texts:
So I have this sunroom off the side of my garage that has a roof and what I think is a metal exterior.

1 wall is to the garage and the other 3 sides have large openings which once housed screens and about 18 horizontal glass panes that opened and closed on a crank. (Sorry, I do not have a good before pic, but this is the hardware left that cranks the windows open and closed)

Well, the windows were old, dirty, some cracked, some missing, and they were kindof an eyesore. The screens on the inside were in terrible shape. And the hardware that held the windows were also housing webs, nests, and hives for various creepy-crawly things. I took out the windows and screens and cleaned everything out and what you see in the first pic is the result. I love the way it looks and it's a great place for my daughter to play, but rain can get in now and there is no drainage. And we store things in the room in the winter (we are in Western NY).

I am looking for advice/recommendations for what to do with the openings that would be cheaper than putting in new windows/screens. I had an idea of taking out the window frames and getting vinyl sheets with magnets around the frame to lay against the metal. They can be rolled up when we want it open and closed for bad weather. But I don't know if that's even possible or practical.

If I don't come up with a solution, I need the frames in tact to put the screens and windows back up before next winter so that's why I haven't yet taken them down.

Any suggestions will be helpful!


texts: Can I use any coarse drywall screws when fixing nail pops in the ceiling?

texts:
I have several nail pops in the ceiling sheet rock of my house and I've decided to finally address/fix them.  The house was built 40 years ago so I don't believe there is any underlying issue other than time.

I have a bucket of coarse thread screws left to me from a different project hanging green board in a bathroom and I'd like to use these rather than buy yet more.  However, I'm uncertain of the length (1-5/8") for ceiling drywall (which may only be 1/4"?) and the specific details of the screw (see pictures) such as the serrated head, etc.


texts: Can the drain pipe from a water heater's temperature / pressure relief valve be plumbed such that some part of it can be higher than the T&P valve itself? Or must the piping always remain below the level of the valve?


texts:
I'm adding a 10x10 (100 ft sq) shed workshop to my yard. Walls are 2x4, 16"OC. Rafters are 2x6, 24"OC. I will be insulating the shed and adding climate control so I can use it year round. I'm in Ontario, Canada FWIW.

Currently the rafter ties are about 1/3 of the way up the rafters, creating an area of sloped ceiling on either side of the shed (Blue rafters/ties in pic). I'm wondering if I'm better off adding ceiling joists in order to create a flat ceiling for insulation, essentially converting the rafters to trusses by adding a horizontal span across the building, and tying it to the existing rafter with a vertical member (shown in black in the pic).Wall height is 8ft, so plenty of headroom without the sloped ceiling areas.

If I take this route, are 2x4 members sufficient?


texts: Electric tankless water heater as preheat system before gas tank water heater

texts:
I have an apartment building with 12 units and a laundry room with 6 washer and dryers. I am about to install a solar PV system, and see this as my chance to reduce my gas bill by taking the load off of my 100 gallon gas water heater. My idea is to size the solar to include the load added by installing a 36 kW electric tankless water heater on the cold line return, before the 100 gallon tank. This would warm the water before it goes the the tank, thereby reducing the load on the gas burners. Will this work?
Tony


texts: Should I take my deck apart to fix a 1/2" lean?

texts:
I am building a 15'x23' deck in Knoxville. I built a sandwich girder at the end using 12" x 16" deep concrete piers, 4x4 posts sitting on galvanized metal brackets and pressure treated 2x10's sandwiched together using 3" nails and 1/2" lag bolts 6 inches long. I left the braces I used to hold the 4x4 posts on and staked to the ground.

I have installed around 10 joists that are 2x10" p.t. lumber. I noticed a gap at the top of the joist about 1/2" wide. I should have stopped to assess the problem but being anxious to finish I just kept going.

I noticed when I placed a hammer on the girder that it was no longer level. I thought about using shims when I lay the decking but that seems so, shall I say, unprofessional. I also noticed that the girder is beginning to snake in the middle.

My instincts tell me to take it apart and fix the girder but that is something that I dread doing. This is my first time building anything. Are my instincts right or can I do something else.


texts:
I purchased a new bathroom sink and faucet and set everything up according to instructions. The faucet instructions told me to use silicone for the drain lip (the border thing around the stopper in the bottom of the inside of the sink, flange?).
Anyways, underneath where the pipe comes out is a rubber gasket and I've used the plastic screw on the drain pipe to seal the gasket against the underside of the sink, but when I put a little bit of water in it, some water leaks out from between the gasket and the sink. I've tried tightening it as much as I can and it still leaks.
Should I be putting silicone or plumbers putty between the gasket and the sink?  If possible, I'd like to avoid taking the drain lip off because I've already sealed it there. What should I do?
Here is a picture of the underside of the sink:

UPDATE: It turns out (haha) that the problem was that the rubber "washer" was actually threaded itself. I'm not sure if they are always like this, but I didn't realize that it was threaded when I was assembling everything. So I assume that what was happening originally is that when I didn't have the rubber washer close enough to the basin when I started tightening the nut (blue) that it was moving the the threads out of alignment or something and not making a good seal. Once I turned the washer a few turns upwards, then tightened the blue nut, it made a proper seal. All without using a bunch of puttey or silicone.
UPDATE2: So it has been 10 months and it hasn't leaked. Problem solved.
UPDATE3: It's been 8 years and it hasn't leaked.


texts: How can I enclose and cover a well in a driveway?

texts:
I have a well that is currently enclosed in a large, unsightly manner with a 1/2" steel sheet. I am having the driveway redone and I want to redo this so it is just a round hole with a cover. How can I approach this without buying one of those super heavy concrete pipes? Can I use brick for the wall of the hole? I only need the hole to be around 15" in diameter. The hole is about 3 feet deep currently.

Here is what it currently looks like under the steel cover.


texts:
I just upgraded our electric panel. But there are quite a few holes around the new panel (see the picture below) .

How can I fix the upper and lower holes around the panel? Thanks.


texts: What is "mud-jacked", and why is it not done in the UK?

texts: I have seen of few questions/answers about "mud-jacked", but I have never come across it in the uk.


texts: How to clean a new tile floor with single component grout without causing damage to the grout

texts:
I installed porcelain floor tile with this single component grout. I did the initial cleanup of excess grout with a damp sponge. House cleaners will be coming one week after I installed the grout. How long should I wait after installation to mop the floor, and are there cleaning products that should be avoided in order to prevent damage to the grout?

To be clear, my concern is not how to do the initial cleanup with a wet sponge or how to get the floor looking its best, but rather, how to ensure the grout is not damaged by regular floor cleaning.


texts: Should an exterior door frame always be flush with the interior drywall?

texts:
I just had my basement door replaced. The close-to-finished product looks something like this picture;

Note that this door is inside a "tunnel like" frame (which means the door can only open 90 degrees). From some searching online I believe this may be referred to as an interior extension but I'm not sure. Does somebody know what this would be called?

More importantly, is this OK? If not what is the proper way to handle thick walls? We have brick veneer, concrete block, 2" XPS, then the framed wall and drywall. I believe the contractor did it this way so as to start the door where the brick veneer ended (how the previous door was setup, but the basement was unfinished before thus it wasnt a problem).

EDIT -- FWIW, I just found that diynetwork.com is ok with doing it this way, but I dont see how they can even install a decent amount of trim around the door to make it look ok in this case...


texts: Will I lose much by buying a spray gun not suitable for water-based materials?

texts:
Looking around for a spray gun for my woodworking projects, I've found this one. This spray gun perfectly fits a couple of my requirements, so I'm seriously considering buying it.

However, I'm in doubt because of one thing that is mentioned in the description:

NOT SUITABLE FOR WATERBASED MATERIALS

And since I'm a total newbie in painting, I've decided to ask a couple of questions here:

What are pros and cons of water-based vs solvent-based paints?
Will I lose much by having a spray gun not suitable for water-based materials?


texts: Can I wire a 3 way switch to a light but also have an always-hot receptacle?

texts:
I'm trying to hook up an always-hot outlet coming from the 2nd 3-way switch, which that switch controls a light.

I'm thinking if I connect the black wire from the outlet cable to any of the 3 wires in the box (the red traveler, the black traveler, or the black switch leg), then the outlet will always be flipping on or off depending on the switch's state.

As an idea, I'm thinking of splicing the red and black travelers with the black from the outlet cable and that should provide power constantly, but I can't find anyone online doing this. Would this work? Is there a better way?


texts: Stop pipe from banging without removing floorboards

texts:
We have a pipe that bangs for a while right when we turn the heating on. I managed to isolate where the pipe is (under the floorboards on one room), the problem is that I can't lift the floorboards because they go under a built in wardrobe, and I don't want to cut them in case I hit the pipe.

I read that an idea could be make a hole on the floorboard right on top of the pipe (I'll need to figure out how to do it without hitting the pipe) and just inject insulation foam, but I'm not sure about this method.

Has anybody have any suggestion or similar experience?


texts: Suggestions for How to Achieve Flexible Wireless Speaker System

texts:
I would like to have a set of wireless (they can be mains powered) speakers in my living room. I have indicated what I reckon will be the eventual position of the speakers in the plan below:

There is a PC Desk on one side of the room, and while I am sat there gaming, watching video etc, I would like to use the two speakers (1 and 2) on the desk in a stereo arrangement when sat there.
When I sit on the sofa to watch film and TV on the projector (played through an old PC (PC 2) that is sat behind the sofa) or listen to music playing on my phone (or through PC 1), I would like to use speaker 2 and speaker 3 in a stereo arrangement.
Ideally, all three speakers would be the same manufacturer and I would really like to have some kind of flexible system where I can load up the positions of the three speakers and use an app or program on my phone or pc to set which ones to play with and combine.
I spoke to Sonos and they said that their speakers are not really designed to be used with a PC (which seems odd to me since that is where most of my music and watching is based).
Do you have any ideas how I might achieve the setup shown below? If not, can you think of a good approximation or similar setup that might be able to allow me to play music and games and films through a set of speakers with a flexible stereo setup? Even better, could I use speaker 3 as a single rear speaker when gaming? Any creative thoughts, recommendations of manufacture or even key words to search for would be really appreciated!


texts:
I just bought a home with a gas hookup for the dryer, but I have a fairly recent, perfectly working electric dryer, so I've decided to run a 240v line instead of purchasing a new gas dryer. This is what I plan to do and wanted to run it by you folks to see if it makes sense and if there are any gotchas I should be sure to look out for. (I'll also be re-reading Richter/Schwann's "Wiring Simplified" to make sure I do things correctly.)

Dryer is rated at 240V, 30 amps. It comes configured for a 3-wire connection, but this can be changed to a 4-wire connection by separating the neutral and ground wire inside the dryer. (Instructions are provided for this in the manual.)
I'll need to use a 4-wire connection since the circuit I'll be installing is post-1996 (per NEC)
House has 200 amp electric service
I'll add a 30 amp breaker to the main panel and use Romex 10/3 NM-B w/ground.
The run from the dryer to the panel is about 50 feet or less

Any suggestions or worries about the above? Thanks.


texts: Why does my circuit breaker keep tripping?

texts:
Every time I switch on one specific circuit breaker, the residual-current device (RCD) switches off. I've disconnected every device that's on the group, and even took out all light bulbs, but the problem doesn't go away.

I think there are two options now, either there's something wrong with the circuit breaker, or with the wiring (there are three other groups that share the RCD, but I have no problem with those, so I think the RCD is OK).

Are there other options, and how do I find out where my problem is?

(I know next to nothing about electrical wiring, so I hope I got the terms right.)


texts:
I have a picture frame where the wood is narrow, maybe 1/4 inch. The backing board has sawtooths near the top.

If I hang by sawtooth it seems I’ll be hanging on nails, not hooks (most hooks I see don’t stick out as much as the nails). I have toddlers, this doesn’t seem safe around them.  If they were teens and I could expect them to ignore it I’d do this way.

I wanted to get clips to clip to the side of the backing board, then wire across those. Those seem hard to come by. Maybe for a reason?  I’ve seen them as mostly stable though a little bit of shift.

Every kit I see has D rings. To me I’m worried about splitting the wood. Again, very narrow frame.

So, are there clips I can get (I have an ikea frame that I used this on) or do they slide too much?  Is there some other option to hang these, non sawtooth non D-ring and wire, that I’m missing?

Thanks.


texts: Fridgidaire Microwave sometimes starts running when door is closed

texts:
Model No: FMV152KSA
My Frigidaire microwave has an intermittent problem where after closing the door it immediately starts running....so I never hit Start.
Sometimes this means it runs for a few seconds and stops and other times it seems to run for much longer before I stop it by opening and closing the door again.
When it runs, the LCD seems fine but if the cook time doesn't count down, the spinner spins but it doesn't heat up and doesnt stop if I hit Stop either.
It's intermittent, so I may be able to open and close the door with no problem 5 times in a row and the 6th time it just starts running when closed.
Or I may set a cook time of 2 minutes, open the door, closes the door, it starts running but the remaining time is stuck at 2 minutes.
Most of the problems I see online are regarding the door switches when the Microwave runs when the door is opened or doesn't run when the door is closed.  I wasn't sure if my problem is most likely the switches or something else maybe?
Also, I see instructional videos online and some mention discharging the capacitor before proceeding as a safety measure and others don't.  Are the ones that don't foolish or is it because replacing the door switches poses no real risk from the capacitor?


texts: Can a single manual transfer switch be wired to two main panels (both from same meter but they do not feed each other)? Specifically, if desired breakers cannot be consolidated into one panel and there is only going to be one 10-circuit transfer switch -- can new #12 wires be added/spliced into the existing black, red, white and ground wires coming out of transfer switch harness to extend their length so that some of them run to the second panel? Particularly, is it ok to have the neutral and ground wires from the single transfer switch be spliced so that they attach to the neutral/ground bars in both panels?


texts: Using excess energy during float phase - am I using up my batteries' cycle life?

texts:
I have a hybrid power system:
3kW solar; 2kW wind turbine; 1kW water wheel, that feed a 48v (flooded lead acid) battery bank.

Presently, after absorption charging is complete and the system goes into 'float' state (of 54 volts), I turn on my 3.5kW water heater.  The water heater is configured to draw power when the battery is above 53 volts, until the battery drops to 51 volts.

As I usually do not have a lot of wind, or rain, solar is my primary generation source.

What happens is the hot water (immersion) heater runs for about 10 seconds, while the voltage drops to 51 V, then it stops while the voltage creeps back up to 54 V, and repeats.

I understand that with the 48 volt system, the '100%' voltage is: 50.4 volts (2.1 volts per cell), so in theory if my system voltage is above that, I should not be eating into my battery's precious cycles.

Or, should I de-rate my hot water heater (e.g. connect the middle and bottom element in series, to reduce the draw to 1.75 kW)?


texts: Renovating interior stone basement walls

texts: We have a 100 year old house, and I would like to finish the basement but leave the stone walls exposed.  I believe the stone can look great, but the mortar needs some work, and I am mostly focused on keeping the airflow to prevent any moisture problems.  I'm aware that it is important to manage moisture outside the foundation.  But when it comes to the inside, is it ok to somehow 'seal' the stone, or would that create an unwanted moisture barrier?  In general, what is the best way to renovate the stone on the inside to make it look good without causing any other issues?


texts: I am building a deck and keep getting some conflicting messages when it comes to backfilling the holes.  Already dug down 24”, added gravel for drainage and 4-6” of concrete (hole día approx 12-15”). I am well below the frost line.  Is it ok to just backfill with concrete for additional strength or is gravel/material removed the best way to go?


texts: Light fitting with power but no 3-way switch function

texts:
I have a 3-way setup with one switch at the top of the stairs and one at the bottom for a light at the top of the stairs. It all appears to be wired fine and I have power and light but the switches are not working to turn the light off. Please can someone give me an idea where to check as I have triple checked all the wires now?!

The top switch has been wired with a black marked live wire which I have then wired into the light fitting with the other live wires.

I am not sure if this is to do with the switches, fitting or something more advanced?


texts: What kind of wire do I need for 3 LED strips?

texts:
My knowledge of this is very basic, so I would really appreciate it if I can get some help. I am trying to connect 3 LED strips around a room in crown molding. The strips are 3528 LEDs, 12V DC, 1.5 Watts/foot, and are 16 feet each. I figured that to connect all 4 in a series I needed a power supply that is around 70-80 Watts, so I bought a 120 Watts, 10 Amp, 12V DC to AC adapter.  When I connected the series, the last 2 strips were very dim, I am guessing because of voltage drop. I have never connected in parallel before but I am guessing that is what I need to do.

My questions are, what kind of wire do I need to run if my room is around 48 feet in perimeter?
And will running it in parallel help with the dim at the end?
And finally do I need to get a different power supply if I change it?

Thanks a lot!


texts: Combination "Tamper Proof", "GFCI", and "AFCI" receptacle locations?

texts: Where "Tamper Proof", "GFCI", and "AFCI" receptacles are required in the same space, how is that accomplished? Is there such a thing as Tamper proof GFCI or Tamper proof AFCI receptacles?


texts: Adding a utility sink drain to the main to the main cast iron stack

texts: I need to add a utility sink and the drain would connect directly into my main stack (see attached picture). Is it possible to add a connection to the main cast iron stack, without cutting out a section and adding a new fitting? Basically, I am suggesting cutting a hole in the side if the cast iron stack and adding a saddle Wye (see picture)my stack as it is now.


texts:
We have a 10x10 wooden shed sitting on a concrete slab that is under water when we get lots of rain. Is it possible to raise the entire thing, slab and all maybe 6" somehow to get it out of the water?

Edit: I'm not at the house at the moment, but here are some shots I have of it:
https://imgur.com/a/j0osLr3


texts: Single handle Moen 1200 cartridge has a drip after one day

texts: I replaced a Moen 1200 cartridge with new one. One day later it started to drip when I turn the water off. It’s the exact same cartridge model I pulled out. I made sure before inserting the new one that all parts that I didn’t need to buy were clean and free of any rust, lime or calcium. Does anybody have any ideas?


texts: Is it normal to see nails coming through the roof decking after a new roof was installed?

texts:
Our home was built in 1954, and is a Florida ranch style home.  We have about a two-foot overhanging soffit with trusses that show and with tongue and groove under whatever that’s called. Sorry, I don’t know the proper terms…

I had my roof redone. And nails have come through the plywood and show all over the attic and all the way around the soffit overhang on the outside.… Some are just the tips of nail that have come through the tongue and groove and some larger nails come through the trusses and have spilt the wood…My husband said this is normal, but it wasn’t that way before. Should the roofer repair all these nail holes?


texts:
I’m hoping someone could help us. We noticed an issue with our water pressure, it seems to fluctuate every 20 seconds or so. We are still able to use our water but it’s become a lot more noticeable. I did a lot of research to try and understand what’s going on and what to test but I would love some confirmation before we order a new water pressure tank.
Some info about our system:
Wellxtrol WX203, 32 gallons
I believe the cut in/cut out should be 40/60 as the pressure switch cuts off at 60, however it doesn’t turn on until 33. I know it should turn on at 38.
The tank itself is laying on its side in the crawl space. Ive read this can cause premature rupture of the bladder.
There is no info anywhere about the well pump (on the cap or by the circuit breaker) so we followed a video to measure. We got 9.8 gpm.
When we measured our drawdown, we only got .75 gallons. We were going to drain the tank and check the air pressure to test for a ruptured bladder but with such a small drawdown, we are scared to mess with anything too much.
I have tried to learn as much as I can about this so I pray I’m making some sort of sense. Thank you so much for any help you may be able to offer us.


texts: What is this orange residue in my water heater?

texts:
My water heater has two control panels: one for the upper thermostat and one for the lower thermostat. The other day I opened the panels in order to adjust the thermostats, and I noticed that in the lower panel, there was some orange residue.

Please see pictures below. The residue seems too orange to be rust. Is this harmless, or is it something I should investigate further?


texts: Manufactured home bathtub/shower wall installation

texts:
We purchased a 15 yr old mfd. home. Master bath has an ABS(?) bathtub with separate shower walls. It's serviceable, but will eventually need to be replaced(ugly).
A: I would like an all in one insert tub with walls. I can see, without measuring, the walls are not square. Is an insert possible without a lot of finagling? We're on a limited budget.
B:If I cannot do an all in one insert, what r my best options for material for the tub and the separate walls. The shower walls right now are board with vinyl over them, doomed to fail. Again, not looking for Top of the line, something economical, easy, sturdy, easy to clean.
Thanks.


texts: Do I need to be concerned about moisture around dryer exhaust?

texts:
I have a dryer stacked on top of my washer and the exhaust duct attachment point is elevated off the ground.

Or contractor had to build out the wall and create an area where the plumbing, gas and exhaust can be hooked up to my machines.

We've been running these machine for about 6 months and I just noticed that there is warm moist air flowing (low flow) around the duct connection point by the wall (red arrows in picture) there is also some condensation on the walls.

Should I be concerned about moist air getting behind the walls and causing mold?

Is there anything I can do to minimize the leaking moist air?


texts: Why isn't gas flowing to my fireplace after I open the valve?

texts: I don’t have a pilot light just a key that you turn to open a valve to free gas. I haven’t used it in 3 years and I recently tried but after 30 seconds of the gas being on ,nothing happened.Does it take a while for the gas to flow through the line?


texts: Is adding a paver patio or flower garden near a home foundation a bad idea?

texts:
More specifically, should I be concerned about creating drainage issues?

We already have some leaks in our basement. I'd like to avoid creating additional problems.


texts: Best method to tile over concrete block with drywall glued over it?

texts:
We're adding a shower to a half bath and during demo discovered drywall has been glued to the concrete block wall.  Four feet of this wall will be used for tile in shower.  Our Tiler says he can use Kerdi waterproofing but the inspector says we have to use furring strips over the drywall and 1/2 inch concrete board over that.  Then tile.  My question(s): 1) Do we need to install some kind of vapor barrier in this scenario? 2) Can we use insulation board between fur strips and if so, foil facing tile or away from tile? 3) Any other suggestion to do this per code?

Thanks!
DParker


texts: Outlet for built-in Microwave has 120v/20A (USA) breaker... what amperage receptacle is required?

texts:
Currently I'm not able to pull the built-in microwave out to examine the outlet, so am leaning on the expertise here. It is a duplex outlet and the connected breaker is 20A, constructed around 2005. I'm looking at replacing the existing outlet with a recessed outlet to accommodate the larger depth of a new microwave. The new microwave is rated at 14.7A.
I have found a single receptacle 20A standard clock hanger recessed outlet. Is there any reason NOT to use this? Because it is a built in, there is no practical need for a duplex outlet.
The other option available is 15A recessed duplex outlet. Is it within code to put a duplex 15A outlet on a 20A breaker?


texts: No water in door of Samsung French door style refrigerator

texts:
Have a Samsung RF24J9960S4 refrigerator - french door style with soda dispenser.
Over several weeks the water dispenser reduced its water volume.  New filter or no filter made no difference.
Now there is no water dispensing at all or a few drips at a time.  The water pressure if fine up through the hose above the door.  I have taken off the connector to the door and trigger the water and it shoots out quite a bit, so it is nothing with the refrigerator.  The blockage is in the door.  I can hear it try to work when I depress the water pedal, but it just slowly drips out.
The soda water was dispensing fairly well, but now I think it has run dry and can't fill the soda water reservoir either.
I can't find anything on the web about the components/layout of the door, how to open it up, or what I can do.  Any suggestions?


texts: Adding an outlet to a light switch, just want to make sure I have the right idea

texts:
I am in the process of replacing a dual light switch with a smaller switch and an outlet. I have the switch wired and working properly, but I am worried about the next step. The way I understand it, I need to:

Add another wire to the two twisted white wires, and that will go to the white on the outlet.
The leftover ground wire, will go to the ground on the outlet.
Add one more wire and connect it to the existing black wire and that would go to the hot in the outlet.

The black wire is a little odd in my opinion. It's a single one that's connected to both "hots" on light switch. That's how the old one was wired as well.

Am I missing something? Also, what is the easiest and correct way to add those two additional wires? I have no desire to but a 100 foot spool for just a few inches.


texts: Basement bathroom rough-in with backwater valve question

texts:
I ended up contacted the plumbing company that did my basement rough-in. This is what they said:

Drain and vent for basement sink
Toilet rough-in
Backwater Valve
Tub Drain

So I guess my new questions are:

Do I need to do anything special for #1, or just spin the tee (if needed) and connect the drain and call it good?
How do we incorporate #3 into the finished bathroom given its location and should we be checking it periodically?
How do we vent the shower, or is it somehow connected to #1 and similar that we don't need an explicit vent?

EDIT: I found the floor plan for a finished basement for the model of my house:

That would solve the mystery of how to get to the valve - they have the wall running between 3 and 4.


texts: How does an end notch in a ceiling beam affect deflection calculations?

texts:
We have a ceiling beam that is a standard 4x8 over 12 feet.

Let's stipulate that is properly sized for the weight load over that span.

But, what if, in order to place that beam, we need to notch it a bit on the very end:  so it is a 4x6 for 2 inches where it rests on the post, but is then 4x8 the rest of the (unsupported) span.

I assume the deflection is now greater than when it was 4x8.

But is it degraded all the way to the deflection of a 4x6 ?  Or is it somewhere inbetween ?  This only happens on one end - on the other end, it is a full 4x8.

If it's somewhere inbetween is it ... just a bit weaker than a 4x8 or just a bit stronger than a 4x6 or ... ?

Thank you.


texts: How to fix armoire to bent wall and mask the gap behind it?

texts:
So I made an armoire and want to fix it to the wall. But the wall is in the old house and it is tilt a bit, not forming an angle of 90 degrees. So if I just fix armoire to the wall it will not be horizontal and I don't want that.

Is there some standard procedure how to approach this problem?

I was thinking of simply taking some old wood of appropriate thickness, put it behind the armoire in appropriate place and then fix the armoire through that wood to the wall. For some reason I was hoping there is some better way of doing it, is there?

In addition, this will leave a hole looking from the side of the armoire. I thought of putting some moulding to cover it up, any other ideas?


texts: How should I wire a dimmer into a 12v DC SPDT On/On setup

texts:
Apologies if I'm using these terms incorrectly.

I'm trying to wire 12V LED lights from a battery. I want to be able to switch on/off the switches at two different sides of the room, and I want a dimmer switch placed next to one of those switches.

I've researched and figured out that I need two SPDT On/On switches wired according to this website, but I don't know where to place a dimmer. Alternatively, is there anywhere that sells a SPDT On/On switch with a dimmer built in?


texts: How do I change the light bulb in this fan?

texts: I can't figure out how to get into the light fixture on this fan.  There don't appear to be any screws or tabs.  I tried pulling it down gently.  I also tried twisting it gently.  It is possible that it twists or pulls down, but I don't want to damage the fan by applying too much pressure.  How do I change the bulb on this fan?


texts: In a multiwire branch circuit, can the two hots be connected to the same phase?

texts:
This may be an obvious question, but I haven't been able to find a direct answer.
I believe I have a MWBC - I have two hot wires connected to two separate circuit breakers, sharing a neutral and ground wire. The two circuit breakers are not adjacent to one another. they're on slot 24 and slot 28, respectively. Slot 26 is occupied with another circuit.
This is bad, right? This means that my two circuits are both on bus B and in the same phase, rather than in opposite phases like they should be, correct?
Is there some other reason a MWBC would be set up like this?


texts: How can I prevent ground wire buzz in my wiring?

texts:
i have an out building on the property,
it has electricity. but i have no idea about the wiring or how its setup.

there are plenty of outlets and lights. But i will assume since there is no panel/breaker box any where that the building is wired up in a manner that one line is coming in to the building and then jumpered around to outlets and light sockets and fluorescents.

i will be using the building a a rehearsal & recording space.
therefore, after removing some of the unnecessary pulls.

i was wondering is there anyway i can ground the outlets that my musical gear and recording equipment is plugged into so there is no buzzing or hum coming through the amp and recorder?

any help would be greatly appreciated.
i have a basic knowledge of how to add and remove outlets, switches & etc. but nothing professional. but will have a "electrician" come by and make sure i won't wind up burning the place down!
thanks
future noise!


texts:
I am very interested in learning more about Geothermal solutions for my house.

What are the best resources for learning about and planning a Geothermal systems for a residential house?

Also, does anyone know any resources for DIY Geothermal solutions?  I was kind of hoping to start by tinkering with a smaller scale system to maybe use along with my current HVAC system.


texts: Can I use 6-2 NM W/G when running a new 50A branch circuit to my cooktop?

texts:
I am looking to buy an induction cooktop (GE Cafe CHP9536SJ). The specification sheet indicates it requires 50A service rated for 11.1 kW @ 240V. At present, there is a 40A circuit (8-2 NM-B WG) running to the existing cooktop so I need to run a new branch.

This is a drop-in unit and designed to be hard-wired. It comes with a flexible pigtail and expects me to supply a junction box for making the electrical connections. I intend to use insulated single entry splice terminals for the hot wires and a split bolt for the ground.

The installation instructions state: "You must use a two-wire, three conductor 208/240 VAC, 60 Hertz electrical system. A white (neutral) wire is not needed for this unit." So standard 240V US wiring will do and it seems that the internal electronics don't bother with 110V like older ranges so a neutral is specifically not called for. When I open the box I expect to find only three conductors coming out of the pigtail: two insulated (red/black) and one bare ground.

Given that I will run a new branch circuit (i.e., not use existing wiring) am I OK running 6-2 NM-B W/G? Is there some separate requirement that new circuits include an insulated neutral wire even if it will simply be tapped off in the junction box with the world's largest wire nut?

It's a fairly long run to the main breaker panel (60-70 ft) so there is a substantial price difference to consider plus pain of pulling less flexible cable.


texts: Water pressure comes out of the faucets normal than drops to what seems 1/2 the flow.  I put a pressure test on the outside faucet and when I turn it on, it jumps between 60-70. After that it slowly drops down to 30-35. We just changed the pressure reducing valve.  The faucet is the first water connection from the main line about 10 ft.  Any suggestions?


texts: New construction built on frozen ground = house settling 3" from north to south

texts: We are in the process of building a new home. Our foundation and framing guy built through the winter, assuring us that they install wood basements all year. We have a wood basement with a wood floor and a 2" x 6" framed home on the wood basement foundation.  The frost has come out of the ground and our house has "settled" 3" on one whole side.  Our house is designed to load at 2,000 Psf and our soil (sand) supports 4,000 Psf so it's not a soil problem. Any suggestions? I just need my floors to be level!


texts: What's the minimum subfloor thickness required for hardwood flooring?

texts: I have a concrete slab and want to put 3/4 wood flooring on top.  I'm going to lay a plywood subfloor and want to know if 1/2 inch plywood is good enough. I plan on nailing down the wooden floor.


texts: what is the correct slope for a 2" horizontal drain pipe

texts:
For a 2" drain pipe horizontal run in a bathroom, what is the correct slope drop per 10 feet?

Also, can a single 2" drain pipe support a separate tub, shower and 2 sinks?


texts: Approaches for shades on large skylights

texts:
I have a few skylights large enough that nearly all manufactured skylight shades (both mechanical and motorized) won't fit.  That is, for widths larger than 24", most manufacturers of skylight shades won't offer lengths over 60".

That limit, of course, makes sense.  Wide cel shades over long runs tend to sag even if the fabric is supported by a central line.

What then can I do to shade a finished skylight opening of 83.5” length x 42.5” width?

I'll entertain any and all options, from off-the-shelf products to building something from scratch.  My main concern is getting something that will be able to open and close regularly, and easily.


texts: How to re-attach toilet paper holder post back onto wall

texts:
wondering if any of you have suggestions on how to screw back into the wall one of the posts holding a roller for toilet paper which has recently come off.

The piece of metal you see on the wall should hook onto one end of the post (see below) in some way


texts: Water heater flush yielded almost no sediment

texts:
I did a water heater flush by turning off my heat down to the pilot light only and setting it to pilot instead of on, let it sit overnight. I then opened the stock drain valve and let it drain until it was just trickling a tiny bit. The trickling went on for hours it seems and didn’t stop after approximately two hours that I waited. Almost no sediment came out except for a small 4mm chunk. This doesn’t seem right for a water heater that hasn’t been flushed in about 7 or 8 years if not 9 years when it was first installed. Does a slow trickle plus very little sediment mean there is a big chunk that won’t come out?  It was flushing at a really fast rate for a while, to where the hose was being almost fully utilized. I stuck a wire up the drain valve after removing the twist part, but it didn’t cause any more sediment to come out, and it didn’t feel like there was anything blocking it.

The pic shows the sediment after it broke apart when I picked it up.


texts: Oven 40 amp breaker tripped, replaced with like kind, no 240 volts

texts: I was sold a tandem breaker. It looks like I needed a double-pole circuit breaker for my range top/oven. The tandem breaker shows 120 volts at each line, but together there is zero voltage, instead of 240 volts. How did the old tandem breaker power my oven for all those many years?


texts: I have a bunch of 2x4s that are twisted and warped. Is there a way to salvage them?


texts: How do I remove stuck (melted?) foam from under carpet on hardwood floor?

texts:
We just bought a house with lovely bright pink carpeting over hardwood floors, and tore it all up.  The foam underneath was multi-colored, and the black spots appear to have melted to the floor.

It's hard to see in the pictures, but those are actual little lumps of sticky foam (melted? it's 90°F here).

So, what's the easiest way to remove these from the floor without ruining it?  I've read online suggestions of hardwood floor cleaner, Goo-Gone, soapy water, and even dry ice.


texts: How can I install a drain pan under my existing water heater?

texts:
I want to install a water heater pan under my 12 year old water heater.  It is located in the basement and is on bricks.  I can't figure how I can physically get a pan under the water heater.
Thanks.


texts: How do I attach skirting boards to a plaster wall?

texts:
I have ten feet or so of new skirting board to put up by my front door where we have just had the walls plastered [1]. Back when I was a kid I did a carpentry course so I know how to cut and mitre the corners together on the board one thing I'm not sure on though is fixing the board to the wall??

Is it just hammer and nail and hope you don't crack the plaster whilst putting it up? Or are other methods used now? Like mastic or some form of adhesive?

Basically I don't want to mess up my nicely new plastered walls by whacking nails in there

[1. I have just had my front door moved forward several feet so it is no longer a recessed porch but flush with the front of the house where we have had to have the exposed brickwork plastered]


texts: My faucet valve cartridge is stuck. Need help!

texts:
I have Symons Callie SLW-7112-RP faucet and recently there is a water leakage on both hot and cold water. It is clear that the valve cartridges need to be replaced. I followed the instruction and replaced the cold water valve cartridge. But at the hot water side the cartridge seems stuck and can't be removed easily. I attached few images to show the situation.

above is the cartridge without the handle ad cap

above is the instruction guide shows that the cartridge is screwed into the control valve and this is the stuck point, I can't remove it out from the control valve. I have used WD 40 and no help

above just shows that the instruction says how easy to remove the cartridge from the control valve base. I think I need some tool to hold the base. Currently when I turn the cartridge, the whole parts is truing.

Any suggestion or recommendation on tooling is appreciated.
J


texts: Replacing strips between subfloor and underlayment

texts:
I am installing vinyl flooring and am looking to replace the strips between my sub-floor and underlayment.

Main reason is because I had particle-board glued on top and had to replace it and I'm nervous to sand the glue off of the strips because I don't want to affect the height and plus I don't think they're in the best of shape.

The strips are also fiberboard and I rather have something more solid. Currently they are 8ft x 2.5" x 1/2". If I were to get something like this: Poplar Board and lay them the horizontally and space them out instead would this accomplish the same thing?

I am unable to find exact replacements for what I currently have. Also, if the above board would work what's the best way of adhering it to the plywood sub-floor?

Pictures below show what I am looking to replace:

Thanks a lot in advance for the advice!

Dan


texts: Should the plastic walls of a shower kit have air bubbles?

texts:
We had a corner shower installed awhile ago in our basement.
The kit came with thin acrylic walls that were glued to the waterproof gyprock behind.  However, there are air spaces between the lines of glue which allows the walls to move in certain places.  We have been having a problem with this shower leaking and were wondering if this movement was perhaps breaking the seal that the caulking makes between the floor of the shower and these walls.  The shower sits on a raised wooden platform built for the base of the shower, but there is also a bit of movement in the floor as an adult is in the shower.

I had heard from someone that on these showers you did not need to caulk the place where the acrylic walls meet the base, but that just seems wrong as I would expect mould to grow with pooled water behind the walls.

We were thinking of replacing the walls with a one piece firm acrylic piece and keeping the existing floor and glass sides and door.  Any thoughts on the best way to fix this leaky problem?

Leak Location


texts: How do I grip stainless steel pipes for threading?

texts:
I am about to install a new central heating system powered by a wood pellet boiler. To obtain maximum corrosion resistance, I have chosen PEX pipes for the low temperature underfloor heating circuits and stainless steel pipes (AISI 304) for the remaining parts of the system.

The issue is that my vise cannot get a good grip on the stainless steel pipes because the surface is significantly smoother than ordinary galvanized steel pipe.

Therefore I ask for better solutions to secure stainless steel pipes while doing pipe threading.


texts: Thermostat "fan" function actually using air conditioning

texts:
A few months ago, my wife and I started sleeping with our bedroom doors closed to keep out our cat. We would wake up in the middle of the night to find our bedroom was very hot and it felt really hard to breathe. We got an Awair some time later and noticed the CO2 was shooting up to about 1500ppm within 2 hours.

To solve this, I began using the thermostat's "Fan" function set to ON to get ventilation continually throughout the night. My understanding is that this only blows air, but is separate from heating/cooling.

The problem is that even when we set our AC to heat or turn that system off, the fan appears to be cooling the house. Despite it never getting below 70°F outside, this fan function is getting the house down to 64°F within a few hours. Then, because I have the heat on to prevent it getting so low, the heat starts running.

I am running heating+cooling all night just to prevent from suffocating. Obviously our energy costs are out of control.

Am I misunderstanding something? Is it possible that thermostat is miswired such that the fan is hooked up to the AC itself? And how would I even begin to diagnose this?


texts: Dryer booster installation forthcoming, any tips or warnings?

texts:
Background: As the title says, I'm about to (within the next week or 2) install a dryer booster for a new (to my friend, not newly built) house.  The dryer vent goes through a couple bends behind the wall but then goes straight up about 15-20 feet where it exits via the roof.  After cleaning out two grocery bags worth of lint from the ducts I still couldn't feel anything blowing out of the roof exhaust so I took that to mean it was too much piping for the dryer and it needs booster fan.

Here's the dryer duct in the attic.:

Rough plan:  My rough plan is to get a few pieces of 2x4 or something (cue expert weigh in here) to make a support for the booster midway up the pipe in the attic so it is inline.  The booster comes with a current sensor so I'll have to run romex up to the attic from the existing outlet (actually I'll add a new outlet just for the dryer so that washer doesn't trigger the fan).  Luckily it's a gas dryer so it'll only be 110v which makes the current sensor hookup easier than alternative.   The switch will be in the attic and since the fan has a 3 prong plug I'll add a plug in the attic as opposed to hard wiring.  Here's a crappy drawing of my electrical plan.

Questions:

Is my electrical diagram OK (not the diagram itself but the meat and potatoes of it)?  I didn't draw them in but the switch will be in a junction box and the new attic outlet will be mounted to a beam, very close to one another.

The manufacturer says to install the fan 15' from the dryer and 5' from the termination of the exhaust.  I understand the 15' is to ensure that the lint is dry before it gets to the motor but I'm not sure what the 5' from termination is for.  In any event, assuming I put the fan directly inline of the existing pipe, I'll probably be cutting one of those clearances a little short.  Should I add more piping with a couple 45s to make a U in order to ensure the 15' and 5' are strictly met or just get it centered as best I can?

Are there any other red flags that I may be neglecting?


texts:
I have an outlet I've been fooling with and now I'm at a loss. New-to-me house, cable guy came and installed internet, using that outlet for router power. Later in the evening I noticed the router turned off so I tested the voltage at the outlet and got some voltage, but way less than 120. Turned off the breaker and discovered 3 sets of wires going to the outlet. 2 whites and 1 black backstabbed into the outlet, and the other white and 2 blacks tied together with a wire nut. (See linked ghetto MS Paint sketch. I might have gotten the wires mixed up some though. Yellow is the copper wire, BTW.)

Thinking "maybe the outlet is shot" I went and replaced it with a new one. It worked for a bit and now there's nada. And now when I turn the breaker back on, I get no voltage between any of the sets of wires. There are 2 other outlets in this room-and 2 other rooms that must be on the same branch, because the lights don't work in those rooms.

I know often switched outlets have 3 sets of wires, but this outlet isn't switched. The other two outlets (and lights) in this room do work when the breaker is turned on.


texts: Newly installed Light, wiring issues. Won’t turn off

texts:
I ran a new plug into my bathroom from my lights. I secured all my neutrals together and all my power together except for the lonesome black wire that’s running to the switch.
When I reinstalled my light and connected it to the wire going to the switch nothing happened but when I connected it to all the other blacks it turns on but it won’t turn off.
I know I’m missing something and it could be simple or difficult !


texts: Can you convert a metric hole into sae tap?

texts:
I tapped an m11 x 1.5 hole in my car frame to mount the hitch... now can {can't} find a matching bolt and i cant go much bigger
Ive read that 7/16 is pretty close just wondering possibilities

Can you retap an sae into a metric bolt?
Or
Retapping my frame with 7/16?

Thanks
Yann


texts: What could be causing the filler tube of a toilet to be leaking/bubbling?

texts:
I'm trying to fix a leaking toilet, and I can't seem to find a guide for the problem I have. Most of them are for fixing a leaky flapper or fill valve.

When I flush the toilet, the tank fills normally until it is full. I've confirmed that the float ball and valves are ok. After the tank fills up, I noticed that the filler tube (red arrow in the diagram) is bubbling and it sounds like the tank is continually being filled. If I move the float ball arm up a little bit, the leaking stops. I tried adjusting the height of the ball and tightening it, but the filler tube keeps bubbling.

Is this a problem with the float ball or fill valve?


texts: How to mount two king-sized bed heads horizontally to a wall to use as an open closet/shelving?

texts:
I have two king-sized bed heads leftover from failed customer service experience. I've tried to give them away on Freecycle, to no avail. It seems like a waste (and hassle where I live in London) to throw them away as the wood is sturdy and matches my bed.

So, instead of building a standard built-in wardrobe, I had the idea to attach these horizontally to the wall (one above head-height, the other around knee height) to provide shelving. I would then later attach curtains to it.

My question: how would I go about securing these to the wall (if at all?) so that I could achieve my goal above?

Here is a crude diagram I drew while procrastinating sleep when I had the idea... The yellow part is the bed head horizontally coming out from the rear wall. The other headboard would be attached similarly, but nearer to ground level, aligning to the left-hand end of the wall, so that they would overlap a little in the middle.

Specifications of the bed heads:

10-15kg
99cm standing height or depth from the wall when horizontal [may take some off the bottom to make this not so deep]
160cm width

Other details:

Intended heights from the ground: ~180cm for upper one, 50cm for lower one [not pictured]
Drywall is ~40mm thick on the outside wall (right in drawing), ~20mm thick in long wall of drawing
Construction of apartment is metal stud


texts: Simple two wire connection to a programmable Honeywell RTH6360 themostat. Have a 'C' wire in the 18/5. Do I still need batteries?

texts:
I'm assuming after reading the owner's manual that the batteries are required.
I purchased this 80 dollar thermostat at a garage sale for 5 dollars in an unopened box.
So i thought it might be good futureproofing for my home. I had a very nice high efficiency Rheem furnace installed a few years ago.  Just using the old round dial thermostat.

All I want out of the new high tech programmable Honeywell for the time being is ultra basic set-and-forget heat. I don't care at all about losing settings in a power outage. I hate the idea of complicating my life with having to worry about batteries going out and replacing them regularly.  Why can't I just put a 120vac/3vdc transformer in the basement and run 3vcd through two of the unused wires in the 18/5 and connect the wires to the battery terminals inside the thermostat? Does connecting the 'C' wire power this thermostat without the need for the battery backup?

Or is there a way that honeywell has provided for me to do this that I don't know about?


texts: my high efficiency furnace shuts off during sub-zero weather

texts: My high efficiency furnace shuts off only during sub zero weather. I've ruled out intake and exhaust clogging, and water pump problems. Do you have any other ideas about what could be causing this problem? As soon as the outside temp rises, the furnace resumes normal function.


texts: Are concrete blocks a cost effective, modern and strong solution to building a house?

texts: I do many different house designs in SketchUp. With a 500,250,250mm concrete brick I believe I could create the walls for a house for as little as £1,000. Roughly 1k bricks will be needed to create walls for this house. The concrete bricks will have 2 holes which will connect to the bricks below it creating long holes which concrete is poured down. Are there any problems that could be encountered with concrete bricks, or are walls everywhere just cheaper than I expected? Here's a mockup of the house.


texts: How to prevent trash bins from falling by placing apart or side-by-side, on a windy day?

texts: How can you secure trash-bins at the end of a sloped driveway, on a windy day?  Is side-by-side placement recommended to stabilize bins or should they remain apart as generally advised by sanitation company?  Thanks!


texts: Gap between sleeve and chimney structure

texts:
Currently, my chimney is brick and has a 8" type B metal duct pipe coming out of it as a sleeve, which exhausts home heat and waterheater appliances.

The chimney was dormant for many years before I started using it after some remodeling and reengineering home infrastructure. However, I didn't fill the space between the masonry and the sleeve. And maybe some 18" into the chimney from the top of bricks starts the old sleeve, which was ceramic I believe or made of a similar material as roof tiles.

Should I fill the space on top of my chimney between the sleeve and the brick structure with something, as was done with my neighbor's chimney?


texts: I am deciding on new glass for my window, with a goal of keeping light out.  Is there a big difference between bronze low e glass and obscure glass in terms of light blockage?


texts:
Basement wall cinderblocks. Found mice and am cleaning up that mess, noticed gaps in the top of the cinderblock wall. One of them I can see daylight through so there is definitely a crack that needs to be addressed.

I was intending on packing these with steel wool or some copper mesh and was on the fence with gap filling them. Are they necessary to be open? Some of them are packed with dirt/construction materials from a remodel but most are open on the top. Was this just the style of block or intentionally left open?

If it matters we have a french drain. Radon levels are ~1.5 +/- .25


texts:
some beautiful pictures

first time posting apologies if my placement is off

Buying HRV.
I am debating between two units, venmar evo5-700 which doesn’t support furnace interlock or lifebreath rnc205, which does support furnace interlock. Based on my duct setup (simplistic) I would likely need interlock. I am in Canada and during winter the house gets humid during winter, tons of frost on windows.

Ill will include as many pictures as I can, including a visio drawing.

The setup has a fresh air intake, others have indicated there is likely an electronic controlled damper, however I know on the fresh air intake there is only a manual damper, it is currently visible near the furnace and I do not recall a damper along the duct while I was drywalling the basement.

Upstairs we have an ecobee (pictured) which controls furnace, ac and humidifier. And a ventilation switch which controls the furnace fan and the bathroom fan.

Downstairs, I have traced most the wires, the vent switch goes to a junction box labeled “MUF” which goes to a transformer and then a relay (G7L-2A-BUBJ-CB) and then to a switch (RIBX24SBA) near the panel which is set to closed, which means on, I tested with multimeter. This switch controls a 14/2 wire which I now know goes to the hood range fan plug in the kitchen. Which makes no sense because you wouldn’t be able to turn on the range fan without the vent switch on.

As well there is a junction box labeled “cold switch” this has power from the panel to the furnace, as well a another 14/2 wire which is wired backwards (black on white from power and black on black to furnace), no idea where this wire goes or if its relevant.

Finally, there is the random 3 wire low voltage wire dangling that I assume comes from the same wall as the ecobee, I have not confirmed this but based on ducts and location It would be possible to rout new wires to basement from ecobee/vent switch wall.

I know this is a lot of information, essentially, I just want to install an HRV unit and want to wire it the best way possible. Ideally it would be controlled through the ecobee but I gather I can not control a second device (on top of my humidistat). I know you can get digital control panels for hrv’s, which again I could setup on the same wall, though it would be nice to replace the current vent switch, the problem being it is running 14/2 wire so I would need to get a receptacle switch which may not have all the programable features, maybe a timer. It would be nice to wire it to turn on whenever the furnace turns on, then I could set the ecobee to run the fan every hour or so, not sure if you are supposed to do that. Though I think most set the HRV’s dynamically, so they push out moisture in winter and don’t run them in the summer except for fresh air intake. In my case I know I would need it running lots in winter.

TL/DR; ambitious person in lockdown procrastinating on schoolwork by installing an HRV, confident in duct work but no idea how I should wire the thing.


texts:
I'm planning on drilling into my wall and putting screws into hang a floating shelf I got from Ikea. It's fairly small (about 30cm x 30cm) but I would like to leave about 10 text books on it.
http://www.ikea.com/aa/en/assembly_instructions/lack-wall-shelf__AA-200208-9_pub.pdf

The problem is that I'm in an apartment and the wall is plasterboard/ gyprock. How can I safely drill into it--or, alternatively what would be a strong stick-on hook that I can use?


texts: What are the pros/cons of installing floors before doors?

texts: I've heard contractors say to install doors first then flooring, and others suggest the opposite. I'm installing new 3/4" prefinished flooring and new doors/closets (prehung wood/ primed white). What are the advantages/disadvantages to installing the doors after the floors? What sequence would result in the best finish?  Thanks


texts: Will a TV antenna pre-amp reduce channel dropout?

texts:
Two weeks ago I installed an antenna in my attic (GE 33692) in order to receive stations that are approximately 45 miles away.  Things worked fine in clear weather, light rain and moderate snowfall but one morning there was dense fog and signal levels were lower across the board.  Most stations still locked in but several didn't.  The interesting thing was that all stations  intermittently dropping out or pixelating were Hi-VHF channels.

I am wondering what the right fix for this is. Will a mast mounted pre-amp help or will a different type of antenna be the correct choice (perhaps a high gain Yagi?)?  Unfortunately an outside antenna is out of the question for me.


texts: How can I minimize brush marks in polyurethane where wood grain meets from different directions?

texts:
Am finishing dining table that has wood grain that meets in center of table and goes in different directions. Using thinned, oil poly, applied with ox-tail brush. Have applied 1 coat. Doesn't look good where grain meets.
How do I apply with the grain, when they go in 2 directions, for a great look?


texts:
I have an outdoor 240v disconnect with 6awg cable (red/white/black/green) running from the main breaker to this disconnect box. There's a 110v GFCI-protected branch circuit that goes to some wall sockets. The 240v is for a hot tub about 6' away.
We're building a deck and now want to move the hot tub about 20' further away. I do not wish to buy and pull all new cable from the main breaker to the new location, so my idea is to swap out the disconnect and replace it with what amounts (I guess) to a junction box, except the 4x 6awg cables would be joined inside (no switches). Except I'm struggling to find a suitable box - well, I can find boxes, and I can find butt splices, but I would feel more comfortable with four sets of terminal blocks that I just screw the eight wire ends into, and those terminal blocks be attached to the box.
Any suggestions please?


texts: Why would a 5-amp refrigerator need a 20 amp circuit?

texts:
I'm re-wiring my kitchen and I'm taking notes on the load of all the appliances and lighting, etc.  I noticed the following about my refrigerator:

It states a 20A circuit requirement, but why?  The stated load doesn't come anywhere close to the allowed load even on a 10A circuit, let alone a 15A circuit.  Can refrigerators have really big spikes in load or something?  And if so, wouldn't one want the breaker to trip?


texts: How To Stop Hair Going Down Square Shower Drain

texts:
My shower drain is a 3.5 x 3.5" square with largish holes. I want to keep hair from getting into the septic, so under it I have a round trap that goes in the pipe. This is effective, however it gums up all the time. What I think would be better is if the 3.5x3.5 square had a tight mesh so the hair couldn't get below it. Then that could just be wiped off instead of me having to remove it to get to the round trap.

Thus far I have not seen another 3.5x3.5 piece that could replace it and be more effective. Not that I have looked excessively.

So
- Do you think such a product exists as is ?
- would I be better off glueing or otherwise attaching some mesh over my existing 3.5x3.5 metal piece
- should I do something else ?

See attached images to see what I mean. Thanks!


texts: I have removed a motor from our old Hotpoint tvf770p tumble dryer. The motor was working fine (the rear drum bearing had worked through the bearing and rear casing). I am considering using it on my son's blower for his forge (he's a blacksmith). The motor has three wires, the black and red wires go through the capacitor while there is also a separate white wire. Does anyone know: a) what is the white wire, b) how do I wire it up? The tumbler had a reverse drum cycle so I suspect it may be something to do with changing the motor's direction of rotation.


texts: How to repair rust damage on my kitchen sink (pictures included)

texts: I'm looking for some advice on the best way to treat / repair some rusting on my kitchen sink . I've included some pictures below.  I'm not sure what material the sink is (is there a way to tell?).


texts: Shower panel - the swing arm doesn’t stay horizontal and sprays water from the top

texts:
In the condo I bought, the bathrooms have identical shower panels. One works fine,  it in the other, the swinging arm doesn’t stay horizontal when lifted and also sprays water from the top.
The picture is of the working one.
Can it be repaired, or do I need to replace  it?


texts: Water accumulating on the side of our house

texts:
I just got concrete pour for my backyard 2 weeks ago. It didn't rain so I didn't realize it's not slope correctly. It rained yesterday and when I came out today I noticed rain water accumulated near the side of our house.
From looking at the picture below, do you guys think I need to get it fixed?


texts: Moen Shower/Tub Valve Identification / Water temp issue

texts:
I am currently redoing the shower/tub surround, and would like to know what valve I currently have.
It is a Moen, and uses the 1225 cartridge (crystal pull out handle, pull for volume twist for temperature).
On the side, it looks like "85811".
The house was built in 2000. High-end materials were not used.
I ask about the current valve, because we are having a terrible time with controlling temperature. Even turning on the sink (hot or cold) will affect the shower temp, and things like dishwasher and clothes washer make the shower useless with all the temperature changes. But from what I understand, this valve is some sort of mixing valve that should be handling temperature fluctuations like this. If this valve does this, then would a fancy thermostatic valve accomplish anything? Or is there some other cause.
We have 2 shower/tub combos, and both behave the exact same way.


texts: Can you mix 12/2 and 10/2 wire on a 20 amp circuit?

texts:
I used to have a 10/2 220 line that went from my panel to my hot water heater.

I have since taken the electric hot water heater out and replaced it with a oil fired unit.
The installers unhooked the wire from the breakers, but left the 10/2 in the finished ceiling.

The old electric water heater was near my workshop.  I would like to use the 10/2 wire that is already run (with a new 20A breaker, of course) to get a new 20A circuit to my shop.

However, once the 10/2 line gets to the first plug, can I just run 12/2 to a couple other outlets?  I think it is OK because the 10/2 is big enough to carry the 20A and the 12/2 is also big enough.  I'm just not sure if mixing 10/2 and 12/2 is to code or not?

So it would be Panel -> 20A breaker -> 10/2 -> outlet -> 12/2 -> outlet -> 12/2 -> outlet.


texts: Hot water heater and gas-stove not working at the same time

texts:
So I have a gas water heater and a gas stove. I was able to cook on my stove this morning at around 8 a.m. and then I took a shower and it was not  hot. I tried to light the pilot on the water heater, it ignited but then went right out.
I tried to light the stove again and I hear no hissing of gas coming through the burners.
So I called out the gas company. He came and checked the hoses inside the house and there coming through the hoses on both appliances. It's your Regulators the it said. The question is why did both Regulators on the gas stove and the gas water heater go out at the exact same time? That's too much of a coincidence for it to be random.  I don't want to go replace all these parts when I   find out that it's not my problem it's the gas company's with having something wrong with the line.


texts: When making kitchen cabinet doors out of plywood, what details will impact the final product?

texts:
I really want to replace our overwrought, baroque cabinet doors with flat panel doors. I want them to look good but I actually like the look of plywood.

It seems from what I've read like I have to use some kind of manufactured wood for that or it will warp. I've been looking at formaldehyde free maple or birch ply and wondering if that would be a good fit. I think I'm looking for A-grade maple ply, right?

The uppers are 30" high, the lowers are 23" high. The largest door is 30 x 21.

The existing doors use hinges that just require two bores in the door and can line up on the cabinet frame pretty easily, so I'm not worried about getting the hinges right. (and I already know I need a hinge cutter forstner bit and jig).

What else should I be concerned about?


texts: Wire in parallel thermostat and timer to an air extractor

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as the title:
i have a room with with a heat generation that i need to keep under a certain temperature. Anyhow, i want to grant a minimum of air circulation even if the temperature is not reached (winter scenario) and i thought it can be a good idea to connect a thermostat and a timer in parallel to the air extractor (set for 10 minutes every 2/3 hours for example). In this scenario, if the temperature is reached, the fan is working thanks to the thermostat, if is not reached for as long as 2 hours, the fan is activated by the timer.

Thanks for help!


texts: Minimalistic toilet setup in a traveler's trailer

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Planning to build a traveler's trailer from a cargo trailer and was thinking about various toilet setups. I don't care if the trailer looks awful as long as it's cheap and easy to build.

I'm ruling out the composting toilet. I've seen some freezing toilets on the web, but I can't help to ask myself one question:

Why can't you have a bag over something similar to a conventional toilet and then dump it in the freezer each time you use the toilet?

Then when considering the flushing toilet + a wastewater tank, what's the minimalistic setup possible?(cheap and easy to build)


texts: Where is this wall water damage coming from?

texts:
It was raining today. At evening, I notice something's wrong on the wall. Is it a re-pointing issue?

The partially damaged wall is only under the windows. I accidentally leave the window open and by the time I fond it, there were some rain on the window wood frame. The room feels extremely humid. I looked out on the brick wall, the pointing seems fine. If the leak starts from the roof, would the wall above the window also be damaged as well? We just replaced the roof couple days ago. However, there's a missing medal that the roofer hasn't installed yet.


texts: Plugged in computer, sparks went off in outlet, now 2 rooms are without electric

texts: I plugged in a computer and spark went off. Now electricity is off in two rooms. Checked breaker it is fine. No electric coming in to outlets. I reset breakers 5 times.


texts: Why does my circular saw shaft spin and blade does not?

texts:
So i was cutting wood and noticed the shaft was slipping on the blade. So i took off the blade and put it back on making sure it was tight and it stalled so i loosened the bolt a little bit it stalled less then i loosened it more and it started slipping again i don't know what it could be.

(I have a craftsman 5 1/2 inch 4/5 hp circular saw #H9179 and it is one of the older corded models)

Thank You


texts: Prefinished hardwood floor uneven between head and butt

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I have a contractor who installed prefinished hardwood flooring.  When I slide my sock from side to side, it's very smooth.  However, there are some spots when I slide my sock up and down that are uneven.

He says, worst case scenario, he will sand the whole thing down smooth and refinish.

I'm happy he's willing to do that, but seems a little extreme.  Is there anything else he can try to get it smooth?  The floor is already down.


texts:
I had an older light fixture hanging above my garage door.  It stopped working, so I bought a replacement and went to install it.  When I removed the old light, I discovered that it had been screwed into a chunk of 2x4 which was just free-floating between the framing of the overhang and the steel soffit.  The hole is fairly small, but I went into the attic/crawlspace above the garage and couldn't see any light, so I think it's too small of a space (plus blown-in insulation) for me to come at it from above.  Further complicating the issue is that the new fixture seems to be expecting some kind of purpose built mounting plate or bracket of some kind which obviously doesn't exist.

I'm not a fan of this idea but I don't want to hire someone for hundreds of dollars to do this. So I'm thinking I can maybe just fake the funk again, here and cut away some of the soffit and maybe more-securely attach the wood chunk (or make a new wood chunk) and replicate the expected bracket that way.

Does this sound like a good idea and how would you solve the problem?

edit
Model:  Secure Home HeathZenith 022246


texts: Replacing 2 pole switch with 2 single pole switches to control a fan/light separately

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I have a switch (Double pole / One throw) that controls the ceiling fan and light in my master bathroom (B1). I'm considering to replace it with two single switches, so I don't need to turn the light on if I want just to use a fan, and vice versa - to use a light without fan.

Some notes:

When I turn the lights ON, the fan is ON with a delay (approx 1 min). If I turn the lights OFF, the fan is OFF with a delay approx 5 min. That delay is not controlled by that switch (it can't do that by specs).
The same fan is also used for the second bathroom (B2). It also has a switch that controls it. However it works differently (less control). If I turn the lights ON only in B2, fan is not activated. If I then turn the lights in B1, it's activated. Next, if I turn the lights OFF in B1 but leave the B2 lights ON, the fan is still working till B2 lights are OFF (+ 5 min delay). So basically B2 switch can run the fan only if it's already activated by B1.

The wiring diagram looks like below:

Cable 1 (two ends, black (C1_1) and red(C1_2))

Cable 2 (one red end C2)

Cable 3 (one red end C3)

The switch has 4 terminals (let me name it T1-T2-T3-T4).

Connections:

C1_1 --> T1

C1_2 --> T3

T3 --> T4

C2 --> T2

C3 --> T2

Questions:

1) Is it correct to assume that switch really controls fan/light and can be replaced with two single switches? Or I need to wire more cables?

2) Is it correct to assume that T3 & T4 are for LINE, and T1 & T2 are for LOAD?

3) What is the purpose of C3? Does it have any relations to B2?


texts: 3-zone HVAC (HZ432) one zone's a/c stops working when hot in afternoon

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I have a 3-zone HVAC. All 3 zones a/c worked fine until recently. Now, in the morning, before it gets too hot, all zones still work fine. But in the afternoon, when it gets hot, the a/c to zone 2 stops working, while the other zones continue to work fine. When zone 2 is on in the afternoon, the evaporator unit is running, but no air is being pushed out of the vents.

If it was a frozen evaporator coil, shouldn't all zones stop working? If it was a damper issue, shouldn't zone 2 not work during any part of the day?

I'm at a loss, any help is appreciated. Thanks.


texts: I have an old 30 amp  outlet that I was planning to reuse. There isn't a connection for a ground, but since I am connecting to a metal box, I now have  a connection between my neutral and ground. Should this cause a problem?


texts: What is the name of this cast metal part inside my lockset?

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I have a Baldwin front door lockset that doesn't completely retract the latch when using the thumb lever.  The handleset is similar to this: model

After dismantling the thumb latch assembly, I discovered that the source of the problem is a broken tread/collar in the mechanism that the thumb lever pin rests in. I'd like to replace this piece, but I can't seem to find it in any of the online catalogues (build.com, handlesets.com, etc.). Any idea what it's called? The only reference to a part number on it is "05/02." I'd like to avoid replacing the entire lockset if possible.


texts: Temporarily attach wood or vinyl flooring to a stage

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I'm currently working on designing a theatre set. Our director would like a portion of the stage to be white. We have a limited run & as such don't have the time to paint the parts of the stage white (from black) & repaint before we need to get out.

Instead, we plan to lay down a thin piece of wood painted white or white lino. I have 2 questions:

Is there a recommended type of wood to use?
How can we attach wood/lino to the stage without damaging the stage?


texts:
I followed this diagram to wire up my exact same situation. Now? Two of the three switches don’t work. One switch works - but now it powers half of my basement. On? Half the basements is on. Off? Half the basements off.

I have four wires going into a 3 bucket gang box. One is 14-3 (red, Black, white, ground) that is going to the fan/light combo and the other 3 are 14-2  (black, white, ground).

I am trying to power the following:
-1 light for the vanity (14-2 w/ normal switch)
-1 light for the shower (14-2 w/ normal switch)
-1 fan/light combo (14-3 going to this on a three way switch)

Any ideas what the heck happened?

Wiring for 3 switch in a 3 gang box (1 switch is a switch with fan speed control)


texts: Can I connect two wires to a single screw terminal in my HVAC system?

texts: I am installing a new honeywell WiFi thermostat but the old battery operated thermostat had batteries and no "C" wire. I look at both the thermostat and the air handler and found an extra un-used blue wire but no "C" terminal at the air handler control panel. From reading other post and looking at my wiring diagram I guess my "C" would be the "B" on the terminal block but there is already a white wire on it. Can I hook up 2 wires on this "B" terminal? If not where do I hook up the blue wire coming from the "C" on the thermostat?


texts: Running wire to sub panel in shop 80 feet away

texts: My original plans have changed and I now am stuck with having direct burial cable 4/0-4/0-2/0-with 1/0 ground. My new plan is now to run sub panel from my home 200 amp main breaker panel to the shop. My problem is I am using a 100 amp breaker and the larger cable wires will not fit into the 100 amp breaker. Can I use the larger cable for burial and use connectors inside a junction box to splice in the last few feet of wire to fit the breaker ?


texts: What technique could I use to re-color the doors, moulding, and cabinetry in my house?

texts:
Our house is nearly 10 years old, and we are starting to feel that the color scheme adopted by the people that built it is starting to feel outdated.

As you can see in the pics, the flooring, doors, moulding, and the cabinetry throughout the house is all the same kind of orange color.

We are interested in replacing the flooring with something that is darker brown, but fear it wouldn't look good with the moulding that is lighter.

How could we go about redoing the coloring on our cabinets and moulding to all be in sync? Do I need to sand it all down and re-stain from there? Given how much wood there is, that would take forever!


texts: 60A two pole breaker supplying a sub panel (220v) - how many amps for separate 110v legs?

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I'm trying to wrap my mind around how many amps 220V wire (two hot poles) can supply, when it's effectively supplying a multi wire branch circuit (sub panel)...

My question is this:
if the sub panel is supplied by a single 60 amp two pole (220v) breaker (4/3 wire) circuit, can I (theoretically) put in two 60 amp single pole breakers in the sub panel (one for each pole), effectively making a multi-wire branch circuit within the sub-panel? Or, should I understand that the sub panel can only support up to two (theoretical) 30 amp 110v circuits?

thanks so much!


texts:
I have a wooden screened-in porch on a cabin that I am remodeling, with approximately 30 inches from the ground to the bottom of the porch tongue-and-groove boards. I am considering insulating the porch, with the eventual goal of being able to place polycarbonate panels over the screen in the cold months to help with heat loss.

Before I replace the floor, I would like to add insulation board between the floor joists and staple wire mesh underneath to keep any critters from chewing up the exposed insulation board.

The caveat: this is near a river, and on rare occasion it does flood. I'm worried that placing the foam board would trap a large amount of moisture after a flood between it and the joists / tongue and groove that would keep it from drying out relatively quickly and therefor rot / mold.

Are there ways to mitigate this? Raising the structure isn't an option, but I'm unsure how/if it's possible to vent the individual compartments created by the insulation board / floor joists.


texts: How to frame and install new windows in balloon frame with T1-11 siding?

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Remodeling the 1930s wood-framed building we live in, and ready to make new openings to install new windows. It's difficult to describe how the walls are so I made a diagram below.

Basically, from outside to inside: T1-11 siding nailed to OSB, nailed over original clapboard and tar paper, nailed to original balloon framing, which is gusseted to a newer 2x4 interior wall that was added at some point.
There is essentially no overhang from the roof at all, so the new windows will get a lot of water. I've purchased a few new construction windows, which have nailing flanges. Assuming I can make these work, but not sure. After internal framing, I'm considering:

Cut rough opening
Cutting back just the T1-11 back to make room to nail the flanges directly to the OSB (which will be backed by new framing where needed)
Apply flashing/flex tape to sill
Coerce/wedge a drip cap wedged under the T1-11 at the top.
Install, nail up and caulk the window
Trim to make it nice.

Considering another approach, but not sure. Might be easier because I could install the windows from the inside. After internal framing:

Cut rough opening, with room as needed for new exterior sill and jambs
Install new exterior sill, jambs, and drip cap, to waterproof the opening; aluminum or similar
Install some form of molding/stop to then take the window from the inside, after removing nailing flanges
Put the window in, make it nice, caulk and foam, etc

SO- Will either approach work? Or is there a door number 3 I should be thinking about?


texts:
Issue: The cold water shut off valve in my bathroom sink has developed a slow drip over the past week. It fills up a medium sized bucket in the span of about a day. The drip seems to be coming from either the nut connecting to the wall pipe or the nut connecting to the mesh tube.
Attempts to fix: I've tried the following multiple times in order to correct the drip...

Teflon tape
Permatex thread sealant

New issue: Now for some reason the hot and cold water to this sink no longer work. I have confirmed the valves under the sink are in their on positions and the drip is still present, so water is getting up to the sink. Just not through the line. I could understand something having happened with the cold line due to my attempts to correct it's drip, but the hot line not working doesn't make any sense to me. To confirm, I have not touched the hot line other than to turn it on and off at the valve under the sink.
Any thoughts as to what may have happened before I call a plumber out during a pandemic in winter?
I appreciate your feedback.


texts: What can I do about a window well that is filling up with water from below the surface?

texts:
I have 2 covered basement window wells on the side of my house. When it rains heavily, they fill up with water from beneath the surface.

There are 4 downspouts from the gutters on our roof. They run into underground pipes (the black corrugated kind) that lead to a large drywell. When it rains heavily, the pipes take quite a lot of water.

One of the pipes ran very close to the window wells and had some leaky elbows. We thought that was the cause of the seepage, so we ripped out that portion of pipe (about 10 feet in all) and re-routed it about 5 feet from the window wells using a much higher quality PVC pipe.

It's still happening!

We recently ran a camera down the pipes and it appears there are a few places where the pipes are crimped or broken by tree roots. This is about 25 feet from the window wells.

Roto Rooter said that the crimped/broken pipes are what is causing the problem still and that I should replace ALL of our underground pipes with more solid quality pipes.

Question: could this REALLY be the cause? I would figure that any backflow due to the crimps in the pipe would cause the water to overflow from where the downspouts connect into the ground pipe, not come up from underground inside the window wells.

Note: there are no drains inside the window wells, just rocks. Not sure drains would help since the water is coming up from below.


texts: Is a dryer vent tube being compressed like this up to code?

texts: There's a 4" dryer pipe in my wall that is smashed slightly in order to get it to fit into the wall made with 2v4s. Is this OK?


texts: Can a water softener bypass value be used as a temporary shut off value?

texts:
We want to install a water softener (which we already own) which has a bypass value which looks something like this:

My question is whether or not we could use this bypass value to temporarily shut off water coming out of the softener sufficient to tell if certain lines (e.g. garden hose bibs) are being supplied by the water (bad!) or not (good!).

It's going to cost a significant amount more for installation if we have to temporarily cap lines to determine this, so I'm hoping there is some way we can determine this more easily.


texts: Puzzled installing combination GFCI outlet/switch to replace switch in old house

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In brief: in replacing an old light switch in an old house with a GFCI combo switch/outlet, facing existing wiring that doesn't quite match instructions, I get the GFCI outlet working but not the new light switch. What else do I need to test or install?
Gory details
I'd like to replace an existing light switch with a Leviton combination GFCI outlet and switch.
On one side of the old switch, I find

black wire #1, confirmed hot with my voltage tester, pigtailed with

black wire #2, confirmed not hot, going I know not where

On the other side of the old switch, I find

black wire #3 (that I see runs into a white sheath in the box), also confirmed not hot.

The old switch works, and when I patch black wire #1 and black wire #3 together (circumventing the switch) the light goes on, so I know that black wire #3 is the load wire for the light.
I also see that the box contains three white wires that have been capped together.
After some back-and-forth, I've correctly wired the GFCI outlet:

black wire #1 into the GFCI Line hot terminal

pigtail capped into the three white wires into the GFCI Line white terminal

My GFCI tester says that works, and it tests/resets fine.
However, no matter how I wire the switch leads or set the switch, the light stays off.
I'm following the "two cable" instructions, since I have no downstream outlets to connect.
The receptacle has two black leads for the switch. Per instructions,

Connect the switch leads to the switch controlled LOAD (not GFCI
protected, shown in diagram):

One black switch lead connects to the LINE side black wire.

The other black lead connects to the HOT side of the LOAD.

The LOAD must be properly connected to NEUTRAL and grounded.

This puzzles me in two ways: first, that it doesn't seem to matter which lead goes to the load wire of the light and which to the line wire, and second, that, in my situation, I can't be certain that any of the white wires in the box are the Line (return) from the light.
I've tried wiring the receptacle switch leads in various ways, none of which got the light on, ending with this configuration which seemed most correct:

first black lead capped with a pigtail connected with the original 3 white wires (instruction #1)

second black lead from the receptacle capped with black wire #3 and a wire grounded on the box (instructions #2 and #3)

I'm also not certain what to do with black wire #2 above. I've capped it with black wire #1 and connected both with the GFCI Line hot terminal. The GFCI outlet continues to work fine, but no joy on the switch.
What else do I need to test re the existing wiring?
How do I get the switch to work?


texts: I have sewer cap that has lost its threads.  I am wondering what options I have to replace/fix that does not involving tearing up the cement floor.  Are compression fittings a good option?


texts: Insulating/encapsulating crawlspace with HVAC ducting questions

texts:
In the PNW/Zone 4 climate. The house I am purchasing built in 1942 with an addition added had an inspection performed and it was noted that some of the fiberglass insulation installed under the subfloor between the joists was falling down and/or showing signs of deterioration and/or missing in spots with the sheet vapor barrier missing in a few spots as well and no insulation/wrap on any of the ducting. No A/C just 80% gas furnace in the house with floor vents.

Researching adding insulation options, it seems like the new thought is that vented crawlspaces were done wrong and the new frame of thinking is to encapsulated the crawlspace into the building envelope/conditioned space. I plan to DIY this but a couple of things I had questions on:

Should I remove all the old batting and sheeting if the material is dry if I plan on encapsulating and insulating the walls of the crawlspace and close off the vents?

Mold does not appear to be a significant issue but would fogging the space while its still unoccupied be a good idea?

Is a vapor barrier with 10mil sheeting be sufficient and can I lay this on top of the old sheeting (basically addition underlayment) and up the walls? Is insulation necessary on the ground?

Once the space is encapsulated and insulated does the ducting also need to be insulated? I plan on beefing up the sealing with foil tape and mastic but do I need to wrap as well or would I be better off beefing up the wall/floor insulation?

Once this is all done in the next 5-years my furnace will likely need to be replaced and I would like to move it to the crawlspace with a 90% unit to free up space in the small house would that change much if any of the steps I outlined above in anticipation of this upgrade?


texts: What is the best flooring for my basement?

texts:
I live in Michigan, where humidity is fairly high.  I have a 70 pint dehumidifier that works great.  I also have a sump pump and water powered backup sump pump.

I am looking to floor my basement because I am planning on using it has a home theater.

I have done a lot of googling on this topic and have found a lot of varying opinions.

I don't want to add a subfloor because I don't have much headspace to play with.  Currently it has a drop ceiling and I am 6'4".  I am only a couple inches from the ceiling standing on the unfinished floor.

I have been looking at different carpeting and vinyl options.
I am trying to finish around 600 sq ft so price is a concern here.  I would like to stay under $1000 and can do installation myself if needed.

I am concerned about moisture not being able to dissipate into the air and instead getting trapped under whatever flooring I put down.

Is it okay to use a padding with carpet? Do they make special padding that allows for air to transfer through it?

Is vinyl going to trap moisture underneath and cause mold?

I don't really like the look of painted/stained concrete so I want to avoid that option.


texts: Remove shower enclosure for tiling but keep shower base only

texts:
I am remodeling my bathroom and want to change it to tile shower.

I am OK with the shower base here and I don't like the shower enclosure / doors:

Is it possible to just remove the door and the enclosure at the wall BUT keep the base? I plan to do tiling behind at the wall and put a frameless glass door.

Or I may getting myself into more complex scenario with leak, new door not fitting properly or worst things look uglier...?

Any opinion.

Thanks.

UPDATE 1

Basically I want to do tiling like this and keep the base (picture from Internet):

But I am not sure if my shower has the base and the wall plastic liner enclosure thing coming together as one piece, meaning it's not possible to separate them.

Any idea how such shower kit is designed?

UPDATE 1

OK, I committed a crime. I accidentally damage the base:

I really wanted to save the base as it does have enough lip space:

Is it possible to patch the hole with some fiberglass and sand to make it smooth? Since the glass door will be on top of it later.

UPDATE 2

I am working hard to save this shower base (look like a $200 cost if I have to replace). After removing the shower walls, I found out the walls mounted to the base via screw (in the back of the wall). So there are about 4 screw holes of 1/4" diameter:

Here is one small one that is hard to see:

How do I easily plug these holes from the shower base? Is there some plastic plug and I just caulk around it?

The holes are quite far from the wall so my wall tiling won't reach it to overlap the holes.


texts:
I'm going to replace my bathroom carpet with a Vinyl floor, but want to make sure I get it level and waterproofed.

Assuming there's a level subfloor, can I use a regular Aquastop underlay?
Whats the best sealant to use around the edges against the wall?

The bathroom is only 2x2 max and fairly square in shape so seems like i could do this myself! This is my first floor job though so if I've failed to consider anything obvious please let me know and many thanks for any advice!

If it helps here are my choices so far:

Underlay http://www.diy.com/departments/diall-5mm-laminate-solid-wood-flooring-aquastop-underlay-5m/1570774_BQ.prd
Vinyl http://www.diy.com/departments/grey-slate-tile-effect-vinyl-flooring-4-m/1732464_BQ.prd


texts:
I'm finally implementing the advice given in this question, I've managed to run the wiring up to the junction box, but I'm a bit confused by the contents of that box.

There are three circuits entering the box, but it appears that two circuits are sharing a single neutral.

Everything appears to work (and has done so for 2+ years), but I'm curious if this is kosher from a code point of view.  Should there be an individual neutral for each circuit?  If so, is there a brief explanation as to why this is OK?


texts:
I have a double-basin kitchen sink, and the drain line from the garbage disposal is completely clogged. I've been unable to clear it with drain opener, so I'm looking at replacing the P-trap, but space is a bit tight. The pipe nut just on the drain side of the P-trap won't come loose - I've tried WD-40 and several different wrenches. Given the pictures that follow, how much of the drain system should I try to replace? Or should I simply call a professional, given the tight spacing between couplings?

The non-disposal side of the sink is not clogged, and is draining normally. I'd prefer to not replace that part of the drain system if I don't have to, but I'm willing to if I can do the replacement myself and need to replace the whole system to do it sanely.

EDIT:
I'm pretty sure I'm turning it the right direction - it won't budge in either direction, though. I decided to punt and cut the downpipe coming from the disposal leading to the P-trap (intending to snake the trap and replace the downpipe with an extended with two slip joints) - and yes there is a slip joint from the disposal to the downpipe - and the clog is in the disposal itself. The pipes are completely clear. Since the disposal has been giving me problems (the motor won't turn the blades when I turn power on) for about 4 months, it's time to just replace the disposal. I'm not comfortable doing that myself, so it's time to spend some money on a professional. Thanks for all the help.

Image 1: the P-trap below the disposal:

Image 2: the joint for both "halves" of the sink drain:
The longer pipe coming "down" comes from the P-trap below the non-disposal side of the sink.

Image 3: P-trap below non-disposal side of the sink:

Image 4: the non-disposal side where the dishwasher waste line comes in:


texts: Can a portable air conditioner be used to reduce moisture in a room?

texts:
I live in a flat in an older house and I have the disadvantage of living next to an outer wall. In autums/springs there is a period when the central heating isn't turned on yet, but it's already getting cold outside. During this time the wall (and generally air inside) gets quite moist and mold starts forming. Also the moist air makes it feel much colder than it really is (the thermometer shows 20C, but it feels like 15C).

Thus I'm looking at dehumidifiers and air conditioners. The first are cheaper by half, the latter are more powerful (according to spec) and can also be used for cooling the air in the summer.

But I really wonder how much I can trust the spec and how much it would really help. Does anyone have any experience with this?


texts: The best type of silicone to use on a drop-in kitchen sink with raised sides on stone top

texts: I have a black stone surface and a drop-in double sink with raised sides in my kitchen. I need to secure the sink from shifting. what is the best type of silicone sealant to use?


texts: When it's smokey out, why does more smoke get into the house in the mornings and evenings?

texts:
We've had thick smoke outside our home for several days now due to the fires on the west coast. We're doing what we can to filter the inside air and keep excess outside air from coming in (covered fresh air intakes, the dryer vent, etc).
You usually can't smell any smoke indoors even though it smells awful outside all day. However, every morning and every evening the smoke smell comes in for a few hours. I'm curious what causes it.
My best guess is that the air pressure outside increases during those times and that causes the exchange of air to increase. But that's just a wild guess.
Can anyone shed on light on what's happening?


texts: Add a ceiling access panel above shower valve area for future plumbing access?

texts: is it a stupid idea to add a ceiling access panel on the bathroom ceiling above the shower valve /drain area for future plumbing access? Is a plastic one ok or metal ones are better?