greatly appreciate your advice and feedback. Im trying to make this look right. My wife is nervous it wont look good, but Im confident it can turn out [right. Just need a little help.

Photo 1 | Photo 2


texts: How do I wire a light controlled by two switches?

texts:
The ballast in one of our oldest florescent lights finally died, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to replace it.

The wiring was a bit of a jumble (I should have taken a photograph).

We have a main light, with 2 switches (upstairs and downstairs),
then next to that, a second smaller light with a separate switch to operate that independently, which looks like it is wired to the main first light. But I'm not sure how to attach it.

I understand the 3 red wires all go together, and the three black?
But where do the 3rd set of black and red go? :(   ...I'm guessing they might be for the second light/switch?

The picture below is of the wires which were attached to the main light, and below that is the connections to the new florescent light.


texts: Metal basement window frame casement rotted out

texts: We bought a house that was completely remodeled but the metal framing for the basement window was left even though they installed a new window. The rust is beyond repair. Does anyone have experience wrapping the frame with aluminum? What can be done ? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. This is such an eyesore .


texts: How to treat outdoor wood for use as a bar for drinks etc

texts:
I want to build a bar at home for serving drinks etc and want to use reclaimed wood.

So far I've managed to get hold of a softwood fence panel.

How would I treat it and get it to a usable condition?


texts: Outdoor faucet's indoor shutoff valve not working - OK to drip water out of faucet through winter?

texts:
We have an outdoor faucet on the side of the house with a shutoff valve that no longer appears functional. (Thankfully, the house's main water valve does shut off water, but many other valves appear to not shut water off at all or at least not completely.) Obviously this needs plumbing, but for various reasons that might come later rather than sooner, and I wonder what can be done about that outdoor faucet in the  mean time.

I'm shocked it has not frozen already, given continuously below freezing temps here in the northern stretches of northeast USA. When we open the outdoor faucet, water pours out with full force whether or not the indoor shutoff valve is cranked as far closed as it will go.

The simplest solution to ease our nerves about this pipe freezing in the mean time seems to be letting the outdoor faucet run a little bit - a very slight stream / steady drips - until we fix this or temperatures rise. Steadily pouring water a couple of feet from the side of the house seems like an iffy idea to me though, at least if doing it for more than a few days (I may be talking 2-4 weeks.) Is it OK to let an outdoor faucet drip overwinter to prevent freezing when the pipe can't be shutoff from indoors?

Faucet pops out of cedar siding above rim joists, a couple feet above ground level. Below the faucet's pipe is a basement with painted concrete floor & walls. I'm weighing risk-benefit to some extent, because even if this particular pipe froze, that might not be too disastrous. Then again, maybe it has ripple effects I'm not considering.


texts: How close should a french drain be to a foundation?

texts: I am preparing to install a perimeter drain in my crawlspace.  I will be using NDS-EZ drain pipe.  My question is Where is the proper place to dig the trench?  Next to the foundation or 1 foot away from it?   I was planning on digging right down next to the foundation, which in this area is only 18" max but I have since read where it should be 1 foot away from the foundation.  If this is correct, why?


texts: Will running AC on low fan speed cool room faster?

texts:
As I understand, the basic function of an indoor air conditioning system is to pass air through cooled surface (tubes) which makes air cooler and hence it reduces room temperature.

So my question is, will running AC on low fan speed cool room faster? Since air is slowly circulated around cooling surface and gets more time to exchange heat.


texts: How long should I allow pressure-treated plywood to dry before applying non-skid strips?

texts: My handyman just laid salt-treated plywood on a wheelchair ramp.  He said the wood was very wet and would need several days to dry out.  How long should I wait to install the adhesive non-skid strips?


texts: Dry walls nail pops and wall cracks in ceiling doors and windows

texts:
I bought a house that was built in 1948 and moved in 3 month ago. Now I notice nails popping from all the walls around my house and new cracks around all windows and doors. I noticed walls joints are showing.
I feel so disturbed, is it foundation issue?
I also hear dripping noise in my vents
( now heat is on. )
I checked the crawl space I found an additional piece of wood added to the foundation, is that normal?

enter image description here]3

[![enter image description here][6]][6]
[6]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/QN7Cq.jpg![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NzSmX.jpg)


texts: small black flying insect/bug in the house all of a sudden

texts:
it has been raining like crazy recently in my area (Maryland) for the last month and a half. I noticed that i'm seeing a lot of small flying insects (the kind that is seen on a extremely ripe banana) in the bathrooms (upstairs bath mainly) and living room sometimes.

Is it because of the increased humidity? it is always close to 65% due to the every day rain. Should I be worried that there is mold growing somewhere?

There not too many,only a few of them at a time. but I see them daily.


texts:
I have a Maytag dishwasher model # MDB4709AWW4.
It spits water out the front left corner only after the pause after the pre-wash cycle. The water is clean and is always about the same amount.


texts: I'm running two 120 volt circuits to GFCI's with three wires each (Hot, Neutral, Ground) and then extending the load terminals out to a remote location. I've run four wires through conduit. Is it possible to share the neutral from the two load terminals on the GFCI's so that I can have two hots, one ground and one neutral for the two remote non GFCI outlets?


texts: How to compute breaker size for electric Stove + Oven?

texts:
I currently have electric appliance, and I want to replace them with newer units.

These are the ratings of newer units I am considering:

Induction Stove VICU53616BST - Maximum Amp Usage
  240V - 48.3 amps (11.6 kW)
  208V - 41.9 amps (8.7 kW)
Oven KODC304ESS - Maximum Amp Usage
  240V - Rated Current 40A (9.6 kW)

Adding both together (assuming 240V): 21.2kW

How do I find out what breaker size is required?  This will help me know what wire size to install as well


texts: Is it possible to retrofit an external kitchen fan in an existing house?

texts:
I have a 2-storey half duplex that was built in 2008. The kitchen (1st floor) has a range hood fan that exhausts to the side of the house through 8" aluminum duct. The outside vent is not directly above the wall where the range hood is, but on a wall perpendicular to it. The vent duct goes up, then right, then right again and then out, about 4 or so meters total. Walls are drywall.

My question is whether I can retrofit an external vent (link below) as the current hood fan is very loud. There is no electrical anywhere around the outlet where the external fan would have to go. The question is whether running the wiring from the kitchen through the aluminum duct is a crazy idea?

I'm thinking that if I insulate the wire properly and bundle it up I can send it through the aluminum duct to the outside fan. Would this pose any risks?

This is the external vent I'm looking to use.


texts: Home security alarm set off when breakers shut off!

texts:
I have a DSC Power 832 PC5010 security system in my home.  Although I have not armed the system since I purchased the house this past year, the alarm was set off recently when an electrician shut off all the electrical breakers prior to some work.  I was able to silence the alarm by unplugging the transformer in the closet.  I thought that the "dead" 12v battery was the reason why the alarm was triggered again when plugging the transformer back into outlet.  However, still triggers alarm even after installing new 12v battery.  I also noticed that the keypads are not functioning when the system is powered up via battery and/or transformer!

It's my understanding that the alarm is set off when breakers shut off as this has been a strategy for burglars in disengaging security systems in the past. However, I don't understand why the alarm is still set off after breakers switched back on!


texts: Best way to remove tv projector mount to access air filter?

texts:
I bought a place that has a TV projector mounted to the ceiling.  However, the mount is sort of a Y bracket that blocks the air filter from being removed  and cleaned.  I tried using a 3mm and a 4mm allen wrench on the screws in the Y but neither   worked.
Assuming I get a 3.5 mm allen wrench and it fits, is this still the best way to do this?
It seems like I'm going to have to hold the projector the entire time or else I'm going to have the entire thing hanging by 1 screw.
The air filter looks like it needs about an inch of clearance.  It comes straight up towards the ceiling, you can't pull it out horizontally at all.


texts: Extending a hard-to-access exhaust fan duct

texts:
Just pulled out an old bathroom fan. It was screwed to a 12-inch-long piece of non-flexible duct (so it came out with the fan casing). The end of the duct is buried in the insulation up in the attic. I can reach it with my hand but cannot imagine wrapping duct tape around it when I replace the missing non-flexible duct with a flexible equivalent (or at least it will be really tricky). I don't have access to the attic.

Is there a "pro trick" or a snap-on of some sort I could use to attach the new flexible duct to non-flexible one, given the access constraints?

The diameter of the duct is 4 inches.


texts: missing seal on Geberit UP200 system between braided hose and fill valve

texts:
I've recently descaled the flush and fill valve to solve a leaking problem on my Geberit UP200 concealed cistern, however when I reassembled everything, there is now a leak between the braided hose and fill valve.  I noticed online that there should be a seal, which I must have lost in the process.  It's quite frustrating because I managed to fix the original problem, but created a new one in the process.

I can see that Geberit has a part number 240.922.00.1, but I cannot source this in Denmark.  Does anyone have specs on this seal and can recommend a generic replacement?

Many thanks.


texts: Does current electric code mandate an installation of a light fixture in every bedroom's closet?


texts: Replacing rusted steel post with 6 x 6 x 6 pressure treated lumber

texts:
I have a finished sun porch that is resting on 4 - 4" X 6' round steel post.

The base of these post were buried under dirt for several years and have rusted. A couple of the post have about a 1" hole near the base plate.  I tried to get this fixed professionally, but the estimates have come in around $3500 to replace the existing steel posts.

I was wondering if I could replace these using 6" X 6" x 6' pressure treated lumber.
 The porch is 12' x 13', glassed in with a roof and tile floor, so I am assuming that it weighs quit a lot.

Will the pressure treated lumber withstand the weight?


texts: What type of adhesive is recommended for a curved shower curtain rod on ceramic tile?

texts: What type of adhesive is recommended for gluing metal brackets for a shower curtain rod to ceramic tile. I want to avoid drilling and using fasteners. The rod is an arched type that bows out to make the shower stall a little more roomier. Also, I  don't want the ceramic to be damaged if the brackets need to be removed.


texts: Just moved into a new house, what is this tube in the ground outside my wall?

texts:
It looks like there was some kind of a cheese cloth placed on top of it before, but at this point it's been broken.  I can't see the bottom of it, and I have no idea why it's there.  Does anybody have an idea?  I was going to go to the store to get another cheese cloth to place on top of it, but if I can just close it up I'd prefer doing that.  But again, no idea what that is.  It goes down in front of my house, and in my basement it looks like it goes to my pum[ pump?  But it's hard to tell, because while there's a tube coming up from my sump pump, it seems to go up and east of my house.  While the tube pictured above is going down on the south side of my house.  So there would be have to be some bends and perhaps forks in the tubing for that to make sense.

Other than that, I have no idea what is beneath there.  Has anybody seen this before?


texts: How can I connect dishwasher waste pipe to sink waste pipe?

texts:
I moved in recently in our new home and when we put the dishwasher on a gush of water appeared on the floor.  I turned off the dishwasher and took a look under the sink to find the waste pipe was loose on the floor.

The first image shows the damage when it first happened.  You can see the pipe at the back and its clearly not connected to anything.  Have no idea why they left it like this and not told us atleast.

The Second image shows the dishwasher pipe once I pulled it out.

This third image shows how the washing machine is connected at the moment to the sink waste outlets.  Clearly there is no room here for a dishwasher waste pipe..

So my questions are:

How can I connect the dishwasher waste to this setup?  Its made more complicated because we have two sinks and I can't find the connector that would allow for two waste connectors to be attached (for the dishwasher and washing machine) and for the two sinks.  I have no idea what this would be called and how it could be installed so if anyone can guide me that would be great!
Why wold they leave the pipe?  Is it maybe broken off from an attachment behind the washing machine?? The washing machine is integrated so its a real pain pulling it out to check behind it.  Is it possible that this pipe was connect to the washing machine waste pipe instead of it being connected directly to the sink?
I am new to this but willing to follow instructions :)

Thanks in advance,


texts: How to use 30 AMP wire to make 120 outlet

texts: He we had a hot water heater that is on 2 25 amp breakers. We took out the water heater and use a boiler with boiler mate for hot water. The wire that use to go to the the hot water heater is capped off in a junction box. We just added a water softer that runs on a regular  120 outlet. Currently the water softener cord is plugged into the same one as my washer. This is an outlet I often use to run the dehumidifier. I would love to find a way to use the capped off 30 amp wire to make an outlet for the water softer. Is it possible to take the 30 amp wire and convert it to a 120 outlet. I have done very basic wiring of outlet and lights but this is over my head. Money is too tight right now to pay for adding a new outlet so if this can't be converted the plug will stay were it is. Thanks for any ideas.


texts: How can I extend an offset toilet flange when tiling?

texts:
I am about to tile a bathroom floor. I was dry-fitting some concrete board when I realized I don't know how the toilet will reconnect once the floor is higher.

The old floor was a thin layer of vinyl adhered directly to the subfloor. The new floor will be roughly 1/8" thinset mortar + 1/4" concrete board + 1/8" thinset mortar + 1/4" tile. So almost 3/4" higher than the old floor.

The PVC toilet pipe is 4" interior, 5.25" exterior.

The bad news: it's an offset, something like this.

It had a broken metal flange permanently attached to it. I have already broken away the flange.

It looks like people who are tiling usually do one of two things. Sometimes they leave the old flange on the sub-floor, and use some extension system like Set-Rite to raise the height to a second flange.

Alternatively, they just install a flange on top of the tile, and some sort of gasketed pipe descends into the old, lower 4" PVC pipe.

But what about the offset? Because of it's angled, funnel-like shape, I can't just run another pipe into it, can I?

I feel like I should cut the PVC below the subfloor, and reinstall a new offset valve higher than the old one. But space is cramped beneath the floor, and I'm afraid I'll make things worse.

I saw some videos online about separating PVC with extreme heat, but I'm afraid of igniting my house or sewer gases (I have a septic tank) or both. I have minimal PVC experience.


texts: I tried using my pressure washer in my back patio and it quickly tripped my gfci outlet and I had to reset the breaker. I then noticed that all 4 exterior, 3 garage, and two laundry room outlets were all tied in together. (Laundry room ones not for washer or dryer). Is this safe? I'm still under warranty with the builder, and have an electrician coming out. What can I do to tell them on how to resolve, as I'm sure they won't want to fix??


texts: Half switched outlet, has both whites connected

texts: I am replacing an outlet that is half switched, but both the whites are connected on the opposite side of the black and red. The white wires have the tab still intact. So I'm confused as to what the purpose of leaving the tab in place is. TIA


texts: What’s the four wires to the intercom bell / speaker?

texts: Hi, I had an old intercom system and I removed the bell/chime at the front door. I am now looking to install a ring door bell. But I have to deal with the 4 wires, which one is what? How do I know for sure? I know the max power is 24v because the guy who removed the old system told me that.


texts: Water seeping through stained concrete in slab foundation - during heavy rain only

texts:
I bought a house in north Dallas, about a year ago, the house was built in 2000 and it is a single story house. There were no problems reported or found during the inspection for the foundation or the roof. The roof was replaced in 2012 and it appears to be in good condition, it has 3 tab shingles. The gutters have not been cleaned, but water does appear to be coming down just fine into the drain blocks all around the house, the house has all the terrain sloped away from the foundation, and I checked during this very heavy rains that we have had this week and there wasn't a single puddle of water anywhere near the house. There are zero indications of foundation issues, all windows/doors close perfectly and there are no cracks anywhere.

I haven't done the leaking test by turning off all water and looking at the meter yet, because it is still very rainy outside and with tornado warnings. However it does not appear to me that this is a pipe issue given the fact that it has only happened twice this week after very heavy rain that lasts over 10 hours, regular rain doesn't show this symptom at all.

During the year we have been living here I haven't noticed any foundation/roof issues and going to the attic appears to show no moisture or water coming in. This is the first time we notice this, it happens in a room close to the flower bed that happens to have stained concrete as its floor, there are other rooms with stained concrete, as well as rooms with hardwood floors but I could not find anywhere else where water was seeping thru.

The water appears to be coming through from the corner in the room with stained concrete that corner does happen to be the closest one to the flower bed, in which I found zero puddles of water outside. I did a small test and put some paper this second time, in the corner area where I saw the puddle of water the first time, I fell asleep unfortunately but I checked at 7:30 am all clear, at 10, the sheet of paper was completely soaked with water, at that point I very thoroughly inspected the whole perimeter of the paper it appeared to be bone dry, implying the water is indeed coming from underneath the stained concrete, next I grabbed a stair and very carefully touched the whole ceiling - it is completely dry no water stains either. That same corner is now completely dry and it has stopped raining for now.

This room and the rest of the house sits on top of a slab foundation. I should mention that during raining I inspected all the gutters drains and one of them was not properly going to the block, once I lifted the block, there was a puddle of water underneath the block, I simply moved the block closer so that it drains there. The soil here just like anywhere in north Texas is all clay basically, which I know does not absorb water well.

At this point I am not sure what the issue is, other than it seems like the water is coming through the stained concrete only in that corner in that room, and it has only happened twice since we moved a year ago, it happened yesterday and it happened today it has been raining almost non stop for 3 days now. Could anyone point me in the right direction as to what the problem might be?, or who should I call that could help me investigate the issue? roofer or foundation expert?.

Thanks.


texts: Knob and tube - cap red wire on light switch?

texts: I have a house that was built in 1913 and it still has knob and tube wiring.  I recently bought a Wemo dimmer light switch that has 4 wires (red - load, white - neutral, black - line, and green - ground) but I only have 2 wires coming out of my wall (hot and neutral).  I've read a few articals and see that there are other brands available for 2 wire situations but I was wondering if it would be safe to just use what I have by connecting black to hot, neutral to white,  green to the ground screw, and cap off the red wire.  Would capping off the red wire on the light switch cause problems or be dangerous?


texts: Removing flush mounted ceiling fixture that has springs atached to it

texts: I'm having problems removing a flush mounted ceiling fixture that seems to be attached to some sort of spring or springs.  Please advise the best way to remove the fixture so I can change the bulb.  A link to a video would be very helpful.


texts: Add a new doorbell to basement, upgraded transformer, still doesn't work

texts:
I recently finished my basement and ran a wire in the wall (where I wanted my new door bell to my current doorbell transformer.  I've been unsuccessful in getting both my upstairs and downstairs doorbells to work.

Currently, I can get both doorbells to DING, but not dong.

I followed this YouTube video and have mine wired up the same as the diagram in the video.

Additionally, I upgraded my transformer from a 16va to a 24v 20va I bought from Lowes

I am wondering if I am still under powered and that is why I am not getting a ding a a dong from both doorbells?  If so, what V and/or VA transformer is recommended for two Chime style (with the plungers and actual bells, not just a speaker or buzzer).  I would have thought that the upgraded transformer would have been enough for the two to run.

Additionally, I get really inconsistent rings when I push the doorbell from the doorbell.  When it's pushed sometimes one rings, other times both (ding, but won't dong), etc.


texts:
I have to re-caulk a round corner stand up shower. I'm wondering the following:

Can I re-caulk it without having to take it down? The previous guy that came over, had taken it outside to clean it and brought it back in (kept it somewhat in one piece).
How clean is the surface supposed to be? I've so far scraped the inside (along the left, right and bottom of the rail) using a plastic scraper and some dissolving solution. There is still some residue remaining.
Lastly, there is a gap between the bottom rail and the floor base. How much space is normal? Are a few millimeters okay, or should the bottom rail be sitting flush to the bottom?

Update #1:

I'm now wondering the following: should I just get rid of the current one (barely 5 years old) and get a new one?

Shower itself:

Where it started leaking:

Noticed this (build up inside the rails) as I was trying to remove it, move it to the garage and clean it:

The build up is due to the ends being caulked I think:

A little history, this is a new construction approaching 5 years old. The original plumbers have had to come a few times to fix leaks on this very shower.

Noticed that the left "pillar" isn't tied to the bottom rail at all. Will have to redo the caulking on that panel as it has cracked while trying to take out the unit.

The walls aren't plumb it would seem. There is a noticeable gap in areas between the base and the rails.

Update #2:

Shower taken down and in the process of cleaning individual pieces.

Update #3:

Decided to lay the level on the bottom of the tray (left to right is from wall to center of tray):

Not sure if I should address it if it's off by this much? The rest of the walls are okay.

Also, contractor who built our house has been out of business for a bit now. The store where I assume he took our stuff cannot backtrack that far in the past. Having issues cleaning the parts, essentially a PITA.


texts: Should the entire element on my burner on top of electric stove turn red when turned on?

texts: I just bought a new Frigidaire electric range. On top of stove burner the element does not turn completely red. Should the entire element turn red? Not just partially.


texts: How to seal hardwood floor in preparation of self-leveling compound?

texts:
I'm planning to float laminate over my existing floor, but need to level it first. The floor area is very large, so it spans areas of the home that have differing subfloor materials: concrete, hardwood oak, and plywood. My plan is to use self-leveling compound across all the subfloor materials to make them consistent, level and flat. However, in order to pour the compound, I read the wood areas need to be sealed first with a primer.

Home Depot sells "LevelQuik Advanced Acrylic Primer" for sealing OSB or Exterior Grade Plywood, but this product does not work with hardwood flooring like oak; I confirmed this by calling the manufacturer.

At this point, I'm not sure how to seal my oak floor in order to pour self-leveling compound on top of it. Is it possible? I'd like to avoid ripping up the oak floor and replacing it with OSB or Exterior Grade Plywood, so it can then be sealed and leveled.


texts:
I'm rewiring my garage from in my opinion is an odd setup.
In my house panel (200A split phase) there is a 20A breaker there is a junction somewhere ( I haven't traced it out yet which branches this circuit to two. The net result is a 3 way switch for the garage lighting and an always hot circuit. I haven't quite figured out how this is done with three wires. Both circuits are run over 3 conductor overhead wiring to the garage. At the service drop, the cable is connected to two 12/2 cables. The neutral is shared, grounds are tied together and just left hanging there at the drop.

Not liking this setup at all I worked backward and wired up all the new stuff in the garage to a small secondary panel. The next step is to connect to the existing wiring, but I'm trying to figure out what the previous guy did.  The voltages to the wires coming in are strange. I'm pretty certain this is partially because they are not grounded. This brings me to my first question.

I've done lots of work inside homes but never from building to building. Since overhead cable doesn't have a ground, and neutrals and grounds are generally on the same bus within the breaker panel, this this mean I should have a grounding rod at both ends of this cable?

The other question I'm sure I can figure out. I haven't closely examined the previous guys work other than at the service drop. Since the voltages are so strange it's difficult to tell what is going on. If someone has a quick answer, I would appreciate it. Like I said the garage lighting can be controlled from my kitchen and a switch in the garage. How did they wire a three way switch in addition to a always hot switch on three wires.


texts: Whistling sound coming from water heater

texts:
A few weeks ago my Navien on demand water heater started a high pitched whistling sound ONLY when the hot water is turned on in large amounts. This is propane fueled. For example, if I turn the hot water on for my kitchen sink, no sound. But if the hot water is turned on for the bath tub, or for the laundry, it immediately starts whistling. The whistling is intermittent and goes in and out.

I contacted Navien and their support was terrible and couldn't give me a direct answer.

See this video of the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qokRBpbiTyY&feature=youtu.be

Any ideas on how to fix this? It's a brand new system, installed September 2015 and the issue started roughly 2 months ago.


texts:
I am planning to build a bridge across a ravine on my property and rather than buy a bridge kit I want to build it. The span is 40ft so I was going to buy a bunch of 2-in x 12-in x 16-ft pressure treated lumber and make beams.I would like to know the weight capacity of these beams once completed.
The plan is to sister them and bolt them to make a beam


texts:
I have a small balcony on which air conditioning units are placed. My wife would like me to build a table over the air units, where she can grow flowers, herbs and veggies.

Using what I have available, I'll build a frame out of solid wood and metal legs. On top of that, I plan to put a piece of plywood. This plywood will be exposed to tropical rain storms and equatorial sun (I live in Thailand) and will thus be taking quite a beating.

What would you recommend as the right way of protecting this wood?

In reading on the web, I've learned that I need to apply a wood stain and then a finish. Going through the different options, spar varnish seems to be the most sensible choice. But I'm not sure about this and would appreciate opinions.


texts: AC condensation line dripping from attic drain and splashing onto drywall

texts:
During the summer when it gets 90+ degrees outside my ac creates a lot of drainage from the attic. The drain line was made to just drip onto the garage floor by the homebuilder. Well the water, especially on 90+ days, is splashing onto the drywall. There were a couple mold spots I treated with bleach and now have plexiglass in front of..

Is this a normal installation? What's the best way to fix this issue because my current set up obviously isn't a good long term fix. I'm a complete newbie so I apologize for my ignorance about this.

Thanks so much.


texts: Should my outdoor spigot be attached to the foundation?

texts:
On the picture attached, is it a correct way of garden faucet installation? In this case it is drilled through the wall and the pipe goes in the basement where attached with the rest of the in-house pipeline.

But what I mean, isn't it supposed to be set on the concrete part of the basement (you can see the concrete part below the faucet, where the siding finishes)?


texts: Can an RCD protect against transformer failure?

texts:
I want to install LED lights in a pool. The original transformer outputs 12V 6A. Now I don't trust my life to a cheap transformer so I want to go sure. Yet I also don't want to spend more money than necessary. I don't have to live for ever.

Found an adapter that measures residual currents and breaks the circuit if delta larger 30mA. RCD safety adaptor So this sounds quite good to me.

Now I wonder, isn't it possible that in a worst case situation this device would not measure any delta between both power lines and the human between both lines beeing effectively roasted?

Found out that cheap transformers can output the full incoming current in a state of failue. Safetytransformers where a short circuit is not possible by design cost quite some money.

Is such an RCD adaptor a safeguard for any transformer failure?

Edit: Would it help to ground the poolwater - lay a cable from inside the pool to the grounding connector in the power outlet.


texts: Reproduce/build 4"x4" steel bases using brackets?

texts:
I was searching for bases that will be used to anchor 4-ft x 4"x4" posts to concrete, and I saw this 12-gauge base for $18. I was also looking at these bases, but they seem a little flimsy.

I'm thinking that, in our case, it would be better to use heavy-duty brackets and anchor screws. Are there 4"x4" U-brackets?

How can I use brackets to reproduce these bases? The one I'd like to reproduce is this one because it's less visible. I was thinking of 4 2" "L" brackets, but I can't find them online. Something like this:


texts:
My door is missing the strike plate and its keep opening up when there is a slight draft. So if I align the door it goes into the strike plate without any issues. I believe its a loose screw. So, I tried to remove the screws and reinsert them.

When I did that I have one struck screw and two broken screw heads in a door hinge. 1 I was able to extract.  :-(

I tried to extract it with "Tack Life damaged screw extractor".

I am not sure what my other options are


texts: How to whiten a white Ikea mattress cover?

texts:
The cover of my mattress has gone grayish and yellowish, it looks bad. But on Ikea's website it says "do not bleach".
Is there still a way to make it more white? Perhaps not as white as it once was, but at least presentable?
Details:
100% polyester
Polyester wadding
Non-woven polypropylene
Machine wash
max 60°C, normal process. Do not bleach. Do not tumble dry. Do not iron. Do not dryclean


texts: I was putting together my home treadmill and most of the bolts screwed into the frame and tightened nicely, but a couple of them will tighten somewhat and then suddenly become loose again when you try to further tighten them.  Obviously the frame's thread is damaged; is there some way to still get these bolts to tighten without buying a whole new frame (unfortunately the bolt hole is drilled directly into the frame and is not a separate component)?


texts:
Going to start by describing the mess that I found.

Symptom: 220VAC Hot water heater not heating.

Cause Discovered: 1 phase missing in main panel. Upon investigation I discovered that the main feeder to this trailer was a temporary 50 AMP plug style connector. Someone had installed a 100 amp panel and main breaker inside the home. The plug had been been exposed to over-current and one of the prongs as well as half of the receptacle was completely destroyed.

Action Taken: Turned off the main breaker at the pole. 100 amp breaker feeding 1/0 (maybe 2/0) Aluminum conductors in Schedule 40 PVC conduit to the 220 VAC Receptical box.

Weather was getting cold and owner needed to move in within days. Due to limited time we had to rebuild ASAP.

Repairs Made.

Replaced 100 AMP main breaker inside Mobile home with 50 amp Breaker suitable for the temporary cable that was stamped 50 amps. It has a rubberized outside with molded plug and inside has 4 color coded conductors. It says it is rated for 50 amps and mobile home and RV use etc.

The plug and receptical were destroyed and the box was in bad shape. I could get new receptical but could not get a new cable with molded plug on short notice. I could get a new all weather box with a 40 amp 3 phase GFCI Breaker. I decided to go that way. Originally the temporary 50 amp cable came out of the plug (about 1 foot away from the trailer). Went under the ground (No conduit) for 2 feet under the skirt then up above ground and runs about 6 feet under the trailer. Then up inside the trailer to the main panel inside. Due to time constraints we removed the old box and receptical. Also cut off the molded plug that was destroyed. Conductors and insulation was in good shape so I installed it into the new all weather box with the GFCI (50 Amps). I left it going to the trailer the same way. Direct buried for 1-2 feet until it gets under the skirt. Then above ground and up into the main panel with the new 50 amp main I put in. I tested it at full load and also tested the GFCI. it works excellent even with the branches off. My only concern is that I did not have time to bury a conduit for the 50 amp "temporary" cable. Does it have to have one? The way I read the NEC (08) is yes it does if it is permanent. Also...I read I have to bury it all the way to where it comes up to go into the main panel inside the trailer. Is that correct? I think it is a sprig project either way. Just want to know if I can get away with leaving it the way it is due to being only 50 Amps and already in a cable as opposed to individual conductors.

Thank You


texts:
I'm struggling to mount my 31kg Panasonic TH-P60ST60A 60 inch TV to the wall in my apartment and was hoping someone here might be able to give me some advice.

The walls in my apartment seem to be a layer of drywall, about 20mm thick, followed by a 10mm gap, and then some type of brick. As far as I know, there are no studs in this wall (it's in Australia, and the walls here seem to be constructed quite differently from the walls I'm used to in Canada):

I used a hammer drill to put 8 holes in the wall, when I drilled through the drywall, it was pretty easy, but I had to switch to the hammer when I reached the brick (or whatever it is) behind the drywall, so it seemed somewhat solid, although definitely not as solid as the type of brick you'd find outside:

I then used the following 8mm x 80mm plastic plugs

and tried to push them as far back as possible, to try to get them seated into the brick:

Then I put the TV mount on the wall and tried fastening some large screws into the plastic plugs to secure it to the wall, although unfortunately what ended up happening is that the screw just twisted the plastic plug, and it eventually just broke off:

Here's a picture of the wall with the mounting bracket waiting to be screwed in:

You can see that there's a large gap in the wall, which the owners thought was a great idea, but I beg to differ. I was still able to drill 4 holes with 100mm spacing, which I figured should provide enough support (if I was able to get a solid bolt in the wall, that is)

So now I'm stuck. I have 8 ugly holes in my wall (actually, 9 because I drilled one too close to the corner and hit the metal bracket) and I haven't been able to attach a single screw.

I think there's two main issues so far:

I used an 8mm drill bit for an 8mm plug, but the "brick/stone/whatever" behind the wall might have been too soft, in which case I may have made the hole too large, so the plugs are just rotating around not gripping
Perhaps I didn't actually push the plug far enough into the wall so that it reached the brick, in which case when I twist the screw, it just shears off the top of the plug because it has nothing to grip on, however, I've pushed the plug pretty far into the wall, and it feels like it's seated in the brick, but I can't really tell for sure.

In any case I'm at a loss of what to do next.  I'd like to avoid calling a professional, since they charge about $400 to mount a TV and was hoping I could do it myself, but now I'm stuck.  If anyone has any suggestions of what to try next, please let me know!  Thanks!

Edit: here are some additional pictures of the gap behind the wall:

And a close up of the screw inside the plastic plug:

And a google sketchup diagram of possibly using a wooden frame to support the TV:

Update May 25th 2017

Thanks to all those who answered, you gave me some great suggestions, and I'm happy to report that I've finally managed to mount the TV on the wall!

I took AndyT's advice and bought some larger 10mm plugs for my 8mm screws.  While I was drilling the larger holes, it felt like I hit brick behind the wall, and the screws feel pretty sturdy, as does the bracket, so I think the TV should be secure.

Here's some pics of the bracket and TV now attached to the wall:


texts: I have a below grade 2 car internal garage.  Basically the house is built into a slope that rises toward the back yard with the garage doors on the front of the house.  So the rear wall is completely below grade with the left side going from partially below grade (door side) to completely below where it meets up with the back wall.  When we first purchased this home in 2002 there was evidence of water penetration on the back wall.  We did some grading on the rear-outside that showed some improvement, but we still were getting some water in the garage with heavy rain.  Next was the downspout.  I dug up the pipe that ran down to the street and found that it was collapsed in places and full of mud.  So there was not much water getting through to the street.  So we replaced that as well.  I thought my problems were solved until the next deluge.  There was still some water building up on the walls and eventually trickling down toward the floor drain in the center of the floor.  As far as home-owner performing tasks, I believe that I exhausted things I could possibly do myself to remedy the water problem.  I got some estimates from a few basement waterproofing companies.  They all wanted to put an interior weeping tile system combined with a sump pump.  I was reluctant to go this route because I wanted to prevent the water from entering my house.  Allowing it to enter and then pumping it back out seemed kinda silly.  When I asked them about excavating on the outside they would balk at that solution.  I figured they would since their bread and butter seems to be putting a band-aid on the problem instead of solving it at the source.  So I hired a local equipment operator to excavate.  He got me down to below the footer so I could lay down a perforated PVC pipe.  With the earth removed I pressure washed and put a few coats of a liquid rubber foundation sealer on the walls.  When the last coat tacked up a bit we put a 6mil vapor shield plastic sheet over the wall.  With the pipe socked I opted to also make a giant filtration sock for the gravel layer.  For this I used a 8 oz geotextile fabric.  So after backfilling all but about the last 15 inches with gravel I have a socked perf pipe surrounded by a giant gravel sock.  This has worked wonderful for the past 18 years.  I get no water penetration on the foundation walls since the time of completion.  The water exiting the pipe is still coming out clean during heavy rains.  The problem I still have is mold on the walls in the garage.  Mostly in the corners where the block walls meet.  Every spring/summer I pull workbenches and tool and storage boxes away from the walls, spray them down with a bleach mixture, followed by a scrub and a rinse.  Last year I paid extra for a solution from Bactronix hoping this would keep the mold at bay a bit longer.  I also run a dehumidifier 24-7 in the garage.  Neither helped as I still see mold growing on the bottom courses of those blocks.  I'm not sure what else to do, or if there is anything I can do to keep mold off of those walls in a non-climate controlled section of the house.  (no vents or returns in there obviously).  I've also done my best to seal the garage doors with new side and door bottom seals.  I assume moisture just simply permeates through the block floor causing my continuing mold issues.  Is there anything I can do to keep the mold from coming back?


texts: Dehumidifying a basement apartment--protable AC Dry Mode or dedicated dehumidifier?

texts:
We just moved into a newly renovated basement apartment and the humidity level is currently at 80% based on a digital hygrometer made by Acurite, at 11.25pm EST.  Portable AC is off.  Is 77 degree.  It does not feel humid unless it gets up to 85%.  We have a LG portable AC with a dehumidifier mode.  According to the spec, it can extra 5.6 pint of moisture per hour.  Roughly, 120+ pint per day???  It seems like is much more powerful than most dedicated, standalone dehumidifier.  My question is that...which is better to lower my humidity?  Using the dehumidifier mode on my LG AC or getting a dedicated, standalone dehumidifier?
When my LG AC is on, either in the COOL mode or DRY mode, the RH can get down to 60%.  In DRY mode, I just have to empty my 2.5 gallon bucket every 6 hour.  In the COOl mode, I don't need to at all.....
Also, if I have to run a dehumidifier for more than 12 hours a day, which is more energy efficient?


texts: I recently remodeled my bathroom and my father-in-law helped me install a new door to the bedroom.  At the time it was installed the door would open and shut perfectly.  But now that the wall and trim have been finished the door is now binding on the latch side of the frame and I have to apply quite a bit of force to it to get it to open and shut.  It seems that the opening for the door has become narrower through the process of installing sheetrock and trim.  Is there any solutions to adjust the door frame permanently without romoving the sheetrock or cutting the door?


texts: I was rewiring a room in my house and noticed a ceiling light was wired black to ground connection. Apparently it has been working correctly for years. Previous owner said they separated switch from outlets to change switch to light fixture and that is only way it worked.: White to white with black to ground.


texts: 200Amp Panel upgrade, Flush panel to Surface mount

texts:
I'm looking to get my house panel upgraded from a 100 amp FPE firestarter panel to new Square D Panel.  The panel I want to use is surface mount and the one built into the house in the 1970's is flush mount.

The picture below shows the panel and an overlay on what I want to do with it.  I'm planning on adding a whole house generator in a few months so I want to be smart about this upgrade to make that process easier and cleaner.

My biggest unknown is how do I get the home runs that currently drop into the top of a flush mount box now into the "back?" of a surface mount box.

I can shift up the new box 12-14 inches which hopefully will let me avoid a bunch of pigtails.

I'm guessing I'll need to pull the old panel, repair the hole in the wall with new stucco, paint etc before mounting the new surface box.

What is best practice here for doing this.

Thx


texts:
I have a chair with some big metal rivets on the back:

It has caused damage to the wall, when people sit the chair slides back and causes this:

How could I fix that? Just putty and paint? If so, please recommend a type of putty. I am a total amateur here. Also, when painting, can I just paint the trouble spot or will it stand out if I don't repaint the entire wall?

I am also looking for something to put on the back of the chair to prevent it from happening in the future, if anyone has advice for that :)


texts: I have been trying to replace this spotlight without success. I could not figure out a way to remove it . Any ideas?


texts: What fails in a centrifugal pump when it runs dry?

texts:
A 3/4 HP 10 GPM shallow well pump for irrigation ran dry for a couple hours due to a technical failure where a feeding valve mounted at the pump inlet blew out of its hole. All the water being pumped escaped from the hole and allowed the pump to lose prime and run dry. When I got to it everything was really hot.

After fixing the PVC and re-priming I tested the GPM and determined I have 50% less (5 GPM). I need the full 10 GPM for my system to work properly.

What exactly failed inside my pump from running dry and can I fix it? I have had this pump apart in the past for another reason so I am comfortable with replacing parts inside.

I'd rather buy overhaul kit parts for $30 than a new pump for $200, but if you think it's too far gone and might not work fully to 10 GPM after the repairs I'll just get the new pump.


texts: Choosing the right replacement pump for well

texts: I have a 40 foot deep 6 inch drilled well.  Currently it has an old 3/4 horsepower jet pump, but it is shedding bits of rusty metal into the return pipe which are getting clogged in the foot valve.  Everyone is recommending that if I have to replace the pump, I switch to a submersible, but nobody can say why other than "they are better".  What are the actual benefits of a submersible over a jet pump (other than being capable of greater depth which doesn't matter here)?  Do I need to get a 3/4 HP submersible, or would a 1/2 be fine since they say they do 12+ GPM at 40 feet?


texts:
I'm planning on replacing the garage coach lights at my house. We have a junction box on the inside of the garage, directly behind where the fixture is mounted however it's behind the plywood / cedar clapboards. This is my question:

The wires for the fixture are not long enough to pass through from the outside of the garage to the box on the inside wall. The wires are about 4 or 5 inches and I probably need at least 10 or 12 inches. Plus, the fixture should be properly mounted on some time of box. I've purchased the outside mounting box shown in the images I've included. Question: Should I use 18 gauge wire from splices in the outside mounting box and connect them with splices in the inside junction box or should I use 14 gauge wire for this connection between the two boxes? Keep in mind that there isn't a lot of room in the outside mounting box. Also, for the ground, can I also use similar 14 gauge wire to extend the ground to the inside box. The fixture takes a max of 2 60 watt lights however will most likely be using LEDs

Images showing outside fixture mounting product is not my house rather its from the product listing.

Images of the fixture and boxes:

https://imgur.com/a/fwQ1FZh

Thanks for any help / guidance.


texts: What do the numbers in screw sizes M3, M4 etc. mean?

texts:
I noticed that in some (many?) countries, screw sizes are listed as "M+number", e.g. M3, M4, M5 and so on.
What does this size designation mean?


texts: Proper way of permanently fixing a heavy utensils drawer with "hanger" rail?

texts:
In my kitchen, all our drawers appear to use a wooden rail "hanger" (at the top of the drawer) to slide in and out:

The problem is our utensil drawer is probably one of the heaviest, and it finally gave out, so I replaced it with a new rail and hanger kit from local home improvement store. However now, a month or so later, the drawer "drops down" when pushed in all the way, and the hanger seems to be worn down quite a bit:

I could replace the hanger again, but it seems like something is inherently wrong here. I'm guessing the wood/plastic hanger system isn't quite meant for a heavy utensil drawer, and there's some better solution? A general contractor wanted an enormous sum to even come take a look, so I'm hoping you kind folks might have some advice. Thanks!


texts: What's the best way of replacing a plug or switch in a house with aluminum wiring?

texts: My house has aluminum wiring, which from what I understand isn't recommended any more. How do I replace a plug or switch since the new unit only takes copper wiring?


texts: Draft from under baseboard - pull back carpet or remove baseboard to caulk?

texts:
Using an infrared thermometer/camera, I found what seems to be a draft coming from beneath a baseboard in the corner of a carpeted room.

I understand that caulking can stop drafts from under baseboards, but I'm wondering if I need to pull back the carpet or remove the baseboards (or do both) to do the job right?

I'm planning to repaint the room and baseboards next week, so I want to try to get the draft fixed first to avoid damaging the newly-painted surfaces.


texts: Safer Diatomaceous Earth, safe to sleep in home with it?

texts: I Just Bought the safer brand of diatomaceous earth, which is not the food grade version i believe. Im trying to use it to get rid of centipedes in the house i just moved into. This seems to be the only thing i could find while googling it for 2 days. I plan on spreading this all throughout the home living room, bedrooms, basement, bathroom, everywhere.. so my question is, will it be okay to be in and sleep in the home while this is spread throughout? Also do i vacuum it up after 48 hours?


texts: Connected C-Wire (previously unused) to thermostat, but still no power?

texts:
In search of help with hooking up a Nest Thermostat E. I have seen several threads seeking solutions for similar issues and have troubleshooted with their proposed solutions with no luck.
I am replacing an older model Honeywell Thermostat which was battery powered (Model: TH4110D1007) with a Nest Thermostat E. The Honeywell did not have a c-wire connected, and used a set of AA batteries for power. The Honeywell had only red, yellow, green, and white wires connected.
After pulling off the Honeywell thermostat I located an unused blue wire behind the wall plate which runs to my Rheem furnace (installed in 2006). I connected the previously unused blue wire to the C terminal at the furnace circuit board and at the thermostat, however it is not powering up the new or old thermostat (without batteries and with c-wire now connected).
I have attached photos of the thermostat hook-up and furnace circuit board. Again for clarification, the blue (c-wire) was previously unused, all I did was hook it up to the furnace and thermostat c terminals. Additionally, the extra red and white wires at the furnace run to my A/C unit.
Seeking any possible solutions or for anyone to tell me what I may have done wrong to not be receiving power.


texts: What should I use to cover the walls of an alcove for a water heater?

texts:
My water heater is located in an alcove on the back corner of the house.  Today I found water line leaking from the heater, replaced and it is good now.  I have always just assumed the walls and ceiling of the alcove was stucco (it is a closet with a door on the outside of the house).  But after replacing the line and looking at the damage, I found it was just drywall with a texture coat.  The drywall is wet and will need to removed but I'm stuck with what to replace it with.  Doing a stucco coat seams out of the question since the family will be out of hot water for a couple of days.  So what should I put up in this 2' by 2' closet?  It has a door but I don't consider this closet to be weather proof but only mostly weather proof.  Is there another acceptable wall covering for this alcove that I can up in day or two.

Edit:  I'm going to have to get insurance involved.  I have water damage in the bathroom that is next to the water heater closet.


texts:
Not 100% this is the right place to ask, but... since I was working on my shed and found this little guy, figured it would fit best in Home Improvement...

Anyways... I'm taking my shed apart (since it's already falling apart and I want to re-build it) and I found this little guy. Anyone know what kind of snake this is? I'm in Southern Delaware:


texts: need to know switch size for a 4 coil electric stove burner

texts: i have burners that are 1500 watt (4 coils) and need to match the switch to the burner. i have seen a 5.2 to 6.5 amp infinite sw on eBay? will that work thanks


texts: In-floor radiant heating hooked up to hot water tank in new home - questions about how it works and operating it

texts:
I've moved into a new 2 story house.  The heating system is in-floor water heating, and the heat source is an electric hot water tank.  I'm hoping you guys can help me figure out how the system works and answer some questions I have about it.

Here is a picture of the setup:

I did my best to inspect the system last night, and here are my assumptions of how it works:

"Tank 1" is my 'normal' hot water tank that provides hot water to my
taps, etc.
"Tank 2" is the hot water tank that pumps hot water
through the in-floor pipes.
Cold water provided to "Tank 1" is forked off to fill up "Tank 2" (arrow 1 in picture).
Arrows 2 and 3 are the hot water provided to the upper and lower levels respectively.
Arrows 4 and 5 are the upper and lower level return pipes.  It looks like they get fed back into the bottom of tank via those red pumps.

First of all, do my assumptions seem reasonable?

Assuming my assumptions are correct, here are my questions:

There are analog thermostats on the upper and lower levels that are both turned completely to the lowest setting.  The pumps aren't active.  The piping that arrow 2 is pointing to (hot water to the upper floor) is quite hot, but the pipe that arrow 3 is pointing to is not hot at all.  Why is pipe #2 hot?
Probably related to question 1, there are two spots on the upper floor that are quite warm, but the rest of the floor is not.  I would expect the floor not to be warm at all.  Why might the floor be warm in only two locations?  I'm guessing it has something to do with pipe #2 being hot.
Once "Tank 2" fills up, does water ever need to flow in from arrow #1?  I would guess not since it seems like it would be a closed loop.  Could I theoretically shut the valve off at arrow #1 safely and not have it affect the heating system?
If I wanted to completely turn off the heating system in the warmer months to save heating costs, how would I do that?
a. Would I shut off the electricity to the tank (that big grey box behind arrow #2)?

b. Would I just turn the thermostat on the actual hot water tank down to the lowest setting?

c. Could I also shut off the water supply to the tank (arrow #1) safely?

d. Would it be bad to have 'stagnant' water in the tank that isn't flowing during the summer?
I've read that you want to hook up a garden  hose to the attachment at the bottom of a hot water tank every year to get rid of sediment build up.  Should I still do that with "Tank 2"?
Whenever I adjust either of the wall thermostats, both pumps seem to turn on.  Does this mean that my heating system is either on or off for the entire house?  In other words, I only have one heating 'zone'?

Full disclosure: I only learned how hot water tanks work yesterday.

Thanks everyone.


texts: How do I divert rain water off of property?

texts:
My upper back yard sits on a slight hill. When it rains, water forms in holes like springs, and water continues to run down my driveway days after it has stop raining.

I just had a new driveway poured and the rust from the rain coming out of carport has damaged the newly poured concrete. The problem water has been going on for over 12yrs.

It's coming through the basement, which has a large concrete add-on slab in front of the basement. Water continues to get through even with a sump pump, and the window well get full even while there covered.


texts: Electricians came in last week to drill and install pot lights.. are they in charge of plastering and making sure all is OK for painting?

texts:
So Electricans came in to install some pot lights.  8 per room.
Some of the pot lights have cracks around the drywall where the hole was drilled.
Some cracks they created while drilling the holes were plastered and fixed by the electricans.
Some of the plaster was not sanded well.

Now our painter is coming in this week to paint the entire house.
Is the painter responsible for plastering and sanding non-smooth area's of the ceiling? (and walls?).
His job will take more time now that he has to fix certain area's of the ceiling.

Do I need to bring the electrician back in to fix the area's so the painter doesn't charge us for more labour of patching holes, sanding, etc?


texts: Removing cabinets and matching Ceiling knockdown underneath

texts: My husband and I recently pulled out some upper cabinets in our kitchen. I want to DIY spray texture the knockdown but the problem I ran into after priming the area is there is a ridge in the ceiling texture where the cabinets used to be. I tried spraying over the ridge but it shows right through. What can I do to make it not look like there was cabinetry there? (I tried to add a picture but it won’t let me :/ )


texts: How can I remove water-based emulsion paint from paving slabs?

texts:
On painting the bedrooms in our new house, we've gotten some (mainly) water-based paint on some of the paving slabs on the patio. A little of it may be oil-based gloss we used for skirting boards, but the majority is emulsion.

Is there an easy way to remove it without a lot of laborious scrubbing? I was rather hoping the rain might make it fade, but it's been a few weeks and that was clearly overly optimistic on my part ;)


texts: Why do I have no power in two rooms after plugging something in?

texts:
I plugged something into an outlet, and heard a sort of a sizzle noise. Now I have no power in two rooms, but the breaker did not trip?

Any ideas into what happened?


texts:
I put my fingers toward the window jamb and feel a slight draft of cold air coming from the silver-colored metal rail that the lower sash slides on (See picture).

By holding a piece of cardstock at the corner between the upper sash and that rail and putting my hand on either side of it, I've determined the cold air is coming from the silver rail area, as opposed to from between the upper sash and the jamb. The window sashes have some fuzzy weatherstripping between the sash and jamb.

So it feels like air is infiltrating through the side of the window. Why would this happen, and is there anything that could be done? I have several windows, and they are all similar.

Note, in learning about window anatomy, I've observed that "rail" refers to the top of a window sash. But here, by rail, I mean the silver metal pictured upon which the window sash slides. I don't know what it's called. Maybe channel is the correct term?


texts: What are some materials that I can use to build a chalkboard?

texts:
I want to make a chalkboard wall in the house.
I want it to be black or dark, not light colored
I want the best chalkboard surface
I want it to feel very solid/immovable when installed

What do you recommend?

So far I've found

Marsh Sheet Material - Porcelain Steel
Marsh Sheet Material - 1/4" Composition Chalkboard
One of the comments mentions using slate

Hmm..

EDIT

It needs to follow these instructions

It's an authentic chalkboard coating on a piece of metal so it's also magnetic. Specialty product. Not paint.

However for my use, magnetic is not a requirement.. but it is nice.


texts: What (cheap) material could I use for a squirrel baffle atop a bird feeder?

texts:
We have a bird feeder in our wooded yard, hanging down from a tree branch, its top covered with a 'squirrel baffle' of about two feet diameter.
We also have gazillions of squirrels that love to eat the stuff in the bird feeder (and deter the birds).

I made sure the bird feeder is hanging in a place where the squirrels can't jump to (it's about 10 feet away from anything else).
However, we have watched the squirrels climb down the rope the bird feeder is hanging on, heads up, and then slide down the baffle, swinging around the edge, and grabbing onto the bird feeder while falling (some quite impressive acrobatics).

I think having a larger baffle would solve that problem, because they would fall down too far away from the bird feeder to grab it. I am thinking about a rounded metal, wood, or plastic sheet, formed like a trashcan lid, but a bit larger (I'd like 4 to 5 feet diameter).

I'm not qualified to make something like that myself, and don't want to spend a lot of money on some custom built thing.
What object could I buy cheaply and 're-dedicate' to be a squirrel baffle?

Trashcan lids are too small, umbrellas are too easily destroyed (shredded) by the squirrels. A walk through the local home improvement stores didn't show me anything  of that form.


texts: Our kitchen sink was draining slow and slower and then nothing. Trying find the clog, at some point we took the vent off (next to or under sink, not roof) and it drains perfect. Put the vent back on and it's plugged up again, take the vent off and it drains great. Already got a new vent thinking that was  the problem, installed it and same problem as above


texts:
I have a main breaker panel downstairs, and a subpanel upstairs. After I hired an electrician to rerun the service entry cables, nothing upstairs is right, and all the upstairs lights blew as soon as they were turned on.

Testing with a multimeter, I'm reading 240V from hot to neutral on all the outlets upstairs. I get the correct reading downstairs, 120V, so the problem seems to be the subpanel wiring.

I don't see any mistakes in the subpanel. Everything looks normal to me: no double-tapping; these are all single pole breakers; the neutrals and grounds are isolated from one another. What could be causing a single pole breaker to provide 240V? There must be something obvious I'm missing.

Here is the disconnect for the panel upstairs:

Here is the panel:

Multimeter readings: hot to neutral: 240V. hot to ground, 120V.


texts: Panel switched back on fried garage door opener (need surge protector)

texts:
I shut off the power to this entire house, from inside, the larger main switch at the top of the panel. 12 hours later we started hearing the garage door opener circuit board make a noise like a relay flickering. Seems it's toast upon inspection (ordered part for $60).

Would a small surge protector like the one below prevent that from happening again to another $200, 10 year old device like that?

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Protector-Suppressor-SPIKECUBE/dp/B00006B81E?tag=thewire06-20&ascsubtag=WC28180

Backstory:
We bought this home and have found some weird stuff I've yet to dig into. 50-90vac on some of the switch plate screws. Other places, 30vac still when the circuit breaker is off. Other outlets have only 30vac hot to neutral. All on one line luckily. But that's another question for another time. I will check all that out later this month.


texts: How to make the door shut on its own after opening?

texts:
There are some kind of door devices which push the door back after we open the door and come out.

My problem is that the door area is not constructed in a way that such a device can be installed.

There is no space adjacent to the door anywhere.

Automatic closure of door is extremely important to me.

Please see following pictures and tell what choices do I have.


texts: Placement of a package unit heat pump for my shop

texts:
I was wondering if I would benefit by locating my 3 ton package unit heat pump  closer to the load center. The ducting would be my only interference with it closer to the load center. The unit would also be in the sun during the hottest time of day.

If the unit is to be placed 50 feet on the other side of the shop, it will be in the shade during the hot part of day. The ducting will not interfere with anything. I just have to run 75 feet of 6ga wires instead of 20 feet.


texts: How to properly double on ceiling joists

texts:
I'd like to double my ceiling joists to make my attic space easier to work in (for electrical/plumbing) and for lightweight storage.

Status Quo: 2x4's (actual size) spaced 16" on-center running the width of the building uninterrupted, with the ends resting on top of the wall top plate. Each joist is strong enough to support my weight (~175lbs ) concentrated in a ~1' segment of the joist, and there isn't much deflection either.

Goal: Reinforce the joists and lay down a wood subfloor (OSB, ply, etc.) so I'm not tiptoeing on joists whenever I'm up there.

Plan: "Sister" or double the ceiling joists with 2x6's or 2x8's with the ends resting on the wall top plates then lay the subfloor on the new joists.

Question: I understand that there are requirements for doubling joists, including how frequently they need to be fastened, but does this plan make sense overall?


texts:
I currently have a sump pump in my basement. I recently lost power during a rain storm and had to pump water out by hand until power was restored so I am looking to install a battery backup for the sump pump. I already have a 110 amp hour marine deep cycle battery which powers a 60 foot pound electric trolling motor for at least 4 hours so I believe that a sump pump should be able to be powered by this deep cycle battery.

I was looking at the sump pump and saw that it should take 920 watts when it is operating and I calculated that by multiplying 8 amps at 115 volts which is what the cap on the top of the sump pump says. I was looking at power inverters and I was wondering would a 1000 watt power inverter be enough power? I heard that when sump pumps first turn on they use more power than their continuous operating level.

EDIT- I was planning on keeping the sump pump plugged in to an outlet unless we lose power. If we did lose power, I was planning on unplugging the sump pump from the outlet and plugging it into the inverter that was being powered by the marine deep cycle battery.


texts: I've installed a new disposal on it's own 20A circuit with a wall switch, everything works fine... no problems. I was told it needs to be a GFCI receptacle. What say you?


texts: No furnace fan in cooling mode while hooked to a fresh air damper controller

texts:
I added a fresh air damper and control, ( Soler Palau MD6-ES24VK) to my furnace (2006 York GY9S). The damper worked great in the winter but now that I am doing some cooling, I noticed that the outside compressor and fan come on but the inside furnace fan does not come on. Also, the thermostat fan-on setting does not work in hot or cold weather anymore. I have five wires: W, Y, R. G and C. The G wire from the thermostat was removed at the furnace and sent to the damper controller G connection. A separate wire was taken from the furnace G spot to a B connection at the damper control. With a little research I have determined that the furnace fan is automatic with heating but not with cooling.

When I unhooked the damper controller and put everything back as originally installed, it all worked normally again. The furnace fan worked in cooling and the thermostat fan-on control worked.

When I tried to get support from Soler Palau, the person that I talked to had no clue. How can I wire things so that I am able to use the fresh air damper control with cooling? Please help.


texts: Ceiling leaks When it Rains, Roof Looks Good

texts: My ceiling drips water sometimes when it rains (especially when it rains hard). It seems inconsistent though, so I think that it may have something to do with the angle at which the rain comes in. The leak is at the apex of my ceiling, so I know the leak must be just about directly above that spot on my ceiling. My roof is about 10 years into its life span, but it seems to be in good shape. I got on-top of my roof, but couldn't see anything wrong with the shingles near the spot that leaks. How should I proceed? Should I buy some more shingles and put them on top of the others at that same spot on my roof? Should I take up a bucket of water and see if I can reproduce the leak?


texts:
My 50s era ranch home is wired using cloth-covered NM, as you can see in these photos (taken in a basement closet located under the stairwell where the NM is run exposed):

Should I be suspicious of this wire, or is it still good for a significant service life?  Also, will I have to pull an outlet or switch to tell if it carries a ground wire, or is that ruled out by the age of this cable?  Was cloth-jacket NM ever made with a ground wire?


texts: How do I clean a very dirty refrigerator?

texts: I just got a new house and inherited a very moldy and mildewy refrigerator.  My first though it to get some cleaning spray with bleach and just go to town, but I'm worried the bleach might damage the fridge in some way.  It's close enough to an outside door that I could take it outside and hose it out as well.  I'm wondering if others have had a similar situation and got good results with a particular set of cleaning products.


texts: How can I stop birds from hitting my sunroom windows?

texts: Over the last three days, I have probably had over a dozen birds try to fly through my sunroom, only to be stopped by the 72"X52" sliding windows; three of the birds have died.  What can I do so that the birds realize there is a window there, therefore, preventing them from flying into them?


texts: Do I bond ground and neutral for a feed from a disconnect?

texts:
I have a detached garage that has a 3 wire feed, powered from a separate 100amp disconnect from the main panel. Originally the old box had the ground and neutrals together on the same bar.  I discovered this upon installing a new box and assumed it was wired wrong due to everything I've read about sub panels and how they shouldn't be bonded.

Upon further research I have seen others say that since my sub panel isn't connected to my main panel in the house, that my sub should have ground and neutral bonded. I'm without power for 3 days now.


texts: Electric heat does not turn off when desired temperature reached

texts:
My electric heat (baseboards) do not turn off when the room reaches the desired temperature. It does turn off, however, when the thermostat setting itself switches (automatically if there's a schedule shift or manually).
I tried switching to a thermostat I know works fine and the problem is still there.
I have seen these already and they do not solve my problem:

Heater will not shut off when it reaches desired temperature
Why won't my heater turn off when it reaches my desired temperature?


texts: How can I align an existing drain trap with my new kitchen sink?

texts:
Installed new kitchen sink and the drain is 4" off from the existing p-trap.

The below pics illustrate my problem. Today I will buying  a tailpiece with a dishwasher connect.

When the tailpiece is installed what other parts will be needed  to align the tailpiece with the existing p-trap setup?


texts: Can I install a rocket stove inside my house?

texts:
After having build a this type of rocket stove(*), I was wondering if you are allowed to build a rocket stove mass heater into your house?

Are there any restriction?

(*) I don't think it's a rocket stove. That would need to re-burn the fumes.

I'm not affiliated to both websites whatsoever.


texts:
I was boiling water and turned the setting to highest, left it for less than five minutes and the next thing that happened our electricity fluctuated and our burner was on (a small) fire. I had to turn the setting twice to turn it off. A small section of our burner melted and so did a small part of the pot I used. We covered the burner and the knob that was used for it as well.

My questions are:

Is the stove, excluding that one melted burner,still safe to use?
If it's fixable, how do I fix it?

P.S
Our stove is old, not sure when it was bought.


texts: Can I build an extended shed base around an existing concrete base?

texts:
I recently bought a house that has a garden around 20ft wide.
At the end of the garden is an old shed (6ft wide x 9ft long), about a ft away from the fence. Given it only takes up half the garden width, I wanted to take this down and put a much bigger one (17ft wide x 9 ft long).
The thing is, the current shed is sitting on a concrete base, however the rest of the bit is just mud and poorly kept lawn. As I'll need to build a base there for the bigger shed, I'm not sure what to do with the current concrete base.
I was planning on putting in a base with paving slabs, as I think that it'll look nicer when the slabs stick out a little bit, but wasn't sure what to do with the existing base.
Is there anything bad about just building my paving around the base, assuming it is all level?
Incase it wasn't clear, the current base is just concrete that's been poured and flattened, not concrete slabs I can just lift up again.
Whilst none of the walls of the new shed should sit on the concrete slab, it will most definitely sit on the paving touching the concrete slab.
Where I live, it isn't prone to frosting. I do live in London so we get a fair bit of rain.
EDIT: Just measured again. There is a chance one of the walls may sit on the slab if I want to keep it the same distance away from the fence.


texts: Gap between door and frame is too large at latch location

texts:
As you can see in the photo the gap is the right size towards the top and bottom of the door but widens in the middle and is the widest where the lock is so the bolt barely reaches the strike plate.

The hinge side is fine and seems even. Looks like someone half assed the trim part? (Not sure the name of that piece of wood, stopper?)

Anyway what could I do so the latch seats better. Was thinking of shimming the striker but not sure what type of wood would be strongest.