texts: Upstairs/downstairs cooling- leave it on or off?

texts:
It's 100+ here in Texas.  My house has separate air conditioners for upstairs and downstairs.  We rarely go upstairs, but I'm told that we have to account for air flow "chimney effect" up the stairway (which is not blocked off). Convection effect draws air continually up the stairway. Setting the upstairs thermostat more than 2 degrees above the downstairs thermostat means that the downstairs unit works twice as hard because it is trying to cool both spaces.  Does this really happen?

Also, I'm told that I should not block off the stairway - which I could do - because it will create an "attic effect", causing the upstairs to smell bad.  Can I set the downstairs to 78 and upstairs to 84?  Would it make a difference in my energy bill?
-  Mac


texts: One of the bedrooms in my house has a problem heat in the summer and cold in the winter. It being summer here, it's immediately warmer in the room as soon as you step in from the hallway. The problems has gotten worse with time over the last several years. We've sent people up to check out the AC unit and make sure we're not just venting cold air into the attic, but every one we've sent up has said it's not related to the AC. We then had more insulation blown into the attic, with extra being placed in the back where the bedroom is. Our next step is opening the walls and replacing the insulation there, as the bedroom has three exterior walls. Does anyone have an idea if it could be anything else?


texts: How to go about staircase drawers and drawers below stairs

texts:
I would like to utilize empty space in my house and there are two areas I would like to add extra drawers for my family.

First area would be the actual staircase.  It would be optimal to cut out a hole in the step and add a drawer but the execution is complicated.  The finish result

I would imagine a possible soft pulling cloth on the top or bottom of both sides to pull open so it wont hurt or cause you to fall when you walk up the stairs.

Another area I would like to use space is below the actual steps such as this:

Now for my questions.

How can I structurally and efficiently execute this improvement in the steps?
Should I reinforce the steps to accommodate for the weight of the drawer, contents, and slider?
I debated to save time and hassle to go to Lowes/Home Depot and buy unfinished kitchen drawers and remove the drawers with the hardware and create a template for the opening.  Would that be a good idea?

I have searched for many tutorials and DIY projects but nothing that discusses structure, orweight popup. I have debated buying unfinished kitchen cabinets and muddying them in.  Any advise or guidance would be great.  I mentioned both the steps and underneath because I thought the focused on both areas which may result in similar answers.

EDIT: another design suggested in the comments:


texts: Unfinished basement is open to vented crawlspace, what should we do to finish?

texts:
We're looking at the potential to finish our basement out, but I'm not sure what all needs to be done with our setup first. Basically, we have a basement under half of our house, the other half is a dirt crawl space that has two little vents, one on either side. Between the two zones is a solid poured wall. The floor joists span across and so in between each is a slot between the two.

The house is old and so more recently they added/updated the HVAC. This included a new heat pump outside, furnace/air handler/fan inside and ducts ran throughout the exposed basement ceiling to new registers in the floor above. So as to add registers to the back of the house, above the crawl space section, they busted out a rectangular hole into the wall between the crawl space and basement and ran a duct branch that way. I've included an ms paint floor plan and side view to get an idea of what I mean.

(Blue lines in basement section are windows, orange in crawl space are vents)

My question is, what needs to be done to finish and insulate this space? Should the crawl space be sealed off completely from the basement section? Including the hole surrounding that main duct and the gaps between the floor joists above?

Although there are downwards facing registers in the basement ceiling as well, I leave them shut off because it would seem pointless to try and heat/cool the space if it just flows out the crawlspace?


texts: Preventing delivery theft at condominium building

texts:
Over the last few weeks, numerous residents have had packages stolen from our unit. Last night, I went down to the entrance to find that my package had been ripped open. They left the box, but took the items inside which had a value of around $1,000. My roommate had a package stolen today.

The company which runs the homeowners' association responded with details of last nights' incident from security footage, and a generic response about improving the situation:

  A homeless person entered the property behind a vehicle, and stole packages & broke into the janitorial closet as stole supplies.

  Our team will investigating how to prevent people from breaking-in.

What can I do about this situation? I have previously lived in apartments with lockers for items delivered, though unsure about how I can get this installed to our building. I have read that HOA companies are notorious for being difficult to work with.


texts: Do i need to mud the top of horizontally mounted drywall if i am hiding the seam with quarterround?

texts:
I am doing a bedroom with horizontally hung drywall. The ceiling in the bedroom is already drywall with popcorn on it. The existing wall is just wood panel with nothing behind it.
Am hoping to hide ceiling and floor lines with trim. If I hide the top edge with quarter round trim, do i need to mud the top or bottom due to the bevel edge?


texts: All, I replaced my doorbell transformer and got 22V (which was odd since it is supposedly a 16V transformer) with no wires connected to the transformer.  As soon as I connect the wires to the transfomer that run to the chime the voltage drops to 2V or so. What would that indicate?


texts: Pitting / bleach staining on bathroom taps

texts:
Trying to get an old bathroom looking much nicer, and our bath mixer tap has been quite badly stained / tarnished, I believe someone put bleach on it at one point and obviously it's had quite an impact.

I've had a look at a few cleaning products but nothing seems to have worked – is there anything anyone can suggest to get these taps sparkling again?


texts: Removing or replacing a post supporting a bolted joint in a long glue lam beam

texts:
We bought a home to remodel - and taking down a wall we found that our gluelam beam is actually two different beams, held together with some steel and bolts, and supported by a 4x6 vertical timber. We don't think this was a part of the original design - but don't hate it enough to pay for engineering to replace the beam with one single piece...

So... any ideas on what we could do? Steel post of much smaller dimension?

Any creative ideas are appreciated!


texts: Water leaking though ceiling under bathroom

texts:
When I run a bath or a shower I have a slow leak that comes through my ceiling from the 2nd floor down to the first floor.

The leak does not happen when the toilet is flushed.

The leak does not happen when the bathroom sink is used.

I filled the tub up with water and plugged the drain to confirm that the leak is not coming from the drain.  The leak only occurs when the bathtub shower or tub faucet is running.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?


texts: Dryer Fittings, Was NG, now LP, but Fitting on Back is Smaller than LP Flexpipe

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I'm trying to find the right conversion for this last part. I've already converted the dryer internally, but on the back on the dryer is a male threading that measures 1/2inch across
And the flexpipe that I have says 3/8 nut  The nut is much bigger than the male part on the dryer. What part on Amazon or Home Depot would help me couple these? I'm not looking to buy a $30 new flexpipe if a coupler will suffice, unless you all think its unsafe. I have proper gas taping waiting for me.
So far my noob self is looking at this amazon part wondering if its what I need, but i clearly need some help as I do not know. https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Fitting-Reducer-Adapter-Female/dp/B07XDNK93G/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=3%2F8+male+to+1%2F4+female+adapter&qid=1606450984&sr=8-10


texts: Is super insulating exterior walls with rigid foam board insulation possible?

texts:
2" rigid foam-board insulation can have an R-value of up to R-10, layering 4 boards would create a R-40 value, right? However that creates an 8" foam wall above the actual wall. What would be a recommended way to attach all the boards to the exterior wall? Also how would you attach the  finishing wall surface to the foam?

Reason to use rigid foam board insulation, is that its cheap?

Cost to insulate 16 Square feet to an R-40 value, $70 USD  for rigid foam, $238 (not including installation) for closed cell spray foam.

I am thinking plywood base, vapor barrier, foam board base, screwed and glued down to base. Then can I glue??? the remaining insulation foam boards in place on top of one another?  Then lastly how about attaching the exterior weathering wall, maybe something like exterior cement fiberboard? Can that be glued to the insulation foam-board.

Products in mind are:

FOAMULAR® 250 rigid XPS foam insulation for exterior walls
Natura Pro exterior fiber cement panel

Note: Spray foam insulation cost can be estimated here


texts: What is involved in sizing and designing ducts and ductwork?

texts:
I have a one-story house, and it looks like it would be easy to run new ducts myself in the attic. What should I know before trying to design a duct system myself?

I have seen ductwork that's metal rectangular with a main supply trunk that has branches coming off, I've seen it made from ductboard, I've seen pre-insulated circular ducts routed all over the place with plenum connections, etc. Which of these should be considered for a house such as mine?


texts: Water hammer arrestor location (vertical vs horizontal)

texts:
I installed water hammer arrestors at the exact location where I had "old school" air chambers, right behind my bath tub faucet. After doing the job, I realized that the water coming from below is coming directly to the hammer arrestors (see picture). After some googling, I noticed that most water hammer arrestor are installed using a T and are somehow connected horizontally on the problematic water line.

I would like some kind of confirmation if the location of my arrestors is correct or not. If not, Feel free to advice how I should update the layout of my lines.


texts: Do stair stringers need to be supported along their length?

texts:
I want to open a space that's closed off under my stairs. There is framing under one stringer to support existing drywall, and possibly the stairs. (The other stringer in attached to a wall)

Safe to remove the framing and have the stairs supported by a stringer?


texts: How do I properly wire GFCI outlets in parallel?

texts:
I have two countertop outlets in my kitchen that I am in the process of replacing with new, GFCI-protected outlets. These two outlets are on a circuit together, and they are the only loads on that circuit. After wiring the new outlets up and testing them, I noticed an odd behavior. When tripping the "upstream" outlet, the "downstream" outlet does not receive any power. I assume this is because they are wired in series.

Is it possible to wire these two outlets in parallel so that when the "upstream" outlet trips, it won't cut off power to the "downstream" outlet?
Would this a wise thing to do?
Would it be up to code?
If so, how do I do it?

Edit: I realize now that I have confused series and parallel with inline and not inline. Thank you all for clearing that up and for such great answers!


texts: How to wire a ceiling fan with a red, black, white, ground in ceiling box?

texts:
I need help wiring a ceiling fan with a red, black, white, ground in ceiling box to a remote receiver with black and white to a black, white, and blue to fan with black, white, blue, ground.

Single wall switch with black and red connected at the moment.

I cannot get the wall switch to control any part of the fan or light functions. Remote does everything.


texts:
I have an acrylic (maybe fiberglass) shower/tub enclosure.  It leaks when the shower is in use, causing a stain to appear on the ceiling of the room below. The most likely culprit appears to be that there is a gap where the tub faucet comes out from the wall, maybe 1/4'' (the faucet is not flush with the enclosure buy that amount).

Is this likely to be the cause of the problem?  If so, how could it best be repaired?   I am inclined to try silicone caulk but the gap is fairly wide and I worry that it may look bad.

Edit: yes, by "tub faucet" I mean the pipe that the water comes out of when you're filling the tub.


texts: What wire gauge should I use with a 30 amp breaker for a 220V welder?

texts:
I am installing an outlet in my garage for a 220v mig welder. The welder specs call for 30A breaker.

The outlet for the welder is only 2 feet from the garage sub panel. The wiring refernece charts I've seen say I can use 12 gauge copper wire for this short of a distance. Does this make sense? I would have expected it to say that 10 gauge copper wire was the smallest acceptable wire to use.

The reason I'm even asking is that I am also wiring the garage for an air compressor and an air conditioner. Both will be on their own 220V 20A breakers. They will be located about 30 wire feet (one way) from the sub panel. This will require enough wire that it makes financial sense to buy the smallest gauge that will work safely and meet code.

Accourding to this link http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm I could even use 14 gauge copper wire.

Realistically, what wire gauge copper wire should I install in my garage for these tools?


texts:
Hoping to get some help understanding this sauna heater wiring diagram.  Pics at bottom.

Disclaimer that I have an electrician friend "helping" (not for free though!) me on the weekends so I can't go too far wrong, but I am doing the runs and prep work to help the project go faster -- and also just have an inquisitive mind toward learning and understanding all of this.  That is just to say, don't be afraid to answer for educational purposes.

The unit consists of a wall-mounted controller (outside of sauna) and the heater itself + temperature sensor, inside the sauna.

The controller is supplied with 240v and contains the relay and PCB/controls to turn on the unit.  Upon turning on the unit, obviously the heater is energized.

It's a 9KW heater.  I have 6/3 with ground on a 50 amp breaker running to the sauna location.

It also has an option to power a 120v light (inside the sauna) from the controller, which I will not be taking advantage of.

My questions:

Will I be using the neutral from the 220 run at all? (remember I am not going to use the 120v light option)
I am generally confused about the jumpers on NN / LL for the power input, but only on NN for the output to the heater.

Generally, looking for confirmation on what goes where :)  Would appreciate if you could help demystify for me!

Pics:

EDIT:

Here are all 3 wiring diagrams supplied in the manual. I assumed the top one was relevant for me but perhaps not.


texts: Can I control a 1500-watt electric wall heater with a motion-sensing switch?

texts:
I want to buy a 1500-watt electric wall heater with a built-in fan to supplement heat in a basement room. I want to wire it to an occupancy-sensor wall switch that I can turn off entirely in the summer or leave set to "auto" in the winter.

My concern is that I can't find a motion-sensor switch that advertises capability to handle 1500 watts.

Both 120 and 240-volt models of the heater are available.

How can I make this work?


texts: How can I bring more light into this shower?

texts:
Consider this shower alcove:

The curtain is partially-transparent. It can't be made much more transparent for privacy reasons; so, it blocks a lot of the light. Also, hanging a towel on that rail further reduces light flow. Thus even despite the light fixture being installed right in front of the shower - it is kind of dark in there.

My question: How is it possible to flood the shower stall with more light?

Notes:

The light fixture's wattage cannot simply be strengthened further, as it is already rather strong and on a very low ceiling (204 cm).
I am intuitively ruling out any electricity going into the actual shower (The light fixture is IP54 in case you were wondering).
I was thinking about using some sort of mirror configuration; perhaps a right-angle-triangle-paralleloid  along the inner-top edge?
Ceiling height is 204cm off the floor, minus a few cm if it's off the raised basin.


texts: Diagnosing connected circuits; dangerous?

texts:
We fairly recently bought a c. 1907 house with a mess of wiring, some probably dating back to the 1940s. (In Canada, so 120 V.) Most of the circuits have no ground wire. I was trying to install a GFCI outlet in place of a junction box near the panel in the basement on circuit 1 to install three-prong outlets in a few rooms. I opened the breaker on circuit 1; that stopped power coming in from the line cable (towards the service panel). However, there was power coming in from the load side (120 V on my multimeter).
I found that opening the breaker on another circuit, circuit 2, shut off the power from the load side on circuit 1. I assume this means that circuits 1 and 2 connect somewhere downstream. With both circuits off, I installed the GFCI outlet near the panel on circuit 1, but it wouldn't reset; presumably this is because there's an alternate path in the circuit through circuit 2, and the GFCI is correctly recognizing that it's not protecting anything.
My instinct is to give up on protecting the whole circuit and just install GFCI outlets at the receptacles where I want 3 prongs instead of having one GFCI protecting the whole circuit; an extra few bucks per receptacle, but I can do that myself for less than the call-out charge, whereas sorting out the connected circuits would involve calling an electrician.
My question: is this a dangerous situation that I should call in an electrician to carefully trace and fix (which may well involve tearing out some walls which may have lead paint, etc), or is the apparent connection between circuits 1 and 2 probably safe (as long as I open both breakers whenever working on either circuit!)?
Circuits 1 and 2 are each 15 amp circuits; each powers lights and plugs in several different rooms scattered fairly randomly around the house. I assume we can't exceed 15 amps between the two circuits, which shouldn't be a problem.
Edit
This is answered below; it's a multi-wire branch circuit. But for completeness, editing with images as requested.
Here are the breakers, with the ones for circuits 1 and 2 (as described above) labeled. I don't have photos with the cover off and don't think I need to take it off to answer this question.

Here is the junction box, returned to how it was when I found it. The neutral and black hot wires are pigtailed with three cables: one to the junction box, one to the rest of the circuit, and one to the doorbell. I removed the doorbell from the circuit altogether when wiring the GFCI. The red hot wire is the two pigtails connected together; I hadn't appreciated that the red hot wire is on a different breaker, and this makes obvious sense given that. The junction box is grounded; there is no ground wire coming out of the junction box.

Here is the service panel and junction box, with the cable going to the junction marked in red.


texts: Is it safe to pull a continuous 18 amps from a 15 amp outlet?

texts:
I have a heater that draws a continuous 18 amps and has a 20 amp plug. I created an extension cord to plug into the wall, however on one end it's a 20 amp receptacle - heater plugged into extension cord - and the other end of the cord is a normal 15 amp plug, plugged into a 15 amp receptacle in the wall. The extension cord is 12 gauge.

I used a kill-a-watt to measure the draw at the wall (the 15 amp outlet) and it's drawing 18 amps.

Is this ok for long term use? i.e. plugged in 8 hours a day straight.

UPDATE: In my haste to get this posted as I worried about the setup, I mis-spoke and need to make a correction - The outlet itself is a 20 amp outlet in the wall, BUT the make plug on the end of the extension cord is a 15 amp plug (was the only part I had at the time). Does this still pose a large risk? Here's the picture:

Update: It's no longer plugged in at the top where it was for several years. Image of extension box:

Here's a photo of the plug that goes to the heater:


texts:
I have been trying the change the screws connecting the toilet tank, i managed to remove the tank but the nut it completely rusted and became one with the screw.

I tried holding the screw in place and rotating the nut to no luck. next i used WD-40 (sprayed it and left it for an hour then sprayed it again and left it for another hour with no luck).

I don't have access to a drill to drill out the screw top also i don't know if it may damage the porcelain which is the same reason i can't use a blow torch.

Is there a way to remove this without cutting it off ?

Update: I actually cannot drill the head off as to avoid any damage to the porcelain.

Update 2: Here are some images from the top-bottom view (sorry about things being dirty):


texts: Can I put the junction box for an exterior wall fixture inside my garage?

texts:
I have an exterior, wall-mounted light fixture that I want to attach to my new garage. It looks like this:

Here's a PVC board the contractor left to mount it. There appears to be OSB sheathing board behind the PVC, then the house-wrap, then the OSB sheathing that's nailed to the garage studs. The whole thing is about 2 inches deep. There is no hollow in it. I know this because I drilled a hole through the center of it. You can see the hole in the picture.

This is what it looks like on the inside of the garage. In the center of the photo, you can see the same hole.

My light needs a junction box behind it to connect the wires to NM cable inside the garage. Since the mounting block is solid, I can imagine routing (not cutting) an octagon into it to insert a very shallow junction box, or I can imagine cutting an octagon all the way through the wall to insert a deeper junction box.

What I want to do instead is just to mount a junction box inside the garage, and pull the wires from the fixture through the hole in the wall. My connections would all be inside the garage and I'd avoid a big hole.

Is this allowed? If there is a problem with pulling those little unshielded wires through an exterior wall, could I get around it by inserting a 2" length of PVC or metal conduit through the wall?


texts: How do I install an exterior soffit vent?

texts:
How is this old vent in picture "A" attached?  I will have to punch that out with a hammer.

How will I attached the new vent if the flange is laying up and inside?

Can I attach the new soffit vent like shown in picture "B"?


texts: Storage of portable (but bulky) power tools

texts:
So in the course of this renno, I've acquired a few larger/more bulky power tools (portable table saw, compound sliding miter/stand, 13" planer, etc..). Currently I am using the soon-to-be kitchen pantry for storing them.  When the pantry is being finished in a few weeks, the tools need to find a new home.  My options are:

Basement utility room.  Small room that houses the water pressure tank, water heater and furnace.  Has drains in the floor, but can get a tad bit damp.  I'd put in some hooks/shelves to keep the tools off the floor.  However, storing the tools here would make this room VERY cramped, and make accessing the utilities in there, a bit of a hassle.
Detached Garage.  Very large garage, tons of room, nice and dry.  The downside- it is unheated, and I am in Minnesota, so it will get quite cold in the winter.

Thoughts on the best route to go?  Will extreme cold damage the tools?  If so, they'll stay indoors, and I'll deal with the inconvenience in the utility room.  If not, the garage seems like an ideal place to store them.


texts: Tiling Sequence: Ceiling, Walls, Floor - Where to Start?

texts:
So, I'm ready to tile ceiling, wall, and floor of same bathroom. What's the optimal sequence?
Ceiling first, walls first, floor first, or it depends?


texts: Unclogging bathtub with an external tower drain

texts: I have a clog in my bathtub. There is no visible overflow and it has an external tower drain. When I try to snake through the tub drain the snake comes up the external tower. Do I need to remove the tower and snake through it? If so, how? I've snaked and succeeded unclogging drains but this is the first time encountering an external tower drain.


texts:
I had access to a ladder the other day, so naturally I was poking around in the attic of our house where we have lived for about a year. Above the closet where the furnace and water heater are located, I found there was a metal flue that didn't extend all the way through the roof, it just stops in the attic. Is this normal? There was a flue right next to it that did extend through the roof. The house was built in 1999 and we haven't had any problems since living here. I looked in the furnace room closet and couldn't see anything that might be connected to it. The building inspector didn't mention anything about it when we bought the house. Here's some photos:

So, what do you think? Will our house burn down, or will we die of carbon monoxide poisoning?


texts: What does it mean when one wire goes into load, and one goes into line

texts:
I am replacing my kitchen outlets with GFCI.  The inspector told me I just needed to install one at the first outlet in the circuit.  I looked at the outlets on either side of my kitchen; at one end both black and white were connected to the LOAD nodes (and no wires connected to LINE), and the outlet at the other end of the kitchen had one wire connected to LINE, and one connected to LOAD, but neither LINE nor LOAD had both a black and white connected.

What does this mean?  Which side is the first in the circuit?  Was this even wired properly?  How should I connect my new outlets?


texts: Can I replace a 15A breaker with a 20A breaker?

texts: My new pool pump specs are for  20 Amp circuit on 12 gauge wire. My old pump was on a 15 Amp circuit. I was connected to a 15 Amp GFCI outlet with 12 gauge wire. The pump was 13 years old and we had issues with the electrical motor and shorted wiring. As the new pump calls for 20A, can I just swap out the 15A breaker in my sub-panel for a 20A breaker and change to a 20A GFCI?


texts: Hot water trickles, but cold water fine from same inlet on faucet

texts:
This one is baffling me so I'll try to describe it clearly. We have a single-spout, single-handle kitchen faucet.

The hot water pressure is just north of a trickle, but only just. The cold water pressure is fine. The faucet itself is tough to disassemble, so to test, I swapped the inlet hoses from hot on the left to hot on the right, same with cold. In this opposite configuration, the water pressures ON BOTH sides are strong and fine. Water gets hot quickly as expected.

Swapping back to the appropriate configuration of hot on the left cold on the right results in hot water trickling while cold water is strong.

What can be wrong or what can I test?


texts:
Power source is supplied by 12/2 romex to switch.
Feed from switch to duplex outlet is supplied by 12/2 romex.
Is it possible to provide continuous power to one of the outlets while the other outlet remains switched?


texts: How do I replace the stem of an outdoor frost-free faucet?

texts:
I'm replacing the faucet handle (below). But  I can't figure out how to remove the stem  (in photo above the red outlined area). So I'm thinking I need to remove the stem as well. But I can't see inside to see how to do that.

This other answer explains what the stem is, but not how it connects to the water source, or how to remove/replace it.

I'm also a little worried that if I get it disconnected I won't be able to reconnect it. (Right now the faucet works, it's just hard to close. If I break the stem, I'll have to leave the water off til a plumber visits!)

Photo taken from above. The water source is at top of photo (wall). Faucet handle is at bottom of photo.


texts: Switching to an AFCI breaker, but builder had used a 3 wire/2 breaker setup

texts: I am looking to bring my finished attic to code and I am told I need to replace my existing 2 15A single pole breakers with 2 AFCI breakers. Builder used 12/3 wire for 2 circuits, one going to HVAC and the other going to receptacles. Black hot wire to one breaker and Red hot to the other and the White Neutral to the. How do I do this with AFCI breakers if each need a neutral?


texts: Can I use machine screws in wood to hang shelves?

texts:
My wife wanted to have these DIY shelves hung.

In our haste to match everything, we purchased these screws to secure them to the wall, along with the requisite toggle bolts.

I went to install them and discovered our selected hanging location has studs along the right side of the shelves.

Can I use the machine screws in the wood stud? Would drilling pilot holes sufficient to start them into the stud?


texts: light went off in bathroom.I thought bulb had blown but I changed all bulbs and still no light, also checked box switch not thrown, it is an over the mirror light fixture, what do you think problem can be. Earlier in day it had been blinking off and on a few times


texts: What would cause air to be pushed into pipes from a well tank?

texts:
The faucets have been hissing of air for the passed few months, and it has been getting progressively worse. It is usually worse in the morning when we get up and in the evening when we get home.

We have a Well Mate VM series tank. At first I thought maybe the bladder failed and the air was coming from the other side of the bladder. So I knocked on the tank and it sounds hollow on top to me.

Then I thought the air bubbles were coalescing at nearby high point during lack of use.

Then the other day I was near the tank when I heard the air leave the tank and travel through the pipes.

Any ideas what may be causing this?


texts: Should I install acoustic insulation in ceiling in basement with switchback staircase and no door?

texts: I'm finishing my basement. Is it worth it to install basic insulation or sound barrier insulation like Rockwool since there won't be a door at the bottom of the staircase? Above the basement living room is the main floor living room with carpet.


texts: What would cause the water pressure to be too high for just a second?

texts: Lately when I turn on any faucet in my house the water comes rushing out at about twice the normal pressure for about half a second and then drops to normal pressure. I am worried the pressure is building up to high in the pipes. If I turn off the faucet and then turn it back on within a minute the pressure comes out normal. Its only when the water hasn't been used for a while that the pressure seems to have built up in the pipes. I tried turning the pressure down on my pressure regulator by turning the adjustment screw on top one full turn counter clockwise but the water still comes out way too high when the faucets or the clothes washer or shower is first turned on. After a second the pressure drops way down now that I adjusted the regulator.


texts: Can an extension cord be used to permanently power an outside sump pump?

texts:
Can an extension cord be used to permanently power an outside sump pump in a pit?
Can the extension cord be tucked under siding for protection and better look? Nothing would be used to hold extension cord in place just pressed in place.


texts:
I'm replacing the kohler valve for bathroom faucet (hot water). However, this part shown in the picture is leaking. I tried with plumber tape which helps but doesn't stop the leaking. Can anyone tell me what should I do?
Thanks!

The left pipe is the one I'm working on.


texts: Phosphoric acid before galvanic coating?

texts:
I want to protect some mild steel. I have removed all the rust with a flap disk but there are some pits left in the steel. I have tried to remove thse using electrolysis and now with to paint this.

Do I first coat with phosporic acid (etching) then apply the cold zinc galvanic spray, or do I do this the other way around, or do I need to apply the etching at all?


texts: Why is my gas heater shutting down the flame and pilot?

texts: I have a KINGSMAN gas heater, Model FV-5000N, quits working. After I relight pilot, turn switch to on, the flame lights and begins to heat, then after about 30 seconds, there is an audible click from the valve body and the flame goes out including pilot light.


texts: Do hinge screws become more tight-fitting over time once installed?

texts:
I've noted newly installed hinge screws can be replaced more easily if replacement is within days after fitting. If left for weeks or more, they become considerably harder to remove due to friction.

Is this a normal process following installation of hinges? What could the mechanism be?

Edit: Weather could definitely be a factor, as pointed out in comments, but the changes took place within roughly the same environmental conditions. My mistake for not pointing this out earlier.


texts:
I’m working room-by-room in my house removing old wood flooring and installing new Cali Bamboo flooring.  Because Bamboo expands and contracts so much, the manufacturer suggests using transition strips every certain number of feet.  In my house, that means in between almost every room.

I tested to floor to be sure they were level and did all of the other pre-work suggested.  The floors went in beautifully and expanded and contracted like they were supposed to the first year.

There is just one thing that is driving me crazy.  The transition strip between the morning room and the living room won’t lay flat.  On the right side, it looks like the floor dips slightly under the frame of the door. Because of that, the transition strip doesn’t meet the floor.

I’ve researched and know I don’t want to glue or nail the transition strip to the floor or it won’t float.  The gap is killing me though.  Any ideas how to fix it?


texts: How do I reset the breakers after I shut it off

texts:
We turned off the main breaker being able to isolate power for one room that needed a new power switch. Now we can’t get it to reset.
Outside is a small box but just contains fuses. No breaker.
I’ve tried the method described on YouTube of turning all breaker switches to off, turning main switch off and on twice and then the rest of the switches one at a time.
Not working.


texts: Should my evaporator be hissing? Should cold air be blowing from it?

texts:
My A/C hasn't been able to keep up with the heat lately (it's been in the high 90's with high humidity, and today the house was up to about 82 inside even though it's set on 70). I went up into the attic a few minutes ago to see if my untrained eye could see anything wrong with the unit, and I noticed two things:

There is a hissing noise coming from the unit where the refrigerant lines go into the evaporator. I know that I have a TEV, and I've read online that these can sometimes hiss, but I wanted to see if that's likely what the cause is or if it's possibly something else.
Cold air (quite cold) is blowing out of the hole where the refrigerant return line comes out of this box (this is also where I'm hearing the hissing), and the attic was cooler than the rest of my house!

I just had a popular local A/C company out here to investigate, and he said that the unit appeared to have been undercharged from the time it was installed (the house was built in 2006), so he added two pounds of refrigerant. He said that he didn't find any leaks. Are either of these things issues?


texts:
I have an old 275 gallon fuel oil tank in my basement.  It is showing some signs of rust.

Am thinking that a new coat of paint would be a protective measure.

What kind of paint/primer should I use?  I read something about Galvanized Metal etching paint.  Is this required?  I'm not sure if the tank is galvanized, and even if it is would it be needed with the coat that is already on...

There is one coat of paint on it already which I believe is just wall paint.

I have used a bit of steel wool on it already.  I concerned now that the wall paint did more harm than good.  Do I need to completely remove it?


texts: Can I use a braided flexible supply on a Polybutylene Qest Shutoff Valve?

texts: I was repairing my leaky old qest PB angle valves in preparation to replace my faucets, and I overtightened a nut and broke it.  Can I replace the 3/8" supply line with a flexible braided supply with the integrated nut?  The nut on the qest fitting is 1/2" but the supply inlet is 3/8", so I'm not positive that this will work.


texts: "Quick & dirty" finish for a concrete subfloor

texts:
I am moving into a new home for 1-2 year period. It's an old office building and the landlord is flexible with how I decorate, as it will eventually be totally gutted and renovated.
My 3 rooms are covered in horrible blue carpet. Underneath is a concrete floor, the surface of which feels quite flakey and dusty and is 90% covered in old dried hard yellow carpet glue. I have tried scraping it off and it comes up very dusty and bitty. I have three rooms each the size of a medium double bedroom so scraping by hand would take too long!
I need to come up with an inexpensive flooring solution (up to £200 for 3 rooms) – something that will look cool and last for a couple of years.
I think painted concrete looks cool but in my experience and from what I have read, the surface underneath needs to be stable or the paint will be uneven and chip off.
Commercial concrete floor scrapers are about £170/day in my area which is out of my budget, especially as I'd probably need to hire both a round one and a pointed one for the corners.
I don't like the look of carpet or that plastic laminate. I like Wood laminate boards but they seem to be prohibitively expensive too at about £15/sq meter.
Can we come up with a "quick and dirty" solution to get this floor looking alright?
For example: Is there something I could pour over to smooth and seal the floor? And/or perhaps some kind of latex or paint that will work well enough for 1-2 years?
Remember; this isn't a house I own or will live in forever; it doesn't need to be perfect.


texts: How to estimate how much mason mix I need for a wall?

texts: I am building a wall using Quikrete Mason Mix Type S 60 lb (as I think that is the correct product for gluing bricks together to form a wall). The wall will in total have use 400 cinder blocks, measuring 8x8x16", then kind with large holes in the middle. How do I make an estimate of how many bags of this mix I will need to secure the cinder blocks together?


texts: How to paint / decorate both sides of a plasterboard?

texts:
This christmas for a family home DIY project we've used plasterboard.
Not being DIY savvy, thought it would be a nice and easy to material to work with, and it was!

Now we would like to decorate our little creation, however, both inside and out (ie, both sides of the plasterboard).

Here are the things we've been wondering:

Is it possible to go and just paint faces of the plasterboard (tapered edge type)?
If indeed possible, what kind of paint shall we use?
If we can't just paint it, what kind of "treatment" can we apply to make it possible to paint? (please explain for each side of the plasterboard)
If one side is paintable but the other isn't (without treating), what can be done to decorate the other side?


texts:
Someone told me that the plastic jugs used for cat litter can be reused to store drinking water for emergencies. So I took three empty jugs and rinsed them out in a bathtub before filling them.

Oops. Cat litter + water = hard clumps. My bathtub now drains very slowly.

What can I do, other than snaking? Given that cat urine is presumably acidic, might it help to make the water more alkaline?


texts:
I have a problem with condensation on the wall between my living room and the chimney and I would be grateful for suggestions as to how to tackle this.

Some background: when I bought my house the fireplaces had been removed and the chimneys capped. The chimneys have a vent on the outside wall, and as far as I can tell the chimneys are dry inside.

This was fine by me, but after a few years in the house I redecorated and removed the several layers of old wallpaper on the living room walls and just painted the walls - no wallpaper. Ever since then, if the weather turns warm and humid, especially after a cold spell (it rarely happens in summer), I get condensation on the wall where the chimney flue runs. This is really quite bad and produces a very noticable damp patch.

I'm pretty certain this is just condensation. I think the inside of the chimney gets cold because it's vented to the outside air, and because the wall between my room and the flue is only one brick thick the inside wall gets cold too. Add damp air and you get condensation on the cold bit of the wall.

I believe it's condensation because it doesn't happen when it rains or at all in the summer, only when the weather turns humid after it has been cold. Living as I do in the North-West of the UK that basically means any time in winter when a warm weather front blows in from the Atlantic! I suspect that it didn't happen before I redecorated because the several layers of old wallpaper were acting as an insulating layer so the inside surface didn't get cold enough for condensation to form.

At the moment I deal with it by just turning up the heating, which dries the wall pretty quickly. However it would be nice to have a proper solution but I have no idea what the solution would be. Maybe I should put some thick wallpaper on the wall to insulate it, as it was before I redecorated? Or maybe block off the outside vents and put vents on the inside wall so the air in the chimney doesn't get cold? I did wonder if the entire chimney could just be filled up with the stuff they use for cavity wall insulation, though I suspect that's a silly idea :-)

Response to comment:

Here is my attempt to illustrate what is happening:

The damp forms inside the house on the wall between the inside of the house and the inside of the chimney.


texts: I need a stronger fan for this CO2 scrubber

texts:
This image is a CO2 scrubber I'm trying to optimize. It's 3 inch PVC with a fan to draw or force air over soda lime to extract CO2 out of the air. It presently drops the CO2 level a small amount, and I want to boost its performance. The first fan I tried is a USB computer fan powered from an Anker battery recharger.

Constraints:

it needs to work where there's no electric, so has to be battery powered
it should be able to run about 24-32 hours from a battery charge

I think the next logical step is to use a more powerful fan setup. That would move more air, and could move it over a larger amount of soda lime. What I'm thinking is to find a fan compatible with the 3 inch PVC that is powered by a 12v motorcycle battery.

What kind of fan should I look for to fit this application?

EDIT:

Considering Ed's advice, it may be that I need a new scrubber design. There are a couple options to try with this design, based on his comment that the air must be forced through a volume of the pellets.

In the following images, the purple area represents pellets in the scrubber. I've tried configuration 1 and 2, and intend to try 3 and/or 4 with the existing fan or stronger one, before scrapping the design.

Configuration 1:

Configuration 2:

Configuration 3:

Configuration 4:


texts: How to seal gas hob to concrete countertop?

texts:
Some time this week, I'll be calling a qualified technician to connect my gas hob to gas and electricity. Connection will be done with elastic pipe, so that's not a problem.

The only problem I have is that there is a hole in the countertop, obviously. And I do not want any spillage to get underneath the hob. Especially not between the cover part (blue on schematics) and supporting structure (read on schematics). On the other hand, I cannot install rubber U shaped seal on the edge of the top cover part, because it would introduce tension, and that is strictly forbidden for this hob due to gas-related safety reasons. Also, anything used must be able to routinely endure 90°C (roughly 200°F).

And last but not least, I do not want to put a silicone there, as it would ruin the steel on concrete look I aim for.

So, is there any way to do it reliably and safely without ruining the look?

To be clear, I'm not prejudiced against the silicone. Simply, I just don't know how to do it in a way that'll seal the "blue" part without being too visible.


texts: What can I do about cracks in a stone foundation?

texts: Considering purchasing a brick farmhouse in mid-Michigan built in 1885. There are large visible cracks in the foundation. Anyone have thoughts on the cause and possible repairs?


texts: Manual and Remote Switches - 12VAC low-voltage landscape

texts:
I have a 110V/12VAC (USA) transformer for common landscape lighting. We have 3 "zones" that I'd like to turn on/off as desired, two for lights (all LED at the moment) and one for a pond. My plan for now is to run a single 14ga-2 wire to a switch box, then run a line from that to each zone. (1 line in, 3 lines out) Note from the circuit that my intent is to add lamps and pumps n stuff (yes, watching the run length and load) and then cap each line at the end to return the circuit back through ground.

My questions are:

1) Is that the way this should be done?
2) I'd like to control that with a remote, in addition to, or maybe instead of using a common switch. Can someone recommend a small, elegant, and inexpensive solution? Home Automation is all the rage but I think commercial HA is still kinda new and expensive. My house is still full of cheap X10 from the 90's, which I need to start to replace. I've never done a project like this with low voltage AC remote control.
3) Perhaps to complicate this more, this is a Hampton Bay 900W transformer with 3 taps to support 300W each. I'm concerned that if I turn off two of the circuits, and maybe just run a couple fountain pumps during the day (total<50W), that there won't be enough load on the tap. How do we protect against that? I will be putting more load on the total system as time goes on, but I don't expect too much load during the day on any one tap.

Thanks!


texts: Getting full power from my backup generator to my electrical panel

texts:
I'll start off by saying that I am familiar enough with the electric code to know that either an interlock or manual transfer switch panel is required so as not to backfeed the electric lines.

I have a portable generator that I would like to connect to my home electrical panel. My generator, as with other generators I have seen, has 2 output plugs, one is a 4 prong twist lock 120/240v rated at 21 amps and the other is a 3 prong twist lock 120v rated at 20 amps. The total output from my generator is 5000 watts continuous or 41 amps total. The surge wattage is higher.

As I understand it I can not connect both output plugs from the generator to my electrical panel to get the full 41 amps due to load sharing not being equal (which could trip one of the generator breakers prematurely) and possible out of phase ac power from the different plugs on the generator.

So my first question is is that correct? It make sense to me.

Second, if I can not connect both gen outputs directly to my panel how do I get the full 5000 watts to my electric panel? I believe I understand the math here. If I only run 120v equipment, which is what I forsee, no need for 240v during a power outage, then 20 amps is 2,400 watts at 120v. So one of the generator plugs will not get the job done. I'll only have half of the gen output available.

Is my math and thinking above correct?

The only way I can see to get the full generator output into the house is by using both a backfeed breaker in my panel with the appropriate manual interlock per the electric code and also installing a manual switch panel.

I would run the generator output from the 120/240v 21 amp plug to a backfeed circuit breaker in my main panel (with appropriate interlock). After a power outage I can turn off all the main electric panel CB's, go off and on with the main and gen breakers via the interlock, power up the generator and have 21 amps (about 2500 watts) available to use as I see fit via the breakers on the main house electric panel.

Now, for the other output from the generator, the 120v 20 amp output I would connect to a 10 circuit manual transfer switch. I would only connect 120v loads to this panel because I would only have 120v coming into it. Now, flipping the rocker switches on the manual transfer switch panel from line to gen would disconnect the chosen circuit from the main panel power (wherever that power is coming from, the line or the other generator plug) and connect it to the second 120v generator output. This would make the other 20 amps (about 2400 watts) from the generator available to the manuel transfer switchs 10 circuits.

So after all is said an done I would have 120/240v with 21 amps from the generator available to all circuits of my main panel (yes I know I would not be able to run all circuits, I plan to install a watt meter so I can see how much power I am pulling on the main panel and I would not be powering the 10 circuits connected to the manual transfer switch once those switches are turned to gen). Second I would have the 120v 20 amp plug connected to a 10 circuit manuel transfer switch panel. During a power outage those 10 circuits would be disconnected from the main and connected to the generator.

Settings things up this way I would have 2 separate plugs from the generator powering two basically separate electrical systems which would in turn power the house. The parts for this setup including the cabling to the generator would be about $700 to $800.

Does anyone see a problem with this setup? Is there anything that would not be to NEC in doing this?

Am I over complicating this? Does anyone know of a better or more efficient way?

Any input on problems with this setup or better ways would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Pete


texts:
I know next to nothing about electricity and wanted to ask for some advice. Apologies for any cross-posting.

I moved into a rented house in Spain a few months ago. Turned out it wasn't grounded. Providing a ground turned out to be a little complicated as the property is build on top of a few meters of concrete. The makeshift solution was having this house attached to the grounding rod next door (landlord's own house). However, I was still getting shocked (continued hot tingling upon contact sort of thing). The electrician investigated and said there was still 8V hanging round that wasn't being discharged through the rod, or something like that (perhaps insufficient capacity for two houses?) Anyway, he was adamant it was nothing, that I should shut up. The landlord wanted him to put in a separate grounding rod for this house anyway - and the electrician says he will - when he gets time - and this is, he said, a very low priority job.

Things can move slowly out here. It's been ten weeks and he's yet to have time. For a couple of reasons, the landlord is reluctant to change electrician, but if I should I can put on pressure, either for the original electrician to come out, or to find someone new who is bothered to do something. I do still get shocked when I come into contact with metal things plugged into the mains, but I've been promised that at this voltage (8V) it's not even worth saying ouch over. Also, I assume, it will not be doing any damage to the electrical appliances I currently have plugged in? So do I just wait? Or should I insist this is sorted ASAP?

Thanks in advance


texts: Can I use an available wire as a C-wire by adding it to an unoccupied 24v terminal?

texts:
I want to add new thermostats in my home. Luckily, the wiring to my thermostat has an unused wire in the bundle for the required "C-Wire". It has R,G,Y,W, and an unused blue. The thermostat wiring goes to the air handler which appears to not have any 24V terminal I can use.

The air handler is connected to the furnace with a R,W and unused green wire. (I haven't traced the a/c wiring yet). The furnace control has an unused 24V terminal inside it.

Is it sensible to wire the unused green in the furnace to the 24V terminal, and then pigtail that green to the blue in the Air handler to supply the thermostat 24V on that blue?

I guess what I'm asking in a general sense: does it matter from where the 24V 'c-wire' is sourced ?

(I can and will post more pics and schematics if needed when I get back home).


texts: How can I run electricity to a shed from an outlet on the external wall of the house?

texts:
I have a shed that I am using as an office. Since everything that I will need to power (lights, computer, space heater) are already being powered by an extension cord to an outdoor outlet on the house, I won't need a subpanel, and I would like to simply extend the power from an existing 15 amp circuit running along the exterior wall of the house (either from the indoor circuit or outdoor outlet). What do I need to do in order to wire this up to code? I can't run a dedicated circuit because I don't have room in my old service panel in my house.
Update:
The distance from house to shed is about 30 feet or less. The extension cord that I'm using is probably only 16 gauge. The space heater that I have been using is a small 500W. But I recently started using an additional 1500W (two heaters, 2000W combined). I assumed that if it was drawing too much power it would have tripped the circuit breaker, but it hasn't. I don't want to install a subpanel or mess with the main service panel due to the difficulty of running a new circuit from the outside of the house to the inside service panel. I don't mind using a larger conduit to make it easier to run new cables in the future if necessary. The main goal right now is to extend an existing circuit as easily as possible while remaining code compliant so that I can get the inspection done, add insulation and cover up the walls.
Here are some photos of my current service panel:


texts: How can I remove kitchen wall cabinets without visible screws?

texts:
I need to take down the over the range bridge cabinet and reinstall it but I can't figure out how these cabinets are mounted to the wall. Standard KraftMaid face frame cabinets from the mid to late 80's era. Contractor that installed them worked alone and wasn't that great from what I am told.

There are no screws to be seen inside the cabinet other than some joining the cabinets together on the side of the face frames. There are no such screws for this particular cabinet group though. No screws in the backs of the cabinets attaching them to the wall studs. No screws in the tops of the cabinets attaching them to the soffit above. No screws in the back lip underneath the cabinet either.

There's a 3/4" laminate coated MDF board as a backsplash the cabinets are resting on but obviously that's not enough to hold them in place for decades.

Looking at the cabinet from the side, it is up against the wall. There is a drywall soffit above the cabinets that the installer added.

If I pull from the bottom of the cabinet forward it doesn't tilt up or move at all. Same if I try to push up from the bottom. Standard 2x framing and drywall behind the cabinets.

Only thing I can think is he used a french cleat or some other cleat (he was working alone) but it seems very secure given there are no visible screws. Removing the soffit is not ideal. Any advice on how these cabinets might be attached and how they can be removed?

I am not opposed to trying to take the cabinet apart if ti can be put back together as I have some woodworking skills. Never taken one of these apart and some guidance would be helpful.


texts:
I was trying to light my pilot and was having difficulty. The steps I followed.

Turn on gas
Turned pilot button from "off" to "pilot"
Pushed in pilot button
Pushed ignitor every second
Nothing happened

I tried it again - same steps as above - Again nothing happened.
I then moved the pilot button from "pilot" to "on" and the fireplace started up.

Now my questions

I believe the fireplace should have started when the pilot switch was on "pilot" and pilot button pushed in - is that correct?
Should I have a professional look at my system?

Thanks


texts:
EDIT: the outlet is not freely moving behind the cover; I just managed to move it to the side by a fraction of a millimeter and moved it back with some effort. Also, the main question is whether what I did outlined below contributed to any sort of significant damage to the outlet.

I have an urgent question, and would appreciate any sort of help for feedback for my scenario.

I live in the U.S., and my question is about a particular power outlet. This power outlet's receptacle is inserted so that it is behind the cover of the outlet, but it still feels fairly stable.

So yesterday, I was frustrated and yanked out a phone charger from the top socket of said outlet, and realized I had shifted the receptacle/outlets behind the cover to the left by a small amount. Unsure of what to do, I plugged in a plug and used it to shift it back to position, which may or may not have been dumb to do. Now I'm afraid of the integrity of the outlet, whether or not I should use it, or if shifting the receptacle and moving it with a plug was dangerous.

Does anyone know if I should hire an electrician to fix this one outlet, or am I safe? The outlet is on the wall behind my table, which is made out of metal other than the top.

Is it possible for this one outlet to spark or cause a fire due to what I had done before (manually shifting receptacle back to place with a plug in outlet). Also, when I pulled the charger out yesterday, it was not shifted by an extreme margin, but just a little bit.

I'm not sure if it is a hazard or not, since I didn't have any problems prior to doing what I did above, but if anyone can let me know, I would appreciate it. Also, is it dangerous to be in proximity of an outlet, or if it were to spark and electrocute me via the metal table that is next to the outlet?

Main question is: Does moving the receptacle behind the cover damage anything if one were to move it accidentally or purposely with a plug, whether it be yanking it or dragging it?

Thanks


texts: Product identification/recommendation - the goo between sliding door and wooden deck

texts:
I'm replacing the lumber of my deck, and need to plan the join between the wooden steps and the sliding door frame. The existing seal seems to be working perfectly, so I'd like to replace with the same thing.

This image is a photo of the existing seal: http://imgur.com/Fuu340U

Does anyone know what this sealant is and/or have product or brand recommendations?
- The wood will be stained, pressure treated deck board (probably Canadian Pine)
- The door frame is powder-coated aluminium
- Temp range from -30 to +30ºC (-22ºF to 90ºF)
- The gap is approximately 3/4 of an inch

Thanks!


texts: Why do we need multiple coatings of polyurethane?

texts:
I just finished my first wood-working project ever, and applied the first layer of polyurethane last night.  This morning, it looks beautiful.  So I have a few questions:

Do I need a second (or more) coat?  What do I gain by doing it (or lose by not)?  Also, why do I need to sand between coatings?


texts: Washing Machine Drain direct to drain pipe vs laundry tub

texts: Is it better to have a washing machine drain into a laundry tub vs directly into a drain pipe in the wall?  I've always used a laundry tub with a lint sock & catch lots of lint, replacing the sock frequently.  If it goes directly to wall drain, wouldn't it get clogged with lint?  How would you clean it out in the wall?  Asking for someone moving into a new home with hook up directly in wall, instead of a laundry tub.


texts: Can two loads use the same neutral return path?

texts:
I have a 220v circuit with two hot conductors.  The connection has 4 terminals, L1 L1 L2 L2.  The cable going in has a neutral conductor.

Can I hook the first of the L1 and L2 to the neutral conductor?  What are the implications of sharing the same return path?


texts: White spirit vs. meths vs. IPA for cleaning/preparing surfaces

texts:
White spirit (aka mineral spirits or mineral turps in the US), methylated spirits (aka denatured alcohol in the US), and isopropyl alcohol are each used for preparing surfaces, or removing oily residues.
Other than 'whichever is to hand' or 'the cheapest', is there any reason to prefer one over the other for this application?


texts: I just had to replace the bake element for my GE oven. While doing so I noticed the back of the oven looks like it is burnt. Is this ok?


texts: can I attach electric cable to underside of rafters

texts:
I am rewiring several fixtures in the basement.
Can I attach electrical cables to the underside of the rafters in the basement?


texts: How are multiple switches in "or" setup functional?

texts:
I've come across a light controlled by three switches. It's unique to me because any combination of switches must be in the "on" position for it to work. All three must be "off" for the light to go off. It's not a typical multipole switch.

I can naively imagine that three normal switches in the same circuit connected to the same light would behave this way but I've never seen this before.

Is this safe? Is it a code violation? What is the appropriate terminology to describe this setup?


texts: How do I fill drilled holes on a concrete floor and won't make it look fresh and blend it with existing floor?

texts:
I want to try hiding a drilled hole as much as possible on a concrete floor. I will fill the holes, but it's obviously visible. I don't want it to look fresh. Is there anything I should do before hand that’ll help blend it in afterwards? Then afterwards when I’m done is there anything anyone recommends for making it blend in and not look like freshly poured concrete in the holes?

Someone would help me out on this but he doesn’t have any ideas for hiding it.


texts:
This is in a drop ceiling.
I don't know when the ceiling was installed.


texts: Help me understand complicated junction / switch box -- with diagram

texts:
This is a double switch box in a bathroom. On my diagram the circles are wire connectors.  There are three wires coming into the box, each with a black and white wire. There are two switches in the box, one for a light, and the other for a fan. The fan switch is a timer. The timer was working OK but started making a loud buzzing noise so I took the plate off and this is what I found. I wish to replace the timer with another timer. My question is:
* should I go buy a timer that has a red, white and black wire coming out and just hook it up the same way?
* does this box need to be rewired?


texts: Im sorry, but i just want to make clear.  I have a 12/2 going from the panel through conduit (copper wire) to the double gang box.  I want to have each gfci to run independently without using the load.  Why, in case one shuts off the other isn't affected. the double gang box is standard.  the device is a leviton 20 amps.  I was told that you can run 12/2 from the panel to the first gfci black and white.  Then connect the second gfci using a jumper and attaching it to he second gfci.  Is this acceptable by code. we use a washer,dryer in the laundry and the garage heavy machinery.  so why should this be a problem running two independent? please advise and again thank you. larry


texts: Why would a modern home have baseboard heating?

texts:
I am looking at homes for sale in New England and one house I saw had baseboard heating even though it was built in 2008 and is a luxury home (>$1M).

I thought that it was standard to use forced hot air in modern luxury homes, especially since it allows both heating and air conditioning through the same system.

Why would a developer use baseboard heating?


texts: How to connect lamp to ceiling wiring (EU)?

texts: I have three wires coming out of the ceiling socket for a lamp. 2 browns are bundled together and there's also a blue one. How should I connect a lamp to it? Does it matter which end I connect to where and should I keep the two browns bundled as they are? See picture to get a better idea:


texts: Effects of Gas Pipe reduction from 3/4" to 1/2"

texts: I have a capped 3/4" pipe in a concrete slab meant to bring natural gas to an outdoor fireplace; however, I have lots of left-over 1/2" pipe & fittings from another project.  Yeah, I might be "cheap," but wondering what effect would it be on a fire element if I were to install a 3/4" to 1/2" reducer and used my surplus piping?


texts: How should I repair crumbling joist pockets in a brick wall?

texts: I'm renovating an old row house with wooden joist in masonry pockets. In many places, the mortar under the bearing point of the pockets has crumbled, cracking a few bricks and lowering the pocket. Assuming I can replace or at least temporarily move the joists, how should I repair the bottom of the pocket?


texts: Using Outdoor pavers stone for fireplace

texts: We are redoing our fireplace and I'm throwing the idea of using stone from the outdoor garden section for the floor base of the fireplace (approximately 12 sq ft worth). Any reasons it is a poor idea? What are the better stones for this ie ones that may not chip as easily?


texts: How can I clean this older paint roller to make it usable again for painting my walls?

texts:
I'm in the process of painting my living room and I tried using my old roller but it's just dreadful.

I figure a bit of cleaning goes a long way to get a good solid paint job. So I'm here asking how I best can clean it.

I've tried running it under water and rubbing it vigorously, but to no avail, I've also "scraped" a bit of paint off it but I'm afraid to break the roller by doing it too hard.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated


texts: Do I need to overlay plywood on my drop-in tub deck before installing tile backer?

texts: I am installing a drop-in tub, and built a platform for it. Do I need to lay down some plywood on top of the framing, to attach the cement backer to (Diamond Back, most likely)? The large expanse on the right side already has plywood because it is a large area.


texts: Should anode rod avoid touching bottom of Water Heater?

texts: I want to get a replacement anode rod for my water heater. I have a 40-gal tank measures 56" top-to-bottom, excluding legs. It seems the anode rods (multi-sections) come usually in 42-44" or 54". If I get the 54" one, it will most likely be touching the bottom of my tank. Would it be an issue?


texts: Can an In-line bathroom fan be installed horizontally or just vertically ? Been searching all over but no manufacturer specify that on their guide. Thank you


texts: I am in the process of having some counters replaced.  Any suggestions on how to remove the Sile Stone without damaging the cabinet?  Trying to determine if the extra cost of demolition is worth it.


texts: GFCI and other concerns for 1500 foot wiring run

texts:
I have the following:

My house with 400a service
A pond subpanel 300 feet away from house fed from 100a breaker
A barn 500 feet from pond subpanel currently run by a 12v offgrid solar system that has become unreliable due to shading during winter and long periods of cloudy days other times.  This system draws 5 watts idle, 50 watts with everything on.
A driveway gate system 1000 feet from barn currently fed from separate grid meter, but power company considers this a "commercial" account, and there are $40 in base charges per month (plus $1 of usage charges).  This system draws 30 watts idle, 400 watts with gates actuating.

All of the "feet away" stuff is generally in a straight line starting from the house and ending at the driveway gate.

The $40 base fee from the power company has always burned my britches, and now with the issues I'm having with solar at the barn, I'm thinking it's time to run some power from the house.

Considerations:

I'd like to do this as cheaply and easily as possible, as the main reasons to do it are saving time and money, so the more money and time it takes, the less it makes sense to do...

I like the idea of GFCI protection, mainly for going through the pond.  It would be very difficult to go around the pond, so I'm figuring I'll go through it by laying the cable on the bottom.  There is already wiring through the pond for a fountain and an irrigation pump.  I feel like GCFI is a necessity for this part of the run.  So I figured just install a GFCI breaker at the pond subpanel at the start of the run ... well, I read that even runs as long as 300 feet can cause nuisance GFCI trips due to capacitance, and my run after the pond panel is 1500 feet.  So how do I use a GFCI breaker to protect people from the pond wiring without having nuisance trips?  How do I GFCI in segments?  Is the only way using a transformer at each segment to isolate it from the previous segment?  Or can I untie the grounds at each segment and use separate grounding rods at each segment, or something like that?

I was figuring I'd just run UF 12/2 in 200-500 ft segments, buried 12" deep and GFCI protected.  Rent a little trencher from Home Depot and knock it out in a day.  One segment goes all the way to the barn, and I'll tap the run to the driveway gate in several places to add receptacles along the driveway, if nothing else than to provide a places along the run to test for connection in the case of connection issues. But I'll have issues with the GFCI and length again, won't I?  I've heard about GFCI Class C that is more resilient, but I can't seem to find these breakers for sale, especially that fit in a standard subpanel (seem to be DIN-rail mounted?).

I think I'll have a good bit of voltage drop:
Voltage drop: 19.06
Voltage drop percentage: 15.88%
Voltage at the end: 100.94

I'm just not too concerned about the voltage drop.  Should I be?  I know lighting does fine with a voltage drop.  Other stuff has done well for me also in the past.  I had thought doing the run at 240v do reduce current and step it down with a transformer at the gate, but then I wouldn't be able to tap the run with receptacles, and I'd have to bury 24" per NEC requirement.

What other kind of issues do you see?


texts: 2nd floor laundry room drain spraying water up into room

texts: 2nd floor laundry room drain trap is fed from pipe going up to a shower....i have water spraying out of the laundry room drain everytime i turn on the shower...it's been working fine for 10 years and now does this.  HELP


texts: Old wiring into appliance has 60V neutral to hot and 120 either to ground?

texts:
I have an appliance (stove hood) and it is hooked up to wiring that supplied the previous stove hood.  It isn't working and the voltages measure 62 volts between neutral and hot, but 120 volts between neutral and ground.  It was working, and an electrician put the wires back in a box (they had been left hanging by the installer) and put the ground wire back in the wire nut to ground.

What is causing this?


texts: What Size Screws Should I Use to Mount an Electrical Box Bar Hanger?

texts: What size/type screws should I use to mount a Raco electrical box bar hanger (Model #920) to studs?


texts: Is there a way to stop an external door being slammed

texts:
I live in a block of flats and we have an errant social housing tenant who gets in in the middle of the night and slams the front door.

We have a hydrolic door closer on the door - although only one with a single closing speed. Beyond adjusting the speed the door closes is there anything we can do to stop the door from being slammable?

Happy to spend maybe £500-1000 to fix this if that's what it takes.


texts: How to test two-prong retrofit outlets downstream of GFCI

texts:
Given old two-prong (ungrounded) wiring where a GFCI is installed nearest the panel and other two-prong outlets are attached to the load side of that GFCI, how does one confirm that all the outlets are properly protected?

As far as I understand things, a GFCI tester must leak some current to earth to confirm that it triggers a fault.  With the earth pin unconnected that test can't be done with a conventional three-prong tester.

Is there a more sophisticated test?  Or is there simply no such thing as downstream protection in ungrounded circuits?  Must every outlet have its own GFCI?


texts:
It's almost winter and I still have a pending brick moulding job I need to do. According to the weather forecast, the maximum temperature that I'll likely see in the coming few days is around 8 degrees Celsius. Questions:

Should I worry about the brick moulding lumber warping in summer since I'm going to cut it based on its size in cold weather? It's finger-jointed tough wood.
Should I worry about caulking not curing properly due to the cold?


texts:
After I cut up a live tree into firewood, what is the amount of drying time required before it is ready to be used?

I heard that one year should do the trick


texts: How can I insulate an area without an attic above it?

texts: My laundry room and a walk-in closet are freezing cold. They're on the ground floor in part of the house that is single-story. So, there is no attic above them. How do I insulate these areas when there's no attic access? Is the only option to pull down the ceiling, insulate, and then re-install the drywall?


texts: Can I connect my thermostat's R and C wires directly to the transformer?

texts:
One day my parent's furnace and thermostat stopped working.  The thermostat is a smart thermostat that depends on 24volts to the R and C wire.

We measured voltage between the R and C wire and was getting roughly 3-5 volts. Measured by using ACvoltage setting on multimeter and probing R and C terminals on circuit board.

We measured voltage of the transformer wires on the low voltage side and measured about 27 volts.  Probe the transformer red and blue wire from transformer at the connector to circuit board. We unplugged the connector first, then probed the two wires.

Note: we made sure that the safety switch of the furnace door is pressed in prior to taking the measurements in all cases.

What could be the issue?  Why isn't the voltage getting to my R and C terminals on the circuit board?  Could the board be faulty?  Is there anything else I should check before I go out to buy a new board?  Could there be a faulty switch telling the circuit board not to send 24voltage to R terminal?

Can I potentially connect the wires directly from the transformer directly to the R and C wire, essentially bypassing the circuit board?  What am I risking if I do this?


texts: How can I determine which equipment in my basement is beeping periodically?

texts:
I have a few pieces of equipment in the basement and one of them is beeping every 2 hours (approximately) or so.

1) Sump Pump

2) Radon Mitigation System.

3) Verizon Fios - Optical Network Terminal (ONT).

4) Furnace

5) Water heater

How do I identify which one is making the beeping sound?


texts: How to see if a coax cable is able to receive Internet?

texts:
During construction works every cable in the house was cut off.
The cable was only used for TV so far, but we want now also receive Internet by cable.
Now we have a lose coax-cable (presumably from our local provider) out of the wall.

The question is: can we receive not only TV and Radio, but also Internet using this cable?

A companioned electrician meant that the cable had to be trinominal which confused me.
What did he mean by that?

The cable is an Kathrein LCD 90


texts: How can I reduce the heat loss through floor?

texts:
I really don't know how is named this material in English but I have to prevent heat lost through it. I assume that it is named mosaic, but I might be very wrong.

Ideally I'll like to have the floor heated by a hydronic system. Do you have any idea about what materials to use and which added to the solution doesn't result in a too height floor?

PS: mine looks like mosaic tiles from this link. It is definitely polished and made of cement and small stones.


texts: How to get a straight line on plastic guttering

texts:
We live in a climate (Utah) which can move from 0F to over 100F during the year.

Our plastic gutters bulge away from the soffit, and it bulges itself; it also leaks at some joints. My long-term plan is to replace with Aluminum, but is there anything I can do in the short term to make these gutters straighter and more waterproof? More ties, or something different? I can't find this profile of gutter in the local hardware stores.


texts: Replacing receptacle with GFCI outlet which will be tapped for outdoor pole lantern

texts:
I am installing an electric outdoor pole lantern which will be fed by an underground  UF cable in conduit buried 24"

I would like to tap into a new GFCI outlet which will will be replacing a regular receptacle  on an inside garage wall 15' from the lantern pole.

I have done electrical wiring on my homes over the years, but I want to make sure I plan out this project to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.

When replacing the current receptacle with the GFCI will the load and line wires
be connected as they were on the old receptacle-the two black loads on the gold screws and the the two whites on the silver screws?

When I connect the line and load stripped wires from the uf cables can I just push them on the appropriate small hot and load holes on the back of the GFCI?

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated


texts:
I have some decking in my back garden and some of the planks need replacing. However, the screws are difficult to remove.

Some have rusted/weakened sufficiently so that I've managed to remove the screw head entirely when trying to unscrew them while others are just very stubborn and hard to undo.

I've put some WD40 on them and this has helped in some cases, but there are still many that are proving very hard to get out.

The planks will be thrown away so I was considering drilling through the wood around the screw and effectively allowing me to remove the plank and leave the screw behind (possibly in a little plug of wood left behind) but then I'm stuck with still having to get the screw out.

I'll also have to remove the shafts of the screws that have lost their heads but I'm hoping that using pliers will do that.

What would be an effective course of action for dealing with stubborn screws in old decking?


texts:
I recently did some outside brick wall patching and tuckpointing. Since the old mortar was whitish, I didn't use the gray ready mix from the Home Depot but I mixed my own, the same what I used for my exposed indoor brick wall restoration: 1 part masonry lime (white powder), 2.5 parts masonry sand, plus water. I also used the same mix for some indoor plaster patches (house is old and has plaster over brick).

But I noticed that that recipe doesn't hold very well on the outside, crumbles and dissipates, unlike on the indoor walls where it's been rock solid and beautiful several years now.

Is lime based mortar not weatherproof and should there always be cement for outdoor applications?


texts: What happens to engines when mixed with wrong gas

texts: I wanted to know what would happen if I put regular gas in a 2 stroke engine and 2 stroke mix gas into a 4 stroke.


texts: Do individual light fittings require a method of isolating them, other than at the distribution board [UK]

texts:
With the 'Internet of Things' becoming more and more popular there's a myriad of 'smart' switches, bulbs, sockets and fittings that can be controlled over RF or Wifi.

With some of these solutions (Phillips Hue etc) the on/off switching takes place within the device itself, and ideally to avoid a situation where the fitting is switched off at the wall it would be best to remove the wall switch all together and leave all the control down to the various apps / remotes switches etc.

Which leaves me wondering -

1) Are there any regulations or best practises in the UK that require providing isolation to light fittings, other than at the distribution board for changing bulbs / maintenance etc?

2) If yes, can this isolation be provided by another 'smart' device with no physical switch other than an internal relay?

Disclaimer: I'm not an electrician, nor do I intend to make any changes. This is a theoretical question.

Thanks


texts: How do you choose when to use oil vs latex paint?

texts: In what situations should oil paint be used, instead of latex paint?


texts: Why is there still no hot water after installing new thermostats and elements?

texts: I have just replaced both thermostats and elements in my whirlpool hot water heater.  I have checked voltage on both elements.  I have voltage at all 4 points.  I read that it should only be one at a time.  Checked resistance on both elements and got about 13 ohms. All this checked and still no hot water.  What do I do next?


texts: Can I just cover PVC pipes with elbows with soil underground?

texts: I had a leak in my piping, I fixed it and I'm going to cover it with soil. My concern is that somebody can walk over this spot when it's underground. Can pipe elbows break in that case and how can I avoid that? (I also have copper to pvc coupling there, which may not be that flexible)


texts: Light Switch 3-wire but with 2 permanent lives

texts:
Trying to wire a Fibaro dimmer into this light switch but not having much luck. There appears to be 2 permanent lives coming into the COM port and the presumed switched live out of L1 port. I can't find anything on Internet for why 2 permanent lives should be there. I can't wire both these lives into L terminal of the dimmer as it can't fit 2 cables. This is not a two way switch- it's just one switch for 3 lights.
Thanks
Andy


texts: Overlap When Painting Stripes: Can I Sand?

texts:
I'm painting a three-stripe pattern across the length of my wall, and I had a question about whether I could sand down the overlapping areas.

The stripe consists of a 21" green stripe with two 3" stripes (white and dark grey) bordering it. It goes green--white--dark grey from bottom to top. The walls are a light grey/taupe color. We painted the top and bottom of the wall light grey, and then we measured and painted a swath of white. Next we will paint the grey and green and ta da, the white becomes a stripe.

So to my question. When we painted the white, you could see the buildup under it when you look closely. It's not super obvious, but my OCD had taken over. Before I paint the other stripes, can I tape them off and sand down the areas that will be painted? I just want to whittle down the paint a little so it looks cleaner.


texts:
The plaster in our rented apartment was falling off the wall in two places. In the entrance hall huge lumps of plaster were coming off in our hands. This wall is next to a room which is under the steps of the main house and literally has water running into it when it rains. The house is well over a 100 years old, and I think renovations in the past were basically skin deep.
The other problem area is the hallway which has plaster coming off in a line outside the bathroom - presumably from a pipe is leaking in the wall behind.
We've stripped much of the crumbling plaster off the wall at the entrance, the plaster seems to have been applied in multiple layers, and at some places it's corroded all the way through to the brick. So there are the remains of hard flat layers, some crumbling plaster, and some exposed brick. We haven't touched the other wall yet.
Here's my question - whats the cheapest, longest lasting solution we can do ourselves (as DIY noobs). Can we just throw up some kind of plaster, or plasterboard on both the entrance and corridor? If what, which one should we get and what tools do we need to apply it.
Pictures and video of both areas here - https://imgur.com/a/XaNGMkX
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Edit - re: questions about the landlord. It's not possible to get the landlord to help, or pay for the repairs in this case. Reasons are too complicated to go into here. But while we're not likely to get in trouble for any repairs made, we also can't expect any help.
Edit - re: leak. There isn't a 'leak' per say. The water is coming in from a completely uninsulated 'scullery' type 'room' under the houses external steps. This would cost a huge amount to have repaired, and that's simply not happening any time soon. So this is a stopgap.


texts: Can I replace a portion of a furnace exhaust pipe by using two couplings?

texts:
I live in York Region (Vaughan Ontario). The gas company came by and performed a visual inspection. They identified my furnace exhaust pipe (black APS 2") is starting to crack at the coupling (its about 2 feet above the actual furnace) and said I should replace the pipe with the white PVC (Ipex or Royal).
I did some research and based on the recommendation, I should prime, then glue the new pipe.
I'm assuming I can cut the black pipe with enough room to add a coupling just above where the pipe comes out of the furnace and then continue with the new white pipe.
Can I also add a coupling at the other end near the exterior wall of the house? Do I have to replace the full length to the white pipe to make it go outdoors? Obviously its easier to just add a coupling near the wall since the exterior is all caulked and already sealed. In essence I would have about 2 inches of black pipe coming out of the furnace, then about 8 feet of white pipe, another coupling joined to about 1 foot of black pipe which is already going out doors.
Thanks.


texts: Using the oven wall outlet to plug in a dryer?

texts: Is it possible to use the 240v outlet in your kitchen for the oven to plug a dryer into? (For those of us without washer/dryer hookups) and then vent it out through the kitchen window? Thanks so much!


texts: What tool and technique do I use to achieve this finish in plaster?

texts:
Our shed (in Switzerland) has an outdoor wall that is finished with plaster texture called crépi here which Google translates as roughcast. The plasterer here says it is impossible to replicate today.  We have added to the building and would very much like to put the same texture on the new walls.

Does anyone recognize this finish and know how to achieve it and what tool is needed? The plasterer refers to it as style papillon or butterfly style if that helps.


texts: Can I use the wiring from a disabled home security system to power wireless cameras?

texts:
My home has an old security system which has long been disabled.

I'd like to be able to use the wiring for the sensors to possibly provide DC power to some wireless IP security cameras in various areas. For example, at the end of one hallway is a motion detector formerly used by the system which I'd like to rewire for camera power.

The control box for the security system has wiring from the mains incoming for power, and a bundle of wires for sensors branching throughout the house. Would I be able to, say, replace the control box with a standard power outlet, attach a UPS, then attach the AC adapters for the cameras to the UPS, and (taking the wire lengths into account) extend the power cables accordingly?


texts: Troubleshooting why 3 Garage outlets have stopped working: GFCI

texts:
A small fan was plugged into an outlet in the garage.  The fan was dropped and the outlet has stopped working (the fan does work when plugged into other good outlets).  A day later I noticed second Garage electrical outlet has also failed (I think it may be tied to the first failure).   I then noticed that a third outlet did not work.  Fortunately the outlets powering the washer and dryer are unaffected.

I was hoping it a simple breaker that needed to be reset.  The breaker box does not show any blown fuses.  I believe that when the breaker is tripped, it will show bright orange (not the case in this photo):

UPDATE: Pushing the blue 'test' buttons in the photo trips to the breaker halfway.  User must rock the breaker right before reset breaker by rocking left.  Breaker numbers are labeled:

I hope that others will ask questions that would help troubleshooting and possibly pose reasons for the failure, which I could try to test.  Thank you for any good questions.


texts: Cold water faucet valve not shutting off the water in bathtub

texts: The cold water side of my bathtub faucet will not shut the water off completely. I have removed the valve stem, carried it to a plumbing supply store and he put a new gasket


texts: Hard to control water temperature in shower

texts:
I am trying to diagnose a problem with the water temperature in a large building. Both the shower and tub have the same problem so it is not a valve issue. The shower has a completely different valve system than the tub but the problem is the same for both so it is not valve.

There are two problems. One is that it is difficult to set a proper middle temperature. It is either scalding hot or freezing cold. Also, the water seems to "remember" the temperature. So for example, if I turn it to hot and it gets scalding hot then I try to add cold water, even if I turn the hot water off and have nothing but cold, it is still too hot, and vice versa. If I have cold, then turn on hot fully, it stays cold, even though I had hot on previously so there should already be hot water in the lines; it seems impossible. It is almost like turning on one temperature is blocking the other one somehow.

The second problem is that the temperature changes relatively rapidly. So, even if I get the temperature in the tiny sweet spot where it is correct, within a minute or two it will start drifting cold. This is happening so fast that it is not a tank depletion issue. I think the building might have insta-hots. Are these problems typical of insta hot systems?


texts: Older light fixture with 3 bulbs - each bulb has 1 white and 1 black wire from it

texts: I have an older light fixture with 3 bulbs - each bulb has 1 white and 1 black wire from it, and it also has the standard grounding wire.  The fixture box in the ceiling has 1 white and 1 black (and the grounding wire).  Do I bundle the 3 black and 3 white from the fixture and then connect to the corresponding color on the ceiling box?


texts: The track and small block in an awning window was recently cleaned (by accident?), and now no longer stays open under the windows weight. Is this anything to do with a lubricant or grease which should be applied again? Any help greatly appreciated.


texts:
Clear and simple: is it possible that there is asbestos in the poured concrete foundation of a US home built in 1951?

I am worried about this, because I want to drill holes in the basement concrete walls and I'm worried that I might release asbestos fibers if it was added to the concrete. I read somewhere that asbestos was added to concrete in order to strengthen it, but I don't know if this was the case in concrete used as the foundation of a home.


texts: How can I transition from carpeted stairs to an engineered hardwood floor?

texts:
I want to replace the carpet in my bed rooms(actually the whole 2nd floor) with engineer hardwood floor. The stair is from 1st floor to 2nd floor which will keep carpet. But I can't imagine how/where I need to do the transition. I don't have any experience, appreciate if anyone can give me some suggestion.

Here is the picture of the current situation:


texts:
The cold air return on my forced air furnace is too loud. While it is is tolerable, there is a noticeable sound of rushing air when the furnace is running (not a whistling sound, just a blowing sound).

I have a KeepRite G9MVE (80,000BTU 1600CFM).

I have read a couple of other posts an online resources, which generally seem to suggest:

liners or baffles
less restrictive grill
larger duct size

For #2, I have removed the return air grill, but no change.

For #3, I removed the blower door and ran the furnace again. The return air was not noticeably quieter.

Using some of the calculations in the third link above, I think the 24"x6"=144sq.in trunk is probably too small (something like 900fpm flow), but then why would it not be significantly better with the blower door off? Doesn't this effectively bypass the return air duct?

Is there something I am missing here? How can I improve this issue?

My ducting looks something like this:

Here is the cold air return intake (A in diagram - 12"x30"=360sq.in)
The intake runs between two pairs of floor joists, and the gap closest to the furnace, left side in photo, is noticeably louder than the other side.

Here are the suspended trunks - return is on right, about 16' long (B in diagram - 24"x6"=144sq.in)

Here is the furnace connection (filter 16"x25"=400sq.in)


texts:
I want to buy a steamer to help getting rid of bed bug but I read that a steamer could wet the wooden furniture thus they could be ruined.

Some recommends dry steamer but I am not sure what do they mean by it. Is it some steamer which doesn't need to put water in it?


texts: How do I remove a fence post from a Wedge Grip support?

texts:
I'm in the process of replacing my back fence.  One of the existing posts was damaged (crushed) during a tree fall.  After finally digging this out, I discovered one of these in it.

What I can't seem to do is get the rest of the wood that's in there out.  I realise that they aren't expensive, but for curiosity's sake as much as anything, I'd like to know if there's a tried and trusted method for this kind of thing.


texts: no more oil in cub cadet self propelled lawn mower

texts:
Yea, I know, shame on me.
How do I clean the oil compartment if the oil is all burnt?

Here's what happened:
My mower started smoking and it occurred to me that I haven't changed the oil in a year. Checked the dipstick and sure enough it was pretty low.

I'll be making a trip to get some oil, but how do I get the old stuff out there? I'm not asking how to do an oil change, but rather should I try to clean the old stuff out there first? this is assuming there's not much oil left to siphon/pour out.

I can only think of two ways:

just pour the new one in and pray that it will keep on running till the manufacturer recommended oil change
pour new oil in and give it a small run (half an hour of mowing), hope the old oil gets diluted in the mean time and then do a real oil change?


texts: How do I widen a hole in wood for flex tube?

texts:
I bought some 1" smurf tube so that I could run coax, ethernet, and speaker cable to various low voltage outlets in my house. I used a 1-1/4" speedbor bit to make a hole in the floor from my crawl space but discovered that the smurf tube was 1" inner diameter and 1-1/4" outer diameter. Oops. It turns out it is very difficult if not impossible to force the flex tube through the approximately 6" deep hole.

I tried using a file to widen the hole but it had little effect. Should I try widening the hole with a 1-3/8" auger bit, a 1-3/8" spade bit, a sanding drum bit, or something else? There's not a lot of room in the crawl space so I'm hoping to hit upon the solution the next time I go under.


texts: Dimmer switches + outlet stopped working after vacuum caused a problem, breaker not tripped

texts:
I have a new tenant in my new home and one of the first things he did was plug in a vacuum that caused the lights in his room to go out.

I was able to restore power to half his room by flipping the breaker on and off, but the other half (one outlet and 2 3-way dimmer switches) just won't come on.

I've reset all the GFCI outlets I could find and taken a look at the wiring in the outlet, but now I'm at a loss as to what to do.

Any advice, or ideas what the problem could be?


texts: I removed two three-way electrical switches; they don’t work now

texts: The first picture is the switch that is wired to electrical panel.


texts: Can I use #12 ground wire as jumper when the other wire in the box is #14?

texts: If everything is wired with 14 gauge romex on a 15 amp breaker, can I use 12 gauge ground as a jumper inside a box?  This would be to either ground the box itself or as jumper between to outlets.


texts: Heat large pool with electric via solar panels?

texts:
Where might I go for help with this? Should I try to price it out myself or find a contractor?  What type of contractor should I look for?

My community of 60 families owns a pool.  It is about 30' x 60'. It is heated by gas now, and the gas is the major expense of the pool each year. We spent $7,500 for gas last year.

How might we go about evaluating the costs and other pros and cons of switching from gas to electric heat?  The current gas heater is about 1/2 way through its expected life.  The goal is to reduce the annual cost for energy.

We are located in NY and there is a 1/2 acre grassy area near the pool that is communally owned and which is not used much because it is gets boggy.  Perhaps we could put some solar panels there.

I guess we could estimate the amount of electricity needed to heat the pool from the $7,500 for gas.

How do we calculate the number of solar panels needed?

Can solar panels be put close to the ground? I have only seen them on roof tops.

I estimate we use the pool 4 months a year.

Update: I've heard that you can "bank" electricity you make over what you use.  Since we will use the electricity in only 4 months, the electricity we make in the other 8 months can be banked and used for free when we need it.


texts: Is it worth it to insulate hot water PEX tubing?

texts:
Is it worth the time and expense to put the foam pipe wrap on pex hot water pipes?  I've seen mixed statements.

What is your thought?  But more importantly, can you back it up?


texts: Can I connect multiple outputs into a single output?

texts:
For example, connecting 4 outlets into a single outlet.
         |}-----------|}--
         |  |       ^ |
         |   ^--||--|  |
          ^---- || ----^
4 electrical outputs connecting into 1.