texts: What could cause the blower in my furnace to come on?

texts: Ok my blower just turned on, my propane furnace and it's not in operation due it being summer.  My thermostat is set at 65 and the room temp is 78.  The heater never actually fired it was only the blower that ran and continued to run till I tripped the breaker.  Any ideas on what caused it?


texts: How to cut out wall to install brace for pedestal sink?

texts:
I want to install a pedestal sink in my bathroom. Previously there was a standard, cheap Home Depot sink with a vanity cabinet. After pulling that away from the wall, the images below show what the wall looks like.

I intend to mount the sink to the wall using Hanger Bolts, but first I believe I need to cut out a portion of the wall and screw in a piece of wood in which I can drill the hanger bolts. I then I need to patch up the wall again.

This is the first time I've ventured on a home improvement job like this, so I'm a bit hesitant to dive right in. Given the state of the wall as it is, what is the best way to approach this?

Should I cut out only the portion of the wall I think I need? Should I cut out an area that includes where the pipes come out of the wall? What type of saw should be used for the various types of cutting? Is there anything I should be looking out for?

If it matters, this is the sink and I have the matching pedestal to go with it.

Main Image

Zoom in on Left

Zoom in on Right

Zoom in on Pipes


texts: How can I get paint on rocks to last longer?

texts: Occasionally I paint a rock outside and would like it to be unaffected by weather as well as needing to be repainted for a while. I was looking into hydrophobic spray - and was wondering if anyone could confirm it would work for my needs or suggest anything else.


texts: Are there any special tools, materials or techniques required for building a staircase door?

texts:
I have recently moved to a house that has a converted attic. It isn't a huge space but would make a reasonable den or man-cave were it not for the fact that the staircase cuts the room almost in half and restricts the use of the floor space - see photo

I've been thinking of doing away with the railings and getting a staircase or cellar type door instead. This would act as a sort of trapdoor and maximise available space.

I've measured up and been looking at various designs, for example this commercial offering and this one found on Pinterest.

My basic design is going to be a reinforced rectangle of wood attached with strong hinges to act as a trapdoor. There will be say a 4x4 retaining beam running along the opposite side to the hinges to keep the door in  place when closed.

Does anyone have any tips that might be useful for me to know? For example what kind of hinges should I use, how best to reinforce  a door panel to make it sturdy enough to be walked on? Any safety considerations and so on.

EDIT: I'm in a two story brick built house in the UK.

Thanks in advance for your help.


texts:
I'm replacing a deck. Its goes out 12' from the house and 24' along it. Should the outside joists be doubled? (2 boards side by side) I'm using 2x10's for the joists. 2x8's are right on the edge for a 12 foot span. Doubling the joists will make the railing posts sturdier, although I plan on adding some blocking or Simspon brackets to make the posts stronger anyway.

Another question: should I use 2x10's or would 2x8's suffice for the joists?


texts:
I have an LG WD1457RD washer-dryer that's been working pretty well for me, except that where I live (southeast Mexico) there's a lot of limestone so the water is very hard and leaves stains on everything. Once I had the machine taken for maintenance but the guy that did it ended up charging me a ridiculous amount for some apparently broken parts... which I am pretty sure he might've broken.

Recently I had a clog issue and decided to take matters in my own hands so I removed the top cover and managed to clean up the clog and the washer actually ended up working pretty normally.

One of the issues I've been having is with the dryer where it just doesn't dry the clothes even after a couple of cycles, but that's not my main issue here.

The issue is that the holes where water comes out to dissolve the detergent get clogged with limestone and I have to periodically clean them (i basically use a small nail and break the clogged limestone). Here people use a lot of hydrochloric acid to clean limestone, but I think it's too aggressive for sensitive machinery as it can eat through other materials.

Also, my detergent bay sometimes ends up with leftover detergent which then dries up and forms like a layer of limestone detergent mix which just doesn't go with that acid, I've tried it separate from the machine of course.

My question is, is there some special chemical to clean those machines or do I have to take everything apart and submerge only the applicable parts in acid?


texts: Do clear ceiling fan blades cause strobing?

texts:
A regular ceiling fan with wooden blades will cause a light strobe effect when mounted where the blades rotate under recessed/canned lights.  I am wondering if I would have the same strobing problem if I got a ceiling fan with clear, acrylic blades like this one.

Anyone have any experience with this?  I am thinking since the blades are clear they won't block the light when the circle under the canned light so maybe there is no strobing?


texts:
I was thinking about mounting some ikea besta cabinets on a shared wall in my house (1997ish construction, weird town house thing that shares a wall with the neighbour, and there is an office down stairs).

I was having extreme difficulty finding any studs – and knocking on the wall was giving me weird results – I could find areas that don't sound hollow but they didn't seem to run vertically or horizontally, just 'square'ish areas of non-hollowness every ~60cm or so.

Confused, I took off one of the power outlets to take a look to see what was going on and I don't really know what to make of it.

The power outlets themselves are attached via metal brackets that go deep into the wall.

The other side of the shared wall appears to be brick. Then theres maybe 15-cm to my side, and the majority of it seems to be filled with some kinda concrete-ish stuff? I poked it and it was hard and its grey, thats about all I can say about it. Might just be some kind of sound deadening or fire proofing?

It was hard to take a photo of but I tried:

Anyone have any idea of what kind of construction this is? Is it just some kinda wood or metal bracket attached to the brick wall on the far side of the shared wall? What would I do to mount something to this – just stick to the 'solid' feeling squares? What would they even be made of? Or am I just out of luck?

The rest of the internal walls are pretty normal and I can find a stud reliably every 60cm.


texts: I was recently using a Bosch angle grinder but it had been 'sputtering' intermittently; and then during one session, taking the burrs off an edge, it slowed down and just stopped. Now it won't turn on. Does anyone know why this happened? Can it be repaired? Could it have been repaired or serviced before it finally died? I need to know if only for future reference.


texts: Several Electrical Mains into a Single Panel

texts:
For an existing building, seven single-phase mains supplies with meter devices installed by the electrical company are supplying electricity into a same tenant installation. The tenant receives a single bill each month.

Regarding the NEC specifically, i would like to know, if there is admissible to feed all the single-phase mains into a single distribution panel with breakers and protections, of course keeping separated the sub-circuits, as per each mains.

I am thinking on a single distribution panel for the obvious convenience by the construction, the final owner and users.

This is a similar case than in a three-phase case, when each phase is kept separated as sub-circuits, and similar to single-phase and three-phase with an emergency system; all cases in which a single distribution panel is the standard usage.

Thanks in advance,

EDIT: The Rule of Six (NEC 230.71A) limits the maximum number of disconnects to six per service entrance conductors. Considering the building|tenant is unique, this is an argument for requesting the company to reinstall a single service conductor and a single meter device.


texts: Can I legally drill a hole of 4" diameter in concrete load bearing beam through core cutting method?

texts: Can I legally drill a hole of 4" diameter in concrete load bearing beam above window through core cutting method?


texts:
I am installing an under the cabinet range hood.  I can't vent directly out the back because there is a stud in the way.  So I'm going up into the cabinet, making a turn, and then out through the exterior wall.

My range hood manufacturer calls for 7" round pipe.  (or 3.25"x10x rectangle but that is not possible)

Cabinet space is tight, the metal ducts might not fit.  So it made me wonder two things, which I cannot find answers for:

Is it ok to reduce to 6" instead?  How bad could that be?
Is it ok to use pvc pipe?  Seems like heat would never be an issue with a range hood exhaust.  If so... does anyone know where to find 7" pvc pipe?  Not at home depot or lowes, and I'm not having luck searching the internet either.

Thank you


texts: Is EMT or PVC more durable under a porch that gets rain?

texts:
I have a 2nd story porch that I want to put lights under.

I'm not sure whether EMT or PVC will be more durable in the long run. It will get both rain and some sun, and I'd like it to last a long time.

What's more long lasting ? Will the EMT rust over time ?


texts: Can I run 300 ft of cat6 cable, with male connectors on each end, under house to other side?

texts:
I have HughesNet service coming in through the house's garage side. Is there any reason I can't connect a 300 ft patch cable (C2G 300ft Cat6 Ethernet Cable - Solid Shielded (STP) - Blue) to the router in the garage and run it under the house  There is plenty of crawl space access to the other side of the house about 250 ft away. I'd then pop it up through the floor access and hook it into a router and distribute it to the backside in two  locations.
Right now, my problem is WiFi through this house is challenging as it's built with extra-thick walls, double drywall, on each side and in the path from one end to the other are two cobblestone fireplaces interfering with getting the signal to the other side.  I came in from HughesNet at a whopping 9 Mbps and decided to try using Google Nests to get the signal from one end to the other because the shielding provided by walls and stone took 5 nests to get from one end of the house to the other. By which point the signal degraded to about .5 from 1 Mbps.
I know what I am proposing is not pretty but will it work?
To recap, 1-300 ft Cat6 cable with Male connectors on each end. Run the cable under The house bring it up on the other end to a coupler or splitter. I might want to hard wire the computer and let the WiFi for my father's TV so that i can introduce him to Netflix.
Let me know your thoughts any reason this shouldn't work?
P.S. I might hard wire the TV, then set up an access point or router for the computer now that I think of it, split them under the house, and bring a cable up in both adjacent rooms.  Before you say it, why not hire a professional, well dad has more money than god but refuses to let me or him spend any - it is comical at times.
I greatly appreciate any insights, ideas or advice that you can provide.


texts: Glass rod joining/welding: temperature instead of glueing?

texts:
I have some glass things to fix ("decorative kitchen stuff to play with"). The broken part is a rod, about 8mm diameter, made of some colored glass.

I thought of using nichrome wire, but seems that it can't hot enough to melt the glass. Should I try to connect the broken things with the butane torch lighter?

Some ideas:

make it look ugly, and ugly-repaired. Do not let parts disconnect again at their own will. No dynamic forces would be applied.
...forget about it.
build RepRap and reproduce the thing.
profit.


texts: Speed Queen washing machine stopped working mid-cycle

texts:
I have a Speed Queen washing machine model AWN432SP111TW01, serial 1110013649.

It's been working fine for years and we had never had any trouble with it, but today it stopped mid-cycle, and won't turn back on.

I tested another device in the same electrical socket and it worked fine. I ran an extension cord from an electrical socket in another room which was working fine and connected the washer to it, but still nothing.

I looked in the user guide troubleshooting section under "Won't Start". I have tried everything there. One of the suggestions there is to give it a few minutes for the motor overload protector to reset; I have given it hours.

The user guide does not mention a fuse in the washer.

I opened up the control panel area of the washer and looked for a fuse but did not find one. There was a sheet in there with a schematic. I scoured it for a fuse but it did not mention one.

I looked all over in there for anything that looked burned or otherwise damaged, or loose, etc. Everything looks as good as new and all connections seem tight.

Any suggestions on what I can try?


texts: What do I do with two prong plugs in my house, when my fuse box is grounded?

texts:
To whom it may concern,
I just bought a house that was built in 1958. When the house inspector went through the house, he noted that our main fuse box was grounded at the breaker, and then randomly tested various plugs throughout the house and they were grounded. GCFI plugs were installed in the bathroom, kitchen and garage areas respectively. Unfortunately renters were in the process of moving out and furniture was blocking maybe five or six outlets. When the furniture was moved and we finally took possession, we noted around 5 outlets were two pronged. I was planning to test for ground using a voltage tester, by plugging the leads into the polarized plugs (following directions for which color goes where) and then move the lead from the small plug to the screw on the outlet and if the voltage doesn't change then it's grounded. I don't have much money and can't afford to rewire the house. Regardless of how the plugs come back, I'm planning on replacing the receptacles with GCFI outlets. Is there anything else I should do, that won't cost me too much? I don't plan on plugging a TV or computer into the GCFI receptacles, just fans, a phone charger and clock radio because it's in the bedroom.
Rantin' Robin


texts: Testing cabinet screw heads for electrical current

texts:
Is it common to test cabinet screw heads for electrical current in case they may have interfered with wire? Some of the 2x4 behind where I am hanging cabinets have wire running along, in addition to perpendicular, which can more easily be avoided. I would like to use 3-1/8" screws where I have upright 2x4 (as opposed to shorter screws, which would be less risky but less strong too).
If yes what can I use to send the current to, if there is one? Should I somehow send it to an adjacent power outlet?


texts: How do I use a Stanley IntelliSensor to locate the joists/crosspieces in my ceiling?

texts: Six months ago I posted a question about fixing a circular light fitting to my plasterboard ceiling and thank you to bib for a really detailed answer. Returning to the problem I have borrowed the above sensor but it seems to beep randomly so have not been able to find the wood behind the plasterboard. Does anyone know how these wretched things work?


texts: What could be causing my condensation dryer to have standing water under the heating exchanger?

texts: Our zanussi zdc68560w condensation dryer leaks water from the heat exchanger. There is water in the water tank but also some is leaking from the front of the machine and sitting water under the heat exchanger. The black cardboard/plastic  underneath the machine is a bit bent near the right hand side. Is something blocked or another cause?


texts: Is plastic paint a possible solution for a wall with humidity?

texts:
I have a wall that often gets wet. It's a very thin wall and I think it's water that somehow just infiltrates. This happens mostly in the rainy season.

I am not looking for the ultimate permanent solution. For now I am just looking for a cheap solution, that may keep things looking a bit better.

Would painting with plastic paint help to keep water out


texts: Is a stack of steel plate as strong as a single plate of the sum thickness?

texts: I'd like to put a 4'x8' steel plate across my driveway gutter, so cars don't bottom out in the dip.  I've seen 1/2" plates used for this, but at 650+ lbs. (https://www.chapelsteel.com/weight-steel-plate.html), it will be a beast transport.  Will a stack of two 1/4" pieces have roughly the same bearing capacity?


texts: Power to light fixture is on, light doesn't turn on

texts: One of my recessed light fixtures wouldn't turn on it. Got a new fixture. New fixture doesn't turn on. Voltage detector beeps on lead going to the fixture and neutral coming out. Thought that maybe mouse chewed the wire. Attempted to bypass switch and hook directly to power. Fixture still not lighting. Voltage detector beeps on both black and white. What the heck?


texts:
I'm looking to lease a floor of a building for office purposes but the building owner has placed a cap on current to 25Amp due to limited current available. I'm no expert but he has consulted a professional in the area and after figuring out the important stuff, this is the final requirement that he has agreed to:

10 laptops (with external keyboard and mouse)
one external monitor
2 air conditioners (9000btu and 13000 btu)
2 fans
2 air coolers
1 mini fridge
1 router for internet
lights
misc such as phone charging, etc.

I understand current consumption will vary depending on the product but based on your expert knowledge is this combination doable with 25amp or is it going to be a stretch?

Also this is in high humidity (90%) , generally hot weather (30c) and this is on 240v supply (not sure if this matters).

Your expert opinion will be very much appreciated.


texts:
I am doing some renovation in my workshop and am considering doing something kind of unusual.  I find that I am always looking for outlets to plug in tools, lights, etc.  Rather than using power strips, I'm thinking of installing a bunch of outlets instead. On the wall where my workbench will be, I plan to install 8 outlets (one on each stud).  Here's the unusual part: I want to make sure I don't overload the circuit, so I plan to put those 8 outlets on two separate circuits in an alternating pattern (i.e. outlet #1 on circuit 1, outlet #2 circuit 2, outlet #3 circuit 1, outlet 4 circuit 2, etc..).  My shop has exposed studs and 4 existing 20 amp circuits.  I would be adding 4 outlets to two existing circuits.  I am comfortable with this kind of work, but will also have my work inspected according to my local codes.

So my question is, is my plan reasonable or a crazy.  Your input would be really helpful.  I'd rather the internet tell me that I'm an idiot than an inspector.  :-)

Thanks for your time, and please let me know if I can provide any additional information.


texts: What could be causing GFCI breakers and receptacles to trip?

texts: I have a two wire system and after installing GFCI outlet in kitchen I realized there is a problem with some type of inconsistancy causing the GFCI to trip as soon as power is sent to it. Thinking the problem was in an older GFCI outlet I attemped to reuse I purchased and installed a GFCI breaker. Same problem. I'm thinking there is possibly a shared ground in the wiring as the kitchen, dining room and basement lights are all on this breaker. In previous testing while installing a new light I noticed some low voltage current coming through even when the switch was off. Is it possible to get a GFCI to work under these circumstances? There is one outlet downstream from the GFIC outlet. I installed a new conventional outlet in place of the GFCI after installing the GFCI breaker. Everything appeared to work fine with a 20 amp breaker and no GFCI outlet installed.


texts: Hidden fasteners for 1/2" spacing between decking boards?

texts: I want to build a screen out of 5/4 x 4 ipe boards with 1/2" spacing, using some sort of hidden fasteners. All the hidden fastener systems that I was able to find so far are designed for decking, and offer the maximum spacing of 1/4"... Is it possible to use one of these systems, but set the boards wider apart?


texts: How do I add a receptacle from a switch located on the end run of an existing split receptacle?

texts: I need to add a new receptacle to a room. The only convenient source of power for that receptacle in behind a light switch. The challenge is that the aforementioned switch is located on the end run of an existing split receptacle. So there is only 1 cable running into the switch box, coming from existing receptacle, and white wire is marked as hot. The existing receptacle is too far to be a viable solution to wire from there. My only option is from switch box. Am I out of luck?


texts:
My wife just found these bugs crawling all over a box in spare room. There were a bunch of them and they are tiny - almost invisible to the human eye. I can get some detail with my camera however.

Can anyone help me identify this bug?

I'm hoping it's not termites!


texts: I have 5 natural gas appliances in my basement, can I replace just one with a power vented exhaust?

texts:
I live in a 3-family house. I have 3 chimneys and want to eventually remove one of them. One of the furnaces in the basement is gravity venting through the chimney to be removed. Now I need to replace that furnace, and I think it would make sense to put a power vent in instead, so I don't need to go through a chimney and can vent through the wall.

I'm thinking of what happens if more than one appliance is running at one time, though. It could prevent the other chimneys from drafting properly by changing the air pressures.

Would I have to replace all the vents with power vents at the same time? Or is it safe to do just one?


texts:
I had damp and mold develop behind kitchen cabinets.

The mold penetrated all over a backboard and I got rid of it.  Then there is this bottom surface.  You can see it’s all gone black.    The positioning suggests it’s part of the damp damage.

Is this mold or something else?

Is there a way this can be repaired or should I just discard it?
Will I get penalized by the council for discarding it?

It is the bottom part of the cabinet as per second pic. It’s disassembled but it will be higher and joined once assembled.

[![enter image description here][2]][2]

[2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/wh3Xr.jpg


texts: What kind of tool is used to stir paint in a can?

texts: The paint(3+ months old) in my can has separated but I'm not sure what kind of tool to use to stir it.  It is latex paint used for indoor purposes.  Does anyone has any recommendation on what tool to use for the stirring?


texts:
I have 2 bedrooms with all electrical outlets connected to the same circuit.  I started getting intermittent interruptions in all of the sockets in the bedroom farthest from the main breaker box. This went on a couple of months and then all the outlets stopped working. Additionally, all of the outlets in the bedroom closest to the main breaker stopped working.

Please note: The house was rebuilt from the ground up in 2004, so all wiring, circuit breakers, and main panel are new (14 years old).

I tested all of the outlets with a pen tester - all showed power. A friend who is an electrician tested the outlets and found them all to have power.  He couldn't figure out the issue.

I then checked all the connections to each outlet to make sure there were no loose or scorched connections. All were fine. I then replaced the circuit breaker itself in the main panel. I then found that all the outlets in the room closest to the main panel worked, but all the outlets in the bedroom furthest from the main panel still did not work.

I then tested each outlet in both bedrooms with a Micronta 3 prong tester.  All the outlets in the bedroom closest to the main panel showed correct connections and worked fine. All of the outlets in the bedroom furthest from the main panel all showed "open hot" with non of the lights lighting up.

Does anyone have any ideas?


texts: Curtains for a non-air-conditioned apartment in the tropics

texts:
We live in Mumbai - West coast of India, tropics. Summers are from March to July with temperatures reaching early 40 degree Celsius and a lot of humidity. It rains from July to September with temperatures in mid to late 30 degree Celsius. Octobers are hot like summers. November to March the temperatures dip to late 20 degree Celsius.

We live on the sixth floor of an apartment building in an non-air-conditioned house. Ceiling fans provide ventilation. We do not want to have air-conditioning as we believe it's harmful for the environment.

Our bedroom and living room have a 10ft X 4ft East facing window each. Two other rooms have same sized windows facing North and 5ft X 4ft windows facing East.

In the summers, things heat up quite a lot. What type of curtains should we use to make the house as comfortable as possible? Will it help if we plant vines in pots and let them crawl up the window grills? Also, should we use the same curtains during winters?


texts: New bathtub diverter spout drains back into wall

texts:
I replaced my old diverter spout with a new one (both Delta), and I've found that the new one will leak water back through the hole in the wall if the diverter is switched off while the shower is running.

If I first turn off the water pressure and then push in the diverter, no problem. So, seems to me that the issue has something to do with the onrush of water when the diverter is switched off while under pressure. I'll just mention that our water pressure is typical (wimpy) for Southern California.

The new spout has a copper piece that screws onto to the water supply from the wall:

...and then the spout screws onto that until it's flush with the wall (there is no set screw).

If I block the spout with my hand and try to blow air through it from the back (with the diverter off), I'd expect flow to be blocked. Instead, I can feel air escaping out of the holes in the back.

What puzzled me when I was installing this (there were no instructions) is that it doesn't seem to be designed to seal against the wall or prevent water from getting into the outer body of the spout.

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Any advice?

I need to finish this up so I can repair the drywall in the downstairs ceiling.

Cheers!


texts: How to insulate brick/plaster walls from extreme heat?

texts:
I live in Rajkot, India. Temperature goes above 40 *C (104 *F) for at least 4 months a year.

I live in a single floor house with 3 sides of house and roof is exposed to sunlight.

It's a house built with brick walls, plaster and concrete slabs. flat roof floor is tiled with white ceramic tiles. Outer walls are painted white.

Is there anything I can do to reduce the inside temperature?


texts: Can I use low voltage lights with a motion sensor?

texts:
I have installed and wired low voltage exterior lights. They required a transformer to bring the AC to 24 volts. I want them controlled by a motion sensor so before the transformer I installed a motion sensor. The lights work, but only with the switch. The motion sensor does not engage.

Is it possible to have the motion sensor control the lights, and if so, how do I do it?


texts: What kind of bulb should I use for a recessed can?

texts:
I just installed a Halo 5" IC remodel recessed can with the 5000P open trim.  I installed a 15W R30 CFL bulb, and it hangs down about an inch below the trim.  Not very recessed!  I have the trim configured properly for R30.

I'd like a bulb that won't hang down past the trim, but produce the same amount of light.  Will a PAR30 50W halogen do the trick?

Is there something else I'm missing?


texts: How should I install a thermostat for a baseboard heater?

texts:
How would I go about installing a thermostat for my bedroom's baseboard heater?  I've seen lots of articles on how to replace an old thermostat but I'm installing a thermostat for the first time here.

The heater is currently controlled by a dial on the heater, there is no thermostat.

Do I have to rip out drywall to follow the 240 wire?
Is there a different way to trace where to 240 wire flows in the wall?
Is it as easy as figuring out where the 240 wire vertically climbs the wall and install a thermostat inline?


texts: The bottom of our dishwasher door is damaged.  Can it be repaired and brought back to a newish state?  Or does the facade need to be replaced?


texts:
I want to hook up my Honeywell rth9580wf to a natural gas garage heater that only has R, W, and G (not in use). It's currently hooked up to a standard battery powered Honeywell thermostat. I've read up on other posts for installing furnaces without C terminals, and gave it a try without luck. Here's what I did:
-Using a voltmeter I tested across the R terminal, and the red wire from the control board to the transformer. Each measures ~27V.
-No matter the heater's running state, I measure a constant ~27V at the R terminal and on the post of the transformer.
-Hooked up the G wire (which wasn't in use) to the R, and put this in the C on the thermostat. This did not power up.
-Was about to run a wire off the post on the transformer to the C, but held up before asking for advice.

I'd like some guidance I'd anyone can assist? Thank you.


texts: Is gap filler suitable for a 2-3" gap between soffit and wall?

texts:
While cleaning out a bird's nest along the eaves, I noticed that there are sizable gaps between the soffit (such as it is) and the wall. The gap varies between 2-3 inches. The soffit (white board) seems to be in ok shape.

Would something like gap fill work here? Is there a better way to fill this gap? It's not a constant width, so I'm not sure what else would work. Or should I just bite the bullet and remove the white board and replace it with something wider?

While the last option is probably the best, I'd rather avoid it for a while if possible.


texts: Can I drive a ground rod near a gas meter?

texts:
I am redoing the electrical in my 1940s house.

The house has no grounding electrodes but the meter and panel are grounded to my water pipe outside in the front of the house. (This actually looks like someone else's recent DIY hack job.)

To bring the electrical work up to code, I want to drive a ground rod right under the electric utility's meter. The only problem is that my gas meter would be located just a foot or so away.

I've already checked to make sure the rod itself wouldn't be driven into a gas line, but I need to know if it would be against code or just plain unwise to drive a ground rod here.

I found a very similar question here, but none of the responses specifically answer the question with regard to safety or code compliance:


texts: Painting over already painted plank walls, do I need to sand it before?

texts:
We're living in a 200+ years old house, slowly renovating, and we're starting the second floor which is basically wood plank walls. Some of them have wallpaper on it, but most of them are painted.

Now Googling here and there, the only source I've found that mentioned plank wall there where already painted said to "sand the wall to remove old  paint" before painting over.

Now my walls already have at least two layer of old paint and I feel link sanding it will take us forever... Would sanding it really be needed? Can't I just paint over the old paint?


texts: Can I run a ground wire from a cheater plug to another 3-prong outlet to ground it?

texts:
I live in an old house with my parents (who are the homeowners), and have a problem where some of the electrical outlets in the oldest parts of the house have not been upgraded from two-prong to three-prong outlets. There are two outlets in particular that we have various electronics plugged into, one powering some networking gear and the other powering a TV and a desktop computer setup. In order to use modern electronics with these outlets, we use a combination of cheater plugs and extension cables, then run surge protectors off of those as needed. This setup has worked for years with no issues, but I remain concerned about its safety and efficacy over the long term. I have inquired with my parents to see whether they would be receptive to hiring an electrician to properly rewire those outlets, but they are of the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality and do not wish to spend the money to update those outlets.
One idea that I had to help address this was to attach a wire to the ground tab on the cheater plugs and run that over to a grounded three-prong outlet on the same circuit to ground them. To do this, I would utilize one length of copper wire like so with closed-end wire terminals to connect the ground tabs from both cheater plugs together, then I would run a second length of wire from one of the cheater plugs to the nearest three-prong outlet and connect it using a ground adapter like this. All three plugs are located on the same circuit, with two of the plugs in the same physical room, so I do not believe there should be any major issue electrically doing this.
Would this be a viable solution for protecting these important circuits from ground faults? If not, is there a better solution that would provide a similar result? Remember, fixing the root cause of this issue is not possible at the present time, so an external solution is necessary.


texts:
We purchased a new chandelier for our kitchen last year and never for around to installing it. Today we opened the box and realized there is only one wire on the light plus one green screw that we assumed is for the ground wire from the box.
We’ve never seen this before and all of the lights we’ve previously installed had at least 2-3 wires. We’re not master electricians but something seems amiss.
Id love to install it but I’m worried it might be unsafe.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[![enter image description here][2]][2]
[2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/f5xhf.jpg![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sn54x.jpg)


texts:
I am building a tree house. I will cut two support beams from oak to support the building. How much weight will a 4"x8"x20ft oak beam support?

I will be working between two trees.


texts:
The staircase to my basement has a metal handrail that I was able to pull out of the wall because the brackets take a single screw and those single screws were only 1/2" long.

I would like to replace the entire handrail with a new handrail and brackets. I am going to buy a simple wood handrail and these style brackets.

The building code in my area states the top of the handrail must be between 865mm (34") and 965mm (38"). I have two toddlers and would like the handrail to be as low as possible so they can reach it.

There are several studs along the length of the wall where I will put the handrail so I'm assuming if I install it correctly I won't have the same problem as I did with my old handrail.

How do I ensure the handrail is 34" high? From where do I even measure? How can I be sure that the entire length of the handrail is the right slope and correct height? Is there a simple and straight forward way to install a handrail?


texts: Should Neutral and Earth be bonded at the meter instead of in the main panel(s) with tandem 200A main panels

texts:
In my 2014-built United States mainland home, I have two side-by-side 200A panels.  They both have a 200A main breaker.  One really neat thing this let me do is have two lighting circuits in the basement, so that I can work on a panel with the main off and have great lighting to see what I'm doing.  There are of course, no loads that pull from both panels.

Both panels receive power from the same meter can on the other side of the wall,which I believe is rated 320A.  The meter can does not have a breaker.  The meter can is designed with one input and two outputs for each conductor.  I believe the meter can is a Milbank  U4702-X-5T9-K3-K2-IL

In both panels, the ground and neutral are bonded together as they should be in a main panel.

Obviously both of the neutrals come out and tie to the same lug under the meter.  And both of the ground wires coming out of the tandem main panels are tied to the same building steel and grounding rods.

My question is this:  Why isn't Neutral-to-Earth bonding done in the meter can in a "class 320" service?   (before it splits off to two separate panels)

Is it just that the interior of the meter can isn't as inspect-able as the interior of the panels?

The two main panels are in some way sub-panels of the meter can right?  I read all the time neutral and ground should only be bonded in one place.  I understand why if I hang a sub panel off a main it should be isolated there.  But why would the same logic not affect my tandem main panels?


texts: Why can the connections of a recessed light be buried in drywall, but not junction boxes?

texts:
I'm redoing lights in our kitchen and have to splice some lines. I have read numerous threads that all say you cannot bury the junction box in the drywall, it has to be accessible.
The recessed lights I'm putting in all have a junction box attached to them, and will end up 'buried' behind drywall so only the opening for the light is exposed.
Here is a picture of the recessed housing.

Once drywall is installed, the connections for the light will be inaccessible, much in the way a junction box with splices in it would be hidden behind drywall. Why is this considered acceptable when a box with splices in it is not acceptable to be buried behind the drywall?

The only thing I can think of is that you would be certain where the junction was. If ability to locate the box is the only reason it's ok, what if I as the owner retain information about where the buried box is?
I realize some day we may sell the house, or I might die and the house will go to someone else who doesn't know the boxes location... is that the only concern?


texts: Putting a birdhouse up a tree without harming the tree

texts:
I'd like to put a bird house (below) into my backgarden tree but am not sure what's the best way to do it. I've read opinions that affixing a birdhouse by hammering nails into it & into the tree might harm the three, as would tying rope around it (tight enough to hold the weight of the birdhouse).
Thus wrapping the birdhouse around the trunk or nailing it do not seem like good ideas. What else can I try? I could try hanging it from the tree but I don't know how stable that would be: the birdhouse that I bought does not have any addons to ease its attachment to the tree.


texts: What to do about different rooms in the house being a completely different temperature?

texts:
I moved into a 30 year old home last December.  There is a problem with the HVAC.

I have included a very crude drawing of the floor plan

The problem is that I can't maintain a comfortable temperature in the different rooms of the house.  I don't really care about the basement because I seldom use it.  The thermostat is located in the great room.  It is not in direct sunlight.

Suppose for the sake of discussion that I want the temperature to be 70 degrees.

Suppose that it's cold outside and I set my thermostat to 70 degrees.  The great room, kitchen will be about 70 degrees.  The bathroom will be warmer.  The den will feel about 65.  The upstairs will be about 75 or so, and I can break a sweat.

It gets late at night and the bedrooms upstairs are too hot, so I turn the thermostat down to 65 to compensate.  The air-conditioner kicks on and the temperature in the bedrooms is now about 70 (which is what I wanted), but it gets very cold downstairs.

When it is warm outside, I still have the problem that it is much warmer upstairs than downstairs.

Why does it seem impossible to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the house?  What do I need to do in order to maintain the same comfortable temperature in all the rooms?


texts: Shave ceramic hole instead of re-cutting

texts:
I have no earthly idea why the previous orders did this.

For our sink they cut the sides 1.5 inches (left), and the middle 1.25 inch.

Our new faucet comes with these to go into the hole as a bracket. But these are 1.25 inches as well. The sides fit obviously (being 1.5 inches wide) but the middle one doesn't fit.

I mean it barely doesn't fit. If i could shave even 1/16 or 1/8 of inch off the hole it would fit snug. BUT IT WOULD FIT!!!

Any suggestions?


texts: Why is the mouse eating the cabinet shelves only

texts: I have a mouse that is getting in some way and only eats the edge of my freshly painted cabinet shelves.  There are lots of food in there that they usually eat like stuffing, bread crumbs etc, but they don’t bother any of the food only eats the outer edge of my cabinet shelf.


texts: Gap between 6" dia wall thimble & 6" hvac pipe

texts:
I bought a 6" dia aluminum wall thimble to vent my 6" dia hvac steel exhaust pipe through to the outside. However, the diameter of the 6" thimble is actually 6 3/4". How do I effectively insulate the gap?
Thanks


texts: How does denim insulation perform at low ambient temperatures?

texts:
I am interested in how denim insulation like this performs at low ambient temperatures. Does anyone know? I am most interested in performance measures like R-value and what other factors affect this.
I have seen some estimates for other materials, such as here and here, but not for denim or for other "fabric-type" insulation.
(For me, "low temperatures" means 0 to 40 deg F, or -18 to 4 deg C. I am thinking about insulating windows at night with denim insulation and a vapor barrier, but I'm interested in a range of applications.)
Thanks!


texts: How do I remove drywall stuck between flooring and wall?

texts: I removed some drywall from a wall, but I am having difficulty removing the bottom half an inch because the flooring is about half an inch tall or so, leaving a strip of drywall at the bottom of the wall held in with nails. Is there a fast way to remove this?


texts:
We've got a beam that we replaced two years ago due to some damage.  The beam is out front and is above all the other beams it supports, which makes the whole thing a bit strange.  We made our own laminated beam, put it in place and then fastened with metal straps as was done in the original construction.  The lower beams come out of the house and are attached to a short porch overhang.  They travel under the big beam and connected by some more boards parallel to the front door.

The beam has sagged in the middle and is pulling the center under-beams down, causing some separation from the porch.

Here you can see the beam sag, a good inch or two, with the visible angle at the joint of two boards that join in line with the left entrance door.

We could probably build a better beam, or buy one that is professionally done.  But it seems we'll still have the issue of the bottom beams sagging after they are attached.  I'm looking for some other way to attached the lower beams, so they can be pulled upwards to the proper position.  Or perhaps we need to detach the lower beams, jack them up and refasten.  I am able to push them back up in place with my own body power, but maybe that flexed beam is helping me a bit.  My partner on the previous repair is concerned the beam will simply sag more if we re-attach higher.

One other note, the old beam had some interesting hardware installed on the main beam with adjustable bolts that attached to the lower beams.  I'm assuming this was to fix this same issue.  I foolishly threw these parts away a few months ago!

Thanks for any advice and fresh perspectives.


texts: Two layers of underlayment for sheet vinyl?

texts:
I'm installing sheet vinyl flooring in the bathroom.  Home Depot told me to get this hard plywood, just under 1/4" thick for underlayment.  I'm concerned though because my sub floor is 10" or 12" wide boards with a good amount of gaps between them.  I was thinking of throwing another sheet of 3/8" OSB on top of the subfloor, then the 1/4" underlayment.  Is that a good idea, or bad idea?  Really needed?  I'm wondering if there will be a problem with the nails going through multiple layers of plywood?

Thanks!


texts: Is a 1x6 enough to secure a wall mount sink?

texts:
I'm doing a mild bathroom remodel and plan to install a wall mount sink since it's a small half bath and that would open the room up. I had originally planned to install a 2x6 between two wall studs to mount the sink too. Unfortunately it turns out the hot water supply line to the entire house comes into this wall, and the drain vent goes right behind it too, so I only have enough clearance to fit a 1x6 in there instead.

Would a 1x6 secured with screws and liquid nails be sturdy enough to support a wall mount sink? The sink itself weighs around 40lbs but I figure at some point someone will lean on it so it's got to be secured pretty well.


texts: How to transfer lumber cut with odd angles

texts:
I am interested in learning this craftsmanship /technique:

Look like the piece of lumber in between has perfect cut to match the angles.

How did they transfer the cut dimension? Is there a tool for that?

I was thinking about using paper cardboard templates but even so, it's not perfectly lined up like the photo.


texts:
Going to sound stupid, but i have to ask. I'm running CM ethernet cable in my attic. just two runs.

I am looking for what an official 'riser' is? I've always just used eye hooks for this stuff but i wanted to see if there is a legitimate riser for the job that should be used


texts: What code requirements exist for low-sill, upper-floor windows?

texts:
I own a house in Texas (USA), built in 1885. I am renovating, enclosing the second floor back porch; it's essentially an addition, with a bathroom, a storage closet, and a hallway. The area will be about 6 feet deep; the hall is a short tee, with the closet on the right and the bathroom on the left. I'm doing the work myself (though I did have my plans and the building inspected by an engineer); I have a fair amount of experience in construction and planning, but not a lot with building code (I grew up outside of town, where "building", "permit", and "inspection" are unrelated words).

My house has many tall windows, 84 inches tall, all double hung. Three of these windows faced the porch, so I am moving them (frame, trim, and all) to the (new) outside wall. One window goes in the bathroom, one in the closet, and the third in the hallway. I realize it's a bit odd to put a window in a closet, but it fits the symmetry of the house. Installed, the windows will be about 2 inches above the floor, essentially floor to ceiling. The bathroom window and hall window will each have a fixed pane on bottom, and a sliding sash on top; the closet will be double hung, able to open from top or bottom.

I am going to add a reinforced railing in front of the hallway window, to prevent over-excited children from leaping to their doom; otherwise, what safety measures do I need to put in place for the windows to meet building code? This includes type and thickness of glass, how and what parts of the window can open, railings or other guards, and anything else I may not have thought of.


texts: How do I widen a hole in my porcelain kitchen sink?

texts:
My faucet recently broke, so I replaced it with a new faucet and sprayer. To put in the sprayer, we removed the dishwasher air gap - with predictable results. I've replaced the air gap in its hole. I'd still like to use the sprayer; however, I don't have any other holes of the right size.

I do have a 1/2" hole on the other side of the porcelain sink that was previously used for a filtered water faucet. How can I widen this hole to the 1-3/8" that I'll need for the sprayer?


texts:
I recently purchased this Kwikset 96870-100 Belleview Single Cylinder Handleset, and I need to drill the hole for the latch.

What size bit should I buy for this job and can I buy at everyone's favorite Prime online store?

Thanks.


texts: Independent light switches are now dependent

texts:
I did a replacement of two light switches that are next to one another. One switch controls a small outdoor sconce by our back door. The other switch controls the flood lights that illuminate the backyard.

Prior to my intervention, the switches worked independent from one another - though there is a wire that connects the two switches. I could turn either of them on or off without the other one needing to be one or off. But, after I did my thing, the sconce will not turn on unless the flood lights are also on.

Clearly, I've done something wrong. I'd prefer to get it back to the way it was. I'm thinking I must've botched the connecting wire placement, but have tried multiple different wire placement combinations with no success.

Any ideas?


texts: How to remove tar left over from old floor carpet?

texts: Redoing bathroom floors and under the tiles there was really old carpet. I was able to remove the upper layer of it, but there is a tar-like substance stuck on the wooden floor that is very difficult to remove. Are there any tricks or chemicals that can be used to easily peel this away and leave the wood intact?


texts:
I have a woodford frost free faucet that I just rebuilt
I will not leak unless we turn it on. What part of the rebuild did I do wrong.


texts: Joining two composite decking boards side by side

texts:
I described my problem in this question here

How to fix deck board at edge not lined up with beam?

This is the outcome of that project. There ended up a bit of gap in some area like 1/8" - 3/16". It's the one on the left here:

The reason is that when I cut 2 boards using the table saw, it's not straight all the times. Plus the bottom beam is not flat so it's impossible to join two boards like that without any noticable gap when looking closely.

At the end, the gap is a bit larger but not bad. You can see the beam directly below:

My question is: how to fill the gap to prevent water from sipping in and rot the lumber below over the years? If there is no lumber below, it's easier. But this is always a target for rotting.

I am thinking about filling in the PL 400 completely and wipe it off at the surface using thinner or gas to clean it. Making it like some sort of filling / grout.

What are some options?


texts: 50 Amp tankless water heater and 30 amp double pole switch

texts:
I just moved into a house. I have a 50 amp max tankless water heater. The circuit breaker is 50 amps. The water heater is connected to a NEMA 10-50 power receptacle. There a switch to turn on and off the water heater from inside the house. I am going to replace the switch. I noticed that it is a double pole 30 amp switch.

I haven't tested the water heater yet and I am going to replace the switch, but I would like to know if this is a safe setup, since the switch's amperage is lower than the water heater's max.


texts: Is it safe to combine 2, single pole 20 amp circuits?

texts:
A few years ago a contractor added two 20 amp lines from the breaker box to a knee wall on the second floor where they terminated in a junction box. They were put there for future use in a central AC system.

We did add central air eventually but those 20 amp lines weren't used (so I thought). I was going to connect to one of those lines the other day so I could add an outlet to a wall without any, and noticed that inside the junction box those 2 lines were connected and powering a 12 awg wire which I haven't traced yet.

Is it safe to have those 2 separate 20 amp lines, each on separate single pole breakers, connected to each other? Does that connection create 240v but still at 20 amps?

Here's a photo of the junction box:


texts: Which of these is a suitable material for waterproofing interior walls?

texts:
Would anyone care to venture an opinion about which of the materials (if any) listed in http://www.chemisol.com/argp.htm  would be most suitable for applying a waterproofing coat to interior walls? The description of these products is not very explicit about this. The room whose walls are to be coated is a bathroom.

The ACC-30 page explicitly mentions bathrooms.

EDIT:  Ecnerwal makes the good point that waterproofing an interior wall does not make much sense. So, I guess a followup question (should I make this a separate one) is whether any special coating/treatment is necessary, or should one simply paint the interior walls?


texts: Is there a missing ground wire in my pedestal service circuit?

texts:
I just had a electrical inspection stated 2 hot 1 neutral and one ground needed.
I thought all of that was there.

Here are the inspection forms. I have no clue what is wrong or what is correct.


texts: Is it against code to create a NM-B to THHN junction inside a conduit body?

texts:
I'm installing a 60A subpanel in my detached garage. I'll be running 2GA conductors, to leave the possibility of upgrading to 100A service in the future open. The Breaker I'll be using on the main only handles up to 3GA wire, so I was looking to use romex and connect it down the line to my outdoor conductor.

I see the documentation for a conduit body, and part of it says

  Provides openings for making splices and taps in conductors

And another conduit body even has junction box in the name.

if I can save some material/labor (time and money) by not having to install a separate junction box inside the house for this that'd be nice, but this work will be inspected, and above that, we will actually be living here, and I take pride in my work, so I'd like to do this up to code.


texts: Why can I not assemble conduit around cable, but must pull it after assembly?

texts:
I have seen a number of answers here from our esteemed electricians about running wiring through conduit, and many of them include a warning similar to:

You're not allowed to piece the conduit together over the wires - they must be pulled only after the conduit is complete

While I understand that it must be done this way because That's What The Code Says™, my question is why is this specified in code?
I understand that code is generally written based on objective laboratory testing and/or real-world experience. What real-world experiences could have led to this being codified?
What is it about "pull wires through a piece of conduit, attach the conduit to the source box, pull wires through an elbow, secure elbow to existing conduit, pull wires through another piece of conduit, secure conduit to elbow, lather, rinse, repeat" that is inherently and/or potentially dangerous?


texts:
I have a slight moisture problem in the basement. During really torrential rainstorms of 5+ inches of rain, sometimes water seeps up though the concrete floor in the basement. I'm looking at installing floating vinyl and am looking at these two subfloors:

http://retail.armtec.com/en-ca/Products/Subfloor-Options/Platon-Subfloor.aspx
http://www.cosella-dorken.com/bvf-ca-en/products/foundation_residential/floor/products/fl.php

Here's my question: I don't understand how these products work!  Right now with the bare concrete whenever the water shows up, its open air and it dries out on it's own.  Carpet won't work because wet carpet-yuk.  And Sheet Vinyl I fear would trap any mostire, ruin the adhesive and develop some unseen problem that will grow over time.

I can't wrap my head around these products.  They come recommended by others in the same situation, but their statements seem contradictory. "creates a waterproof barrier" "so the moisture evaporates instead of being trapped"  how can the moisture safely be allowed to evaporate out, while being trapped beneath a water proof barrier?

Please explain to me how these work! Thanks!


texts: How do I replace insulation in the corner?

texts:
I'm re-insulating a room in my house, and have come to the corner.  The studs are arranged like so:

x| | |
-
-

x = the space I'm talking about, | = studs of an interior wall, - = studs of an exterior wall.

Peeking in, I can see there is some loose fibreglass insulation in there.

Question:  What should I do about that space?  I can see 3 possibilities

Try to rip out as much of the existing insulation as possible (maybe with a linoleum knife?), and try to re-fill with Roxul (the insulation I'm using for the rest of the project.
Same as 1, but fill the space with Big Gap Filler
Don't try to remove the existing insulation, and just stuff a little more Roxul in there.

What would people who actually know what they're doing suggest?


texts: How to make cold lay asphalt less porous?

texts:
Yesterday I finished off a job replacing a gully to add channel drainage on the driveway. The area we dug up (around 2m²) was topped off with 5cm (2") of cold lay asphalt laid in 2x 2.5cm (1") stages. For each stage the asphalt was rammed down hard using a handheld tamper.

Product used: https://www.hanson-packedproducts.co.uk/en/products/asphalts/drive-repair-macadam

The end result is quite a porous asphalt. A lot more noticeably porous than the rest of the driveway which will have been laid with hot asphalt. I'm in the north of England and the freeze-thaw cycle is consistent. I don't want this new patch of asphalt to start breaking up after only a few years.

Is there a technique to finish off cold lay asphalt/tarmac which fills in that porosity?

Thanks.


texts: How to cover the crevice between some laminate and molding

texts: There's a small (SMALL!) walkway next to this staircase that was originally covered with carpet.  It's been ripped out and replaced with laminate, but now there's a crevice between the laminate and the wall molding.  Any suggestions on how to fix or cover up?


texts: i am trying to rough out a waste line for the toilet in concrete.. what I am not sure about is how do I get he pvc flange to sit straight and flush if I pitch the pipe 1/2 inch to the stack


texts: Is it necessary to notch the side door jambs for setting the header piece?

texts:
I need to make my own door jambs from 1x lumber because I have a salvaged antique transom (the whole door is actually restored antique) and couldn't find pre-made ones at Lowes/HD that are long enough.  I did notice that the regular sized ones had a notch on each side jamb to set the header piece.  I was wondering what the advantage of that is over simply laying the header piece on top of the side pieces.  I can probably make notches in my homemade jamb but it would be easier to avoid the trouble and just set it on top of the side jambs.

Can anyone elaborate on the need to make the notches?


texts: What made these burrows and holes in my lawn (Picture inside)

texts:
I just moved to upstate NY area. I don't have too much experience with lawn but I know my lawn is terrible compared to my neighbors'.

I took this picture today. There are clearly some activities under my lawn. I think it is killing my lawn because the upper left area in the photo is grass-less before I moved in. What animals are those? How can I get rid of them?

These holes below may not related to the first one because there wasn't any burrow. Just quarter size holes. What animal made these?


texts:
I am in the market to purchase a router for the first time, and I am not really sure what I should be looking for. As a reference, this is for hobby wood working, and the best I know to categorize it as is general usage (a little bit of everything). Not sure if it makes a difference, but I do not currently plan on getting a router table, but plan on getting one (or making one) down the line.

The things I have found while comparing them:

Motor Size
Collet sizes accepted
Dust Collection (not really important to me at the moment, since I do everything outside and just let it go everywhere)
plunge or fix based (not sure how important this one is, as they seem to be interchangeable bases)

Is there anything else I should be comparing?


texts: Whirlpool Duet front-loading washer won't spin

texts: I have a Whirlpool Duet front-loading washer.  Sometimes it stops and won't spin then displays code F02.  Usually turning it off for an hour and restarting solves the problem but not tonight.  When I try to restart it, it makes a grumbling sound for a while then gives up and beeps/displays the code.  Previously I opened it up and there were no obvious problems.  I checked the drain pump trap and there was nothing in it.  There isn't much in it so I don't think overloading is the problem.


texts: How should I compute the clear span of a purlin in a roofing system?

texts:
My house employs purlins to support the roofing rafters. (this video explains almost perfectly what I have in the house). There are two purlins, about 6 feet from each other and the top ridge of the roof. The purlins are 2x8 and are supported by struts at various points.

One of the purlins is in the way of a potential attic access. I keep bumping my head on it. I'd like to move it a foot or maybe 16" away from the other purlin and closer to the wall supporting the rafters. This purlin spans over a room for about 11 feet. At one end it is connected to an exterior wall, at the other end a strut (as depicted in the video).

Ok.. the question:
What is the formula/table required that determines the appropriate span and spacing for the purlins? I'd like to use that to figure out how much flexibility there is in relocating the purlin up or down the rafters or replacing the one purlin with two purlins that split the difference.

Update: Some measurements (rounded):
The rafters are supporting a single layer of 50-year asphalt roofing.
From the ridge to the exterior supporting wall, rafters measure 203 inches.
From the ridge to the first purlin measures 25" oc
From the first purlin to the second purlin measures 65" oc
From the second purlin to the exterior wall is 114" oc
Both purlins are independently supported. At the exterior wall, a 2x4 support nailed to 2 2x4 studs that rest upon the top plate of the exterior wall, the purlins rest on the 2x4 in both cases (to be clear, not the same 2x4!) Approximately 11 feet away is the next support, attached to the top plate of an interior wall using a 2x4 strut exactly as represented in the video.
Roof is a 4 / 12 pitch roof.
The entire structure is on a concrete slab.


texts: Can you use dishwasher hoses for a washer?

texts:
I have a small apartment kitchen, and would like to add a small washing machine/dryer combo

Taps on the kitchen sink are 1/2 inlet and 3/8 outlet.  Drain on the sink is 1 1/2" feeding into 2" plus below the p-trap.

1) Can I use a standard dishwasher hose connected to an add-a-tee off the 3/8ths outlet under the sink?

2) Can I use a dishwasher drain hose from the washer, and dump it in the stack under the sink?

Will these work, even if they aren't up to code?


texts:
My wife and I are in contract to purchase a home (not a new home). The inspection revealed a few things and the seller has agreed to fix all but one thing we requested. The one thing they are not going to fix/address is a small area of wood rot in the OSB sub-floor directly under the front door. According to them, they can't seem to find someone to do the work. The small area of wood rot (about a 6 inch by 6 inch area) is visible from the basement. The basement is not finished and there are no signs that large amounts of water have entered the home from this area. I do know that the sub-floor has two layers of OSB/plywood and there is luxury vinyl plank on top of that. I remember the inspector showing us this and we went to the exterior of the front door and noticed small cracks between the bottom door sill and the stone/concrete underneath it but the inspector couldn't/wouldn't say if that was the source of the water entry.

Anyone experienced this before and have an idea how big of a deal this is? I'm not thinking it's something to let the deal fall apart over. I'm pretty handy so I feel I could easily replace a small section of the sub-floor myself and the LVP will make it even easier IMO. However I know things aren't always as easy as they seem. Any wisdom would be appreciated  :) Thanks!


texts: Can I hang a heavy weight from a concrete ceiling if I reinforce it with fiberglass?

texts:
I'm investigating the possibility of hanging a pull-up bar/ rock-climbing training board from the concrete ceiling in my apartment. The slab is 180mm (7inches) thick and the (static) weight which I would need to support would be 70-90kg (155-200lb). My ceiling is also my neighbour's floor, the building is from 1958... I've read similar questions and responses here and the the issue seems to be tensile strength of the concrete. Originally I planned to use two expanding bolts and an epoxy to help secure them but now I'm not sure.

My question is: would adhering fibreglass sheets to the ceiling where I place the bolts help to improve the ceiling's tensile strength and reduce the chance of the concrete cracking/failing?

If I did this I imagine I would first drill the holes for the bolts, then glue fibreglass sheeting over the whole area, and then pierce the sheet just over the holes in order to place the bolts. Is this a terrible idea? A free-standing structure is not an option - it's ceiling or nothing.

EDIT: Seems like the general consensus on the fibreglass is it wouldn't help. Can anyone suggest an alternative method of safely anchoring the load to the ceiling if money was no object and I wanted to seriously over-engineer this setup? Distributing the load over a wider surface with 2x4 and/or marine ply or similiar and using that as an anchor etc?


texts: Floodlight randomly, dimly lights even when lightswitch is off

texts:
This problem baffles me completely.  In one of our bedrooms, we have two floodlights connected to a one-way Z-wave dimmer switch.  Both floodlights are Cree BR30s.  When the light switch is off, one of the two floodlights randomly lights up very dimly.  If I remove the "problematic" light, the other floodlight does not randomly light up and continues to operate normally.  This leads me to believe that it can't be a problem with the light switch.  I plan to install an incandescent light today to see what happens when the light types are mixed.

I don't know what else to ask, except, how is this even possible?  When the floodlights were occupied by normal incandescent lights, this never happened.  What sort of debugging strategy would you all recommend?  Thank you!

UPDATE 1/28/2017: I finally ordered and installed the recommended dimmer switches and they work!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006LQFHN2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


texts: I have a 240 volt 20 amp receptacle in 4x4 box. There is a neutral wire not being used in the box. Can I use (share) a 120 leg of the 240 with the neutral to a 120 duplex receptacle in the same box coming off the 240 circuit breaker? There is nothing on the 240v line now, but I want to have it available just in case I want to plug my table saw in and have 120v available at the same time. This is in my man-cave and every 240v and 120v receptacle is on it's own separate circuit breaker.


texts: How can I determine if there is mold on my fieldstone basement walls?

texts: I recently purchased a home built in 1908 which has a fieldstone foundation. The basement remains unfinished and has a cold room. Recently water started appearing on the basement floor and I want to repoint the foundation walls.  How can I tell if there is mold on or in the walls and how can I prevent further mold once the repointing is completed?


texts:
I want to upgrade my 100 amp power to 200 amp. Under the new 200 Amp setup, can I install a switch that will cut all power to the hot bars in the box, say for lock-out, tag-out? Do they make a switch rated/designed for this purpose?

This is Indiana, US


texts: I am trying to install a new single pole light switch in a restroom.  I previously had a push button switch that has an off, light, heater, and fan button's and also a light to show when the heater is on.  When I pulled it out there were wires everywhere I cut all wires to switch.  I have 3 black wires, 3 white, and 3 ground.  I have no clue what to do.  I think the hot wire black goes to the bottom screw of the switch once I locate it. Most of the grounds are connected to the box except one that is connected to a neutral wire...Does anyone have a clue what I am talking about? Do I connect the black wire going to the ceiling light to the top screw of the switch?  What about the grounds do I need one to the switch or is the box grounded enough?  Do I connect all neutral white wire together?  Help Me!


texts: How much distance do I need to branch from water heater?

texts: I moved my washer and dryer next to my electric water heater. I would like to know how close to the tank can I branch the hot and cold water lines. I would like to use a 3/4 to 1/2 inch reducer at the end of the 18" flex pipe, or at the tank before the flex pipe. Can this be done?


texts: Centering my bed on a 12" post protruding from a wall

texts:
I want to place my bed where the column is protruding from the wall in the center of the room. The post was installed by the previous owner during expansion. I hired a structural engineer to have this post removed but I also wanted a second opinion. How would you go about disguising this post to have a bed in front of it? Attached below is a render of my bedroom.

My approach was to install a very large drywall backdrop the width of my bed and decorate it with lamps or accent coloring. I feel that this would lower my home value because not everyone has the same size bed as me.

Update:
Here's how it would look! I removed the closet and shrunk down the second living room size. Let me know what you think, I'm interested.


texts: Are there any disadvantages to switching from a punch-down distribution box to an RJ-45 one?

texts:
My house is wired for Ethernet, and it uses RJ45 jacks wired with Cat5 cables for POTS.  I have no use for POTS, and I'd prefer to repurpose those jacks as additional Ethernet jacks.  The Ethernet and telephone cables all end up in a central wiring closet, and the telephone cables are wired to a Channel Vision C-0438 distribution box:

To make it easier to repurpose cables (by disconnecting them from the distribution box and connecting them to an Ethernet switch, or vice versa), I am considering replacing this distribution box with a Channel Vision C-0436, which uses RJ-45 jacks.  Would there be any disadvantages to this?

(As far as I can tell, each telephone jack in the house corresponds to a cable connected to the distribution box, so I don't think any of the cables are spliced.)


texts: What could be causing my water to turn brown?

texts:
On a lot with two houses (detached from each other), one of them is having a problem where the water at all the fixtures is brown. Oddly, the other house does not have this problem. This is weird because there is only one water main coming into the house with brown water. I know the main goes into the house with brown water, and that the house with clear water is fed straight from the main trunk. Other parts of that trunk feed the house with brown water as well.

This is confusing me because the house with brown water has it at all the fixtures, suggesting it's coming from the main, but that same main also feeds the house with clear water.

Here is a plumbing diagram:


texts:
I have a Carrier Infinity Series AC Unit (Model #: 24ANA748A0030020 or 24ANA748A00300); its capacitor needs replacement.  I live in Chicago; so VAC is 120 x 2.

Current Capacitor Specification: HC96KA055D (model), 2-connectors/pins, 55 MFD, +06 -06%, 50/60 HZ, 440 VAC, Round (DIELEKTROL).

Questions:

1)  If I cannot find an exact equivalent, should I consider a capacitor with a higher or lower MFD (than 55) in order to be safe?
2)  What is the relationship between MFD and tolerance? Should it go up or down with increasing or decreasing MFD?


texts: Why does some polyurethane need to be wiped off, and what happens if I don't?

texts:
So, I stupidly applied some polyurethane to my project without reading the instructions on the can.  After it was dry several hours later, I finally read the instructions, and to my horror, I saw it said something like this:

  Let sit for 30 minutes, then wipe off with lint-free reg.  Do not let the finish dry without wiping it off.

So, erm, now what do I do?  Did I ruin my project (it still looks perfectly fine..)?  Why does it need to be wiped off, and what are the consequences if I don't!?


texts: Removing an old refrigerator water line tap and patch the pipe

texts:
An old unused/capped refrigerator water line developed a pinhole and was leaking water, so I closed its valve.  Now, the valve is slowly dripping.

It's one of those kits where it pierces a water line.  Is there any way to remove the valve from the water pipe and patch the pipe?


texts: how can i find electric short from room to fuse box?

texts:
When I came home last night the wife was setting in the dark in the bedroom. Why are the two hall lights strobing I ask? She did not know, she took a nap and when she woke no power in the room. ok??? but some event had to take place. Maybe you spilled water or the dog thought the cord was a chew toy. While I began to look into this strange event, she tells me she plugged a power strip, with grounding part pulled off, into older multi plug in device. She missed and plugged one side of plug into one receptecle and the other into a different one. Claims nothing happened and lights were still on when she fell asleep when she woke no power.

This is what I know, I reset each breaker with no results. In the hall I have a light  switch at each end. If I turn on the first swith only the light nearest the switch comes on. When I turn on other switch both light up but both lights strob. Can not turn lights off in the hall way from either switches. Both blubs are the newer low watt blubs. I am assuming these lights in hall are on the same line as bedroom since this happened at the same time or so I am told. I have unplugged everything in bedroom and tripped each circuit at fuse box. Do not have any old light blubs to see if those might change what I am seeing in hall. I need a little detective insight as to what I should do to find and resolve the problem.


texts: What are my options for running cable from surface-mount sub-panel in garage?

texts:
I'm building a new garage, mostly on my own. I hired an electrician to run cable and install a sub-panel, which was completed yesterday. Today it passed inspection. Next step is running cable for lights, switches, and outlets, which I will be doing myself.

From my understanding of the Wisconsin Electrical Code (which generally follows NEC 2017), I have three options:

Run 2" PVC conduit from the top of the sub-panel up to the ceiling (either straight up, or use two 45 degree elbows to enter the wall cavity and run up through the top plate). Run all cables through this conduit into the ceiling, then distribute from there.
Run each cable through its own knock-out in the top of the panel, with a clamp. Drill holes in the plywood to feed the cables behind, and up through the cavity (I'll need to extend the plywood the rest of the way to the ceiling). Cables will need to be stacked and stapled along the center of the studs, within 6" of the panel, then every 24". Drill a hole through the double top plate to bring the cables into the ceiling, then distribute from there.
Same as (2), but instead of using knock-outs on the top of the panel, use knock-outs on the back.

Are these options correct? Are there other, better solutions I've missed? Any missing/wrong details?

Details which may be important:

I will not install drywall at this time, but plan to at some unknown future date. Wiring must meet code for open wall cavities, but also allow the possibility of adding insulation and drywall in the future.
This is a small detached garage which will mostly be used for storage (no welders or any other sort of two-phase load).
I opted for surface mount so I can insulate behind the panel later on.


texts: How to remove floor adhesive from concrete?

texts:
The problem is aggravated by the presence of underlayment. When engineered hadrwood flooring was removed, some underlayment was removed with it, and some stayed glued to the floor.

What is the best way to remove all this mess? And should I use any solvent or adhesive remover?


texts: is there a difference in URD or UF #6-3 wire? should they be in conduit?

texts:
So, after some research, I decided to go with a double pole 60amp on my main panel with a #6-3 wire to feed my sub panel on a detached shed. The shed is 70 feet away.

MY question is, someone said to use URD rated and another said UF rated. As far as I am concerned, UF is not supposed to be in conduit while URD is.

I also thought wires that size already are stranded wire and not solid? while UF rated is solid?


texts: THHN to NM-B wiring, Transition from External Piping Conduit to in wall junction box

texts:
I am working on a project, In my own home, Permanently installing a Faux Fireplace, Shiplap, and some iron pipe shelves. The shelves are going to have built in lighting in the form of Edision Bulbs at the end of the pipe elbows as shown in Fuchsia circles. However, I am having a dilemma of how to attach the AC lines to the dimmer in the fireplace side to meet code.

There is not a lot of room in the iron piping so i don't want to use solid wire there. My proposal is to use Stranded THHN 14 awg in the pipe and then transition to NM-B Wire at a junction box just to the side of the pipe flange to the wall. Since the box is a couple inches away the THHN would be "free" in the wall for a few inches, however, I would put braiding or heatshrink over this portion. My question is this, is this up to code? If not, what can I do to connect this that will meet code?

In this renovation I will be removing some portions of the Sheetrock from the wall to add other additional outlets and conduit for HDMI cable in the walls. Then replacing the Sheetrock and putting the Shiplap boards in on top of that. All of this to say, I will have access to the interior of the wall if you have an idea that requires that.


texts: Miele condenser dryer T8013C not drying, takes too long to dry, why?

texts: My Miele dryer is taking 5hrs to dry clothes. I have cleaned all the lint traps. What else should I do? I am fairly handy (e.g. small repairs, building computers), except I have never done a dryer before. Please advise.


texts: Is a gasless MIG welder a contradiction in terms?

texts: There are lots of very low cost "MIG" welders such as this one for under $100. It claims it's gasless. But the girth of the torch and its lead look like it could feed gas. No gas inlet barb or hose is visible. But calling it MIG if it can't use gas seems like complete misrepresentation?


texts: What is this rocky area in my crawl space wall?

texts: We see a water line coming down from a strange, rocky section in our crawl space wall.  I will dig down to the foundation outside the house and repair/fill any cracks externally, but am wondering: why is this section of the crawl space wall different than the others?  Is there something that happened here?  Should I be looking out for anything when I patch the wall from the outside?


texts: What could cause two of my receptacles to stop working?

texts:
Problem: No power in two receptacles.

Note: Both receptacles on same circuit.

What I have done:

Checked the 15 amps circuit breakers with a volt tester. Each breaker reads 125 volts.
Bought a Commercial Electric Outlet Tester (MS6861H) from Home Depot. Used the tester on both receptacles. Tester shows “correct” on both receptacles.
Checked GFCI. GFCI was O.K. I do not believe the two receptacles are connected to the GFCI. I have one GFCI and it is in the bathroom.
Checked all the receptacles in the home. These are the only receptacles not working.
Checked out a receptacle in another room. The examination showed that they used the push-ins to connect the wires to the receptacle.

Back story: I used one of the receptacles (nearest to the breaker box) to power my computer, printers, small TV, etc. I used three multi-outlets to connect all the stuff to the receptacle. If everything is on the watts would be around 400 watts. When I connected my 1500 watt portable electric heater to the system the power went out. I checked the breaker. It was not tripped. Next, I thought it may have been one of the multi-outlets. I checked the multi-outlets and they checked out O.K. I then checked the receptacle. I found out that that there was no power to the receptacle. I checked the receptacle downstream of the “computer” receptacle. It had no power to it.

Note: I have been connecting the portable heater to the “computer” receptacle for the last 6 years and up to now no problems.

Note: I have not looked at the “computer” receptacle. The reason is that it is a bit difficult to get to being that my computer table is in the way. I also wanted to know what could be the problem before working on the receptacle.

Questions:

Could the “computer” receptacle be bad even though the outlet tester reads “correct”.
Could I have a short in the circuit? If so, how can I check for this?
Could the breaker be bad even though it reads 125 volts?
Why no power????????

I would appreciate any help you can give me.

It is late as I write this so it may not be until tomorrow (4-01-2014) before I can respond.


texts:
I just got bathroom fan and light.
Only my light is working. Is there any way I can splice the fan wire with the light.
I only have two wires on my switch and I don’t want to run a new wire.


texts: Do I need to remove a 2 inch screw I dropped down the toilet waste pipe?

texts: I replaced my bathroom floor and installed a new toilet. By accident I dropped a 2 inch brass screw down the flange waste pipe. Before I caulk everything up, I thought I’d check to see if it would be OK (would it wash down_ or should I attempt to remove it? If so, how would I do this - it seemed to have slid a number of feet down past a join and since it is brass, I can’t use a magnet to try to extract it. Would it wash down with waste or cause a blockage later on?


texts: Why are the white and orange wires both connected to my thermostat's W terminal?

texts:
I wanted to get a programmable thermostat, but when I look at the wiring of the existing thermostat I’m not sure why the white and orange wires are both going to the W terminal.

Other thermostat wiring, located downstairs

At the zone board there are 3 orange wires plugged into it and one that isn’t plugged into anything. There is an orange wire in the first terminal of the HP and Duct area under the sensors section. There is also an orange wire plugged into the O terminal under equipment. I made a black mark on this diagram to show where orange wires are connected.


texts: What would a circuit labeled "Heat Trace" be used for?

texts:
I have just purchased a brand new (just built) upmarket apartment and having been looking through the circuit board and have come across a circuit labeled 'Heat Trace'

I do not understand what 'Heat Trace' is.

The hot-water system is Gas, the Air-con has its own circuits as do the in-floor heating and heated towel racks. There is no pool or other device that heats anything.


texts: How do I replace a section of a 4" cast iron pipe with PVC?

texts:
I am working on our upstairs bathroom and plan on moving some of the fixtures around to a different side of the room.  This means I need to make changes to where the drain comes into the stack (I want to bring it in lower than it is now).

How do I go about replacing a section of 85 year old cast iron pipe?  Can I just replace the section I want to change with PVC and tie back into the original cast iron above and below it?  Or do I have to replace everything above it with PVC as well (it runs up through the attic and the roof)?

I hope I don't have to replace the entire stack with PVC (I am not sure the new PVC pipe would even fit inside some of the walls as I think the PVC flanges are larger than my cast iron pipe's).


texts: My dehumidifier doesn't seem to be working, but my indoor humidity is around 22%. Is this normal?

texts:
A pest control company suggested that I get a dehumidifier to try to get rid of the silverfish bugs I've had in my room. I bought a cheap dehumidifier off of Amazon and a humidity monitor, but the dehumidifier pulled out like 1 fl oz of water out in the first 2-3 days total, and now that water is all evaporated.

Now it's not really even circulating air. But my indoor humidity is 20-22% which the monitor says is low, and it went down to 16% today. Is it just that the dehumidifier is crappy, or can it just not pull moisture out of the air at these levels of moisture?


texts: Can I cover/wrap 6x6 post with plastic to protect them from rain during construction?

texts: I built a patio cover and used 6x6 treated yellow pine posts. I'm going to build the deck in two months so the contractor left posts uncovered for now. Posts will be covered with hardi once floor is completed. I'm concerned that leaving the posts exposed to the rain will damage them. Should I cover them with plastic?


texts: Framing near rough in plumbing and sump pit

texts:
Going to be framing in a bathroom in our basement that has rough in plumbing.
How close can i frame to a sump pit?
And can framing go over a concrete drain box or do I leave a gap in the bottom plate and just have verticals on either side?


texts: How do I determine what pieces of vinyl siding to buy?

texts:
My house has vinyl siding.  I am considering installing vinyl siding on a shed also.  How do I find siding to match what I already have on my house?  (It is only a year or two old, but installed by the previous owner.)  Can I expect to find what I need at the local Lowe's or Home Depot, or are many brands of vinyl siding only sold by specialty retailers or directly to contractors?

Looking at my house, there seem to be a lot of different pieces: regular, top, and bottom boards; corner pieces; special pieces around doors, windows, sillcocks, and electrical outlets; and so on.  How do I find out what pieces I need?  Is that particular to each manufacturer?


texts: How do I correctly change hard wired antique wall sconces to plug In with the toggle box

texts:
I have 2 antique sconces (candelabras) that I used for years hard wired in one of my previous homes. I would like to switch them to plug ins because of several factors that I won’t detail unless asked.

The sconces arms each have green wires with copper looking threads. (No markings or ridges to tell the difference between them). Below these is a small black box with two black cords - silver wiring. Both of the black cords says 600v. (There is no grounding wire that I’m seeing?) The black box wires. are to power the little toggle to turn the light off and on.

I played around and had one of them lit using an extension cord with female end cut off, etc. It worked perfect until I tried to show my husband and then it sparked when I tried to plug it in. My husband (whom I thought understood electricity), played around with them for awhile and got frustrated when he could get them lit but not the toggle to turn off and on.

I feel pretty certain I can get these working again, but I don’t like to just play with wiring (as my husband was doing). That does not seem safe to me to not understand what and why I’m doing something.

I’m providing pics and if anyone could help me I would be grateful. If it’s outside my range I’m happy to use an electrician, but with pandemic and at risk household members that won’t happen soon and home improvement is really the only thing keeping me sane currently.


texts: Replace radiator mains and reduce electrical consumption

texts: I have recently converted from oil to gas in my 2500 sqft 1930s era Home. We have a hot water radiator system. We left the original radiator main pipes and risers. They are large pipes 3” mains. and as such the plumber used a rather large 1/8 HP pump model taco 0011-f4. We would like to move to three zones in the House, and also lower the electricity usage of the system. That pump uses 202 watts while running.  I can’t seem to find information about how to size the main pipes and how that relates to pump size.


texts:
The wiring for a bathroom light and a receptacle are in a 3.5 x 1-1/2 in. octagon electrical box. Is this the correct size for this number of wires? There are 3 blacks, 3 whites, 1 red, and 3 grounds. It's a 15 amp circuit. I'm not sure whether the gauge is 14 or 12. The wires in the bushing on the side of the box are Romex. The other wire is 50 yrs old. The house is in the USA.  I've read some fill charts on-line, but I don't understand them as there are various increases/decreases in the conductor count for certain situations.

Correction: The box is 3.5 in., not 4 in.


texts: Suspect water heater is using too much gas

texts:
Not sure if this sounds reasonable, but I think the 8 year old gas water heater in the place I just moved into last month is using more gas than it should be.

Gas meter recorded 50 therms used last month which seems like twice as much as a 50gal 38,000 BTU water heater should be using (the tag on it estimates 258 therms anually, i.e. 21.5/month).

There doesn't seem to be an obvious leak anywhere. None of the exposed gas lines, (including exterior lines) are leaking. Both me and a tech from the gas company did a bubble test when he was here for the initial inspection upon move in. I've also tested by turning everything off and monitored the meter after a few hours, and it didn't move.

The only thing that has been running is a water heater and a dryer, everything else has is powered off and has the valve shut off to it (pool heater, bbq, furnace). The dryer I brought in from my last place, and has been operating as usual. It's only been run for about 2.5 hours in a month.

Other than the water heater leaking somewhere besides an exposed gas line/nut (I haven't detected a smell), I'm not sure what could be causing the excessive gas usage. Can they use more gas as they get older and start to fail?

Any ideas on other obvious things to check or will I need a plumber to narrow this one down?


texts: Where can I get flexible ferrous/ferritic strip?

texts:
It is easy to find narrow flexible strips that are magnetic on one side and sticky or smooth on the other side, commonly used to turn any object into a fridge magnet.

What I want to find is the opposite. A narrow flexible strip that is sticky on one side and ferrous/ferritic on the other side, so that magnets will stick to it. I want to turn a narrow section of wall into something that fridge magnets can be stuck to.

A strip of steel or iron is a slight option, but it's harder to ship, sharper on the edges, and more likely to rust.

Edit: the smooth white surface of the exposed side is an important feature of the existing product that I hope to duplicate in the product I'm looking for. I might settle for glossy or brushed metal, but I don't want the ugly grey/brown of the back of a magnet strip.


texts: What could cause an under-sink reverse osmosis filter to have low pressure?

texts:
The previous homeowner put in a GE SmartWater reverse osmosis filter under the sink, which is attached to the cold water. It was experiencing low pressure (the sink-top valve would spurt water for less than half a second and then drip). I purchased new filters and a new pressure tank, since the existing tank seemed to have a leak in its bag (diagnosed based on weight, and unwillingness to hold pressure from a bike pump).

I thought for sure replacing the tank would resolve the pressure issue. The new tank is very light, so it does seem to be working. But if anything, the pressure for the valve is even lower.

If I disconnect the pressure tank, the flow from the hose is pretty low.

I also tried turning up the water pressure from the source, which had no effect -- except on the pressure out the sink faucet.

There are no obvious kinks in the hoses. What's the best way to diagnose this?


texts: How to fix hardwood floor with wear from an office chair

texts:
I currently have a hardwood floor that is worn down by an office chair and it needs to be fixed, optimally without having to do the whole floor with a floor sander.
As you can see in this photo:

the area to the top right is worn, in some places down to the wood. This is a close-up photo of the center:

It's 80% bare wood with little stain.
(on a side note, if you have an office chair on a hardwood floor, you should probably get a floor covering of some sort)
My objective is not necessarily to fix it perfectly, but to get it to look good enough to satisfy the landlord when we leave. I was planning on: buying a very light stain and applying it via light spray to the central area, repeating until the color was uniform with the rest of the floor, and then coating with some semi-gloss.
Is this a feasible solution for my problem? Any ideas or suggestions?


texts: I used the Command brand of picture hanging strips to hang a picture. When I took it down, it peeled off a small spot of paint. I tried to touch it up using a small paint brush. The area that ripped off looks the same color but around the edges, where I got some paint on the paint that was already there, is sticky and very shiny even after 24 hours. The paint is an oil based satin paint. Is there anything that I can do to fix the shiny, sticky area?


texts:
I bought a new faucet by Glacier Bay.
The faucets has 2 hoses attached to it.
I tightly connected the hoses to another hose using a male-to-male adapter.
When i turn the water on i see water leaking, but it looks like its leaking from the hose end joint. Not where the actual connection is.

Coukd this be a defective product?


texts:
I have resonance in the heating system pipes. Touching the pipes near the boiler (natural gas) pump I can feel ever so slight vibration, most detectable by touching the pump motor.
Background: About a week ago I took advantage of warm weather to replace some components of my heating system (Raytherm 134 WT natural gas boiler, Armstrong S-25 pump with MF/BF bearing assembly, and motor - 1750 rpm).
The components replaced:

Watts EXT-30 Expansion Tank (12PSI)
Watts 335-M2 PRV (preset to    30PSI)
Watts 9D Backflow Valve
Watts 1156f Pressure Regulator (preset    to    15 PSI, turned down
to 12 PSI)
I also changed the flange gaskets and the body gasket on the pump.
Bled the radiators.

Cold system pressure is 12PSI. Running pressure, after 1 week of bitterly cold sub-freezing temps, is just under 20 PSI, boiler temperature under 150F.
The bearing assembly is about 2 months old (old one was leaking oil), the motor probably 30 yrs, but ran quietly before the updates). There is some very faint noise from around the pump/bearing/motor, but I can't determine which (the impeller?).
I don't recall there being any resonance / vibration prior to the above updates, I think it only appeared after weather changed to cold after the updates. Any ideas how to tacle this? Any adverse effects if I leave it be (other than the somewhat annoying resonance)?

UPDATE: The resonance is still on. I replaced the Armstrong S25 pump with a wet rotor 3-speed Bell & Gossett NRF25. The difference is that I now have absolutely no detectable vibration, and the pump is extremely quiet by comparison (with the armstrong I could hear the impeller through my rads, whereas to hear BG NRF25 I have to press my ear to the pump.)

After NRF25 installation (yesterday afternoon), and later before bedtime, I'd swear I heard no resonance. But some 12 hours later, the next morning, it's back on. The sound pitch changes depending on the pump speed selection. Low tone on speed 1, and higher pitches on speeds 2 and 3. Speed 3 also introduces water flow sounds into the system, and not surprisingly since it is faster than my furnace specs require, however I don't need it this fast, and run it at 1.

I purged the system of air. Have no vibrations. No hammering. No banging. Only the humming / resonance, and only on the ground floor and basement (where furnace and pump are located), no detectable sound on the second floor. The humming is somewhat similar to flourescent bulb running loud. I think, but only think, that it is present mostly at elbows where horizontal pipes in the basement turn to the vertical leading to ground floor rads. No hummming / resonance at furnace.

Where should I look next?


texts: Should I insulate steam pipes in the basement?

texts: I have a steam-radiator heating system.  The furnace is in the (unfinished) basement, and the steam-carrying steel pipes spread out across the basement ceiling before going up into the rest of the house.  Should I insulate these pipes in order to save energy in the winter?  Or will the furnace itself heat the basement so much that insulating the pipes doesn't matter?


texts: Can I install water filters in parallel to abate pressure loss?

texts:
I'm considering adding a whole house filtration system. I know these have flow limits and cost pressure.

If I installed two in parallel would that abate the pressure and flow drops?


texts: Do these stacks share all the same fixtures? Can I remove one?

texts:
Below you'll find a lovely (crude) illustration of my stacks for the kitchen (main floor) and laundry room (basement).
Fixtures are:
Kitchen (all on red stack):

Sink
Garbage disposal
Dish washer

Laundry room:

Shower
Sink
Washing machine
Kinetico water softener

My questions are:

Is it just me or do both the red and the green stacks vent all 7 fixtures? It looks like the pump pumps the water up but those gases would then travel up the red stack, thus venting all the basement fixtures into the kitchen stack.

Could I eliminate the red stack and T branch off where the pink arrow is pointing? If not, why? Too many fixtures on one stack?

If I cannot remove the red stack is there something I can do to make it not smell? The vent circled in red in the kitchen smells pretty damn bad (occasionally) when I run the washing machine or shower. I think this led me to believe that even the basement fixtures were being vented to the red stack and into the kitchen. (I believe it's an air admittance valve, this one called Nova Vent, the basement is an Oatey Sure Vent)