texts:
I have a question regarding the exterior painting prep. Should the cleaning with TSP be done before scraping and sanding? Or, should it be done after the scraping/sanding? Some articles say that the cleaning is the first step before any prep job but I also find other articles saying that the cleaning is done after the scraping and sanding to wash away dirt and debris.

What is the right order for the prep job?


texts: Why a SPDT momentary instead of a SPST momentary?

texts:
I have an HRV (heat recovery ventilator) which has a bathroom booster switch input.  The HRV supplier specified a SPDT momentary switch for the bathroom booster switch.  18/2 shielded wiring is specified for the switch to HRV.
The SPDT switch has three screws plus a ground.  The supplier told me that I should jumper the screws on the same side together and then use 1 wire on the left side of the switch and one on the right side of the switch.  Does the jumpering really just turn this SPDT switch into a SPST switch?  I asked why they didn't specify a SPST momentary switch and their answer was it was out of stock.  My other thought was the dual throw could be used to later install a CO2 sensor in the bathroom and that could be another input to the switch to cause it to activate the boost mode - not sure if that is accurate.
SPDT wiring diagram in the following link.  The jumper goes from A1 to B1.
https://www.leviton.com/en/docs/PK-93107-10-02-0D-W.pdf
I have the leviton 56081 2w switch.  The way I understand this working is that when the momentary switch is activated a timer on the HRV puts the unit into boost mode for 5 minutes.  I imagine that the momentary rocker switch automatically turns itself off so really it makes a contact and then breaks the contact - is that correct?
The manufacturer quick guide says don't use a standard single pole single throw switch.
https://www.zehnderamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Zehnder-Electrical-Rough-in-Requirements-2020.08.31.pdf
The manufacturer documents says the switch is 1mA (lmax).
https://www.zehnderamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Option-Box-1.pdf


texts: Why is it a good idea to finish sanding a hardwood floor with a fine grit?

texts:
Why does everyone recommend finishing floor sanding with a high (e.g., 120) grit sandpaper?

What would the downfalls of leaving the last sanding at 60 grit be?


texts: Are conduits run along floors code permitted?

texts:
I'm running 240v outlets in my garage for several woodworking machines. To keep the conduits out of sight, I'd like to run them 4-6" off the floor along the bottom of the wall.

Is this allowable under NEC?


texts: How do I fix this leaking dishwasher drain pipe?

texts:
There is a leaking hose connection to the pump in my dishwasher. I have tried silicone and a hose clamp but no no avail.

What can I do to fix this?
Picture before the silicone, the corrosion is from the leaking wastewater.


texts: Where do I begin finding estimates for problems with my potential first home?

texts:
I'm looking at purchasing an older home as a primary dwelling.  On going through the house with an experienced Realtor and several experienced DIY people for reference (but not a home inspector or other professional), I've identified several possible problems:

A very cold basement, some smells, and other signs - including the seller's agent mentioning possible water into the basement, points to the presence of at least mildew and maybe mold
The metal pipes appear to be corroding in places
Flickering lights when other electricity is run and very old switches and outlets indicate possible wiring issues
The dryer is not vented to the outside, which is a fire code violation
There is a recent crack in a wall due to (speculation at this point) a window being replaced with a new window that has too big of a header
The flooring in the kitchen is an odd orange color from some sort of leak
There are several settlement cracks in walls, ceilings, and what looks to be one in a floor

Perhaps some of these problems could be addressed via DIY, but many of them require professionals (I am no plumber or electrician, although I can handle things like fixing flooring and drywall).

Is there a way to get an informal estimate on some of the issues to figure out if the cost of the house plus the cost of the repairs is within my budget or not?  I'd like to be able to do this prior to making an offer - if I decide the headache is worth it - so that I can offer what the house would be worth without the many repairs needed.


texts: Can I use normal metal electrical box for outdoor low voltage installation?

texts:
Installing a few PoE IP camera under the eave, I am trying to put a electric box to contain the network cable connection and to prevent vandalism.

As I have a few normal interior metal boxes lying around, would those be considered ok to install in a damp location for low voltage device? (metal box like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Raco-2-Gang-Gray-Metal-Interior-New-Work-Standard-Square-Celing-Wall-Electrical-Box/3129657 )

These electric box is used only for vandalize prevention.. I am not relying on that for the weather proofing. The ethernet cable has it's own water tight connector and I will be painting these boxes just to make it rust slower.

My concern is would that be something against the code? Really not sure about the low voltage related code. Anyone knows about it?


texts:
My 30 A dryer outlet reads 122 and 123 V on my multimeter (a total of 245 V). Will this be a problem for a new modern dryer if it is higher than 240 V?
It is a three prong outlet.


texts: 1 double throw switch 3 lights one position only 2 of the same 3 lights in the other position

texts: Can I wire a double throw switch so three lights are on in one position, but only two of the same three lights are on in the other position?


texts: Trying to patch areas of drywall texture

texts:
Can someone please help me identify this type of drywall texture and maybe give me some tips for how to match it.  I’ve got a few areas where I’ve patched and I’m not finding anything online to help me figure out what style this is or how to try and match it. I’d roughly guess it’s just some sort of skip-trowel but don’t want to make it ugly or spend all day trying to match it.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/YiVSX.jpg


texts: matching part of drywall with fiberboard

texts:
In the basement, I've got little room behind a door, that would only facilitate something like fiberboard, but the rest of the room is using drywall. I also don't have the ability to add a backing stud because of the support column.

Can I join drywall with fiberboard? can I mud fiberboard? Should I be using a manufactured corner bead to join them together?

any other options?


texts: I need to replace this light-bulb. It is very slim and I have never seen it anywhere else. What is the light bulb's type?


texts: Can I replace an electric smoke detector with a combined smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detector?

texts:
My house has electric smoke detectors wired into an ADT alarm system.  I'm not using the alarm system but the smoke detectors seem to work anyway.  I'd like to have carbon monoxide detectors too.

Can I replace the existing electric detectors with ones that detect carbon monoxide too?
  Or do should I just screw a battery powered one onto the ceiling next to the existing smoke detector?


texts: How can I figure out why my bedroom light won't turn on?

texts: I changed the bulb though it was good still. I changed the switch. From the breaker box it goes; bathroom light, hall light, bedroom light, porch light. All other lights work just fine.


texts: How can I prevent my furnace vent from icing up and shutting off the furnace?

texts: How do I keep my exhaust vent from icing up in the winter. We are in a new house with a HE Furnace in a pretty cold zone. It has iced up two times now and we are only in our 1st winter. Anything I can do to help prevent this?


texts:
What are these insects and should I be concerned? They're about 1/8" in length and don't look like termites or pine beetles. I don't see any insect-related damage to the wood but they seem to have a strong affinity for the wood (they're no where else to be seen).

The boards are kiln dried SPF and hem-fir which have been sitting outside for about 6 weeks now under a tarp and the bugs only appeared within the last week.


texts:
Recently purchased land that had a meter pole with a mobile home server feed on the meter pole. I built a 10x10 shop and added a 200a Square D HOM3060M200PCVP. It's WAY oversized for what I need. I recently had a 16'x28' "shell house" build (outside complete, inside is studs). I had the regional service provider out (Oncor) and he told me to feed the new house with 2/0 triplex through the shop box. As far as I know, I can't add feed through or pass through lugs to the existing box.

I can replace the shop box with a smaller (fewer breakers) one and put the old one in the house, But what I want is a split box to take the 4/0 service feed and split one to the shop, the other to the house. I would like to mount the split box on the outside of the shop, but inside is okay. Main issue is the 4/0 service has been cut to the shop box. There is not much room, but I can put it inside between the floor and the new box.

My issue is, I can't find a triplex split box for 4/0 wire. Service to shop was about 60'. Shop to house will be about 50'. Shop box was mounted upside down for the feed coming in from the floor. If the existing Square-D will let me add a pass though, I have room to loop the cable back out the floor and to the house.

Anyone know how I can get service to the house without spending a a ton of money?


texts: How can I divert down spout water above ground to a different location?

texts:
I have a down spout that exits to an area that tends to pool water.  Unfortunately the flower bed area near the house is lower than the surrounding grass area - and that grass area slopes back towards the house/flower bed.

I do plan to address that slope issue eventually but wanted to divert the water coming out of the spout first.  All I have read is about putting in underground drain pipes.

What if I simply just want to run it above ground, wrapping the house for about 20 feet and exiting at another area that is more properly graded?  Is that not good to do?

The secondary question would be whether I would need to pay particular attention to what type of pipe I would need to use.  Smaller is obviously nicer but not necessary.


texts: Which stud should I mount to if they are different widths?

texts: I'm trying to mount a pull up bar to the studs behind my drywall. The studs are 16" apart, but seem to be of different widths. Specifically, I see a 3.5" stud, 3.5", 2", 2", 3.5". Are these just 2x4s in different orientations? Is there a preference for which I should mount on?


texts: Help installing Nest Smoke/Co alarm to capped ceiling light wires

texts:
I am trying to install a Nest Protect (co/smoke alarm) and need to connect a black wire to the power line (which is the the one with the red cap after I used a voltage detector) and the white wire to the neutral line. I need help with the following:

1) how do I know which is the neutral and which is the interconnect - I think the neutral is the single black line pictured with the yellow cap as the white line needs to be connected with the braided line for the other lights to work so I thought that would be the interconnect. Does that sound right?

2) how do I join the black wire from my Nest to the power line when the power line is those three lines with a copper tip in the red cap?


texts: Water Test for Grounded GFCI Outlet did not trip outlet TEST button or actual Circuit Breaker

texts:
This is a little long because I've looked through the closely related questions related to my issue and wanted to ensure whomever replies understands how I installed and tested the GFCI receptacle.
So here goes...After replacing the original grounded 2 Outlet receptacle (installed in 1973) with a new TRSGF20 2 Outlet GFCI receptacle, verifying the Line and Load cabling is correct, testing the GFCI with its TEST button, and verifying that the outlets and the download actually have power and turn off when the TEST button is pressed and the GFCI trips, I wanted to do an actual test using an extension cord and bucket of water. The procedure: 1. Fill a bucket with water. 2. Plug the extension cord into the FGCI outlet. 3. Standing 2  or 3 feet away, drop the extension cord outlet into the water.
The water should trip the GFCI outlet. If it doesn't, it should have tripped the circuit breaker. Neither happened. One of the related questions in StackExchange said "Soft" water could be the problem. So, after unplugging the extension cord, I added salt to the water (the question mentioned that salt is a great conductor), and repeated the test. No luck. Any suggestions?


texts: What wire do I need when replacing with a higher gauge for a new cooktop?

texts:
I'm getting a new cooktop installed that requires 240V 50A wiring. The old cooktop only needed 40A so I need to replace the old 8/2 wiring with 6 AWG wiring and change out the breaker to a 50A breaker.

Both old and new cooktops use the same wiring scheme: two hot legs and a ground. My question is: when running a new wire should I run 6/2 or 6/3 wiring? I've seen some resources that imply new versions of NEC require 6/3 but I'm not sure what section(s) of the NEC I can reference to verify this.

Is there anything else I need to take into consideration when upgrading a 40A circuit to 50A?


texts: How can I fill the gaps between barn wood siding boards?

texts:
I want to better weatherproof an old shed that has barn wood siding.  Most of the boards have a gap between them, and these gaps can be as wide as 3/8" although most are more like 1/4".  The boards are about 3/4" thick and are run vertically. and they constitute entire wall structure (i.e. there is no internal finishing, it's just sided and that's what you see both inside and out).

I would like to seal this thing against Ohio weather.  What sort of filler or caulk (or ?) should I be looking for to fill that kind of gap?  And how do you go about applying it when you can't get at both sides of the board at once?  As in, if I apply caulk, what's to keep that caulk from just pushing through the gap and out the other side?


texts: What type of water pump is also a valve (e.g. will resist head pressure when off)?

texts:
Many pumps, when turned off, will still pass water.  If there's any pressure at all upstream of the pump, the impeller will turn and water will leak through in the forward direction.

To prevent backflow of course, a check valve is used.

What's the term for a pump that forms a pressure seal when off, preventing flow in the pumped direction?


texts: How should I install an access panel in a high traffic floor?

texts:
I have a bit of a bastard plumbing joint which resides directly under a main doorway in my house. I recently needed to cut into the flooring in order to make a repair.

I've dealt with trapdoors in my homes on and off forever but never something in such a high traffic area. This area is tiled with thin laminate style which I need to match on the top of the trapdoor.

What is the most appropriate method for keeping the seam sealed but still allowing access?

EDIT - per request here is an image. The access panel is about 12x18 and ends about in the middle of a door frame.


texts: Can NM cable run directly behind a junction box in a wall?

texts:
I'm placing a receptacle 43” above the floor. I plan on building a work bench in this area. I’m running some cable and using preexisting holes in the stud, but one of the holes is exactly 43” high. I’d have to place a receptacle directly in front of the horizontally run cable. Is there anything inherently wrong with that?
Yes I could just lower it, but I’d rather not if possible.


texts: I have a doorbell chime that seems to be too low and dull to be heard with the chime cover on the unit. I have tested the transformer and it is putting out 18 V at the transformer, chime wire side. Testing the chime wiring at the wall chime, the voltage drops to 13 V, which operates the electromagnet but puts out a dull thud, which is barely audible with unit cover on. Already replaced the button at the door. Wiring looks to be in good condition. Only thing I can come up with is the unit electromagnet mechanism is deficient. Unit plungers and unit itself clean of debris. Any Suggestions or ideas appreciated.


texts: How can I patch a large hole in a metal bathtub?

texts:
My tub is rotting from the top and I'm not yet ready to replace it. Water collects along one of the short sides of the tub (not the end with the faucet, the opposite end) and that is rotting and now has a large hole.

How do I patch this hole?


texts:
Hoping to get some insight, or light in this dark forest. I live in Vancouver Canada. This winter I noticed the exterior door by the garage was leaking. I believe it was leaking from the bottom-side door sill! So I caulked the sides of the door sill. Seems to be doing the job until yesterday. As I no longer see water marks on the inside bottom corners. Last week was an awesome weather so humidity was pretty low, just darn too sunny.
I found out that the interior side top door trim was pushing away from the wall. And I also found out that there was a gap between the exterior side top part of the door trim(photos).
Could it be just the moisture from the previous leak just drying up inside the wall causing this? Like Im hoping it is but seems odd that the wster would leak on from the door sill and months later when it dries all up the top of the door trim starts to shift.. What are your thoughts? Just caulk the gap? :)
Thanks guys,


texts: If I do not go into a party wall dispute, can I still appoint a surveyor to ensure I am protected against any damages?

texts:
I live in the UK.  My neighbour has presented me with a party wall notice; saying they intend to build a wall close to the boundary, with foundations encroaching onto my land.

While I do not in principle oppose what what they are doing, I am concerned that there will be damage to my property.

I do not understand whether I should go into a party wall dispute with them.

So my question is:

If I do not go into a dispute, can I still appoint a surveyor to ensure I am protected against any damages?


texts: Does washroom silicone caulk turn into goo after time?

texts: I found this tube of clear washroom GE caulk in the closet that hasn't been used in over a year.  When I tried to apply it yesterday, it was like goo even after drying it for 24 hours.  I want to know if caulk is supposed to be gooey after being unused for a long time or I simply need to wait longer for it to dry (even though the instruction I need to wait 3 hours before exposing the caulk to water).  I am used GE Premium Waterproof Silicone Clear - 3 Hr Shower ready.


texts: I am heating with a fuel oil boiler in the basement and a Unico air conditioning unit in the attic. I some help getting past the c wire issue. Air is using yellow, green and red-c and heat is using red-h and white. No c wire is coming from the boiler but the air conditioning unit is directly above the thermostat. I could pull a c wire if necessary. The problem is getting the Sensi Touch to control both heat and air. Is an isolation transformer a possibility? Emerson also tells me I can use an external transformer to power the Sensi Touch but it will only control heat or air but not both. Picture one is the Sensi Touch. Picture two is the wiring diagram from Unico. Is seems like this could work. Please help. We are pretty far out in the country and finding an A/C service tech who can help has proven to be impossible.


texts:
Circuit at breaker box is 30amps. Ground is free standing not connected to neutral or ground bar. The outlet is removed presently with no wires touching each other or anything else near the outlet box.

When I flip the breaker on my non-contact voltage detector alerts in the breaker box for the ground!

I'm sure it is the ground that is alerting as it isn't near any other wires.

I checked voltage from the hot to the ground with multimeter, results: 0.0v

From hot to neutral: 120v

Continuity test with multimeter says no contact between hot and ground or ground and neutral.

However when I turn the breaker back off, the voltage detector no longer alerts on the ground?

This circuit wire is only connected to one single outlet.. not anything else. What gives?

Should I just replace the wire? It is thicker gauge than any other wires and more expensive

UPDATE: in order to test the hypothesis that my hot wire is somehow making contact with the ground within the Romex coating itself I disconnected the neutral from the bar so that both neutral and ground are not connected to anything and turned on the breaker (hot still connected). Then measured the voltage from ground to neutral bar and neutral to neutral bar (If hot were somehow making contact with either it should show voltage).

Both showed 0 volts  but the hot to neutral bar still shows 120v. I believe it must be a false reading on the non contact voltage detector. Although it beeps for both neutral and ground when not connected to the bar multimeter says no current.. your thoughts?


texts:
I am replacing all of the old, rotten siding on my 1895 Victorian with new cedar siding that I plan to prime and paint (either 6" or 8", about 4k sq.ft).  Looking at the options in my area (Indianapolis, IN) I'm struggling with the choices.  I found pre-primed 1/2", beveled cedar at one location vs unprimed, Grade-A.  At another store, they have 5/4" (0.828"), rabbeted, unprimed select knotty, and 3/4" (0.688"), rabbeted, unprimed--the thicker, rabbeted almost doubles the price.

1) I've read you still have to prime the pre-primed, so I'm thinking any extra cost for pre-primed isn't worth it.

2) Can rabbeting pose any problems with expansion/shrink cycles?

3) For double the cost, is the 3/4 vs 5/4 thickness (less than 0.15" real difference) actually worth it?

4) I'm not so concerned about the "look"--is the Grade A vs Select Knotty very different in sturdiness/reliability?
Thanks in advance!


texts: Splicing building wire cables to accommodate door

texts:
I'm adding a doorway under a stairwell and ran into wiring running through the wall. My question is specific to the wiring. I'm planning to add a junction box on each side, splice, and then extend the circuit up over the door frame. Maybe add one outlet.

The orange cable goes to the washer/dryer, and the white runs into the house for outlets in the laundry room while the yellow runs to the main room in the house.

My questions are around splicing and where I might add the single outlet. I need to splice all three and remove the 2x4 in the middle. Can I just use push in connectors on the orange, yellow and white cable to add a few feet? Can I also add an outlet to the yellow or white cable the same way (which I assume are both 120v)?


texts: What temperatures can a heat gun raise a material up to?

texts:
I found a Thule Motion XT cargo box that has a large dent and crack in it. I learned from a documentary manufacturing video on how Thule cargo boxes are made that they are essentially

  utility grade all-purpose acrylic. The acrylic pieces are heated in a massive rotary oven the...where the material is heated to roughly 340 degrees. After being heated in the oven the acrylic has gone from sturdy to pliable perfect for vacuum molding

I'm wondering if a standard heat gun could focus enough hot air into a corner of the cargo box to make it pliable enough to push out a dent with. It looks like 340 degrees is the target spec. Might be tough to achieve that with outdoor temperatures and a breeze I'd imagine. Anyone know what's possible with a heat gun for making plastic pliable again, specifically acrylic?

Worth sharing the following details on acrylic for others who may come across this

What are the Characteristics of Acrylic (PMMA)?

  Now that we know what it is used for, let’s examine some of the key properties of Acrylic. PMMA is classified as a “thermoplastic” (as opposed to “thermoset”), and the name has to do with the way the plastic responds to heat. Thermoplastic materials become liquid at their melting point (160 degrees Celsius in the case of Acrylic). A major useful attribute about thermoplastics is that they can be heated to their melting point, cooled, and reheated again without significant degradation.
  https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/injection-mold-3d-print-cnc-acrylic-plastic-pmma


texts:
One several occasions, a small small amount of water collects in the basement.  Looks like it is coming from the wall/section of foundation directly below the fireplace.  I've check the grading and downspout outside Andy eye all look good.  Was asking some friends and one thing that maybe in heavy heavy rain, the water is entering the top of the fireplace and making its way down into the basement.

Can this happen?


texts: How much energy will continuously running a furnace fan use?

texts:
We have a bi-level (tri-level? There's a small entry way and utility room, then an upstairs living area and master bedroom and a downstairs living area with bedrooms) in mid-Michigan.

The downstairs is naturally quite cooler than the upstairs, but during the summer we were having keeping the downstairs warm enough for our young son.  We didn't want to raise the temp upstairs anymore but our local HVAC person suggested running the system fan continuously to help evenly distribute the air.  And it worked.  He did say that it shouldn't increase our costs that much and searching online seemed to come to the same conclusion.  Our electric bill did end up higher than previous years but I chalked that up to higher-than-average weather temps, we were keeping things a little cooler than we had in the past due to our child, and summer electricity rates were in effect.

Now that we're getting into Winter, we just received our latest bill and it's again abnormally high.  We did cut the fan usage some the billing period prior, so I'm sure it's because we're always running it still.

How much electricity usage should I really expect to see if I'm continuously running the furnace fan?  Enough to see a sizeable jump in cost?

And is there a way to track how much power usage my unit is using?  Do I need a killawatt or something plugged in?  I'm trying to find the model number on it to see if I can find the electric specs and maybe do some calculations there.  Our thermostat does tell me how often the heat or AC runs, but the heat is gas so that shouldn't affect it much anyway.

Any other suggestions or things I should try or look for?  Thanks,


texts: How do I design a quasi tamperproof shower curtain rod mounting point for eldery with Alzheimers?

texts:
Question

I am seeking another solution to keep a shower curtain rod from falling easily. There were other posts that mentioned drilling and mounting.

I would prefer, if possible, something that is secure, but can be removed wihtout having to take out a screwdriver or drill.

Desired Project Outcome

I am trying to come up with a solution to prevent this or to greatly reduce the possibility of the rod falling again.
I do not want them to feel guilty for calling and asking for help, but I also do not want to be called for everything.(trying to preserve independence for both all parties as possible).

I want to prevent, not treat a problem.

Solutions I looked at

How do I mount a shower curtain rod to tile?

Eric Petroelje's solution to How do I secure a shower curtain rod?

It is a good one, but do not know how difficult or easy it is to take the bar down. I need it somewhat accessible since I have to clean the shower.
(For curtains, a solution may to just get easy detachable rings)
Overall, I think this is the best solution.

My proposed solution

I am curious to see if there is some sort of slot, where the mount will be drilled to the wall, but the shower road will lock into place ( very secure) and can be unlocked for easy removal.

The best example of a slot or bracket, I can give you is camera mount bracket

Dive Ladder Bracket

Dive Ladder Bracket Lock

  Inspiration from this

  Dive Ladder On Back of Boat

Background to help you understand who you are designing solution for

I have a grandfather who worked as a diesel mechanic for 30 years. He is now in his late 80s and has dementia.(elderly, confused)

I mention the mechanic part, because he loves to tinker, pull, grab, squeeze and touch things because he did so while working for many years to solve problems on the job.

Unfortunately, lately he does this to everything and it is getting worse.

A few hours ago he channeled his inner Nadia Comaneci (Famous Olympic Gymnast) ,  pulled down the bar. (I am trying to make the best of the situation, add humor to it so my grandmother keeps her sanity because it can be stressful living with someone who is ,literally, slowing losing their mind.)
My grandmother, also 89, cannot put the rod back into place because she is too short.

Pictures of Shower Curtain Rod

  Example of possible bar it could be (I do not know what type of bar they have, could not find packaging) :

Moen TR1000 44" - 72" Adjustable Tension Shower Curtain Rod

Shower rod they currently have

1

2

3


texts: How can I extend the wires inside a transfer panel?

texts: I am installing a 200 amp transfer switch to implement in an emergency when needed.  The feed wire from my 200 amp panel inside the house will reach inside the transfer box but not all the way to the appropriate terminals.  Is there some way to extend the wire inside the transfer box?  It is currently about 18 inches too short.  This is in Arkansas.


texts: Can I prevent the horizontal seams from showing or allowing in excessive moisture when installing T1-11 siding?

texts: I'm building a 4x8 henhouse with 5 foot high walls and I'm planning to use T1-11 siding. I could obviously buy 6 sheets of 4x8 T1-11 for the siding, but the total wall coverage is going to only be 30 square feet minus the door cutout. So I should be able to get away with using only 4 sheets of 4x8 T1-11 if I am able to stack multiple partial sheets to cover a 5 foot high wall. My question is whether it is possible to do so without the horizontal seams showing or excessive moisture coming in.


texts:
Due to a problem with my furnace, I recently had a lot of moisture get behind a wall and of course, mold to follow. All said and done I will need roughly 3 4x8 sheets to replace the damaged drywall.

My problem is they appear to have used 2 3/8" sheets stacked on one another, making it 3/4" total. All I can find around here is 5/8" boards. So, I need to make up a 1/16" difference. My friend suggested just mudding out the difference, but there is some large, older molding on the ceiling that i need to marry up to that makes that seem really difficult.

My thought was corrugated cardboard. But I saw this post and it didn't give a sure answer on whether or not that would be ok.

It mentions the cardboard giving too much and cracking the joints right away, but as I see it, the cardboard is thicker than what I need, so once it is compressed, it's not going anywhere. Any thoughts on what I should do?


texts: What is the type of bathroom faucet that mounts from the top?

texts:
I have a sink where the original owner remodeled into a tight space. Now I need to replace the widespread faucet and am having troubles finding the correct mounting type. Because of the tight space, the cabinet is under-sized for the sink so the sink bowl interferes slightly with the holes so a traditional faucet that tightens from underneath the deck is generally impossible. The sink that I removed had a large nut at the bottom of the deck but mounted from the top of the sink. I cannot find someone who knows the name of this type of faucet mount.
What type of faucet would I be looking for that mounts from the top like this?
I've added a picture from underneath the sink to describe what it looks like.


texts: Is it safe to use a drill bit with a half broken tip?

texts:
I broke the tip of the masonry drill bit. The tip looks like this now. Half of it is missing, and it seems that the tip itself moved slightly towards the center (since at the bottom, it is parallel to the shaft).

Is it still safe to use the drill bit, or is there a risk that the remaining part of the tip would detach when the drill is turned on?


texts: Shed foundation across concrete and dirt, what approach would be good to use

texts:
I am planning on building a small shed, perhaps 8 or 10 foot by 4 foot.  The place I want to build the shed will span across concrete and dirt/ground.  The ground is about 2 foot, so it would be half of the 4 foot dimension.

After looking at YouTube video, I was thinking of using a few Pier Blocks on the ground part, but not sure what to use on the concrete.  What would be a good consideration for this type of foundation layout?  Thanks.


texts: Can armored cable cross over a drain pipe?

texts: My electrical system uses the armored cable sheathing as a ground path.  I was placing some lines of AC in my walls, and I uncovered a drain pipe in the way.  At first, I covered the AC with electrical tape, then I decided to wedge a piece of plywood between the AC and the pipe.  At this point, I'm not concerned of any problems with contact between the two metal objects, but my question is: If I allowed the bare AC to cross the drain pipe, would that be hazardous?  I'm thinking that if there was a ground fault, and the AC sheathing was used to carry a current, the drain pipe would become energized and could shock someone taking a shower.  Am I right?


texts: Can I use a 50Hz tape recorder on a 60Hz electrical system?

texts: I have a Sony reel to reel tape player/recorder that is rated at 110V, 127V, 220V, 240V, 50Hz. Can I connect it to 110v 60Hz or do I need to purchase a 50Hz output power converter?


texts: Can I route an irrigation main through my basement?

texts:
I received estimates on getting an irrigation system installed in my back yard. The majority of the cost is for digging down to the house's line in the front of the house (4 feet deep), splitting the water line, adding a backflow preventer, tunneling under my walk, trenching all the way along the side of the house at a depth of 2 feet, and then installing a drip system.

Today I was in my basement looking a where my water main comes into the basement, and am curious if there's a reason why they can't just split off the main where it enters inside my basement, route the main along the ceiling of my basement, and then out into the backyard through the basement wall?

Is there a reason this is not a good idea? Would love to save the time/trouble of digging all those trenches if there's no serious downside to going through my basement.


texts:
We'll be using this to cordon an area, and we were initially thinking of using 3/16"wire rope. It'll be tight enough so that it's straight, but that's pretty much it.

But then we thought that rope looks slightly nicer, so I'm thinking what type of rope is as strong and doesn't stretch at all regardless of the climate?

Thanks.


texts: How do I purge the air from a hot water furnace with zones

texts:
I want to try and bleed the air from my hydronic ( baseboard ) heating system. It's a natural gas system, I think I understand the basic functionality but my system seems to be a bit unusual and I'm looking for some advice and information.

The furnace appears to have the automatic fill line feeding into the back left of the furnace. On the rear right, there is a large pipe going into the furnace that is attached to a manifold with 4 valves and an expansion tank, and also has the computer and pressure valve mounted to it.  I'm assuming this is the return of the 4 zones. On the front right, there is the gas feed and also what I believe is the main output of the furnace. This feeds into the circulation pump and the output is split into the 4 zones. each zone has a servo valve, followed by a manual valve, followed by a drain valve.

Normally I would assume you close the manual valves and then open the drain valve for each zone to purge the air out of the system, the automatic feed valve should replace the water in the system automatically pushing the air out of each zone.

The thing that confuses me about this system is that the circulation pump is right before that 4 manual valves for the zones. If i shut those calves and open the drain valve, am I not just draining water from the system and not replacing it? or does the automatic fill valve fill the system from the back side? I cant really tell what the pipes do inside the furnace. I'm also concerned ( for no particular reason ) that the fill valve may not be working.

Am I doing this correctly? or am I making some wrong assumption about the setup? I've done this before on a different furnace and it was no problem, but this one is a bit more confusing.


texts:
There is something wrong with my dryer/electrical and I just can't figure out what it is. Is this a dryer issue or an electrical issue? I just need to know who I should call to fix it. I did all I'm really able to I believe.

Okay, my dryer is rather new (a little over a year old) and it'll either heat or turn on, but not both. I tested it and it only gets 120v instead of 220v. One side gets no power, one side gets 120. Together they get 120. The weird thing though is if I flip the dryer cord around it will turn on, but again it won't heat. So only one side is working.

I replaced the cord and the outlet, but it still did the same thing. I can't test the breaker because I just don't know how and it's covered up and I don't want to deal with it.

This is a three prong outlet as well. I also did get it to heat/power for awhile but then it stopped working again after a week or so. The breaker was also tripped one of these times.


texts: Caulking Baseboards - Suddenly Spiders Appear

texts:
We recently moved into our first home, and the previous owner had done some self-installed laminate floors to replace carpet. This left about 1/16" gap between the baseboard trim and floor.

We started to caulk between the baseboard and the floor to seal it all up, and we're about 30% done. Within 8 hours, we've found 5 spiders (Harmless house spiders) in the hallways that have been caulked!

Is this a new pest problem, or were these spiders likely always around, but we've sealed up their hunting paths?


texts: I have a subpanel at my garage. It has 2 hots, one neutral and one ground from the service panel. The neutral and ground in the subpanel are not bonded. All the outlets including GFCIs all work correctly. When I test outlets with my DMM in the garage I have 120v between neutral and hot but do not have 120v between ground and hot like I do in the main house. Is this normal?


texts: Where do I connect the green wire from my dishwasher?

texts: I'm installing a new dishwasher and the dishwasher itself has the green wire, the cord (which is coming out of the floor of the house) doesn't have a green wire it has a black wire, a white wire, and  a copper wire hangin out of it. I know I should wrap the copper wire around the screw on the box, but what do I do with the green wire that is coming from the terminal on the dishwasher?


texts:
I have an American Standard toilet that came with a 3 inch flapper inside. The problem is that since the beginning the flapper never closed properly. It's the right size to block the hole, but it seems as though the handles on the flapper (the 2 attachment prongs) are not long enough, so when you install it, the actual circular part of the flapper is slightly off centre because the handles aren't long enough to extend the circular part to fully cover the hole.
What should I do? Since I am assuming buying another flapper will just have the same problem as the length of the prongs is the same for all flappers.
It's flushing properly but has a bit of space open so it keeps letting water through from time to time making noise. Toilet is 4 years old.


texts: Will cutting PVC pipe with a miter saw dull the blade?

texts: I want to cut some 3" PVC with my miter saw and I'm wondering if this would dull my blade. I think its a 60 or 80 tooth Diablo blade.


texts: LEDs on dimmer, left alone, eventually fade to off

texts:
I replaced some halogen bulbs in my recessed cans with some LED retrofit kits

I also replaced the dimmer with a new digital LED dimmer.  When I dim the lights down to a low-ish setting, I can wait about 45 mins and eventually the lights will be off.  I adjusted the minimum dimming range of the dimmer to something far higher than I want and the bulbs still eventually turn off.

I have the same dimmer in 2 other rooms with different LED bulbs and they work fine.  Though, the wiring might be a bit different.  The new one doesn't have a ground wire, but from what I've been told, that should matter because the old dimmer didn't have a ground either.

The new lights are also quite loud when fully bright.  They have an audible hum that none of my other lights have.  Do you think this is a problem with the lights or the dimmer?

I imagine that the hum means the transformer is not converting light efficiently,  could that be causing it?


texts:
I am replacing the locks on a property and want to change the deadlock.  Firstly there are two depths to the locks: 64 mm (2.5") and 76mm (3") under the same BS3621.
After returning the first lock I bought and buying the correct depth (with the same BS3621) the new lock has other subtly different dimensions:

the body of the lock is taller by a few millimeters (89mm vs 76mm) so it doesn't fit in the hole already there.
the position of the key hole is a different distance from the door edge by 4mm and is lower by 10mm.
the deadbolt is taller (36mm vs 30mm) so doesn't fit into the strike plate's smaller recess.

I'm sure there are other things that are different but this is clearly not a standard, or it is a standard that has changed or been narrowed over time.

I tried to look up the old installer / suppler but they've both closed down.

My question is: before I buy the third lock, how do I tell it's going to fit?  Clearly BS3621 defines some thing but exact dimensions is not one of them.  What can I do?  (You can imagine what I think bs stands for right about now)


texts: Door seal to stop spreading cooking odour

texts:
Have reasonably good ventilation and smoke extractor in the kitchen. But still, food/cooking odour are spreading in adjacent rooms; possibly through a small gap between door and frame.

Can anyone suggest me any possible solutions to fix this issue?

Thanks in advance.


texts: how much weight a specific sized concrete slab can carry?

texts:
Say I have a portion of 10x10 feets. I need to put a concrete slab for that. The thickness of the slab will go 4 inches.

Is there a way to tell, how much weight this slab can carry?


texts:
I moved into a newly built house 4 years ago.
I had complained to the builder about the AC not being that cold - it's cool but not as cold as every other AC that I've had. It cools of the house but takes a while.
A few days later, guy calls and says he checked my AC and it's find and that I can't expect to get cold air. I had said it takes forever to cool the house and he says it's a energy-efficient model that I need to keep on all the time.
So now a few years later, I call for a checkup/cleaning. The guy (not the same AFAIK) says it's not that cold and the freon is low. He said he would check it out and spent about 5 minutes by the AC and came back and said my coil is leaking. Got a call the next day that parts were covered but it $2500 for labor and freon.
This sounds a little fishy to me. If there's a leak, wouldn't ALL the freon leak out and I wouldn't have any freon left to cool the house? It sounds to me like the freon has always been low and the leak is an excuse as to why it's not their fault but I couldn't just paranoid.


texts: Can two 30 ampere circuits be combined in an outlet?

texts:
Cooktop and oven are running from 2 separate 30 amp circuits.

I want to replace both by a free standing dual fuel range which requires a 40 amp circuit

Can the 2 30 amp circuits be combined in the electrical outlet?


texts: Identifying live and neutral wire of an old lamp

texts: So I have this old wall lamp with a different color code that I'm used to: There are 2 brown wires welded together and a separate dark brown wire. As seen on the picture the 2 brown wires leads to the light bulbs and at the connector / switch it says "2A / 250V" meanwhile at the dark brown wire it says "A1 / 31". The thread on the picture is the switch, to be pulled up and down. I'm not sure how to go about it and I rather not risk it so I turn to your wisdom instead!


texts: Tools and feasibility of tearing down a wooden shed held together by nails

texts:
Is it possible to DIY tear down a wooden shed held together by nails?

I have a hammer and crowbar.

What other tools do I need?

It looks like this shed except I already tore down the door and I've emptied out all the coal and rocks inside. This is just an example shed I found online.


texts:
I am about to pull up carpet and put down laminate in our home. The previous owners installed laminate in the kitchen and dining room.  I am not removing it, they installed it before installing the cabinets! ugh.
Question.  My wife and I are getting conflicting information about the best way to run laminate.  The diagram shows the layout.  I want to run it down the hall and into the living room which is 16x18. She wants me to run it the same way as the original laminate.  Keep in mind we cannot locate an exact match...
Thoughts?


texts: Hot and neutral terminals are switched in a outlet

texts: I am wiring a 30A-125V locking plug for an industrial toaster, however the outlet in the wall has the neutral and hot terminals switched, can I swap the terminals in the plug?


texts:
I bought a house a 5 years ago that has the pegs for storm shutters, but no shutters.  See below.  My previous house was all brick and we used plylocks.  How should I go about boarding this up for a hurricane?  The peg is threaded, so I'm thinking that a hole in the plywood slid over the pegs, secured with a nut and washer.  Maybe there's a product out there that will do the job better( faster? )

Are these hanger bolts?


texts: Can you remove a tin roof and install insulation and re-attach the tin roof?

texts:
Hello from Hobart Tasmania.  I have purchased 1930's weatherboard cottage with a tin roof.  The roof is insulated in the main part of the house (i.e., in the attic) but the additions on the house are not insulated - there is no attic on these extensions, just the roof immediately above the rooms.  As a result, these extension areas are very hot in summer and extremely cold in winter.

Recently, when we were getting a quote on insulating in the crawl space below the house, an insulator company suggested that they could simply 'remove' the tin roof above the extension, install fiberglass, and re-attach the tin.

It seemed like a reasonable way forward to make these rooms more useable - but I am curious if there is anything I need to be wary of or concerned about.  Is is OK to simply remove tin, add insulation, and re-attach tin?  Do I need to worry about anything else, such as potential new leaks on roof from removing the tin?  Do I need to worry about moisture from the house causing rot?

Any clues would be most appreciated!  I have no experience with any thing like this at all!


texts: What could cause my Carrier furnace fan to sometimes stop running?

texts:
I have a Carrier system: FURNACE 58UVB080; AC 24APA530, CONTROLLER SYSTXCCUIDO1-B, approximately 7 years old. New filter, impeccable condition.

I was initially told by the licensed installers that the fan runs all the time, unless the system is shutdown and as far as I know this has been the situation since installation.  In the last 2 weeks I have noticed when the A/C is on the fan sometimes stops for a few minutes and then it starts again.  It is easy to tell because the house becomes very quiet and I have not noticed that before.  The original installer firm has inspected the system and they cannot find out what is wrong but in my opinion the system is not running properly.

I cannot figure out how to resolve this.  I am no expert but I think it is the controller.  I cannot keep trying different "techs" until someone figures it out.  I cannot even find out a number to contact Carrier.  Does someone have any hints what could be wrong, please?


texts: Paint does not show true color even after 2 coats on top of existing light color

texts:
I have an existing beige color in the walls of my house. I am getting them repainted and following suggestion from my painter I went to the store - got sample of sherwin williams accessible beige. I also bought a plain white board to try the color as well.(The eventual paint would be promar 200 from sherwin williams)

So i have put two coats on the plain white board and two coats on the wall as well. The problem here is with the same light - the 2 coats on the wall look more whitish and different from the color on the white board. The coats on the white board look more close to the real color that is advertised. The painter thinks its due to the existing wall color (beneath the two coats of the sample) changing the eventual color. he says he can put a primer beneath but that would mean 3 coats and more money expense to me.

So I had few questions:

Is it correct that the color beneath the 2 coats is making a difference in how the walls look?
Is it possible to use some other product which would give a result true to the advertised color in 2 coats. The existing color on the walls is not dark enough to warrant 3 coats, I feel. Should i go for benjamin moore? I do not know why my painter advocates sherwin williams while i have always heard benjamin moore being the best.

In the pic in this link, the background color is my existing color. I have painted a small part of the wall and i am also holding the white cardboard with the 2 coats of paint.


texts: Independent circuits on a common trip CB

texts: Is it permissible under the 2014 NEC to feed two independent 120VAC branch circuits from a common trip (aka double pole) circuit breaker?  The circuits do not share a neutral wire, and are ordinary 20A branch circuits otherwise.


texts: How can I get rid of gnats and other flies all over my house?

texts:
We just moved to a new place and we're noticing that there is a lot of gnats and fruit fly type bugs all over the house!  We've been killing 2 or 3 an hour and they keep coming back.  We find them all over, not just in the kitchen.

Is there any tips, tricks, products to get rid of the pests?  I have a pregnant wife in the house, so harsh chemicals are a last result.

EDIT:

So... we just found the source of the flies...  I got home from work to fine a Haz-mat team cleaning out one of the townhomes we share a wall with.  Apparently the guy is a hoarder and had been hoarding things like empty whisky bottles and pizza boxes.  The team had found human waste on the walls and rotten food throughout the house.  The flies that were living there were so bad that the neighbor below him called the police about it.  We  only shared some pluming lines with him, they shared an air vent.  SO GROSS!!!


texts: Are there door knobs specifically meant for outdoors?

texts:
I recently moved to a new home and need to replace a door knob that will be exposed to the outdoors. Does it matter what kind of door knob I get if it will be exposed to the outdoors?

If it doesn't matter, are there types of knobs that hold up better to the elements than others?


texts: I have a thin strip of wood trim on the inside of a bedroom door frame that needs repairing (it's loose). What should I try first?


texts: Types of floats and trowels for concrete

texts:
In Brazil there are basically 3 kinds of floats:

Steel (in many shapes), used for smooth finish concrete, spreading mortar for tiles, plastering, etc.
Wood (rectangular) used for rougher finish of concrete(!?)
Plastic/PVC (rectangular) the same as wood, having a smooth base or rough base (as in the picture below).

As much as I tried to find, I was unable to properly define which one is adequate to which job. The ones I'm troubled with (and with many diverging opinions from "professionals" here) are:

"Leveling" mortar (cement+sand) in plastering after it sets.
Bull floating concrete by hand after screeding.

Around the internet I found that magnesium and aluminium are used to open pores for bleed water during bull floating, but there are no such thing around here.


texts: Can I control a 20 amp outlet with a motion sensor?

texts:
I have a bathroom in my shop building that I use infrequently.  I do not want to maintain hot water 24/7 there. I want to use a Bosch 2.5 gallon instant hot water device connected to a cold water line. I would like the outlet to become activated when it detects motion in the bathroom and stay on for 5 minutes or so, or until there is no motion after that time.

The main reason I want to do this is that if I have a switch or plug-in/unplug the heater when needed that I will forget to turn it off or unplug it when I am through.

I see most motion detectors can only control low amperage devices.  This water heater is 1,400 watts. Is there such a thing as a motion-controlled outlet that can handle this load?

If not, I suppose I could rig a relay to be activated by the motion sensor to energize the outlet, but I would like to make it more simple.

Another option would be to use a rotary timer like on a hot tub. Are those direct connect to an outlet or do they need a relay involved?

This is the heater I am looking at:
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Tronic-2-5-Gallon-Electric-Mini-Tank/dp/B0148O658Y/ref=pd_ybh_a_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SPZ8JFCMYAS3QM1A36WB

It is 110v and has an adjustable thermostat.


texts:
I'm having some fun playing around with a furniture project where I'm using some black pipe as the legs. Things are working out fairly well (well, I think so, even though my wife thinks it's ridiculous...I guess this is going in my office...)

The one snag is that while I have all the joints tight as can be without stripping, I had to back off a quarter turn or so on some of them to get things aligned. These connections aren't as rigid as I'd like and with some pressure, it's easy to turn it given the leverage enabled by the design.

Is there good way to 'lock' the joint in the position I want short of spot welding? Would a few drops of superglue down the connection do it? Should I solder it? another product?


texts: Can a range hood vent have a 90 degree bend and vent out the wall?

texts:
I know I need to check my local codes before proceeding with this. that will be done but I first wanted to ask this community for advice.

i'm going to have my kitchen gutted to the studs in a couple weeks and the walls will be open. the kitchen has vaulted ceilings and a recirculating range hood (currently). I would like to install a vent that goes outside as I will be installing a LP gas range.

the wall where the vent would be goes up about 14ft. to the roof. there is also a skylight directly above the area where the range is leaving very little, if any room for an exhaust vent.

what I would like to do is installed a box shaped vent between the studs in the wall going up about 5-6ft. then exiting 90-degrees out.

i've seen similar 90-degree gas exhausts on houses in the area. Then again, I do live in the mountains though where many people do not get permits and have things checked out.

So my question is:
Is it safer/better to have a straight vent through the roof? Or is a 90-degree exhaust through the wall acceptable?


texts: How thick should a plate steel stringer be?

texts:
We are goind to built a stair like this one:

But instead of two "floating" stringers, since ours will be against a wall, I thought about using plate steel and making it more flush with the wall. The fabrication is simple enough, angle iron for supports welded to the plate steel. The stringer will the be affixed at 4 points along the wall (1.5 meter intervals) like the sketch below:

I was thinking about using 1/8" or 1/4" plate but I'm not really sure how much plate steel could move or be "springy" in this situation. How thick should I go?


texts: How can I replace pull switch lights with wireless remote receivers / switches?

texts: does anyone have experience with the Lightning Switch or Illumra or recommend any other remote switches for replacing the pull switch light fixtures without having to rewire the house. The tech looks pretty cool, but I want to get a few opinions if anyone here has used them.


texts: What information do I need to size a sawn or hewn beam?

texts: I have a load bearing wall in my house that a previous occupant decided to cut a hole in to make things feel more open. They did not add a header, much to my chagrin. I'm planning to put an exposed beam in to bear the load. What information will I need to size the beam? I've found many beam sizing calculators, but none of them seem to be able to work with hewn or sawn timbers; they all require the use of dimensional or engineered lumber.


texts: Are these small bubbles on the base of the toilet tank normal?

texts:
I just replaced the fill valve and flapper in my toilet. Everything looks fine but after a while I see that there are bubbles that accumulate around the flapper and the rubber washers in the toilet tank.

There's no dicernable leak. Is this normal?


texts:
When using metal junction boxes for electrical work, it is required to use a cable clamp to hold the cable at the edge of the box and to protect it as it passes through the potentially sharp metal. Often, a screw-clamp clamp like this is used:
Image courtesy of topaz-usa.com. First small image I found for what I was after
How tight should the screws be that actually clamp down on the cable? I've always tended to tighten them until the wire cable* is squashed between the clamps, but recent reading indicates to me that this may be too tight.
What is a reasonable rule-of-thumb for knowing when the clamp is tight enough?
*I originally meant to say "cable", but wrote "wire". I know I've pinched the cable housing, but don't know if I've tightened things down tight enough to actually pinch the wire insulation within the cable.


texts: Running UF-B cable in PVC conduit along house exterior 6/3 for 100'

texts: Can I run 100' of UF-B 6/3 cable alongside house exterior in 1" PVC conduit? This is a run from the main breaker inside the house and outside along the restricted access side of the house in 1" S40 PVC, then back inside the house to a dedicated spa breaker sub-panel. 240v 50amp at both breakers for a Spa that draws 31 Amps. Alternatively, I would like to run four 8 AWG individual wires (blk, red, wht, grn) in the same 1" S40 PVC that can handle 9 wires of fill-rate. Is either solution OK, or is there a preference? The run along side the house is gated, cement floored and locked, extremely unlikely to be disturbed or damaged in any way.


texts:
I have an area in the front of my house, here when I purchased, that I've been told used to serve as something for firewood. I'm interested in fixing the area by removing the 'indent' and making it look like the rest of the garage.

The siding here looks like pine, with one person indicating something called 'shiplap'. The problem is that there are two different sizes of boards here. The smaller ones, measured from the outside, are 8 15/16" long. The longer board is exactly 11 inches long.

I noticed that Home Depot sells pine 'shiplap' but it's in a 8" width. Is this the same width board? Is there a separate tongue and groove pine siding for the longer piece? I've posted pictures of both sides.

I'm also wondering about how sound my plan is. I've called a few contractors, all either not returning a call due to how small the job is, or getting a quote around $500 for everything. I feel that my 'home handyman' skills are good enough where I should take this on myself. I figure the cost of materials is less than $50-$100 and I could do this myself within 2-3 hours. I live in New England, so it will experience all 4 seasons.

As you noticed in the picture, the metal L bracket was unscrewed and the area is exposed. I had a plan to remove this, then remove the two boards on the sides of it with a prybar. Once this is completed, the curved part I can even out with a circular saw, so that the length is straight and easy to cut from a new piece of board. I can then cut some spare 2x4s to redo the frame properly, cut some sheathing (plywood) to nail, using finishing 1 3/4th finishing nails to the 2x4s, then attach on the new shiplap/pine siding.

Thanks!

Gallery/Picture link: http://imgur.com/a/JoDY2#0 (On the photo with the measurements, I took it at an angle, so it might look like the siding boards are the same width. They are not. I measured each individually to verify the width.)


texts: Power Circuit for outdoor mounted shutters

texts:
Is a GFCI required for an electric shutter installed outside under the soffit?
If the answer is yes can an AFCI be used in stead of the GFCI?


texts: Maytag MLG2000AWW sporadically trips the GFCI when setting the dryer timer.

texts: When rotating the dryer timer knob, the GFCI outlet trips. It usually happens when the pointer is near the Presscare area of the knob. It will never trip ar any other time. I checked the GFCI with a tester and it shows it is good.


texts: How to handle a corner when using an L schluter edge?

texts:
We're doing a backsplash and want a finished edge in certain places.

The big box hardware store told us about Schluter edges.

We got an L- shaped one so the edge is basically flat. It's also made of metal.

However there will be some corners. If we use 2 pieces to make the corner, the corner will be really sharp. I can't find corner pieces for a rounded transition (or at least a less sharp corner) - CORRECTION...I found pieces for the corners but they are $20 a pop.

Is there a cheaper way to handle this?


texts: How to manage wiring if replacing ceiling rose with anchor for heavier light

texts:
I have just moved house and have brought a dimmable multi-bulb ceiling light with me. It needs to be connected with an anchor to the ceiling.

Here is the light.

The light above is attached to the sides of this anchor, which is then screwed to the ceiling.

In my old house, there was only one light on the circuit so it was straightforward to wire. However, in the current room, the light is one of several and the ceiling rose is wired in a standard way like this.

Here is the actual ceiling rose (with the wires for the pendant removed).

My question is about how best to manage the wiring, as it seems that the anchor must take the place of the ceiling rose wiring block.

Is is acceptable (in the UK) to substitute the ceiling rose wiring with connector strips within the small cavity between the light and the ceiling?
Am I meant to be reattaching the ceiling rose underneath the anchor?
Is there a better way to handle this?

The house is quite old and will need reworked at some point soon, so I am open to any identification of any problems in the existing wiring.


texts: What size should power wires be to run big appliances?

texts: Most of this apartment has what is 1.5 mm or 2 mm wires through the walls and sockets. I think 1 mm is like 18 AWG so I imagine 2 mm to be close to 16 or 14 AWG. Appliances here are 240v (not U.S.). Take for example, a microwave needs 900 watts, a PC is like 600 watts and home theater is 200-500 watts, washing machines are like 18 amps. But I'm stuck with 2 mm wires that go into the socket (mains maybe thicker), is that okay?


texts: How do I remove adhesive from outdoor concrete deck that is textured?

texts: I have an outdoor deck that had the old green carpet truf glued down. I removed it some time ago and want to remove the adhesive from the concrete, it has the brushed finish so the adhesive is in the texture how would I remove the old adhesive with out using chemicals and scrapping?


texts: Do I still need to fasten quarter inch drywall or can I just use adhesive?

texts: Are modern construction adhesives sufficient to adhere 1/4" drywall over solid plaster walls? Do I have to screw it as well?


texts:
My drywall is peeling a little:

The paper sheet has ripped.

Can you paint right over the board is the fact that the paper has ripped... means I need to replace the sheet itself?

To reiterate, I want to remove the peeling paper ofcourse befor paiting. But my concern is, does removing the peeling paper precludes me from paiting over the gymsym board itself that is under the paper?


texts: Where to start laying hardwood floor in "T" shaped room

texts:
I'm getting ready to put down hardwood in a newly constructed room. The room is "T" shaped as such:

I understand that I should start on the longest continuous wall and work across.  However, in this case, if I start on "A" for example, and then fill-in between D and A, it seems likely I'll end up with a partial piece in the middle of the floor.

Should I start at D instead, and have the possibility of a partial piece all the way down the A wall? Is there some other way that I should approach this?

Thank you for your help.

Edit:  Some additional info:

The room is about 22' the long dimension and 14' on the short.  Planks are 3" wide.  D is the top of a stairwell, and C is a closet.


texts: Do you think this tempered glass desk will hold my 50.6lbs computer?

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I purchased this Techni Mobili L-shaped tempered glass desk up. The manual says each glass piece can hold 80lbs.  My computer weighs in at 50.6lbs and is currently resting on the corner edge of the glass right above a support beam + glass circular support thing. The glass bows only .5cm down. What I'm worried about is, since the computer is resting right on the edge, will the 80lbs rule apply and am I risking my expensive machine? Thanks

8mm thick
21 inches length
41 1/2 inches width

http://www.rtaproducts.com/_uploads/instruction-manuals/3803.pdf


texts:
Would having a 20m hose connecting my compressor shed to my workshop be ok? I was planning to have the hose outside the problem is temperature differences at day and night and rain and things like that, and also UV light. Would having it inside these things protect it?

What about these electrical tubes for wires?

Could I use this one??


texts: How much work is involved to change a conventional boiler to a combi boiler?

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We live in a circa 8 year old detached house in the UK.

We've been having some problems with our heating system, mainly the hot water tank and we're wondering how much work is involved to change to a combi boiler (we want to get rid of the hot water tank so we can use the cupboard as stairs to our attic anyway so this is the perfect excuse ;-)).

Looking online there are some conflicting accounts of the work involved.

Is it just changing our boiler in the kitchen to a combi boiler, removing the hot water tank upstairs and "joining up some pipes" or will we need work done in every room?

Trying to understand the amount of required "damage" that might happen!


texts: I have a garage heater but I don't want it to run at all if the temperature outside is above 45 degrees

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I was thinking about putting two thermostats in series so that I could set the garage temp to ~65° but ONLY have it come on in the event that the outdoor temp falls below ~45°.

The garage does get a little heat from the house, so it's not too bad in there until the outside temp gets really cold.

This is a great idea in theory, my problem is that I can't seem to find a thermostat that allows me to set a temp below 50°, that is suitable for installation oustide. I'd prefer an electronic one rather than quicksilver in a jar, but it also has to be weatherproof.


texts: How does water supply enter into a pedestal house in cold climates?

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I do a fair amount of traveling through West Virginia and other Appalachian destinations and I have noticed a number of pedestal houses (that stand on concrete piers, wooden posts or a combination of the two), most of them looking like 2nd homes or cabins.

My initial confusion is, having installed water supply into my detached shed and having to dig 3 ft to reach below the frost line so the pipe doesn't freeze in the winter and having a frost hydrant inside the shed to turn water on/off down below so that no water remains in the frost accessible areas, how is this problem solved with pedestal homes?  I mean, if the whole house sits on posts, and the water supply plumbing comes from the ground, then the section of the pipe between the ground and where it enters the house is unheated and could freeze no matter how much insulation you wrap around it.

For regular homes that sit on a slab, assuming the inside is always heated and above freezing temps, the pipe goes in from under the frost line straight into the heated area, i.e. it is never exposed to the cold, unlike is the case with pedestal homes.


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I have a cooker hood in mind which has a flat glass plate around the chimney/suction part, just short of 1cm thick. (I want this particular design as the hood will obscure a window slightly and also so I can store light things such as salt, pepper and a few herbs/spices on top of it.)

It is wider than the hob and it may make sense to trim it a bit on one side to allow for a better/deeper cupboard. What is a good way to do this?

The first tool at home I think of is an angle grinder... but I have never used it with glass and I don't know anybody who has. (And I have a lot of respect for these after using them on tiles or metal, even if, say, I was wearing glass splinter resistant head and limb protection!) Thank you.


texts: Do I need plumber putty or would the already existing rubber gasket seal this sink leak if installed properly?

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I had working kitchen sink until today when I had to remove and reattach sink garbage disposal. I am trying to figure out what is the quickest, but still acceptable solution to fix the leak that I just caused.
In most videos I have seen that plumber putty is applied form inside of the sink and nothing else. I suppose I disturbed it.
But in those videos that use plumber putty I have never seen anyone use a rubber gasket. However, my sink has a black rubber gasket installed from the outside of sink as can be seen here on top of the flange:

Unfortunately, in my case the Moen 3 bolt sink flange has only 2 out of 3 bolts. Not sure why one bolt is missing.
So my questions are:

Do I still need plumber putty if I have this gasket? Maybe I rather need to install the 3rd bolt and then rubber gasket would prevent any leaks once even pressure is applied?
If I still need to apply plumber putty, then can I silicone caulk or paste or anything else?

Update#1 some users said they could not see the gasket in the original picture. So I disassembled the Moen Garbage Disposal Flange. I am still not sure that I understand what is the purpose of that gasket from the bottom as garbage disposal top is already rubber and it pushes against the bottom of tall cylindrical part ensuring seal on bottom. And on the top there is plumber putty making seal. Could it be that this rubber gasket was actually intended to be used as substitute for plumber putty? I imagine that if in previous configuration the plumber putty would fail then water would simply still flow around this rubber gasket serving no purpose at all.


texts: Are there frameless sliding glass shower doors that don't require any channel attached to the curb?

texts: Are there frameless sliding glass shower doors that don't require any channel attached to the curb for the sliding section? I see a lot of them for sale online, but the pictures make it look like they have metal channels attached to the curb. Can't tell. I don't want to put anything on the curb except the fixed door and maybe a small guide. This is a DYI project.


texts: Do I need to ground Ethernet cable run beneath a pier & beam house?

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I'm fairly amateur when it comes to home networking, though I get the basic concepts.

I bought a 1000' spool of this Cat6 Ethernet cable, simply because it was the only outdoor-rated cable sold by Monoprice.

My plan is to run it along the underfloor beams of my foundation, then up into the house through the existing 1" in-wall vertical drop pipes placed by the home builder. I'll terminate it at keystone jacks in wall plates in each room.

The cabling will thus be entirely contained within the outer walls of the house - i.e., it's beneath the subfloor but I'm not running it underground or out to another building - so it's only "outdoor" in the sense that it's exposed to the air beneath the foundation.

A couple of questions:

Is this cable suitable for this type of installation, or should I have bought something else, e.g. STP?
The cable includes a drain wire outside of the main jacket. Do I need to terminate/ground this somewhere? If so, where/how do I attach it?


texts:
I'm trying to update to a smart thermostat and my current one is wired like a dual transformer but I only have a single hvac system in the basement. Any idea why?

My plan is to move the blackwire from the R and put it on the C and have that as my C wire. I'm not an expert so just making sure the existing system was wired this way for  a reason (other than not knowing what to do with an extra wire and jumping RH/RC)


texts: Detaching large ceramic tile without breaking it

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Do I have any chance of lifting the tiles you see in the pictures without breaking them?

You can tell from the picture what I tried and how it went!


texts:
The original owner of our house had this wired apparently and the outlet has never worked. Plugging a device in turns off the overhead light. Wife wants me to use vacation time off to fix, but I'm confused with the diagrams I've pulled up as they don't match the two wire setup nor the switch.

1)The black wire is connected currently to the first dark screw.
2)The white wire is connected to top screw with wire going around to the other side, bottom silver screw.

The tab seems in tact between dark wires. Light switch works, but the outlet does nothing, but if you plug in a device, turning the device off/on turns light off/on.

I just need outlet to work, doesn't matter if the has to be on. Thanks.


texts: How do I figure out my door latch and strike plate alignment

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I have two interior doors where the latch doesn't catch anymore. I see the contact points and the wear lines on the strike plate but for the life of me I cannot figure out if the misalignment is horizontal or vertical. So I'm not sure if the strike plate should move up/down or sideways... I've looked at tons of Youtube videos and none of them explains how to figure out the misalignment. Any pointers are much appreciated.

Thanks


texts: Need help identifying my frost free outdoor faucet

texts: I have leaky weep holes so it is my understanding that I need to replace the washer on the valve assembly on the end of the stem assembly.  The screw at the end of the valve assembly on the end of the stem assembly is stuck. I can’t find the proper replacement washer but even if I could I can’t get it on since the screw won’t release.  So I need to replace the whole stem but need to know who the manufacturer is but it isn’t marked. If anyone can help I’d sure appreciate it.  I don’t have access in my house  to replace the whole faucet without tearing up the place.


texts: Trane XV80 furnace, two wire setup, wanting continuous fan when no heat is needed

texts: I found the "Why doesn't the “fan on” mode work after I installed a new thermostat?" thread on this site and am wondering if the manual rewire steps would also work for a two wire system. The setup: older house with Trane XV80 furnace, two wire setup, thermostat/Rh to controller board/R; thermostat/W to controller board/W1; thermostat Rc to Rh jumper; controller board W1 to W2 jumper. As I understand it an additional green wire would be the best solution, but that's not an option for me. Can I get the fan to run continuously during the summer by manually moving the thermostat wire from Rh to G and the controller board end from W1 to G? Thanks.


texts: GFCI connected with 2-black wires (both hot) and 2-white wires. Connected to line and load. GFCI does not work

texts: C/B connected to both bathrooms’ outlets. GFCI not working. Tried to replace, but line and load connections are both incoming hot wires, even when disconnected from GFCI. How do I get this to work properly?


texts:
can anyone tell me what this product is?

there is a grey chewy filler with paper inside used to fill bigger gaps on my staircase.  the smaller gaps are filled with caulk.


texts: the blade lock on my circular saw snapped and I can't loosen the nut enough to get the guard off to fix the broken piece. anybody know a way of loosening the nut without a blade in there or a blade lock?


texts:
I am not sure if this beam is decorative or structural

But you can see the rotten area in red rectangle

What is the best way to fix something like this?


texts: How to remove burn marks on kitchen bench top?

texts:
My kitchen bench top has these marks (see the picture) after putting a teapot on it for a few seconds.

Any solutions!

Thank you in advance :)


texts:
I had a dry wall job done and I need to paint the wall. A touch up might work as well but I bet i will not end up with a finished result.

Can you list the set of tools needed for doing the painting efficiently?


texts: How can I protect white risers (and oak treads) when using a hand truck on stairs?

texts:
After replacing the old carpeted stairs in our condo with oak treads and painted white risers, I now need to move a few large / heavy pieces of furniture from the first floor to the second, or vice versa.

I never worried about using my hand truck (a.k.a. "utility dolly") on the carpeted stairs, but I'm very reluctant to use it on these pristine new stairs for fear of scuffing the risers.

Is there a common method to protect painted risers (and/or oak treads) from damage when moving furniture with a utility dolly?

Thanks!


texts: What are these small holes in my foundation?

texts: I recently removed the flooring in my house, without a basement, and found neat, evenly spaced (1/4"?) holes. What are they? Should I fill them?


texts: How can I prevent my clothes dryer door from fogging up?

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When I turn the air conditioning on in my house, the inside of the window in the clothes dryer door fogs up. Also, if clothes are left in the dryer, they become slightly damp again. How can I prevent this?
The dryer vent consists of:

~9 ft. of 4" rigid pipe.

One 90° elbow.

2 ft. length of Semi-Rigid duct.

One louvered vent hood.

All seams are sealed using foil tape


texts: Hook up portable washing machine to the regular water pipes already on the wall

texts: What do I need to hook up a portable washer to the regular hook up for a normal size washing machine. I cannot get a new washing machine in the laundry room area so I have to go with a portable. The hot and cold pipes are there but portables only have one inlet hose.


texts: Why does anode rod need to have metal thread contact?

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I'm both frustrated and confused. No one had mentioned to me, even the owners manual that says about replacing the anode rod, and zero instructions come with the new anode rod, said there needs to be metal to metal contact on the threads.

I hate leaks so I used both some dope and pink teflon tape. No leak for sure! But now I think i have to take the new rod out and clean all the threads so it makes contact. Why do threads need to contact? Isn't the rod itself enough to attract the corrosive elements in the water? Could I run a wire from the anode head to touch any other part of the heater on the outside to not have to remove the anode?

Update 2020-05-17: Measured resistance, 26 ohms on a spot with some less than clean metal. ~0.1 Ohm on a clean shiny metal edge of the tank fitting (was scuffed up by the impact socket for sure) and I cleaned the bolt head with brake cleaner and also scuffed with a wire brush (dremel drill).


texts: How do I break a concrete slab without damaging cabling running through it?

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I want to install fiber optic in my house. It shouldn't be an issue except at some point my phone cable goes through a 5cm-thick concrete slab that was cast around it. This happens in a weird corner which makes using heavy machinery difficult. My plan right now is to break the slab around the cable with a hammer and a chisel.
Is there a big risk to damage the phone wire? Is there an other way to proceed you recommend?


texts: What should the water main connect to first: carbon filter or water softener?

texts: I have an Amazon Gold carbon filter and water softener. It's not clear to me if the water main should go to the carbon filter first then to the water softener or vice versa. So, which goes first?


texts: How to replace pull-switch on ceiling light?

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The pull chain broke off the switch in my closet ceiling light. I bought a replacement switch, and was going to replace it, but the lead connected to the light fixture appears to be riveted to the terminal, and I can't figure out how to free the current wire.

I also thought of just replacing the pull chain itself (since the switch is still good), but the case appears to be riveted together, and I can't get to the chain fragment inside.


texts:
I changed my bathroom ceiling fixture from a three light dome which held three 9w 0.1A 2700k 800lm bulbs to an 18w 0.2A 5000k 1800lm flush LED light.

The only problem I'm having is that the new flush mount light seems to get up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit ( working temperature ) so it is warm to the touch.

It has a little notch in the top part of the molding for air flow but I'm curious what the safe temperature is for the insulation on the 14/2 wire.

I previous had two incandescent domed lights in the kitchen that burnt up the wires, the coating flaked off with any movement so I want to try to prevent that from happening again.


texts:
I screwed up. I'm usually pretty good with PVC. I used the approved cleaner and primer, and Weld-On 705. I've done this dozens of times.

But here's where I screwed up: one part was a threaded bushing: 1" glue to ½" NPT. I made the mistake of turning in a petcock before the glue cured (nominal 20 minutes).

All the other ~20 glued joints are fine under pressure, but this one bushing is slowly dripping from two or three spots.

I really don't want to re-do the entire assembly, which is what it will take to replace this one bushing.

My spouse suggested a hose clamp. I thought of using a hypodermic needle to squirt some additional 705 around the spot where the bushing meets the "T" fitting. Either of these have merit? Any other ideas?


texts: Honeywell T6360 wiring - follow installation wiring guide positions or numbers?

texts:
The following picture shows a Honeywell T6360 Room Thermostat wiring connections.  You will note they are numbered in the order 2 3 4 1 5 6.

The Installation Instructions that accompany this unit, contains the wiring diagram below.  In this diagram, the connections are numbered in the order 1 2 3 4.  This is very confusing and I'm not sure if I should copy the positioning from the installation guide or connect to the marked numbers (even though they are out of position).

What is the correct way to proceed?

Click for full size image


texts: Why does my switch trip the breaker after light fixture replacement?

texts:
I'm trying to replace a ceiling light in the kitchen.  The light is controlled by a wall switch.  I took the light off and I have 2 black and 2 white wires in the box. I shut the switch off and the box was still hot.

I found the breaker that controls the hot wire in the ceiling box.  I put the black wires together and then the white wires together and then attached the black from the new light with the black wires and the same with the white.  I turned on the circuit breaker with the switch off and the light came on.  I turned the wall switch to the on position and the light went off and blew the breaker.

Do I have to put all three whites together with wire nut and then one black to black light lead and other black to white lead from light?  confused


texts: What's the difference between can and canless lighting fixtures?

texts: While getting my (finished) shed built, the electrician asked if I wanted can or canless lights. I had no idea what that meant, so I turned to Google. While there are lots of discussions about which is better, remarkably, I can't find anything explaining what, exactly, they are! Can someone here please describe it in simple terms, so I can make a decision?


texts: What size plate for 2 1-gang boxes side by side

texts:
Whoever put the electrical boxes in our kitchen before we moved in put two separate 1-gang boxes side by side (an outlet and a toggle) instead of just using a 2-gang box. The plates covering them were two single plates that had the edges cut off so they could butt up against each other.

I would like to replace the plate, but a standard plate won't fit. The outlet and toggle are about 1/2" too far apart for a standard plate to fit. Is there a specific plate made for this kind of configuration or will I have to just install a new 2-gang box and patch around it? If there is a larger plate, what should I be looking for?


texts:
My wife and I just bought a house, the paint that is in the kitchen is borderline primer. I want to install a backsplash to protect the wall. Would the peel and stick backsplash be sufficient or would it be better to just put in the work to install the tile myself?

What would I need to do to prepare the wall for either?


texts: Why would my dimmer switch only dim lights about halfway?

texts:
I have a 3-way Lutron dimmer switch installed at the end of a 4-way circuit in my home (there are three switches controlling the lights to our 1st floor staircase, 1 downstairs and 2 upstairs). I don't know anything about circuits or switches; I just follow directions. That said, I'm pretty confident it's wired correctly.

I have read online (on this question, in fact) that for a 4-way circuit you need to install a 3-way dimmer switch on one of the ends. I've tried both ends (one of the answers to the above question claims it matters, though the top-rated answer asserts it doesn't), but either way the switch works but only dims lights to about 50% when the dimmer is all the way down. All the other dimmers I've installed in the house take lights down smoothly to pretty much 0% when the dimmer is all the way down, so I don't think this is working like it's supposed to.

Am I making some simple mistake? Is this a fundamental limitation of putting a 3-way dimmer switch on a 4-way circuit? Does it have anything to do with the number of lights on the circuit, or the distance between the switches (like I said, they're above and below a staircase). Or do I most likely just have a defective dimmer switch?

In case it matters, one other potentially relevant piece of information: most of the bulbs on the switch are dimmable LEDs, but there is one incandescent bulb in the middle (replaced a recessed can light with a pendant light). Not sure if that could be responsible for screwing everything up.


texts:
My house has baseboard heating from a natural gas water boiler and I am hearing some rattling when I turn on the heat at night on the 2nd floor. My house has 2 zones and I believe the issue is that air is trapped upstairs in the baseboard.

I inspected all the baseboard units and found that there is no bleeder value anywhere.

I also tried draining air from the boiler (which is in the basement) and that didn't help. Each zone has a drain but it is located in the basement. I did open each zone in a bucket of water and small bubbles came out but that didn't help.

Also I noticed that there is an upside down U of piping hidden behind a false baseboard in a small closet  - I am not sure of its purpose - there are no valves there - just pipe and elbows.

My questions:

Should I installed a T or bleeder value to remove the air on the 2nd floor?
What is the purpose of the  upside down U plumbing?
Beside air, could anything else be causing the noise?


texts: What is the best type of underlay for vinyl flooring?

texts:
I want to install vinyl flooring in my bathroom. Someone in a DIY shop told me that vinyl flooring requires hard underlay like 1/4 inches plywood. If vinyl flooring sits on top of carpet underlay, vinyl will break. Is that true, or somewhat exaggerated?

On the other hand, having to precisely cut plywood in order to make it fit the intricate shape of my bathroom floor scares me to death. How to cut rigid stuff like this anyway?


texts: Adding second Ground Bus to Square D Sub Panel - Grounded via wire or just the screws?

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I have added a sub panel next to my main panel.  It is fed from a 100A breaker using 3-3-3-5 CU Service wire.  I removed the ground screw to isolate the Neutral and I installed the ground bus that came with it on the left side. It is attached with 2 screws directly to the panel. I connected the #5 ground wire to this ground bus.

The question:
The ground bus is SHORT with only 8-10 usable positions so I have added an additional ground bus on the right side of the panel.  It is made specifically for the panel, Square D and attaches with 1 screw, centered over 2 nubs that lock it in place.  Is the screw enough to ground this additional bar or do I need to interconnect it to the first ground bus with wire. If so, what size?

Thanks VERY much in advance for your assistance!

Follow up:

INSTRUCTIONS!!  Those would VERY handy indeed.  The problem is that they SUCK.  Number 4 gives all the info about how to wire it, but I found it less than useful. Here is the entire text of the instructions:

1) Turn off all power to the enclosure

2) Mount grounding bar to the back of enclosure:

if one mounting hole and two nubs are provided, mount with outer holes over nubs and mounting screw through center hole.
if two mounting holes are provided, mount with two mounting screws.

NOTE: If no mounting holes are provided, use #26 drill bit to drill two 0.147 in diameter mounting holes using grounding bar as a template.

3) Apply equipment grounding label to enclosure beside grounding bar.

4) Install wiring to grounding bar. See equipment grounding label for binding screw torque.

So are they assuming this is the ONLY grounding bar and therefore the #5 ground feed from the main panel will get attached to it?  Or is the lack of instruction to jumper it to an existing main ground bar an indication that the screws are enough and that it grounds through the body of the enclosure to the original ground bar?  I sure can't tell from what little info they provided.


texts:
The 2 black + 1 white is my always-hot bundle. I won't use it (unless I want to power the fan 24x7 and use a remote on it). The 2 white is the neutral bundle. My fan will need that. The loose black is the switched-hot from the switch. (it is the partner wire to the oddball white from above). This is the switched-hot for the fan.

So if my fan came with a generic 1 black, 1 blue, 1 white, and 2 green ground wires, how would I go about connecting them to the neutral bundle and switched-hot? I’d assume the black and blue goto the switch and the white to the neutral bundle, but where would the ground goto? Thanks for helping this novice!


texts: What is the proper way to install/paint baseboard?

texts:
I've installed some new baseboards, though I'm not really sure I have the right method down. Here's what I do:

Paint baseboard
Paint walls
Cut and install baseboard (using brad nailer and/or liquid nails)
Sand outside corners so they're not as pointy
Go over nail holes and straight joins with putty, and seal corners with caulk
Sand putty with high grit (just to smooth it out)
Touch-up paint on all the putty/caulk

The downside of this method is that there is a (in some places) small but noticeable gap between the top of the baseboard and the wall. Pretty much anywhere if you wanted to, you could push a piece of paper behind the baseboard. Most new construction I've seen doesn't have this gap, and generally if the walls/trim is re-painted at some point, that also seals up the gap.

Is there a step I'm skipping where people caulk the top edge all the way around? Or am I doing this completely wrong?


texts: How can I make vertical blinds with wood vanes?

texts:
I was thinking of 1/8" Luaun or baltic birch.  I would like to use a clear coat or dye-stain plus varnish.

Yes there are a raft of types of plywood. Other suggestions welcome.

By dimensionally stable I'm most concerned about warp and twist.

Exposure is full sun for 2/3 of the day through patio door windows.

I'm looking for a combination of wood plus finish that may work for this.

I have to replace the blinds anyway.  The old vert blind mechanism works fine.  Occurred to me that I could replace them with vertical slats of wood.  Now I've seen horizontal venetian blinds made with wood, but I don't know what they did to make them warp proof.

At one point venetian blinds were made of wood.  How did they deal with the warp and twist problem?


texts: What NEMA configuration is this receptacle?

texts: This looks like a type H-39, but I can't tell if it's 125V, or 250V. A coworker sent the picture and they didn't test for voltage. Is there anyway to tell what kind it is without testing it? Is it even an H-39?


texts:
Going upon the advice of a reputable builder, I used Quikrete fast-drying concrete for a small slab outside my house.  Not load bearing.

His recommendation was to dry-pour the whole thing. Framed, leveled, screeded and then watered every 30 minutes for 8 hours.

I did it several weeks ago and it seemed to be perfect.  No chipping, very strong but I get that nagging feeling.

Does anyone have any experience with this?


texts:
I am trying to find the name for the following part.

This is underneath a chest that permits it to be moved effortlessly.
I am trying to find this part to replace as they are pretty worn.


texts: Can I use a 50 Hz device in a 60 Hz power frequency?

texts:
My mother in law just returned from Europe and brought me an espresso machine. It's rated 220v - 50 Hz (as written in the label), but the power system here is 220v - 60 Hz. Funny thing is that in the manufacturer website it says the model is actually 220v - 50/60 Hz.

Question is: can I use it here? By searching the internet I found some people saying it wouldn't work, others saying it would work but damage the machine eventually, and even others saying that the frequency difference only affects clocks/timers. So I'm kinda confused.

Should I try to use it?


texts:
I have an IKEA desk with a subtle fake wood grain paint layer (black) on the surface. The paint in the area that my mouse moves has worn away leaving a shiny textureless surface that the laser mouse doesn't detect.

What's the simplest, cheapest, most effective way to re-surface that region (or the whole desk)?

I don't like mouse mats. I'm thinking wallpaper or paint, but I don't know what types of paint will provide the surface required for the laser mouse to accurately detect movement.


texts: How to join two 1x6s to form a 23' baseboard with a seamless transition?

texts:
My upstairs hallway is 23' long and one of its sides has no doors on it, meaning the baseboard on that side covers it continuously.  I am using 1x6 poplar for baseboard and the longest piece my local lumber yard sells is 16'.  I was thinking of joining two pieces but I don't want to have a visible transition.

The one idea that comes to mind is to biscuit join the two pieces or dowel them somehow.  I also wonder if it would be better to just route a groove along the 6 side of each plank in the middle (so approximately 3/8" from each edge) and insert a joining strip of some sort that is elongated (i.e. looks like a popsicle stick).  Once the joining and gluing is done, sand it really well.

Does one of these approaches sound right or is there a better way?  I am sure there must be a way to fabricate really long baseboards from smaller pieces with a seamless transition.


texts: My wall is over 25mm (1 inch) thick, what kind of screw/fastener do I use?

texts:
So initially I thought I had a regular plasterboard. But I have a small measuring thing for wall depth, and after drilling a hole it seems it's deeper than 25mm. The plastboard thickness I see is 10 or 13mm online. So I am wondering if I even have plasterboard?

I am very new to this stuff so just sort of guessing. The apartment house is pretty old, I think it was built in 40s/50s. I am drilling the hole to fasten a standing shelf to it so that it doesn't fall over.

Do I just need a longer fastener? How can I determine how long do I need?


texts: How do I fix a broken nipple under my sprinkler head?

texts: I removed a broken sprinkler from my front yard.  Apparently, whoever installed (previous owner) it did not thread it properly; the threaded nipple snapped off. What do I need to do?  How do I replace the nipple?  I see a white nut.  Do I need to remove that and get a new nipple, or is it more involved?


texts: Looking to update our transformer so we can install the Nest Hello. I believe I found it but wanted to verify if this looks correct?


texts: Should I worry about my electrician not being vat registered?

texts:
Is that automatically a Red Flag?

I'm about to ask what credentials he holds and who he's registered with NICEIC, etc.

Assuming those things are OK, is the VAT registration important? (I'm getting domestic work done, and we're in London)


texts: tall service mast for remote aerial drop

texts:
I'm working with the local telecom provider to get internet access to a remote property in California.
There is a 5' tall 8x8 pressure treated post with an electric meter and some other equipment mounted to it. Electric service runs underground from a utility pole about 30' away, which is on the property.
I'd like to put an ~18 foot tall mast on this post so that the telecom provider can do an aerial drop from the utility pole to the mast. One option seems to be 1-1/2" or 2" rigid metal conduit. One issue is I can only find it locally in 10' lengths, so I'd have to use a threaded coupling to go higher, which seems like a weak spot. Also, I'm not sure if such a tall mast is going to be rigid enough to support the aerial drop. Is there some better way to do this?