texts:
Sorry – this is long.  I own an older home (1920s construction) that I do know has foundation problems.  I am not asking for a diagnosis of those problems per se.  For data purposes, the problems are:

South basement wall (partial basement, the rest is crawlspace or less - see below) has bowed and cracked due to hydrostatic pressure from really idiotically bad draining for several years before I bought it.  The house at one point had definely settled on this wall.  Before I knew about the bowed and cracked wall (it was hidden by drywall in the basement), I repaired the drywall problems I could see.  Over the past year, I have observed at two windows above this wall very short (3-4") hairline cracks, but no other evidence of movement.  All windows still open and close easily, as do the doors in this part of the house.
The east foundation crawl space wall, for a span of about 20 feet, has suffered cracking, and has bowed in some.  This wall is a very shallow foundation, and will mostly likely need to be replaced, as there simply isn't much for a pier to grab onto.  In the bath by this space, I have noted slight shift issues, defined as an apparent 2 mm shift in the top of the tub surround relative to the paint line on the wall, and stress marks in corner drywall tape (i.e bubbles and apparent minor vertical movement).  The door to the bath is still square (or as square as it ever was - opens and closes but is a bit stiff in upper corner - no change in one year of use).  The space under the house in this area is only about 12 inches, so calling it a crawl space is generous.  I have temporarily installed braces under two floor beams and one section where the foundation was cut away for crawl space access.  These braces are temporary, absolutely, but with them in place one crack under a window closed up up, and a door that was slightly sticking (i.e. A bit stiff to open, but did open and close) is now much easier to open.
A cracked spot about 8 feet from the NW corner of the house, that unfortunately is near a pillar holding a ceiling crossbeam for the great room of the house.

I have brought out a foundation repair company engineer.  He has described some repairs which seem plausible, and did not seem overly concerned about the state of the house.  He suggested several things I could do to further improve drainage and protect the foundation along with repairs. These drainage improvements are ongoing right now.  However, I am unable to arrange the financing I would need right now to make the repairs – it simply is not possible until at least mid autumn, and probably not until late spring.

With all that data, now to the questions: given all above, and diligent efforts to protect and monitor my situation, is it plausible to get between 6 and 10 months further down the road before initiating repairs?  I have marked and measured existing cracks and am logging them and photographing them to monitor any changes.  Beyond watching for new cracks or shifts in existing ones, what else should I watch for that would indicate somehow finding a way to accelerate repairs?


texts: Add Heater to Circuit - 14 AWG to 10 AWG on 30A breaker?

texts:
My new home has ductless wall heaters (Cadet specifically). I want to add a new wall and install another heater in it. In checking my panel, I see that the seven original heaters are on four dedicated circuits; each being 240V, 30A. I want to tie the new heater on the line that only has one heater on it currently. However, in purchasing a heater and checking all of the current ones, it seems that the wiring that comes with the heaters is 18 AWG (for the fan) tied to 14 AWG (for the heating element), with 14 AWG exposed to connect to the main circuit. Additionally, every heater has a separate thermostat with 12 AWG wires. I cannot tell in the heater box what gauge the main wiring is, but it is definitely larger in diameter than the 14 AWG. As far as I understand, 30A breakers require 10 AWG wiring, so now I am confused as to how my house ever passed inspection and how I will pass for this remodel.

Am I missing something in the code that allows for appliances to have wiring connected to the 10 AWG of the circuit that is only 12 or 14 AWG? Is this safe?


texts: We bought our first house and it needs some work, especially the walls. I’m wondering what’s the best way to take care of this horribly patched drywall? We have large sections of wall in various rooms that look similar to the one in the picture. We think it’s from the previous owners DIY remodeling, but they weren’t very picky about their results, it seems. Is this fixable? Or would we need to replace whole sheets of drywall?


texts: Are small air bubbles on the surface while applying wood finish normal?

texts: While finishing my door, I've noticed a lot of small air bubbles after applying the finish.  I asked a painter about it and he told me it's normal, but it doesn't seem normal to me. Is this normal or should I hire some other person?


texts: What kind of wire this is in my ceilling

texts:
There are 3 black and 4 white wires. We found it in our 2nd floor condominium ceilling when cutting holes for lights.
Is black wire power line from meter to breaker panel ? These homes were built around 1988. I tried checking with no-contact voltage tester but it did not beep.
Can someone tell me what kind of wires are these?


texts: Painting Brand new concrete floor - is an acid wash necessary?

texts:
I just bought a newly constructed house that has a large (20x20) attached shop with a concrete floor.  I want to paint the floor.

I've looked at several sites on how to do this, and they all say to acid wash the floor before painting, but it seems that they assume there is oil on the floor.  I'm ready and willing to wash it, prime it (it doesn't need patching), and paint it, but I don't want to acid wash it, because there isn't enough ventilation in there to be safe --- just one small window, and a big door that goes to the house, not to the outside.

The floor (like the rest of the house) is brand new, so it should be clean and oil free, although I will mop it first anyway.  So is there really a need to acid wash it?  Thank you.


texts:
My inlaws have one toilet in their house that regularly clogs. They have two more toilets that don't seem to clog at all. They live in a suburb with full plumbing (not a septic tank). The toilet isn't low-flow. They had a plumber come look at it, plumber says there's nothing wrong.

But every third time we visit, my husband clogs it. Or I do. Other guests seem to clog it, too. The residents don't clog it. My husband and I don't usually clog toilets. We do eat more meat, less fiber while visiting, but we travel tons and put up with drastic dietary changes and new plumbing all the time, and we don't clog toilets. Just this one.

What makes this one exceptional is that we often have to snake it when it does clog. Just plunging never releases the clog.

Is the plumber nuts? Is there something else going on here?


texts: How can I best create a motorcycle tie-down point on or through my cedar fence?

texts:
I have this style of fence abutting my driveway (but this is not my fence):

Currently, I don't have a good way to attach my motorcycle's inch-thick cable lock to it (or to anything), other than to feed it through the fence'S slats, which is not only going to damage my fence and the hedge once it grows in, but it's a pain (not to mention that a crowbar would make quick work of the fence anyway).

The driveway is a pavé uni made of 6-inch square blocks, so I'd like to avoid drilling and installing an anchor in the driveway.

What creative options do I have? There's a very wide flowerbed on the other side of the fence: what about sinking a cinderblock and running a chain up and through the fence that's long enough to afford me some room to anchor easily?

Bonus: if someone can give me the technical name for this type of fence, that would be cool, merely because I'm curious.


texts:
There was recently a leak in our shower on the main floor that was fixed when it was discovered, but it had to have been there for maybe a month. It wasn't a huge leak, and it ended up mostly draining into the basement below without running into too much along the way. I have no doubt some of it could have gotten into places for things to grow. The leak was fixed at least a month ago.

Just now I was in the basement and noticed what I think might be mold. It's in the general vicinity of the leak and you can see old water stains from what I would assume was that leak. This appears to be fairly isolated as I don't see anything similar to it or what other forms of mold look like. The best way to describe the substance is clumpy or sooty. I accidentally poked it and it fell apart like soot does. I haven't done anything with it yet, but I'm assuming it is mold. There also isn't any smell of mold down there or near it either.

Given the small quantity of it, would it be considered a DIY job, or should I call someone?

Side shot:


texts: Attaching a motorized flip down tv mount to my apartment ceiling

texts:
I would like to attach a motorized flip down mount for a 50” tv to my apartment ceiling. This is the exact mount.
My apartment is a new building that was built 2 years ago.  It was built with post tensioned flat plate cast in place concrete.  I know one part of the ceiling is concrete.  The other another part of the ceiling is made out of an unknown material and dips down 14 inches.. that is ideally where I’d like to attached the mount.
On the diagram to the far left you will see a little cubby that I opened up to see what is in that 14” of ceiling.  I have included 4 of the best pictures I could get.  Do you think this is possible? If so, what do you recommend doing?


texts: How to splice into existing underground rigid metal conduit below ground and hide junction box?

texts:
I have an existing rigid metal conduit run from the service panel to a junction box location that was previously powering an outdoor appliance.  The circuit is 20A and running 12 guage wire.  The RMC is buried 6" deep (i believe).

The junction box at the end of the run is a 90 that comes straight out of the ground approximately 6" up in the middle of the lawn.

The owner wants to power a shed/garage ~10 ft away from the current J-box, and wants to BURY the current junction site.

What are my options to HIDE this splice/junction point?  If I dig
deeper to 12" or 18" (from the j-box to the shed) can I splice into
the current RMC with waterproof splices and run UF wire to where the
wire needs to enter the shed?
If first option is not feasible -- how else can I hide the splice or can I hide the splice whether I can run UF in or out of more RMC? Outdoor waterproof junction box or maybe something like the sprinkler boxes that you can see in the ground? I see 4x4 direct burial j-boxes on HD website -- but would like to know code for this and whether owner has to live with this being visible in the lawn!


texts: How to mount butcher's block counter above washer/dryer?

texts:
I'm redoing my laundry room, and planning to put a butcher's block style counter top above the washer and dryer.  The plan is for the counter to extend the full width of the room.
Questions:
It has to be removable to get at the back of the appliances, so I am assuming this would mean putting a ledge on both walls and mounting the countertop to the top of it (maybe with bolts that can be removed).  What kind of ledge would I need?  1x4's mounted to studs?  Would I need support in the middle, for a 6' span of 1.5" thick counter?
Does the counter need to clear the top of the washer/dryer by a specific amount?  The dryer is electric not gas.


texts: How can I mount a deck gate against Hardie siding?

texts:
I'm going to build some gates for my friend's deck.
I obtained all the materials and then they asked about the side porch.
How should I mount a gate here against the house?


texts: How do you determine the date a house was built?

texts: I was told our house was 18 years old when we bought it. The date it was "built" was listed as 1998. However, the building permit was issued in 1996. What determines the date a house was built, when it was finished or when it was started?


texts: How can I prevent the intake vent for an on demand water heater from getting plugged?

texts:
We have a Navien on demand water heater. The intake and outlet vent pipes run out through the poured concrete foundation and have a plastic grill on the end.
If the intake vent is blocked in any way the water heater will not turn on as a safety feature.

I have to add another tighter mesh over the intake in the summer or paper wasps build nests inside the pipe.  If I leave the mesh on then in the winter it gets blocked with snow and ice.

I need some sort of vent cover that blocks insects and does not get blocked by snow. Here is a sample with the "as delivered by the contractor" on the right and with a crude but workable filter for summer use on the left.

Any ideas?

Edit: the manufacturer suggests adding a PVC T valve at the end of the outlet.  The number of elbows allowed is governed by the length of the run and number of previous elbows in the run.
I'm going to try a T valve and the filters shown in the answer below.


texts: Did I replace receptacle with exact same configuration?

texts:
I recently changed a few receptacles and am seeking confirmation that I duplicated functionality in one particular receptacle. This receptacle is in the middle of a circuit. It had 2 screws for neutrals, 2 for hots, 2 back stab connectors for the neutral side and 2 for the hot side. And the usual screw for ground. One white wire was stabbed into the top neutral side, one stabbed in the bottom. On the hot side, one black was stabbed into the top slot, one black in the bottom slot. There was a single red wire attached to the top screw, hot side. And the ground was connected.

I asked around and followed one set of instructions. The new receptacle has only 2 screws on the neutral side, 2 on the hot side. And a screw for ground. I did as directed and connected one white to the top neutral screw, one to the bottom neutral screw. I maintained the same top-bottom order as was before. I then connected the one red wire to the top hot side screw and pigtailed both black wires and connected them to the bottom hot screw. And connected the ground.

So, did I duplicate the original configuration? I understand the red wire usually indicates connection to a switch. But I see no switches anywhere that draw power from this receptacle. I don't think the black tab between the hot side screws was broken, but when I went to check on this, the receptacle had mysteriously disappeared. I can't find a switch that is seemingly tied to this receptacle so I can't check for switch functionality. I would appreciate any advice on what the original configuration represented, did I duplicate this functionality, and am I safe as currently configured?


texts: What is involved in bleeding air from a multi residential hot water baseboard heating system installed in 1965?

texts: Residents are complaining of banging in the hot water baseboard heating system in our multi-residential building built in 1965. How difficult/involved is it to bleed the pipes? Does it have to be done in each of the living units or can it be done at a central location?? Does this require a licensed plumber or could a Council member do it? Should bleeding be done as annual maintenance?


texts:
I am contemplating digging a drainage trench to drain my gutters instead of just having them empty onto my lawn. My plan is to go down 4 feet which is the frost line here and then install perforated drainage pipe which will funnel the water away from the house into small underground gravel beds. I have two questions.

(1) The soil in my area is sand. How big do I need to make the gravel beds to ensure drainage with no backups?

(2) Can I rent a small excavator to do this, or is operating those things strictly for professionals? Will I find it easy to dig a 16 inche wide, 4-foot deep trench?


texts: Garage Door stops and returns to original position

texts:
Lately my garage door has been stopping when it gets about 2ft from the closed position and then returns to the original position.  Nothing is blocking the sensors and the tracks don't seem to have any bends or anything that would prevent the door from moving freely.  I also tried checking the cycle with the door disengaged (by pulling the emergency handle and letting the door sit in the closed position not connected to the chain), and the chain moves, stops, and returns at the same location as it does when the door is attached.

So, I assume it's something in the actual opening unit.  I haven't tried to adjust the downward force yet, but I'll give that a try when I get home tonight.  Don't think that's the issue though.

Has anyone had this issue before?


texts: How do I fill a gap between wall tile and acrylic shower base

texts: The bottom row of a newly installed tile wall has a gap with the shower base that is about 1/2 inch wide, too wide to caulk.  How can this be filled in a way that will not crack, will make a water tight seal between the shower base and wall and can be kept clean.  I am afraid I would damage or ruin the whole tile wall if I tried to remove the bottom row of subway tiles so I could replace them with custom cut tiles that would fit without a gap


texts: Why my jigsaw's blade keeps on being bent?

texts:
I am using a t-shaped jigsaw blade on my 400W PRAKTYL (link in Greek) jigsaw. I attempt to perform a cut, but the blade keeps on bending regardless how hard I try to place it straight:

I used it to cut some mdf wood found in trash (apparentrly it was a piece of a bed). Whislst I was cutting the jigsaw kept on jumping and deviate from the line. Also, I noticed moke to coming out from the material being cut in the place it was cut (and not from the tool itself).
Do you know why that happens and how I can make my jigsaw blade to be placed perfectly in place.


texts: Adding dimmers to two LED circuits, which have dimmable bulbs - each circuit has three switches

texts: Two existing LED cluster circuits (almost new house) - they have dimmable bulbs (4 & 8 respectively) and three switches each.  Is there only one way to properly wire these circuits?  If not, do I need the original electrician to add dimmers?  If there is only one way to properly wire, can I just add an LED (3way) dimmer at one switch location in each circuit?  Will the circuits then be operable from any switch, but only be able to change the dimmer setting at the one with the dimmer switch? .... hoping it is that simple.


texts: Need help to identify part from Frigidaire/Electrolux laundry dryer?

texts:
I was replacing rear bearing of my Frigidaire fex831fs4 dryer and now there is this extra black, plastic piece that I can't figure out, where it should go:

I checked all the parts for my model on Appliance Parts Pros Schematics and I can't even find a part that looks similar.

Since there is one unused screw hole on the top panel with screw marking, then I somewhat suspect it could go there, but then I am not sure of the purpose of that part:

Is this a part from dyer? If yes, then where does it go? If it is not installed properly, then can it cause damage to the dryer (I did a short test and dryer seemed to work just fine)?

Update#1: Additional close up pictures of the mysterious part.


texts: How can I reattach sliding drawers which have damaged their screw holes?

texts:
We have a set of sliding kitchen drawers which came loose, probably due to overloading, damaging the holes which they screwed into, as in this image:

The screws themselves look like this: (apologies if "screw" is the wrong word)

We reordered the drawers to make use of the remaining undamaged screw holes, but they've come loose again, and now there are no undamaged screw holes to use.

Is it possible to repair the damage, such that we could reattach the sliders, or do we need to replace the whole enclosure?


texts: How to pass large cable bundle through drywall?

texts:
I’m moving all my network equipment to a central location inside a closet. I will mount the switch on the wall, and have about 14 Cat6 cables passing through the interior wall and going in different directions.  What's the best way to do this?  I have seen passthrough wall plates like this, but I don't like that they allow airflow and a potential entry for mice or other critters.

I have also seen recessed boxes like this with a punchdown patch bay, but this doesn't actually get the wires into the closet.

For smaller installations like in each room, I would use keystone plates like this.  So I could mount four of these right next to each other.  Is that the best approach?


texts:
Issue: Hot water slow (90-120 secs) to come to distant fixtures
Recirc system: 2 dedicated returns, merged to single pipe, feeding a 103258LF Bell & Gossett (NBF-9U/LW Pump 1/40 HP Motor) pump installed at the “Space Heating Return” inlet (where drain valve is) on our 50gal Bradford White water heater.
House: built in 2014, 3600sf, 2-story, 10 foot ceilings, upstairs bathrooms on opposite sides of the house, water heater on ground floor roughly centered.  Kitchen about 25 feet from water heater.  2nd story bathrooms roughly 20-30 feet horizontally, & 12-15 feet vertically removed from water heater.

Pump seems to be oriented correctly (arrow pointing down toward the water heater) and it gets quite hot when it runs.  It seems to be running normally, gently vibrating and very quiet.  This system has never worked—no change in time to hot water whether pump is running or not.  I don’t know where the 2 return lines come from—upstairs & kitchen (or maybe both upstairs)?

Is this pump sized right for our home?  What else could be wrong?


texts: Fan switch not working ever since my husband fell against the wall/switches- should I replace the 3 gang box?

texts:
Okay, so first of all, this is pretty ironic! My husband was a Foreman/Journeyman Electrician and was pretty awesome at his trade. However, is almost 2 years into recovery from a brain injury (I left work on a gut feeling 4-29-13 and came home to find him unresponsive with blood coming from his mouth, lying in the threshold of our bedroom. Hypoglycemic Coma-still to this day the reason is still unknown. I was told that he would not recover to which I said "Challenge Accepted" and he has been getting better ever since), which has landed an insane amount of "figure-it-out" issues in my lap.

Sorry, story-time is over.....

He ended up losing balance one day, and fell against the wall with a 3 switch plate in our bedroom.  The 3 switches are

Minka Aire Fan wall switch
Light switch w/dimmer and
normal light switch.

After falling against the wall, the fan switch stopped working (grrrr! which took me a month to find in the first place!).  I recently (finally) got around to getting a new wall switch.  When I connected the new switch, the power light came on, but when I went to push the wiring/unit into the box, it stopped working.  I also wired a normal switch to the wiring for the fan switch to make sure that there was not an issue with the wiring, and the fan turned on fine with it.  I did notice that the box seems to be pressed into the wall (from the impact of his body hitting it) on the end where the fan switch is located.

Could it be possible that the impact of his weight falling against it could be causing the wiring going through the box and into the wall to be "pinched" somewhere?  This would be why the switch worked until I pushed it into the box?  Am I better off just removing the existing box and replacing it with an old work one?

Any input would be hugely appreciated!!!


texts: How can I use a separate transformer to provide a C wire to my thermostat?

texts:
Update 02/02/2019
I appreciate all the responses and help but unfortunately i must have not seen the emails stating there were responses!
I am now looking into a NEST thermostat and was curious if they too, use the same connections.
Lastly, looking for a quick recommendation on which WiFi Compatible therms are preferred by the memebers that respond!
Thanks again your knowledge is highly appreciated!
Bob

I Purchased the Honeywell WiFi Prog Thermostat to replace my Round Digital Honeywell Thermostat.
I have separate Heating and Cooling (Heating is a Weil McLain Boiler for Hot water baseboard and Hot water(no tank) and Cooling is a separate unit that was added later.)

Wires:

RC Cool
R Heat
W Heat
Y Cool
G Cool

3 wires from AC unit and 2 from Heater.

If I were to go the separate transformer route to power the thermostat, where would I land the 2 wires?

C and ???


texts:
The house was built in 1950...

I have 2 switches in a dual gang-box.  The switch on the left is a single pole switch which controls 2 lights mounted outside on the front of the house.  The switch on the right is a 3-way switch which controls an outlet in the living room which has a light plugged into it (the other 3-way switch to this light works fine).

The single pole switch has the usual 2 wires connected to it.  The 3-way switch has its usual wires as well (1 black wire to common terminal and 2 travelers).  There is a small black wire connecting the switches.  It is screwed onto the same terminal on the single pole switch in which the constant hot wire is attached to, and "jumping" onto the black common screw of the 3-way switch with another black wire.

Here's my issue:

I'm trying to replace the single pole switch with a timer switch to control the outside lights.  I know that its not code to have 2 wires on a terminal and the way these switches are currently wired, both of them have this issue.  With only 1 constant hot wire coming into the box, I figured the wire was jumped to the 3-way switch to power it, but when I disconnect the other wire and leave the jumped hot wire on the 3-way, the 3-way does not work.

Hope I explained that well enough...any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance]1

Thank you for your reply! What do I do with the second black wire going to the common terminal of the 3-way? Both switches had terminals with 2 wires on them.


texts: 3" conduit with many bends - is it worth to build it?

texts:
I am working on sending some cables (RG6, Cat5 and speaker cables) from basement to the attic. This is a typical 2-story house.

After reading some posts found over the Internet, I am now considering to build a conduit using PVC pipes. The conduit will be 3" in diameter, enough to put many wires inside.

However due to the location of the utility room, as well as the wall chosen to embed the conduit, it will have 6 bends in a total length around 55 feet. I am little bit worried about I really can add wires through this conduit after I build it, considering that it is quite long and has 6 bends in the total run.

What is your opinion? Thanks


texts: Circuit breaker won't turn back on after being turned off (not tripped)

texts:
I turned off all the breakers of my home to work on my electric. When it was time to turn the circuit breakers back on, 3 of them wouldn't: the one for the dishwasher, the one for the dryer and one that says "Kitchen GFI".

The breakers are NOT tripped. I tried forcing them to an "Off" position but they were already off (I turned them off myself). They feel kind of "loose" when I try turning them back on, but they immediately go back to the off position.

I unplugged my dryer, dishwasher and some other small appliances from my kitchen. It didn't help. I tried resetting some GFCI outlets around the house. Nothing.

I called an electrician and he believes the circuit breakers went bad. My home is 12 years old.

Does that sound about right? Why would this happen only when I manually turned the breakers off?


texts: Power Supply change for ceiling fan controler

texts: I currently have a 110v ceiling fan with a speed control switch. Is it possible to change the power supply to 220v? If possible, do I need to change the control switch only? Thanks.


texts: I'm trying to wire 3 ceiling fans from 1 power source using push button light and fan speed.switch , Hampton bay switch push button fan and light controls.


texts: 300mm diamond blade suitable for hard 100mm flint nodule/pebble concrete

texts:
I've got a 100mm 1920s subfloor slab to break up and remove, about 2x4m.  The nearby surrounding masonry is fragile and I really want to avoid a breaker if I can, as there's considerable concern about the risks of damage from vibration. But at the same time, it's a really hard one to cut - very dense, very solid, very hard. The flint in it only comes free little at a time, even when its mostly cut loose and with heavy tools;  it's rock solid. On a test sample area for the engineer (180x250mm), my usual dry diamond 300mm concrete saw blade began to glow white hot, far beyond anything I've ever seen it do before (not unusual pressure on it). Trying again with water and a fresh blade didn't much help. I ended up working the opening that the blade did make, with a bolster, doing it piecemeal by hand.

As that isn't practical for the main cut, I'd like to go back to the concrete cutoff saw but this time better equipped with an appropriate blade better suited to the material.

Any suggestion of what kind of blade to look for, or a specific technique to use? I'm assuming there are such things, but as "flint concrete" isn't usually listed as a type of material on marketing material, it's hard to find which blades are appropriate or who makes decent ones. Especially as the blade design and hardness should generally be matched (inversely?) to the material.

Once the outline is cut, I'll be happier to break up the interior with the breaker, so it's mainly the outline I need this for, to isolate the inner area.


texts: A hanging lamp makes buzzing sound when on

texts:
As in the title, I've got a lamp hanging from the ceiling, with a regular E27-screw bulb attached. When I turn the light on, there's a quiet, buzzing noise.

The lamp was installed a couple of weeks ago and I am not sure whether the noise was there from the start, as the lamp was not used often.

While the noise is there, the light keeps still, no flickering.

I've tried 2 other bulbs and the problem persists, which tells me it's either the lamp itself, or the way it was installed.

What do you think this is?

Photos of the lamp and the base:


texts: What could cause clothes to come out of the dryer with tiny burn or scorch marks?

texts:
I have a fairly standard Hotpoint vented electric tumble dryer, which normally works as you would expect, drying clothes, venting the humid air out the side wall, and with a lint trap I empty every load.

Over the past couple of months, though, I have seen a few shirts come out with tiny (1 to 2 mm) scorch marks and am a bit baffled as to the cause.

I can't find any marks inside the drum or door seal, and there doesn't appear to be anything that looks burnt in the lint trap.

I can't find this symptom described anywhere using a quick google, so does anyone know what could cause this or any area I should be looking at to try and diagnose the issue?


texts: Need help buying the right sized off-grid solar system

texts:
I'm planning on using solar power to supply electricity to a 12x24' building. This building will be located near our main house, but will have no connections to the house, electrical or otherwise. It won't be connected to our utility's power grid, so there aren't considerations for tying it in.
I've done as accurate an estimate as I can, and figure I'll have a peak load of 2524 watts. I plugged some data in to a solar contractor's system calculator and it gave me this info, based on our location in central Arkansas:

kWh per month: 288 kWh
Sun hours: 3.76 hours/day
System size: 3.06 kW
Wh per day: 9590

I'm looking for some help making sense of those numbers. (I have an EE degree, so I understand electricity and electronics, but some of the numbers related to solar power are foreign to me.) For example, I'm looking at a system that is an "800W 24V solar panel off grid system kit with 8 100W mono solar panels, a 1500W 24V-110V Inverter, 200Ah Battery, and 60A PWM charge controller".
Will that system power my building based on the needs I listed? Does the output of the inverter (1500W in this case) need to be greater than my projected peak load of 2524W? It seems to me it would need to be, but I'm new at this.


texts: Electric water heater making a squeaking noise

texts:
I just moved into a new a new apartment a month ago (newly renovated) and the electric water heater (I think it's him, not 100% sure) is making a squeaking noise. I talked to the electrician and he claims it is normal. The noise isn't constant, it is happening 2-3 times a day for about 20 minutes. In those 20 minutes you hear the squeaking every about ten seconds. You can see it in the video. The sound strangely also exists when the heater is turned off (powered off the electricity). Anyone knows how to fix it?

Here's the video of the behaviour.
https://youtu.be/pEPRzM9ME0Y


texts: How di i convert a generator rated140v to 230v

texts: How can I convert my generator rated 140v 35A to 230v, it came from Canada where they use 140v and this region  we use European standards of 230v,


texts: My LED strip lights just went boom, how to diagnose?

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I live in a rented house (in singapore), where the master bedroom alone is fitted with a pair of LED strip lights, and about a month back, when we tried to turn it on, it went a (soft) boom, and hasnt turned on since.

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of event and have any idea how to fix? The owner consulted an electrician who wants SGD250 to replace the whole thing..

The odd thing is everything is duplicated, so I am not sure if both simultaneously went bust or is it something else that is common that I am not seeing.

My other concern is that if we go ahead with the replacement, it might just go boom again, this particular light has been in place for 6 months only..


texts: What is the maximum voltage you can have on exposed rails?

texts:
In this question, someone has a desk lamp with power totally exposed on metal parts.  You also have installed overhead lighting on open rails doing the same thing.

What does NEC say about the maximum voltage permitted on such installations?

I am interested in fixed installations (not cord-and-plug) which are readily accessible, e.g. Low hanging low-voltage lighting that you could reach out and touch.

I am also interested in the outdoor rules, because my nefarious plan is to use the racks which hold up solar panels to carry the current from the panels, so the racks become massive feeder wire that lets me keep voltage low.  Some of the panels will be on the ground.

Is the maximum voltage different for AC versus DC? If AC, does it mean RMS  (the normal way AC is measured) or peak (1.4x more)?


texts: Spigot/spicket replacement in tight quarters

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I noticed that my spigot was leaking. It was only leaking out of the hole where the water normally comes out. I made the mistake of slightly tightening the packing nut without having another wrench to hold the spigot in place. Now the original leak still exists and I now have a very slight leak coming from behind the spigot. Wonderful. Thankfully, I have a separate shutoff valve for the two spigots on my house. I shut it off to prevent any more leaking while I try to figure this out.

I'm guessing that the new leak is due to the soldering joint cracking whenever I tightened the packing nut. I honestly didn't put much torque on the packing nut. I'm surprised that the soldering cracked due to this. I've taken the spigot off to take a look at the pipes coming in. I've got pictures below.

The problem is this: I'm on a slab (it's a townhouse). The spigot has an immediate elbow since it is right behind the dining room wall. What should I do here? Should I make a hole in the dining room wall to have access to this? I'd love to avoid that if possible. Should I remove some of the hardie board on the exterior so that I can possibly get enough room to solder a new one on? Is there some other solution that doesn't require soldering?


texts: How do I connect an outlet to two black and three white wires?

texts: I am rewiring a 3 prong outlet.  I pulled out the old one and found 3 white and 2 black wires attached.  I did not see a ground wire.  How do I rewire these to the new outlet?


texts:
My house is 90+ years old. It has an oil burner which supplies radiator heat and hot water. No water tank, hot water created on the fly. The basement and first floor water gets hot enough, but the 2nd floor water in the shower & sink does not.
It starts hot, but remains warm for a less than a minute if the furnace has been running, but then cools off quickly. It gets slightly warmer again after about 8 minutes of running (and the furnace kicks on). I changed the mixing valve in the shower last year - although the sink having the same problem negates that shower valve as the culprit. I can mitigate the  cooler water temp by turning up the temperature setting on furnace's hot water temp gauge - but I really don't like doing this because I have to run it at 215 degrees and then the radiators are burning hot, even if the room thermostat is set below the room temp. Any ideas on how to fix this?


texts: uPVC casement windows don't shut tightly

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Several of my uPVC casement windows have a draught due to not fitting tightly against the seals when closed. The gap between the casement and the seal is not uniform along the height of the window. One of the poorly-fitting windows has a plastic bracket in the hinge mechanism that is clearly broken, but in the others this is sound, so it doesn't seem to be the crucial part. I can't see any parts in the hinge mechanism that are obviously intended to facilitate adjustment.

Bottom hinge of kitchen window (intact bracket shown):

Top hinge of kitchen window (mirror image of bottom):

Closed; showing the gap between the casement and the seal:

How can I adjust these windows to form a tight seal?


texts: Drilled through one of the biggest walls in my house and hit some sort of black plastic (likely PVC). Did I just drill through a water pipe?

texts:
I was trying to secure some bookshelves to the wall, and after using a stud finder to confirm it was drywall (and not a stud), I drilled into the drywall. I met some resistance, so, like an idiot, I switched to a wood screw and just drilled into what was there. I removed the screw and noticed that some black plastic was stuck in the threads of the screw; meaning I had likely screwed into a pipe.

The spot I drilled through is right in the center of a very large wall, so I didn't think it would be likely that the builders would place a pipe there. However, the house is 2 stories and there is a bathroom above the wall I drilled through.

There's no water spilling out yet so perhaps it is a drainage pipe?

All that said, am I screwed? What should I do to confirm that I did or did not hit a pipe? What's the best way to go about fixing this?


texts: The light switch only controls a ceiling fixture. But, the cable powering the switch also powers 2 grounded outlets. The neutral wire on the switch is live/hot. The black wire is not. Right now all the 3 white wires are wire nutted together, thus making the white wires live on the two outlets and the light fixture. What to do?


texts: Weak Flush can replacing Overflow tube help?

texts: Hello I have a water conserving dual flush toilet that recently has clogged up and had use plunger to clear but it appears that not flushing with enough water to clear bowl and then results in Clog requiring plunger.  Tested with only water in bowl and not even emptying bowl each time. Tried adjusting tank fill level and it helped a little but now Overflow tube to short to allow to fill with more water and tank is still only half full(I think it"s just way they built this brand dual flush take system because flush buttons are located on top of tank cover). I thought if I could just get tank to fill with little more water then it would provide enough water during power flush to empty bowl and generate suction that helps to empty bowl before it starts refill process?  On special note.. if I use bucket and pour into bowl it flushes just fine..  that is why i thought if could just get water water during flush.


texts:
My Parents gave me a Craftsman Yard Vac (Model No. 247.770550) that they hadn't used in a few years. The tank had been empty, but mice had made a nest around the engine. I chased the mice away and fueled up and it worked fine. I cleaned it up for winter, removed a few dead mice and their nest, put some sta-bil in the tank and ran the engine for 10 min. This fall it would not start, I replaced the spark plug, air filter, oil and gasoline (this time with TruFuel). I also took off the housing and cleaned out the rest of the mouse nest. Still no luck. I then decided to clean out the carburetor, it was pretty dirty. I replaced the pin & seat, bowl gasket, and the sealing washer and cleaned everything with carb spray, a paper clip, and a toothbrush.

The Vac now starts but will only run with the choke fully on, and will die after ~2 minutes.

I'll add that after reassembling i had gas leaking all around the carb, i tightened the main jet bolt and it stopped. Also, after using the vac for a little while i had another gas leak out the carb where the air filter hole is (this was after it sat for 5 min), but this stopped quickly.


texts: Are there any downsides to an Economy7 meter?

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I believe my current electricity meter is faulty, and have scheduled an appointment with the Power company to come and inspect it.
They've asked whether I want the replacement (if needed) to be Single Rate or Economy7 meter (not tariff). When asking that question they said:

It is advisable to have a single rate meter if you have a single rate tariff however if you plan to switch to a dual rate tariff then economy7 meter are better, the choice is yours.

To me it seems a no-brainer to get an Economy7 meter?

If I have a SingleRate meter, then I have to have a Single Rate tariff .
Whereas, if I have an Economy7 meter, then I can choose to have an Economy7 tariff or to stick with a Single Rate tariff , in which case I just have to add up 2 numbers each time (or possibly the Power company's website/DB will add them up for me :D )

I can't see any reason to get a Single Rate meter, nor any reason that it would be 'advisable' if I were on a Single Rate tariff.
I asked the rep why he'd said that and he never replied. His English was poor, and I suspect he was working in a very generic overseas support office, so I'm not particularly inclined to trust him over common sense.
Is there anything I'm missing?


texts:
I've had sub-floor heating installed a month ago and I think I have a problem with the air in the installation, because there are some rooms that don't reach the desired temperature.

The plumbers tried twice to take out the air by locking each circuit separately, but it's still not working. Now they told me to let the circuit pump running while turning off the central heating for a week. It doesn't make any sense to me and I'm pretty sure they aren't very good with this.

Here's how it looks:

There's 8 circuits and a Wilo Yonos Para pump that cools down the water that comes from the central heating by pumping the returned water in the main pipe (English is not my native language and I don't know how to formulate it very well. Sorry for that).

Basically the problem is that I have 3 rooms upstair (2 bathrooms and the dressing) that don't reach the desired temperature of 20C even after one week. The bigger rooms (bedrooms) reached it in 1-2 days.


texts: How to tension toilet handle nut without handle sticking?

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I have to replace toilet handle assemblies frequently. However, the frustrating part is if you tension the nut at all, the toilet handle will not return to its original position.  I'm left leaving the nut barely hanging on and in fact it often later falls off.

Is there something I'm missing? A washer or spacer I should be putting on?


texts: Is a grommet needed for romex into this metal junction box?

texts: I bought a 6-pack of these LED downlights. The metal junction box has knockout holes to run my 14-2 (with ground) wire. I was surprised that the J-box didn't come with grommets after knocking out the hole. Are they required in this application and where does one buy them? Should the grommets fit the romex cable tightly as it enters the box.


texts:
I have an unfinished basement in a 1920s house. This weekend we had our second stoppage that required someone to snake the sewer line that the kitchen sink, dishwasher, washing machine, and basement sink all drain into (all drain to one stack).  The part that is stopped is cast iron and in the slab.

question

I was wondering what the pros and cons would be for running a new pvc (or equivalent) sewer line from that end of the house to the front of the house along the wall rather than tearing up the floor.

There is a toilet near the front of the house that is already tied back in to the sewer line. I will get rough dimensions and pictures tomorrow, but any initial advice will be appreciated.  There is also no intent to finish the basement as it leaks in nearly every decent rainstorm.


texts: How can I replace the roller mechanism on this door?

texts: I have a cupboard in my kitchen that has a roller front door. A few months ago the roller mechanism broke. I need an inexpensive solution for replacing it. I have looked around but can't find a suitable replacement anywhere. It seems like most roller doors are large industrial ones. Has anyone got any suggestions?


texts: How to keep bird away from leaving their droppings on the deck

texts: Recently, I keep finding the bird droppings on the deck. Are there any ways to keep bird from leaving their droppings on the deck? Besides, are there any good chemicals that can clean the bird droppings without affecting the deck paint? Thanks.


texts: Control home's electricity sockets via PC

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I'd like to control some of my home's electricity sockets via my PC.
I was thinking about WiFi sockets (couldn't find any product for that), or sockets which are controlled by the electric network (like x10 - though I need for 220v).
Can you think of something to help me?


texts: Where can I get engineering info drafted for a custom header?

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We’re building a shop ourselves and keep failing the shear inspection because we don’t have the engineering results to send to the city engineer. He said our wood supplier should be able to draft that with some special software but they can’t apparently, so I need to figure out how to get that done.
The header is basically two 2x10 Douglas fir boards sandwiched between two 2x6 Douglas fir boards. I’m assuming they need to know the failure point and distribution over the 108” span, but I’m not certain.
Anyone know where I can get this information? I really appreciate your help!


texts: Does a subpanel ground need to be insulated wire

texts: I am installing a 60amp subpanel and want to ground the panel to a grounding rod. I have 8awg non insulated copper and want to know if it can be used for this or does it need to be insulated. It will travel through wood framing to the exterior for ground.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is this component that connects to the garbage disposal?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently moved to a new place and I'm still trying to figure out what things do. There are still a few things that are particularly puzzling, like what this thing next to the sink is.


texts:
I have a masonry fireplace where about 8 fire bricks have fallen off of the back wall of the firebox. The fireplace was built in the late 1960's, then mostly unused for decades. I was told that the last time it was used was around 2005. The room was un-climate controlled for long periods and could have had lots of moisture exposure, but is in Texas so unlikely to have experienced freeze spalling.
The bricks do not appear to be keyed in any way, just mortared in with mortar that failed.
Can I remove all of the loose fire brick, then reinstall them with a proper refractory mortar, or is there something different that should be done? Do I mortar the fire brick only to fire brick, or also to the regular brick wall behind it?


texts: The wire in question is that top wire. The black one with the red stripe.


texts: What could be causing AFCI breakers to keep tripping?

texts:
I recently had my basement remodeled by a general contractor. This included a bathroom, family room, wet bar, and home theater. The electrician added 4 circuits in total, all of them using arc fault breakers from GE. I've had lots of trouble with the breakers tripping, seemingly unrelated to the circuit's load. Replacing one of the AFCI breakers with an older style GFCI breaker makes the problem go away, though this isn't a long term solution since the electrical code where I live says we need AFCI breakers for remodeling work.

My electrician has contacted GE and says they are aware of problems with their AFCI breakers and are working on a revised design. Has anyone else had trouble with GE breakers? These breakers are installed in a GE panel.


texts: Will I have trouble running a bathroom fan 10 CFM (25%) stronger than needed?

texts:
My bathroom measures in at 289 cubic feet.  Dividing that by 7.5 and rounding up gives me a target fan capacity of 40 CFM.  However, there are many more fans available at 50 CFM.
I read this post, Are there drawbacks to installing a stronger bath fan?, stating that a fan moving more air than necessary can inhibit appliance fumes from venting properly, not the mention the HVAC efficiency hit from expelling conditioned air.
My question is this: will increasing from 40 to 50 CFM create such problems, or is that in the realm of a much bigger increase?


texts: Shower leaking after increasing water pressure

texts: I slightly increased the hot and cold valves on a single handle knob for the shower.  The very first shower taken after that was leaking into the room down below it. Did I increase the pressure too much? If so, can this be repaired by simply decreasing the pressure?


texts: Is there a maximum allowed time for a house to be built?

texts:
I bought a house built in 2015, but after pulling the permits I find out it was started in 2008. There were stop work orders and failed virtually every inspection. It just scraped by in 2012 for inspections but then sat for another 3 years after that. I was told it was built in 2015 because that's when the "first" owner took occupancy. I found out that the foundation had been poured in 2009 and left sitting until 2011.

What date is used as the date the home was built? Is there a limit on how long a house can be under construction?

I live in Canada.


texts: How do I repair drywall around a bathtub?

texts:
I have an area of drywall that is next to my bath tub that has gotten soft and crumbly. Mostly held together by paint & caulk now.

I'm reasonably sure I understand why. We're getting some water splashing back from the shower and coming down the side of the tub/wall. I know we used the "right" drywall (green/blue), but I'm sure it can only withstand so much abuse (It's not meant for lining your pool).

I'm thinking my best solution is to cut out that section of dry wall and replace it with a chunk of cement board.

My questions now being (which are all inter related):
 - Is this the right solution?
 - If so, can I do the transition between the cement board and drywall with drywall compound, or do I have crack open a bag of thin-set?
 - If so, how do I make its finish nice (just run a skiff of drywall compound over it)?


texts: The light bulb broke from its casing when I tried to remove it to change the bulb on my Hotpoint oven. I cannot get the fitting out as it has got mangled up by me trying to remove it with pliers. All I have managed to remove is the glass bulb as it has broken away from the metal casing which is still inside the oven. Is it safe to turn on the oven? It did trip the fuse and some of my kitchen appliances did not work which were on the same circuit as the oven. They work now as I turned the fuse lever on again. When I did turn the oven on after trying to get the metal casing out there was a small pop and a light spark darted from the casing ! I am not sure if it is safe to use. Please advise.


texts: Sound Proofing the wall between bathroom and bedroom

texts:
Is anybody able to recommend the best way to sound proof my wall which is adjoined to the bathroom.  I'm gutting out my bathroom and having it refitted which new shower, bath and etc and relocating the shower to the corner of the adjoining wall of the bedroom and exterior rear wall.  I want to minimise the sound that the shower,pipes etc would make.

What is the best product to use?
Will the sound proof be resistant to water?


texts: Steps to finding out what part of my fridge is tripping its GFCI outlet?

texts:
My Kenmore fridge kept tripping the circuit breaker in the GPCI once every 10 hours or so. I have had the fridge for almost 9 years now, and the problem started a month ago. What I tried so far is that I plugged the fridge to another GPCI outlet with nothing else plugged-in and the problem persisted.

The manual says nothing about this problem. Having a Kenmore technician come and try diagnose for the problem costs $129 with no result guaranteed. So I thought I should try doing diagnosis on the fridge myself. But where can I start (e.g., how do I know if it's the compressor drawing too much current or something else that needs replacement)?

Any guidance or reference to tutorial would be helpful. Appreciate it.


texts: Strange concrete pad ringed with bricks in basement

texts:
I'm developing a Victorian flat (UK) the moment and there's a room that I wanted to clear out but there appears to be a load-bearing support beam with a concrete support pad at the base...I'm wondering at the bricks surrounding the concrete pad though.  Are they decorative or were they used simply to create the seating for the wet concrete?  You can see the support column and the bricks running along the concrete at the base.

Can I take the bricks out?
Is there a space saving structural alternative to the concrete pad at the base of the column?


texts: Replacing 2 split receptacles with 2 GFCIs

texts:
I have a similar situation to
How do I install a GFCI receptacle with two hot wires and common neutral? in my kitchen.

The solution looks good and I'm ready to go ahead, but with one reservation... What do I lose in terms of safety when I remove the two split receptacles and replace them with GFCIs? What's the purpose of split receptacles - why are they safer? I've not been able to find this info on StackExchange or elsewhere.

What's safer -- two split receptacles or two GFCI's? If it's the former I'll leave things as they are.

Thanks for any advice.


texts: Troubleshooting outdoor electrical outlet

texts:
I bought a new house and noticed the outdoor electrical outlets are not working. I checked the electrical panel and all the switches are on (the outdoor outlets are labelled on the panel and I turned them off, then on without success). The outdoor lights are working. None of my two outdoor electrical outlets has a reset button (is this normal?).

I don't have much knowledge in electricity, is there anything else I can check before calling an electrician?


texts: What can I do about toilet water disappearing?

texts:
Since last month, for whatever reason, the water in the toilet keeps disappearing every other day (like the water that sits at the bottom after you flush). This is enough to fill the apartment with the smell of.. human waste. I can notice it quickly when I'm home but when I'm out for the day, coming back home is like entering a sewage pipe.

The toilet is a regular kind with that sideways S shaped pipe to keep the water in there and when the water disappears its completely friggin gone, I cant imagine how this could even happen. Afaik theres no construction going on and my landlord is impossible to reach so what can I do about it?


texts: Will a lithium-ion battery powered lawn mower recharge after sitting idle though the winter?

texts:
I've had a corded electric lawn mower for 5 years and I am very pleased with its performance and value. However I am not pleased with the "chain" of the cord. I do not live in the suburbs, I live in the city and do not have a large lawn, so its only annoying for about thirty minutes worth of lawn which I just live with. I am considering a new electric with batteries but herein lies my question.
I live in the north east and I only need to mow the lawn maybe three months our of the year. The rest of the year the mower and its batteries will sit idle in an unheated garage. Will the lithium-ion batteries go flat and not recharge after sitting idle though the cold winter? Will I have to constantly keep them charged wasting money?
I realize I will want to get at least 2 batteries and I'm fine with that investment if its going to worth it. I don't want to have to replace them each year.
I wanted to ask other people who live in similar climates what their experience was before cutting-the-cord, as it were.
Update:
Thanks to all the responders for your expert responses. I maybe posted on the wrong forum tho, because I was looking for people who've actually lived it and done it and not so much theory as to how it "should" work or lessons about batteries. Thx.


texts: Installing Basement bathroom exhaust fan in a side wall rather than a ceiling

texts: Can you vent an exhaust fan in a basement bathroom out the sidewall rather than the ceiling? If I vent it through the ceiling I would have to cut through 3 joists to vent my exhaust fan outside and tie it into an existing clothes dryer vent.


texts: Vibration when lightly hitting one of the walls in an apartment?

texts:
I bought an apartment and I'm in the process of renovating it.

One weird thing I noticed in one of the rooms is that when I hit the wall with my fist lightly, the entire wall and maybe even the room vibrates and resonates for a good second or so afterwards. This doesn't happen anywhere else.

On the other side of the wall, there is a closet. There is another room on the other side of the closet, hitting the wall there doesn't cause vibration. This is a brick and concrete apartment building in Europe, Floor 7 of 9. The building is 50 years old. The wall is made of bricks.

Anyone have any ideas or explanation on why that might be happening?


texts: How much vent fan throughput do I need for my bathroom?

texts:
What minimum size (CFM) vent fan do I need per cubic foot of bathroom?

Consider a bathroom that is 10ft. X 4ft. X 6ft(height). What is the minimum throughput rating for a vent fan? I want a vent fan that truly performs when it comes to removing moisture, human methane, etc.

Does the height of the duct, from attic to roof, factor in choosing a properly rated vent fan?


texts:
I have installed a Grundfos UP pump with built-in timer, aquastat, and check valve. It does provide hot water at the tap sooner, but when the water is being used, such as during a shower, cold water is bleeding into the hot water. The return line is tapped into a 3/4" line near the kitchen, then brought back to the water heater. It connects to the top of the pump, which is connected to a tee in the water heater drain.
It seems the pump is allowing cold water to siphon back into the hot water line, even though there is a check valve in the pump to prevent this. I'm thinking of adding another check valve at the inlet side of the pump, but don't know if it will make a difference. Any ideas are welcome.


texts: My dishwasher empties just fine But, a day or 3 later, I have water backed up into it. How do I fix this myself? Please be very precise, I am a retired lady whose plumbing experience was replacing washers back in the day.


texts: For a deck to be considered child proofed, what is the recommended spacing between the rails?


texts: How often should our septic aerator run during a day?

texts: Our vacation home has a pump on the septic and an aerator.  Our electric bill seems high even when we are not there.  How often should the aerator kick on?


texts: I have a light fixture with a pull switch. I want to replace the light with a bath light/fan. I also need to    install and wire a switch for this fan. How do I do this?


texts: Is it code legal to mark neutrals that actually are neutral?

texts:
USA/NEC question,  Another recent question has a white wire which is marked with tape, but is actually a neutral.  So what?

Suppose you have 4 neutrals running in a raceway, and you need to distinguish them because they go to different things: one goes to a MWBC lighting circuit, another to outlets which need a GFCI breaker, etc.

So you put different color tape on each neutral.

Is that allowed?

Citations in NEC would be appreciated.


texts:
Our house has Schlage "bright brass" deadbolts on the front and back doors, which use different keys. Our separate garage had a no-name unit. We never had keys for the rear door or garage. I just replaced the garage deadbolt so I would have keys. It only took a few minutes, and that got me thinking...

What is the easiest/simplest/cheapest way to get the front and back doors to share keys?

re-pin the rear door, which Home Depot will do but I didn't get a price
get new cylinders for both, but HD doesn't sell them
replace both deadbolts outright

HD has Schlage brass deadbolts for $58. Ouch. Weiser is $40, Defiant is $19 (although not quite the same color). Is there any real difference between these?


texts:
I have the following intercom:

Unfortunately there is no brand/type/what-so-ever. However, it seems to be very simple: There are 4 wires coming out of the wall (white, green, red, black) out of which only two are used (green and white) which go into P1.
The door can be unlocked with the Unlock/Key button which simply connects the metal bridge SW1.
For the handset, there are four wires yellow, green, black, red that connect the handset from P3 via a simple Western/RJ11 connector.
Finally, there is the big switch SW2 which connects voice to the headset. I would like to retro-fit this into a "smart intercom" (without cloud): It should connect to HomeAssistant/Asterisk and I'd want to be able to operate the Unlock functionality from phone. If possible, route voice to my phone if somebody rings.

Can this be a standardized system and do there exist simple, pre-made systems that can retrofit this intercom into a "smart" one?
I have heard people using an "OBI200" to connect their intercom to Asterisk. That would be perfect but I don't know how to connect it. If I would only connect the RJ11 connector, how would I operate SW1 and SW2?
In the worst/simplest case I'd plan to use a Shelly 1 to operate SW1. Shelly needs power supply (>16V but takes <1W). Is this something I can take from the green/white or black/red wires or will this be an issue?


texts: I need to fix the leaking tap but problem is I am not able to open this cover. I have tried dousing it in WD-40 but even that didn't work. I have tried strap wrench but it does not give much grip. It is screwed to the tap assembly.


texts: Is it ok to store a table saw outdoors in a crate?

texts:
I recently purchased my first table saw - a Ridgid R4518 or similar model number. My only 'indoor' storage space is a small side shed that houses my water heater - it's very difficult to get the saw to fit through the door and I also have other items I want to store in there as well, and the table saw takes up too much room.
I recently purchased a few sheets of cheap (er, really expensive right now) plywood and built a crate with a swinging door that I keep under my car port. It shouldn't be hit by rain directly but might get some spray during heavy thunder storms. I plan to line the edges/corners with waterproof tape just in case, as well as wrap a tarp around it if there is severe weather incoming.
My question is - should I be concerned that this will cause long term issues with the table saw? Either due to condensation causing rust or something else? I live in the US southeast about 4 hours away from the ocean so I'm not concerned about salt, however it does still get very humid at times.


texts: Triple 2x4 beam post bowing away from foundation wall

texts:
We have a fairly new home (2007). I noticed a strange issue that has to be fixed. The pictures below show 3 stacked 2x4's holding up a laminated beam; the 2x4's are bowing out. This is the only stack that is bowing out because the nail holding it to the concrete has come out. I need some advice on how to proceed before trying my idea.

My thoughts are to get a 1/2" concrete anchor to attach it to the wall. But do I need to jack up the beam?

Edit: I measured 105.5" on both ends of the beam to the floor.


texts: Can I connect two soaker hoses with a normal garden hose in between?

texts:
I recently bought this soaker hose kit for a couple of garden beds.  In one section of the garden I have two beds with space in between.  Is it possible to connect two stretches of soaker hose with a normal garden hose in between as per the image below?

I know that the diameter of the soaker hose (3/8) is much smaller than that of the normal garden hose (5/8), so I am worried that I would lose the pressure for the soaker hose section in Bed 2 and it wouldn't seep out any water (or considerably less than for Bed 1).  Or is that irrelevant?

If it won't work, does anybody know of any other solution to connect the two beds?


texts: Old Outside A/C Unit - replacement vs repair?

texts:
I recently had my home A/C system inspected and I am trying to decide how to act on the results. Can anyone offer guidance?

Here are my notes from the A/C Inspection

Amps on outside unit are concerning

Both compressor and fan are running at/near max current right now
Expect to see amperage about half of the rating
Fan is rated at 1.4A, running at 1.4A
Compressor 21.5A, running at 20.7A
Thinks compressor and fan are close to failure

Unit actually appears to be Running well

Freon looks good
Capacitor actually looks fine
Contactor has burn marks. Suggest replacement

Suggest replacing the outside unit.

Unit is from 2002 (16 years old)
Contractor: Replacing Compressor + Fan + contactor does not seem worthwhile.


texts: Can't drill deep enough into the wall nor the ceiling; what am I doing wrong?

texts:
I need some guidance in this DIY wizardry. I've always had trouble drilling the ceiling in my house, but now I'm having the same trouble with a wall. I've relegated myself to avoid drilling at all costs but I want to know what am I doing wrong.

I've already used the hammer action of my drill, but with the same result.

I can drill very easily for a few millimeters, and then I can't get past that. Here are some photos of my latest failures along with the drill and the bit I'm using. The tools are very old, they belonged to my father, so I wonder if that's the problem.


texts: Can this water damage be explained by lack of gutters and grading issues?

texts:
We are currently midway through a major renovation to an old house. Part of the renovation was digging out a new basement and adding a new foundation around it. The basement has a ceiling height of about 8 feet, with about 5 feet below grade and 3 feet above grade. The basement and foundation work was completed a few months ago.

We are seeing some very damp areas on the new foundation walls after heavy rain. Here are some example photos. You can see the water dampness by the discoloration of the wall in the photos. It's mostly in the corners and where the wall meets the floor:

This house is still under construction. There are no gutters at all yet, and the grading hasn't been addressed at all yet. In other words, when it rains, the water literally just pools up along the side of the house and sits there.

My contractor is telling me that this is why we are seeing these water issues right now, and that after the gutters are installed and the grading is addressed it will not be a problem.

I think this makes sense, but I am also wondering if that's just a convenient explanation. In other words, even without gutters and proper grading, should the foundation walls still be water proof if they were constructed correctly? Or does the contractor explanation seem reasonable?

Here's an additional photo showing the damp-proofing that was applied to the new foundation before the dirt was filled in:

The corner closest to you in the outdoor photo is the same as the corner furthest from you in the "office" photo.

Thanks very much for the help!


texts: What is the cheapest wood or wood-like material strong enough for books?

texts:
I would like to create wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in a room, to hold several thousand books. The shelves for the larger books is in a grid like this, with vertical columns like in this picture:

Since it is many books, some being heavy, it needs to be strong, but as lots of material is needed, it should be cheap. It will be covered with paint and mounted directly to the wall framing. It shouldn't be as cheap a solution as found in this question What is the cheapest/easiest way to make bookshelves?, as it still needs to look like wooden panels covered in paint.

The 3 ft-wide bookshelf in my workplace collapsed as that was made of particle board, while supporting 30 three-hundred page textbooks, so I think this material might be unsuited.

What is a strong cheap wood or product that if painted looks like a plank of wood, that is really cheap, yet strong enough for holding a large quantity of books and won't bow?


texts: Is it Okay to Snake Underground Line that has a Shielded Fernco Coupling?

texts: I need to tie-in a pvc pipe to an existing 4 in. pvc drain pipe. I plan to use a shielded fernco coupling. Is it okay to snake a pipe that has a fernco coupling? Will the snake tear up the fernco? The pipes are underground drainage lines that are outside of the house.


texts: Do local building codes/regulations control where to locate a gas meter and responsibility for moving it?

texts:
I live in California and attempted to earthquake retrofit my foundation but the contractors cannot enter the crawl space under my home to access the foundation because Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) gas meter blocks access (it sits right smack in front of the crawl space entrance).

I called PG&E and they said they followed all requirements when installing the gas meters and now I have to pay to have them moved a foot or two away.

Who would I call to confirm that the local/city/state/federal laws allow (or don't allow) gas meters to block access to foundation under the house?

Do the codes/laws/regulations say who is responsible if the meters have to be moved?

Any ideas what I can do?


texts: What could cause a battery hedge trimmer to have white smoke come out of it?

texts:
For the most part my hedge trimmer was doing a really great job. I did have a little trouble with the thicker stems, so I would swing the trimmer at the stems while cutting, which helped.
However, a day later after cutting for a while and just very minimal swinging, the trimmer was like dying out. Put a new fully charged battery in it, and started cutting again. Not even 2 minutes later the trimmer was dying again and there was white smoke coming out of the hedge trimmer itself.
What could that be? Is it safe to use this trimmer again?


texts: Lennox G16Q3-50 Furnace with AC, Door Interlock Switch and Main Circuit Breaker

texts:
If the door of the Lennox G16 is removed, thus the door interlock switch unpressed and system off. Does this mean that I only need to shut off the AC power from the outside breaker panel and leave the main breaker on?  If not, how about I only remove the wall power plug for the furnace?

Other people can still have power while I service the furnace. I need to do some rewiring for my thermostat.


texts: What are some scalable, affordable home automation options?

texts:
I've been looking to set up a home automation system in my house for a while now, but I'm having trouble committing to any one starting point.  I'd like to set up an initial system that controls maybe two or three outlets and one or two overhead lights and that can be accessed over the internet and from my iPhone.  Ideally, I'd like the initial setup to cost less than $100 (or at most $150), and I'd like to be able to add control of more outlets and lights over time.  Here's my background:

I work with computers on a daily basis, and I have several old desktops sitting around that I would have no trouble converting into a dedicated Linux server.  So I would not count that part in the $100.
I am not an electrical engineer, but I'm not completely inept with electronics.  I have toyed with the idea of getting an Arduino, but haven't yet. (Just to give you an idea of what level I'm at).  I'm also not afraid of circuit diagrams.  I am afraid of high currents and meddling with wall outlets while holding a screwdriver.
I'm not diametrically opposed to proprietary software, but I would definitely prefer an open-source solution that I could do some hacking on myself.
I'd like it to be something my wife, who is not in a technical field of any kind, can use.  If permanently installing outlets into the wall is involved, I'd like it to be something that could be used by potential future owners of my house, and I'd like it to be something that looks good enough and works reliably enough to improve the value of my house.

I know my question contains a lot of things specific to my situation, but I also believe that there are a lot of other computer-science-type technophiles like myself out there who are in a very similar situation.


texts:
What is the standard height for a refrigerator outlet?
Thanks for your help!


texts: Breakers protect wires.. doesn't 83% derating violate it?

texts:
For homeowners, do you need to follow the derating rule? Illustration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLIHEiiY_Rs

The point is conductors can be used that is 83% of the supposed size compared to service conductor.

But in the above example. What if the residential houses have so many guests and the wire amperage reach 190A. Then since the breaker is still 200A, and the wire is only rated at 175A (or 83%). Then the wire can burn before the breaker trips. So isn't the 83% kinda dangerous for those with many guests? The philosophy is the breaker should protect the wire. But in this case. It can't anymore.

For my actual use. I have service entrance breaker of 150A. 38mm^2 is within the 83% rule (according to Harper in related Can I do a 125A subpanel feeder with slightly-larger-than-#3 wire?).  But 38mm^2 is only 122A max at 75C. What if my house load is 130A (with many guests), then the 38mm^2 wire can burn before the 150A breaker trips.


texts: I need to replace door insulation on self cleaning oven, but cannot locate the type of insulation

texts:
The door insulation was unusable after a spill, what insulation can I use?

Canadian Model GE GRCR3820ZWW-2, 1999.  Cannot locate a part number and my local suppliers say discontinued with no replacement.


texts: Issue with chimney and wood burning insert

texts:
We are interested in adding a wood burning insert to an existing fireplace.
Our issue is that our chimney is already lined: but not with the typical liner. At the top are terracotta tile liners, and toward the bottom, the chimney is double-bricked. However, as a result of this, no standard liner can fit. As is the diameter of the chimney is far larger than the normal venting pipe attached to wood burning inserts.
Is it a fire hazard or smoke hazard to install a wood burning insert and vent it directly into the chimney?
I acknowledge and understand that as a consequence the chimney will need to be inspected, swept, and cleared of creosote on a regular basis (biannually).
Picture of chimney from the top:


texts: What grade of plywood should we use as subfloor under VCT tile?

texts: What is the preferred grade of plywood we should use as a subfloor underneath commercial-grade Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT) tile (not vinyl peel & stick tile).


texts: Water leaking up the stem on the main water shutoff valve

texts:
There is a leak (and getting worst) where water is coming up the stem on the main water valve (angled globe valve I think). I know I may be able to fix this by tightening the gland nut, but I cant find the gland nut! I have attached the photo, can anyone help?

The alternative is to get the water authorities to come out and close the value which is somewhere on the street. They'll charge $120 for doing this and wont let me do it. I then would need to have a plumber present at the same time, to replace the value and then have the water people turn the water back on. The total cost will probably be several hundred dollars. Ouch. The leak is not increasing my water bill since it is before the meter, so I have kind of not been paying attention.

Your help is very much appropriated.


texts: How do I get rid of a Crazy Ant Infestation in my yard?

texts:
For the past two months, I've noticed stark increases in ants along my driveway. As of yesterday, it's gotten bad to the point where I can't travel outside my home without having a few crawl up my leg. Upon examination of their behavior, numbers, and looks, I have identified them as Crazy Ants. The move VERY erratically, and seem to have no central hole or mound of soil they trail from. One trail across my yard runs from my neighbor on one side, to the neighbor on my other side. As for their other trails, they seem to be random and not originating form any one place. They are a reddish-brown, and it appears as though there are MILLIONS of them on the ground at one time. They are not fire ants because there is no central location they originate from, and I've been bit by one Crazy Ant. I have found a few holes in the ground where a few ants break off from their broken trails and enter, and these holes are all around my yard. I have also noticed that there a LARGE piles of DEAD ants that reappear no matter how many times I sweep them away. These dead ants fill the cracks in the driveway, except for one spot where I think some of these ants originate from. One other thing I've noticed is that I had to change a photocell on my outdoor floodlight, the clear glass in the photocell was CAKED with these same dead ants.
"Crazy Ants" is the type of ant that fits this description best, and according to my research, these ants are hard to get rid of. I do have some Taurus SC left (from my previous treatment of Termites) and I have some Bifenthrin also. Both of these pesticides have been listed as treatments. I have treated the trails of these ants with Taurus SC about 2 weeks ago, then after not seeing too much of a difference, tried some Cyonara. Both didn't make much of a difference. I've been removing all dead vegetation from the perimeter of my home, but the trails, broken or not, are still there.
Are there any Exterminators out there that can tell me how to lay these poisons down to get rid of these ants? Is there a certain WAY I need to apply these poisons? I have bifenthrin, Taurus SC, and Cyonara at my disposal.  I need to get rid of them across the yard, but I still need my yard to be safe enough for children after these ants are gone (no poisons in the dirt that will make children sick).


texts: How to replace a double switch (single-pole and three-way) with separate switches?

texts:
I have a switch with two switches controlling two lights:

One switch is a single-pole, the other is part of a three-way. I would like to split these into a double gang with separate switches. Here is the current wiring:

I put colored electrical tape on the wires, where the wires coming out of the same NM cable have the same color. I would assume the blue wires are for the three-way switch and the yellow and red wires are for the single-pole switch, but I'm not sure of that.
Here are the switches I want to replace it with:

I would guess I would put the three blue wires on the three-way switch (I think I can figure out where they each go), but then do I connect the yellow and red Black wires to the single-pole and then leave the yellow and red White wires as they are?
Here are some additional pictures of the switch:


texts: Bury water pipes, gas line, and electrical pipe

texts:
I am building a floor to house the water cistern, future electrical power generator, and propane gas tank in the far back corner of my house. The main water line comes from the front of the house and I'll need to tap it for the cistern. The most pressure is about 65 PSI. I am thinking of digging a trench along and close to my wall to all the way back, which is about 90 feet.

I want to maintain 3/4 inch inner diameter for my water lines. I was thinking of using Schedule 40 PVC tubing for the water line and return. I know cooper is better but it would be way too expensive. I need to add another pipe for the electrical for the future generator and power for the water pump. Not sure how thick that pipe would need to be. I guess I have no choice to use cooper for the gas line.

I want to do the trench, water pipes, and leave the electrical pipe in the ground for the electrician. Maybe leave a rope in the electrical pipe to save the electrician some time.

I live in the Caribbean so there is no real winter. Can I dig a trench and put the water pipe in, water line return, electrical pipe, and gas line in the same trench?
How deep and and wide should I dig my trench?
What other types of tubing would you recommend that isn't too costly but durable?


texts: How can I build a custom stair case in a small space?

texts:
In my continuing pursuit of gutting this house and trying to better it; the snow has finally broken and its time to get back to work.

We really, REALLY, want to use the attic space as storage / den / office space.

We've finally come to the conclusion to use the spare room's closet as the space for a staircase to the attic. its an insignificant space (

I just took a rough measurement of the closet - total run: 4 feet 4 inches (inside stud to inside stud) and a total rise: 7 feet 6 inches (floor to finished ceiling)

Is it possible to put a staircase in this space? there is 1 other space i can use to put the staircase, but i'd rather not - it would put the staircase in the middle of the attic, in our opinion, cutting the space up there too much.

I've tried online calculators - i haven't found one (or dont understand how to) enter in the total run. i know the space is small compared to how big the main staircase is in the house. It must be possible.

And I'd rather not use a ceiling ladder.


texts:
With a tiny (5' by 6') bathroom we never have enough space. Current layout is like this:

Is the following feasible? Particularly in terms of drainage from the shower?

Currently the bath "waste" is directly by the window (where the waste for the toilet etc goes to outside) so there isn't any need to take it across/under the floor. I don't think there is any pipework "under" the floor currently.

Is it an option to have pipes above floor level but boxed in - would be happy with that.

I don't have a great deal of wall space as one wall is windows the whole width of the room (about 12" above the level of the sink/cistern).

Is there another layout (in general terms) you would recommend? My aim is really just to have a sense of more space and to have enough storage, (we're not concerned with keeping the bath) I realise it's a really small space.


texts:
This morning my garage door opener stopped working correctly. It was working fine, as of last night. I have a Liftmaster Professional 1250LM (1/3 HP).

Prior to this morning, the sensor had not been touched. I've made sure that they are level and correctly pointed at each other. Each has a solid (non-blinking) green light. Lock mode doesn't appear to be on.

When I press the button on either of our 2 clickers, the light just flashes and the door does nothing. As if something is blocking the sensors.

If I quickly press the button on the wall panel, the same thing happens. However, if I hold it down, the door will close. Not sure but, this seems to force it to go, despite the sensor reading. Tapping it again, once the door has closed, opens the door normally. When closing the door, I have to hold down the button on the wall panel until it's completely closed or it will stop. Again, as if something is blocking the sensor.

In either of these cases (the door has been "forced" open or close), the remote does nothing but make the light flash.

Any thoughts on what the issue might be?


texts: How do I wire a wifi light switch with wiring that doesn't match the install instructions?

texts:
I bought a Yeewell smart light switch (X00247151R) that claims to be designed to work with a standard 2-way light switch. The one I'd like to replace has two switches in it, but only one does anything. I think the other is just there in case we added a ceiling fan or something. The house is about 5 years old. I have a cover that accommodates one standard switch on one wifi switch so I really only need to replace the one switch that actually turns on the light.
When I removed the cover, I see that there are 3 white wires that were just connected together with a wire nut and not attached to either switch. The ground is bare metal wire and connected to one side of the switch. There is red wire stabbed in the back of the top the switch. Then there is one black wire stabbed in the back of the bottom of the switch. The unusual piece was that there is another black wire the has a section stripped and it is wrapped around the screw on the bottom of the switch and then it goes over to the other switch that doesn't currently do anything.
I have four wires coming out of the new wifi switch and am trying to determine what to connect where:

Ground - Seems obvious that I just use the bare ground wire from the switch I'm replacing for this one.
Load - I assumed this would be matching red to red.
Neutral - I'm not sure if should just one neutral or connect all 3 to the one from the new switch.
Line - I believe the one that with the stripped section is actually the one carrying power, but I'm not sure which black wire(s) should get connected to the new switch.

Any guidance would be appreciated. I searched around a bit but can't seem to get terms that result in a match for my situation.


texts: Need to move my vertical HVAC return approx 3 inches away from my furnace

texts:
I installed a power humidifier to my furnace side (had to be mounted facing the face of the A-coil on the plenum per OEM) . and it's mounted in between my furnace and cold air return.
The unit (Aprilaire 700) needs about 3 more inches of clearance to take off the cover and do service like changing the water screen element.  I have 10 inches, need 13 inches.
It appears I just need to put in an offset but am not clear if I can buy off shelf .
I did some research on the "OWL method"  (Offset x Width / Length) and although this seems slick as an approach in practice it  requires your  offset piece to be cut at angles provided in the formula .  My duct is 10: x 20" square.  Taking a duct piece  if you snip each end at an formula angle,   unknowingly you are making the mouth of the piece larger than the perimeter of 10 x 20" .  That being said you will not be able to fit it between duct run.
The other option is to move the whole vertical run and forget the offset.  Problem here is at the bottom it curves into my Spaceguard filter case.  I would have to get a 3 inch deep extension which I'm not certain about. Ideally I thought I could just splice in a 3 inch offset in the vertical return when I viewed the You tube video.


texts: I have an outdoor wood boiler about 40' from my house.  It is piped to a heat exchanger on the water tank, and then to the oil furnace(doesn't burn oil). I think the supply and return have been switched where they enter the foundation. Is this a problem?


texts: Washer outlet extension after adding wall tile

texts:
This is the washer hot and cold water before I added tiles

After I installed tiles, the connection was flushed to the tile so I had to add an extension

To me, this is an ugly hack because it makes the whole thing sticking out 5" from the wall (waste of space). The best ideal option would be an outlet box recessed but that was too late!

What are my options:

Leave it as-is and waste 5"
Cut a hole on tile, make a mess and do recessed back. This will require access in the back which is a closet room. I also need a plumber to do this.
Find something else that only makes it sticking out 2-3". Save 2"!
OTHERS?

I hope to hear any additional options.

Thanks.


texts: How should I prepare the site for a concrete step?

texts:
just bought a house where we've got an existing concrete slab porch that is 12" above the adjoining sidewalk and it does not have a step.  We want to add in a large 6" tall x 3' wide x 11' long slab that will act both as the new step to the porch and also give some area for planters on each end.

With 6" above grade and the size of this thing, how deep below grade should our concrete go? We were thinking 4" and then 4" of gravel beneath that.

For this size slab, should we use 1/2" rebar or would 4" welded wire mesh still be ok?

Since this will be right next to the existing poured porch, should we join the two together with 1/2" rebar or keep slab & porch separate with a small gap (1/4")?


texts: Replace outdoor fixture where existing fixture larger than new one

texts:
I have an outdoor light fixture for an "Outdoor Lantern" type light.  This fixture is recessed into the siding and has a crossbar-style mounting unit similar to this.  I'd like to replace it with an exterior flood light to give the patio more light;  I've purchased an exterior flood light kit which includes a new weatherproof surface mount fixture box much like this.

Unfortunately, the hole drilled in the siding for the existing fixture is larger than the new surface-mount weatherproof box can cover.  I can't position the new box such that there is no exposed gap to the recessed existing fixture.

What's the best way to install the new light?


texts: How to stop inverter from charging battery using grid power and charge battery using only solar panels?

texts:
I recently installed solar charge controller and solar panels to the inverter battery system. Here inverter also contains battery charger and other components.
So now instead of connecting inverter directly to grid power,it's connected to solar charge controller.
Inverter power plug is now connected to power output of solar charge controller.
So solar charge controller decides when to give power to inverter for charging battery through grid power and when to charge battery from solar panels.
During day,solar charge controller mostly charges battery from solar panels when required solar is available and does not give power to inverter,so inverter stays on backup mode.In this way during day,solar panels charges battery and inverter discharges DC to AC providing power to appliances.
During night, solar charge controller gives power to inverter.So inverter is now in charging mode and charges battery while powering appliances directly from grid power and switching to discharging battery DC to AC when grid power is not available.
So how to stop battery charging process AC to DC through inverter from grid power in the inverter during night.
Inverter details :
12V 1450VA
https://www.exideindustries.com/products/home-ups-system/exide-inverterz-gqp.aspx
Battery details : 200Ah tubular
https://www.exideindustries.com/products/solar-batteries/tubular-solar-batteries.aspx
Solar panels : polycrystalline solar panels 600 Watts.
Solar charge controller details : Pulse wave modulation (pwm) 40 Amperes.
Similar to this. https://www.amazon.in/UTL-Solar-Charge-Controller-Hybrid/dp/B073TJ1GR5/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=pwm+solar+controller+40&qid=1610387855&sr=8-2
Here is the daigram showing this setup.

Thanks.


texts: Room lights flickering when I connect my laptop through inverter

texts:
I am using amaron 880v inverter with 1500mah Tall tubular battery when I connect my laptop 130w charger then room lights are flickering then I checked with another laptop 90w charger then same lights flickering is happening if I connect my 130w laptop and 90w laptop with out inverter then lights are not flickering
I buyed last month only new inverter I am facing from the first day then I contact customer care then they sended technician but no use he said I can't find the issue so other technician will approach me
What I need to do now and what issue I was facing with inverter
How to solve the issue


texts: How to properly ground a subpanel in detached building?

texts:
I Will be installing a subpanel in a detached garage. The subpanel will be 60 amp. The garage is about 30' from the main-panel in-house, and I will of course get an exact length before selecting the proper gauge wiring. I'll be using pvc underground for the wiring. There is already existing wiring going underground from the house to the garage, which will no longer be used. When it comes to grounding this subpanel, should I run a grounding conductor from the main panel to the new sub, or ground the sub to earth?

Reading this answer sounds like I would have to ground the subpanel to the main, primarily because in my situation this is a new install. All other variables I have control over.

If so, I would be running 4 wires from the main panel to the sub, 2 hots, 1 neutral, and 1 ground correct?
Then, at the subpanel, the ground bus bar and the neutral bus bar would not be connected, and the grounding screw removed from the ground bus bar?
Lastly, a GFCI Breaker must be used at the main, right? I believe this is true for any subpanel in a detached building, just want to be sure.


texts: Is my Kenmore HE4T Washer repairable for a reasonable price?

texts:
Kenmore HE4T Washer

Is this repairable?
Here are a couple of videos I took of it happening...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfog6-36fdg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTZ3z-Lp34&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The technician said I'd be better off buying a brand new washer, but I just can't believe that. I choose to believe the bearing is replaceable.

From what I'm reading, my bearing should be covered under warranty.


texts: Installing Cement Board 16 inches on center

texts:
I'm going to be using cement board for the walls of my walk-in shower. My shower is framed 16 inches on center.

It appears that most cement board measures 5 ft. x 3 ft.

Does this mean I'm going to have to cut pretty much every single piece of cement board down to a dimension that properly fits the 16 inches on center framing?


texts: If you were wiring a bedroom and a new house and you ran a 12-2  for your homerun and then to each outlet receptacle in the room let’s say there were four.  Then from the last outlet receptacle you ran 12-2  up to the bedroom light switch outlet.  At that point you switch to 14-2  and ran it up to the lights. Would that be permissible if you used a 15 amp breaker?  Wouldn’t it be possible that someone could later change the 15 to 20  amp breaker not knowing about the 14-2 to the light.


texts: How do I shut off the water to my apartment?

texts: I live in a unit in Sydney Australia, I am trying to figure out how to turn off my water so that I can replace the washers on the taps in the basin. Is this possible so that I don't disturb my neighbours? I have looked everywhere inside my unit for a tap which turns off the water but can't find it...


texts: How do I repair latch lock that has unscrewed?

texts:
In the image, part C has detached from part A. I assume that this happened because part A moved slightly each time the door was opened. Part C cannot be screwed onto part A because of the square shape. The only way that it can be reattached is by turning part A. The problem is that there seems to be no way to turn part A.

Part B is a spring that goes over part A when reattaching.


texts: Power out on just one section of the house

texts: I have been having trouble with one line in my house. We have had power going out in just one line in my house intermittently.   An electrician has changed the outlets and we exchanged the circuit breaker but it is still happening.   Any suggestions?


texts: Tiling on 1/4" SurePly + 1/2" OSB fixed subfloor?

texts:
I have an insulated subfloor that is ramset in a concrete foundation.
The supports for the subfloor are spaced at 16 inches.
Most of the flooring are vinyl click tiles, but the bathroom will have porcelain tiles installed.
The floor is 1/2" OSB.
I do realize 1/2 is not enough for tiles as most manufacturers recommend 5/8"
Can I add an layer of 1/4" SurePly and be good? Or is the far that SurePly can't be glued and is only stapled means it doesn't add anything to the deflection of the subfloor?


texts: Can I install a floodlight with 18AWG conductors on a 20A (12AWG) circuit?

texts:
I am running a new 20A circuit with 12 AWG wire to the exterior of my home and will be adding a flood light to the circuit.

All of the flood lights I have seen have 18AWG conductors in them. Is it OK if I connect them to a 12AWG wire on the 20A circuit?

The fixture has a 300 max wattage (150 W bulbs max a piece).

I am using 20A/12AWG because there will also be 2 receptacle on the circuit and I want enough power to run heavy equipment (Yard tools, electric grill, compressor, etc.) when necessary.


texts: How can I get rid of a mouse in my house?

texts:
There is a mouse in my house.

What's the most effective way to get rid of the mouse (and any "friends" it might have) and ensure that it doesn't come back.


texts: A water heater pressure relief valve/pipe is guided to release hot water outside of the pan (see picture). Is this installation correct?

texts: A plumber installed the hot water pressure relief pipe to point outside the water heater pan, as shown in this picture (on the right). What could be the reason to do so? Is this recommended/proper installation? Why not in the pan?