texts: Best way to bring power to a moving garage door

texts:
I'm planning a project to add RGB lighting to the inside of my garage door.  It will add white light to the garage when I need it, as well as visually confirm door motion and position, and clearance of the doorway when complete.

One aspect though that I'd like suggestions on, is how to physically electrically connect the large moving door to the stationary house.

1) The three options I've seen so far would be a horizontal cable festoon:

2) Curly cord flat against the wall from the midpoint of the door to the corner of the ceiling.

3) Using non-conductive roller wheels for the door, and using the two tracks themselves as conductors with 'brushes on the door' that would ride in contact with the rails.  I'd be a little concerned about corrosion over time if this was DC, and the effect of a large looped field if it were AC.

With any of these I will almost certainly be using current-limited 12 or 24v, so that when it eventually breaks I don't have to worry too much about an electrical hazard. Perhaps tension rated break-away connectors would be a good idea to to avoid damage.

The control module will probably be a raspberry pi, mounted on the door. It will probably use wifi for its data connection.  But it would be nice to use hardwired ethernet if that wasn't much extra hassle.  A festoon for example could accommodate power and ethernet with little extra headache.

My primary concern is physical durability and the likelyhood of cables getting snagged and breaking or blocking the operation of the automatic door opener.

Actually the door opener itself, having a rail and a plastic trolley, might serve as an electric path without having to add any physical objects that could add a snag hazard.  As could the torsion spring wires....

Anyway. What other means can you come up with to bring power to my garage door, and what method do you think is the best and why?


texts: What did I do wrong when wiring a new light fixture?

texts:
I'm replacing a single overhead light in a bedroom with recessed lights. In the junction box for the light were other junctions that fed electricity to the outlets in the room.  The wire that came from the wall switch was a 3 stranded wire that went from the wall switch to the junction box for the light.  When I dropped the light down there were other junctions which seem to feed the outlets in the room.  So there were 3 things going on. Two white wires were connected and tape wrapped.  Three Black wires were tape wrapped together with a long lead that connected to the black wire on the light. Then there was a white wire with red bands connected to the white lead of the light. The switch turns the light on and off but doesn't affect the outlets.

After cutting the power, I removed the light and disconnected the remaining wires.  I cut the switch wire back as it had reached the middle of the room and I didn't need that much wire to reach the recessed lights.  I installed the recessed lights and connected them together as instructions showed. I connected the switch wire with red-banded white going to the white quick connect (as it HAD been connected to the white on the old light), I put the black in the black quick connect. I also added a length of 14-2, putting the black wire in the quick connect, and wire nutted the remaining white wire from the switch inside the can light. I then took the wire to a new junction box and connected all the whites and all the blacks together to power the outlets.

When I energized the circuit, I got power to the outlets, and in testing with a circuit tester, everything else seem hot.  I put a light in a can to test the switch but the light did not turn on.  Everything else seems good.  What's the best way to figure out what I did wrong?


texts: Should I use MDF or plywood behind my wooden burner?

texts:
I want to mount a cast iron wooden burner like in the image close to the wall (a double wall with the neighbours, not an outer wall), at about 25-35 cm distance. The exhaust pipe runs vertically.

I would like to mount on the wall behind the burner a thin wooden panel (3 mm), fixed with screws to the wall, on which I will fix round cylinders of wood, to make a sort of artistic thing, and also to hide the darkening of the wall due to increased air movement and to the ashes that may in certain conditions escape. The fixing is likely to be done with some sort of heat resistant, low VOC glue, so that I don't have to remove the panel to add them.

It is important that the resulting structure stays flush to the wall, without bending due to age or heat, so that the short wooden discs/cylinders will appear like glued directly on the wall. The reason for the panel is only to allow simple removal of the structure in the future.

The panel would be quite full of wood cylinders 10-15 cm in diameter. They would be added in time, whenever available.

I attach a sketch.

The wooden burner is very hot and cannot be touched with the fingers on the top and top-rear, but the wall is only warmed by the radiant heat. The piping is also quite warm to the touch, but not hot (double walled).

I feel that MDF may hold the shape better after some years, not having any internal structure, but plywood may release far less chemicals in the air.

What is the most suitable material for this application?

Edit

The question is about the MDF/plywood plate: which one is best suited to hold some weight (the thin wooden discs) and heat (about 35-40°C) without bending, provided some (6-8) fixing points to the wall, and gassing.

Plywood handles up to 90°C well.


texts: My  expansion  tank  hangs  vertical  from  a  pipe.  It  leaks  from  where  the  tank  connects  to  the  pipe.  I  can  see  some  pipe  dope  where  it  connects.  What  can  I  do?


texts: Boosting a dryer vent with an inline booster attached to the main line with a wye

texts:
Our dryer has an airflow sensor and is always warning us that the lint filter needs to be cleaned, even when it has just been cleaned.  This started after we moved it to a new house that has the vent about 7-8 ft above the floor.  I've improved it by changing to a rigid duct, but it is still an issue.  I can't move or enlarge the vent (it comes out a bit above ground level and comes through concrete).

So, I'd like to look at adding a dryer vent booster, which costs $200-$300.  What about adding an inline duct booster (which costs about $50, but is not designed to handle the lint) that draws from the room air, goes through a one way valve and then a wye into the dryer vent.

Has anyone tried that?  Do you think it would work ok?


texts: When can I seal the picnic table I made from pressure treated lumber?

texts:
I have just built my very first picnic table (really, my very first anything). I used pressure treated lumber and galvanized hardware.

I would like to seal the table before I put it outside, but I'm told that you need to wait ~ 6 months before sealing pressure treated lumber. This stuff says that you don't need to wait, even on pressure treated lumber (though I can't find it anywhere).

Question: What's best thing to do here? Can I seal it now so it doesn't get discolored?


texts: Plumbing connections for basement bathroom

texts:
My house is a bit of a strange design.  Although the living room appears to be an addition to the home, it was actually built at the same time as the rest of the house.  Looking at the front of the house, the living room is the left 1/3 of the house and has a "crawl space" and the rest of the house is built on a basement.  The basement has 9ft ceilings and has a door that opens to the area under the living room.  The area under the living room is about 11 ft high.  Stepping out of the door, the ground is about two feet below the level of the basement floor.

There is currently no plumbing in the basement, so the main drain pipe coming from the house above extends through the wall into the area under the living room, and then drops at about a 45 degree angle and extends across the length of the living room and exits at ground level on the other side of the living room (left-most wall of the house).  I would like to add a restroom in the basement and wondered if there would be any problem connecting the drain pipes directly to that angled dropping pipe as long as I stay above the lowest point of the pipe?

Here's a rudimentary diagram of what I'm talking about:

I'll not be doing the work myself as I know my limitations, but I would like to get an idea if this is feasible and if there are any gotchas I might need to be aware of before I bring a plumber in to look at it.

Thanks in advance for any pointers you might have.


texts: What material is this toilet water supply line?

texts:
Photos of my toilet water supply line, which is the part below the valve:

Without Flash
[
With Flash

Based on the appearance, it only fits the description of galvanized iron (which is apparently the same as galvanized steel). However, based on numerous sources, galvanized steel has been mostly phased out in the 1960s, but my house was built in the 1990s (in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, if that matters).

I want to cut this pipe in order to install a quarter-turn valve with compression connections, but I am unable to find any close quarters tubing cutters that can cut galvanized iron/steel.

So my questions are:

What material might the toilet water supply line be?
Should I attempt to cut a galvanized iron/steel line with a cutter that is meant for everything but iron/steel (E.g. The Ridgid 40617 cutter states it is for "hard and soft copper, aluminum, brass and plastic tubing", but doesn't state iron/steel)?

Update 1
So, I scraped the back of the tubing with a file as one user suggested as shown here, and it appears to be copper. Also, a neodymium magnet was not attracted to it, as another user suggested in trying to do so.


texts: How to drill and waterproof a hole in cinder block for PVC drain?

texts:
I have a new electric hybrid water heater that emits condensation from a drain tube (normal) which is a bit different than a traditional electric water heater. Right now I have a bucket under the drain pipe and it drains about 1/2 gallon (+/-) per day.

I need to make the pipe drain outside and the water heater is in the garage right next to the wall, so hopefully this is trivial. Regardless I want to know the proper method to do this. I am going to use 1/2" PVC pipe to drain outside.

I have a 1/2" hammer drill, so i suppose I need a large masonry bit (the size of the outside diameter of the 1/2" pipe) and some kind of silicone to seal around the hole, correct?

Can someone please tell me if this is the proper thinking, or how I should go about drilling a hole through cinder block (do I need to worry about wires or rebar?) and seal it?


texts: What are some pros, cons and recommendations for multicables?

texts:
Currently saving to build a new home and I'm going over wiring options in my mind. My current home has too few sockets, cable connections and LAN ports (yes I still like wired LAN, wireless is good but wired is faster).

I'd like to solicit some recommendations for pros and cons of multicables (I.E. cables that have power, telephone, network, and TV cable all bundled into one). Has anyone used a multicable bundle and if so, what are the ups and downs of them?

I'd also like to get some good recommendations of a brand to use. Cables and wall plates if you have come across them before.


texts: Removed one kitchen cabinet others will be fine?

texts:
I will be remodeling my kitchen later this year.  Right now, there was a sale on the refrigerator I wanted so I ordered it.  I had to remove the cabinet above where the refrigerator will go due to the new height.

The cabinet directly next to the refrigerator cabinet was attached to it via two small nails.  All cabinets are screwed through the drywall into cinder block.

There is no way that those two little nails are the make or break for the load the adjacent cabinet is under, right?  The picture shows the nails.  My understanding of joining the cabinets, while I'm sure it may distribute some load, is to square things up.


texts:
For some reason, the doors in our house make a very loud "unsticking" sound when you open them.

It's almost as if the paint isn't cured, since the sound seems to come from the contact area around the frame, where the door touches the doorframe -- but this house has not been painted in 5 years.

This loud "unsticking" door opening noise doesn't seem like a big problem, and I suppose it isn't, but since I'm a night owl, so when I open doors it tends to wake my wife up. And that's not good for ye olde marital harmony.

What can I do to make the doors in our home open more quietly without this sticking sound?

Should I somehow lubricate the frame (I'm worried that it'll collect dust or other particles and look bad)? Maybe use sandpaper to rough the paint up so it's less likely to stick?


texts:
We are having HVAC ductwork installed in our crawlspace and one of the companies mentioned they do not remove foundation concrete blocks due to liability. Unfortunately, for us to have registers in our living room at least one concrete block needs to be removed from an interior wall. I have looked online and it appears to be a straight forward job in removing the block.

My questions: Do I need to worry about the structure of my home when removing one or more concrete blocks from an interior wall? If so, how many blocks need to be removed before I need to install a lintel or some other support? Does where the block is removed on the wall matter? Thank you and any advice is appreciated!


texts: Dimmer switch remains powered with switch off!

texts: I replaced a single pole switch with a Lutron Maestro dimmer.  However, the line remains "hot" when dimmer turned off.  Have verified that the hot wire in box is wired to bottom lug of dimmer.  I thought the dimmer was defective so I purchased another but having the same issue! I rewired the original single pole switch and verified that power turned off when flipping switch.  I might add that I don't have the light fixture connected to the wires at the ceiling fixture yet, but don't think that this should matter since the original single pole shuts off power here.


texts: Can I use a circular saw for precise cabinet making

texts:
I will be building some cabinet boxes and my table saw has a short span in the fence so I can't cut to final dimensions on it.

I've made some cuts before using a saw board guide and a circular saw, but I'm not really sure if that will be precise enough. Even more when I think that I will have to repeat the same cut many, many times.

Can it be done with a circular saw? I thought about buying a Makita Track Saw SP6000 (we don't get Festool in Brazil), but it is expensive and I don't know if the result would be much better apart from being faster.


texts: Is it necessary to seal a newly patched basement floor in an old house?

texts:
We recently had the basement drain system replaced in our 1930s bungalow. This required removing sections of the concrete floor and filling the parts that were removed with new concrete when the job was finished. The old portion of the floor has several layers of paint that have been applied over the years.

Do I need to seal the new concrete portions? Appearance does not matter. There are no plans for renovating or installing anything over this floor, as it is the laundry area of the house. I only intend to put a few rubber area mats on it to stand on.

If sealing is recommended, should I use a sealer or a paint, and if so which one? I think epoxy basement paint is overkill for this situation, and I'm worried about the toxic fumes from these paints. I saw GBS Penetrating Sealer recommended on another forum, but I am fine with leaving the floor as it is if that's a viable option. However, if some sort of sealing is required I'd like the least invasive option.

Thanks


texts: Full Structural Survey for Listed, Managed Building

texts:
I'm in the process of buying a flat which is set in the grounds of an 18th century hospital which, as such, is a listed development (under British legislation). The flats are managed by a Management Company who look after the structural integrity and preservation of the development.

My question is; do I still need to arrange a full structural survey, bearing in mind that grounds are preserved and maintained by the management company?


texts:
Tiling my basement floor, but had a big heave in it from tree roots (tree now gone). I cut out all around the heave, removed old concrete, rebar’ed and jointed into old concrete and poured a new slab. Slab is 3-3.5” thick, rebar reinforced, 4 days cured now, curing with painter plastic laid over it.
Question: When  using stratamat uncoupling membrane , do I have to wait the full 28-day cure time before tiling over this new concrete?
I cannot find anything here or elsewhere on the web that addresses this question specifically.


texts: How do you get rid of brush marks when repainting

texts:
I'm going to be repainting the interior walls of my house and all of the interior walls have brush marks on them.
Will the normal sanding between coats cover up the brush marks or will I have to sand the wall smooth before painting?


texts: Why do old toggle switch leads read 40VAC?

texts:
Tonight I removed an old switch from one of the walls in my living room. We recently bought our house, and there were two holes in the wall where the old thermostat and humidity controller were.  I patched those up and then took care of this old switch that was just as ugly as the two holes in the wall. The switch was a dual button on/off toggle switch from what it looks like.  I removed it to install a new flip switch and put a nice face plate on it.  However I noticed that after testing the copper leads with my voltometer, I find that the circuit reads 40VAC.  I have no idea what this outlet does at this point in time since the old switch was broken.

Will my 15A-120VAC switch I bought at Home Depot tonight work well as a replacement?


texts: How can I support the bottom of a long, open cabinet?

texts:
My cabinet vendor installed a really cool 5 sided, 12" deep cubby(shelf) below my upper cabinets. It's laminated 3/4" plywood. The problem is that it's 84 inches long and there already is a very slight sag in the middle and I haven't even stacked anything in it yet.

One option my vendor suggested is to put a couple of floating braces underneath it (like this but less heavy duty. I've found some that are 3/6" thick). The part attached to the studs would be buried beneath the drywall/backsplash. The problems is that the supporting arms beneath the cubby would be visible from a number of angles. (My architecture and interior design is modern and streamlined.)

I asked if the cubby could be notched on the bottom so the arm would be flush and then have laminate adhered to the arm to make it less visible. They said that it wouldn't be possible. But based on all of their suggestions it seemed like they just wanted to go with the most simple solution available.

Given my specs would my notching solution be feasible?


texts:
I just inherited this large 39" Moroccan tray (weighs about 15 lbs) from my parents and want to hang it on our wall. It does not have any hardware on the back so I'm trying to figure out what I can do without glueing or attaching anything to it in fear of damaging the tray.

Any ideas? Our wall is dry wall and there is one off-centered stud where we want to hang it.


texts:
I recently got a new hot tub and unfortunately the new hookup is about 2 feet further from where the old hot tub was. For various reasons it would be difficult to run new wire from the gfci breaker.

I know it would likely be against code, but would putting a waterproof junction box inside the hot tub cabinet be ok? Again, I understand it's probably against code, but is there really any reason not to do it assuming it is all waterproof and done correctly?

Thanks


texts: How can I tell when my steam boiler needs water?

texts:
I just moved into a house with a gas-boiler steam system that provides heat (in-floor) and also runs the hot water tank. It works well enough but the floor heat seems a little weak.

In a previous boiler-heated apartment the system worked poorly until we noticed that the water gauge on the boiler was near zero. We hooked up the supply, ran it til the needle went from red to green, and just like that it ran great again.

I'm wondering if something similar could be at play here. The new system has a pressure gauge and supply inlet but the dial is just 0-10 bar, no "target" shown. How do I know if it's low? If it is, how do I know what to fill it to?


texts: Can the high efficiency washing machine drain into the kitchen waste stack?

texts:
newbie here.  We live in a condo that is the third floor of a converted Victorian home (there are two units below us).  We have in-unit laundry - a stacked high-efficiency washer and dryer (both front loading).  It's in a closet that we would like to be our linen closet.  We've got space off the kitchen where we would like to move the laundry.  The problem is that the new location is far from the old drain pipes.  It is near the kitchen sink/dishwasher drain pipes, though.

Can the high efficiency washing machine drain into the kitchen waste stack, which I believe is shared with our downstairs neighbors?  Or Would we have to put in a whole new drain stack for the new washing machine location?  That would make the whole project impossible as we would need to be running through our downstairs neighbors' walls.

We're located in Boston, MA if it makes a difference for code purposes.


texts: Attach Deck Joists at 45° angle without Hangers

texts:
I'm building an octagonal freestanding deck and having trouble figuring out how to attach some 2x6 floor joists to a rim joist at a 45° angle without having to buy angled joist hangers for $6-$11 a piece (I'll need 6 total).

Is toe-nailing sufficient here? I would probably use 8d nails so they don't poke through or split the boards, maybe 3 on a side. Is there some other kind of (inexpensive) hanger I can use? Or an "ancient" (meaning before the advent of joist hangers) technique that could help me?


texts: How to remove a sheet metal screw from the threaded end

texts: I'm trying to remove the metal box that holds a bathroom exhaust fan into the ceiling.  I've got all the wood screws out but there are 2 sheet metal screws that appear to connect the box to the duct to the outside.  The problem is the screw heads are inside the duct and I can't access them.  All I can see are the threads.  Is there a way to remove the screws from the threaded end?  I've tried cutting them off with a hacksaw and a cold chisel.  I also tried pounding them out with a hammer.


texts: Is a conventional interior drain tile system likely to silt up over time?

texts:
Three companies have proposed the same solution, more or less, to address pretty bad flooding in our crawlspace: Dig a trench around the interior perimeter and install a perforated pipe that leads to a sump pump. All good, I'm convinced. But the more information I get from the various vendors, the less certain I am of which one to pick. A few questions:

One company told me that with the “old” method of using a round perforated plastic pipe surrounded by a bed of gravel, the pipe will silt up and eventually either get blocked or jam up the sump pump, even with the filtering action of the gravel layer. Their solution is to use the Waterguard system that sits closer to the wall and is wrapped with a sock or sleeve, as is the stone bed. Is he right about the silting problem?
How important is it to install more than one sump pump? One vendor says one (with a battery backup that operates the same pump) is enough because they're very reliable. Another says I should have at least two.

If anyone can share some of their knowledge on this topic, I’d be grateful.

Thanks

Steve


texts: How can I connect a humidifier to a Goodman dual fuel heating system?

texts: Purchased a dual fuel goodman system with CTK04 comfortnet thermostat.  The thermostat installtion guide shows wiring of a humidifier to the (2) Hum terminals on the furnace IFC.  My furnace model is a comfornet compatible model GMVC950905DX.  It can't find (2)Hum terminals on the IFC.  Are they re-purposing some of the legacy terminals for the non comfornet communicating thermostat without telling me?


texts: How do I add a filter to the return air vent of my retrofitted forced air system?

texts:
I have a 1940 home with a basement and a forced air heat pump system that was added some time in the past decade by the previous owner. The ceiling in the basement is open, and the ducts were installed inside the joists in the basement. There are two large grills, one on the main level, and one in the basement that connect to the return air duct. The return air duct, appx. 16" in diameter, appears to be expoxied to a square 20x10" vent that's connected to the air handler.
Unfortunately, there's no proper filter bracket or rail. It appears the previous owner simply cut a hole in the square vent and set a 20x20 filter into the hole without any sort of sealing or cover.

I bought a new 20x10 filter and set it in this hole, but there's nothing on the top or sides in the vent to support it, and no cover to seal the hole.
Is there a feasible way for me to install the appropriate filter bracket to this system?


texts: How to close large holes left in basement concrete floor after remove a coal furnace

texts: After the removal of a coal furnace in my basement, I was left with two huge holes in the concrete basement floor. Both holes are seeping water onto the basement floor, especially when it rains. How do I repair these holes to stop the water. I've been told to drill thru the concrete floor & run a perforated pipe "across" the floor to allow water to flow in sump pump. The house is old & I'm scared of more holes in concrete floor in order to lay pipe and concerned w/drilling across the floor. But, I've got to stop water pouring out of the holes & get them dry & closed. What to do?


texts: How to repair solid wood cabinet finish after fire?

texts:
After a small kitchen fire in which the cabinets got fire damage, but did not actually catch fire, we repaired the walls, but are now left with a cabinet that looks (not too) bad. The black spots are small bubbles, and the white spots are bigger bubbles that we scraped. It's solid wood.

Any ideas how to repair this? Also, (not as important), how about the veneer on the counter-top?

Click photo for full size


texts:
In my 100+ year old house, every interior door is made of solid wood. Their locksets have glass knobs connected by a square threaded rod which actuates the latch.

I have found replacement parts at hardware stores, however they have lasted only a couple of months.

Is there a way to install a modern knob in one of these doors?


texts: I want to re-tile our fireplace. It is an old home built in 1935. I am able to find lots of information online on how to tile a brick fireplace but nothing on re-tiling. I assume I just take a hammer and break away the tile that is there and try and get back to the (I'm assuming) original brick. Are there any additional things i need to be concerned with? Are there an online guides available?


texts: Converting two lights from one switch to one light from one switch?

texts:
I have two vertically mounted light bars on either side of bathroom mirror operated from one switch.  Renovating room and now wish to have one horizontal light bar over the mirror.
I would appreciate any assistance wiring this change.

Thanks
Randy


texts: Will my ceiling hold an over the popcorn solution?

texts:
I am looking for a solution to my popcorn without removing it. I am thinking of using MDF ship-lap then creating small depth coffers.
My issue is that I don't know how much weight my ceiling can hold. It's vaulted ceiling made of 2X4 trusses on a 24" OC. I when to the attic and counted 12 trusses over the area i am concerned about. The area is about 26.25' wide (measuring across the trusses), the peak in the living space is about 13' and the length of each angle (along the trusses) to the peak is about 16.3'.
What's on the ceiling now is SR but I don't know how thick it is. I do have a fireplace in the middle of the room and I have no idea if that is supporting anything.


texts: What is the purpose of Solenoid Valve in Reverse Osmosis? Can I do away with it?

texts:
The SV (36v) in my RO water purifier has stopped working. Product is currently unavaiable in Amazon and with the lockdown in effect in my city, I'm not even able to get a replacement.

So I was wondering if I can simply bypass it (remove the blocking pin that gets sucked in to allow flow of water) as the flow is currently blocked because of the SV not working.

My only concern is about the consequences of that action....what would happen if the water flow is not blocked by the SV?


texts: How to best deal with cracks in concrete?

texts:
My backyard has cracks in the concrete. The previous owners used concrete crack sealant/filler and that has eroded away or peeled away.

The options that I’m considering are:
(1) use filler again (this time a better kind, if available) but aesthetically it will looks like concrete with filled cracks. This is the most economic solution
(2) demo the existing concrete and pour a new slab
(3) pour a thin layer over the existing(I don’t even know if this is a good solution...it might just crack like a thin layer of ice.)
What is the best long term solution? I’m thinking of option (2). What are the pros and cons of each?


texts: I would like to find a waste drain PVC pipe that has a standard diameter of 10cm. I noticed this question focuses on metal pipes Are there devices to find pipes in walls?, but I would like to find a PVC pipe.


texts: What voltage/amperage garage circuits should I install for welding tools and an air compressor?

texts:
As a part of renovating my garage this fall, much of the wiring is being re-done.  Since doing the work before putting up walls will be much easier now than adding circuits in the future, I'd like to run two circuits for future "big" tools.

The first is a welder- I'm very interested in learning how to weld, and will likely buy a welder in the next 1-2 years.  I have heard that most of the quality welders are 220-230 volt devices, and use anywhere from 30-60 amps.  If you were renovating a garage, and wanted to put in a circuit for a future welder, what amperage branch circuit would you run?

Second- in the next few months I'll be investing in a good air compressor.  Currently I have a little 1-gallon pancake style compressor.  In the garage, I'd ideally like something that could drive a set of pneumatic tools, be used to inflate tires, etc.  I know compressors come in size from tiny, to ginormous.  What size compressor (and corresponding branch circuit) would you recommend planning for?


texts: Ecobee installation with a air circulation unit?

texts: I recently had a technician install a new ecobee thermostat, but he disconnected the control board from on top of the furnace.  he bypassed the board to install the thermostat.  Is there a way to manually wire the aprilaire fresh air circulation into the thermostat, or is it better just to remove that from the system?  I have another thermostat I am looking to replace which will be in the same situation.  There are only 3 wires to the builder installed thermostat (red, white, and blue) labeled 1,2, and 3 respectively.


texts:
I bought an old piece of furniture with two cabinet doors. One of them is missing a catch, and I am having a hard time identifying it. The overall dimensions of the latch are about 1" x 0.5".  I have included a picture of the catch on the other door.
I am hoping to find out what kind of catch this is, and how I can obtain a replacement for the missing one. If these aren't available anymore then a close approximation would also be helpful.

Edit: Here is a picture of what hooks onto the catch. It's basically just a screw.


texts: Addressing un-level floor when using ceramic tile

texts: I am refinishing my bathroom, and a near-future task is flooring. I'm going to be using the Schluter Ditra product rather than hardiboard and I've built up the floor and subfloor for a combined thickness of 1-1/8" (or so). There is a small dip toward the middle of the floor of roughly 1/2" that mostly levels out by the bathroom door. Should that dip be leveled out with a leveling compound before applying the Ditra, or will using thinset to compensate be sufficient? The span of the dip is around 5' long by about 3' wide (width of the wall to the tub), with the deepest part being about 1/2".


texts: Microwave not working, sparks and discharges near magnetron

texts:
I have a microwave oven - standard cheap LG unit. It's no longer working (it made electrical sparking sounds), so I opened it up to see if it's possible with a DIY repair.

First thing I did was of course to discharge the capacitor for safety reasons.

I cannot see anything obvious here, but I am not experienced in microwave repair at all.

I'm including a video (the most interesting) and a photo.

I have tested the magnetron using the continuity check on a multimeter. It seems to be working. I've checked the big diode and the thermal fuse. Is there anything else I can check?

YouTube Link: Showing how some electric sparking happens near the magnetron

Extra link: A couple more photos if relevant


texts: How much weight can screws in drywall hold?

texts:
I've always had the question of how much weight can a single screw into a drywall withstand?

For instance, I would like to do things like this:

It's hung with 5 screws. The whole thing weighs approximately 50kg (110 pounds) so we can say that each screw holds approximately 10kg (22 pounds).

The person who installed it said it was fine, but is it really?

Do somebody know a study or some numbers regarding how much weight this material can stand?

EDIT: Just to clarify, it's not screwed to the studs. It's screwed to the drywall.


texts:
I’m being told this is not mold that it is just dirt.
There was a leak as well as a smell to this.
Would like to know if this is mold?


texts: Is it ok to run a 100 amp sub panel off a 150 amp main panel?

texts:
I'm installing a GE 100 Amp MLO panel about 50 feet from the main panel in a different building that's about 700 sq/ft.
I'm pulling three #3 in 1-1/4" PVC with a #6 ground. The main is a 150 running a three bedroom house (40amp range, 40 gal electric water heater, mini-split AC) and also has a 60 amp double pole breaker for a subpanel in a shop.
My question is would this be permitted or do I need to upgrade the main panel.


texts:
I'd like a good solution for hanging up grocery bags and other miscellaneous things on the wall. Basic hooks would do the trick, but some things like to slip off it (like too many grocery bags). To combat this travesty, I thought to have a carabiner attached to a wall, so it seems my options are:

http://www.woss.com/oblong-stainless-steel-eye-pad-600lbs-working-weight/
http://www.berkeleypoint.com/products/hardware/S0230-0000.html

Remaining questions:

Does it have another name that I don't know of?
Do you guys think the carabiner solution is a decent one as well?


texts: Will drain camera see whether P-trap is filled with water?

texts:
I rent in a highrise apartment building.  It can take upward of a year when asking the landlord to check for obstructions in the ventilation and/or clean the conduit, e.g., as might be prompted by lots of condensation after showering, leading to mold.

I have a sewagy smell in the bathroom, especiallly pronounced when I've kept the bathroom door closed.  I fear that it might be the bathtub P-trap, as the sink P-trap was recently cleared of obstruction (after years of slow drainage -- I usually try to find work arounds for as long as possible before imposing on the landlord for servicing). Perhaps there is a leak in the bathtub P-trap, or there is a strand of something that wicks water out.  I did not imagine that it would be trivial to pull up the bathtub to inspect this, and shining a flashlight down reveals that the drain pipe immediately dekes horizontally.  If online images are any indication, it likely meets a vertical pipe for the overflow, and then curls into a P-trap.

Since I anticipate much resistance and delay to a nontrivial request to check the bathtub P-trap, I considered renting a drainage camera to look myself.  They're quite expensive, with limited options in my city.  Two offerings I found were for $220 and $150 per day.  I also found that a hardware chain with continental presence (Canadian Tire) sells a cheap camera for $300 ("MAXIMUM Inspection Camera").  So I might just buy one at twice the cost of renting, which gives me the freedom to re-inspect if necessary.

Can such cameras typically see whether the P-trap is water filled, or is there an large uncertainty in their effectiveness?  I don't want to blow $300 on a course of action for which there is (say) 50% chance of being able to see the water with some degree of certainty.  I found a youtube video alluding to seeing reflection off the water in a P-trap, but frankly, I couldn't make anything out of it.  If it takes a highly experienced eye to recognize such a reflection, or otherwise discern whether sufficient water is present, then that reduces the chances of effectiveness of this "solution" for me.


texts: What happens when you test a smoke detector?

texts: When you press the test button on a smoke detector it obviously beeps, but I'm assuming it doesn't just test the speaker. So, how does the test work? I can't see a practical way to release smoke within the alarm itself, so does it use some other measure in order to break the flow of radiation?


texts:
I have vinyl siding on my new home. Starting about a week ago, one segment of siding detached on one end and is drooping. The other side is attached just fine.

I tried snapping it back into place, as it looks like each is just supposed to stay in place by snapping into each other. That lasts for about a few hours, and it starts to sag in the middle and eventually the same end detaches and droops again.

My father in law suggested using a galvanized nail and hammer in the siding, but seems like a brute force bandaid. Is he right? What should I do to fix this?


texts: What is the difference between Philips Essential LED bulb range & their normal LED bulbs?

texts:
I have come across two ranges from Philips for their LED bulb ranges, there is the 'Essential' range, which is the budget value range, & then there is the normal 'Philips' LED bulbs range. The price difference between the two is substantial (upto 50% price difference) & in some cases, the 'Essential' range is more efficient, having a higher lumens/ watt. I have been purchasing the 'Essential' range so far.

So, I wonder what is the difference between the two ranges? After reading about CRI from my question here, I am wondering whether the difference between the two is in light quality (CRI) and / or other non-obvious variables.


texts: How do I move a radiator about 15 centimetres?

texts: I can remount the brackets no problem, but may have to extend the pipes on both sides. How do I do it, and how hard is it?


texts: Still reading open neutral after restoring power to lights and outlets

texts:
We recently plugged a space heater into an outlet in our son’s bedroom and only ran it at night. At some point, all of the lights and outlets in the room except one outlet on the opposite wall stopped working. No breakers were tripped. I shut down every breaker and even the main before restoring them one by one, and it resolved nothing.
I located the circuit for the outlet that the heater was plugged into. One plug in tester said I had a reversed hot neutral, the other said open neutral. A multimeter showed no voltage at the outlet, but the touch tester revealed there was power in the wire behind it. I shut off the breaker and replaced the outlet the heater had been attached to (using wire screws and not the stab backs). It was the last thing on the circuit with only one set of wires in the wall. When I turned the breaker back on, three lights in the hall and the light in an adjacent closet stopped working. There are no GFCI’s on the circuit.
I methodically opened every outlet and switch in the room (6 outlets and two separate light/switch combos). I pulled the stab back connections, pushed them in firmly, checked  and tightened every pigtail wire nut, and didn’t find anything obviously wrong. I flipped the breaker back on and all of the lights started working again. The outlets are now working also, but still show an open neutral.
The only weird thing I saw was one outlet with wires in all 4 stab connections and an additional set tied into the side screws (so three pairs of wire on this one outlet. I’m assuming it’s switched, but it is behind furniture so not used.  I did not pull the fixtures because I’m short and weak and they are heavy.
So in summary, everything is working, but I’ve still got an open neutral somewhere. Any ideas?  It appear that this one 15 amp breaker controls 5 lights, 5 switches, and 6 outlets. I did not pull wiring for the three lights that went out after I changed the outlet. They all work now too.


texts: Is there a maximum thickness for shower float cement?

texts:
We are currently redoing our shower and would like to use float-cement to carry the tile. The wall behind it is a bit crooked, so, to get it nice and level, the float-cement would have to be a bit thick (>1") in some areas.

Is there a maximum thickness that float-cement can have, for example before it starts cracking in ways that could damage the tiles attached to it?


texts: Why would a bathroom emit an odor if pipes aren't clogged?

texts: House has crawl space and the pipes aren't clogged, yet bathroom has stench that wasn't there yesterday. Only thing different today than yesterday is that it's raining today. Why would stench all of a sudden appear?


texts: Shower surround - does it need adhesive?

texts:
I just had a plumbing company over to install a tub and shower surround.

I noticed when showering that the walls all bounce against the studs if you touch them.  Not sure if that's normal, I looked at the installation instructions, and if I understand them correctly, it says they were supposed to be glued to the studs.

Should they have glued them to the studs, or is it common practice to just screw the flange and not glue the walls?

This is the shower surround:
http://www.lyonsindustries.com/whirlpools/whirlpool-bathtub-walls/elite-corner-shelf-wall/elite-wall-corner-32x60x59/


texts: How to protect aluminum fence posts from weed trimmer?

texts: I assumed the manufacturers of the fencing would sell an optional sleeve to protect the power-coating on the posts from the repeated scraping of the trimmer cord, but they do not?  Does anyone have any ideas?  Is this even needed?


texts:
i installed a cement board with a badly crushed corner.
how should i proceed?

This is for a shower it will be waterproofed with redguard (or
equivalent).
There is studs behind the screws on the right and left.

I don't know if its worth the effort (or if its even necessary) to
   patch this corner with new cement board.


texts:
The drip tray of my fridge broke down, which causes the water condensating in the fridge to drip on the compressor, which is not a good thing.
While waiting for the replacement part, I've replaced the drip tray with a can (which fulfills the same purpose, e.g. recovering the water from the fridge and evaporating it using the heat from the compressor).

However, all the drip trays available on the market are made of plastic, and not of metal. To me, using a metallic drip tray may not be an issue, but I may be overlooking some key parts regarding heat transfer in the cooling system or something. Hence my question: it the use of a metallic drip tray located above the compressor in a fridge potentially dangerous or not?


texts:
I have a drain snake and the cable "fell out" of the container. I'm not sure if this means it is broken or if there is a way to reconnect it and push it back in.

It is not an electric one , just a simple plastic manual old drain snake


texts: Will my wall stand up to fairly heavy pine planking on the inside?

texts:
I have just purchased yellow pine tongue-and-groove lumber for the interior of my home.  As I moved the wood in 16' lengths into to house to acclimate, I noticed the extreme heaviness of each piece.  They are about 7/8" in thickness.  My total accent wall is 9' by 14'. The wall is an outside wall (brick exterior).  Does anyone have any advice on whether the total weight I am adding to this wall could be a potential hazard?

Thanks!


texts: Where do you start when setting hip roof trusses?

texts:
I have a decent sized hip truss package coming. It's about a 60' wide by 30' deep building with 2' overhangs. Hip style with 4/12 slope.

I have only helped before in setting trusses but never doing them where I am in control. I was wondering which one to set up first, especially since we will do them by hand. If we had a lift or crane, I'd just work my way from one side to another but since we set them by hand our only lift is a machine to lift to the edge of the wall and then we have to drag them to position.

Knowing this, should we start with the middle most truss and work to the edge? Or should we still start with the double girder/header/bridge truss that starts about 8' back from the end, and has all the small jacks tie into it?


texts: 1948 fabric sheathed outlet wires, can I ground to box?

texts: Home built in 1948. The outlets have no ground wire and use fabric sheathed copper wire.can i run a ground wire from receptacle to the metal outlet box itself, as apposed to no ground at all? How can I tell if the outlet box is grounded in some way? If box isn't grounded can I still ground to it from receptacle?


texts: I got engineered wood installed last week in my house.  I noticed there is about a 3mm circular chip.  Is there anything I can do to prevent it from further chipping ?  Its glued down on concrete.  The wear on the weed is 2mm, so I am not sure if I am seeing the ply or the inner wear.  Its not deep.


texts: What are the methods of attaching cable to OSB

texts:
I'm making a shelf from a sheet of OSB,
I'm planning to rig it with 4 cables in the corners.

From the answer to this question:
How should I attach the cable of a cable-supported shelf? -

I get it that I should get an eye bolt through my shelf.

The question is -- what's the necessary size of the washer, and the distance from the bolt's hole to the edge of the board. For 18 mm OSB. Overall load up to 80 kilos. Planned size 1.5*1.2 meters (It'll be accessed from both of the longer sides hence the width). I've used this tool  to find necessary thickness.


texts:
I am in the process of selecting lumber for my baseboards.  My flooring is prefinished maple, dark red/brown, stained, looks great.  I was thinking about also smooth finished but not stained maple but someone told me maple doesn't stain well.  It is also expensive (approx. $4/ft)

What are some good choices for baseboard lumber if I just want to stain?  I plan to go with plain 1 x 6 (3/4 x 5-1/2 or better yet 5/8 x 5-1/2).  E.g. would oak be a better choice?


texts: What tool should be used to mud the inside corners of a diagonal ceiling?

texts: We are preparing to tape and mud the 'inside corners' of a diagonal attic ceiling, where the short walls meet the ceiling.  What is the best way to achieve a straight line?  Is there a special tool we can use?  Free-handing is not working for us.  Our 90 degree trowel works fine for vertical inside corners, but of course the 'corners' we are trying to do are horizontal.


texts: Using an 18.3 AMP appliance over 14 gauge wiring

texts:
I recently purchased an indoor infrared sauna that pulls 18.3 amps
I read that the max capacity for 14 gauge wiring is 17 amp on a 110 volt service
Can I safely use a 20 AMP breaker with 14 gauge wiring for an appliance pulling 18.3 amps?


texts: Caster type and placement for rotating cabinet

texts:
I have a cabinet that I want to function as a sort of door to a storage space behind it. It will be fixed to the wall with a set of hinges, so that it can swing open. Because the cabinet with contents is rather heavy and I don't want to rely on the hinges alone to carry the weight, I want to put the cabinet on casters that will carry the load.

Since the cabinet is fixed to the wall with hinges, it will always turn at the same angle, in the same direction (and reverse), with the pivot point being the back corner where the hinges are attached. It seems like swivel casters are overkill for this: there's no steering or changing direction involved here.

However, if I use fixed casters, I'm wondering about the orientation. Do I just place the fixed casters parallel to the front edge? Do I put them at an angle, because they will always be making a turn? Are there calculations for optimal placement and angle here?


texts: Can we install an above-counter sink (large, about 31" x 18" x5") on a bottom-mount countertop?

texts:
Currently, we have a small oval undermount sink in our bathroom that is roughly 16 by 19.5.  We are thinking bout changing it to a large, rectangular, above-counter sink (13 x 18 x 5) but we obviously have a cut-out in the counter for the undermount.  Can we still use the same countertop?  The new sink already is pre-drilled with a single faucet hole and the drain hole and comes overflow.

Thanks for any insight


texts:
I'm having some trouble with a radiator.  It doesn't bleed well, often not letting either air or water come out of the valve.  And sometimes, only half of the radiator will be hot (well, warm).  I was given to believe that all of the water entering the radiator would travel through the entire thing, heating it equitably.  Seems strange to me.

Any explanations?


texts: What is sealing the edges of this footpath?

texts:
I want to fill the cracks in between the foundation and stone pathway adjacent to it.

In this first picture, you can see the void between the foundation and the stones.

But if you were to turn 180°, you'd see a less weathered (although hardly doing a complete job) seal. (grout?)

I wonder - can anyone identify the sealing material in picture? If so, what is it, can I buy and apply more of it very easily? Bonus: will it have any material effect on insects that may be going under and around the door to get inside the house?


texts: Changing adjustable fixture light bulb when socket and housing are loose

texts:
I'm having trouble changing a ceiling mounted adjustable fixture lightbulb. So there's two issues: one, the metal housing is loose and when I try screwing it in, there's a lot of grinding and varying pressure and popping. I'm wondering if the bent section means it's broken? And two, even if I do get it reasonably tight, the light bulb socket rotates independently and won't allow me to loosen the bulb to change it.

Thanks all. I know this may be a simple question, but my level of home improvement skill is quite low; and with how high up and hard to see it is, I'm afraid of breaking something since I don't know what I'm doing.

Cheers!


texts: What happens to alkyd enamel paint below 5 degrees C?

texts:
I'm impatient to paint a fiberglass boat I'm restoring and I'm using an alkyd enamel paint which states it's okay down to 5 degrees C.
Although daytime temperature is 10 degrees C and more, night time lows are down towards freezing point.
Will the cold just increase the drying time, or do you think it could actually damage the paint, causing it to fail?


texts:
Is it OK to vent a powder room into the ceiling space?

Humidity isn't the issue just odour. I don't have access to the outside unfortunately. I see there are ductless fans for this purpose, but they have charcoal filters and I would rather like to avoid having to replace the filters.


texts: Is it easy to convert a cylindrical to mortise lock, or should I just install a deadbolt?

texts:
My house has cylindrical locks on all the internal doors. These are the ones with one keyed side and one knob/toggle side to lock and unlock a door without the key.
I live in South Africa, and for security purposes I would like to lock the internal doors for the rooms I am not using. (This is legal here). Here mortise locks are ubiquitous and cheap.
I have been researching my options and it seems they are:

Leave the existing knob and install a cylindrical deadbolt. (More expensive, but easier)
Remove the existing lock and replace with a mortise lockset. (Cheaper but more difficult)

I want to go with the mortise locks because they are cheap, easy to come by, and I like the look of a handle rather than a knob, and the existing doorknobs need to be replaced (some of them are simply old and broken). However, I'm not experienced at woodwork/DIY and don't know how easy this is to do. I could drill a hole, but am not so sure about being able to get the square mortise lock cut-out correct. Additionally, I am concerned about the existing cylindrical cutout being too large for the mortise lock handle-plate.
Is there a clear winner here, and am I overlooking anything?
I would be willing to go with the cylindrical deadbolt option if it is significantly simpler to install.


texts: Should I buy dry compound mix and mix my own? Pros/Cons

texts: Should I mix my own 'mud' (joint compound)?  I'm trying to smooth out parts of my wall and also to cover some patched areas.


texts: I had one last electrical box  to install a outlet  in, on a live residential circuit, which I had "completed" earlier by wire nutting the wires together to "complete" the circuit. But instead of flipping the breaker to 'off'  I decided to try and short the circuit with a screw driver. (many people would find this a foolish practise.)  I was surprised to discover that this attempt at shorting failed. I tried again and failed again. So, I think to myself that I might have a bad breaker that doesn't trip when overloaded, but I don't know how to find out for sure. I decide to test another circuit on another breaker, to see if I can overload it. Instead of shorting it, I'll put sufficient load on it to trip it, I think to myself. What I use is two 1500 watt portable heaters and two circular saws, maybe 15 amps each on start-up, I guess. So lots of juice going through the breaker for about 20 seconds. I don't want to fry the wires with a heavy load too long. The breaker does not trip. I repeat a few times, after a cooling of wires period of time in between, but this  breaker also does not trip. My thoughts are that it is rare that breakers  are faulty and fail to trip. Does anyone have experience with breakers failing to trip due to faulty breakers? Does anyone else have thoughts and opinions on this situation?  How can I reliably/cheaply/confidently find out which breakers, if any, are faulty? I wouldn't want to unnecessarily replace all breakers if they weren't faulty. How can I test my breakers?


texts: How do a boiler’s autofill valve and expansion tank work together as a system?

texts:
How do the expansion tank and automatic fill / reducing valve work together in a hot water heating system?  It seems to me that if the expansion tank is charged too high the autofill valve will never be able to autofill the system, whereas if it is charged too lowr, the reducing valve will determine the system pressure.  Is that how it's supposed to work?  The expansion tank does not determine system pressure, but it should accept the pressure determined by the reducing valve?  I don’t really understand how they are meant to work as a system or how to test and maintain it in place.
Note: this was a multi-part question that was edited to focus on the one received answer.


texts: Garbage disposal spins manually, but not on its own.

texts:
There are all kinds of garbage disposal questions and answers on the internet but none of them seem to address my issue.

My garbage disposal seems to be jammed, but not in the usual way. If I go to run it and look down into the hole with a light it tries to start but then catches on something and stops. If I don't turn it off it pops the reset switch, like it should. To help loosen whatever is in there I pulled out an Allen wrench and tried spinning it from the bottom. To my surprise, it spins totally freely. Finally, I removed it from its mount and (while unplugged, obviously) inspected the inside for anything obviously jammed between the rotator and the grate-like thing. Seeing nothing, I reached my hand in to spin it manually from the top and found that it spins freely that way as well.

Any thoughts on what may be wrong or what I should try next? FWIW, it's an insinkerator and I have no idea how old it is. I just bought the house, but it's a 17 year old house whose kitchen was redone somewhere in that time.

Thanks in advance for your help.


texts: How to increase light from a vanity cabinet?

texts:
I need to seriously increase the amount of light from a bathroom vanity cabinet.  The picture below is a little blurry because I didn't have a tripod handy, and it took a 1/10 second exposure to take a picture of a powered-on light bulb:

The actual amount of illumination is pathetic.  I need to increase both the indirect lighting toward the ceiling and the direct lighting downward toward the sink area.

The light is produced by a simple strip fluorescent tube fixture mounted to the wall behind the top of the cabinet.  It was originally a 36" fixture centered over the open area in the middle with the mirror.  I replaced it with a 48" fixture.  Downward light from most of the extra length is blocked by the side cabinets, but it adds some light toward the ceiling.

Roughly the upper third of the fluorescent tube emits light toward the ceiling that clears the top of the cabinet for indirect light and general room lighting.  Maybe the bottom quarter of the tube emits light to illuminate the sink area below.  The rest of the light is blocked by the front of the cabinet.

I could line the top front of the cabinet with aluminum foil to reflect the wasted light, but that won't come close to what's needed.  A double-tube fixture would double the light output, but would be wider, so the top of the fixture and upper bulb would be visible over the top of the cabinet.  That also wouldn't add a lot of downward light.

I contemplated cobbling together two single fixtures, each with an LED fluorescent-replacement bulb.  They're very directional, so it would require one facing down to light the sink area, and one facing up or diagonally up for the ceiling.  That will take a little engineering to deal with mounting brackets, the ability to replace the bulbs if needed, etc.

There's a second, matching vanity and cabinet on the same wall, so I will need to duplicate the solution there.  I also hope to avoid a "remodeling" effort, installing different fixtures in other locations.

Before inventing a new light fixture, I was hoping people here might have a better idea on how to get seriously more light in this area.


texts: How do I tell if my house is brick or brick veneer?

texts:
I live in a brick house, and am interested in understanding whether it is brick or brick veneer, as a way to understand what kind of risks it (and we) may face during an earthquake.

I hear that brick veneer is essentially a wood frame house with a brick facade and fares better in earthquakes than a pure brick home.

Our house is in the Pacific Northwest of USA, was built in the early 1930s, and is a 1½ story home. Any advice on how I would know one way or the other?

The foundation is bracketed to the wood framing that sits on top of. I assume this means it's a veneer, but would love to confirm.


texts:
Firstly, this is in France so we're talking 220V power.

I've got two new single/individual induction hobs. They're both 2100W at full blast. I'm replacing a double hob unit where one hob was 1900W and the second one was 1400W.
For one 20A fuse, there are two sockets in my kitchen. One socket has, on a power strip:

a microwave - 1400W microwave and 1300W toasting both of which I do
often, and 3100W max for oven duties which I never use.
a small convection oven (2900W), almost daily use

It's the second socket I want to put these hobs on. But I don't know what to calculate to see if everything will be fine and would love some help with the maths.

What I know for sure, usage-wise...

I've had microwave and oven at full blast and both the old 1900W hob and the 1400W hob in use and never had problems.
The only time I'll ever go up to full blast (2100W) on the new hobs is when I'm boiling water and even then it'll only be on one, never on both.
Everyday cooking will hardly ever go above halfway, power-wise, so we're talking 1100-1300W max. But using both at that strength is common for my cooking.

Am I leaving anything out for someone help me out? Am I just adding up amps and that's that? Or is it more complicated than that? I'm asking now because before the hobs were 1900W and 1400W and now they both have the potential to be stronger. So, I'm concerned. And also, I'd simply like to learn about consumption more.

Thanks!


texts: What does "instant wire" on LED tubes mean?

texts:
I'm replacing florescent tubes with Westgate T8 LED tubes (T8-EZ4-18W-40K-F), which work both with or without an existing ballast (I remove the ballast when I install them). When bypassing the ballast, you have the option of wiring just one end, or both ends (I wire just one end).

One end of each tube has this warning:

  This end is short-circuit. Don't instant wire in AC.

What does "instant wire" mean? My best guess is that it's alluding to instant-start ballasts, which usually use shunted lampholders, so is it just saying to be sure to use a non-shunted tombstone at that end when bypassing the ballast?

The diagram seems to suggest that I shouldn't use that end of the tube if I have only wired one end of the luminaire, but I don't see how that relates to the text "Don't instant wire in AC".

The package insert and the manufacturer's website don't mention anything about this.


texts: Is make-up air required if all gas appliances are direct vent?

texts:
My fireplace is direct vent, and my gas heater is not. If I replace my gas heater with a direct vent model, do I still need to supply make-up air? The only other gas-burning appliance is a gas stove, upstairs, with a circulating range hood (does not exhaust out of the home).

If I no longer need make up air, I can terminate the direct vent gas heater at the location currently being used for make up air (assuming I meet required code clearances).


texts: Is it possible to use Double pole 30amp breaker switch as a single pole 30amp breaker

texts: Can I use a double pole 30amp breaker as a 1 pole 30amp breaker? I need to wire a 30amp plug in for RV, I have an un used 2 pole breaker but need a 1 pole 30amp breaker.


texts: What are the recommended settings for a dual-zone air conditioning unit?

texts: What are the recommended settings for an air conditioning unit that is dual-zone? Meaning, if I have a house that is two stories I know that in Florida they recommend you keep it at 78 F in the summer and 69 in the winter, but the top half of the house will always get hotter (and colder in the winter). So what are the recommended settings for a house in a configuration like this that achieve the best of comfort and energy savings?


texts: I have a 240VAC garage outlet that will be turned on via a control relay.  Is it best practice to switch/relay both lines, or just one like 120V~ loads?


texts: How should I waterproof an upstairs bathroom floor?

texts:
I'm adding on a bathroom upstairs.  My question is what precautions should I take to waterproof it.  I'll have new copper, PVC drains and the floor itself I'm worried about.  It's sitting half above a bedroom and the pipes will be running around the studs.

1) Is there anything I should do to the studs/drywall underneath to minimize issues in case of a leak in the PVC/copper supply plumbing?

2) What's best to put on top of the sub floor.  I was thinking of doing one piece of laminate flooring, should I put something underneath it, are there certain products that are better?  There will be a pre-fab shower and I'd rather not do any tile in this bathroom.

3) Should this flooring run completely under the shower?  Anything special I should do while setting the toilet/sink to keep it waterproof.


texts:
I just need some opinions on this. I saw this outside my apartment (see picture attached below) and saw the pipe insulation outside my door just opposite at the neighbour's side (I just moved into new place...). I was worried that the yellow-brownish stuff around the pipe might be asbestos. What are the chances that it could have been asbestos?

Thanks a lot!


texts:
I am attempting to remodel my kitchen in a condo. In the floor plans shown below, there is a small square symbol with a diagonal line through it. Has anyone seen this and can I assume it’s load bearing?
Every unit directly below has the same symbol in the same exact spot and in that spot is a wall/pillar but from first glance you wouldn’t think it’s structural.


texts: Can I use my dual light/fan dimmer switch on a ceiling fan?

texts: I wired our bonus room to include a 14/3 wire from switch to fixture with the assumption that I could hook up an "infinite" speed control fan.  Come to find out that most if not all ceiling fans do not recommend this approach because it could burn out the motor or is otherwise a fire hazard?  I don't get this.  Our previous home had a variable speed dial to control the speed and I was hoping not to have to use those stupid remotes that run out of batteries or otherwise get lost.  Certainly I could just replace the switch with a pole one and use a remote, but I was just wondering if I should proceed with my original idea or just default to the remote option?


texts: What's this copper bit on my thermostatic shower cartridge for, and can I cut part of it off?

texts:
I ordered almost the right replacement cartridge. Right diameter, right number of teeth in the spline. Seals line up perfectly. The only issue is this copper bit sticking out the back:

That keeps the cartridge from going in all the way. Can I just… trim it? What does it do, anyway?


texts: Can I alter the 'timing' of my toilet flush?

texts:
I have a standard, normal flow toilet, with a problem. When the toilet is flushed, it seems to start refilling the bowl with water from the tank too soon, before the waste has had a chance to drain away.

The result is that the toilet paper/waste just kind of floats around and doesn't really get sucked away. Only when it's sat for a while, soaked in the water and thus got heavy enough to sink does it reluctantly flush away.

Is there anything I can adjust to fix this, or is just a poorly designed toilet/components?


texts: What is this metal bookcase component called?

texts:
I have partially assembled a tree bookcase and have discovered that I have been supplied with an incorrect part.  I was supplied with the part shown in the attached picture.  The pictured part is 76mm in length, yet the assembly requires the same but at 71mm.  I have contacted the vendor, who do not know the part's name, but assure me that I can find them in any hardware store.  No hardware store I have visited has been able to identify it, though.

Please, can somebody tell me what is the name of the part, and where can I find one that at 71mm?

Thanks.


texts: Do tool cross-manufacturer battery adapters work without damaging battery or tool?

texts:
I'm talking about something like this which allows you to use a Dewalt battery in a Makita tool.

Since this is just a question of connecting pins and so on, and no change of current or voltage is taking place, this should logically be ok as long as the battery is the same voltage as the one made by the same manufacturer as the tool, right?


texts: Multi-home Utillity Alley Potholes - fix it my self or is there someone to call?

texts:
Ive recently bought a house that has a service alley in the back leading to parking. Its a no outlet alley servicing about 4-6 houses (mostly rented) which is probably why it hasn't been properly maintained.

The potholes are on the verge of being "tub"holes if youre catching my drift.

Should i fill them with gravel for the time being or is there someone i can call to fix them?


texts: What type of paint and preparations would be appropriate for painting a mural on a rooftop?

texts:
My house has a modified bitumen membrane roof, at a very low pitch/nearly flat, which was repainted with aluminum asphalt paint a couple years ago. My friend is considering painting a mural on the roof itself (if you must know, one draft is: a giant medusa head over an ocean, with the roof ventilator as a third eye, the snake hair forming a walking meditation labyrinth, etc.) Ideally we'd like the resulting painted mural to:

be hard-wearing enough to support occasional foot traffic (we hang out on the roof sometimes)
be long lasting (This is in New York City, so we're dealing with a wide range of temperatures/weather conditions, from below freezing and mounds of snow to swelteringly hot 100% humidity torrential rain)
provide reasonably decent reflective insulation and protect the roof against UV damage as compared to the current aluminium coating (if possible - I know it won't be as good though)

I'm not sure where to begin in selecting paint for this. Acrylic paints are generally used for wall murals. I expect we might have to mix our own colors which is ok.

Also not sure what preparations would make sense apart from thoroughly cleaning the roof. Glossy aluminum paint maybe means a new coat wouldn't stick well, so we could dull it by using an abrasive cleaner.

What do you guys think?


texts: What's the easiest way to fix these deck joists?

texts:
Today I found some deck joists are either cracked or completely out of shape.  I was wondering do I have to remove all the boards to replace these joists?
There are two joists that seem to be really bad (picture 1 and 2 is for the worst one, picture 3 is 2nd worst).  There are couple other joists that are cracked like in picture 4.  I can get underneath the deck easily.
Any suggestion on what will be the easiest way to get them fixed?
I am new to deck, appreciate any help!


texts: Gas furnace air is cooler (but NOT COLD) during bitter cold days - why?

texts:
I have a Lennox central gas furnace. It is only about 3 years old, and was on the very high end of the models available in terms of energy efficiency and such. I sprung for a more expensive model firstly because I got rebates from all my energy companies, and secondly because I actually could afford and wanted to have such efficiency!

Up here in Minnesota we can have some bitterly cold days. It's not uncommon for temps to be well below 0. For example, today the ambient outdoor temperature was minus 5 degrees.

I've noticed that when it gets this cold outside, the heated air coming from the ducts is a lot cooler. It's not cold, there's still very definite warmth to it - this is not an issue with the furnace blowing air without the flame going or anything like that. However, it is certainly nowhere near as warm as it normally is.

When the temps outside are around, say, 30 degrees or even as low as the high teens, the furnace pumps out nice toasty warm air and keeps the house warm running less than 25% of the time. However, once temps drop below 0, the furnace can run 24/7 just to maintain a temperature of 66 degrees! If we get lower than say 10 or 15 below, the furnace basically loses the battle, and will run 24/7 even though the house temp will slowly, slowly, slowly creep downward. Again, the air coming out of the ducts when this happens is significantly cooler, but not cold. Luckily lately we haven't had days that cold in long stretches, but last winter there was a period of maybe a few weeks where the average temps were below 0, and I ended up turning off the water mains and temporarily living with a friend, because it was clear the furnace wasn't going to warm the house back up.

The furnace has two PVC pipes going to the outside - obviously one is an intake and one is an exhaust. The air coming from the exhaust pipe feels a lot warmer than the air coming out of the ducts - however I admit this might be deceptive since it's so bitterly cold outside that anything probably feels warm.

All of the flame systems are working fine. The sensors are good, the ignition goes off without a hitch every time, the burning flame is clearly visible through the observation port, and my gas bill shows that the gas company certainly feels that I'm using a lot of gas. LOL

Any ideas why the air coming out of the system is so much cooler when it's extremely cold outside?

Thanks!

F


texts: What is the difference between MSS SP-80 Type 1 and Type 2?

texts:
I have a bronze gate valve whose spec sheet says it conforms to MSS SP-80 Type 2.  However, the project standards specify that the gate valve must be MSS SP-80 Type 1.  What is the difference between the two types, anyway?

FYI, the spec sheet for the particular valve in question can be found here.


texts: Does the NEC regulate data cable bury depth?

texts:
Technically my jurisdiction follows the 2016 California Electric Code, but it's mostly just the 2016 NEC.

Table 300.5 lists bury depths for various areas and wiring methods. Do these apply to data cables (ex. cat. 6 or coax) or just mains wiring?


texts: We just got a new water heater installed in the basement, and the temperature in the 3rd FL shower is not hot enough for us.  However, the temperature in the sink faucet on the 1st FL is fine and gets very hot, so that makes me think that perhaps the water heater temperature is fine.  Would you suggest taking apart the shower handle, or would your first guess be something else?  Shower handle is single Kohler shower handle.


texts: What would cause the electricity to go out & then come back on without kicking a breaker

texts: I have lived in this house for 12 years without any electrical issues until now. This started a couple of days ago where the power will go out for half the house and then come back on right away or not come back on till hours later. When the lights went out I immediately checked the breakers but non of them were kicked. I did see several of the breakers that where the clasp that holds the ground wire, that the clasp was extremely rusted. I did change out several of the breakers, including the ones that were heavily rusted. But the problem persists. Since breakers were never properly identified on the door of the panel box, I and my fincee used walkie talkies and as I switched each breaker off, she would move through the house identifying which breaker that one was for. What we found was that the breakers that are affected on both sides of the box. The breakers affected are towards the bottom of the rows and the upper ones are not affected. This has not only been confusing but also very frustrating.


texts: How can I prevent rain from dripping off the roof rake edge?

texts: Recently I have noticed that about 1-2’ from where the roof would drain into the gutter, water is dripping over the edge of the house on the side. What would cause that to happen? Nowhere else around the house does it do this.


texts: I've just fitted a layer of polystyrene, wood batterns 2x2 with Rockwall infill and layer of acoustic plasterboard then plastered over. All sealed with soundproof sealant. Spoken word reduced through party wall but banging doors and wood wardrobe doors no difference. What else can I try?


texts: Why don't whole house fans vent to the outside?

texts: I've been researching fans and the ones I've found all seem to vent to the attic. Why is that? Why can't they vent directly to the outside? It seems more efficient that way. Otherwise you have to have anothe fan to vent the air in the attic.


texts: Should I remove this saddle valve, if so what is the best way to do so?

texts:
Currently this saddle valve is exposed but I would like to close this wall up.  Before I do I'd like to know if I should leave the valve as-is or if I should remove it.  If I remove it what is the best way to do so?

This used to be a valve that fed a refrigerator.  We turned this off some time ago.

Update

I wanted to give everyone an update and hopefully help others looking for assistance.  Based on the responses I received I went with a Sharkbite 1/2" coupling (not a slip coupling), and it was pretty straight forward to install.  Thanks to all for your feedback.


texts: Why does my garage door opener only click when the button is pushed?

texts:
My Quantum 3213 garage door opener only clicks when I hit the main button in the garage. The light comes on for 30 seconds or so, and then it blinks on and off.

I've checked all the safety mechanisms: the eyes are aligned, etc.

Why won't it do its thing?


texts: Loud brass valve - how to make it quieter?

texts:
I have a 0.5hp pond pump, powering my backyard water features.
My pump is actually very quiet - quieter than the natural sound of the running water, so you don't notice it.
The pump circulates 960 gallons per hour (16 gallons per minute) at a maximum pressure rating of 55psi - which is more than enough to run my two waterfalls (which dump into a shared pond).
(I also have a 1 gallon canister filter in front of the pump, so the pump gets clean water input.)
My pump has 1-inch female NPT/IPS ports, where I have screwed brass fittings.
The pump sucks water out of the pond, simple enough.
The pump sends water into a brass t-joint, splitting the water flow into two pipes, with one pipe feeding each waterfall.
The two waterfalls are at different elevations (about 24 vertical inches difference), so the lower waterfall naturally receives almost all the water flow by default, and the upper waterfall receives effectively zero pressure.
So I installed a simple brass valve into the pipe feeding the lower waterfall, which I can partially close on a permanent basis, restricting water flow to the lower waterfall, and forcing some pressure to be diverted to the upper waterfall.
By carefully adjusting this valve, I can dial-in exactly the correct balance of pressure/flow between the two waterfalls.
This is working great.
However, as the title suggests, this partially-open valve is making a LOT of noise - much louder than the pump itself, and louder than the running water, so it's impossible to ignore and very annoying.
I tried a ball-valve first which was very loud, and then I tried a gate-valve which was about 2/3 as noisy - an improvement, but not good enough.
What is the best way to make the valve quieter?

Is there a different type of valve/regulator I should use instead of simple brass valves?
Or can I wrap the valve in sound-absorbing material with adhesive? (Must be waterproof and outdoor-rated.)
Or is there something else I can do?


texts: I live in a multi unit home and we have two heat meters but only one thermostat. What is needed to get a 2nd thermostat?

texts: The basement and top two floors are on one bill and the first floor is on another bill. What is needed to get the first floor its own thermostat?


texts: RPC trips separate GFCI circuits on start up. Why?

texts: I have four 20A GFCI breakers each handling a string of outlets on each wall in my garage shop.  I also have an 100A circuit for a 20HP RPC (Rotary Phase Converter).  When I start the RPC it trips two and sometimes three of the GFCI circuit breakers. I can reset them and they are fine after that.  What's going on?


texts: I've picked a portable HVAC unit. It's a 2.6 KW 10,000 BTU model. The only way I will be able to vent it is by cutting a hole in one of the glass windows and and using the special fitting. I wanted to test the unit out in the mean time by just throwing the vent hose out of the door but of course the door is still open quite far like this. Is this not going to allow me to get an idea of how well the unit works with the door open so much or will it be drawing to much warm air in?


texts: Correct type of shower handle to use for valve that sticks out too far?

texts:
I'm attempting to install a shower handle on an unfinished build. The problem I'm facing is the handle plate does not fit over the white pipe that is sticking out of the wall. Should that white portion be sticking out past the tile?

The handle I bought fits right over the valve, but it doesn't fit over the white pipe. Did I just buy the wrong type of handle, or is there some kind of plate adapter to work around this problem?

Edit: Here's a pic of the plate over the valve. This was the reason I made the assumption that the valve stuck out too far. I like the approach of taking the pic to a plumbing store to make sure I end up with the right type of handle.


texts: How to insulate a crawl space without an access point

texts: I have a cottage that has recently been completely renovated but later learnt that the floor was not insulated because there isn't an access panel.  The cottage doesn't have a crawl space the area below the floor to ground is only 18-24 inches.  Is there a way to have closed cell spay foam applied from the exterior of the home?


texts: Identifying wires in strange configuration

texts:
US 120v system.

I’m replacing a light fixture in my living room. When i took the fixture off, the two wires broke. Therefore I can’t identify how the fixture was previously wired.

There are five wires in the ceiling box. ALL OF THEM ARE BLACK. Two of them are nutted together and are far up inside the box, and I’ve determined these are unrelated to my work, probably just a hot using the box as a junction. The other three are the confusing part.

I used a tone tracer to identify the hot wire coming from the switch. I double checked this with power on - contactless sensor senses power in the wire when the switch is on and not when it’s off. Ok, so now I know which is the hot.

Now this is the part I’m confused about. First I need to add that I have a switched floor outlet in the living room. Since I pulled the fixture out and all the wires came loose, this outlet is dead even if the switch is on. Contactless sensor DOES detect voltage at the switch AND at the outlet even if the switch is off. (Sensing at the outlet is irrelevant though since it’s a split outlet and thus I’m just sensing the always on socket.)

There are two more wires in the ceiling box. One has no voltage sensed at all in any configuration, so I’m reasonably sure this is the neutral. But the other wire always has voltage on it, EVEN if the wall switch for the floor outlet is off and the switch for the ceiling light is off. Nothing in the ceiling box changes when I flip the floor outlet switch, but devices on the floor outlet do not work.

I obviously know that the hot of my new fixture goes to the hot I found coming from the ceiling light switch. What I’m not sure of is what to do with the other two wires + the fixture neutral. My hypotheses for what’s going on are:

The second live wire is actually the neutral for the extra floor outlet and it should be tied to the wire with nothing sensed by the contactless tester. However this is concerning because this wire reads live EVEM when the wall switch is off.
The second live is a hot that is meant to lead to the switch for the floor outlets. Also doesn’t make sense since the switch always has voltage even with that wire disconnected in the box I’m working in.
The wire with no volts is actually the hot for the floor outlet and thus it reads no volts. Also unlikely because of #2.
Voltage testers can sense voltage on isolated neutral wires and perhaps #3 is indeed the case. But in this scenario, shouldn’t the switch be turning another wire on and off? This leads me to believe #1 is the most likely.

What would be the next things to test to verify my hypotheses?

I fully intend to mark the wires! The previous homeowner was a DIYer who clearly cut corners and did shoddy work.


texts: Can two circuits with dual function breakers share a box?

texts:
Corded Dishwasher and Disposal each have own 20a circuit with dual-function breakers; however, they each go to a single receptacle that share the same 2-gang box.

Am I correct that splicing the grounds together - as one would normally do when sharing a box - would render the GFI of the dual-function breaker useless? Would the only way to appropriately resolve this be to utilize two separate single-gang boxes? Are there any exceptions to having two different circuits sharing a box yet not sharing ground?


texts: Basement bathroom PEX branching to fixtures

texts:
We're plumbing our new basement bathroom. The nearest fixture from the main hot/cold water line will be the vanity sink.
Can I run from the main line to the vanity sink (one faucet), and then branch to toilet and shower (no tub)? All with 1/2" PEX.
Distances:
Main line to sink = 15'
Sink to toilet = 5'
Sink to shower = 6'
Thank you.


texts:
I recently bought a pair of knee pads that I thought would be useful for those tasks where I'm often on my knees. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that they don't offer a stable surface for kneeling on, but weeble wobble like crazy.

Turns out that these knee pads are designed like this, I guess they're called "rocker" knee pads - but I can't find any information about why you would want kneepads that aren't useful for kneeling on?


texts: Heating basement floor with water heater

texts: Can I simply add a loop of pex from my water heater, under my flooring, and back into itself? Would I need some sort of pump?  I haven't laid the tile yet and water heater is right on the outside wall of the bathroom I'm building. Would I need to put this between the backer and the tile?


texts:
I was checking out the outlets in my house, that's when I discovered 1 outlet didn't have an ground wire attached to it. I looked inside the plastic junction box, I could see 2 ground wires twisted together then looped around the screw at the back of the box. Does it mean the outlet is already grounded?

If it's not grounded, can I just attach a copper wire to the ground terminal on the outlet and twist it around the ground wires?

Also, the previous owner attached a cable on the opposite wall of this outlet, but it only has 2 wires: Hot and Neutral

I'm going to install an additional outlet there, I already purchased a metal outlet box. Since there is no ground wire, will the outlet be grounded if I just attach a copper wire to the ground terminal and loop it around the screw on the metal box?


texts: How to fill in bonding at the bottom of a wall before skimming?

texts:
I'm skimming some old plaster walls and in the process found that the original bonding stops too far up the wall for the new (shorter) skirting board. Also it's coming away a little so I've gone back to the brick a bit further up in places too.
Photo shows some of the state of it, Ignore the radiator.
I'm not keen to chip off and redo the entire wall  so I plan to fill in new bonding at the bottom before skimming the whole lot.
My question   specifically is:
Should  I add bonding flush with the old surface
or
Should I   add a layer of finishing/patching plaster on top of that to match the old top coat, then skim the lot?
All tips appreciated for this kind of job.


texts: Gas Fireplace Turns off after heating up

texts:
I have a propane ventless gas log. It's a Rasmussen Chillbuster C1B. It has worked fine for 15 years.

Now when I turn it on it burns for about 15 minutes and then cuts off. The pilot is still light and there is no smell of gas.

Anyone know what I should be checking?


texts:
I ripped out carpet for my stairs and there's 2X6 spruce wood underneath.

It's in pretty rough shape. Had lots of staples. Some paint. Some spilt varnish.

My question is are these stairs salvageable, I would like to stain these stairs but they aren't oak. Wondering what I should do.


texts: Properly waterproofing a shower area sharing a living room wall

texts:
My parents (live in Belgium) have a shower that has ceramic tile mounted directly on the plaster wall over cement blocks, beforehand the tile installer painted the wall with what was supposed to be a "waterproof barrier." Since then, a few years has passed by and water has obviously penetrated this "paint" and moved to the other side of the wall e.g. the living room wall.

I'm fairly certain the whole shower area tiles have to be redone, and redone correctly. In the US they use this "cement backer-board" and vapor barriers to form a membrane. I would just like to get an idea for what a proper installation should look like. Vapor barrier, backer-board, tile?

Secondly, since this isn't a drywall/wood wall, the backer-board would protrude the tiles off the wall about 1/2 an inch, this is easily fixed at the top where there is a tile moulding but was wondering if there were any other elegant solutions?

Thirdly, wouldn't the backer-board cause something similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tl1-4FaxUU @ 32:32 with the backerboard and the plaster?

Side note: there are no leaks, and the pipes are not in the effected wall.


texts: Bathroom Vent - exhausts into attic insulation - what to do today?

texts:
So my wife called my attention the fact that the kids bathroom has some grunge on the ceiling and tends to have lots of water drops when in use.

First issue - at some point the vent motor was replaced with one that is too small for the housing, they had some foil tape on there to try to seal it...

Today, I got up into the attic and it turns out that the fan isn't vented anywhere...it's just buried under the insulation.

And the fan in our bathroom is the same

Surprisingly, I didn't see any mold/mildew in the insulation...perhaps because we live in Salt Lake City, Utah...things don't stay wet around here.

Long term, I'll see about finding somebody to put in some actual venting through the roof.  Although, the one bath will be tough, as the fan is close to the wall.

I'd prefer to go out the wall, but there's no exterior wall above the bathroom ceiling...just the soffit.

As an alternative to the roof, I could go out the gable end, but that's 20ft or so..

So my question, what should I do today?  Should I just put every back?  Or is there anything I can do today that would help and not hurt?


texts: What type of refrigeration is recommend in a cabin with sub-freezing temperatures?

texts:
In the winter the indoor temperatures in our cabin often reach as low as 10° F (-12° C). We had an old refrigerator that worked just fine in these circumstances, but when we purchased a new refrigerator it failed even after multiple repairs. Upon reading the manual I discovered that it is only designed for operation in temperatures above 55° F (13° C).

Now we need to find a working refrigerator before winter. Preferably we would like one that maintains the correct temperature in the presence of extreme cold. Barring that, we would take something that just doesn't break when it gets too cold.

RepairClinic, among others, seems to indicate that refrigerators just won't work at this temperature because of premature compressor failure:

  ...if you live in a region in which the temperatures drop below 50
  degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), this is not a good idea. Such
  temperatures could cause the oil in the compressor to thicken, leading
  to premature compressor failure or other issues. Also,
  refrigerator/freezer units often won’t keep food frozen when the
  temperature of the garage drops below 35 degrees Fahrenheit

Anecdotal experience seems to contradict this, saying that it will work in the winter:

  Unless you live someplace REALLY cold (and by REALLY cold, I mean
  close to the arctic circle cold, not "it sometimes snows here in
  february" cold), a fridge in an unheated garage is fine. Really. Me
  and everyone I know has a fridge in our garages, and nobody I know has
  every had a problem with things freezing.

The refrigerator before our most recently broken one worked just fine for several years, so that one is a point in favor of "they will just work." Meaning, the fridge didn't completely fail - even if it didn't maintain the right temperatures during the winter.

I have only been able to find one refrigerator that advertises the ability to work in cold temperatures: The Gladiator. My only concern is it appears 3 inches too tall for our cabin.

It seems that as long as the refrigerator won't fail, this device can solve the problem of the freezer not working in the 32-50° F range. But how can I make sure the refrigerator doesn't fail?

Has anybody else had to deal with this problem?


texts: How to install a flush mount LED light over an old square recessed box?

texts:
My question is similar to an old question posted by someone else 3 yrs ago but hasn't been active for 2 yrs (see link). My house was built in the 1963, so I have two old 9 sq inch ceiling lights with a recessed box measuring 8 sq in, inside is a 6 sq in housing. I would like to install an LED Flushmount light (see links to options considering) over it using a light bulb socket pigtail, but I can't find a mounting plate or crossbar large enough to cover the hole. Any ideas would help.
Thank you!

Old Question posted by Chester

Commercial Electric LED Flat panel option

Altair LED Flushmount option


texts: Does code allow daisy-chaining these surface outdoor lights?

texts: The two lights shown in the photo were fed from a junction box that was destroyed when a truck backed into it.  I'm thinking of running new conduit above vehicle level, and the most straightforward way would be if I could daisy-chain the lights, i.e. have power enter from a conduit to the right of the right-hand light, use that light as a junction box, with another conduit coming out the left side to feed the other light.  My question is: is there any restriction in code against using the light fixture as a junction box this way?  Thanks!


texts: Dimmer burned and the breaker tripping on an existing LED circuit

texts:
Let me try to explain this the best I can:

I have a single recessed LED circuit that has 13 lights on two dimmers, 9 on one and 4 on another, covering kitchen and dinning, respectively, on a 15 amp breaker. It was working no issues for about 8  years
I also have two other led circuits with each having 6 lights on dimmers, one in living and other in family rooms.
I found the plastic sleeve into the panel, that hold the wires, for the liv/fam rooms were lose. So I opened the panel and discovered that the circuits are connected to the same 15A breaker (two circuits one breaker).
So I fixed the issue by adding another 15 A breaker, resulting in three circuits (kitchen+dinning, living and family) for three breakers (all 15A).
When I was doing above I had to pull the wires from all three breakers out and rearrange them, since they are badly tangled.
When I turned on the Kit/Din breaker, I heard a loud pop and the the dinning room LED lights (second dimmer in the circuit) would not come on, but kitchen LEDs came on when dimmers are operated. The breaker did NOT trip.
I checked the dimmer for dinning and it was burned at where load side wiring is. Tried again with a new dimmer and same results. Btw, I really took care to follow the wiring diagram and the old wiring (took a pic)
I removed the dimmer and circuit for dinning and turned on the breaker. Now the breaker tripped and would not stay on.
I checked the wiring that I could see in the panel and behind the boxes of dimmers and all seemed to be fine.
Unable to find the issue so shut the circuit (kitchen/dinette) off, at the panel.
I took care to do the wiring correct from dimmer to line/load/neutral/ground. The panel connection have been checked many times and all good. The panel is old Federal Pioneer. The breakers are existing ones that was working fine. I even changed the breakers that I knew for sure worked fine.


texts: Why cordless hammer drill possess such few markets in Europe?What's the difference between hammer drill and impact drill?

texts: Recently, I found in a GfK data report that cordless hammer drills have very little market share in Europe. But to my opinion, we use it very often when doing home improvement or building something. What on earth is the reason? Very confusing.


texts: I have a 110v outlet with a dedicated 20 amp breaker. My question is can I remove outlet and run the same 12/2 wire to the outside wall about 4 feet away from outlet and turn it into a disconnect box for a mini split 115v?


texts: What should I do after a low-voltage wire was cut putting the furnace door back on?

texts:
I have the basic Honeywell thermostat that a lot of people have. All the thermostat wires go to the blower in the attic (for the central air). They are spliced with wires that then go to the furnace.

Everything going was fine until Saturday, when the AC wouldn't work. That's a different issue. While looking in the furnace, and replacing the door, the white wire was cut by the metal door. I bypassed that cut by splicing the wires, but the furnace still won't kick on.

What should I do to troubleshoot and repair it?


texts: Is there a way to remove the top of this barrel?

texts:
Will the top of this barrel come off in such a way as to be usable as a lid? It seems to be melted/glued on to be an integral part of the barrel, so I'm guessing the only option is to saw it off.

EDIT:

SolarMike's idea of using a broomstick is excellent, and that worked to place my fitting. However, because I had drilled the hole through the bottom where the thickness of the plastic has significant variations, it wouldn't seal. I even bought a Uniseal, which seems to be a fine product, but it still didn't seal.

I pondered how to put the fitting in a hole drilled on the side of the barrel, hoping the plastic would be more even there, and considered how to plug the hole on the bottom.

Then an idea dawned on me which seems obvious in retrospect: flip the barrel, drill a hole in one of the caps that's already fitted and threaded. A little pipe joint compound was all that was needed on the threads, and a gasket around the fitting.


texts:
I'm going to make a slide-out trolley/shelving unit to go under my stairs. This will be made to fit fairly snugly into the area to maximise usable storage space (I'm planning to make it 1-2 cm narrower/shorter than the space). This will have castors on the bottom so it can be pulled out and pushed back in.

Would I be best off using fixed castors, or swivel ones? Swivel ones would potentially handle misalignment better, whereas fixed ones would not suffer from any "wobble" when they turn around.

Here are some pictures of what I am planning: