texts: How do you install a ceilng fan to an electrical box that has 1-black, 2-white, 2-green?

texts:
I want to install a ceiling fan to a ceiling fixture that has been unused all this time.

The ceiling fan has 1 blue, 1 black, 1 white and 1 green wire.

The instructions indicate that I connect the green to green, white to white, and the blue+black to black.

However, when I opened the electrical box I found that there is 1 black, 2 white and 2 green cables.

So how do I proceed in this scenario?

Thank you


texts: Can I make a switched outlet constant hot

texts:
I have one switch that controls an outlet and my ceiling fan.
The fan has a light as well
In the switch box there are 2 feeds.
One is regular hot, neutral, ground. (Assuming my hot from panel)
Then the wire that I’m assuming goes to the fan and outlet is hot, neutral, ground and red wire.
The red goes to the top of the switch.
The black from the panel goes to the bottom of the switch. As well as the black from the ceiling fan and is also pigtailed?
Ideally I want to make the outlet constantly hot. And add another switch for recess lights I’m going to add


texts:
I use a 2000W Coleman inverter in my RV to run the coffee maker and flat screen TV. I used to run a fat extension cord from the inverter in the utility compartment through an open window into the RV but decided to wire a 25-foot length of 14/2 Romex cable for a more permanent, clutter-free hookup. The cable goes through an opening under the bed and runs along the inside walls inside plastic cord covers. To facilitate pulling the Romex through the cord covers and around corners I stripped off its outer PVC jacket and paper separators. The run includes two duplex outlets.
The new connection works for the most part. The coffee maker, power tools, a 19-inch flat screen TV, and a DVD player all work fine when I plug them in, but when I plug in the Toshiba 22-inch flat screen TV/DVD combo (even by itself) the inverter immediately cuts out and flashes its overload light. The crazy thing is that if I unplug the new wiring and run the old extension cord directly from the inverter to the TV then it works fine. The voltage level at the TV is 130V whether it gets there from the new cable or the old extension cord.  When it runs with the old cord the TV only pulls about 55W with no startup surge. Can anyone explain what the heck is going on?


texts: Is a Redundant Ground at Sub-Panel Permitted? Useful?

texts:
I've searched the forum and haven't found an answer for this exact situation.
 Here's the configuration: Main 200A service panel at one end of house (exterior), and 100A sub panel at opposite end of house (interior access on exterior wall).  EMT running in crawlspace to connect panels. Both panels in one building.  I know that the ground bus and neutral bus are not bonded at the sub panel, and their respective conductors run back to the main service panel.

Question:  What are the thoughts on adding additional grounding electrodes at the sub panel side of the house, and connecting those to the sup panel's ground bus (again, not bonded to neutral) as an additional redundant ground?  Does this increase grounding safety, grounding performance?  Does it interfere with the purpose of the ground back to the main panel?  Is it a waste of money, since the main service panel has its own grounding electrodes?  Most of all, what does the NEC say, if anything, on this situation?


texts: Filling gap between pipe and wall- creating a fire stop

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I got my condo inspected and the inspector said I had a fire hazard as there’s a gap between the pipe of my kitchen sink and the wall (an open space). I need to fill that hole then use a fire barrier sealant. How do I fill that hole/gap? What do I need to use?

Thanks!


texts:
I will be replacing a light fixture that had a switch built in and was operated independently from any wall switch. Rather than limit myself to the very few light fixture options with switches built in, I am buying a standard light fixture and installing a switch with a pull chain in the base. I've already researched how to add a switch into the circuit of a light fixture and it's an extremely simple job.

However, I am a little stuck when it comes to choosing a switch.The ampacity of my circuit is 15 amps. Yet the switch I have (originally intended for a ceiling fan) says it can handle either 3 amps at 250v or 6 amps at 125v. This is the US, so I assume it will be closer to 125v.

The old light fixture is marked with 120VAC, 60Hz, 18W, 0.35Amps. It was a miniature fluorescent fixture with one tube.

The new light fixture isn't marked as clearly, but it is made for two 75W incandescent bulbs (I'll be using LED bulbs) and the bulb sockets are marked with 250V and 660W. It doesn't say the amperage.

Is it safe to assume that the switch from the old fixture would work just as well on the new fixture, and the switch for the ceiling fan, too? What amperage should the switch be rated for?

Edit: I forgot to add that the switch from the old fixture also says 3 amps at 250v or 6 amps at 125 v.


texts: Does it make sense power-wise to put a smart plug inline with a laser printer?

texts: I've seen people recommend putting printers behind a smart plug that can be turned on or off with a phone. Does this make sense power-wise? How much current does a printer in standby draw versus a typical smart plug like a WeMo?


texts:
Recently I purchased 10 meters of non water  proofed 3285 RGB LED strip. Its resistors and LEDs are soldered on flimsy flex which may tear.  What can I do to make it strong? I'm planning to stick it on duct tape but I couldn't get the tape of same with as the strip. I'm looking for alternatives.

I'm not intended to stick the strip on surfaces as how others normally do. Yes, the strip has the adhesive backings. I need to  temporarily  roll it on a vertical pole (in helical form) for decoration, which must be removed after a month. I need to reuse the strip. Sticking it to the pole is not allowed.

I didn't measure the thickness of the flex but its very thin I afraid it might tear. It could be around 0.1mm. Width is 8mm.


texts:
With a split unit aircon unit the compressor and fan would keep running even when the unit inside was turned off.

I figured out it was probably the relay sticking, so I replaced it on the control board inside the unit inside and it seems to work fine now. The other relays on the board were for different fan speeds.

However I'm having some second thoughts, is it probable that the outside compressor/fan unit has it's own relay that could be sticking? from what I could look from this units design I think the 220v AC power going to the outside unit is routed through the inside unit and the 220v flows to the relay at all times so the relay I changed would have caused the compressor to be on all the time if it stuck in the closed position.


texts: how to test water pressure coming out of pipes w/o spilling water

texts: I am remodeling my shower room and have removed tiles and walls exposing the pipe.  I would like to add a body massage system w/ 4 heads?  How can I test the water pressure to ensure there is enough to support the 4 heads.


texts: Sistering stingers to convert stairs from closed to open stinger

texts: I have a set of existing closed stringer stairs with a full wall on the left and half wall on the right.  I am looking to remove the full wall and modify both sides of the stairs to an open style.  I am only changing the bottom 5 treads.  In doing so, I will be loosing a good portion of the existing stringer on both sides.  Is it possible to sister the stringers with 2x12, cut to the same rise and run.  I would Timber-lok the stringers together, as well as Timber-lok thru to the studs where I can


texts: I want a cheap solution for water heating, maybe even something I can build myself, please give me some ideas

texts: I have a little problem, over summer we choose to run a wetback for our hot water, on some days over summer this is unbearable, please provide some helpful suggestions, things like solar ovens, solar heating etc.


texts: What size wire for a 50amp rv receptacle from 200amp breaker box 50feet from breaker box

texts: What size wire do I use to run a 50amp rv receptical 50 feet from a 200 amp breaker box


texts:
We had six inches of snow over the weekend and it was zero degrees this morning. Last night I realized that although I had been running water in the kitchen, the washer and the bathroom sink, the bathtub will not dispense water. It initially spit out a trickle then nothing. I took a bath by heating water on the stove and it drains fine.
The tub backs up to a shed outside the front door where it is covered by a board.  I am in the middle stack of three in a 1973 condo building.
It is going to be about 18 degrees tonight and I am debating calling a plumber if it does not thaw on its own tomorrow. I am trying to watch money.
I can run an extension cord and put a heating dish in the shed which will buzz if it is touched or moved while on or blow a hair dryer provided I can get the board off. I am a single woman.
Can this wait a day or so? We will be in the 60s in two days. Any advice appreciated. Thank you.


texts: Can I use engineered I joists as studs in a wall?

texts:
Project: 3m by 6m weekend house, roof 3m high, walls 20cm insulation.

Question: I want build it from lighter/thinner materials, and i want to calculate from how thick materials i can build this I Joist (Picture One) So it would be same strength as 200mm by 50mm
timber stud.
I Joist will be 3m high.

Is there way to calculate thickness of materials for OSB and four Timber studs and how much load it can handle.


texts: Can I serve mwbc 110v from 220v circuit?

texts: If I have a 240v 20a circuit serving a single 240v 20a receptacle (12/3) can I leave the 240v receptacle in service then branch two 120v 20a circuits from it?


texts: Is there a standard for marking wires negative/positive?

texts:
I'm rewiring some 2"x2" solar panels, I see the place the wires are supposed to be connected, and they're marked with a "+" and a "-" sign.  I look through my bin of wires, and see a bunch that will work for me (two wires joined together so that one is positive and the other negative).

However, some have a black wire and a white one, some are black and yellow, some are yellow and black, red and white, both the same... In the case that they are both the same color, I've marked one wire myself.

Is there a standard for which color should be positive?  For example, you have two wires that are the same color, but one is knotted at the ends.  Is there a standard that says something like "the knotted one is always negative" or "red is positive".

I know that if there is a high risk involved, then I shouldn't make an assumption, but is there a "right" way?


texts: Should I use or replace an existing ceiling fan bracket?

texts:
I'm looking for some advise on installing a ceiling fan to one of the rooms located on the 1st floor of the house with no attic access. I am a DIY person and have installed ceiling fans before but in the house we are currently at, there is a pre existing mounting bracket that is nailed into the studs that I am not sure how to remove without making holes in the ceiling. I have tried to mount the ceiling fan on this existing bracket but I'm not too confident that the bracket will hold the weight of the ceiling fan. I'm attaching the picture of the existing bracket to give a visual of what I'm talking about. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks


texts: Is there such a thing as a check valve with a manual release?

texts:
I have a sump pump without a check valve on the outlet line. I would like to install one but I'm worried about the water in the pipe freezing during the winter.

The outlet exits the house below grade and appears in the yard a few feet from the house on its way to the curb. If I install a check valve, there will be several feet of vertical pipe above the frost line (3.5' in my area). The vertical column of water will eventually freeze and burst the pipe (correct me if I'm wrong).

What I would like to have is a check valve that has some sort of handle that allows opening the valve. This way I can drain the pipe before winter.


texts: I've recently purchased a house and am worried there might be mold on the bathroom ceiling. Can anyone identify if that's what these dark blotches are? If it is mold, what's the best way to get rid of it?


texts: 312.6 interpretation when entering from the back of panel

texts:
312.6 lists (A) and (B) tables, for when NOT enterting oposite and entering on opposite wall of the box.
How is the entering through the back wall interpretted?
Technically it would be "NOT opposite" but it feels silly that it has less stringent dimentions? (and the code's defined measurement seems hard to conduct this way unless one has to measure from the lug perpendicular to the back wall??).
(Actually, I do not undrestand why entering on opposite wall has bigger space requirements - do not most feeders enter right on top/front of the subpannel lugs with almost no deflection/bend?).


texts: What is this external telephone wire cover called?

texts: What is the correct term for this external telephone wire cover? I have searched for external telephone cover and similar terms but can't see one to order.


texts:
First time here and I am hoping someone can help me with my issue.
I have been planning platforms for the past couple weeks for the kids and am starting with the most basic one.

Rough sketch is attached below..not exactly to scale.

I know the basics and have some prior training building. I am NOT a math head and that is my weakness.

Dimensions are 8' x 16'. See diagrams for more specifics. Roughly about 6' off the ground. Two trees with 1' diameter.

I have two different designs for this making a platform, the main concern is the 8' span between trees. I need it to support an active weight of say 500lb around the middle. 2 Adult + 2 kids

I know traditional route is 2 beams parallel to the trees, however I am concerned the one tree is leaning a bit. I might not be able to make it a straight line, it may be over 5 degrees, perhaps 10.

In the first design I have:

2 beams 2x8x16 - Joists are 2x6x8

Hence build number 2 going with 4 horizontal beams and following up with 16' joists. The main question dogging me, will plan number 2 work.

4 beams are 2x8x8 - Joists are 2x6x16

Specifications:

Douglas Fir #2 Kiln Dried for all structure.
Beams 2x8's
Joists 2x6's
Plan on spacing joists 16" apart.
Traditional V support on each tree.
3/4 8" Hot Dipped Galv Lag Screws
3/4 10" HDG Lags for the V's
galvanized joist hangers
galvanized rafter ties

Was planning on using 1 x 6 x 8 boards for the deck across.
Not sure what wood to use, this is the most expensive part.
Options I have been thinking about.

T1-11 Plywood or OSB floorboard.
Whitewood Common / 1" doug fir boards, treated with wood sealer / preservatives.

Redwood / cypress is out of my price range, wife is allergic to cedar.
I am open to ANY and all suggestions.

Trying to keep this under 300-400.
I do not have the budget for expensive things like TABS,
I am trying to preserve the tree as best I can with single lags.

Thank you for your time.


texts:
I need to lower a bit the teleposts in my house. I have no issues with the procedure per se, but I have issues with access. In particular, I have this situation:

Besides the cable, the main issues are two fold:

the notches for a wrench are partially higher than the inspection door, making it hard to reach with a normal wrench;
even if I can somehow stick a wrench, the notches will be reachable only on certain small portions of the turn.

  What's the way to adjust this post?

If I cannot come up with anything else, I might cut a whole on the other side of the wall (I have access to it), but I'd rather avoid that.


texts:
After applying mud to the drywall seams and then bedding tape, can you immediately apply a coat of joint compound over the tape? Or will this cause bubbling?

Is it best to let the tape dry in the bed overnight than apply joint compound?


texts: How can I determine if my receptacles are grounded, and how can I fix it if they are not?

texts:
My upstairs office has 3-prong outlets, but according to my surge suppressor, they are not grounded. I took one of the sockets off to inspect how it was wired, and it seems to have a ground wire connected to it.

My house was built in the late 1960s. Is it conceivable that all 3 sockets are "bad" with respect to their ground wires? Or is it more likely that the ground wires are not actually grounded? Would it be worth my time to replace one to see if the problem is fixed?

Short of running a copper wire from downstairs up through my window, I don't have a convenient path to ground from the office, if the copper in the wall isn't grounded. I'm running into occasional instability on my UPS because of the lack of ground.


texts: Should I add venting to my solid soffit, and how?

texts:
I am in the process of replacing some fascia boards on an eave that goes around one corner of my house.

I notice that the soffit is just a plain painted board with no deliberate venting. Although after 100 years gaps have opened up in the soffit's joints so there is accidental venting.

Before I install the new fascia boards I was planning to recondition the soffit and seal it, but I have heard that it is recommended that soffits be vented. If there is a plain board, what should I do? Drill holes in it?


texts:
I have the following RJ-45 network double coupling:

I have a 3d printer and am trying to print an enclosure or "mount" where I can put that in so that it is properly fixated and I can plug and unplug cables without issues. However I do have some troubles coming up with a design that would work for that.
Does anyone see what the designers had in mind for where to "put" that adapter into? All the ideas that I had essentially only make it fixed in one direction but it can still move into the other direction...


texts: I want to add a relay to my furnace so the attic fan can't run while the furnace burner is firing.  Am I correct that the 24V side of the relay should be connected to the C and W terminals on the furnace?


texts: Why do phone and cables companies leave their cables behind, and what to do about it?

texts:
Lately while walking the dogs I've noticed a lot of unused cable dangling down from the (quaint) phone poles all around our town.  As far as I can tell from both its position on the pole and the appearance of the cable end that it's mostly POTS or coax.  In some cases there might be 20-30 yards of the stuff left behind.  When I first noticed I thought it was a one-off, but since I've been noticing I've found examples all over town.
Why do the companies do this? Can I snip it off / tape it up / dispose of it?  I'm glad to post a photo if anyone thinks it might help.


texts: Is this line voltage thermostat sufficient?

texts:
I'm replacing a bad Aube line voltage thermostat for my electric baseboard heaters. I liked the model, so I purchased what I thought was the same one - however I missed a letter in the model. What I bought was a TH115-A-240D, while what I had originally was a TH115-A-240S. It looks like the difference is that the TH115-A-240S was rated for 4000 watts, while the TH115-A-240D is only rated for 3600. As far as I can tell, however, the new one is still sufficient. I'm just hoping someone can double check me.

There are 2 baseboard heaters, wired in parallel, on a 20-amp 240 volt circuit. The wiring is #12. Each baseboard is 72 inches. Unfortunately I can't find any manufacturer's information anywhere on them (I believe it's all painted over.) Everything that I can find indicates that a 72-inch electric baseboard heater will consume 1500 watts, meaning that the total 3000 needed by 2 is well within the thermostat's specs. Is there any caveat I might be missing, or should I be safe?


texts: Are water passing valves supposed to be hard to open and close?

texts:
Is a passing valve like this supposed to be hard to open and close?

The valve is new but it's hard to get open and then get closed. It takes me some force to get it going, but after I do, it slides smoothly. After I apply some force it gives immediately, but then that force has to go somewhere so I end up turning it all the way to closed (or vice versa). I'm worried I might damage the valve or maybe the water pipes.

Is it supposed to be like that? Is there some techniques to open and close this thing so the force I apply is uniform?


texts: How can I replace a ceiling fan light pull chain?

texts:
I have removed the light assembly from beneath the fan. In doing so, the lights (three with pull chain ) fell and I failed to catch it before it pulled out some wires.

The wires coming from the ceiling to the fan are still intact. The fan still works from my wall switch, but I am having problems connecting the new pull chain for the light.

Out of the fan there are two wires: white and blue. I know that I have three white wires from the lights and the one white wire from the ceiling fan that need to be connected so I did it. I then connected the three black wires from the lights and the blue wire coming down from the ceiling fan.

The lights work on and off with the fan.

My problem is I am not sure how to connect the new pull chain. Both wires out of the pull chain are black. I am smart enough to know that if the connect them to the white and blue respectively, it will blow the circuit breaker when I pull the chain.

I do not have a wire diagram and cannot find the correct connection on the internet.

What wires do I need to connect the pull switch to at this time?


texts: adding new power outlet, ceiling fan/switch kills the power to it when on

texts:
I'm adding a new power outlet for some electronics. I'm dropping a 12/2 wire from the attic where I'm attaching it to a junction box. The junction box has an existing wire, 12/2, and a 14/2 wire running out of it. All three sets of wires join in the junction box.

The 14/2 wire leads to my bedroom, where it either runs to a ceiling fan switch or to the ceiling fan itself. I'm not sure which.

Here's the problem: when the ceiling fan is switched on, the new outlet stops working, when the fan switch is off, the outlet works.

I'm very confused why the switch will cut off my outlet, as the switch/fan is past the junction box where I'm making the connection to the outlet.

Additional info: If I probe the outlet with a multimeter while the fan is one, I can see a very small voltage (~mV) that changes with the fan speed settings.


texts: What happens to washing machine with bad bearings?

texts:
A relative is having problems with an older maytag top load washing machine. During the spin cycle the machine makes a loud noise.

The noise starts to get loud once the water has emptied. It just sounds like the regular noise just louder. Almost like a large high power fan. No grinding our shaking.

I think it might be bad bearings, pulley or belt. But open to other suggestions.

What I'm curious about is if it is the bearings... What happens if the washer is continued to be used in this condition and any idea how long it might lady until the bearings completely fall and become unusable?


texts: Will running a dehumidifier near new concrete cause it to cure poorly?

texts: I have a new house with high humidity in the basement.  Will running a dehumidifier constantly cause the new concrete to cure poorly?


texts: I read the post about a similar problem but we have circuits on both even and odd sides of the panel that are down. We've had flickering lights for about a month now and finally it's caused and outage. The crazy part is... the power has come back on twice and both times within an hour. The house was built in 1950 and I think a common neutral is loose somewhere in a J box. Any suggestions?


texts: What size hole do I need for cementing in 2.4m 120mm pine fence posts into clay soil?

texts:
I'm putting up a new fence (first time doing this), I'm using treated pine posts, 2.4m by 120mm diameter. I want to cement them in, the soil is heavy clay, very little top soil.

How deep/wide a hole should I create? I'm planning to hire an auger so need to know sizing.

Thanks


texts:
I am trying to replace an outlet, but am having trouble figuring out how to wire it properly. The top receptacle on the outlet is supposed to be connected to a switch. When the switch is turned on the 2 blacks test hot, as well as one of the neutrals. When the switch is off, the neutral and 1 black test hot. How do I wire this properly?

Where I am at:
I broke the tab between the poles on hot side of the outlet, just like the old outlet. I also see that the pigtailed black line goes to the lower receptacle, which is always on. I think the black line that is controlled by the switch goes on the upper hot side of the line. But is it okay to have the hot neutral on the other poles?

3W->4W 120V
1B->4W 120V
2B->4W 30V when the switch is in the off position, 120V when it's in the on position
3W->2B 60V

My multimeter may not be that good. It's new, but the voltages jump and I often feel like I am getting different readings.

1B & 3W are always carrying power, 4W is neutral, 2B is responsive to the switch.
There are 3 sets of wires entering the box.

Updated picture

1 is carrying power, 3 goes on to the remaining outlets, and 2 runs to the switch.


texts: Trying to plan a pressure-tank + air compressor for raising home water pressure

texts:
In my place, the city water system provides the water at pressure of between 2BAR - 4BAR. We live on the 3rd floor, with water boiler on the roof (5th floor) so the hot water are going up to the roof and coming back down, many times without a good pressure for a good shower..
The obvious idea is to add an electric water pump on the line to add pressure whenever someone is opening the tap. For some reasons, I want more sophisticated idea, that I think will be more reliable and helpful.
My idea was to add a pressure tank (like expansion vessel) with a bladder or diaphragm on the line (before the water boiler tank). To its "air side" (bladder or diaphragm) to connect air compressor with a dynamic proportional pressure regulator.
At some times on a day - the pressure regulator will let the air pressure in the bladder/diaphragm will let the air pressure drop down to 2BAR, so the water will come in from the city system (using the 'native' pressure, without a pump help). Other times, the air pressure will be raised to about 6BAR, pressing the water towards the home, and if the tank has - let's say - about 200 litre, it will have very long time until the next need to re-fill it.
I thought about 200-300 litre pressure tank (will be held at about 6BAR), with air compressor with 50-100 litre air tank (at about 8-10 BAR).
AFAIK - Such a bladder water tank of 200 litre will cost here about 250$, and air compressor will cost about 150$-200$. I'll also need the proportional pressure regulator and the plumbing, but generally that's it.
Am I right?
Any insights would be welcomed.


texts: New (2019) Chamberlain 3/4 HP belt drive door opener

texts: I was wondering if I buy a second wall mount door control, identical to the one supplied, can it be wired in in parallel from a second location with a two wire circuit paralleled to the existing at the door opener from the first control?


texts: Why is it OK to put multiple ground wires in the same bus hole in an electrical panel?

texts: It's not clear to me why ground wires aren't subject to the same rules as neutral wires (one per bus bar hole). What's the reasoning here?


texts: My GFCI trips when fluorescent light turn off - light will turn back on anyway

texts:
This has been going on for awhile, but it is intermittent - about every 3 - 8 times the fluorescent light in a closet off the bathroom are turned off, one of the two GFCI outlets in the bathroom will trip. 95% of the time, it is one particular of the two GFCI outlets in the bathroom.  The fluorescent light will still turn on with the GFCI tripped.  This will also happen - about every 3 - 4 times - with fluorescent lights in my garage.  The lights there will also still work with the GFCI tripped.

The bathroom GFCIs seem easily tripped by what I am 99% certain are non-faulty appliances (hair trimmers, electric tooth brush, etc...)

Ideas?  Thx!


texts:
So I've been doing a full remodel of our bathroom given water damage from the last owners. I've gone down to the joists & studs. Now I'm looking at drainage/venting solutions. I've got a few plumbers coming by in the next few weeks, but wanted to get a broader range of opinions.

I have a single standard vent of 2" going up through the roof at this point. I'm trying to avoid tearing out the ceiling, as it's the only damn thing in the bathroom that was salvageable. So I started looking into AAV (eeek, not liking what I've been reading) and wet venting.

So I went through and read a ton of code, and tables, and really get lost when they start talking about maximum distances from certain portions of the system to others based on pipe sizes. So here's a rough idea of what I would like to do, but I'm not sure if the piping sizes & distances will be up to code.

Question: Do these distances & pipe diameters actually work for this type of wet vent layout?

BTW I live in upstate NY

After doing some more research it seems I might have to move to a 3" wet vent at the very least. Would appreciate some professional input on the matter though.


texts:
My contractor messed up and put junction boxes into my new house instead of using recessed cans like I was expecting. They were planning on using something like these LED disks. They wire directly to the power source instead of screwing into a can like I was expecting.

I bought these Philip's Hue retrofit disks and I was planning on screwing them into the can, which I obviously can't do now.

My question is, can I use the hue disks and just snip the adapter wires and hard wire it? Or is there an adapter that just converts it to hard wire? They also have a 4" version instead if that makes a difference.


texts: Is a 3 way switch required at the stairs to a basement with no other entryway? We were given a violation for not having a 3 way switch in a basement with no entryway.


texts: What material is this pipe? Options for new 2" Union

texts: I'd like to go 2 inch pvc into my new pool pump from that valve. What are my options? This pipe is 1.5 inches, not metal, but I'm not 100% that is CPVC either, but I'm not an expert. I have a 2" union on my new pump that I need to connect to somehow.


texts: Do old 2 prong outlets have line/load separation?

texts:
I have an older home (1959) that I'm working on replacing the all the 2-prong outlets with GFCI (ungrounded).  When I opened this particular 2-prong outlet I found something I don't understand.

The black (presumed hot) is wired on what I'd expect to be the line terminal, whereas the white (presumed neutral) is wired on what I'd expect to be the load terminal.  I've attached pictures.

Why would this be done?  Is it a mistake by the previous electrician/owner?  Does it represent any greater hazard than 2-prong outlets already present?

I noticed that the metal plate under the terminals is a single plate, effectively joining the two terminals (you can see this on the attached picture of the black wire), does this mean there is no concept of line/load on old 2-prong outlets (or at least on this one)?


texts: Choosing the right machine screw for a threaded hole in a computer monitor mount

texts:
The SENSE M2488C computer monitor pictured here has 4 machine screw holes at standard spacing around the label on the back of the monitor.

I plan to mount it from a ceiling mount, not on my desk.

I have a ceiling mount bracket with holes of exactly the same spacing. But the screws that came with the ceiling mount bracket are too large in diameter. Meanwhile, the screws that came with the monitor that connect the desk foot to the monitor are too small in diameter.

I can look by eye at the ceiling mount holes and I see that they are threaded for a machine screw of a certain length, diameter, and thread pitch. I cannot afford to try the wrong screws because then I would ruin these built-in holes.

What is the correct way to measure the hole, particularly diameter and thread pitch, so that I can just go to the hardware store and purchase exactly the right machine screws?


texts: How can I install soffit vents from the outside?

texts:
When we moved into the house we live in there was literally no insulation in the attic.  We have a 4 1/2 pitch roof.  We live in Texas and our first electric bill in a 1450sf house was almost $500.  Of course, this sent us reeling.  The only attic ventilation is through gable vents.  A friend blew in 3' deep insulation.  Our electric bill dropped over $300 the next month to about $150.  Now, due to hail season we are going to replace the roof.  I have had as many ideas on how to best accomplish attic ventilation as I have had contract proposals from roofers.  I understand the best way to ventilate is with soffit vents all around the house.  I have a problem with this.  The pitch of the roof together with the depth of the insulation make any attic access from the inside impossible.  The depth of the insulation comes to the bottom of the gable vents.  The soffits are closed.  I hate turbine vents.  I am looking for a balance of cost effectiveness and the best way to accomplish correct ventilation.

Given the small cubic footage of attic air, is it more feasible to install a ridge vent (roofline is about 45' long with two 15' ridges in the front of the house ... gable vents only on the 2 ends of the house) or power vent(s) since there is not much airflow moving upward naturally.  Also, is it possible to install soffit baffles from the outside of the house?  As I said, it is impossible to access the attic to staple the edges.  The decking is shiplapped planks not plywood.  Would it be possible (and not too much trouble) during the tear-off of the roof to temporarily remove planking and install the baffles by reaching through the openings from the outside, or does anyone have a suggestion on how to poke some kind of baffle up through a hole in the soffit from the outside (maybe something like pcv pipe or something similar?  I have been told that without some kind of power ventilation in the center of the ridgeline or soffit baffles there will be stagnant air in the center of the house and the overall ventilation will not work properly.

Today the outside temperature was about 90°F and the attic temperature was about 150°F.


texts: Clicking noise in wall, every 23 seconds

texts:
I have a 2-story colonial house (with a basement) in Michigan.  I have forced-air heating.  The house was built in 2001.  On the upper floor, my daughter noticed that a clicking sound (similar to an old light-switch) started which sounds like it's coming from within the wall.  The wall is between two bedrooms.  It is made of drywall.  The heating register for her bedroom is on that wall, but is about 5-6 feet away from where the clicking sound seems to be coming.  We timed the clicks.  They are occurring every 23 seconds, like clockwork.  Lastly, they seem to be coming from the upper area of the wall.  I have not yet looked into the rafters of the house.  I will do that as soon as I can.  I can barely hear the click when I stand in the living room below the bedrooms.  It's definitely emanating from the upper floor area.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this?  I'm the original owner of the house and this is a new thing.

UPDATE:  As I was looking for appropriate tags for this question, the clicking started coming pretty fast for about a minute or so.  Now it's back down to a regular interval of about 10-15 seconds.  Also, I looked in the rafters and was not able to see much beyond a lot of blown-in insulation.


texts: Hue Light Strip - Best outdoor, long run equivalent?

texts:
Purpose is to light up a path along a dark area in the woods behind the house .

Requirements

Able to run 200 ft, at a price less than Hue Strips which are quite expensive.
Either weather proof, or coverable by some sort of partially transparent diffusing conduit.
Dimmable.  So it can be a subtle peaceful effect that doesn’t light up Christmas tree bright

Notes / Questions

Not sure if these are good power options: I’ve considered micro trenching a 110v power
cable, or using solar with battery.  I see things on Amazon using 12v a lot but not sure why.
Don’t want to put those torchlights you buy at Home Depot and mount every 10 feet. It’s just personal preference, don’t like that look, and hopefully the LED strip can look like a continuous band of light with some basic diffusing.
RGB colors would be a cool, but not absolutely necessary for a walking path
Home automation standards are not necessary.  It would be nice, but I’d be happy with any standalone app that let me control the lights from Inside.
Actually haven’t heard of dimmable light strings before outside of the Hue, but I see quite a few different options especially 12 V be used on Amazon, but I’m not sure how they would fit into a solution.
Already have good wifi coverage

Any feedback or ideas appreciated.


texts: What is causing my light bulbs to burn out so quickly?

texts:
I have some 12-volt outdoor lighting that is quickly blowing through light bulbs (couple weeks at a time.) I just measured the voltage and it read 13.4 volts. Could this be the culprit?

The other potential issue could be that the bulbs are running too hot for the enclosure. This used to be a 120-volt system, but we had some landscaping lighting work done and they decided to convert it to a 12-volt system. The problem is that the sockets are still standard home style sockets and the only light bulbs that are easy to find are 50-watt marine light bulbs.

What is more likely the blame for the short light bulb life?

I'm looking into purchasing some 12-volt led lights from Amazon but I'd like to solve this problem before spending more money on bulbs.


texts: does anyone out there know the manufacturer of this faucet or how to remove the cartridge? I can remove the handle but can't seem to unscrew the base. Thanks in advance.


texts: Level a linoleum or vinyl floor for bamboo flooring

texts:
I plan to float a bamboo floor over top of our kitchen's existing linoleum (or vinyl, not really sure which). The problem is that the floor has a couple of high joists that make it pretty uneven along the width of the room. The height difference reaches half an inch in the worst spot. How can I smooth out the floor?

Floor details:
The kitchen sits above a partially unfinished basement (meaning we have access to some of the problem joists). The subfloor* is 3/4" OSB. On top of that is the "linoleum", which is backed by wood so that it's about 1/4" in total thickness.

** Room details:**
The room is a U-shape about 18' wide that opens to the rest of the house after a length of 20'. The cabinets line the "curve" of the U, with the bad joists cutting "across" the U, just past where the cabinets end. At one end of the bad joists, there is a sliding door that we intend to replace.

Other concerns:
We installed the cabinets on top of a 1/2" spacer (to fit the bamboo) directly on top of the floor, and adjusting those is more or less not an option.
So while we aren't opposed to cutting into the linoleum if necessary, we will need to match its height somehow so that the cabinets are at the appropriate height.

There's a cabinet about 20" from the worst joist, which is also where two OSB boards meet. So we can't remove the entire board, but we could potentially cut it back to the previous joist and path that spot somehow. I'm not sure if there are structural issues to worry about here.

One thought we had was to cut out a wide strip of the linoleum along the bad joists, then fill the now-pits to level with the rest of the floor. Self-leveling products sound handy, but my research tells me that there aren't any that work properly on OSB. Plus, I'm not sure if that even makes sense for use in a narrow strip like that. Some sort of thicker, manually-leveled putty also makes sense, but I don't know if anything would work for that purpose.

So I have a good understanding of where the problem areas are and what the result should look like. What I'm looking for is: what combination of steps can we take to level the floor, while keeping the cabinets where they are, the subfloor stable, and not raising or lowing the overall floor height?

*As a side note, we have a spot where we cut out the linoleum to get to a spot where the subfloor has some wood rot. We intend to patch the subfloor here, and so I'd like to handle that in a compatible manner. If you have any insight here, I'd love to here that as well.


texts: Do i need a short-time timer for coffee maker/water boiler?

texts:
In many kitchens I have seen a short-time timer attached to the outlet where the coffee maker/percolator/water boiler is connected. I.e. to make coffee, they both need to start the coffee maker, and start the timer (which will be on for example 30min).

I understand the reason for this, which is to prevent fire which can be caused by letting for example the hotplate in the coffee maker run hot without anything on it, or the water boiler be on without any water in it.

However in most modern coffee makers/water boilers/percolators there is a built in timer. For example in my percolator, there is a built in timer and the percolator will automatically turn off after 15min. So is there still a good reason to use an external short-time timer (even if there is a built in one) or can this be considered to be over cautious?

I live in Sweden so the appliances I buy follow the EU regulations.


texts: how to test electric dryer without 240V outlet?

texts:
I received an electric laundry dryer that I want to test before installing. The new dryer is outdoors on the back porch, and a working electric dryer is installed in my basement, quite a distance away.

Without moving the dryer, is there any way to verify that it works properly? I have a DMM / continuity tester, access to an outdoor 120V outlet and can disassemble the new dryer. It appears in good condition apart from some lint:

drum and motor spin freely when pushed manually
no obvious physical damage or scorches
buttons and dials work normally

The troubleshooting guides I found explain how to resolve specific problems (replace heating element, change thermostat, change belt) but require connection to a standard 240V outlet. Basically, I'm looking for a way to verify that the dryer works OK before moving it. I don't have a 240V extension cord, and the run would be too long even if I did.

Thanks in advance!


texts:
I've been looking around the internet, and I've seen quite a few stair renovations using common boards with a square edge rather than bull nose stair treads.

Is there a difference between the two beside looks?

Code, wear and tear? The common boards are definitely less expensive and have a larger stock to choose appealing boards from when I buy.


texts: Toilet supply line leaking at toilet connection

texts:
I turned off the water supply valve to my toilet (a push-pull type with the supply line crimped on) and disconnected the water supply line from the toilet (the other side does not come off apparently as it is crimped on to the valve).

After reattaching the supply line to the toilet and turning the water valve on again I am getting leaking on the line where it meets the toilet that I was not getting before all of this.

The supply line is crimped at the valve, and appears to be white rubber (at least on the outside) with a plastic nut to connect to the toilet.

If I move the supply line a bit when the water is on, the leak moves around and in some cases can spray out a lot, while other times it will just be a small spray or leak.

So far I have just been hand tightening the plastic nut and tightening it a bit at the end with a spanner, but it doesn't appear to be a problem with how tight it is (I could be wrong on that).

What can I do to prevent the leaks when I turn the water back on, aside from replacing the whole valve and supply line (which is not an option)?

Here is the actual supply line in use:

Here is the same type of connector on a DIFFERENT supply line (and the line in use does not have a washer right now but this one does)

Final update: Just to close this out, the issue was the washer. When the supply line was unscrewed from the toilet the old washer fell out or disappeared in some way, this caused water to jet out between the nut and the hose whenever the water was turned back on. I contacted the original manufacturer of the valve/line and they sent me new washers which have completely solved the issue with water leaking.


texts:
Would like to add two more lights to an existing light/switch setup. Would like to double check my approach. See below for existing vs proposed... purposely did not include ground.  Any and all feedback greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Existing

Proposed v1 (bad) and v2 (good - based on feedback from @bib and @Speedy Petey)


texts: Is it worth it to pay extra for a stainless steel tank water heater?

texts: I'm getting ready to replace my ancient water heater and wondering whether it makes sense to get to a model with a (edit: 316L) stainless steel inner tank instead of one with the standard glass-lined tank. I like the fact that these units require no anode rods and theoretically will never leak if plumbed with an expansion tank. Is the upcharge to go with one of these worth it, or would I be wasting my money because electric water heaters typically fail catastrophically in ways other than the inner tank leaking?


texts: How to reinforce this concrete wall that wasn't properly drained and is starting to lean 3/4" from top?

texts:
I have a cinder block wall (CMU) that was built about 3 years ago. I purchased my home 1.5 years ago. I was told that the wall was built 3 years ago by the neighbor and it was built by a local handyman when the previous wooden fence fell over. The wall is about 20-24" tall, and spans about 50 feet across. On the other side of this wall is my backyard lot with clay soil. About 12 feet back from the wall sits a mature tree.

I did not notice the shifting of my CMU wall until this past month after some heavy rain storms hit our region, there may have been some minor cracking on the wall since we bought the home that was pointed out to me than by my neighbor but nothing that stuck out at me until this recent time.

So the wall is starting to crack and on one of the cracks it is leaning out where the top of the wall is about 3/4" out from the rest of the block wall.

[![Concrete wall leaning out by 3/4"][2]][2]

So I took a look at the back behind the wall and tried to search for roots and did not come across any that seemed to be pushing up against the wall to cause it to shift. I than discovered from this same digging that the weep holes weren't properly constructed behind this concrete wall where there are no drainage rocks, it was just clay soil compacted up and backfilled right up against the concrete wall itself. I'm going to fix this part by adding some crushed rocks in but I wanted to know if there was anyway to reinforce this crack that is shifting before it gets any worst.

By relieving the weep holes with better drainage I'm hoping that I can release some of the built up pressure that was holding back all this wet soil, while its already dug up I wanted to see if there was any options in reinforcing the crack that is shifting. The wall hasn't leaned over too far out yet, but looks like if I don't stop it now from getting worst it'll tilt over one day under its own weight. From where it's leaning out it's also pulling a good 20-30 feet of over wall with it.

This is the part where I was thinking I can anchor a metal brace across it to hold it in place?

PS. I don't think there is any rebar in the building of this wall but I can't confirm this for certain.


texts:
My bathroom sink has a slow persistent leak, and I cant get at the plumbing to fix it, because the pedestal/wall and putty are in the way.

Is this a take the sink out and start again job, or is there an easier solution?

It leaks from where two copper pipes are joined by a fixture, to make it worse, the fixture has some milliput in an attempt to stop the leak, which is hard to remove.

The sink doesn't appear to be attached to the wall.


texts: I recently noticed this keypad on our front porch.  As far as I can tell, it's not connected to anything.  Does anyone know what it was for?  A security system perhaps? Garage door?


texts: Replacing a piece of nailed tongue and grooved engineered hardwood located in the middle of a large room

texts:
I have a large room covered with engineered hardwood -- (specifically - Johnson hardwood forevertuff in canadian maple 1/2" thickness) It can't be refinished or sanded.

A very visible piece in the center of the room was damaged and dented by a dropped heavy object.

I was going to proceed in the following manner:

First, use my circular saw to cut along the nailed edge and tongued edges of the damaged piece and carefully remove it.

Second, get a new board the same size (The packages all contained boards in 5 distinct sizes and I have a box leftover). On the replacement board, I would cut the lower tongue portions off, then lay it on top of the opening, using floor adhesive to keep it fixed down.

Is this a bad plan?

My concerns are

Even though the pieces are the same length, there's enough discrepancy for the replacement to either be too big or too small despite appearing the same visually.

Will cutting the lower tongue off weaken the board structurally.

Should the adhesive be only in the tongues/grooves or should i remove the green underlayer of padding and expose subfloor where I should apply the floor adhesive.

The alternative is to take out a ton of boards to get to it and I don't envy that. At that point, I'll get a rug.


texts: Is it within code to branch an exterior outlet off an interior outlet in the middle of a circuit?

texts:
My city adheres to the 2008 NEC.  I've got a run of outlets around a basement room on one circuit.  On an exterior wall I've got a weatherproof outlet that's on a different circuit and somewhere in between two of the interior circuits.  Is it within code to remove that exterior outlet from its current circuit and "branch" it off the interior circuit?  I thought I remembered hearing once that there are limitations to branching circuits.

Additionally, are there any specific code requirements pertaining to exterior outlets that I should be aware of?


texts:
My bath has a drain that seems to be cable-operated (like bike brakes) and is currently stuck down.

Like usually you turn the 'too much water' knob to release, but now it just does nothing.

The mechanism is completely closed so we can't really figure it out. Any solutions that could make it pop back up or are we stuck calling a plumber?


texts: How do I run wiring past this octagon box?

texts:
I have a 4" x 1-1/2" octagon box with 1/2" and 3/4" knockouts mounted to a 2x4" rafter in my shed located in Indiana.
I'm putting a NEMA 5-20 outlet in the box and I'll have a switch-controlled 12/2 NM-B going into the box to supply power and another leaving the box to supply power to the next box.
I need to run another 12/2 NM-b past the box to provide power to another box in another location. Unfortunately, as you can see by the picture, the 4" octagon completely covers the 2x4 so there's no room to slide the cable past on the outside of the box.
The options I've come up with:

Run the "passing through" cable through the box behind the outlet. Do I have enough room to do this without over filling the box and is there enough room in the 3/8" grommets to allow this? This seems to be the easiest, at least until it's time to stuff everything into the box...

Repeat the above, but rotate the box so I've got the 3/4" knockouts in the direction of cable travel. Again, not difficult until it's time to put the outlet in the box & put a lid on it.

Drill a hole through the rafter on either side of the box and run the "passing through" cable to the other side of the rafter, then back to "this" side. Note that "either side of the box" could be near the top & bottom of the rafter so the cable makes almost the entirety of its run on the other side of the rafter. Not terribly difficult, but doesn't seem as "neat and tidy" or "professional looking".

Run the cable along the bottom of the rafter as it bypasses the box. The shed will remain unfinished as long as I own it, so there won't be any concern about this interfering with interior covering, however, this wiring is above a loft storage area, so it would be more susceptible to bumps and bangs from boxes and other things being put into and taken out of the loft. Quite easy, but just seems... wrong.

Which of these is code acceptable? As a "bonus", opinion-based question, how would our resident pros do this or want to see it done?
Here's a "head on" view of the box showing that there's no room to squeeze another cable past without going through, behind or below.


texts: Dual energy controller 2AC02700701 runs heat pump with low fan only

texts:
I am running a central heat system that uses a heat pump as stage 1 and a gas furnace as stage 2. The thermostat is not directly connected to the furnace and heat pump motor, instead to goes through a control system (part 2AC02700701) that takes care of switching to gas if it gets too cold outside independently of the thermostat request. The control system schematic if shown below:

My furnace will operate full speed when Y and W are powered but will use a low fan quiet mode only when G alone is powered. Therefore the heat pump control system will result in the following strange behaviour:

Thermostat requesting cool (G,Y,O are powered) => G,Y powered on furnace and Y,O powered on heat pump. Running full speed, all is ok
Thermostat requesting S1 heat (G,Y are powered) => G only powered on furnace and Y powered on heat pump. Heat pump running heat but furnace only operating at low speed, I don't think this is ok
Thermostat requesting S2 heat (W is powered) => W is powered on furnace and none on heat pump. Running full speed gas furnace, all is ok

I could not find any comment anywhere proposing to run a heat pump with low fan speed. It seems the fan speed used for cooling should be the same than the one used for heating. Then why would the heat pump controller apply power to the G/Y terminals for heat pump cooling but not for heat pump heating, in which case it applies power to G terminal only?

My concern is that with this setup, it takes forever to heat the house using the heat pump and I feel like I am wasting lots of energy. As a test I tried to hard wire the furnace fan to high speed and it started heating much more rapidly with the heat pump, however on the long run, I don't want to let the furnace run at high speed continuously.


texts: Thermostat upgrade delivers heat instead of cooling

texts:
QUESTIONS
The apartment heatpump delivered cool air (16 degrees delta).  The thermostat was changed out with a Radiothermostat CT50.  CT50 switch configuration setting include HP (Heatpump) and Electric (see photos)

Does the photo (2nd photo below)  of the original thermostat confirm wiring color convention?

Why does the new wifi thermostat produce heat (100+ degrees from ceiling registers) and not cool air?

The second question is important because, I believe that wiring color convention was used.
As I understand it, the convention is True = +26V-28V.  Thermostat Wiring color convention:
White: Heat
Green: Fan
Yellow: Cooling
Blue: Common
Red: +26V AC

The voltmeter, measuring the wifi thermostat, indicated:
White = FALSE,
GRN = YEL = TRUE

CONTEXT
The apartment heatpump was originally configured with an electronic (not wifi) thermostat.  The old thermostat worked fine and is wired as such:

The wiring into the original thermostat leads me to believe thermostat wiring convention was followed.
The office heatpump (identical wifi thermostat) correctly pumps cool air when summoned:

I am happy to provide any other information, if asked.
3-PHASE-EEL TESTS
JUMPER Experiment
Purpose: Confirm BLU=Common, YEL=cooling, RED=26-28V AC
Expectation: Cooling is engaged
10AM: 86 indoor temperature: Thermostat Mode = OFF = [WHT,YEL,GRN,ORA]

Jumper YEL (cooling) & GRN (FAN) to RED:

Return =70 degrees: Jumpered: [GRN WHT] = >26V = ON = TRUE;   Measurement: FALSE = [ORA,YEL] <2.0V AC
Conclusion: cooling is engaged as expected =>  WHT, YEL, GRN, ORA convention is utilized
Measurements: Thermostat = HEAT-Setting
Purpose: Does calling for heat actually invoke cooling?
Remove jumpers from JUMPER Experiement
Measure voltages at [WHT,YEL,GRN,ORA]; Measurement =  [WHT,YEL,GRN,ORA]=FALSE
Set thermostat to Heat and set target above ambient temp
Measure voltages at [WHT,YEL,GRN,ORA]:  Measurements: ORA=FALSE; [WHT,YEL,GRN]=TRUE
Measure return temperature:: 76 degrees=return at 9 minutes  83=ambient temp
Measurements: Thermostat=COOL-Settings
Purpose: What signals are sent?  [WHT,YEL,GRN,ORA]
Set thermostat to off confirm fan /compressor off, then to cool.
Set target-temperature to below ambient:
Measure [WHT,YEL,GRN,ORA] = [FALSE TRUE TRUE TRUE]
measure output temp: 93+degrees at ~3Min
====> Disconect orange (Reverser valve?): measure ORA = 130Mv =>  **OUT_TEMP=76 @ 1 min**
Why would the controller (thermostat) send a TRUE to the ORA (Reverser Valve) in cooling mode?


texts: Mysterious drain going into sewer cleanup

texts:
I have a sewer-cleanout near the back porch of my house, which is below ground level so it's in a round box, and also within this box I have found a smaller piece of pvc pipe.  The square 'handle' part of the sewer-cleanout has been cut to allow this smaller pipe to point into the larger drain.

(Please see attached picture, the smaller pipe terminates right at the point where it meets the larger pipe.  The sewer pipe is effectively open at this point, meaning nasty smell in my sun-porch!)

To try to figure out where this drain comes from, I have run every faucet and drain the house and also used the sprinklers and I still haven't seen water come from the small drain.  (I also verified that this is not the Air Conditioner drain line, that goes another place.)

Any suggestions on finding where this drain comes from, so I can be certain that it's safe to cap it?


texts: How to fit a screw into a drilled big hole on wall?

texts:
I am fitting a window blind on a wall.
The wall is made of plaster board as far as I have known.

I have drilled a hole on wall bigger than the screw size.

The drilled hole on the wall has a diameter of 6mm

The screw I try to fit in has a diameter of 3mm

Here is the image of the drilled hole o the wall:

Here is the image of the screw with the window blind holder:

How do I fit the screw tightly and safely on the large drilled hole on wall?


texts: What leaked out of small copper line when I blew a hole in on my air handler

texts:
I changed my blower motor out and in the process a wire arced out on a small copper line and blew a hole in it. What leaked out? I have since soldered up the hole and have not run the unit. I fear that if it was freon that leaked out it would damage unit by running it. It wasn't a cold gas though cause I put electrical tape around the hole as it was leaking just to try and keep dirt and outside air from it. The big copper line with insulation around it is fine.

It wasn't liquid. I figured it was freon but it wasn't cool to touch. On the inside of my house at the air handler there are two copper pipes that run up to my coil. One is big and insulated the one right next to it also runs to coil but is only like a 1/4 inch in diameter more or less. This small one is the one I blew a hole in. It was some type of gas or air. I taped it as it was leaking out but like I said it wasn't cold. Here's my worse thought, if it was freon then I will have to pay to vacume and dry then recharge which is about 700.00 dollars. 70.00 x 5lbs of freon 90.00 for them to drive out rest is labor. Just was hoping it was not freon that leaked cause it would save some trouble. I can weld pipe and work metal but I don't do freon lol.


texts: What is better for plywood - varnish or paint

texts:
I have an old cheap tea table, which I'd like to fix a bit and re-paint or re-varnish. The top of it is a plywood, its surface has scratches and stains, the table is stained black, but I'm not sure if this is just a black paint or black varnish. Sanding peels off the black coat fairly easy, so I assume it is a paint?
The questions are:

assuming this is paint, what type of paint should I apply on a plywood and how many coats?

if it is varnished, how many coats of varnish should be applied?

is it OK to varnish over sanded surface that had paint on it and the other way around?


texts: Can exterior exhaust vents be stacked on top of one another?

texts:
A bathroom toilet room already has an exterior exhaust vent as seen in the pic. Is it within code and ok to install another, and identical, exhaust vent directly below the current one.

The Master Bath needs another exhaust fan and this is the only place feasible to exhaust this soon to be installed fan.

Question


texts:
I am trying to make a DIY disinfection box, and have acquired most of the parts for it. However, my knowledge of wiring is very rudimentary and the lamp specs are not very descriptive. Thus, I wanted to double-check how the wiring should be because I'm worried I'll blow out the lamp.
Here are the components that I'm using:
Sylvania 21062 - GCF9DS/G23/SE/OF Lamp
Leviton 26719-200 G23, G23-2 Base, 5W 7W 9W 2-Pin
ROBERTSON 3P10068 Fluorescent mBallast for 1 F8T5 Linear Lamp, Preheat Start, 120Vac, 60Hz
BCQLI Lamp Cord has Button Switch,Plug,Stripped Ends
According to my research, a 2-pin can only use a magnetic ballast, but I am confused about the "starter" part. The spec sheet linked for the lamp states that a starter is required, but I am unsure if the starter is built into the lamp or if I'm somehow supposed to wire a starter like the ones used in a tube light fixture into such a circuit.

I am concerned regarding the existence of a starter integrated within the lamp due to another post on the electrical engineering StackExchange. Someone was attempting to wire 9W bi-pin UV-C tubes and the comment at the end of the thread stated those particular tubes did not have a starter. The post can be found here, although the link to the tubes being referenced is unfortunately broken.
Therefore, is figure 101 fine for wiring? Or would I have to buy a starter? If so what kind? Also, in the case a starter is needed, any advice on how to wire a starter for a 2-pin plug-in would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!


texts:
I am currently wiring for a spa. Have dug an 18 in trench. I will run (4) #6 wires to a 60 amp breaker box approx 55ft away from the main panel and then run from that box the additional wiring 25ft to the hookup spot for the spa 8ft x 12ft (which will be hard wired. Have a few questions: One, is 1 inch schedule 80 conduit enough room to run the 4 lines of #6 wires?
And two, what changes to the spa wiring could I make if I wanted to convert that area with a small guest home (tuff shed 10 x 20) in the future? The shed would be a small tiny home with bed, small electric stove, some electric outlets for TV, fan, small AC in a window.
This spa project is in Tucson, Az and want to i stall a Tidal Fit Spa 8ft x 12ft panel says 50/60amps. I talked directly to the guys at the spa and they stated not to step down the ground to #8 (as I wanted to do that). The spas is suppose to have (4) #6 wires. The inspector may not pass it. I have been waiting during this time over 20 days just to get a case number to then request an inspector. (See attached diagram).
The spa wiring I feel good about. The part I was hoping to learn about is how can I convert this wiring later on should I add a small room with lights, a few outs and maybe a hook ups for a small electric range and mini fridge. What I am hearing is I could/should add another smaller sub panel.
I AM NOT an electrician just trying to learn from the pros.


texts:
I have a three zone hot water boiler based heating system. The boiler is currently at one end of my ranch style house. The radiators appear to be directionless (no valves or anything). One of the zones covers approximately half my house and it goes LR/DR->Family Room->Master BR then back to the boiler. The MBR is already a cold room for a multitude of reasons (above garage, low radiator to room size ratio and 2 exterior walls) and we are never in the LR/DR but in the current setup it is always significantly warmer than the Family Room (room we are in the most and the location of the thermostat) and Master BR.

Would it be possible to drain the zone and reverse the in/out pipes so the flow reverses to MBR-> FR ->LR/DR?

I feel like this would work better than using remote sensors with a smart thermostat (I am installing an ecobee anyway for easier control) because the remote sensors would just force the heat on more to make the Family Room and MBR more comfortable while the LR/DR would be sweltering and wasteful.

Below I added a picture of the current valve setup, piping example and the input side of the boiler. I definitely have a single loop setup and I realized the zone goes LR/DR->MBR->FR (or so I hope).

I think I may follow some of the advice and just add a new zone and split the LR/DR off. I need to do some digging because the MBR is over the garage and the pipes are inaccessible without tearing out the garage ceiling but as long as I can find where the pipe goes I can splice it.


texts: Wiring the Auxiliary switch on a 3-way switch

texts:
So, I am currently trying to wire a 3-way switch, but specifically the Jasco 45609 and its auxiliary switch counterpart the Jasco 45610.

The Jasco 45609 has 5 wire inputs:

Load
Line
Ground
Traveler
Neutral

The Jasco 45610 has 3 wire inputs:

Ground
Traveler
Neutral

So I've wired the primary switch (45609) with the proper wire inputs.

120V "hot" wire goes to line (black)
load goes to the light (black)
ground to exposed copper
traveler to a red wire
neutral to a white wire

And I've wired the auxiliary switch (45610) as so:

White to neutral
Red to traveler
Exposed copper to ground

So the diagram looks something on the lines of:

When I use the primary switch, the light turns on and off as expected. However, when I try using the aux switch, nothing happens. Am I wiring things correctly or is something clearly wrong on what I am doing?

I can mention that the wiring in the two boxes are a little strange. I am however bypassing the second box just to test out the auxiliary switch wiring by placing the two switches together and wiring them side by side. This means that my second electrical box is just bypassed where I put electrical nuts to tie the neutrals together and the load wires together so that the lamp turns on properly.


texts:
I have a dresser drawer that is stuck closed without anything inside it blocking it.  The inside of the drawer is empty, so I assume it is blocked on the rails somehow, but as far as I can tell I don't have any way to access them.

I've attached pictures I took of the drawer being pulled out and the drawers that are still working around it, and I found this youtube video of someone installing similar drawers and this question concerning similar drawers, but neither really helped in any meaningful way.

Is there some kind of tool I should get to free it up somehow? I've tried pulling back, and pushing up from the bottom and I never felt any give.


texts: Split unit Air Conditioner replace compressor single to three phase

texts:
I have a 3-ton split AC "single-phase compressor" was working perfectly until I moved it to another location, some oil spilled from the suction pipe during the transportation so when I installed it in the new location I added 900Ml of oil "I know it was a wrong thing to do" I was too lazy to the cut the compressor pipes out and drain the oil from the compressor to add the exact amount of oil which is 1100Ml, anyway when I charged it with refrigerant the amount to fill the unit is 2L "Written on the outside unit" I barely added 1L and the pressure on the suction side was 5 Bar "Which is the recommended pressure on the suction side when it's fully charged" it wasn't very long within 3 minutes and the switch burned and the breaker tripped.

I then cut the compressor pipes out and drained the oil it was almost double the amount of what it's recommended and the suction valve seemed to be damaged from heat, I couldn't find parts for the compressor, so my friend told me he has a 3-ton compressor he doesn't want it "FOC" but it's a three-phase compressor and my compressor is single-phase.

My question can I replace a single-phase compressor with a three-phase compressor on my split unit or do I need an adapter or something like that? Because the voltage for the three-phase is 460v and the single-phase is 220v.

My single-phase compressor name is HERMETIC COMPRESSOR AW 5542E, the three-phase is a scroll compressor ZR42K3-TFD.


texts: How do I remove pieces of my porch ceiling/soffit? (aluminum?)

texts:
I need to temporarily remove a piece of my front porch's ceiling/soffit.  How can I do this?

Each section of the ceiling seems locked to the next section and I can't seperate them.


texts:
I recently removed my basement drywall and the old insulation behind it.  The basement was first finished about 30 years ago (by old owners).

The walls are concrete blocks.  Most of them are fine, but one corner clearly has some moisture issues and some mold.  This is near the only part of the house where the soil isn't well-graded outside so the location makes sense, and I'm going to fix that.

I was planning on re-painting the walls with some Drylock paint and also some anti-mold paint before having the walls spray-foamed (with closed cell foam).

I've had a lot of luck with this anti-mold paint on bathroom ceilings.  I painted one five years ago and the ceiling still doesn't grow any mold.

Does it matter whether I put the Drylock on first or the anti-mold paint?  Does the Drylock have to go right up against the concrete and get absorbed or something like that?


texts: Electrical current leaking from light fixture when off

texts:
I recently migrated from Incandescent to LED light bulbs. I changed my old dimmer switches to LED compatible dimmer switches (all 3-ways). When on, the lights work fine, but when turned off, I noticed a very faint and permanent glow being emitted by the light bulbs. I tried changing the light bulbs and/or the dimmer switches but with no luck. I'm thinking that the green light present on the switch and activated when the switch is turned off is causing this leakage. Does anyone have a clue on how to fix this issue?

thanks!


texts: Why does my outdoor AC unit make a screeching sound when it shuts off?

texts: MY AC cools just fine.  But when it cuts off, the loud screeching sound outside can be heard from far away.  This only happens when the AC goes off.  There are no other weird sounds, any other time.  The screech lasts about 2-3 seconds, as though the unit is winding down to stop.  Please help.


texts: I purchased a new Whirlpool Model 6065 Mini-split in Mexico last year. The price was right.Installation manual is in Spanish and Whirlpool USA will offer no support. Manual appears to say power goes to inside head first and then to outside compressor. Some have said this is wrong and will blow the unit. Any experience/advise? Thanks. Max Boese


texts: Can 2 bedrooms share an egress window? Both bedrooms have separate entrances. They will share a door that leads to each room. Only 1 bedroom has egress window.


texts: What's the best way to lay tile in a straight line

texts:
I'm about to lay porcelain tile over backerboard in my kitchen. There are several entrances in the kitchen, and several points of visual reference that will cause even a slightly skewed line to be very, very evident.

What's the best way ensure that my first few rows form a straight line as I lay them? I don't want to lay an entire row, step back, and realize it started skewing halfway up the row.

I've tried laying out dry tiles until satisfied and snapping a chalk line along the edges in the past...but this gets covered up by the thinset very easily if I'm not painstakingly careful.

Are there any strategies or methods to make sure you're keeping a straight line as you lay a row of tile?


texts: Elevate water heater next to ceiling in garage to gain floor space

texts:
My electric water heater is in a corner of my home's garage in Dallas, TX.  Code requires it to be raised 18" off the floor, so it creates this odd shaped nook in the corner.  It currently sits on a framed out box that is built into the walls of the garage.

I'd like to buy a lowboy water heater (35" tall) and build a ~5' tall platform for it to set on to give the garage more unobstructed storage on the floor.

Is there a problem with this?  I know the platform would have to support at least 600lbs, but would it violate any code?  The T/P valve drains to the outside via a pipe and it still could.  The supply and electrical come from the top, so they would essentially not have to move at all.

How close can the top of the heater be to the ceiling?  I know I'll need room for the water connections but is there some "minimum ventilation" type distance?

This all seems like a good solution but I've never seen anything like it so I feel like I'm missing something.


texts: How can I fix a shower faucet valve that is sticky?

texts: I have two bathrooms that have been completed in the last year. Both have the same Price Pfister rough-in valve. One is sticky and requires a bit of force to turn on the water (turns on by pulling). It actually has gotten worse over time. The other turns on with a gentle pull of handle. The plumber that installed the sticky one may have pulled out the cartridge and messed it up (rationale: because he messed up other things). I'm wondering if this sounds like something I might be able to fix or should I get a new cartridge? The valve in question is a Pfister 0X9 Brass Single Control.


texts: Kitchen sink drain pipe leaking inside the wall

texts:
I'm remodeling my kitchen and installed the new sink this week but noticed that any time the water runs, water emerges from inside the wall, near the drain pipe and as a result, the fiberglass insulation gets wet. Not sure what I did to cause it but I'm guessing the drain pipe is cracked.
Is this something I can repair/replace myself or do I need a plumber for this job? I'd like to think I'm fairly handy and have the tools; just not sure what this process would entail.
Thanks!


texts: Can an F40T8 4ft ballast power an F36T8 2ft bulb?

texts: I have some F36T8 2ft bulbs that I need to power, unfortunately the closest ballast I can locally find are rated for 4ft F40T8 bulbs. Can I still use them, or will it be a hazard?


texts: Concrete "post footings" for concrete patio floor?

texts:
The typical way of doing a concrete patio floor is to excavate soil at least 9", pour & compact gravel, then pour concrete.

I was wondering, what will happen if:

Excavate post holes, past the frost line, in each corner of the planned concrete floor.
Set rebars vertically in the holes
Add horizontal rebars "connecting" the posts rebars.
Add some more rebars, forming a "mesh"
Set the concrete form (2x4's)
Pour concrete, level and seal.

Basically, a concrete slab sitting on top of soil, with post foundations.

Will the concrete floor shift in level in no time? Will the ground crack and break it sooner than later? I live in Canada (Southern Ontario) where the ground goes through a freezing cycle.


texts: I want to change my current 15 amp split outlet to a 20 amp Can I use a pigtail on the red and black ( at both ends) to do this?

texts: I have a 14/3 15 amp split plug that I want to change to a 20 amp GFI. Can I use a pigtail on the red and black to do this.


texts: Filling joint between backer board and wall in shower

texts:
I've never done home repairs before)

I just moved into a place and noticed GLOBS of silicone caulk in the walls next to the shower, it looked hideous.  I went to shave some down and maybe recaulk a nicer bead, turned out the previous person used it to seal with tile backer with the wall.

Is this the proper way to do it?

My solution currently would be to patch it with joint compound to make it flush with the wall, and maybe caulk over the border with the tile.  Is there a more proper way to do this? I'm concerned over keeping it waterproof.  It appears the shower did have water leakage issues in the past.


texts: Determining property lines using actual measurements and county survey records

texts:
I am currently in the process of determining the exact dimensions of my property in order to install a fence.  I have located three marker pins, though not the fourth one yet.
After searching through county records and talking to a private surveyor, I have laid my hands on two plat maps, which are different in some important detail.
Imagine a uneven rectangle, which is taller than wider. Sides west, north, east and south appear respectively as W, N, E and S below:

W = 107.5'
N = 65.1'
E = 114.5'
S = 65.1'

In the county map, only W and N side measurements appear, whereas the surveyor map shows all four.  Angles are as follows:

W/N = 96 deg
N/E = 84 deg 46 min
E/S = 89 deg 98 min
S/W = 89 deg 56 min

County map shows no angles.  Surveyor map shows first and the last angles.  I calculated the remaining two angles by extrapolation using angles for the adjoining property. The angles do add up to 360: 96 + 84.46 + 89.98 + 89.56 = 360 deg.
However, do the property line lengths make sense geometrically speaking? If N and S are both 65.1', then wouldn't W and E would also have to be identical? But one is longer than the other by 7 ft.
Either the angles are incorrect or the sides are. I basically need to draw a rectangle with these lengths and see if the angles come out right.
Edit1: Picture of original survey from 1960
Edit2: The actual measurement between the NE and NW rebars is 66'5", which is little over a foot longer than what the map says.  I wish I knew trigonometry better so I could precisely calculate the difference made by the two angles (90 deg vs 96 deg.).
Edit 3: I tried to find the S/W marker pin again.  Measured roughly 65' from the S/E pin and dug up very carefully with hand tools.  All I have found is remnants of the previous chain link fence post in concrete.  It's exactly in the same spot where I was hoping to find the pin.  The current fence doesn't quite extend until there (space for trash bins etc.). The metal detector continues to provide very strong signal next to the post in the hole.  I must call 811 before I continue on.


texts: Water pump cycles at random times about once a day

texts:
The pump brings water from an outside, below ground cistern into a house.
The system as a whole performs normally.
We have checked repeatedly for dripping taps and leaks.
The pump can cycle during the evening or in the night when no-one is drawing water for any purpose.
The pump does not run long, we estimate from half a minute to a minute.

This often wakes my wife which is bad enough. Is it a sign of impending doom?


texts: 3Way Occupancy Sensor Switch NO neutral or grounding!

texts:
I'm looking to add an occupancy sensor switch in a staircase that has a pair of 3way switches.

The power source comes in at the light,  then goes to the switches,  see Diagram:

http://www.howtowirealightswitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/two-lights-between-3-way-switches-power-via-light.jpg

The main issue I've been running into is that all occupancy switches I can find needs either a Neutral or a Grounding conductor,  both of which are not in my switch boxes (and not in the budget to be added).

Reading up on the post below I noticed UMS-OPS6M-DV that says it only needs a 25w load to run.

Is there a motion sensor light switch that does not need ground?

What does this mean exactly? My LED lights run a Load of 18w total...

1) Will 18w work,  if not I can increase the bulbs
2) Does this minimum load mean there is always (let's say)  25w being always used to just power the switch?  Or why does this minimum exist?


texts: Should an underground drainage pipe be perforated?

texts: If I want to install a long (30ft+) drainage pipe underground for my sump discharge, should the pipe be perforated or solid? The pipe will flow down and out  into a creek. This is in a region that has very cold winters (<0F).


texts: My drill can't cut a circular hole in wood - do I need a more powerful drill?

texts:
I have an electric cordless drill that my father handed down to me. Recently, I needed to drill a hole in a desk to allow for computer cables to pass through. I bought an appropriate drill bit, clamped it in, and got to drilling - to have the drill manage a few rotations before sticking and stuttering and being unable to go any further.

I'm admittedly a novice at this - so my first thought, 'surely I just need a more powerful drill', may not be entirely trustworthy. Can that be safely considered to be my next step? To buy (or more likely, rent) a stronger electric drill to cut this hole?


texts: Anchoring Aluminum Pergola To Paver Patio

texts:
I'd like to install an aluminum 16 x 12 pergola on my existing paver patio and I'm wondering the best way to anchor it.

It comes with brackets to bolt the posts into concrete, with the bolt holes in a square pattern (one bolt hole in each corner of the bracket, 5.7" apart). For each post I'm thinking to use a 12" diameter sonotube with fast setting concrete, set 36" deep ( I'm in NJ ).

I'm not sure whether the top of the concrete column should be level with the ground beneath the pavers, or level with the top of the pavers. I'm leaning towards the top of the concrete being beneath the pavers, so the molding that goes around the bottom of the post sits on the pavers for a clean look, rather than seeing a concrete circle under each post, and challenging myself to not mess up cutting an arc in my paver stones to fit around the concrete column.

If I do this, I'm also thinking to recess the concrete a little below the ground under the pavers to leave some extra space for the concrete bolts that will be sticking up, otherwise those bolts would elevate the paver stones above it to be higher than the rest.

If I do this, can I just put down a layer of sand above the concrete to have a flat surface for the pavers above it?

This is my first time doing something like this, so I'm mainly looking for someone to confirm my plan is sound, or offer any suggestions of a better way.

Thanks!


texts: How do I fix my table top from chemical damage?

texts:
I do acrylic nails and I'm usually pretty cautious, but today I've had either monomer liquid or acetone leak through my many layers of towels.

It has caused the finish on my table to blister and take on the print of the towel fabric. The table is stained and I don't want to have to sand too much of it off so that it requires re-staining. What can I do to repair this?


texts: Laying conduit in preparation for electrical work? UK

texts:
I am planning to renovate an external brick garage which currently has no electric fed to it. The plan is to eventually have lights and sockets.

One of the tasks I want to do in the week is add dot and dab plasterboard to the walls as I have some unexpected time free. Unfortunately I can't get an electrician in before I do this due to time constraints on the project and my sporadic annual leave availability with work.

Is it ok if I add (unwired) plug sockets, light switches, light fixtures, and plastic conduit channels throughout the plasterboard to make wiring possible when the electrician is booked in for X months time? I can also in preparation dig a channel in the ground between house and garage ready for cable laying.

I don't plan to do any of the wiring myself. My concern is I don't know enough about electrical work to reliably add enough conduit and junction boxes, or even in the right place, for the electrician.

Is this reasonable approach? Would I be helping an electrician by doing this or just making the problem worse.


texts: simple niche/nook shelf: boards resting on screws

texts:
I have a niche/nook in a room (marked red)

and some leftover chipboards of width 16mm. Together they should make a simple shelf. So I would cut the chipboards to the same width/depth as the niche/nook (minus some mm) and for each board

drill 4 holes to the opposing sides (marked blue) at a certain height
put rawplugs/screw anchors and screws in the holes
put the board on top of the 4 screws.

The wall is made of concrete (right side) and bricks (left side).

Questions:

What types of screws should I use (thickness, material) so that a board can carry up to 10kg? The weight will not be concentrated on one spot, it will be distributed quite evenly. E.g. one board should carry a basket (almost same size as board widht/depth) which will be filled with empty glasses and bottles.
What options do I have to compensate inaccuracy of the drilled holes? I never manage to make all holes on the exact same height, or to make all of them perfectly horizontal!


texts: How can I route storm water away from my atrium?

texts: I have an atrium in my condo that is exactly in the middle of the house.  It has gutters and downspouts around it and whomever built it, just let the downspouts empty into the open courtyard of lava rock.  I want to put a solid floor in the atrium and have the gutters empty somehow else.  There is no possible way to empty them into an underground system, nor even an above ground one.  I cannot see anyway to reroute gutters  to go off another point of condo.  Is there a fix for this?


texts: How to fill a hole in plastic window frame?

texts:
The window balance broke and caused this:

Any idea how to repair it? The window frame is plastic. Thanks.


texts: What are these parts described by the service manual?

texts:
The service manual for a LG WM3677HW shows a very bad diagram... and I'm not very familiar with the parts to ID them.

The image above tells me to probe 3 components, and if out of spec replace them.

The dry heather resistance I can guess is the middle one (bulkier and solder instead of simpler connectors. the others two I need help.

Here's the picture of the actual part:

(image is huge! right click and View Image on new tab)

any clues about what is what?

Edit:
Just went and measured all the 3 points. I hope the 1st one in the diagram is the middle one in the picture... then the other 2 would be open, resulting in no part needing replacement, right? ...regardless of what they are?


texts: Solar water heating for spa - how to / pump / etc

texts:
Dear "home improvers" I would like to create my own solar heating system for spa (intex 28456, pure spa jet & bubble octagon deluxe). This spa has its own heating system together with salt water chlorinator.

Because of I dont want to modify this system I thought about new system with the solar heater only.

I found some DIY projects and I inspired myself with them. But I do not know how "big" the solar system needs to be. Some projects has 120m, some of them 50. The intex spa has 1075l and "normal" temperature is around 25°C. I know I need increase the water temperature about 10°C. There are 2 possible solutions, have a "closed" water circulation system with some spiral at the end that will heat the water inside the spa, or "classical" solar system where one end will be intake for the water and second the output. I think the second solution will be better and quicker (but I am not sure). How much "panels" of what length should I use? (I would like to create them by my own, use PEX pipes, painted black with some glass in front of them - usual solution).

But the biggest problem for me is the pump. I would like to use some 12V pump, so I can use solar energy panels in future for it. The solar panel (for water) will be in 2m height, and they will be (depends on first question, how much panels of what length will i use), but for example I will have 100m of pipe in 2m height (in compare with water surface).

On aliexpress, there is plenty of 12V pumps with 800l/h and 5h head height. Those are specs only, in real, I guess that pump will have something around 300l/h (that is enough i think) and 1.5h head. That means, it will not be enough to pump the water inside the system. Do I need to count the length of the pipe that will lie on the floor "horizontaly" as well (it will lie on the floor in ~15° and its dimensions for 1 panel of 50-100m will be around 1.5x1.5m... Long story short, can anyone advice what pump should I use? And can anyone advice me how can I count (or estimate) the pipe length neccessary for the system?

Last but not least I would like to understand, someone is using "serial" connection of more panels. Someone is using parallel. What one is better and why?

How long will take the water to heat (inside the system)? for example temperature on the intake will be around 25°C, I would like to heat it on 50°C, air temperature will be around 30°C (sunny day). If I heat 50% of the water inside the spa on 50°C, the water will mix into something around 35°C (it will get cold a little bit with time). If I use for example 100m pipe (3/4"), the volume of this pipe will be around 0.11m3, so 110l. In this situation i need heat 500l, so 5x fully drain the system. But I have no idea how can I estime how long it will take to the water to heat inside the 100m pipe.

Thank you very much for advices (my first bigger and useful "diy" project)


texts:
I have a new compressor.  It is 15 amp 240 volt.
I have an old Sylvania panel.  What are make and model
options?


texts: Can I drill diagonally through the top of my beam?

texts:
Remodeling our kitchen (and putting it on YouTube so want to make sure I'm right). I need to run 2 new circuits in our kitchen on a half wall so I can't run them down. Basement is open but the bottom plate of the half wall is resting on a beam that is supported by steel posts. Beam is 2 ply 2x10's.
Currently there is a wire going diagonally up through the beam into the half wall. I wanted to make sure that was to code before copying that twice. I have a permit and it will be inspected so want to make sure I won't be re-running this later.
Is drilling diagonally through a 2 ply beam acceptable?
I've tried googling but can't find people talking about it. All I could find was drilling through the side of a beam and don't drill straight down through the center.
Image 1: Current example of what I want to do if legal

Image 2: The bay I would be doing it in.

Image 3-4: Context shots of the beam, stairs, and joists it's holding


texts: What's the name of automatic/self moving table equipments?

texts:
There are some self/automatic moving home decor objects that oscillate like pendulum either kept in entrance drawing room or some office table.I think that they move without any power source (battery).
I want to buy them but not able to find out the name of these kind of products.


texts: Anyone please tell me what kind hinge (name of the hinge) used in this product?

texts:
Anyone please tell me what kind hinge (name of the hinge) used in this product ?
Name of the product is SNAP JACK from LIVING WITH JACK company.


texts: Install carpet tiles over laminate in basement?

texts:
We currently have laminate flooring in our basement, which appears to be installed directly on the concrete floors. We haven't noticed any moisture issues in the 3 years we've been here; we had some "musty smell" issues in the summer with the A/C running, but a dehumidifier took care of that.

We want to carpet the basement now. We're toying with the idea of putting adhesive carpet tiles directly on the laminate flooring; it's certainly an easy solution, and cost effective for us since we could do it ourselves (instead of having someone tear up the laminate, put down subflooring/padding, etc).

Is this a bad idea?


texts: How close is too close, when digging below foundation level?

texts:
I'm digging a drainage trench near my foundation, and have hit the bottom edge of that foundation.  In this case it's a T style foundation at the edge of a slab, but elsewhere there's no slab.   From the drainage point of view I'd like to dig deeper. In this case the soil is heavy almost impermeable clay and the area is not subject to hard freeze.  Thusly:

What are guidelines for how much soil must be left undistributed adjacent to and below a foundation?

A related question is: How close should a french drain be to a foundation? which addresses drains near deeper foundations.


texts: Why doesn't my ceiling fan's LED light kit work?

texts:
Casablanca 6 speed ceiling fan. The remote control is communicating with the receiver.
The fan can be controlled at all speeds. The light does not come on.
I will check the voltage coming out of the receiver. I have not yet checked to see if the two blue wires have good connection.
What is the expected voltage from the light (blue) wire from a ceiling fan receiver?


texts: Is transitioning to all electric heating smart?

texts:
I am in the process of overhauling my home heating and plumbing. I bought a 2600sq/ft 1980s Cape Cod in southern Maine on the coast. I've reinsulated the walls and roof and am continuing to make improvements in sealing the house. Overall, the insulation is pretty good. The house is built on a slab with a 5 ft high frost wall.

Currently I have a old noisy oil burning boiler/on-demand water heater and forced hot water baseboard heating. I also installed a Jotul Oslo wood stove and a Fujitsu 15RLS2 heat pump. The boiler is a mess, the previous owner never serviced it. It has broken down twice and I have dumped about $1500 into it within the past 18 months.

This past winter we relied almost exclusively on the wood stove and heat pump which got me thinking. Do I even need this oil boiler? Even in the summer, when it is just heating hot water, it can easily go through 60 gallons of oil per month. We do not have natural gas lines in my town.

My thought is to scrap the oil boiler, get another heat pump, and install electric baseboard as a backup. I would also install a heat pump hot water heater. In the long run I plan to install a solar electric system...

Is this plan crazy? Should I keep some sort of fossil fuel based heat source? Is the electric baseboard a bad idea?

Here are temperature statistics for the town I live in: http://temperature.weatherdb.com/l/3943/Cape-Elizabeth-Maine


texts: Is there a torque table for hex cap screws?

texts:
I find that especially with smaller hex cap screws the hex drive is worn out or deformed long before I reach the maximum torque that the screw could theoretically handle.
For example: I've used M5 ISO 10642 (8.8 alloy steel) screws recently which can be fastened with about 6Nm (which - if I understood it correctly - is 90% of the screw's yield strength). I found that the hex drive was starting to get deformed at around 4 - 4.5Nm and I didn't dare to fasten it any tighter fearing I'd wear out the drive (which has happened in the past with M3 and M4 screws unfortunately).

Now I could use a different grade of steel, use a different type of head (the ISO 4762 for example have a larger drive for the same thread diameter) etc., but I was wondering if there's a table for hex drives that lists the maximum torque for each drive size similar to Torx?

Cheers!


texts: Do I need AFCI protection on new lighting circuits or just for outlets?

texts: I am in the process of re-wiring a 100 year old house. I want to make sure everything is done to the new NEC codes. I need to know if arc fault protection is required on lighting circuits or just outlets. I live in a very small town and we share a building inspector with several cities in the county I live in. So I can't call him. He is on vacation for a couple weeks and was hoping to continue my project instead of waiting for him to return


texts: Which is more preferred, PU SIP core panels or EPS SIP core panels?

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I am looking at something that can last a long time, has good structural component and provide good insulation. Which would be the preferred option in this case? I am from the Caribbean.

Thanks!


texts: Can I remove the water supply hose from this valve?

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texts: Best tool to cut existing tile sidesplash to fit new range hood

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Our new range hood doesn't sit square or flush with the wall because the new hood sits over some of the original tile (outlined in red).
I plan to trace around the hood and remove a 5-inch wide by 1.75 inch tile rectangle.
Red line shows where cut is needed.
I can remove the hood when I make the cut.
Would an oscillating multi tool, dremel, or something else work best, and what type of blade is needed?


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I notice the siding and trim on my house is in urgent need of paint, as there are bare areas of wood where the paint is flaking off, but due to uncertainties with Coronavirus, I need to hold off on buying thousands of dollars worth of paint. I do, however, have lots of KILZ 2 primer leftover from another job.
Can I paint my house using just primer, to protect the house during this harsh Southwest summer, then add the actual exterior paint in the winter? Will rain or sun, etc. have some negative affect on the primer in the meantime? Will the primer protect the wood?


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I have a newly installed tub and unfortunately it has a crack down the outer edge or front lip about 1 to 2 inches and it also goes all the way to the edge.

I am afraid of it running and getting bigger, and I am not sure the material if it is acrylic, polyester or fibreglass if that matters?

I am wondering should I replace entire tub or patch it up? Thanks for any advice or knowledge.