texts:
I had a new cooktop installed but it does not work.  The unit replaced an old one and was simply plugged into the existing outlet.  After checking the basics (no tripped breakers, etc), I whipped out the old multimeter and measure the voltage difference between each input.  The results were surprising:

h1 - h2 = 240  (correct)
h1 - N  = 0    (should be 120)
h2 - N  = 240  (should be 120)
h1 - G  = 120  (correct)
h2 - G  = 120  (correct)
N  - G  = 120  (should be 0)

h1 = Hot 1
h2 = Hot 2
N = Neutral
G = Ground
(Parenthesis are what I expected to measure)

I'm obviously mis-wired, but which wires are in error?


texts: Replace reusable air filter with disposable, when no size matches?

texts:
My friend's house has HVAC whose air filter is a rectangular metal frame filled with washable fiber mesh. It doesn't look like it could catch fine particles.

We wanted to try an off-the-shelf allergen filter (e.g. Filtrete) but couldn't find a matching size at Home Depot or Lowes. The closest fit would leave a 1" gap (about the size of the frame) on each side. Is there an adapter to wrap around it? Is this a specialty size not sold in stores? Or do we need something else entirely?


texts: I want to install a house humidifier.  Right now I'm thinking of buying an Aprilaire 600.  But my house set up does not look anything like the videos I've seen.  Are the vents behind the insulation?  See picture.  I'm thinking of putting it right above the drain pump.  Would that work?


texts: Applying flammable coating at temperature below its flash point

texts:
I want to apply a xylene-based urethane coating with a flash point of 81 degrees (F) to an epoxy floor in a windowless 8' x 8' room equipped with near-new 100-CFM exhaust fan. I hope to be able to encapsulate the room and vent the rather noxious vapors with just this exhaust fan.

If the ambient temperature of the room will be about 65 Degrees (F) - below the coating's flash point - as the motor runs, am I still at risk of the motor igniting the vapors, or do I need to rent an explosion-proof blower to vent the room?


texts: How do I get rid of these bees/wasps in my sunroom?

texts:
Found this in my sunroom this morning:

It's hard to see (I didn't want too get too close) but the bees are really strange looking - very long almost like 2 bees connected in a row.

I know there's Wasp Killer, Hornet Killer, General Bee Killer, etc. Want to make sure I use the right product that kills them dead.


texts: 120 volt outlet not functioning properly

texts: voltage is 120,circuit tester says all positions and correct .  It will run a small .6 amp fan fine but a 2.1 amp box fan funs about 1/2 speed.  My circular saw just grunts, no go. what is up?


texts: Central Heat Won't Turn On When I Raise the Temperature on Nest Thermostat

texts:
I'm sure my heater is working. It's 47 degrees outside, and I'm only a little cool inside. My Nest thermostat is set to 67 degrees. The screen on my app (which agrees with the thermostat) is shown below.

I tried to make it a little warmer, putting the setting to 72 degrees and nothing happened. I raised the temperature further, and still nothing, all the way up to 90 degrees. It's been nearly an hour now, an nothing is happening.

The thermostat screen says "Heat Stage 2". I don't know if that is related to my question below, but I'd like to know. And the screen is orange when the setting is above 67 degrees.

If I set the temperature below 67 degrees, the screen turns gray and is says "Heat Set To" whatever I set it to. And a green leaf appears.

I have used this thermostat for many months now without any major issues.

Have I inadvertently configured something or accepted some utility company mode of operation that is preventing me from having a system that is more responsive to my manual temperature setting? Is the auto-scheduling the reason I can't control the temperature? (I think I just recently accepted the suggestion to try that.)

UPDATE

I woke up this morning to 37 degrees outside and the thermostat reading 71 degrees. It was comfortable inside all night. The furnace was running when I woke up, and probably off and on during the night.

I think this has something to do with the program that the Nest is running. Accepting suggested settings offered by our utility company probably has something to do with this unwillingness to follow the temperature I manually dialed in. I'm sure there's a way to override that in the settings, but the most obvious way - using the temperature setting on the dial - didn't work. I'll have to call Nest product support to see what is going on. I'll post back if and when they tell me what's going on.

In the meantime, all your Nest are belong to us.

Also, it's not a heat pump.


texts:
first question here. We're having a bathroom remodeled. The first tub that was delivered had a huge crack in it, so we asked for a replacement. The second one took 2 weeks to arrive. It has two tiny cracks in the corner. One appears to be (shoddily) covered over by plaster.

We're ready to send this back and ask for another replacement, knowing fully well that this will delay our project further. Is there any universe in which we'd actually install this instead? What would the risks of doing so be?


texts: Air conditioning fan not turning, motor very hot

texts:
The air conditioning in one zone of my house isn't turning.  I have a Goodman air conditioning unit in that zone.  I noticed that the fan motor was very hot (estimate 150 degrees F).  It was much hotter than the other unit that was working.  I disassembled it enough to be able to turn the fan with my hand and the bearings feel good.  I tried flicking the fan with a screwdriver with it assembled, but it didn't start up.  It seems like the start capacitor is a common problem, but I wouldn't expect the motor would be so hot if that were bad.

I turned off the power and let the fan cool off, but it didn't help.  I didn't hear any humming or anything.  Any idea what could be wrong?


texts: How to remove silicone caulk from a shower wall?

texts: I took down a shampoo dispenser and now I have several big blobs of moldy silicone caulk on the shower wall.  I bought a plastic razor scraper and a bottle of Goo Gone Caulk Remover, which gets high marks for removing silicone on Amazon, but I haven't even made a dent.  I think part of the problem is that the wall is vertical (duh :) and the remover is liquid, so it doesn't stay on the caulk long enough to do the job. Is there a gel formula out there that works well, or some other technique that would work better?


texts: Plumber unable to replace Moen shower cartridge

texts:
A plumber I hired to replace the cartridge in a dripping Moen shower faucet at home said that he couldn't pull the cartridge out and so will need to replace the entire valve.

The leaking faucet is in a tiled stand up shower, so he will need to access the valve from the other side of the wall to not have to break the tiles, which in turn means this work will entail opening up the drywall and fixing it afterwards. He said he would fix the drywall with an access panel so we can access the valve easily if this happens again.
 The plumber said he tried different ways to pull the cartridge out but stopped because he was worried that he would break the pipes/valve.

I'm still hesitant to jump into all the extra work he recommends because he didn't seem to use the Moen puller, which makes me question his competence.

Has anyone had or heard of a scenario where the cartridge couldn't be pulled out even with a puller? Is it worth it for me to try to replace the cartridge myself after getting a puller and following Youtube videos, or is a stuck cartridge common enough that I should trust the plumber?


texts:
I have a garage which was wired up by an electrician to be my workshop. There are several runs of electrical cable (including one 60A, 220V circuit) running along the ceiling of the garage. They are not in conduit.

Now, I'd like to add some fluorescent lights to the ceiling. I'm planning on using conduit lighting/fixtures to use an existing 15A circuit and convert an outlet to a conduit box for this. This circuit will not be used for anything other than the lighting. In total, we're talking about 4x fluorescent lighting fixtures which would hold 2x 40W bulbs each.

My question is, can I run conduit at perpendicular angles to the cable already in place? Or, will I need to figure out a path so that the conduit does not cross the cables in place?

Futher, since I already have cable running in the garage not in conduits, and this seemed to be fine, can I just run the lighting without the need for conduits?

If it makes any difference, I am located in Colorado.


texts: Is it better to vertically or horizontally stack two TV antennas to get stations from opposite directions?

texts:
If I had two (identical) Yagi antennas, and wanted to point them in different directions to get stations from opposite sides of my location, would there be any advantages to mounting them both (vertically) on the same mast, as opposed to side-by-side on the roof?

I'm not stacking them in order to get better gain; I just want to pick up additional channels from two separate directions.


texts: What could cause a replacement A/C condenser fan motor to only run for 3 minutes?

texts:
Just replaced a GE 5KCP39FG Condenser fan motor with an AC Smith FSE1026SF.  HVAC Counter sales told me it was the right one and gave me a Partners Choice Capacitor 01-0085 to match.

Old motor 3 wires and no reversible plug.  New Motor 4 wires (brown/white is new wire) and has reversing plug.  Took picture of old motor installation and confirmed at HVAC counter sales how to wire new motor.  Old Black is new Black (goes to plug module on condenser frame, Old Yellow is new white (Goes to 4 prong on Capacitor), Old Brown is new Brown and Brown/White (goes to 2 prong Fan on capaciter), Blue from condenser chassis (goes to 3 prong HERM on Capacitor).

Turned on electricty and AC and everything started like a champ for about 3 minutes then the fan cut out and I noticed the fan moter was very hot.  Also, it was not near the RPMs I remember.

So I fiddled.  Took off Brown and White and turned on electricity.  Condenser fired up , but no fan.  Touched Brown/White to capacitor and fan started.  Once it was spinning, I untouched the Brown/WHiite and the RPMs increased to full speed, then cut out after 2 minutes due to motor heating up.

Last item. When comparing motor info, all the info between the two is the same except for amperage.  Old motor was 1.4, new motor is 2.0.

What can I do and is it the motor amperage?


texts: How can I seal a roof vent to resolve drafts in my home?

texts:
I have a very drafty house and feel the cold air through my ac vents which are in my attic.
I looked up there and saw a lot of snow on the cellulose I have in the attic. The snow is right under the hole I have attached. Though there's a cover I can hear the wind outside and would explain the drafts and cold air I feel in the house.   What is the proper way to close this off?


texts: What is the best way to clean toilet bowl stains?

texts:
Bought a house a little over a year ago and it was previously a foreclosure and sat for a while.  Because of that, it hadn't been cleaned for a while and developed some stains around the water line in all the toilets that we haven't been able to get off.

Anyone have any tips on how to get rid of them?  Rather unsightly and sure there must be a way to clean them off.

Have tried some different tips I'd heard, like pouring a 20oz Coke in the toilet and let it sit over night... that didn't work.


texts: how do i troubleshoot a substantial AC volatge neutral to ground?

texts:
I've been having some problems with my computers at home. Today I decided to check voltage from the receptacles. I have 120VAC hot to Neutral, as I would expect, but then I have 50VAC Hot to GND, and Neutral to GND. I had a heat pump installed a month ago, Im not sure if that is part of the issue, the guys who installed it, were the last people in my panel. I have also noticed a higher than normal electrical bill for the past few months.
I tried unplugging nearly all the devices (not the heat pump), but I still observe the stray 50VAC. It seems to fluctuate between 20-50VAC.  Im not sure how to trace out what is causing the issue, I get the 50VAC nuetral to gnd at every receptacle in the house.


texts: reducing pipe size between well pump and pressure tank!

texts: I am replacing my leaking well pressure tank which is sitting next to my well. It has a 1 inch inlet to the tank and a 3/4 line to my house roughly forty feet away. Is there any good reason why I cannot bypass the old pressure tank, put in a reducer and tie on to the line to the house and set the new tank in my cellar where the existing 3/4 line enters the piping system? My well pump is submerged about 80 feet.


texts: How is a a two phase, three wire, grounding plug such as a NEMA 6-20P safe to use?

texts:
I'm looking to use a piece of commercial equipment in my home, and I've been reading about AC current and circuits. I currently have access to an old style non grounding 10-30 style plug, which I understand is unsafe to adapt this device to plug into, because it has no ground.

I've been reading that during normal operation, current is supposed to use the neutral as a return path, and in the event of a neutral fault, ground is supposed to become the return path, which trips the breaker. My question is, if the 6-20 plug doesn't have a neutral, and only has two hots and a ground, doesn't that mean that the ground wire is used as the return path, and the stainless enclosure of this appliance is ungrounded?

How is this safe?

EDIT: The outlet I currently have is for an older dryer, and is a NEMA 10-30. The plug for the new device is a NEMA 6-20p, and it's for an induction cook top.


texts: Yellow zinc construction screws and brass bathroom fitting

texts: Can I use yellow zinc coated construction screws on shower brass fitting?


texts: What are some methods to align switches in a multi-gang box?

texts:
The most difficult task I encounter when wiring switches or outlets is getting multiple devices within a multi-gang box to align properly so I can put the cover plate on.
What are some tips to get them lined up so all the cover plate screws will go in?
Note: I'm not talking about wiring the switches or outlets themselves, just getting the devices lined up within the box since the device mounting screw goes through a hole in the box, but a slot in the device. This makes it easy for the devices to not be perfectly vertical or for 2 devices to be too far apart or too close together to match up with the holes in the cover plate.

I know this is rather broad and there will likely not be a "best" answer. If there's support, I'll happily make this community wiki and would recommend the answers be made such, as well. Except that I don't see the "make wiki" check box that I thought I'd seen before.


texts: I am installing a new Bathroom Fan/Light combo to replace an older unit.  The new one comes with 5 connections  - 2 black and 2 white (one of each labeled fan and light) plus a ground.  My wiring has 4 wires - 1 black, 1 white, 1 red and a ground.  Need some advice on how to wire this properly.  Thanks in advance.


texts: Faucet-mount filter thread/size incompatibility

texts:
I am trying to install a Culligan FM-25 filter onto a faucet, and it does not seem to fit. I am able to screw on the filter, but it is not secure, and water bubbles/sprays out the top. It appears that the faucet head is too long (or has too many threads)? I know that my filter can accommodate 55/64"-27 M faucet spouts. If the filter at least partly screws onto the faucet, then isn't the faucet 55/64"-27 M as well? I can't find any examples of thread spacings other than 27 threads per inch for 55/64, so I'm assuming the faucet size is also 55/64"-27 M (but I could be wrong).
I have a picture of the faucet head as well as one of the water filter and aerator that I've removed from the faucet. As you can see, the aerator appears to be much deeper than the filter mount. Not only is there an unthreaded region above the threads, but I can count 4 visible levels of threading above the washer, whereas only 3 levels are visible on the mount of my filter.

If the faucet and filter are both 55/64", and yet the two are incompatible, I have no idea how to fix this, because surely there aren't any 55/64"-27 <-> 55/64"-27 adapters out there. I suppose I could try joining two adapters together, but it would probably make the end of the faucet too low.
Edit, possibilities:

Threading of faucet is something like 24 per inch but same width, hence allowing me to screw on the filter, at least partially, but prevents a good seal.
Width is slightly different (not sure if this is possible)
Somehow faucet having too many threads prevents attachment of my filter

In the case of the first possibility, what thread size is the same width as 55/64"-27 M, but has <27 threads per inch?


texts: How does the cost of conduit compare to conventional wiring?

texts:
I know I want to future proof my new construction by installing conduit instead of trying to guess what wires I'll want in 50 years.

But I want to understand the cost of conduit vs. non-conduit, at time of construction (before the drywall goes up).

EDIT An important bit of context here: I plan a concrete slab under the floor, and unconventional exterior walls that are nearly impossible to fish through later. So getting conduit right is particularly important.


texts: Smart Energy Tracking / Metering Receptacle Outlet

texts:
I am searching for a power receptacle outlet that tracks and reports energy usage like a KillAWatt device but looks like a regular receptacle and connects to my WiFi so I can access it via phone app.

The closest item to what I was looking for is an Insteon Remote Control On/Off Outlet but it does not have the ability to track energy usage.

Does anybody know of a power receptacle outlet (in wall) that can do this?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is it okay to put rigid sheet foam insulation directly over studs before installing sheetrock (fiberglass insulation would be in the walls)?

texts: We want to improve the insulation in a bedroom.  Will it cause a problem (condensation, etc) if we put rigid sheet foam insulation that completely covers all the studs before installing the sheetrock?  There will be fiberglass insulation between all the studs.


texts: I was looking at a house and the bathrooms appear to have no exhaust fans. It does have these little things that look like they might be vents of some sort. Could they be sufficient for ventilation to remove moisture, with no apparent fans? The house is from the 80s. There are no windows in the bathrooms.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How can I drill a hole in a small stick of wood?

How could I drill right the way through a lenth of wood,like a broomstick,without cutting it in sections ?


texts: Regarding Admiral electric dryer model # ADE7000AYW / Glide Pads & Drum Seals

texts: OK the REAL problem, knowing how to fix the dryer & being able to afford ALL of the parts are 2 very different things. The parts aren't as expensive as say the motor, yet I can only afford the Glides & Pads OR the Drum Felt Seal. & Now I'm wondering if the Felt Drum seals, & the Pads, found under the plastic glides, are basically the same material? I'm thinking of replacing the front felt drum seal. Then using the discarded old felt seal to replace the Glide Pads. Will that be a SAFE way to repair both issues? The drum belt is new, but the front of the drum is loudly scraping, top of dryer frame is way too hot, leaving rub marks on the drum. If the felt won't work for the pads, the likeliest part to stop the scraping is Glides&Pads OR the Front Drum Seal?


texts: Can I add recessed lights to a ceiling fan, without adding a new switch?

texts: I currently have a ceiling fan with a light in my bedroom, that is controlled primarily by a single switch, but the light and the fan are also controlled separately by pull chains on the fan.  What I want to do, if possible, is add some recessed lights to the room, that are connected to the fan switches (ie. the wall switch has to be on, but the pull chain for the fan light has to be on for the recessed lights to be on).  So I want to be able to run the fan with the lights all turned off, as well as the lights with the fan off.  Can I hook canned lights up to be controlled by the fan pull chains?


texts: Parts of the bottom of my siding have rotten (images attached). The wood feels soft to touch and breaks easily. The cause of the problem is probably dripping water from rain (I am not sure about this). I am wondering if further rotting will stop if I board up the bottom part with vinyl boards, making sure that water does not drip from the siding wood itself. I am not considering cutting the rotten part off unless deemed necessary, hence the question. In case the climate has any bearing on the issue, I live in Omaha, Eastern Nebraska.


texts:
I just removed a stove and fan, and am left with this rectangular exit for the fan exhaust.

I would like to hook up a dryer in place, and am wondering the best way to connect the round duct from the dryer to the rectangular wall opening.


texts: How can window condensation in a leased condo be dried, if I'll be away for 3 weeks, without towels?

texts:
I will be leaving my leased condominium in Toronto, Canada for three weeks  on 1 Feb. 2019. In cold weather, my window  and balcony door sills have pools of water on the floor that sometimes pour into my hardwood floor, much more wringing than the pictures beneath. When I'm here, I sop them up myself.  I don't have anyone who can come into my unit daily to soak up.

Towels don't feel that efficacious to me. Won't they stay water-logged?


texts: Preparing concrete slab for porcelain tile after removing vinyl tiles and mastic

texts:
My bathroom has VAT (vinyl asbestos tile) and I have taken to removing it by steaming the tiles and peeling them up slowly. For the black mastic underneath I am using BlueBear 500MR which is just a soybean oil that emulsifies the mastic. The mastic is then squeegeed away into an absorbent compound from ZEP. Relatively painless so far and has worked quite well. BlueBear Recommends a degreaser (BlueBear 700DG) afer use to remove the remaining oil.

This is where things become unclear for me. I have read that the degreaser will remove the "sealer" from the slab and render new adhesive unbondable. Once I clean the floor of the mastic and mastic remover with degreaser, how should I proceed to prep the surface of the slab for adhesion? Do I need to prime/reseal the concrete?

Home built in southern U.S. in 1970s. I have ordered the degreaser product and am waiting on it. So far this has been done in a test spot but I want clarity before I proceed..


texts: Reverse polarity on outlets, any negative side-effects?

texts:
I've lived in a variety of different places where polarities have been different on a per-outlet basis, ie the neutral is where the hot should be. I've never noticed any ill effects from this.

Are there any side-effects of having the polarities reversed? My understanding is that almost any AC device out there will just simply flow the other way if the polarity is backwards.


texts: I'm a housekeeper and we are remodeling our entire hotel. The painters have gotten paint on the tubs. I can get the paint off the walls of the tub no problem. What can I use to get the paint off the floor of the tub. I can't scrape it off because the tub is textured (to prevent slipping)


texts: Upright Freezer won’t come back on once it shuts off

texts: Replaced controller and capacitor on compressor, still won’t cycle on. Banged on door slightly and it came on. Does this every time it goes off. Any ideas on what I should check?


texts:
Is there anyway to safely mount a ceiling fan to this type of older ceiling junction box (see the photos)?

I rent an old 1920's built house where an old hanging light fixture junction box was covered with a blank panel. I want to hang a ceiling fan in this living room, but when exposed I see this old junction box that is really in the plaster and would be a huge hassle to replace.

One photo is how it looked when I first removed the blank cover.  You will see the old threaded light fixture mount.  With that mount removed as well as some plaster, you can see it is in there pretty well.  There is no access from above it since that is a wooded bedroom floor directly upstairs.  That junction box appears to be held sturdy by the two rusty-colored head screws (see photo) to a metal cross bar behind it.

I am sure my landlord would not be cool with having the ceiling torn apart more to replace this old junction box, so I wanted to see if anyone thinks there is an adapter or way to retrofit and adapt this box to mount a ceiling fan.


texts: What is the lifespan of plywood as roof decking?

texts:
We have a 30 year old roof in New England, which we have begun to interview roofers for this spring/summer.

The topic of plywood has come up and 2 have said we definitely need to replace the plywood even if it looks good.  As plywood lasts about 30 to 40 years and we run the risk of delamination and required replacement in a few years.

The other two have stated that as long as the plywood is good and stays dry, it can last forever.

At quoted on 55 dollars per 4X8 sheet, its a sizable cost and so I am wondering if the plywood needs to be replaced regardless of current state.


texts: Safest Steps to turn on water heater that has been off for 5 years

texts: My water heater has not been in use for 4.5 years.  The system was winterized in 3 years ago.  What are the steps for filling it and turning it back on to avoid damaging it.


texts:
I just purchased an LG mini-split set:

18,000 BTU indoor unit
https://www.supplyhouse.com/LG-LSN180HSV5-18000-BTU-Ductless-Standard-Multi-F-Air-Conditioner-Inverter-Heat-Pump-w-Built-In-WiFi-Indoor-Unit

7,000 BTU indoor unit
https://www.supplyhouse.com/LG-LMN079HVT-7000-BTU-Ductless-Multi-F-Wall-Mounted-High-Efficiency-Air-Cond-Heat-Pump-Indoor-Unit-w-Built-In-WiFi

20,000 BTU outdoor unit
https://www.supplyhouse.com/LG-LMU24CHV-20000-BTU-Multi-F-Inverter-Heat-Pump-Outdoor-Unit

The submittal sheet for the outdoor unit says that max piping length for the included refrigerant is 73.8ft.  The actual wording is: "Piping Length (no add'l refrigerant, ft) 73.8".

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.supplyhouse.com/product_files/LG-LMU24CHV-Submittal.pdf

Questions:

1) Since I am using two indoor units on one outdoor unit, does the max pipe length take in account both sets of pipes?  For example if unit 1 has 50' of pipe, and unit 2 has 23.8' of pipe, will this be OK?

2) If I use less pipe than what is specified, will I have to drain off excess refrigerant?  I assume not, but I just want to make sure

3) The suction line for 18000 BTU indoor unit is slightly larger than the suction line for the 7000 BTU indoor unit (1/2" vs 3/8"), but the liquid lines are the same diameter.  Will this impact the maximum pipe length for the included refrigerant?


texts: Will a 1500VA autotransformer do the job for an appliance with 13A and 120V?

texts:
I have a device that says it is 1500W. However looking at the specs, it says it is 13amps at 120V. If I multiply A x V then that is actually 1560W.

I'm just wondering, if I then get a transformer rated for 1500VA(1.5kVA) is that actually enough or am I starving my device from that extra 60watts?


texts: Options for tile under the sliding door casing

texts:
I am laying tile in my living room. I have a sliding door to the balcony which have a door casing made of two stacking 2x4s. Previously it was wrapped by carpet as a stair. As shown in picture the people who did the carpet used a piece of drywall to match the thickness of surrounding walls and then just stapled the carpet to it. The drywall degraded due to moisture and the condensation water dropped from the sliding doors.

What are my options to deal with this step? I could attach 1/2 MDF to both top and side then paint them, then attach baseboard to transition to the tiles, but I worry about the moisture.


texts: What are common reasons afci circuits won't work?

texts: I rewired my house and installed 8 GFCI, afci and dual function circuit breakers on my 120 volt circuits. They all trip with any type of load, however standard circuit breakers work fine.


texts: How can I figure out why my water pressure is basically zero?

texts:
I took a shower last night before bed and the water pressure in our house was perfectly fine. This morning the water is drizzling out from all faucets, showers and fixtures. I've checked the water main, the basement in general, and the whole house (inside and out) looking for a visible leak: zilch.

I contacted the town water department: our account is in good standing and they are willing to send someone out tomorrow to see if anything is wrong with our main. The idea here is that if I can determine that the water coming into the house is OK, then I need to call a plumber and figure out what's going on inside. But, obviously, if the water coming into the house has bad pressure, then that's a town problem.

I spoke to their chief maintenance guy, who is coming over tomorrow, and he said there's no real way for him to test the pressure coming into the house, except if he can "hook in some place" with a pressure valve.

I call bologna on this: there has to be a way for them to test water pressure at every stage in the pipeline, right? I guess my specific question here is:

What tests can be done to determine whether the bad pressure is coming from the main itself, or is coming from a clog/leak somewhere inside my house?

This is a small town (1 traffic light) and I'm worried about a situation where the town guys are too lazy to diagnose and fix a problem on their end, and keep telling me there's nothing they can do, and I'm stuck with virtually-no water (but paying for it anyways).


texts:
Originally asked at Network Engineering

What types of communication cables can pass through electrical conduit?

I believe that optical fiber is the only one possible. However, I'm not sure.

I'm trying to make a home project where I have wifi APs interconnected by some wire. The type of wire can vary, but I'd prefer to have the lowest priced tech. Also, would prefer to have all wires hidden, so this is why I'm considering to use electrical conduit.


texts: How to improve cooling in a room/Cool a concrete wall?

texts: Im on a 2nd floor room, it has big front windows and a small one on the side, I am using my computer/full setup on the corner of the room, where beside me is the window wall, but since im in the corner, im surrounded by concrete walls, and it can get as hot as 36 celsius, maybe even more. In short, Im basically in a big concrete oven. I dont know what to do to cool down the whole room, moreso the concrete walls in my back and side. I already have an electric fan running to ventilate the whole room.


texts: What is the name of a screw-nut ring used to hold up a hanging lampshade? (see photo)

texts:
I have a hanging light fixture that I'm trying to put a lampshade on. Because the light fixture hangs from the ceiling, If I don't screw something underneath it, the lampshade would fall down.

The light fixture has screw threads, so I can use a screw ring to hold the lampshade up. But, I don't know the name for the screw-ring so I don't know how to shop for it.

I see in this photo of the light fixture next to a screw-ring-thing that is too small, what is the British name for the screw-ring?


texts: What's the formal name for this type of flashing used in stucco homes? And what does it take to replace rusted portions?

texts: I have taken an image of the flashing material:


texts: Should wood be treated or sealed before tiling?

texts: Building two service shelves next to a BBQ shack, that's exposed to Oregon weather. I intend to use HB over the wood. Should the wood be sealed first before using the HB, then apply the tile?


texts: Should neutral and ground wires tied together in junction box?

texts:
Lights in garage and garage door stopped working. Breaker didn't blow. Other items on the breaker are working. Opened up ceiling light socket and in the junction box saw this:

So on this circuit are two ceiling garage lights, a plug in the ceiling for garage door opener, a porch light, and inside the house, wall plugs in an "office". The garage ceiling lights are on three-way switch set-up. The breaker did not blow.  The plugs in the office work. Home was built in 1982 (and in US).

In this junction box the neutrals and grounds are tied together. (Is that supposed to be like that?) There is a black wire tied off to nothing. There is 90 volts between the white/black/black group and the white/ground group.

The failure seemed to occur after some siding work on the house (using two-inch nails) but I cannot be 100% sure - though it was that evening we noticed it. One switch of the three-way ceiling light circuit, the porch light, and porch light switch are in the wall where siding work is taking place. They have the porch light on the outside removed at the moment for the siding work. The office wall sockets have 118v. The switches do use the push-in holes and not the screws to connect the wires.

Is it possible it is a nail hit the wire and would cause these symptoms without blowing the breaker?  Why does the office have 118v? The office is between the breaker box and garage. Is it possible bad neutral connections (which I understand can cause voltage drops?


texts: How do I get this cartridge out of the faucet?

texts: The videos I looked at online of other taps shows a way to expose the nut but this cartidge is buried deep in the handle and you can't access any nut if there is one (I'm not sure there is a nut at all). Do I just pull it out using brute force?


texts: Water not reaching the overhead tank from mains pipe- flow ground to top to the overhead tank

texts:
The water flows from underground pipe when the water in main pipe is released to 1st floor of the building but not to the overhead tank which is on 5th floor.
The pressure seems to be not building up for the overhead tank - seen in the meter fitting on the pipe, but for the 1st floor it seems to be fine. What could be the reason?


texts: Can I reduce capacity of a water heater?

texts:
I recently purchased a large fixer upper with a 135 gallon AO smith gas water heater built in 2001.  Only two people are living in the house so we need a fraction of that amount.
Do water heaters always store their full capacity or is there some way to limit what they store or reduce their cost other than turning the temperature down?


texts: What could cause my garage door opener to stop working?

texts: My garage door opener will not work. I can hear an audible click like a relay but the door will not go up or down. Also the the lights will not work. Again by using the control console I can hear a click like a relay but no lights. There is power going into the unit.There is a green light on the PCB. Tried pushing what looks to be a reset button on the board. I have a Craftsman opener mod.# 139.53975SRT1.


texts: How to change a switched outlet to a half-hot outlet?

texts:
I'd like to change switched outlet to a half-hot outlet. The wiring of the outlet is shown below. Is there a way to do this using existing wires?

Update on the wiring: using two-way voltage tester, I determined the following:

voltage between B and C is controlled by the switch
always no voltage between A and B
always voltage between A and C


texts: Why are my gutters allowing water to drip off the fascia and soffit?

texts:
I moved into a new home in the summer and having water issues with water at the corner of my garage. The picture probably helps the most, but basically after everything has dried up, I still have water dripping from the corner. It looks like the water is coming in behind the eaves and along the facia, then gets to the soffit and finds the lowest point where it drips to the ground. It looks like the shingles are on well and drip correctly into the eaves. Also think there is a drip edge the whole way along. Any tips what might be causing this?
I'm worried this will be a bigger issue in the winter with freeze thaw and an ice patch right on the pathway.

Here is a picture from above.


texts:
I want to mount a bed frame to 2 aircrete walls with a pillar on the unsupported corner.
I've heard that anchors can tear out parts of the wall if overtightened. My question is for a load greater than 200kg (440lb) what is the best method to use, I've heard one can use some sort of expanding Resin.

Thanks

Benjamin


texts:
I have a Carrier Infinity system - full system (heating and air conditioning) newly installed a little over a year ago (southern Ontario, Canada).

I have programmed the system for continuous fan operation - the furnace fan should always be running at some modest speed. When new, it worked as expected - fan speed ramps up or down between continuous fan speed and  heating or cooling speed (depending on season/mode).

During the current cooling season, I have recently noticed a different behavior. The furnace fan sometimes shuts off completely along with the A/C compressor, until the A/C cycles on again. This is intermittent because the fan sometimes does just ramp down to its "continuous" programmed speed as I expect it to.

Is the system intermittently shutting down because it detected a problem? If so, what might the problem be? Could it be icing up? Is this what the system is supposed to do if it detects what could be icing condition (evaporator temperature/pressure too low)? Is this a fault requiring a service call?


texts: Insulating under floor boards with foil insulation

texts:
I am looking to insulate underneath the floorboards in a ground floor suspended timber floor with no access from below. The joists are 4" (10cm) deep. I have some concerns regarding airflow under the floor so I plan to install two new air bricks first. My plan for the insulation is:

Staple gun plastic barrier fencing running perpendicular to the joists so it sags between each joist and runs over the top of the joists
Lay 10cm mineral wall insulation in the netting between the joists

My questions is, should I then lay Thermawrap (or similar) foil insulation on top of the joists before nailing down the floorboards? I've read this is a good idea, but wouldn't this cause spring in the floorboards? My plan is to sand the boards and not lay a carpet.

The foil I am looking at is 3.7mm thick and has a thermal resistance R value of 1.455 W/mK (equivalent to 65mm mineral fibre according to the packaging). It says "suitable for walls, roofs and floors", but will this create issues with condensation / moisture?


texts: What is the concept behind drywall studs?

texts:
I'm a DIY noob who has recently moved to a new apartment.
After building my Ikea furniture, I want to begin with something more challenging, I want to install wall shelves with brackets. I've followed multiple DIY tutorials and have bought the tools that I need, all of them refer to finding studs in the drywall and drilling in to them.
Drywall is a new concept to me, I come from a country with concrete walls. I haven't quite understood what studs are, can anyone help explain what they are and what their purpose is?
As far as I've been able to make out the stud is a metallic sheet where the drywall is screwed in, so I should be looking to find an existing a nail in the stud and then screw the bracket with an anchor above/below it. The other thing that I was wondering about was if both the brackets should be drilled into studs or is just one side enough and what happens if the length of the shelf is such that the other side doesn't align with a stud.


texts: What are the pros and cons of various styles of dormers?

texts:
What are the pros/cons for choosing a style for dormers? I'm not asking about the aesthetics of one over the other, more a comparison of the construction costs, maintenance costs, and any other reliability concerns.

http://www.google.com/images?q=shed+dormer

http://www.google.com/images?q=gable+dormer

http://www.google.com/images?q=hipped+dormer

http://www.google.com/images?q=eyebrow+dormer

http://www.google.com/images?q=flat+dormer


texts: Can I re-shim the strike side of my door jamb to make a 28" door fit?

texts:
My old door was 27 3/4 inches. The new doors are sold in a standard 28" size. Instead of trying to cut a 1/4 inch of the door (I don't have a saw guide) I thought it would be easier to pull the trim off and just redo the strike side of the door. All I need are shims right? And a level ;)

Is it better to do this vs cutting it down a 1/4 inch since if anyone wants to replace the door again in the future they won't encounter this problem.

**** UPDATE****

After buying a hand plane for $10 at my local big box hardware store I started plane'ing the door, it was taking a while so out of stupidity I thought I would go ahead and use my Ryobi Circular saw to make the 1/4 inch cut.

This ended up being a miserable failure, the gap ended up being too large, what I really needed was 1/8". Instead of buying a $10 hand plane I would've been better off buying a guide for the saw, but 1/8 of an inch is still hard to cut.

Today I won for worst DIY mistake on 12/18/14. I'm no amateur, I remodeled an entire bathroom ripped up tile and put in new tile, new drywall, lights, and switches. I write all this so that anyone else who has an old house where the door size is off the standard please don't make the same mistake I did, just get a prehung door. If you have a modern house (maybe build within the last 20yrs) you can probably get something off the shelf and put it in without hassle.


texts: Corrugated vs Solid PVC for sump pump drainage

texts:
I am about to do drainage project for my sump pump discharge drain. I am confused about what kind of material to use either solid PVC or corrugated.

I live in the Chicago area where winter temp gets below freezing quite often.

I was also thinking of attaching downspouts to it as well.

My questions are:

Is it better to use Corrugated or solid PVC?
How deep my trench should be?
What can I to prevent the line from freezing in winter?


texts: Replacing faucet copper pipes with stainless steel, need help

texts:
I wanted to install a hot and cold water bidet on my toilet, so I need to get hot water from the pipes feeding into my faucets. The issue is that the pipes from the valves to the faucet are all copper, so I can't just install the included T joint (unless I can?). So I want to replace the copper with a  braided stainless steel one from amazon:

KES IUS2024-P2 Faucet Connector, Braided Stainless Steel - 3/8" Female Compression Thread x 1/2" I.P. Female Straight Thread, 24" Length x 2 Pcs (1 Pair)

The issue I have now is that the faucets itself uses copper pipes, so I need to somehow connect the stainless steel pipes to the copper one.

I clearly don't know anything about pipes, so any help would be great. I also thought about just replacing the faucet out right, but I kinda like my current one.


texts: What materials are fake coals for gas fireplaces made of?

texts: My new gas fireplace looks remarkably realistic!  I'm curious what the "glowing embers" are made of.  I have found replacement sets, but I've been having a hard time figuring out what materials comprise these fake embers.  One description on a similar set suggests some type of ceramic material, however, I'm curious what technology goes into these rocks.


texts:
I just bought my first house and I want to replace this switch with
This smart switch.
The smart switch says it needs a ground wire, but when I opened the box up, it looks like there are only two wires here.
Is this box grounded? Would I need the ground wire?
See below for pictures:


texts:
I live in house built in 1968. My basement is partially finished. There is drop in ceiling above and there is no insulation in the ceiling. The floor is covered with some old vinyl tiles which feels cold to step on. The furnace is in the corner behind the door where there is bare concrete. There are heating vents in the drop in ceiling.

My question is how do I warm up my basement. There is paneling on the walls and there is insulation behind it.

Should I move my heating vents near the floor?
Will putting carpet tiles help with cold floor?
What else can I do to make that space warm?


texts: What is the minimum distance that should be maintained between parallel electric and data cables?

texts:
I need to run some electric and data (coaxial, UTP Cat5/6 and phone) wires from one room to the adjacent rooms.

I've read Can I run CAT5/6 cables parallel to electrical cables? but I understand that question deals on whether one could use the same pipe for both electric and data lines.

I will use different pipes/raceways and boxes for AC (10A 220V) wires and data, as follows:

A 10m run of AC and data, each in a different PVC pipe along a brick wall covered with cement.
A 10m run of AC and data, each in a different wall-mounted plastic raceway.

What is the recommended/required distance between each pipe? between each raceway? Does any of the data wires require a separate pipe/raceway?


texts:
I work from home in a house with roommates and I would like to set up a light system to let them know if it's OK to disturb me during my work. I was thinking a stoplight system of Red: Do not disturb unless it's an emergency; Yellow: you can come in to get something, or if you need something quick / important; Green: consider the door open, feel free to come in and chat or whatever.

I'd like to have these lights place outside the door, and a 4 position switch on my desk that would have: Red, Yellow, Green, Off on it.

Can I wire the neutral of all the lights together so I only have 4 cables running from the switch to the lights, or should they each have a neutral running back to the switch?
Do I just hook the power to a specific terminal of the switch, and then have 3 different power lines (each from positions 3-1) out with one neutral running back and position 0 empty?
Do I need any sort of adapters if I'm going to run 25w incandescent bulbs?
Am I missing anything else?

I've been looking around for switches and think I found what I wanted in this switch, although I'm certainly open to suggestion. It's important to me that the switch be large enough that the space between positions is enough for them to be labeled and for it to be obvious to an observer which position the switch is in. I think what I'm looking for is a 3 throw knife switch, but I don't think one exists. Perhaps I could just do a 2 throw, and have a Red / Green / Off? Or maybe use a 2 throw for the RYG, and then a separate kill switch that turns it all off?

Theorized image:


texts: How to stop my water meter connection leak?

texts: Prior to moving into my house two years ago, part of he agreement was that the owners would replace the water main valve. It's been good up until a couple weeks ago. There's drip coming out of it about every 5 seconds. It looks to me like I could put thread seal at that connection. Does that sound reasonable? Or might the problem be worse?


texts: Screw and washer should go through flat area or curved?

texts: I have a screw with a washer. Which one of the two sides should it go through (ie which side the washer should be "in contact with"), the flat or the curved one? The structure is symmetrical so it can go either way. The other side of the frame (opposite to where the washer will be) is going to be mounted to a flat surface. Basically the screw goes through the hole of the metal frame and screws on the flat surface on the other side. If someone also knows the reason why one is more suitable than the other it would be great.


texts: Ok to paint Kilz on wooding flooring with faced insulation beneath?

texts:
My livingroom carpeted floor has some pet odors and cigarette smoke smell from a previous tenant. I'm replacing the flooring with laminate and the installer recommended painting Kilz on the floor prior to installing the new flooring to seal in the smells. He said that the laminate and underlayment might be enough, but to be sure I should go with the Kilz.

This is the ground floor with wooden flooring above a crawl space -- the floor is insulated from the bottom with faced insulation with the vapor barrier on the insulation bats facing the floor.

Will the addition of Kilz (and the new laminate flooring) on the floor cause vapor problems since we'll have 2 vapor barriers facing the floor -- the Kilz on top and the insulation below.

Or is Kilz not a true vapor barrier?


texts: Newby Heat-Pump question - runs in the winter?

texts:
This is a super NEWB question but - I have just bought a home with a "heat pump" and it is running all day and night (in the dead of winter), some of my neighbors have their "exterior boxes/units" covered and closed - maybe theirs are only AC units?

Anyways - my heat pump (Rheem RPLB-030JAZ) has a huge fan (on top) so snow is getting inside and runs 24/7/365 ... is this normal? Should it be closed up or covered? Am I forgetting some kind of setting or something that I am not aware of?

Thanks,


texts: Need help identifying window manufacturer

texts: I have what appear to be vinyl windows with internal sashes and rubber seals.  All the seal in all the windows are failing and need the windows replaced.  I am having trouble finding the manufacturer.  The tag in the window has Advantage DH-Mechanical printed on it. There are yellow tags also with the numbers 124-3 printed on them.  Can anyone assist.  All the windows are failing the same way.


texts: Convert 120 V circuit to 12 V by splicing LED driver into existing wiring

texts:
My kitchen has a light switch by the sink which operates a pendant light above the sink. I am making a DIY replacement light using a 12 V LED strip and a 4 ft. wooden dowel to be suspended horizontally above the sink.

Something like this:

The length of LED strip I will be using should draw ~11 watts. The hanging light is too narrow to contain the LED driver (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MSBK9GV/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_rvVQEbWE4CNW6) itself, and I understand it's a bad idea to cram the LED driver in the ceiling junction box for heat concerns and accessibility.

I am wondering if I can simply extend the existing wiring from the switch to reach the cabinet below the sink, where I can splice in and mount the LED driver on the back wall of the cabinet with more breathing room and accessibility. Can I leave the rest of the wiring untouched? Is it a concern to have 12 V running the rest of the way (probably about 10 feet) to the ceiling box on the existing wiring?

I don't particularly care if it's precisely up to code as long as it is safe, and I know those aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. But I also know I probably don't know enough about this stuff to recognize everything that may be unsafe about it. I suppose a 2 or 3 amp fuse between the driver and light would be a good idea? Should the LED driver be in a junction box since its 120 V coming in? Would that defeat the purpose of having it in a more ventilated area?

Is this a bad idea, or can I make it work safely with enough precautions?


texts: How do I take apart a wooden retaining wall?

texts:
I have a retaining wall, sorta. It acts as a divider between homes rather than retain anything. Built the same way as one, with 6x6 boards, spikes, all that jazz. No deadmen, of course.

I need to take it apart and down while keeping the boards intact (I am going to reuse them in furniture).

I tried just putting a bar between two and prying them apart but after a lot of work I got them separated by about 1/4". There's too many to do that way.

Update:

I'll try the sawzall approach this weekend and come back. Thanks for the suggestions!


texts: Why are fire sprinklers and extinguishing systems failing?

texts:
I just looked at some photos of property destruction from fire in Santa Rosa, CA and I was appalled and deeply saddened at the loss of life.  This photo is the charred remains of the Hilton hotel in same town.  While I can understand wood frame homes with no fire sprinkler system succumbing to total destruction by fire, this should not be the case for commercial buildings such as 4 or 5 star hotels that belong to worldwide chains.  In my district, the fire inspector comes to commercial facilities every year to check these systems, and you cannot get a certificate of occupancy without them.

So how did this hotel burn to the ground?
If I wanted to construct a fire proof building using metal frame and studs, bricks, and concrete; what kind of sprinkler system should I use to fire proof the furnishings and interior?


texts: a. c. nielsen equipment causing damage to outlets

texts: I became a member of the Nielsen tv monitoring group,  The tv is is in my living room on a back-to-back wall in my kitchen.  Only the tv was on when I tried to make a cup of coffee with my Keurig machine.  The GFC blew but the button did not pop and could not be reset.  I have to wait 5 days for an electrician; no tv and I have to make coffee at another outlet on the floor.  Could the pretty large amount of Nielsen equipment have caused an overload or short to my electric lines?  One gfc and two regular outlets are affected in my kitchen and do not work anymore.  My place is 17 years old.  Do these outlets just "go bad?"


texts: Putty knife : when to use flexible blade and when to use stiff blade?

texts:
I'm prepping my walls for painting. There are various sizes of putty knives and they come in flexible and stiff versions.

I know that I need to get a few sizes for different kind of work: 4", 6" and 10"

My question is when should I use a more flexible blade and when to use a more stiff blade?

I don't want to buy more putty knives than I have to.


texts:
I am cutting a large circular hole in some Ikea furniture and I need a metal trim to cover inside of the hole. I'm not sure what the right words are that would describe this part. Do you know where I might find something that can cover the inside of a circle cut out of wood?

What I'm looking for is something that looks like this and is roughly 10-15 cm in diameter, but in two pieces so each side is protected. I'm not sure what they are called though?


texts: The caulk between the quartz backsplash and counter behind my kitchen sink needs to be replaced.  How can I remove the old caulk?


texts: is 3/8 inch nap roller ok for painting a door?

texts: I'm painting a brand new pre-primed interior door a semi gloss white.  Would a 3/8 nap roller be okay if I want a smooth finish?


texts: How to calculate whether it's worth turning on a fan to bring warmer air to a heat pump hot water heater?

texts:
I have 4 new Rheem 50 gal heat pump hot water heaters being installed in the basement of my home/multiunit property that is a 4-unit building (one heater per apartment).
Generally speaking, the attic is warmer than the basement. It occurs to me that it might make sense to move some hot air from the attic to the basement in order to make the water heaters more efficient. I could put a temp sensor in the attic and a temp sensor in the basement and only turn on the fan when there is a certain delta between them. Sounds like a fun arduino project right?!
My question is - how do I determine when it's worth turning on the fan in a more robust way? For example, I should probably consider how much energy the fan consumes and compare that to the energy saved by providing warmer air to to heaters. This is where things get out of my pay grade. The air would likely be exhausted near the heaters, or I could investigated ducting directly to the intake.
For the sake of getting some numbers, let's start with the following:

4" duct at 30'
A 30 watt inline fan
The Rheem heater I'm using is the XE50T10H45U0 model
3.75 Unified Energy Factor
I live in Maine
Other factors?

Thanks for playing along!


texts: Is there a standard height and depth for stairs?

texts:
Is there a standard (or a standard range for) the height and depth of each step in a flight of stairs?

If your answer refers to your building code, please say where you live.


texts:
I'm considering using 1x3 strapping before applying my new drywall ceiling (after doing some more work on them the other night and realizing it may be the best option). The ceiling joists are exposed and the walls at the top have a gap from about 1/2-3/4" from using a utility knife during tear down. I'm not overly concerned with gap in excess of 1/2" because taping and mudding will hide it, plus I'm adding crown with backing at the end.
What I want to do before installing the strapping is to ensure the joists are in the same plane with one another. I don't have a laser level, but I do have a 4' bubble level and some string. My thinking was I could run some string at various intervals across the joists, having it flat against the first and last joists and checking that it's tight against all the other joists. I could then confirm by measuring from the joists that cause the gaps (meaning they are the lowest) to the floor.
Any suggests on another way (without laser level) to achieve these?


texts:
I have a Pentair EasyTouch Automation system for the pool, and it is installed on the outside of the house in a subpanel. When it was installed, I also ran 12ga direct burial wire around the pool landscaping, and from the pool, runs through underground conduit into the Panel. In the pic, the wiring is annotated w the red arrow. I was going to purchase an isolating safety transformer, likely the Intermatic PX300. This would supply between 12-14v AC power to the lights.

The PX300 comes with its own outdoor rated box. However, I don't want to install it on the wall. In the pic, where the yellow square is, is typically where the transformer for the salt generation cell would go, but I didn't go for a salt pool, so I have a big empty space in the panel. Can I remove the PC300 transformer from its box, and install it where the yellow square is in the panel pic, screwing is into the holes in the subpanel? Would 725.136(A) prohibit me from doing this?

Thanks!

PX300 Transformer: http://www.inyopools.com/Products/02400015000949.htm

Subpanel


texts: I live in a brick house built circa 1975 in northern Alabama.  It has a huge brick/cinder block/concrete front porch. The brick is a veneer that goes around the bottom.  When it rains, some of the water runs along the seam where the brick porch meets the house and down the corner where it soaks the ground beside the wall.  My question is, how would I go about keeping the water from soaking the ground right up against the wall?  I've considered pouring concrete in the corner to move it away, but what other options are there?


texts: How can I attach a 2x to a deck joist to give more room for stair stringer?

texts:
I am attaching stairs to a deck coming perpendicular off of the joist.  To attach the stair stringers to the deck I need to add a 2x6 below the joist so the stair stringer hanger can attach to it.  I had seen these at home depot and wondered if I could attach the 2x6 to the 2x10 joist with a few of them, but they were not load rated.

What is the proper way to do this.  I do not have two posts directly behind the stairs that I can attach it too.

My other option is to do the deck stairs flush with the top, but then I am not sure how I'll make the railings going down the stairs.


texts: How do I design the circuit for baseboard heaters?

texts:
I am designing the circuit(s) for my basement apartment (cca. 800 sq ft) baseboard heating solution.  I am planning to buy Berko HBB Series heaters and distribute them as shown in the below table.  All have a voltage of 240/208.

Location        Model       Length(in.) Watts       Amps
-----------------------------------------------------------
Living Room     HBB1504     70          1500/1125   6.3/5.8
Bath            HBB504      28          500/375     2.1/1.8
Bedroom         HBB1254     58          1250/938    5.2/4.5
Hallway         HBB754      34          750/563     3.1/2.7

My questions are:

Should I split them into two circuits (living room and bathroom in one, bedroom and hallway in the other) or is it OK to keep them all on one circuit?
Is the voltage a factor in determining the wire gauge?  I know that the amperage is.  E.g. if I split them in two circuits so that each circuit bears less than 10A each, can I go with AWG 14/3 even though the voltage is double than usual?  Or simply put, which AWG should I use for either scenario from question 1.?

I have an extensive experience as a DIY electrician, I have pretty much rewired most of my house and have set up one 240/120 circuit for my dryer (used AWG 10/3).  But this is considerably lower amperage so I am not sure what AWG to use.


texts: how to open windows without handles or locks

texts:
some of my smaller top windows can't be opened as there is no handle or lock.
Anyone knows how these can be made to open? How do I remove them in the first place?

A few shots here http://imgur.com/a/5WIMv


texts: How to remove this toilet supply line that seems to have no nut?

texts: The toilet water supply doesn't seem to have a nut at all and rotating it or turning it does nothing. Unsure how to remove this:


texts: What should I do about partially tacky urethane finish?

texts:
so I've been refinishing an interior bench. The bench had a very old polyurethane/resin finish which I sanded completely off, there was nothing other than bare wood when I stained it. I stained the wood with a maroonish oil-based stain and let dry for 24 hours. I used a tack cloth to remove any residue that might have fallen on it and it felt good and clean, ready for the urethane finish.

I mixed 50/50 urethane with the safer mineral spirits they have out now (the more environmentally friendly stuff) for the first coat and I brush applied it lightly last night. I wanted to do a light sanding and apply another coat of 100% urethane this morning but parts of the finish from last night were still tacky while the majority of the bench was perfectly hard like I expected it to be.

Granted it's cooler (winter time) now but it's inside the house and parts of the finish dried just fine. Should I give it more time or should I use the mineral spirits to remove the tacky finish and reapply? Could the tack cloth have left some of its waxy residue on the wood which would cause the finish not to soak into the wood? I didn't rub the tack cloth into the wood by any means, just a light touch to pick up the crap.


texts:
I have 2 bedrooms and I want to replace the light switch for a dimmer.  I though it would an easy job for a beginner like me but after I opened the first switch, I realized there was a 3 wires (I was expecting 2 + the ground wire).

After reading on the switch, I determined the red wire is a common wire (on the old switch, it was plugged in a "quick connect" hole with the letter "C").  The second room also have the same setup.

I'm a bit confuse.  I though the common wire was for a three-way switch only.  Considering that each bedrooms switch are independent and that there's only one switch in each room, can someone help me understand if I have a three-way switch or not.

* EDIT *
Please note that their was no Common wire in any of my switches.  See accepted answer for details.

For the record, here's a schema of my final circuit (I have a ceiling light but the schema is still valid)


texts: How does one properly seal a celling vent of a forced air hvac system?

texts:
In a room that may have had some kind of condensation on the past, how should one go about sealing the area around the vent hole in the ceiling, specifically to reduce the likelihood of returning condensation on the future?

This room is on the second of two floors in a residential building. The second floor HVAC system runs through insulated rigid ducting in the attic space.
The room in question seems to have had condensation issues in the past (dark spots were on the windows, and see attached image of ceiling vent to be replaced).
It looks like someone previously tried to seal around the edges of the drywall of a ceiling vent (see ceiling image attached).
According to the owners, it was unoccupied for likely several months, but less than a year at one point several years ago.  During the time the building was unoccupied, it's not known if the HVAC was functional or not, but the concern is high temperature fluctuation.
This building is in Southeastern North America, in an area that is regularly humid.
The vents in this room are already being replaced.

How should one go about sealing the area around the vent hole in the ceiling, specifically to reduce the likelihood of returning condensation on the future?

**Edit to fix unuploaded images.


texts: Using a full motion single stud wall mount for the 49” Sony 900f?

texts: I am planning on getting the Sony 900f 49” very soon and have really only been contemplating on the type of mount. I have opted to go for a Kanto mount but I’m trying to choose between the single stud PS350 or the double stud FMC4. The tv weighs about 30lbs. I am planning on using the full motion often. Would the single stud be good enough? I’ve had employees at Best Buy and their installers tell me the single stud will be fine but I’m just wanting to make sure. Each mount has a max weight limit of about 80lbs


texts: How do I remove this stubborn ceiling light fixture?

texts: Please check the photograph of the light fixture.  All the bulbs have gone out and I cannot get the glass out to replace them. I unscrewed the decorative thing at the bottom. After that I unscrewed another bolt with washer but the glass is not moving. I'm not sure what to do after that. I'm trying to move the decorative thing on top of glass also, but it's moving at all.


texts: What could cause my toilets to bubble and clear water to come out of the clean out pipe?

texts: Manufactured home installed 1996 but septic tank is from 1973.  I live on a hill and have had no septic back ups.  Two weeks ago my toilets started bubbling and it appeared they were sucking air.  I put drain cleaners down shower and sink drains.  All appeared to be okay until I ran a load of washing.  There was water backed up in the tubs and it contained lots of laundry soap and lint.  The water eventually drained out with various gurgling and bubbling sounds.  I put 1,000 gallon septic treatment down the toilet yesterday.  Last night I heard gurgling noises and there was clear water in both tubs again.  Over a 12 hour period all the water slowly sucked back out of the tubs.  My husband told me to go open the clean out pipe and run a hose down the pipe.  When I opened up the clean out pipe clear water came out (about ten gallons).  I shoved the hose down about 25 feet and it was running full force but it seemed like all the water coming out of the hose was draining back out of the clean out pipe.  Do I need my septic tank pumped?


texts: How can I install a water softener in my basement with no floor drain?

texts:
Drain lines for house are in the joists in the ceiling in basement.
I could route the softener drain into the sump pump temporarily, but thats not really optimal.
I understand the need an air gap for the softener waste drain but to do that all I can see is bringing the softener drain line up into the kitchen under the sink and dumping it down that drain with an air gap.
There is a horizonal pipe in the basement near the softener.  Can I dump into the horizontal pipe or are there other alternatives?


texts: I am rewiring an antique reading lamp with SPT-1 wire (wire is interior thru an small opening ~1/4 inch).  Can I use with a 3-way switch and bulb?


texts: Replacing an operable window with a fixed window. Can I glaze it directly into the jamb?

texts:
I've got the following former closet window which until recently had an thick framed operable wooden window.  The window jams were made from old growth redwood and are fine, despite many years with failing paint.  The failed paint is now removed, but the window is beyond repair.

There's no need for this window to be operable any more.  What options are there for maximizing light through the opening?   Can an insulated glass panel be inserted directly into the jamb (with no frame rail or stiles around it)?  If so how would it be glazed to avoid long term cracking as the building shifts or earthquakes happen?


texts: Residentail Tankless Water Heater Electrical Concerns

texts:
So the electrical install guide for Ecosmart ECO 18 requires 2 (two) 40 amp double pole circuits.  They specifically mention running two grounds too which I gather would be provided if NM cable w/ground was used.

The two concerns that I have that the install guide does not request or mention are as follows:

One: should not there be a handle tie between the two 40 amp breakers?
Two:  If I run the 4 #8's in EMT then one insulated ground #8 would suffice, no? I do realize the EMT can be used as a ground too.

Update* Talked to tech support and they do not recommend a handle tie and one ground would be enough but they recommend two.


texts:
The roofers are installing a new roof on my house today.  Since one of the skylight windows cracked, should I get them to replace the window at the same time, or should I get one installed by a manufacturer (e.g., Pella) at a later date?

If I choose the latter, do I need to keep a few spare shingles around?


texts: heater wire 120v 2-wire. one side ribbed and the other white writing?

texts: i tried to add a photo but my phone cant seem to compress the image small enuff..so..this cord turns logic on its head..one side is continuous ribbing while the other has white printing on it..so i have a cord that by all quoted standards is two neutral wires sided by side with no third wire or hot wire (at least not one that plays by the rules) ..two wires...heater..one ribbed...the other white writing stating voltage and temp...on a 1200watt radiant heater..no plug end and its glued together at the seams.. so whats really goin on? i wanna guess the ribbed is neutral but thats a fools venture if i am mistaken...


texts: I'm thinking about building a back porch but I've never had experience with such a big project. I'm finding plenty of books and documents on how to build a deck but very few about building a porch. Is a porch just a deck with a roof or is there more to it?


texts: New construction window remove nail flange

texts: I received free metal new construction windows to use as replacement windows. Is this possible?  It will save on expenses for my project. If yes how do I remove the nail fin.


texts:
I want to build desk objets out of concrete, such as the ones in the images below ( i don't own any of them, they have been taken from around the internet).

http://www.designboom.com/design/concrete-rollerball-pen-by-22-design-studio-at-designboom-shop/

and

http://fancycrave.com/concrete-desk-accessories/

The walls of these objects are not more than 4mm thick, what kind of mix would i need to make such objects so that they are durable ?

I have tried the normal sand, cement mixes but they don't seem to good enough at the thickness I am using. I have heard about GFRC and admixtures but i don't get to buy them where i live. So i am trying for a DIY solution from scratch.

Has anyone tried to build such objects ? If so what do you recommend. I am new to using  concrete, so please help me out...

Thanks in advance...


texts: Will the concrete slab in a partially heated shed conduct a lot of heat to the unconditioned area?

texts:
I have a barn-garage type outbuilding (I believe it was a small barn originally; it has that kind of tall, roomy upper loft). It's about 40 by 20 feet. It's got a concrete foundation and the lower part is divided into two equal sized rooms.

I'm thinking about taking one of the lower rooms and making it a little more hospitable to hang out in and do projects. It would mean patching some wall, adding real doors, and insulating and sheetrocking it.

I want to keep the floor as bare concrete so I can anchor machine tools etc to it for ultimate rigidity. But if it's sharing a concrete foundation with the other room, is heating it in the winter going to be practical? (This house is in the US Pacific Northwest; it gets fairly cold.) Is the floor going to be a giant heat sink?

Are there are any other things I'm not thinking about here, where moisture or heat concerns might bite me if I'm just insulating and heating one room in this larger structure?


texts: Replacing 3 way switch (horizontal switch) 2 separate 3 ways in one box, each switch has its own power going to it.  Top switch two travelers are hot common is not. it seems to work fine with the old switch attached, just curious as to why?


texts: I decided to be handy and change all of my receptacles in the house. Everything went well until the garage. There are 3 light switches in the garage that go to 1 light source that has me stumped. Two light switches are 3-ways and one is a 4-way switch. I messed something up because the 4-way has to be in the on position in order for the 2 other switches to work. The 4-way has 2 black and 2 purple wires, while the 3-ways are all black because it is 1950"s wiring. Thoughts?


texts:
I'm moving in a new house in a week.  House was built in 1953.  The attic has a small walkway right down the middle with loose insulation on the left and right.  I wanted to put plywood down over the installation to create a ton of storage space.

Good idea?  Or will covering the insulation create a problem?


texts: Sometimes need to tap sump pump for it to turn on. Common causes?

texts:
I am an amateur, so ask all the stupid questions you need to.

I have a submersible sump pump in my basement. It mostly works; however, from time to time, I have to tap the switch housing (I don't know what else to call it. I mean the little box that appears to house the connection between the float/switch and, I'm guessing, the motor) in order for the pump to turn on. The float appears to move freely up and down, but, of course, I can't tell when I have to tap the switch housing whether the float also suddenly rises to engage the switch.

If I pull the float up by hand, the mechanism works fine. When I tap the switch housing, the pump successfully gets rid of all the standing water, even if that takes several minutes.

This pump is about 2-3 years old.

That's as much as I know to tell you up front. I'm looking for possible common causes, simple DIY tricks I can try to improve the situation, and signs that I might need to replace the pump. It appears to work in general, but, of course, I'd like it to be more reliable than this. Which seems more likely: the float is occasionally sticking and not rising and not engaging the switch or there is something loose between the switch and the motor that a light tap jostles just enough to make it work? or is there something else entirely I need to look at?

Update: I did some simple testing today, and the float appears to work well. I filled up the pit both quickly and slowly (with a hose pointed away from the float) and the float rose in the pit every time. I tried spraying some water at the underside of the housing where the float slides up, in case that knocked loose some dirt or muck that might have been occasionally getting in the way. When I let the pit fill slowly over several minutes, the float appears to rise and all seems well. Again---at least as much as my amateur eyes can figure out. I'm happy to take more suggestions for what to try, either to find the cause or to rule other causes out.


texts: Can I redirect airflow from AC to under the house?

texts:
I have a small 950 sq ft single floor house, with a crawl space and force air heating. I have a portable Air Conditioner that has a large Intake and Exhuast tube.

The issue is that none of the windows in the house will work with the brackets it includes. The AC recommends sliding windows to use the brackets. My windows open up out at an angle, as it's an older home.

I do not have the money to upgrade the windows yet, but I noticed in the crawl space, there are barely any ducts for heat. It appears as though it just lets the heat rise.

My question is, can I put the Exhaust tube under the floor, and the Intake on the same floor, and still run this air conditioner? Or is it an absolute requirement to keep the exhuast and intake going outside? I do notice the exhaust gets very hot after about 15 minutes of running on AC mode.


texts: Is it against NEC to reverse NM cable clamps?

texts:
Is the following installation method for NM cable clamps prohibited by the NEC for receptacle outlets?
Note: I know it would be more functional and less awkward to screw in the NM clamps had I used one of the knockouts on top of the box (indicated by the green arrow), right side, or bottom of the box. However, this was the only box I had laying around that already had a knockout punched out for an example and I was able to use a right angle driver to secure the NM clamps for this example setup. Also, since I know I will receive comments if I don't clarify: I know the metal box needs to be grounded (e.g. green ground screw and pigtail) even though it is not shown in the pictures below.

This is what I have typically seen for instructions on installing NM cable clamps:

**
Reason for Question:
While I know the "reversed" method of installing cable clamps will take up additional space inside the box, if I use a 4"x4"x2+" box for a single gang outlet (using a single gang mud ring) then crowding the box is definitely not an issue. Also, if I leave a few inches of slack in the cable outside of the box, I can loosen the clamp to give me some "wiggle room" if I (or a future owner) is doing some work and needs extend the cable a little for any reason without having to tear open the drywall around the box or splice in pigtails.


texts:
On boats there is a often a boom with a winch called a "davit". It is essentially a sort of crane that allows things to be loaded on and off the boat.

Houses do not seem to normally have davits, even though it might be useful in getting heavy objects like furniture, boxes of books, or other materials to a 2nd or 3rd floor.

The closest thing I have seen are the hoists barns have to get bales of hay to the loft.

Why not have one for a house? I would think you could even make a removable hoist. In other words, there would just be a socket, and the beam would go in the socket when the hoist was needed, then you could remove it and put it away when not in use.


texts:
I have a gas Speed Queen dryer and something keeps accumulating on the heat duct vent cover.  I've replaced the cover once thinking something melted on it, but it's happened again.
Other than the melted gunk sometimes getting on clothes,  there's no damage to any of the clothes we put in the dryer.
Any ideas what's causing this?


texts:
I am currently renovating my bathroom and converting my bathtub into a walk-in tiled shower. In the process of deconstruction I've noticed that I cannot center align my drain with the valves and shower head due to the positioning of the floor joists and additional plumbing that is routed through the sub floor, that I don't want to/can't cut. One solution I have found is that I could use a 12 in side offset linear drain that would make the drain appear (mostly) center aligned. 12 in side offset drain
However, that is the only side offset drain I've found in my searching that's 12 inches. The next lowest is around 19 inches, which would lead me back to my first problem of the drain appearing offset. Additionally, that drain appears to have a different outlet that what I notice at any store or even the one I planned on using.
Is there an alternative solution to this problem?
Is it possible to use that offset drain or does anyone have recommendations for one they have used before?
Thanks!


texts: How can I install an overhead water tank and refill it for individual usage?

texts:
I live in a group apartment where there is severe water supply problem.
We have a common sump in basement which can be filled with water from external supply sources like water tanker trucks on payment basis.
Actually, I am looking for a solution which I can only individually utilize it.
I am planning to install a overhead tank on the terrace of the apartment and provide pipe lines additionally to my flat.
Now, if I want to refill the overhead tank with truck water supply tanker, how easily I can pump the water to the terrace?


texts:
My furnace is short-cycling. I've tried the following:

replaced the flame sensor
Shorted the thermostat heat demand signal
Checked the blower capacitor
Checked the air intake filter
Checked the exaust vent

It seems to only works after I cut the power to it for 8+ hours

When it starts working it will work for about 48 hours and then return short cycling.

It has only begun short cycling at night (maybe temperature related).

What else should I trouble shoot.


texts:
We have a Kitchen-aid French door refrigerator with bottom freezer.
What causes dripping onto the top shelf of a refrigerator?
Drips are occurring to the left of the water filter, but not from the water filter compartment!


texts:
I live in semi-detached house and since some time I have encountered some wasps in my bedroom. It is placed on 1st floor (house has 2.5 floors) and I have encountered them only at night/late evening. I haven't seen nest yet, but I think that it has to be somewhere near (as it needs to see the light or something that attracts them only at night).

What is the easiest way to locate where the nest is that I can call service to remove it from my neighbourhood?


texts:
My office is running from one breaker (14 amp/120v) with 4 outlets and 1 light.  I've had a laptop die while plugged into the wall and recently my UPS all audibly cycled on-off within 5 minutes of each other.

The light is using a 78mm Type-J (after moving in I replaced the 100W with a 5W LED)

I assume that three of the outlets were installed as part of the original construction but one of the outlet has mild drywall repair surrounding it, I assume it was added after the fact.

I purchased and tested all outlets with a GFI Receptacle Tester and didn't see any issues.

I've noticed some issues with the room's power:

Laptop dying shortly after moving in to condo
3 separate UPSs activating within 5-10 minutes of each other for a few seconds.  The UPSs were not active at the same time (UPSs were purchased after the condo board said I'd have to provide them with a detailed renovation plan before I could have an electrician look at the wiring).
Prior to installing UPSs, whenever paper was fed into my shredder the LED USB keyboard on one of the computers would visibly turn off for <1 second after the shredder turned off.

There has also been at least one flicker causing the whole unit to lose power since moving in.

Specific questions:

How likely is this related to my office's wiring?
What are the least destructive mechanisms to diagnose these issues?
How many hours should I budget for a certified electrician to diagnose and fix the issue?
If I add an 8A air conditioner to this circuit how likely am I to cause this issue to escalate?


texts: How to cover area under vanity with PEX exposed?

texts:
I just installed IKEA vanity and it requires re-run new PEX. Since behind the wall is concrete at corner wall, only way is to run PEX outside the 2x4 like picture below.

But now it opens a hole like that and sometime I can feel wind blow into it since the left side is the garage.

And it’s not simple to cover with drywall as the pex is in the way.

What are my options?

Just stuck some insulation behind the 2x4 and prevent wind blow into it
Duck tape or some kind of thin panel?
Make a “box” extruding outside. This is complicated as I have to deal with clearance from the ikea drawers


texts: Shower floor is in bad shape - what options do we have?

texts:
We've asked for a quick estimate from the guy doing our laminate, and he said it's not worth it to re-grout. He also said there's no way to just remove the old tile, since the floor is slightly water damaged.

Short of ripping out everything, something he says will cost upwards of $2,000 + materials, do we have any other options here? We just want a clean shower floor.


texts: Outlet stopped working, found it is only two wire

texts:
I recently noticed that a three-prong outlet stopped working. Short version: I checked the wiring and there are only two wires running to the outlet and no visible ground wire. I checked another outlet in the room and it's setup the same. So I'm guessing these are both incorrectly setup?

Longer version is that I tested with a working light plus an outlet tester and tested resetting the breakers. The outlet tester has previously shown these outlets as "correct" as grounded outlets. Is this because the box is grounded? I want to get the outlet fixed, but not sure if I should try replacing the fixture or get someone in to fix the wiring?


texts: Salt free and low maintenance water softener

texts: I want to install a water softener for my house.I am using a salt based softener now which requires me to change salt frequently.Is there any salt free and low maintenance softener exists ,is it effective and how do they work?


texts:
I posted a question about this, and someone mentioned using Titebond wood glue for the joints in the following drawing.

My question: for these types of joints, will wood glue create a stronger bond than screws? The purpose of the joint is to hold these together.


texts: What should I do about a crack in the concrete slab in my living room?

texts:
We purchased the house about 2 years ago. The house is about 50 years old. Today we removed the carpet and the hardwood floors under the carpet.  We found out the slab has an approximately 10ft long crack. See the picture. The crack goes from hairline and branches off to bigger cracks. See photo. It's about 5 inches deep from what I could measure.

The house is in Granada Hills, California. I was thinking it's maybe due to earthquakes or earth shifting. I know a major earthquake happened in 1994. The walls appears to be fine and show no sign of structural damage.

What type of crack is this? How can I fix it and should I be concerned? Should I use cement, Emecole 555 or a bottle of concrete filler? Any help or insight would be appreciated.


texts:
What options are there for getting power to this garage?

The pale grey stuff is concrete, and the flags have been recently cemented down so am keen to avoid pulling them up if possible.

Have seen cable strung overhead in the past. Is this an acceptable solution, and if so how should it be made safe in terms of armour / conduit?

The main need is for lights, so solar power may be an option, although a mains feed would be useful.

Appreciate it would have been a good idea to think of this before laying the flags...


texts: Drawer/Cabinet Pull Install Splintered interior Veneer

texts: My contractor installed the cabinet/drawer pulls and splintered the maple veneer on the inside of more than 1/2 of the cabinet/drawers. Is there a repair, plug, etc that can be made to hide the poor quality work that has been done aside from replacing the fronts? :(


texts:
We replaced our light fittings to ceiling fans with LED lights remote controlled, so the switch is always on but the remote controls the light and fans.

There is a problem on the top floor where 3 out of 4 lights emit a bit of light when should be off (switch is on). When the switch is off there is no light. I've also noticed that when a light is turned on in a different room the light lights up for a second when the switch is off. All 3 fans were replaced with no help. Any idea what the problem could be?

The light cannot be replaced on the fan, the LEDs are integrated. The downstairs fans (2) are ok.


texts: I'd like to remodel a couple rooms in our home, but am unsure how to identify support beams when the time comes. Are there any easily-identifiable things I should look for to keep my house from crashing to the ground?


texts: Bathroom fan do I use 12-2/20a or 14-2/15a

texts:
Hey guys I am hooking up my bathroom fan and wanted to get clarity on the electrical requirements.

The fans requirements state:

“Run 120V AC house wiring to the location of the fan”
On the box is says 120V/60Hz

My current 20a/12-2 will be to much power for this fan correct?

Does the 120V mean it is expecting 15a/14-2?


texts: Glue underlayment to concrete: how long does it take to cure?

texts:
This question is related to another question I posted earlier.

I glued FloorMuffler underlayment to concrete using Roberts Engineered Wood Flooring Adhesive. The instructions say "open time up to 20 minutes" and "install hardwood while the glue is still fresh, do not allow it to skin-over". I do realize that underlayment material is non-porous and installation method may differ from hardwood flooring, but since there were no specific instructions, I proceeded according to the instructions on the can of glue. I probably gave it 10 minutes of open time before I rolled underlayment on top of freshly applied glue. There was a lot of trapped air that caused bubbles. I pierced them and pressed the air out. Next morning I was ready to install the floor, but I noticed the glue under the underlayment is still fresh. It cured around the edges, but it is completely fresh otherwise. What did I do wrong? What are my options now?

Update:
The underlayment was installed on Wednesday. Sunday night I checked, and there are still some pockets of uncured glue. I am worried that the glue might never set at all. Still looking for a solution.


texts: Can I rough sand a deck before rain, and finish sand after rain dries?

texts:
I am in the process of sanding and staining a new deck (built in June) but the weather is not being very cooperative. I know stain needs to sit 48 hrs before being rained on, and that wood needs to be dry and sanded before hand, meaning 24 to 48 hrs after a rain. So at a minimum I need 5 clear days, assuming 1 day in the middle for sanding and staining.

I am planning a 2 pass sanding job with a belt sander using 40 grit and a finish pass with an orbital using 80 grit. My question is, can I do my rough pass before a rain, and then do my finish pass 48 hours after the rain, and then stain? Or am I wasting my time sanding before the rain at all?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Looking to re-wire a room with a bit different design.

Goal: I have a room which is a living room on one end and an office on the other (two zones if you will) where I am installing can lights. I would like to have each zone of lights separately dimmable. Additionally, both banks to be turned on/off together via switch. So, each rooms light level could be set to 0 - max individually, and all banks able to be turned on/off via a switch.

Existing: I have two working switches wired up in three-way. One switch in the office and one in the living room. The hot feeds into the switch not from the light fixture.

My thinking: I could keep the three-way switches. Wire two dimmers in-line to the three-way.

Am I crazy? Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks, Mike


texts:
My drain is too far away from the wall. I cannot fit the cabinet.
While I recognize I can push it horizontal arm it is not good enough which means I have to cut pipe which is in the wall.
Can I just cut wall tube and use some kind of adapter?


texts: I’m finishing bare oak cabinets. I burned through the coat of primer during my sanding. Am I good to start spraying the alkyd paint on this or do I need to go back a prime again over the burned through areas?


texts: What kind of stone makes the most porous fill? (french drain)

texts:
I need to create some drainage in the form of some dry wells and french drains. What kind of stone will maximize the porosity to get good water flow?

I originally thought just ordinary gravel, but a builder told me that "river stone" whatever that is, would be way more porous and have much greater flow.


texts: How can I reconnect a 3-way switch circuit and restore power to downstream outlets?

texts:
I had an attic fan hooked up to a 3 way switch...It seems the power went into Switch A to the Fan, then out of Fan to Switch B. I recently had the Fan removed to install an Attic Stairs by a handyman, who did not re hook up the electric, This has caused me to also lose power to some outlets down the line on the same breaker.

I currently have the two cables (coming/going from/to each switch) in the attic. Each has Black, White, Red and Ground. The one coming from Switch A, is Hot on the Black. Is there a way to connect them to complete the circuit so I can complete the circuit and recover power in the other outlets in the chain?


texts:
I'm looking at getting a hand held Jig Saw like the Bosch 150 CE because it has the longest cutting depth 15cm(6"). I'm wanting to do some end notching on 150mm x 150mm lumber.

For example:

What I'd like to know though is what happens when you attempt to cut through a larger piece then the blade is specified for, e.g. 200mm? Must the blade be able to extend past the other side of the material, or can you do a cut only part way into it? So if I wanted to notch a 200mm piece, could I do a 150mm cut, then flip the wood over and cut the remaining 50mm?

For example:

I asked several sellers at stores why all the Jig Saws they have only have it specified that they can cut to 150mm max, yet they sell blades for 200mm. Nobody could tell me why.

If this isn't how you would tackle a notch on pieces bigger than 150mm, could you point me in the direction of how you would do it? At the moment I'm using a hack saw and chisels and it takes too long considering how many I have to do.


texts:
I have a simple light switch in a closet and I wanted to change it out for one with a switch and an outlet.  The back of the switch had 3 black wires - 2 going into push in connectors on the top left and bottom right and 1 screwed into the side screw on the top left.

My replacement switch has no plug-ins, just 4 side screws and a ground.

How do I reattach the wires?

Thanks,

Eric

![old switch
]3box with wires]4


texts: I'm wanting to add a shelly v1 to one of our wall lights but after taking it off I can't work out what is happening here! The wiring doesn't seem to match any diagrams I can find, what is this called and why isn't the light permanently on?


texts:
I replaced a receptacle in a bedroom of my home which was built in the mid to late 1970s.  The circut breaker says the outlet is 15 Amp, however the wires wouldn't fit inside the slots on the back of the new receptacle which is a standard 15 Amp, 125 volt I got from Lowes.  I proceeded to wrap the wires around the screws since they wouldn't fit in the slots and I made sure enough insulation was removed so the wire was in full contact with the screws.  When I turned the breaker back on, there was no power.  I'm at a loss,  I have watched several videos on replacing a receptacle and think I'm doing everything correct, just not sure why it's not working.  This should be a simple DIY project I feel.
Thanks


texts: How much does a degree tilt impact the height of the centerline?

texts: This might be an engineering or mathematics question, nevertheless giving this a shot here first. There seems to be a clear way, or at least in regards to distance a few, quantifiable explain where to ideally placing a flat mounted tv on the wall. However the title is the question, how much higher may the tv be placed to sit just as even, so the tv lines up similarly to the couch with on varying degree of tilt?


texts: How to secure privacy lattice to top of existing fence gate?

texts:
I want to fix some privacy lattice installed along the fences at a property I maintain. Most of the lattice installed along the actual FENCE is solid - I’m assuming because the bottoms of the lattice can be securely anchored to the top of the fence.  However the lattice that’s installed along the fence GATE itself is in extremely poor condition.  These pieces are either already leaning, with the fasteners (nails) almost pulled free — or in various stages of failure, and require cosmetic and structural repair.  (Pictures below)

Is this happening because of weather changes, the decision to use nails as fasteners on a frequently moveing object or BOTH?
What is the ideal way to re-secure or rebuild the privacy lattice above the gate area specifically? Obviously the gate gets opened and slammed shut hundreds of times a year and i want the repair to be able to take that abuse. Maybe a combination of strong deck screws and possibly U-brackets of some kind to fortify?


texts: Is there an outside faucet thread that would make attaching a standard garden hose easy? Mine has a narrow thread that makes it very hard to get the attachment started. I spent over five minutes on my knees and gave up without ever getting the garden hose to attach. Others with more patience or skill can do it still so it's not the hose.


texts: Do I need to do anything other than wire grommets to protect electrical wiring in a 2 1/2 inch steel stud?

texts: I'm used to making sure electrical wire is setback 1 1/4 inch from the face of a wood stud, but what are the requirements (US NEC) for 2 1/2 inch steel studs? They appear to come punched out for wires or plumbing, but wouldn't provide enough setback to protect the wiring. The steel stud is designed for a screw to go through it. Are there thicker steel protection plates designed for steels studs, or would that even be necessary?


texts: At what temperatures do pipe sleeves protect pipes from freezing?

texts:
Pipes start icing at 20ºF and below. Down to how many ºF do the foam sleeves protect the pipe? The foams I placed in my outdoor pipes had a 0.35" thick polyurethane foam surrounding them.

This is a picture of the sleeves I installed:


texts:
My home has these on all the basement windows. As a result, there's a significant hazard in case of fire.
From the pictures, are these just held in place by beefy nails.
Would a crowbar be the way to go to remove them or would it make more sense to just use a Dremel or saw to cut the bars off?
I suppose both could work, but I may be missing something.


texts: post light with a photocell sensor and GFCI wiring

texts: I installed a post light with a photocell sensor. I connected the light wires to a GFCI outlet on the load side. The GFCI trips  when i turn on the breaker. Is there a  special photo sensor that works with a GFCI outlet?