texts: Why do my appliances show two sets of power consumption ratings and which one applies to my house?

texts:
Aptos, CA, USA

I'm trying to determine how much power my electric oven is using (as part of a larger project to possibly upgrade our electrical service (with help from a licensed electrician of course).

When I check the sticker on the side, it has the following info:

VOLT           KW             HERTZ
----           ---            ------
120/208        2.60           60
120/240        3.40

The circuit going to it is dedicated from the breaker box and the breaker itself is rated for 60 amps (two 30 amps connected together).

How do I know which line item applies to me?


texts: What is this part in my dishwasher? It is not shown anywhere in the manual.  The brand is Electrolux.


texts:
I have very hard water and a dish rack.
Unbeknownst to me, under the dish rack, a few large hard water (calcium?) yellowish, rough feeling spots have formed.

How should one go about removing these without damaging the Quartz. (My specific surface if that matters)


texts: Choosing air-conditioner's BTU power for humidity

texts:
Recently, I've been cut off of access to sun and fresh air to my apartment. It is completely sealed now, with no windows or sun to the walls or roof. Ever since, humidity has grown a lot, and mold is spreading everywhere.

The climate where I live is an "always humid subtropical highland climate". That means it rarely gets extremely hot or extremely cold. Because of that, air conditioners are not very popular around here.

My first decision was to look for a dehumidifier, but after some research, and after contacting a manufacturer, I decided it won't solve my problem, because the dehumidifier is made for hot climates only - it has suboptimal performance below 18°C, and will freeze and stop working below 13°C. A climate of 0-10°C is common during winter, when it also happens to be more humid.

So my next option is an air-conditioner, which could give me some fresh air besides dehumidifying. My apartment is ~30m² (~323ft2), and ~3m (10ft) high, and I live with one other person. Some guides written in my language show I'd need 18,000-21,000 BTU, but they seem to consider only hot weathers, which is not my case. A calculator in English considers cold weathers, and it tells me I need only 8,384 BTU, which is less than half.

So, considering I need an air-conditioner mostly for dehumidifying on a cold weather (~5°C/40°F), what BTU power would I need?


texts: How do I troubleshoot power receptacles?

texts:
I just bought a recently renovated house and the house inspector said that all the plugs in the basement worked.

Well... I plugged in several devices into the plugs and they don't power on. If I use my voltage tester I can see that the plugs are indeed 'hot', however they do not actually provide any juice.

All of the affected plugs are on the same breaker as well as the lights for the basement. The lights have no issues turning on.

What are some steps I can take to figure out what the problem is?

Update:
I opened up one of the plugs to see if there was anything visibly wrong. All of the contacts appeared to be wired correctly. I swapped out the receptacle for a new one I had purchased and I wired it into place. I attempted to plug a small test lamp into the new receptacle without fully screwing it into place and a bolt on the hot side that wasn't fully tightened brushed the side of the metal box thingy and caused a spark! eep! I'm guessing that means the power and the ground are working. I turned off the breaker and screwed the receptacle in properly and tried the lamp again and still nothing.

Update 2:
I purchased a receptacle tester and the receptacles all show blank, yellow, yellow which seems to indicate that they are wired correctly. Next step I will hook up a volt meter.

Update 3:
Ok I plugged in the multimeter and it only goes to 30... to make sure my multimeter wasn't out of whack I plugged it into my working outlets and the needle went to 120V. Soo, for some reason I only have a quarter of the voltage I should have, weird.

Update 4:
Resolution, so I caved and hired an electrician.
It turns out the wiring for the plugs ran through a light fixure. Inside the light fixture all of the neutrals for the plugs were wired to each other, however, they were not wired to the main neutral!
The electrician screwed a wire nut on the 2 bundles and low and behold, working plugs everywhere. Thanks for the help everyone!


texts: Safest electric cable to use in insulated walls and attics, fire prevention

texts:
Is there any standard out there in terms of ranking residential electrical cable options for fire safety, specifically in enclosed and/or insulated spaces?

I've read that old knob & tube is actually very safe, if undamaged, due to the distance between the wires. What about as compared to NM, or armored cable (MC), or NM-in-conduit?

I'm new to this stuff, so I apologize if my terminology/usage is incorrect...

(We have knob & tube in our walls and attic, and I'm wondering if having an electrician replace some of it, in areas where we want various electrical and insulation changes/upgrades, is actually going to reduce fire safety.)


texts: Floor heating: is electrical heating better for me?

texts:
We want to lay 40qm of floor heating.

It seems to me that electrical heating i.e. thermoelectric elements eadiating warmth is more efficient to install and maintain.

Than, say, thin water pipes.

But maybe I'm wrong? How to decide?


texts:
I want to paint over factory finished kitchen cabinets.

I plan to sand them and brush primer with oil based paint.

I plan to use an alkyd paint I was told will make a nice finish.

Home Depot warns me to use only latex in their rental sprayer.

What can I thin the alkyd paint with to safely use in the sprayer?


texts: Bubbles in one faucet in the downstairs bathroom and also toilet WC

texts:
I live in a two story house

Recently, I have been noticing that there are lot of small bubbles in my downstairs bathroom faucet. Take a look at the image below:

After 1 minute the bubbles clears up completely and the water becomes clear.

What is causing this issue in the downstairs faucet. None of the other bathrooms are facing the same issue. Recently I changed the fill valve and the fill pipe of the downstairs toilet but apart from that I did not do anything.

In the afternoon I turned off the main water supply and then turned on all the faucets. After 5-8 minutes I turned on the water supply and noticed that the water in the downstair bathroom has become little clear.

But now at night I get the same problem.

UPDATE:

OK! Sorry I am super wrong! This is happening in all bathrooms upstairs and downstairs. The cold water (only cold water) has lots of tiny bubbles.


texts: consumer-grade modified atmosphere storage?

texts:
I hope this is the best forum to ask this question on:

Where we live, mould is basically inevitable on anything that we put into storage for more than a few weeks, esp. on sensitive things like shoes.
Air-tight containers with as little oxygen as possible (can't call it vacuum... :)) help for clean clothes but it's of course near impossible to get leather to the same level of through-and-through cleanness.

Which led me to wonder: what if instead of storing things under some approximation of vacuum, we store under regular atmospheric pressure but with the air replaced by an inert gas that won't allow anything aerobic to grow? You can get your tyres inflated with nitrogen, so even if I've never seen a workshop where they offer the service I assume that means that it doesn't require industrial or research lab working conditions.

I haven't yet found anything suggesting that there exist consumer grade storage solutions of a kind where you stuff things in a container (rigid or not), connect it to your nitrogen container and "flush out" the air from the box to replace it with the inert gas before sealing it.

Would such a system be conceivable, and would it indeed help with preservation?


texts: We were on our third coat of water based polyurethane on my hardwood floor and ran out. I went and grabbed a can and when I started putting it on I noticed a difference. It was oil based. The area now looks completely different. It's like a 4 by 6 foot area. Should I try to sand it off?  We've come so far, I would have to hire a professional at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


texts: AC Drain From Overflow instead of Main, Even with No Pipes Connected

texts:
So my AC unit is draining water from the overflow drain again. I did my usual dance of cleaning out the main drain line - I made sure the point where it drains into the sewer was clear, put some drain cleaner, waited, poured a gallon of water down it, and then finally blew the line out. But water was still coming out the overflow.

So I disconnected the drains from the AC unit, and water preferred to come out of the overflow, even tho it was higher than the main line. I can see nothing that is preventing water from reaching the main line. If I block the overflow, water comes out the main, but if I put the pipes back on, it goes back to the overflow.

By pipes, I mean the connecting stubs that are a few inches long, so I know they are not blocked.

Why is the system draining this way? What can I do about it?

My theories:
- I put in higher "quality" filters recently and somehow that has changed the airflow
- the house has shifted and the overflow is no longer high enough to be an overflow
- the coils are dirty and so the water is coming from a different place than it used to

What say you?

EDIT:
It is a Carrier mounted horizontally in the attic. I couldn't find a model number, but it is about 12-16 years old?

Here's the drain hole arrangement. Air is blowing out of the rightmost hole pretty hard, and seems to be blowing the water out that way, instead of through the main drain line. The extra fittings are so I didn't have to cut and re-glue the pipes when the drain clogged. They've worked fine for 6+ years. I generally have had to clear the drain every two or 3 years.

UPDATE 2:
I have now changed the air filters back to my usual, and waited a few days. The draining out the overflow continued. This morning, I opened up the evaporator compartment. I sprayed some coil cleaner, and the fins are shiny now, where they used to be dull. Also, I poured water in the pan and watched it run out the primary drain, so pitch isn't the issue. I think it could be an airflow thing. Hopefully the coil cleaner will change the dynamics enough to fix the issue, and the problem isn't with the upstairs/downstairs diverter thing. (we have one unit, but two zones).


texts: Accidental drywall mud over cement board

texts:
I have a wall in my kitchen being built that will have some drywall and some tile. A dude I hired to finish my drywall, while I wasn't supervising him, applied some drywall mud over the cementboard. I was wondering if that will hinder the adhesiveness of thinset when installing tiles.

Is it fine as is or should I sand the mud off or, worse yet, have to replace the cementboard?


texts:
I have a 12x24 building that I built for band rehearsals last year and since it has gotten very cold here in Alabama (was 9 degrees F today) I have noted that it is almost impossible to heat.  It's a wood frame building.  Barn style.  Upstairs is blocked off with trap door access.  The roof is insulated with a gap at the ridge for a vent.  Metal roofing.  Downstairs the walls are insulated and sheetrocked.  Outside is covered in vinyl siding and moisture barrier under that. It's temperature controlled downstairs with a infrared space heater at the front, and a conventional one at the back.  When it gets below about 40 degrees, I can't get it to an acceptable temperature.  There's some really cold spots in it too.  They feel like drafts, but I'm pretty certain I did a great job on the insulation.  I can feel cold air at the floor radiating inside.  The floor is super chilly.  Half the floor is carpet and half is wood flooring.  Both are cold.  THe carpet has padding under it.  Subfloor has 2 layers of plywood under it and tar paper between the layers.

Ive pretty much figured out that the cold is radiating through thhe floor despite this.  I could insulate under it as I can access it, but at the rear, it is just inches off of the ground.  Putting traditional insulation under there isn't a viable option due to that and I don't want to invite rats under there either.  So my question here is, what options do I have to insulate?  If I were to underpin the building and face the underpinning with insulation would that work?  Could someone do spray type insulation on a building that close to the ground?

Any advice is much appreciated!!!

The floor is not insulated.  This was a major dumb move on my part.  I figured in Alabama that wasn't an issue.  I was apparently wrong. What insulation options do I have seeing that the building is so low to the ground at the rear?  Would underpinning and insulating the underpinning be worthwhile instead?

I store things upstairs so I didn't want it to get super cold or hot up there.  My research told me that this was ok to insulate the roof instead of the floor below it to achieve a not so hot or cold space.  Is that not the case?   Should I pull up my upstairs floor and put the insulation in there?

What about venting?  I've shook my head over and over on this. Do I need to vent this roof?  What I did do was I installed an exhaust fan in the rear of the building that kicks on at a predetermined temperature.  It works incredibly well during the summertime.  Even when it is blisteringly hot outside, it is tolerable in there.  Maybe 90 degrees at the hottest.  I felt like that with metal roof and no insulation it would be unbelievably hot during the summer which isn't good for the stuff stored up there.  My house on the other hand is so hot inside that I feel like I'm dying in the attic.  I bet it's 130 degrees in there in summer.

During the summer, a 12000 BTU ac unit cools the downstairs easily.  And fast.  It remains cool all the way into the afternoon the next day with the ac set to 85 and it stays about that till later afternoon.  I was very impressed with how well the building retains cool air.

I can post some pics if that helps.


texts: Wires Physically Move When Breaker is Enabled

texts:
I was working on the wiring in an outlet of a home from the mid 1950s. This kitchen outlet connects a switch to the garbage disposal. I connected the live wire from the circuit breaker directly to the wire leading to the appliance and then had the circuit breaker switched back on. At that instant, the wires physically moved a noticeable amount. I repeated this, and the result was the same.

What explanation can there be for the wires moving when the power at the breaker was applied? (Because of how the wires are routed, I don't think the disposal torque pulled the wires, but I could be wrong.)

While I am an electrical engineer, and can sort out connections fairly easily, this has me concerned.


texts: How to remove a Honeywell Braukmann 104v radiator actuator

texts: I have a radiator with a Honeywell 104V radiator actuator that I'd like to replace, I think it's P/N T104V1422. I can't seem to figure out how the thing is connected to remove it. The rest of the house uses 104A actuators which have a locking ring that just unscrews when it's properly aligned, but the 104V doesn't seem to be setup that way. I've searched for videos and documentation but haven't found anything regarding removing it. I've tried unscrewing it but it only seems to turn left or right a few degrees before stopping. I'm hesitant to try and brute force it off lest I do more harm than good.I've posted a picture of the valve in question.


texts: How can I patch holes in the roof left by satellite dish removal?

texts:
My house came with 2 satellite dishes mounted to the roof around the same place.  I've never used them.  Recently, wind managed to push them down so that one came down completely and the other was still hanging by 2 of its 4 lag bolts.

I've removed them complete and left the lag bolts in the holes.  Is there a best way to close the holes before replacing the asphalt shingles?  Or should I just put caulk around the lag bolts and leave it?


texts:
I am running approx 40' of cable thru the unfinished attic in order to install two additional receptacles in the kitchen.  The easiest and least obtrusive way for me to do this is to attach 1x3 or 2x4 lumber to face of the rafters to serve as a raceway, then staple the cable every 4 feet or so onto the surface of this raceway.  The wood strips will be attached to the rafters approx. 4' up from where the rafter tails meet the floor. At the end of the run, the cable will drop into the kitchen wall.

Does this installation meet current NEC code, or is there something else I need to do to make this meet code?  Tks.


texts: Leaf stains on fresh concrete driveway not sealed yet

texts: My driveway was poured when I was on vacation and leaves fell on it and they made a black mark I believe it's called tar leaf in about 20 places in the driveway and before they come and seal it I wanted to know how to get it off before the winter comes and the Salt destroys it


texts: Fireplace switch: wiring length/gauge limitations?

texts:
We have a propane fireplace insert that can be wired up for a switch.

Right now, there are two 6" 18g single-strand leads that when nutted together complete the circuit allowing the fireplace to turn on when the main dial is st to 'on'. If you disconnect them, it goes back to pilot.

You can leave these connected and then turn the fireplace on by removing the front plate, but I wanted to hook up a remote switch to make it less of a chore. I went and got a low-voltage switch and ran 6' of 14g stranded wire to the switch to the two leads on the fireplace.

Alas, this doesn't work.

I'm guessing it's too much resistance to complete the circuit...either by length or gauge. Is there a rule of thumb here? If I go get single strand 18g would that work? Is there a way to calculate this short of trial-and-error?

UPDATE:

Well, I found an answer for my particular needs via trial an error. I'm not answer the question as there's probably a legitimate electrical formula for calculating this.

I took out the #14 stranded and replaced it with #18 stranded. Same length. But this works.


texts: Will two 2x10 beams carry a a 2500lb floor for a tree house?

texts:
I am wanting to span between 2 trees with 12 to 15 foot beams. I will have one beam on one side of the trees and another beam on the other side. The beams will be supported 1/3 in from one end and 1/3 in from the other. They will rest on metal plates on that will be about 4" long screwed into their undersides. The plates are mounted on tree bolts. So those will be the support points. I believe I have found that this wood will support 1200lbs each, but that is one long span. This is more like 3 spans. The beams will be about 20" apart (the width of each tree). I want to then build an 8x10 or 10x10 standard floor joist system and build a treehouse on top of that.

Including people, snow load, and the weight of all the wood and materials, it will be under 2500lbs. Will my 2 beams be enough? Could I use 2x8s? Do I need to double them up?

The drawing below is close to what I am wanting to do. My trees are straight and the overhang on the left and right is more. There will be around 1/3 of the beam extending beyond each mounting point and the floor will extend out there too.


texts: intermittent compressor on elderly dual-fuel heat pump

texts:
I have a 23 year-old dual-fuel 2.5-ton heat pump; it is a split system, air handler and furnace in the crawlspace, compressor outside. I use it very little in the winter, mostly heating with wood; I use it a lot in the summer. Here is what has happened:

Turned on A/C, after several weeks of idleness (pleasant springtime weather). Compressor did not come on (neither the compressor fan nor the compressor-proper).
Next day, tried to see if compressor would work in heat mode. It did. Then switched to cool mode, and it also worked. A/C has worked fine on the few occasions I've tried it since then.
Looked at compressor while running properly. Measured 24 vac signal to contactor coil and 36mv voltage drop across contacts (1-1/2 pole contactor).

What do you recommend ? Is the 36mv across contacts normal ? Sounds small, but at 20 amps, that's almost a watt dissipated in very little metal, so maybe not. (The compressor runs off a 30amp circuit). The contactor has not been replaced in many years. I am tempted to just replace it. Cheap part. DIY - I am electrical engr and have done lots of home wiring, so can do it without killing myself (turn off breaker, make sure capacitor is discharged).

But, do you think this is the most likely problem ? If not, I guess I just have to wait for it to fail again, and check to see if the coil is getting 24vac. Anything else I can check before then ?

Also, searching here, someone said capacitor is most likely cause of compressor failure.  However, I wonder if the fact that my problem occurred once, and then went away, would modify this ?


texts: What can I use at the top of my stairs for a winch mount?

texts:
I need to get a heavy concrete grinder (180 lbs), with wheels, down my stairs. I was thinking of getting a winch, but i have nothing to mount it to (the opposing wall is too far away). I was thinking of making a bracket for the top of the stairs, or perhaps even a table (where the winch could be mounted under the table where the 4 legs would be up against the wall) or perhaps some scaffold.
There are many out-of-the box thinkers on their group, so looking for some ideas.


texts: I have 8 recessed can lights in the ceiling of my finished basement.  The lights are operated by one pole switch w/dimmer.  Is there any way to separate the can light in order to turn on one row at a time.  We found that it is not necessary to have all 8 can lights on at the same time.  Is this possible?


texts: Best way to get both 120V and 220V from existing multiwire branch circuit (MWBC)

texts:
I have a double pole 20A breaker feeding a 120V MWBC with 12/3 with ground, romex that goes up three levels to two separate 120V duplex GFCI receptacles with common neutral.

I want to have both 120V and 220V small appliances.  Wanting to add a 220V 6 amp coffee maker to two small 120V appliances. This is not a kitchen, but indoors, off of a top deck. The MWBC feeds just the two 120V duplex GFCI's, nothing else.

What is best practice to do this?

I could run existing MWBC wires to a small panel, then install one double pole 15A 220V GFCI breaker and two single pole 15A 120V GFCI breakers, and new receptacles. Possible also to use the existing 120V GFCI receptacles and regular single pole breakers fed off this panel too, in this situation.

Or could leave the current two GFCI receptacles alone and take 12g wire pig-tailed from the ends of the MWBC to a 'spa' panel, change out the breaker in the 'spa' panel for a 15A or 20A 220V double pole GFCI breaker and then connect a 220V receptacle.

Or I could attach an inline 220V GFCI to the hot leads of the MWBC in a junction box.

Or I could use a 2000W step up/down transformer plugged into one of the 120V GFCI receptacles. It just seems redundant to convert the voltage when I already have it there, but a plug-in transformer may be the most code compliant and cheapest, way.

I can not run another wire from my main panel. I cannot replace the 20A double pole breaker in the main panel, with a GFCI breaker, as it is actually a quad breaker.

Any other ideas? Other than code won't allow any of it? Wife really wants the coffee maker so it is going to get done somehow.


texts: Did my home's builder not properly protect the outside molding from water?

texts:
Ok so for a few months now I've noticed that the outside moldings of the garage doors and the windows are beginning to look really bad. The wood looks like it's warping and rotting I guess because of water that is getting inside...?

Is this shoddy work on the builder's part? This home is less than 9 years old. Or it this normal for these decorative outdoor molding around windows to decay like that?

I asked my neighbor and he apparently had to pay someone to fix that and he had to replace some of the frame around the garage doors. He said something about the flashing being done improperly.

Here's what I'm talking about:

How do I determine how bad is the damage here, and what's the proper way to fix this?


texts: Is this wiring diagram for a series of outlets correct?

texts:
NOTE: There should be a hot/black wire going from source wire to the lower connector on the switch.

The 3 outlets are going into a 3 gang box.  The 3rd outlet (the one on the far right) will be controlled via the switch to the right (the switch is located on the same wall a few feet away).

I understand different areas have different code, but in general, will this work?


texts: How can I replace an integrated security light with a solar powered version?

texts:
Above our front door, we have (for want of a better word) a security light. This light can only be controlled by a switch near the front door. The light switch for the is just one of three on the same panel that also controls both the hallway and the landing lights.

Rather than just simply replacing the light with one that's activated by a motion sensor, I am looking to get one that is solar powered so that it is completely removed from the electricity supply and just does what it needs to. There seem to be some great ones out there, but what do I do with the existing light?!

Ideally, I'd like to take the old one down and put the solar powered one in its place. Also, when I have done that, it would be a good idea to change the light switch to have just two switches rather than three. So, my question is, what do I do about the wires that I will be disconnecting from the switch and the bare wires that will inevitably be left coming out of the external wall?


texts: How to repair/replace toggle bolt that pulled out of drywall?

texts:
We have drapes(drapes and rod are not heavy) across the sliding glass door.  When open, they are pulled to one side where the rope to open them also sits.  When the drapery rod was first professionally installed, anchors were used.  After several years of opening and closing the drapes, these pulled out of the wall.

We replaced them with bigger anchors that pulled out of the wall.  Last attempt, we put in a toggle bolt, that has pulled out of the wall, creating a very large hole as the toggle pulled out the wallboard material.  How do we repair the wall?  How do we hang the rod back up?


texts: Using an induction hob through a wooden surface

texts: I'm going to be getting a couple of induction hobs, but I am wanting them mounted underneath a thin (approx 5mm) piece of wood. Is this possible from the safety point of view and would I have a major worry about efficiency?


texts: Use existing light switch to also power bathroom exhaust fan?

texts:
The builder of my house neglected to place an exhaust fan in my guest bathroom.  When I brought that to their attention, they replied that code only requires fans in bathrooms that don't have open-able windows.  But the lack of one in my guest bath has always bugged me, so I'd like to add one.

But the bathroom is only "ganged" for the lightswitch that it presently needs.  (And, the feeder from the circuit panel enters at that switch.)  Would it be permissible to tie the exhaust fan into the switched side of that gang box, or am I required to give the fan a dedicated switch of its own?


texts: Clean-out plug in p-trap won't screw back on

texts: I had to remove the clean-out plug of a sink P-trap to clear a clog. Underneath, there was hardened sediment that I had to break apart with a small knife.  Now that I have the drain cleared, the clean-out plug won't screw back on.  I don't see any tape or rust on it and tried to clean the thread of the pipe as well.  My house was built in 1947--not sure if this is original pipe or not.  Is there a way to get it to screw back on?  It almost seems too small at this point.  Thanks.


texts: Can I cut a hole in a 2" x 8" joist that is less than 1/3 the height of the joist, leaves at least 2" above and below the hole, but is 10" wide?

texts:
I would like to redirect a 5" air pipe to the other side of a 2" x 8", second story, floor joist so that I can have the vent exit a bathroom vanity kick plate.  I realize I cannot just drill a 5" hole through the joist, however I was wondering if it would be feasible using the method below.  It is my understanding you can only cut 1/3 the height of the joist and you must have at least 2 inches above and below the hole.  Would it be generally acceptable to place a side end-boot on the 5" pipe that transitions to 2-1/4" x 10", cut a oval hole just large enough to accommodate the 2-1/4" x 10" and pick it up on the other side of the joist with a 2-1/4" x 10" box vent?  This would leave 2.5 inches above and below the hole. I would then sandwich 1/2" ply between a second sister 2x8 joist and glue and screw each layer (and bolt if recommended).  As a very general test, I cut this size hole in a 2"x8"x8' joist, supported it at each end and bounced on it.  I realize this is not really a sound structural test but I just wanted to get a basic sense as to the remaining strength of the joist.  It was surprisingly resistant to deflection.  I would be interested in your comments/suggestion.  I have attached a couple of photos as well (one of the joist test and the other is the duct work described above).

The other option I was entertaining was to do basically use the same method above but instead of cutting the 2.25" x 10" hole; I'd drill four 2" holes side-by-side with 0.66" between each.  Then I'd screw and caulk the boot on one side of the joist and the box vent to the other side (rather than passing the entire 2-1/4" x 10" box vent through the joist).  The advantage would be that there would be 3 support "posts" between each of the four holes.  The disadvantage would be air flow restriction.

Obviously I would not want to create a structurally unsafe situation, but I was wondering if one or both of these methods would satisfy the rules for joist cutting or is it just wishful thinking.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

Thank you to those who commented.  Below are two images to help further explain the project. The green line indicates the future location of the vanity kick plate. The yellow line indicates the proposed new location for the 5" duct (transitioning to the 2-1/4" x 10" as described in my original post). The pink lines indicate the location for the 2x8 sister joists and the blue would be the plywood sister. All sisters would be glued, screwed and or bolted. The red "X" indicates the location where I'd like the vent to exit the kick plate. (The water supplies are old and will be moved and the new drains have not yet been installed).

The next diagram below shows how I was intending to sister the joist with two 2x4 with plywood in between.

I would also bridge the joist with vertical or horizontal 2x8 pieces where possible.

If the plan above is ill-advised; I am also considering capping the 5" duct and heating the room with under-floor electric radiant heating.  However, I'm not sure if Under-floor heating can serve as the sole heat source where temperatures can get as cold as -25 degrees. I am also concerned about the reliability of Under-floor heating.  If it failed; I'd be without heat in the bathroom.

Thanks again for any comments or suggestions.


texts:
My well suddenly is adding sand to the water supply. Very fine just barely grit, so on the border between sand and silt.

I’ve just stopped irrigating, so demand is only household.

I can see the following possibilities

bore is collapsing and bore has sand to just below pump.
screen is failing and letting silt through.

What are my next steps?


texts: electricity no power in 3 outlets located in my living room

texts: I have 3 outlets that are not working. When I use a meter and it reads red to the left and yellow far right? I checked the circuit breaker and it's not tripped? I don't have a GFCI outlet, just standard outlets. When I plug my lamp in I get no power or anything. I still have all power in the entire rest of the house. I continue to switch breakers off and on in the panel still nothing happens. Can anyone tell me what is wrong?


texts: What screw length for screwing down stair treads into stringers?

texts: My stairs are old and squeak and I would like to screw them down and plug the holes. My question is what length screw should I go with? They are about an inch thick. The stringers are old as it's antique so I guess I was concerned not to go too long, I'm not sure if that can affect the strength of the stringer.


texts: Will a 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit fail if I draw over 15A combined from each outlet?

texts:
OR: is the rating for the entire receptacle or each outlet individually?

A common 15A receptacle has two outlets. If such a receptacle is attached to a 20A circuit, an 8A draw from each outlet will not trip the breaker.

Should such a draw cause the receptacle to fail? Or is the rating for each outlet contained in the receptacle?


texts: Single switch with 2 lights, not in series

texts: The 1st image below is a typical diagram for a switch with 2 lights. I have a scenario where I can't wire the 2 lights in series because they go off in different directions. Can I wire it like the 2nd (modified) image below?


texts: What is this attaching my toilet seat and how can I unscrew it?

texts:
I’m trying to unscrew my toilet seat but it seems to have been fitted with this plastic mechanism, which doesn't seem to want to be unscrewed.

Do I need a special tool to remove it?


texts: How to make a toilet seat hinge more stiff?

texts:
The upstairs toilet in our house has a gender-specific problem:  the seat won't stay up without being held up.  This is because the lid of the cistern sticks out a bit too much, so that the seat's centre of gravity is slightly on the wrong side of the hinge.  I already replaced the seat when we moved in, it didn't make any difference:  basically, the holes in the toilet where you attach the seat are a bit too far back.

I'm not going to try to fix this (very annoying, only for me) problem by replacing the toilet, or just the cistern.  But, what would work, if it's possible, is to make the seat a bit more stiff, ie resistant to movement.  It's only just on the wrong side of the vertical, so that if the hinge was a bit stiffer, i believe it would stay up by itself, without being resistant to movement in general (obviously it still needs to be lowerable so gluing it in a fixed position isn't an option).

There's no way to adjust the hinge, ie no screws to tighten, and it can't be taken apart without breaking it.  So what i'm after is some sort of "anti lubricant" that i can put into the hinge.  The hinge (on each side) consists of metal (or perhaps chrome-plated plastic) cylinders, which butt up against each other, similar to in this photo:

If i do put an "anti-lubricant" in there, it's going to have to be something that will be able to get into the tiny space between the rotating parts of the hinge.

Does anyone know of such a substance?  Or have any other solutions?  thanks, Max

EDIT: I have a 1 year old running around, so any solutions need to be child-friendly:  that means that if the solution uses magnets, for example, the magnets need to be very hard to swallow.

EDIT2: i wanted to put a photo up of my solution, which was suggested by @handyman in the correct answer below:

Before on the right, and after on the left.  Basically i unscrewed the seat and lid, loosened the discs that hold the hinges and rotated each one 180 degrees.  Fortunately i was able to rotate the vertical posts that hold the actual hinges as well, to keep the hinges pointing in the same direction as they were originally, but just an inch or so further forward, which made the crucial difference.


texts:
The issue I'm having is that ice builds up on the lower roof, creating a dam. The upper attic is double insulated, but is exposed to sun throughout the day. The lower roof (next to the sidewall) only sees sunlight for an hour or two very late in the day. So, the upper roof experiences some melt due to the sun and drops to the lower roof where it freezes creating a large dam against the sidewall. Eventually the ice backs up into the seams causing water entry into the interior.

Everything is insulated well, so I think I need to install de-icing cable along the upper edge, along the sidewall, and a bit at the bottom. See photo below - does this make sense, or is there a better way to lay it? Or are there other alternatives to avoid this issue?

My other consideration, is doing a piece of metal roofing (flashing) along the side wall, where the meltwater  falls on the lower roof.


texts: We have a Vent-a-hood over our stove with halogen lights. There's a switch for low level and high level lighting using the same two light bulbs. Would like to replace with LED GU10. Our first attempt to use a 'dimmable' bulb resulted in great light at the high level and a flicker at the reduced level. Worth trying another LED and/oror are there specific two-way LED bulbs to look for? Thanks!


texts: How to fit 4" rigid aluminum duct vent in between walls when there is an angle brace?

texts:
I want to do what these people have done here:

The problem is I have bracing going diagonally and it is not leaving enough space for the 4" aluminum duct vent.

Can I saw the bracing off for the 1 section where I need to pass the pipe?

I assume not..

What else can I do ?


texts: I have a ceiling light that is controlled by two switches, however when one of the switches is off the other switch does not work.  What is the issue and how can I fix it?


texts: When I run the shower, mostly hot water, the pressure will run normal for a minute, then raise for a minute, then repeat. My home is supplied by a well. What is causing this?


texts: Why does voltage still exists when a circuit is broken by a 3-way switch?

texts:
My parents got a ceiling light for my parents for Christmas, which I was tasked with installing.  I don't know why I bothered to check the voltage before putting the new fixture on (and after taking the old one off,) but I did, and it read 123V when on (good, obviously,) but it read 38V when turned off.

I disconnected all of the wires and checked the switches, and they worked perfectly fine (complete discontinuity when broken).  I did break one of the switches, however, when releasing the wires that they'd stabbed in the back (20 year-old plastic is sorta brittle, I guess,) so I got new 3-way switches and not surprisingly, this did not fix the problem.

I removed the wires from the switches, except I kept the line attached to the first switch and tested the switched terminals vs. ground.  I got 123V on the active terminal and <.5V on the inactive terminal -- checked out just fine.  As soon as I connected the wires that lead to the box with the second switch (which was not connected,) I got 37V on the wires that were supposed to be disconnected from the line.  (Actually, one reads 55V when disconnected, and the other reads 37V when disconnected.)

Unfortunately, I do not have an insulation tester, but it would seem as though the insulation has failed on those wires (assuming no stupid mistake was made by a previous installer.)  However, I am open to comments about why this might be happening.  Any thoughts?  Anyone ever had this happen before?  Etc.


texts: How do I remove the acrylic knob on my faucet?

texts: Faucet with one knob does hot & cold. Single screw. Plain old crystal knob. Just want to take off knob & replace it with brand new one. Don't know how to remove the knob.


texts:
I advised a friend to use a drain bladder to clear a sink clog. Turns out there was a vent that didn't connect to the main vent stack--it just terminated inside the wall. So she put a bunch of water into the wall.

Terminating a vent inside the wall seems entirely crazy to me. Does it happen often? (60's SoCal construction) Should I have foreseen this potential problem? Or was this just bizarre bad luck?

Her landlord's father's solution to the problem scares me a little too: instead of getting the vent to the roof somehow he's making an exit under the kitchen window.

Is this a legit, code-happy (again, California) alternative to going to the roof?


texts: Activating hot water recirculation pump in garage via extension cord under kitchen sink

texts:
I have a hot water recirculation pump installed near the water heater that is located in the garage which provides instant hot water via dedicated 1/2" copper pipes.  Although I have a timer that turns the pump on at different times of the day, the pump is not always running when we want hot water.  This is most needed at the kitchen sink as it is the furthest tap from the water heater and without the pump running, we are wasting water for over a minute before hot water is available! Since the bathrooms are located in close proximity to the water heater, instant hot water via the recirculation pump is not really that beneficial.

I'm considering running an extension cord from the location of the water recirculation pump in the garage, down under the house and up into the
kitchen sink cabinet and plugging into a plug strip that is powered by the 15A outlet under the sink. Whenever there is a need for hot water, we can simply flip on the power to the plug strip to activate the recirculation pump.

Are there any electrical codes that I might be violating in doing this?


texts:
I am trying to identify a nut/fastener that is a part of our children's bed:

(Note I am not a native English speaker, so hope I got all the technical terms correctly, please tell me if it doesn't make sense)
The fastener looks a bit like some sort of cylindrical nut, but there is no thread inside the hole (it holds a smooth metal rod) and also a bolt attaches to the top (which holds the fastener in place). I tried looking through the "nuts" sections of a few online retailers, but couldn't find anything like it.
Does anyone have any ideas for a Google term that would let me find if somebody sells something like this? Or would I need to make this myself by drilling a hole into a cylindrical nut?


texts: Help installing ceiling fan in old house

texts: I removed the old ceiling fan and found 1 black wire by itself and 3 white wires tied together, the old fan had only 2 wires, one black and one white, the white was connected to the group of white wires and the black to the single black wire. I am replacing this ceiling fan with an clarkston 44 inch ceiling fan. This fan comes with a black a blue and a white wires. Should I connect the blue and white to the 3 whites and the black with the black?


texts: 20A home circuit breaker stuck in "TRIPPED" state

texts:
If I understand correctly, then the proper circuit breaker reset procedure is TRIPPED->OFF->ON (ie you can't reset the circuit breaker by going directly from TRIPPED->ON state). However, the circuit breaker immediately springs backs into TRIPPED state if I try to move it into OFF state (or just as well ON state).

So my questions are:

Does the fact that I can't even get it to stay in OFF state proves that problem is in circuit breaker (opposed to unresolved short that trips circuit breaker again)?
If so, then are there any tricks to reset it?
Or, is this a sign that it is time to replace the circuit breaker?


texts: why is there a concrete pole in my wall?

texts:
I broke open a section of wall I'd like to remove and there is a concrete pole inside!? Is this some kind of load bearing device? How can I know if I can remove it?

Thanks


texts: If building a natural rock walkway on top of clay, do I need gravel?

texts: We're building a natural rock walkway up to our front door.  The walkway will be bordered by treated timbers.  We collected the rocks (flat on one side, different heights and sizes, some quite large-1.5' x 1', average width- about 1.5").  Using instructions from a rock building book that says once the area is dug out, use gravel for the first layer,then sand to fill gaps once rocks are laid.  We dug it out and it is clay underneath.  Hubby thinks we don't need gravel because of the clay.  Do we need gravel and what type of gravel?  Book doesn't say.  Thanks in advance for any help!


texts:
I have achieved fantastic results applying epoxy over the concrete floor in my basement apartment.

I am currently doing the kitchen in my main unit. My preferred flooring choice is stone tile because the pre-existing conditions make it possible without any unknown adaptation. But I've been flirting with the idea of epoxy.

The problem is that half of the surface ( which has nothing underneath but ground,) is concrete, and the other half (  which goes over the basement ) is usual wood construction consisting of  2x8 joists + 3/4" OSB, which I'm reinforcing with 1/2" plywood and 1/4" cement-board.

I know that epoxy can go easily over the concrete half but how about the cement-board?

Can I apply something over the cement-board, like self leveling compound, to cover the seams and screws and achieve a concrete-like surface that would equalize it with the concrete side so that I can apply the epoxy primer and then epoxy itself?


texts: What is the correct way to read a gas meter?

texts:
I just moved into a new house, and I'm afraid my systems (furnace, hot water heater, and stove top) are using a ton of gas. I have two photos of the gas meter. I'm pretty sure how to read them, but I would love confirmation that I am doing it correctly.

Here are two readings:

Is is correct?

Reading 1: 8,953,000 cf
Reading 2: 9,035,000 cf
Difference of 82,000 cf between readings = 820 Ccf

Or is this correct?

Reading 1: 895,300 cf
Reading 2: 903,500 cf
Difference of 8200 cf between readings = 82 Ccf


texts: can I mount a copper pipe to stone with an epoxy?

texts: how can I mount a copper pipe vertically to a flat slate stone after first drilling into the stone to insert the end of the copper tubing?


texts: Yellow tub inside toilet tank is leaking

texts:
A few weeks ago my toilet started running continuously. When I open up the tank, I see that a yellow tub (not sure what it is) seems to be leaking and allowing water to run continuously:

Full video recording here

Any ideas what this part is and if there's anything I can do to fix it? If not, how do I replace it for a new one?


texts: Can I use regular pine lumber as a stair tread cover?

texts: I'd like to use knotty pine boards as stair tread covers instead of actual tread covers.  The tread covers I've seen are 1" or 2" wide pieces fit together to make a board, I'm guessing this is done to reduce warping?  If I use standard pine boards, will I run into a warping problem?


texts: My key is stuck in the door lock and won't come out. I have tried numerous ways and it just won't. Any ideas on how to get it out or what can be done?


texts: I have been asked to help fix a home up for someone, it needs work on flooring, drywall, doors, exterior etc. My question is, the central heat/AC is no good and to cool and heat the home the homeowners use window units. With that said, all the floor vents are damaged or just a hole in the floor. The open holes seems to have caused them a rodent problem. Would there be a issue with removing the damaged ductwork and covering up the holes for the vents permanetly?


texts: Can I branch off my main service, just past the meter base?

texts: Can you branch off your main electrical service line to 3 beaker panels?  1 for the house, 1 for a shed and 1 for a shop.  The house has a 200 amp breaker panel, the shed now has a sub panel powered off a 40 amp breaker from the main house panel. I want to replace the sub panel in the shed with its own breaker panel. The new shop will need an 100 amp breaker panel.  Can this be done using polaris lugs to branch off the main service line and wire to the 3 locations I need.


texts: What should I do about a gap between hardwood and drywall?

texts:
First-time home-owner - house less than 1 year old.

We had our home built last December, and have been discovering all sorts of problems with it. The latest was a trail of ants within our kitchen ascending from behind the stove. When we looked beneath the stove to see what the problem was, we found a small hole allowing sun-light in from outside. Our builder came and sprayed foam, but the ants have persisted for one more day.

I finally sprayed some insect killer behind the stove, and that greatly reduced the number of ants. Today I pulled the stove out to see what it looked like back there and found the following (see image). I'm noticing a large space between the hardwood flooring and the drywall - is this normal? Should I fill it with spray foam? If so, is spray foam enough to prevent further insects from finding their way in (assuming the initial round of spray foam wasn't sufficient), or should I deal with ants a different way?

If I should spray, what would be an appropriate product to use?


texts:
I moved into my home a few months ago and suspect it's been quite a while since anyone bled the radiators. I've been going around bleeding them for a few days and I'm still getting a lot of air out of some of them and I'm not getting water from any. I'm not even getting water out of the ones that are completely heating up. Should I keep the valve open until water comes out (even if the air has stopped?)

Should I just keep bleeding them until all radiators stop pushing air out? or is there potentially a bigger issue?


texts: What type of wall sheathing is on my house?

texts:
My house sheathing is not a plywood - but some dark brown material.

Click for larger view

Does anyone know what that is?

P.S. here's more higher quality images:
pic1
pic2
pic3


texts: Why should we replace smoke alarms every 10 years?

texts:
I'm having a hard time understanding a requirement to replace smoke detectors every 10 years (or whatever the manufacturer suggests). With previous generations of ionization based detectors, I understand that the radioactive substance would decay over time, reducing its ability to reliably do what it's supposed to do, but the photoelectic ones I'm having a harder time understanding exactly why there is still a requirement to replace them.

For example, I own 2 Nest Protect 2nd generation smoke/CO detectors, which as I understand use a split-spectrum photoelectric sensor. The device will trigger all kinds of alerts and warnings when it comes time to replace them. However, as this is LED based, why does it do this? Is there an actual technical reason for replacing it, or does this basically come down to some law somewhere?


texts:
Just had a home inspection completed and one of the things advised to be corrected is the wiring running to an AC unit. In the breaker panel it's hooked up to a 30-amp double pole breaker with #12 wire.

Inspector notes that #10 wire should be used for 30-amp circuits so that the wire does not melt before the breaker can do its job in an over-current situation. This makes sense to me, but I'm thrown off by the double-pole configuration. Since the load is split over 2 conductors, does it really need to use such heavy gauge wire?


texts: Microwave gave me an electric / static shock

texts:
I was using a microwave at work the other day and it's quite small, I was putting something in there with both hands and my right hand brushed against the section that is usually on the right that houses the light panel and has all the holes in it to allow the light through; when my hand touched said area I got a small electric (static?) shock.

Why is this? Is this just caused the same way you get static shocks from other things sometimes?

Also, I'm not sure if this applies but could it be because I wasn't "grounded" - the microwave is quite high up (on top of a fridge) and I had to stand on a plastic milk carton to use it.


texts: What is the correct cord and plug for my forklift charger?

texts: I am installing a forklift charger in my shop. I have what appears to be a NEMA L16-20 receptacle wired to a 480v 20amp 3 phase breaker. I had expected the charger to ship with an appropriate cord and plug but it did not. I can get a plug to match the receptacle, but is the receptacle I have appropriate for this charger? What gauge and type of cord should I get?


texts: Adding a light fixture to an existing fixture

texts: I added a new light fixture by splicing into an existing fixture.   When I turn the light on, the existing light comes on, when I turn it off, the new light comes on.  What have I done wrong?  I want them both to turn on together.


texts: How should I approach installing new toilet on concrete floor with cracked terracotta pipes?

texts:
I removed an old nonfunctional "Pittsburgh Toilet" from my basement and have a new one I would like to install.  Unfortunately, when I removed the old toilet, I came to find that there was no flange and the pipes were in horrible condition.
The original toilet seemed to be leveled with cement that I was able to chisel away to create a somewhat even surface.  It is not even enough to install a new toilet though.
My thoughts are to buy a 4" flange (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oatey-PVC-Closet-Flange-4-in-Sold-Each/1002470748) and see if it fits inside far enough to bypass the cracked pipes and use thinset to level the flange and toilet surface.
I'd like to hear some other approaches (without removing floor) before I get started because I don't like mine.


texts: advice re:ground connections inside a metal box

texts: When installing two switches in a double gang metal box, I mistakenly followed the directions for doing this in a plastic box. So I bundled the five ground wires with a marette, but failed to make a connection via pig tail to the metal box. Is this OK to leave?


texts: Are sump pumps necessary?I read that sump pumps are able to solve most basement leaking and flooding issues. Do we need a plumber to install a sump pump or can I do it myself?


texts: How to fix leaky plastic to metal adapter?

texts:
I have a drain pipe for my 2001 camper, that goes through the bottom of the camper.   Attached to the bottom of the plastic hose is a threaded female adapter that rotates 360 degrees:

There is a small drip drip leaky that is coming from the adapter.  If I push up on it, the water comes out as a steady stream.  I'm not sure how the metal is attached to the plastic, but I'm assuming that i just need to cut the plastic  above the clamp? and purchase a new metal adapter.  I just have no idea, what that adapter would be called, and where to purchase it, and if there is a better way of taking the old one off, besides hacksawing the plastic pipe above the clamp?

Ideas?


texts: Adding a light switch inside another circuit

texts: I have three recessed lights connected in series inside of a new bathroom but would like to add a 4th above the shower stall for some extra lighting. Is it ok to run from the currently last light on this circuit into a switch that would then control the new light or is that illegal by code? I understand that the light will only work if the 1st switch is on, which won't be an issue since it will be turned on whenever the room is in use.


texts: How can I loosen a hard-to-reach square nut whose holder is broken?

texts:
I've been attempting to disassemble a generator at work to replace the starter cord. Being a suitcase-type generator, it's proved to be excessively painstaking. However, it's almost apart - I just have one bolt holding the remaining cover onto the generator. Unfortunately, I can't get the bolt undone.

The bolt is a fairly standard hex bolt, with the head on the outside of the generator. I can get a socket over the bolt just fine. My problem lies inside the generator with the nut, which is a square nut that's supposed to sit in a plastic holder to stop it from turning when you try to loosen the bolt. Annoyingly, the plastic holder is broken, so when I try to get the bolt out, it just results in the bolt and nut turning endlessly in the holder.

Being as the nut and holder are inside the generator, they're fairly difficult to get at - I've removed the side panel, so I have some access, but it's fairly limited. There's enough space to get a screwdriver in onto the top of the nut, but not much more - certainly not enough to get a socket or spanner or pliers onto the nut.

I should also note that this bolt will require significant torque to get started - it's been tightened by a power tool of some sort (no idea what); our rather limited selection of power tools don't have enough torque to do the job. It is possible to do by hand, with some effort - I've got the other bolts off - but this does mean that whether I'm trying to turn the bolt or keep the nut in place, it takes a lot of force.

A liberal application of WD40 hasn't helped; nor has any other combination of tools I've managed to come up with. What else can I do to get this bolt off?


texts: Can I have a shared exhaust flue for a high efficiency furnace and tankless water heater?

texts:
I recently purchased and am installing a 96% efficiency two-stage gas furnace. The old unit was an 80% efficiency unit using a 4" metal flue. This flue merges the exhaust of both the hot water heater and the old furnace.

With the new furnace however, I need to switch to 2" PVC and I am unable to connect this to the metal exhaust as the condensate created by the higher efficiency furnace is corrosive and will cause the exhaust flue to rust and create a carbon monoxide hazard.

As it so happens, however, I have been wanting to upgrade to a tankless hot water heater. I am aware that there are condensing and non-condensing tankless models, and that the condensing models also use 2" PCV.

Would it be safe to join the exhausts similar to the old setup with this configuration? Or do I need to run two separate exhausts? If I can merge the exhausts of these two appliances, Do I need to go larger above the y joint? How large? Would 3" be sufficient?


texts: How can I tell where the other end of the conduit is?

texts:
We have a house with a lot of 2-prong outlets I'd like to replace.  They're all fed by conduits.  Multiple people (in real life and online) have told me that replacing them is easy:  "Just fish the new cable through the conduit," or, "tie the old cable to the new cable and pull it out."

However, I can't do either of these things if I don't know which conduit-openings belong to the same length of conduit.  The conduit out of all of the electrical boxes simply go up or down, and I don't see any of it in the basement or attic (except out of the panel).  To make matters worse, almost all of the outlets in the house are on a single circuit, so they could be tied together in almost any way.

So, how can I tell where the ends of the conduit are so I can rewire my house?


texts: Multiple light switches on single recessed light

texts:
Amateur basement remodeler here and learning as I make progress, but I had a question for all of the electrical professionals out there to see if someone can give me some pointers.
So before I begin explaining things, here is a picture for reference:

Red: The light switch it on top of the stairs upstairs and controls that one single light bulb.
Yellow: This used to be a standard light switch with a similar light bulb to the left but I switched it out for a dimmer and a recessed light which I'm linking in other places in the basement.

Question:
The Blue line is what I was wonder, would it be possible to link a recessed light that will be to the right with the left recessed light so all of my lights are run by the dimmer or would it not be possible since the light is already connected to a switch upstairs that controls that single basement light.

Do I not use the upstairs switch and connect the lights?
Could I use a standard switch upstairs that came with the house and just keep the recessed light run by that switch (No dimming possible).
Or do I follow the left recessed light and hook it up to the right one and let both the dimmer and the switch run that single light.

All help would be appreciated!


texts: When is service connection completed for water / sewer for new construction?

texts: Is it after Final Inspection that the lines are run from the house to the street? I'd like to hire a contractor for the service connection portion and need to know at what point in the process this is done. I'm in the US.


texts:
.

The entryway has started to detach from my home.  On one side is the entryway and the other a small room.  The floors have started to slant.  One side is worse than the other and one side has started to detach and not he other.  We called a foundation company to repair it.  They came out to repair it and found that there was no footing underneath so, the couldn't do anything.  They referred us to a cement company.  The cement company came out to look at everything.  They were supposed to call us with an estimate but. We never heard from them.  I have posted the information about my issue on several sites that help find contractors and nothing.  Is this typical for the type of job that needs to be done.  Where do you start.  Are we supposed to be looking for a cement company or someone else.  We can't seem to be able to find one.  Our Michigan home was built in 1937.  Any suggestions.


texts:
I am planning to make my own DIY whiteboard, so I was thinking about the type of plastic I will use. I found out that PMMA and PC is way too expensive for my first DIY whiteboard, so I am considering trying ou it with PP, PVC, PS or PETG first. Which of these would you choose? Will it be dry erasable?
Thanks very much.


texts: Can you use a standard joist hanger connect lumber to an i-joist if I add stiffeners?

texts: I know they sell tabbed hangers for this but they want like $20 each for them. Just wondering how else people do this. Picture: I am in the middle of re-doing this and still need to remove the other header.


texts:
I opened the case of my Sthil MS311 chainsaw and found a recessed screw in the case, but I cannot find where it came from (saw wrench head for scale).  It seems to be a something used to hold liquid, because of the rubber gasket.  The saw ran fine for a long time (about a year).  It's been acting up lately, not sure if this is the cause.  By acting up, I mean it starts fine, but it seems like the chain isn't getting enough bar oil, causing the chain to bind up.
I searched though the parts list on the usual sites, but cannot find it.
Any idea what it is and where it goes?


texts:
Today, I replaced the exhaust fan in my laundry room. I didn't realize that there is an insulated HVAC duct right next to the exhaust fan in the ceiling. As I was wrestling the old fan out, I tore a 3 inch long slit in the duct. It did tear all the way through, and I can poke my finger into the inside of the duct.
Note the the duct I tore is for the heating and air conditioning system. My exhaust fan duct was not harmed. Also, the location of the duct is in the ceiling between the first floor and the second floor (it is not in an attic).
As a temporary fix, I put some Nashua foil tape over the slit in the duct. I turned the furnace on and used my hand to verify that no air is escaping from the slit. Though, with the furnace on, the foil tape was slightly warmer than the rest of the duct. (No surprise - the foil tape is a much worse insulator than an insulated duct.)
Anyway, my question is: if I don't want my duct to leak, is it important that I do a more elaborate fix? Is the foil tape likely to come off on its own?
The more elaborate fix I am thinking about doing is to buy some insulated ducting material, put it over the foil tape that I already put on the duct, and then wrap more tape all the way around the circumference of the duct.
P.S. This is approximately the type of insulated ducting in my ceiling:


texts:
I was passing by a home, and noted that the garage flooring had a shiny vinyl coating, looking as if it were waterproof.

Does anyone know of this product used? And how long it lasts.


texts: Central heating/cooling system heating unevenly

texts:
I have just had a new 3.5 ton central air and heating unit installed. The main vent is located in the hallway right next to the middle bedroom.

When I turn the unit on to heat my home the heat in all of the rooms are distributed evenly but the heat in the middle bedroom distribution is much hotter than in the other rooms in my home. How can I makes the adjustments so that it's not so hot in that middle bedroom.


texts: Is there a code for the minimum width of a closet door? I've always assumed it was 24 inches. Or is it determined by the square footage of the closet?


texts: Leaking hose connections for washing machine

texts: brand new washer G.E. when hook up hoses to inside hot and cold taps with included washers water sprays everywhere. The house is a log house therefore the taps are positioned at an angle not straight down. Not sure if this is an issue ? Any tips would be appreciated.


texts: Silicone use to bond wood boards at high temperature?

texts:
I'm in a composites manufacturing class, and I'm looking to make a one-off carbon fiber mountain biking handlebar from prepreg.

As I don't want to invest in the metal needed to make a proper mold, I'm experimenting with using quarter-sawn oak to hopefully prevent too much warping with the heat. I need to glue some of the boards together to get a thick enough mold, and the mold has to be able withstand roughly 300 F curing temperature for the carbon fiber.

Would a high temp silicone gasket work?

Would it be able to withstand the temperature as well as roughly 50-100 psi of internal force from the bladder without separating?


texts: I Don't know how I can I make my kitchen sink drain down pipe intersect with the "p" trap?

texts:
I have replaced my kitchen counter top and sink, The new drain is in a different position. The drain down pipe does not run into the "p" trap at a straight vertical, no matter what I do with the other elbows and pipes it is just not able to connect properly and maintain a straight vertical. I am temporarily using a flex down pipe, its not at all a permanent solution.
What can I do?


texts: does an inside the cabinet outlet need gfci?

texts:
I have an outlet inside a base cabinet that powers the downdraft for the cooktop.
It trips the gfci on the counter from which it is fed.
Can I feed this cabinet outlet which only serves the downdraft without gfci protection?


texts: Should I use silicone caulk on the side of a deck ledger?

texts:
I have a deck ledger attached to the rim joist (the vinyl siding was cut away), and some flashing above the ledger.  On the side of the ledger there is a gap between the end of the 2x10, and the siding.  I was going to put a j-channel trim piece on the siding:

I would then use silicone caulk to basically fill in the space between the edge of the vinyl and the ledger so water can't make it in there. Is this a good idea?

I can't seem to find much information about how to flash the end of the ledger.  One post here didn't quite cover how to fill in a 1/4 to 1/2 in gap.

Also I was going to caulk the nails on the joist hangers, they had to be 3 inches long so they went through the house wrap.


texts:
I'm going out on a limb posting here, but I'm really at a loss. I live in an apartment, built roughly 30 years ago. In the last two weeks I've had to call maintenance as I've lost hot water. Each time, he fixes it I can hear the gas start and then we have hot water shortly after. However, by the end of the day the hot water disappears, and by the next day there is none to be found. It seems like there is a problem with the water heater communicating that more water needs to be heated, but I'm not particularly handy in this respect.

I don't think our maintenance guy knows what he's doing, he assured me last time the hot water wouldn't go away again. But, surely enough, it did by the end of the day. It's not actually that big of a deal, I can deal with a cold shower, so there is no rush. I would like to have hot water eventually, though.

Is this something I can fix on my own? If so, what should I be looking for? Or should I break down and call a different maintenance guy? I've attached a picture of the heater for reference, to see if anything stands out as blatantly "wrong". Please beware that I'm new here, if another picture is needed, let me know.


texts:
Tenants have broken out wood where an exterior door should receive the doorknob latch.  There's nowhere to attach the strike plate.

What's the right way to fix this?
The depth of this piece of wood appears to be 1.5 inches, so it's probably a 2x4 or 2x6.

Do I cut out a few inches of wood and replace with 2x4?
Do I try to rebuild the section with wood putty, or Durham's Rock Hard, or something like that?  I fear the screws for the strike plate wouldn't hold if I tried that.

This seems like a common enough repair, but I don't want to have to come back to this over and over due to improper technique.


texts:
I want to replace an old deadbolt and handle on my front door, and most of the replacement sets at big-box home improvement stores are the easy-rekey kind. Kwikset's SmartKey seems better executed than Schlage's SecureKey, because you can rekeyable it yourself without having to cut a special key. An employee at Lowe's said Schlage is discontinuing this feature altogether, so I think it's best to avoid those.

My concern is that I've seen lots of discussion online about these Kwikset locks being unreliable. Some people say they are easily picked, and some say the locks spontaneously rekey themselves and leave people locked out.

Is it worth buying one of these locks, or am I better off with a "standard" lock? I don't especially care about being able to rekey the lock myself, I just want a good quality lock that I can install myself.


texts: How to re-attach old bathroom floor tiles

texts:
Many of the old tiles on my bathroom floor are simply coming loose. See the attached photo. The land-lord is not prepared to replace them with new ones and I can't afford to do that myself, so I am looking for a relatively simple/newbie way to re-attach them to the concrete that lays beneath.

In plain English, I need to know what glue/adhesives/products to use, what steps to take and any mistakes I should avoid.


texts: Do I need to replace the junction box when changing LED downlight

texts:
I have 4 LED downlights in my bedroom that I want to swap out for some internet enabled ones.
I wasn't the one to install them so I don't know the make/model of them.
I took one out to have a look and they connect like the one shown below (same white connector and junction box), but I can't get the junction box out to check a brand or anything.
Question: If I get different light with the same connector, could I simply unplug the current ones and replace them without installing a new box, or is that not possible?


texts: My assumption is that it's so they don't roll away.  But if a carpenter spends the majority of his/her day working on a flat surface, a regular pencil wouldn't seem to have the tendency to get away from them.


texts: How far from the kitchen sink can a vent pipe be?

texts:
We live in a 1960's single floor concrete slab house with concrete block interior/exterior walls. We had to replace the pipes under the slab in the kitchen and currently still have the floor torn up waiting for better weather to start the floor repair process. The thought occurred to me about putting in an additional vent to help with the constant clogging/blocking issues we always had and the previous owners always fought with (plumbers always blamed it on poor venting). The sink is on an outside concrete wall and currently has a PVC Air Admittance Valve. The nearest "Aesthetically" safe area to put a roof vent in is about 10ft away across the room, and about 15ft away from the 4" main. This sink is the only item on this drain line to the 4" main. The pantry in the picture runs from floor to ceiling and there is an existing clean out we would wye off of for the vent. All plumbing from the trap to the 4" is 1.5".

Would this help or make a difference in the plumbing situation for this run? A vent from the sink area would either need to go through the counter top and a cabinet or out the concrete wall and up the back of the house, through a soffit and then roof right next to our back door.


texts: I have moisture and a moldy smell in my attic. I had someone come out and open up the eaves and soffets more.  It did seem to help but I still have some smell and some moisture. I have insulation on the floor of the attic and also on the sides, but perhaps not enough on the wall next to my bedroom.


texts: Do Brock PaverBase mats make pavers hotter?

texts:
Would Brock PaverBase mats make pavers hotter because they do not allow the pavers to dissipate the heat to the sand below them? I'm wondering if these mats would be bad to use on a pool deck?

http://www.brockpaverbase.com/paver-base-installation/


texts: Is there an advantage to cutting joints in concrete rather than tooling them?

texts:
There were a few concrete driveways poured in my neighborhood this year. The contractor (largest in the area) took, what I always thought was, an unconventional approach to the joints.  Typically, I would expect them to pour the concrete, and then tool the joints in.  This company poured the driveways on one day, then returned a day later to cut the joints in with saws.

Is there some advantage to cutting the joints, as opposed to tooling them?


texts: Does "No more nails" grip strongly enough to hold soffit vents in place while it is setting?

texts: I need to fix some soffit vents to a UPVC soffit, due do the fitness of the UPVC soffit the vents tend to fall out.  Will “No more nails” grip strongly enough to keep them in place until it sets?


texts: All of the home wiring diagrams that I have seen online show outlets wired in a sequential chain. Is there a problem with having outlets on spurs originating in a junction box, as shown in the attached diagram? Looking at my house wiring in the basement, I notice that some of the living rooms sockets and all of the bedroom sockets are on spurs originating in a junction box.


texts: I am installing tile directly to plywood. It is for a bar, foot rest area approximately 7 inches wide. what is thr easiest, cheapest way to accomplish. Wont be wet, wont be walked on, more for looks than anything


texts: Basic instructions for building a cabinet?

texts:
I've been asked to make a cabinet, (basically a box with doors). It will be 3 1/2' long x 4'high (2-2'sections)x 2' deep. I have 12" boards planed down to 3/4" width.

What is the best way to join them? There will be a centered inside shelf and two sets of doors (upper section and lower section).

I'm having trouble getting started because I don't have a plan. It's hard for me to work without one.


texts: How do I turn up the water pressure to my kitchen sink?

texts:
A while ago I had a "professional" contracted through a major company install a hot water heater in the basement: well the hot water heater works fine but the "professional" managed to turn the water pressure to my kitchen sink to a low trickle coming out of the hot water and a slightly more stronger flow from the cold. I cannot run my portable dishwasher let alone do too many dishes at once. I use to have great water pressure before this guy came along. I have checked both dials under the sink and they are all the way turned up..... I do not know exactly what this man did; all I know is he had an attitude problem, wrecked my front screen door, and left a mess in the basement.

My house was built in 1958 but before I moved in they did some major renovations including all new plumbing (minus the hot water heater).

Can anyone tell me what I need to do to turn the water pressure up to my kitchen sink so I can run my portable dishwasher?

Please let me know what other information I can provide that would help solve the problem if need be.


texts: How can I anchor something in the gaps between the bricks or rocks of a fireplace without damaging the masonry?

texts:
I want to hang fireplace tools next to my fireplace without damaging the stone work.   I don't want to drill into it.

The stones have mortar between them with gaps about half an inch wide:

I have nearly half an inch of depth to work with:

I would like to be able to put some sort of tension screw between those rocks that I could then hang something on.    My plan is to use two such locations and use them to anchor a row of hooks on a board.  All in all, it would have to hold about 20 pounds of fireplace tools.

Despite spending a bunch of time on Google, I wasn't able to find any hardware that would suit my needs.    The closest I could come up with are "cap nuts" which I might be able to tighten in place if I put something rubbery on the end first:

What kind of hardware should I be looking for and how does it work?


texts: Kenmore Power Miser 9 Water Heater turned off on its own and has become incredibly hard to reignite

texts:
This week my 7 year old water heater turned off 3 times and it has become incredibly hard to reignite the pilot light.

Here are the observations:

When I press the red "RESET" button, I hear consistent hissing sound. Which probably means that gas to ignite pilot is getting there.
When I press the "IGNITE" button I see the spark. But 99% of the time the spark does not ignite gas.
May be a coincidence, but if pilot does light up and if I release the red RESET button too soon, the pilot light simply goes off. If I keep the red button pressed the pilot light keeps burning.
Another observation that may be a coincidence is that if pilot lit up and went out (as described in #3 when I release red button too soon), then I usually have to wait 1 hour or so before pilot ignites again.

Since ignition spark and gas appear to be there, then does this mean that lack of oxygen is preventing pilot from lighting up? Or could this still be something else? At one point I saw the burner light become orange, but it changed color back to blue.


texts: Switch power between two appliances or power strips?

texts:
I am constantly having to unplug my computer's power strip to plug in my portable AC unit, both because only one will fit into the one available plug I have and because the AC unit claims it can draw up to 13 amps, and I don't want to try and run it and the computer gear on the same 20 amp circuit.

Is there some kind of switch I can get to split the power from the outlet in two, but that only energizes one output at a time? Then instead of un-plugging and re-plugging things constantly, I could just flip the switch.

I could just chain both loads on a normal 15 amp power strip, but that sounds like an easy way to push a power strip beyond its rated current limit.


texts: How does one fire short staples into hard wood?

texts:
I find myself caught in the middle here.

My old electric staple gun will fire 1/4" staples but it's not capable of fully setting them because part of the target is some pretty hard wood.  The shortest staples I can find for my pneumatic gun are 1/2" and would go clear through and stick out the front.

Is there an answer or do I simply replace the tape the last guy to tackle this used?


texts:
I need to install a ceiling fan. I uninstalled the old one. there are 5 wires. and I was expecting just 3.

there are 2 white, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 gray wire.

the green wire and one of the white wires have the medal part.

also they both connected to the brown wire using the connector.

From this pic, you can see blue and gray wires connected to the big gray wire. white wire (without metal part) connected to the big white wire. and green and white wires (both has metal) connected to the brown wire.

First question, I need to find the grounding wire. Is that green one the ground wire? Is it safe to strip off the metal part.

second question I need find a black wire. however I only have blue and gray.  which one I should use?


texts: Bedroom 10 degrees colder than rest of floor!

texts:
I'm at my wits end. I just moved into a new (for me) 2 story house (1998) that has some weird heating issues.
The house is about 3200 sqft the upstairs is heated by a furnace located in the attic. its an Amana AMH80453ax 2 stage variable speed gas furnace. there are 4 bedrooms upstairs all supplied by this furnace.

Here is the issue: Our master bedroom is regularly 10 degrees colder than the set thermostat temperature and the rest of the upstairs. BUT not all the time. This is with all the doors open between rooms. A few other important notes -- Our bonus room is on the 2nd floor and is heated by the downstairs unit. This room is regularly 5 degrees warmer than the stated thermostat. The downstairs furnace is a self contained A/C/Furnace outside and the duct work is in the crawl space. I live in Tennessee. Also, based on my amateur analysis the air coming out of the vents upstairs is not very warm and normally "feel" of low volume. I have checked the duct work several times and it seems to be fine without any leaks/ no dampers blocking the flow. Clean filter. The master bedroom is not over the garage or has attic stairs. The windows are the same in this room as the rest of the house.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


texts:
After removing an old bathroom floor in a historic structure, in order to sister joists for a level surface to install new subfloor, we found that one of the original floor joists was notched, and then cut, by previous owner in order to run drains. We're redoing all of the plumbing, but this is a question about the joist.

How would we fix this? You'll see in my pics that previous owner/worker tried to brace this between two joists with a 2x4. I don't trust it.

How would you fix this the right way?


texts: What is this pipe sticking out of the ground?

texts: This is connected to my sprinkler system. It has a crack in the side and leaks when the water to the sprinkler system is turned on, even when the sprinkler system isn’t running. Does anyone know what it is, and if I can fix it by repairing the pipe or if there is an issue somewhere else in the system?


texts: Gypsum and ........... Equals drywall mud?

texts: What can I add to gypsum to make drywall "mud"? I have a whole bag of gypsum for my garden, is that the same type to make "mud"? Also, is tape need to use mud? And what is the dry time on something like that? I'm looking to fix various nail holes before painting and this atrosity .


texts: We have hot and cold water in all our mixer taps except one, in the bathroom one works the other is only cold. Could the problem be the tap? It is 36 months old, and this has just started happening. Whichever way we open the tap, we get only cold water. If we open the bidet tap, it runs hot, then we turn it off, and there is a short burst of hot water through the sink tap - which then runs cold!We have checked for cal build up - none, tightened up braided hoses, which worked 3 times to fire boiler up, then stopped working again. All taps and shower are Roca.


texts: Does a replacement propane supply line have to be made of a special material?

texts: One of the propane rubber hoses in a portable generator has cracked and broken in several spots while the other one is in fine condition. As a stop gap a washing machine supply line was cut and used. Is there something about the propane that requires a special kind of material for the hose?


texts:
I currently have a receptacle/switch combination (the switch controls a light, the receptacle is hot with the switch on or off) with two black wires and one white wired, and ground, coming from the box connected to curren combo switch as follows:

ground wire from box to receptacle ground.
black wire from box to brass screw on one side of receptacle.
white wire from box to brass screw on same side of receptacle.
black wire from box to slver screw (painted black) on other side of receptacle (Other silver screw is also painted black, but is not used).

Note: it is very difficult to determine where the wires come from before entering the box.

The new GFCI receptacle switch combo has 2 back wires coming out of the receptacle case, ground screw, 2 brass screws and 2 silver screws.  A piece of tape covers one of the brass screws and one of the silver screws.

How do I replace the old switch/receptacle with the new switch/GFCI receptacle?


texts: Replacing a bathvanity light with multiple fixtures

texts: I am replacing an eight bulb lighting strip in my bathroom with two LED four lamp strips and adding three small LED recessed cans.  The old strip when I bought the house, used 8 60 watt bulbs.  Two of the three LED recessed fixtures are 50 watt equivalents drawing 5.5 watts per fixture, the third 6.5.  Each of the four bulb LED replacement strips pulls 23 watts.  I ran the wire tested and have current at all five connection points. When I started the project I inadvertently grounded the switch and tripped the breaker.  Since I was replacing it anyway no big deal.  When I connected the fixtures the circuit popped both with the original and new switch. The wire coming off the switch is 14g and I ran all the new wiring using 12.  Is the wire the problem or am I missing something else?


texts: Can I fill the upper void in an I-beam laid on its side as a seawall with concrete?

texts: We have a steel seawall that is capped by a steel H-beam approx 2ft wide with a "lip" on each side of about 4 inches deep.  The metal is approx 1/2in thick.  We would like to fill the beam level with concrete to make a walkway.  We are concerned about rainwater getting under the concrete and freeze/thaw issues.  The beam does not have any drain holes and is basically level -- drilling drain holes is possible but difficult due to thickness of beam.  Can we just pour concrete to fill?  Do we need to drill drain holes? Should we coat the beam with something before concrete?  Should we utilize foam spacers along the "lip" and seal them after concrete hardens?


texts: How would I disable my range oven's timer?

texts:
I have an old Magic Chef range oven that looks like this:

When the range oven is plugged in, the timer starts at 1:59. The timer beeps when that length of time has elapsed. I fiddled with the timer buttons and tried every possible configuration, but the only way to stop the timer is to 1) reset the timer to 1:59, or 2) unplug the range oven.

Is there any way to disable the timer permanently? Perhaps by taking it apart, or some other workaround?

A label on the oven door indicates a number of 8114p351-60, if that helps.


texts: Is it ok to screw those red utility hooks into wall studs, or should I use a crossbar between two studs?

texts: So, I'm hanging my tools in my garage, the wall is unfinished so I have direct access to studs. I'm using red utility hooks very much like the one pictured below to hang shovels, rakes, a few electric yard tools, etc. The screw end of the hook is probably between a quarter to half an inch wide, so drilling holes and screwing it in takes about 1/3 out of the stud material. Should I instead be installing cross beams between the vertical studs (Make something like an H between the studs) and screw the hook into that?


texts: Branch circuit sizing for 5 HP 3-phase 230 V motor run on 208 V?

texts:
If I'm reading NEC 430 Part III correctly, a 5 HP, 230 V, 3-phase motor with 12.8 A full-load current needs a 16 A circuit (125% of full-load current). So, 12 ga wire with a 20 A breaker should do. The 12 ga THHN wire has an ampacity of 30 A, derated for 7-9 conductors makes it 21 A, so that should be more than adequate, right?

I’m looking to run service for this dust collector. It quotes 12.2 FLA, but looking at a Leeson motors list, I found 12.0, 12.8, and 15 FLA for various 5 HP 3-phase motors.

But my service is 208 V 3-phase. Does that change anything?


texts:
The old fan has terminals for switched live, neutral and permanent live.
The new one only has terminals for switched live and neutral.
Can I just cap the permanent live?


texts: How would one solve this tub-length issue?

texts:
We have a 1 3/4" bath situation in our house.  Like many 1970's ranch style homes, the floorplan's master has only a single vanity, toilet, and shower.  The guest bathroom, which is attached to one of the bedrooms, has a tub (likely because that's where the kids would be.)
The original floorplan design called for 3 bedrooms.  Ours is actually two, where the "master" is actually smaller than the space that's opened up by removing the partitioning wall that made the 2nd, and 3rd bedrooms.  So, in short, our master is not really a master, and the 2 bedrooms that are now one serve as the master for us.  Consequently, it is where the full bath is and we don't need a bathtub in the master bath.  To complicate things, that makes our master bathroom the guest bathroom when we entertain.  Bleh.
Knowing all of that, we were considering swapping moving the tub to the "master" and the shower to where the bath is.
Hurdles
Drain Location:
For the current bathtub location, we can simply adapt by installing a linear drain with a curb-less shower.  For the new location, the drain is off the walls by about 13", so we'll need to either re-plumb, or elevate the tub and run the pipes under.
Bigger Issue and Question:
Where the tub is going, we have studs on the faucet end, and block wall on the opposite end.  The distance from the block wall to the stud is 61".  We need to insulate the block wall with 1" foam and then add 3/4" furring strips for the drywall, and then 1/2" X 2 backer board or drywall.
So, that's 2 3/4" eaten up from the available rough opening, reducing the available finished space to 58 1/4".
Would it make sense to put a 54" tub in this space?  If so, what would I do to frame out that anomaly and not have it look like garbage?
The wall will be tiled above the bath.


texts:
Looking for suggestions to adjust our shower door that is no longer closing. The top corner is hitting the exterior frame.

It's a frameless door with a continuous screw-less hinge. I haven't been able to identify this specific type of door through the googler.

Questions:
- Can anybody identify the actual name of this hinge?

Do you know of a good DIY video for this door / hinge type?

Thanks for any help or advice.


texts: How do I repair a broken garage door opener arm bracket?

texts: The bracket that connects the push arm of our garage door opener is getting ripped off from the door (see picture below). All screws, except a bolt at the top of the bracket are detached. How can I fix this if I do it myself?


texts: Can garage and porch lights be on the same switch?

texts: I am looking through electrical code trying to find out what the requirements are for light switches and switching on porch as well as garage lights when they are all on the front of the house? I would like to just have one switch to control the lights I am installing in the soffit in front of the garage and porch, and have that switch located by the front door as well as the interior mudroom door.  Is there any electrical code in terms of locating the switch the control those lights?  I know there is code about locating lights near any exterior doors, but I'm not finding anything about the switch location.


texts: How much stainblock paint to use in bedroom and where?

texts:
I'm renovating my bedroom.  On the north wall, there will be freestanding cabinets (wardrobes) against the wall; all interior walls except to the right (east) which is exterior.  There's no previous staining visible here.  It's some kind of masonry block material; not cinder block but vaguely similar.  Should I put a coat of stainblock paint on the inside of the exterior wall, as a preventative measure, all over?  The outside temperature here gets down to -10 C / +14 F.  There's no room to leave a large gap around the cabinets.
On a different part of the east wall, there is some discoloration due to previous mold.  I've treated it, but I'm thinking of putting one coat of stainblock over the discoloration, then another coat over the whole wall.  The same for the south wall.  Both of these are exterior walls.
Is using more stainblock paint than is absolutely needed a problem?
(I'm going to keep this question open for at least 24 hours so everyone has a chance to answer.)


texts: American cockroach. Can it climb on the water pipes to the apartment(flat) at fourth floor?

texts:
We have recently this ugly and very disgusting thing at home - american cockroach, and I have no idea where they may come from. I don't have any holes at walls of my apartment, and all our windows are closed with anti-mosquitoes net. Is it really possible they may come from the water pipes of the kitchen or bathroom?

Thanks!

Katherine


texts: Converting housing stairs to open treads

texts: I am in the middle of a remodel. I'm looking for ideas on how to cut the outer to make this open tread [under stairs left side stringer stringer


texts: Well pipe leaking at where pipe comes to the house. (Images, Video)

texts:
so here's my problem here:

Well pipe leaking - images
Well pipe leaking - video

^ This was recorded march 28-th (so during spring thaw). Since it wasn't dripping since the spring - my assessment is the leakage was not from the well-pipe itself but rather by hydrostatic pressure caused by high water table resulting from the thaw perhaps?

Anyway - you can see previous owners hack repair attempts with multiple layers of what seems to be a roofing cement, insulation spray foam and what looks like a silicone caulking.

Questions:

a) How do I fix it for good? I don't mind excavating and redoing the whole thing.
b) Are there any well-pipe casings you can recommend?
c) If I drill a new hole through concrete - how do I waterproof that?


texts: How to reduce heating of cold water pipes in the ceiling space?

texts:
On a hot day our kitchen cold tap, if it hasn't been run for a while, will produce water at a temperature up to around 50-55 degrees C shortly after it is turned on. We haven't measured the exact temperature, but it's too hot to keep our hands in it.

Our house is only a few months old, so we had the plumber check the cause (in case the hot water pipes were too close, or similar) but the heat just appears to be from the ambient heat in the ceiling space, which the water pipes go through. I believe the plumber has since put some lagging around the pipe, but it hasn't prevented the problem.

Adding extra insulation around the pipe will obviously reduce the severity of the problem. What is the best type of insulation to use, and are there any techniques I can apply to get the best result? Is there anything else (within a sensible budget) that we can do?


texts: 3 wire heating system, has 3 unused wires with 16v, can any be used as a common wire?

texts:
I hopefully have a quick question. I am thinking of getting a Ecobee or Nest smart thermostat, but doing my checks/research before getting one for this house. I rent, so I can only do minimal changes.

The current system is a heating only system, and only has a W, G, and Rh wire connected (with a jumper between Rh and Rc) in the thermostat. The  cable used has 3 other unconnected wires, Yellow, Blue, and Brown. Since I don't have a common wire, I was curious to see if any of the other wires happen to be connected. I used a voltimeter to check each one. Using the Rh wire as the pair.

If I connect the G and Rh, i get 27v.
If I connected the Yellow, Blue, or Brown unconnected cable, I get 16 volts.

So I am curious, can any of these 3 wires be used as is for a common wire. They have voltage going through them, just not the full 24volts that a normal common wire has.

The furnace, is under the house in a very tight crawl space, and i have a very hard time getting close to it. I did see it was made by Bryant. I can get closer to it, but didn't have a lot of time making my way to it in a half crouch. It looked fairly newish. Definitely in the last 10 years, or at least looks like it. Obviously once I can get to the furnace, I can just see where the cables terminate. I believe its also a Gas furnace.

I just wanted to see if I could skip all that hassle and deduce everything from just the voltimeter readings.

Anyone have any ideas? I did a search, but none of the other questions were quite what I am asking for.


texts: Fitting a thermostatic valve onto a towel rail

texts: I've got a towel rail in my bathroom that is heated from my combi boiler. I'd like to fit a TRV to the towel rail. Is there any reason why I shouldn't do that? Should I buy a specific type of TRV, or would any TRV do the job?


texts: I am interested in removing the faux fireplace in my living room and replacing it with one more in the right style for my house.  I didn't own the house when it was installed, so I'm not sure if it's one big piece, or how it is actually attached.  I think the top is enameled cast iron and the rest is brickwork.  Has anybody else dealt with this?  Although it is not to my taste it is in good condition so ideally I would like to remove it without damaging it so I could sell it to a local restoration shop.  The surrounding walls are plaster, so there is the additional concern of any heavy demo causing collateral damage.


texts: Can I change my standard thermostat to a Wifi one?

texts:
I have a (quite standard) TR-010X T6360A thermostat that looks like this:

And this is the wiring diagram:

Can I install the Heatmiser PRT-TS WiFi Touchscreen Programmable Thermostat? This is the wiring:


texts:
I wish to build a shed, but the location I want to use has an overhead power cable running from the utility pole to the neighbor's house.  The line has about 12' of clearance from the ground.

Is there a minimum clearance for overhead lines over a shed? Or is the site just not feasible?


texts: How can I automatically open/close window blinds?

texts:
I live in an apartment where I cannot change anything. I would like to have my blinds open/close via computer (any interface controllable via RPi/Arduino is fine). It's not required to also roll them up/down but would be nice.

The blinds are rolled up/down via a cord, as usual. They can be open/closed via a "stick" that's rotated. My blinds look like this:

I could image attaching a small rotating motor to the stick to open/close the blinds could do the job.

I found many solutions which require to change the blinds.
Is there a project/solution which just attaches a small machine to the wall next to the window and has an arm to open/close the blends?