texts: Did I remove more caulk then I should have at shower door frame end?

texts:
I'm in the process of recaulking a shower. In removing the old caulking, I got to where the door frame meets the wall and shower pan. There was some caulk there and it was a bit damp, so I started removing it. I quickly discovered it went deeper than I expected.

I'm worried I shouldn't have messed with it. The door frame is a U-channel, and I assumed it had something at the end to keep any accumulated water from leaking out the end and instead exit at the weep holes. But now that the old silicone is removed, I'm concerned the only thing that was doing that was the silicone caulk, which I've removed some of. This picture shows the current state.

What should I do? Removing and reinstalling the door frame is beyond my DIY-level. Is it ok to just recaulk and be sure to squeeze in enough in the gap to cover the area well?

Here are a few more pics, zoomed out to give context and also of the other side. On the other side, there actually was a bit of gap between the tile and shower pan, and you can see a small amount of caulking there that started coming out. If it matters, this is a second floor bathroom, so my paranoia about water damage into the subfloor is heightened.


texts: How can I control 2 lights with 2 switches so that both lights can't be on at the same time?

texts:
My bathroom has 2 lights, each with its own switch.

I want to know if it is possible to make it so both lights cannot be on at the same time either by rewiring my current setup or replacing the switches with something else.

If it helps, I'm in Virginia, USA.


texts: Liftmaster garage door opens fine from remote but won't open at main button

texts:
My main button doesn't work by the door but my remote is working fine to open and close my garage door. I took off the main button and touched the wires together it still didn't work. The button has a light that just keeps flashing green. The garage door opener is flashing a code 3-2, 3 up 2 down.
The website says this about a code 3-2: "Garage door opener lost power: Check outlet the outlet for power. Run the opener open and close to clear the error code."
Help fixing this would be greatly appreciated.
Eric


texts: Is it safe to clear out a garbage disposal with a hand?

texts: I have seen a couple websites, such as this one, which strongly advise against putting one's hand into a garbage disposal, in order to clear it out.  If the garbage disposal is turned off, is there really much risk in doing so?  It seems that some disposals do not even have very sharp blades.


texts: Where to connect the c wire for a gas HW boiler (heat only) w/Wi-Fi Thermostat

texts:
I recently purchased a new Thermostat with Wi-Fi capabilites for use in one zone of a two zone baseboard hot water heating system.

I pulled the existing thermostat (stat) to look at the wiring and only two wires were connected to the old stat, namely a red and white wire.  However, there was a thrird green wire that was wrapped around the existing wiring that was unused on both the stat end and also at the boiler.

I believe that the unused green wire can be used as a c wire in the exisiting setup.  I located the transformer and there looks to be both a terminal with an R next to it and one with a C next to it.

I've added a couple pictures of the wiring at the boiler.  It seems each white wire runs to the respective zone valves (zone 1 and zone 2) and then are joined together to return to the R terminal on the transformer.  The red wire from the stat is connected to the C terminal on the transformer (2 red wires - one each respective zone/stat).

Is the correct place to connect the green wire at the C terminal of the transformer where the two red wires also connect?


texts: Cloudy white film spots on surface of stone sealer

texts: After sealing a stone tile surface outdoors, these white cloudy spots appeared within a day or two. They appear more frequently near the grout than the tile, but not exclusively. What caused this, and what can I do to clean it up, if anything?


texts: How to extend ductwork a few feet due to soffit

texts:
I built a soffit around my ductwork in the basement. There was originally air vents coming out of the ductwork to heat/cool the basement. However, with the addition of the soffit, the vents are now about a foot away from the soffit wall. I've added pictures to show my situation.

How do I extend my ductwork? I've tried to find things online but can't find anything that I think would work.


texts: How can I install an electrical panel when the stud cavity is too narrow?

texts:
I am installing a sub panel in my garage and ran into a problem.

I have the usual 14" of space in the stud cavity but the problem is that the subpanel I bought is 14 1/4" wide. I'm wondering what the best option is to get it to fit.

My first thought was to notch one of the studs 1/4" (or both of them 1/8") since its so close to fitting. This is an interior wall of the garage so I dont believe it is load bearing. Is notching one or more studs a bad idea? The panel is about 30" tall, so it would be a long notch...

What other options do I have? Should I just return the panel and try to find a narrower one?


texts: What post size should I use for a 20'x24' deck

texts: My deck is 20' by 24'.  Should we use 6x6 posts or 4x4 posts?  Which will look better on such a large deck?


texts: To lap or not to lap underlayment over concrete

texts:
I am installing engineered hardwood flooring over concrete slab below grade in the basement.  The flooring installation instructions mention that if using 6-mil poly underlayment, it should be lapped up the wall, but not touching sheetrock.  However, I'm using a 2-in-one underlayment (vapor barrier as well as a bit of foam cushioning), and the instructions for that don't mention lapping, they say to just cut to the size of the room.  Some other random sources have mentioned lapping 6-mil up so far that it's hidden by the base molding (so it's definitely touching sheetrock).

What's the deal?  From what I understand, all of the barriers are meant to block moisture coming from below.  Lapping makes sense for creating a more complete "seal", but it makes sense that if it touches sheetrock, then condensation could travel from the barrier to the drywall.  The instructions I've seen that say not to lap are implying that rather than blocking the moisture at the edges, this instead gives it some room to evaporate.

Does anybody have a definitive answer?


texts: Neutral wire is tied to my electric metal box, why is it so?

texts:
I have this old Depard switch box in my patio.

Originally, I wanted to 'add' a receptacle in my old Despard switch 'array' stack. Now I am puzzled and afraid of doing that because I found out that the original 'neutral' wire was tied/screwed to the electrical metal box, and of course, there was no ground wire installed.

Some outlets in my house are not grounded. (though I see long tails grounded wires coming off the house to the pipes outside of my house). I just don't know why isn't the entire house grounded.

Q1: Is it safe if I just leave the 'neutral' wire screwed to the box like before? (because I am afraid that I couldn't install a receptacle)

Q2: If I wire the 'neutral'(silver) and 'hot' (gold) to the new receptacle (bottom position), will it work?

Q3: If Q2's answer is yes, then do I need to ground the new switch?

Q4: Should I wrap that lonely neutral wire so it won't touch the metal box?  I just couldn't figure out why would my previous owner 'ground' a neutral wire?

Thank you very much. right now, unless I fully understand what is going on, I don't want to install anything. My house is old, I don't want to start a fire.

Here is the inside of the switch box.


texts:
An AC tech replaced a capacitor on my AC compressor.  It cost 5X what I had paid for a generic capacitor, so when he mentioned that I would soon need some kind of starter kit I declined to have it done on the spot.  Now that I am researching, a hard start kit seems to mean that it gives the motor an extra jolt to go ahead and get it started.  A soft start would seem to be mean easing into it, but some info I find indicates that a "soft start" is actually an "extra-hard start."

If the AC compressor and fan are taking longer and longer to start, the change has been gradual.  Now that I am troubleshooting why my lights dim when the AC comes on, it does seem that maybe there is a "drag" to get it started.  Are either of these kits likely to affect the dimming, or are they strictly for the performance of the AC?

The answers I have gotten so far on HISE have educated me a lot.  I DIY whenever I can.  My experience when I do have to call a tech of any kind is that they always insist that I buy their parts at their prices.  Does this practice vary by region, or does it just depend on the guy?


texts: What solutions exist for opening and closing a window very high up?

texts:
We have a room with a high ceiling and a set of four windows.

The windows start at about 7 feet.

The person who lives in the room is not tall and currently has to use a ladder to open and close them.

They are essential for that room's ventilation so she needs to be able to open them completely. It does, however, not matter which way they open (to one of the sides, or up, or down).

What affordable approaches exist to open a window in this height, from down below?

We realize we will probably have to replace the windows in any case.

To make it even more challenging, underneath the windows is a bed so there are limits to moving sideways to open and close the window.

It would be acceptable to have only one or two windows open-able.

They have to be reasonably secure against intrusion (i.e., they need to snap shut somehow.)

What we've considered:

a lever system that leads up to the window, like so I think. Not suitable because these systems typically only tilt the window and we need it fully open (80-90°).
sliding windows - an option, but how would we slide them from below, and how can we prevent opening from outside?
an approach using a motor - an option, but we can't think of a concrete implementation.
a rope winch-like approach, with a winch opening and closing the window - interesting, but how could the window snap shut, and be opened again, from below?

Ideas would be most welcome.


texts:
I installed a new video doorbell and found that the exisiting doorbell transformer did not provide enough power.  I upgraded the transformer to a 24v40a.  When I check voltage at the doorbell wires outside I get about 25v.  As soon as I connect the doorbell and try and check the voltage I get a constantly changing reading.  I know that the doorbell is creating a load, but the reading goes from 3 up to 8 or 9, quickly changing.  The doorbell doesn't power on at all.
Any ideas?


texts: How to connect 1" PVC pipe to 1" push fitting

texts:
How do you push 1" PVC pipe into a 1" brass push fitting? It won't go in. Is a special tool needed?

UPDATE

I made a mistake. Push fittings only work with CPVC, pex or copper, not PVC.


texts: Code for how many ground wires can be under one screw on bus bar in main breaker box of residence

texts:
I am a DIYer and am in the middle of renovating my home. I want to do all of this to code, want to clean the breaker box up while I am in there, and want to try and get the final inspection done next week if possible.

I am at the point where I am connecting new home runs into my main breaker box and need some advice and info from all of you professional Electricians out there please.

I have an EATON Type BR 200 amp main breaker box that has two bus bars running down the inside of the box close to the side of the breaker box.  The bus bars are connected together and it is my understanding that this means that I can connect my ground wires and my neutral wires to either of these bus bars (either separately meaning the neutral wires on one of the bars and the grounds on the other side OR a mix of neutral and grounds on both bus bars.)

From the research that I have done online, it sounds like no matter what, you can only connect ONE Neutral Wire under one screw and cannot connect more than one neutral wire under one screw on the bus bar.  Is this correct?

So with regards to the ground wires, how many ground wires can I connect under one screw on the bus bar?  When I read the information from EATON for the breaker box I have, they say the following:

  Neutral and Ground Terminals.  The Standard terminals on grounds and neutrals are rated to accept (3) #14-#10 Cu/AI or (1) #14-4, provided the cables terminated are of the same material.  For larger cables, add-on neutral lugs may be ordered from the accessories on Page V1-T1-66.
  Note: NEC allows only one current-carrying conductor per hole on the neutrals unless otherwise noted.

I assume a current-carrying conductor would be the neutral and not the ground?


texts: What is the best way to uncover weeping holes?

texts: We just bought a house where an old man lived for 27years.  When he built the place, I doubt that he had any idea that the voids in the brick were weeping holes.  I would like to fix them, but I'm not sure the best way to do it without hurting the bricks.


texts: How do I remove plastic shelf brackets that have broken off in the hole?

texts: A shelf fell from my bookcase.  It was supported by plastic brackets.  They broke off at the face of the side of the shelf.  How do I get them out so I can put new brackets in place?


texts:
I have a Whirlpool Gold fridge, model GI6FARXXB06. It's a French door design, with the freezer on bottom, as a drawer. It has an ice maker, and water / ice through the door.

For the last several weeks, I've noticed water seeping out from around the feet. It happens intermittently, maybe every couple of days. It's not a lot of water, probably a quart (liter) at a time before I notice and clean it up.

At the same time, a sheet of ice develops in the bottom of the freezer compartment, under the drawer. It gets to 1/2" (12 mm) thick in places, maybe 3/4" (18 mm). I suspect the water seeping out around the feet is this ice melting.

I see what looks like a small stream of frozen water in the back right of the freezer compartment, from the top to the bottom. I don't see any water leaking in the fridge compartment, either under the ice maker or under the filter housing, which might be the source of that stream though.

Where might my fridge be leaking from and how can I fix it?


texts: Tool recommendation for cutting curve in tiles

texts:
I need to cut curve in a few tiles. The solution I have found is to use a Dremel rotary tool with a diamond wheel. But I have read some reviews that most recent Dremels are not the same as the ones 5-6 years before, so I am not sure whether to buy it.

Are there better alternatives for this?


texts:
I have a switch on the wall that doesn't seem to do anything. I decided to investigate by pulling the switch out and to my surprise, it was a 3-way switch with only two connections (black and white but no red wire). An even bigger surprise was that the white wire always measured live on my outlet tester regardless of the position of the switch. I figured that either the switch had failed short or the white wire was connected to live for some reason. I disconnected the switch and the white wire still tested live. I did a continuity check between the black and white wire (with the breaker off) and found that there was indeed a direct connection.

All of this explains why the switch didn't do anything. What I can't explain is why this junction box was wired like this in the first place. I've changed just about every other switch/outlet/light fixture in the house and this is the only instance I've seen of dubious electrical wiring. I'm chalking it up to an electrician's error and planning on capping the two live wires and putting an unconnected dummy switch into the wall. Does anybody have a better idea on what might be going on here or what I should do about it?


texts: what kind of drill bits are these? Trying to drill through flat side of a fence T-Post

texts:
I'm trying to drill through 1/4" hard steel. the thicker bit went through relatively easily one time, but on the second go just spins.  the thinner bit did not go far .. i think both need to be sharpened or are low grade bits. I'm doing this by hand.  Wondering if they are Cobalt, Titanium, HSS, M35, M42? likely none of these.

Basically i'm trying to drill through the flat side of a T-post. The steel is harder than a mother. Any suggestions?


texts: How do I split a 60-amp subpanel into 3 20-amp circuits?

texts:
I'm putting a 60 amp service from my main breaker to a sub-panel.

How would I separate that to 3-20amp breakers?

And what size wire do I need to run?

It is underground and 100 feet from my house.


texts: can a GFCI outlet be added to the end of a circuit? if so do you need a 3 core wire? we have tried to install with 2 core wire but it dosent seem to work


texts: I have some satin black enamel paint, after applying it I found it to be too glossy. I know you can make paint more glossy, for example by adding varnish to it, but is there a way to make it less glossy?


texts: My shower drain is epoxied, what do I do to get the drain out?

texts:
My prefab shower drain that screws in is glued with epoxy that was used to put the tile down. I've had to remove the tile and now the drain is stuck. How can I get the drain to screw down without ruining it?
The person who tiled my shower put the tile under the drain so the drain sat on top of the tile. It couldn't drain all the water. Now I have to re-tile it, but regular mortar or mastic will not stick to the shower base (RediTile brand), so an epoxy that came with the base was used.


texts: Can I use my dishwasher solely for drying?

texts:
I prefer washing dishes by hand but I want to dry them using the dishwasher. I use the Blomberg DW51600 SS dishwasher. This has an Express dry function. But when I select this function it still proceeds to perform the wash cycles before drying. I have checked its manual but no help.
Can someone please point me in the right direction as to how to use it to only dry the dishes.


texts:
I want to paint my stairs, but I can't find "floor paint" in suitable colours.
Can I use another kind of paint, and then give it a protective coating?
What kinds of paint/protection would be compatible?


texts: I just randomly heard a loud "dry" gurgling coming from my upstairs shower drain. It was draining slowly (assuming due to all the hair from a house full of females) so we have been using the basement shower. This particular shower hasn't been used in months. I haven't used the toilet or sink in this bathroom in about 2 hours and then I hear this weird sound. Is it possible to hear it from the clogged pipe hours after I used any other bathroom appliance?


texts: refresh front door locks without rekeying

texts: My front door has a "Faultless Lexington Handleset with Ball in Polished Brass" (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Faultless-Lexington-Handleset-with-Ball-in-Polished-Brass-HY7731B-F/203187008). As you can see it's all tarnished.  At Home Depot it's $60 to get a new one, but I don't want to re-key.  Is there something I can use that could bring it back to life without having to spend hours cleaning it? and  is the only way to clean it well to take if off the door?  I'm just trying to make it look good, not perfect.  Your help is much appreciated!


texts: Semi-flush mounting a surface mount (NEMA 3R) panel

texts:
This is a new one for me. The owner needs a new main panel in a wet location but wants the box inset in the wall. I cannot find a reason not to do it, other than it will be a bit harder to wire. The feeder is in conduit and the local AHJ allows the feed in conduit at the nearest point of connection. Has any one run into this before? I was thinking it would not be code compliant but the inspector said 230.70(A)(1) would allow if the service feeder was in conduit. Does anyone have tips or advice?

I think the box will protrude from the siding about 3/4" so the door will function.


texts: Is there a type of pump or device that will sit on a flooded floor and quietly suck up a puddle of water?

texts:
There is a slow leak in our finished basement - it should be fixed eventually but we are looking for an interim solution to a constant puddle of water in the middle of the floor.

Floor is ceramic tile
Puddle is near or sometimes in an en suite full bathroom, so with some sort of pump the water could be diverted into a bathtub about 4' away
The room is being used as an office, so the solution cannot be super loud
The person using the office has mobility issues, so I am looking for something that can just sit in the puddle and work, as she would not be able to operate e.g. a shop-vac, and we have no way to clean or try towels or anything else used to sop up the water

Does such an appliance exist and what would it be called?


texts: Can I split a 208/120V 3-phase circuit into 3 separate 120V circuits and keep the shared neutral?

texts: I have a 208/120V 3 phase circuit currently feeding an outlet for a drill press. I would like to change this to 3 separate branch circuits for lighting. Can I keep the shared neutral? I plan on keeping the common internal trip breakers in place


texts: How can I mount a light to a square junction box?

texts:
In my entryway, there is a lighting fixture box that is sticking out of the ceiling drywall. (See attached image below) The box is 4 inch by 4 inch. I assume that it came with some kind of ceiling light that included the box as part of the hanging fixture. I assume this because I can't find any ceiling light in stores today that would fit over it. But I also can't find any ceiling light that comes with a box like this.

When I bought the house, there was no light here, but now that I am selling it, I want to put a light up. If I can find a light that works with the existing box, that would make things easier. Otherwise I guess I have to take that box out and put in something else to put up a new light.

Anyone ever seen lights that use this kind of box for hanging? Is this more of an old style light that is no longer made? All the lights I see now are either recessed or flush/semi-flush which wont work with this box as it sticks out of the ceiling.


texts: Caulking Vertical Seams in Three Piece Shower/Bathtub

texts:
I recently purchased a condo and the upstairs bathroom has a shower/bathtub with three interlocking pieces making up the shower wall.  After some research it is unclear if I should caulk these vertical seams.  Some responses suggest that every seam in a shower should be caulked while others suggest that these types of shower wall seams are left un-caulked for a reason.  Is there any consensus on this?  Thank you.

Here is a picture of the seam:

Here is a picture of how the pieces are joined together:


texts: How do I tell if a bag of concrete is OK?

texts:
We have a number of bags of pre-mixed concrete (Quikrete) around the shop that have been sitting around for awhile.  Most are sealed but a few have been opened.   All feel like a solid rock, not like a bag of sand.

if they're no good, I'd like to throw them out now.   If they are good, I'd like to store them indefinitely for a future project.

How do I tell the difference without opening them?


texts: How can I remove paint smears on my vinyl siding?

texts:
I have some paint (latex, exterior) smears on my vinyl siding. It's set in the tiny cracks and is thoroughly cooked by the sun. I want to remove that.

I was recommended methyl hydrate, which gave me moderate success (scrubbed for a while with plain old scott towel). But it doesn't seem to be getting rid of the paint in the tiny cracks. Is there something better I could use? (I'd wash the place down with water to avoid reactions).


texts: Exterior conduit run to fan, condensation issues

texts:
I want to run power from a sconce in our patio to a fan. My original plan is to put UF in conduit. As I’ve been reading I came across condensation issues in conduit. I’m a bit confused about what is the right way to do this.
Should the line from the sconce come out of the box toward the ground and then turn up to the ceiling? Is there an alternative to this?
For a run that will total about 11 feet in total distance do I need a conduit drain or breather or both?  If so where is the best place to put it?
Instead of UF I believe I can use THHN as this location is considered damp and not wet. Any issues with that?
Any other things I should be considering?
Thank you!


texts: I am replacing a burned upper thermostat to my water heater. How do I replace the wire leading to the thermostat?

texts:
The upper thermostat of my whirlpool water heater burned, and I am going to replace it.  I'm pretty sure I figured out why.
My problem is that I don't know how to get into it to replace the wire that brings the power into the thermostat.
I'm pretty sure if the thermostat burned, the wire must have also gotten damaged.
How do I replace the wire leading to the thermostat?


texts:
I've a Type C electric socket that not holds solidly in a wall slot.

It uses metallic lateral ears and a pair of screws which controls their angle to hold itself into a wall socket.

Wall socket is concrete.

Is there any way to fix it solidly into this wall socket?


texts:
Hello just wanted to know if my AVR has input voltage gauge or output voltage gauge, see sample picture below

The reason why i'm asking is that my AVR, when turned on, the gauge i'snt all the way up to 220 (my country has 220v as standard). Its somewhere lesser but inside the red line (again see the picture). I just want to make sure since what i knew is that the voltage regulator doesn't regulate properly it could damage my appliance connected to it.

Also, the manual doesn't show any of that ( sad :( ) but yeah any of you guys who are experienced with this stuff, please do share . Thanks

NOTE: BY THE WAY, THE PICTURE IS NOT MINE, GOT IT FROM GOOGLE BUT ITS EXACTLY THE SAME (wattage and all)


texts: Can Honeywell c wire adapter or Venstar add-a-wire work with dual transformer system?

texts:
I have a dual transformer system where the baseboard heat (RH-W) and AC (RC-Y-G) are wired independently and currently it's working well on my Honeywell thermostat. I would like to buy a smart thermostat, it can be Honeywell T5, Ecobee or Nest.  I would like to keep the fan running independently which means not jumping the G and Y terminals, I saw that Venstar add-a-wire or Honeywell C wire adapter or Ecobee Power adapter kit might help, but there is no information on the web about wiring them for a dual transformer system.
My AC has only 3 wires and I can't run a new wire due to the location of the furnace and the thermostat without tearing down a wall and ceiling.
Any advice?


texts: Can I connect an additional wire to HVAC system where all the terminals are full?

texts: I'm installing a new thermostat (ecobee Smart Si) and it requires "C" wire. I checked before I bought, and saw an unused blue wire behind my current thermostat. However after connecting everything the unit didn't power on. I checked the system in the attic, and found that the blue wire isn't connected. Here is a picture of the system. I planned to connect the blue wire to the "Com 24V" but there's already a red wire there. Can I connect it anyway? The red wire that's there goes to the outside unit I think.


texts: I just moved into a townhome and found one of the outlets had a 2 prong receptacle.  I used to be an electrical apprentice and figured the swap would be easy,  no sir! I get to the wiring and theres 2 hots and 3 reds (I dont want to call them neutral) and no ground w/ romex coming up thru the back bottom.  Its an older home from the 50-60s. Im wondering how to wire up the new 15v 125a receptacle,  if possible.  Or would it be easier to get adapters,  or call an electrician?


texts: Can I cool my south facing wall by spraying it with water?

texts:
I've been researching options for cooling a south facing exterior wall on my house. One thing I've been thinking about is what if I just spray the wall with water and let it evaporate?

The wall is wood siding, 1.5 stories.  I say 1.5 stories because the top story is a bonus room over a garage. On the bottom story is a 3 car garage (two garage doors).

The idea is not to use misters, because I'm not trying to cool the air, but to use something like drip micro sprinklers to wet the whole surface of my south facing wall (maybe mounted under the eaves pointing at an angle downwards).  The sprayers would turn on for x seconds, then turn off to allow time for the water to evaporate and cool the house. This would repeat on some interval (maybe based on the temperature of the wall).

Apart from the cost of the water, do you see any issues with this plan?  I've considered the mineral deposit problem, I'm hoping I can just put an extra calcium filter on there?

Update
After doing more research, apparently this is known as "Spray Cooling", and not "Evaporative Cooling", because what we are cooling is what we are spraying down, instead of cooling air through evaporation. I've found several published papers on the application of this in manufacturing, electronics, etc... Papers like this one, Spray Cooling Using Multiple Nozzles: Visualization
and Wall Heat Transfer Measurements, have some interesting charts showing the cooling curves based on temperature.

Then I came across someone with a slightly similar idea to me, 1977 Patent US4175703A, "Spray cooling system for gable roof".

From the patent:

  Periodically, the valve is operated whereupon water is forced through
  the pierced holes in the pipe and sprayed as a sheet of water in an
  overlapping pattern directly from the pipe onto the building roof.
  Thereupon solar heat evaporates the water upon the roof absorbing some
  8500 BTUs of heat in the process for each gallon of water employed.

  ....

  they have not met with any marketed degree of acceptance in the
  residential building market. Probably the foremost reason for lack of
  success here is attributed to the absence of system aesthetics.

:)

Update 2
I finally found a few DIY examples online. These are for roof cooling, which is what I'm starting to lean towards. I think that continually spraying down wood siding might not be the best option...  https://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/RoofCooling.htm.


texts: What's the best way to track buried electrical wire that's not live?

texts: We bought a house that has light posts in the yard, scattered across 100 feet or so. I know there is buried wiring (probably no more than 12" deep) that supplies these lights, but this is a crazy old house, few breakers are marked, and there are dead circuits everywhere. I want to know if all the posts are connected (they probably are) and figure out where the wiring connects them. Is there a way (metal detector, signal injector, what?!?) that I can trace this/these circuits and find a way to reconnect them? Thanks!


texts:
I have a lawn mower that dies about 5 seconds after It's started, I've removed the carb and cleaned the ports, I've also tested the coil and spark plug with a spark plug tester in between the coil and the spark plug, There was a spark

So I checked the oil and filter, The filter was fine but the oil was filled way past the mark so I decided to remove the spark plug, turns out it was black, so I changed it and it ran fine for about 30 minutes, then it died again.

I removed the spark plug again and it has a light brown oily residue on the edges of the plug, but not on the electrode, any Idea's why it keeps dying ? could the piston rings be shot from someone over filling the oil


texts: Ok I was getting ready to wire a ceiling fan and wasn't sure which switch it was going to.  I connected the hot coming in to one of the switch legs to use my tester.  Now keep in mind the other switch leg was not connected on both ends.  To my surprise the switch leg not hooked up was reading hot.  Any suggestion on what the issue would be?


texts: I want to remove what is left of the pipe. The pipe just takes liquid from the heater to the sewer. Part of the pipe is screwed into the heater, as you can see.


texts: What could I be getting stuck on when drilling into a stud?

texts: I was trying to drill a hole for bolts for a TV mount, using a 7/32 bit. About 1" in, the drill wouldn't go any further. It as was in the middle of where my stud finder indicated a stud (but it was about 2", so not sure if it was a real stud). But I tried to screw in the bolt with a wrench and it actually went in all the way (about 2.25" ). What do you think it was that the drill got stuck at, but I was able to wrench the bolt in? Do you think it's safe to leave the TV mounted with this bolt, or I should find a different spot?


texts: Is it possible to setup correctly a concealed (indoor) door closer for multiple situations?

texts:
Let's consider a concealed door closer (closes the door after you open it).

Concealed means it is put inside the door itself (it's kind of
invisible).

Here is an example to have some idea:

I can perfectly tune it, but when the balcony door is also open, it won't be able to close the main door.
(because of wind-blast)

And if I tune it for the wind-blast situation it will slam the door if the balcony is closed.

Is there any way to tune these stuff perfectly for these two situations?


texts: How do I remove a frameless glued mirror?

texts:
I have an ugly giant frameless mirror glued to a tiled wall in my bathroom I want to remove.

It's probably been there > 20 years.

How do I get rid of it? I'm thinking of just covering it in tape then throwing a hammer at it and quickly closing the door. Then chiseling the pieces off.

Is there a better way?

Update : I got it off by levering it off with a claw hammer. It popped right off. Only to reveal - ANOTHER MIRROR!


texts: A fluorescent light fixture in my house looks like the attached picture when I turn it on. I replaced the light tube, but no success. If I repeatedly turn it off and then on quickly, it eventually lights up properly. Does this mean that I need to replace the starter? If not, what else might be the issue?


texts: Is 10/3 @ 240 with ground good enough for a short run from sub panel to sauna heater?

texts:
I'm no pro, so I'm sorry in advance for doing my own work, but I enjoy the learning and experience. I've run aluminum 4/3 out to a new sauna with a sub-panel, roughly 100', which houses 2x single pole 15A breakers, and a dual pole 50A for my 9Kw sauna heater.  If my math is right, the heater draws 37.5A per pole.  My question is, the sub-panel to the heater is only going to be a short run of < 10', and I have a spool of 10/3 wire leftover from a previous job, is it good enough, or must I use 8/3?
Thanks!


texts:
Summarize the problem
I need help removing rusted screws from an outdoor outlet box. A few notes:

The outlet box was used for an outdoor light that I removed
I turned off the breaker
I have access to the back of the box

Provide details and any research
Here's a photo of the box:

When appropriate, describe what you’ve tried
I've tried:

Applying WD-40 Specialist Penetrating oil
Hammering the front and sides of the screw
Trying and failing to unscrew both screws

My questions are:

Should I try other things to remove the screws?
Or should I just pull the box out and install a new one?


texts: GFCI won't reset even though circuit is ok

texts:
I have a shop wired without GFCI outlets. I decided that was unsafe so purchased three GFCI outlets, picked the nearest outlet and wired as described. When I powered it up a huge POP occurred in the metal box. What?

The original wiring has three outlets and two pull-chain lights plus a fluorescent light. I have disconnected all of these - open wired except white wires are still connected - hmm maybe that is the problem, the failure is in the neutral somewhere. (I'll check that by disconnecting neutrals as well. I did it on several, but not on all.)

I pulled the wiring apart again and can see no evidence of damage. So I hooked up only the line side to check operation - it works. But the other side is showing only a few ohms so I disconnected all of the outlets on the line until the short went away. Then I tried to hook up the line again without the short. The GFCI refuses to work, so I tried a different one - same result. The wires should be open. Can the GFCI determine that it has a load when there is only wires?

The building was wired in 2005 probably before the new code and it has a ground rod and two sets of ground terminals, but they are connected together and the white side is connected to the main box - could that be involved somehow?

The wires ground (bare) wire and the white wires are separated throughout and passed the tester check before the change. (Can't test them now.) But I wanted to verify that the wiring had not been destroyed, so I hooked it back up as it was and it works ok now. So what gives?

Update 7/13/2018: I discovered the enemy and it is me. I had forgotten that I had added an outdoor outlet complete with GFCI a few years ago. As it happens, the GFCI was on this circuit and as I traced it back, the box for the circuit was protected by a gob of materials I had stored there.

As I mentioned in another post, I had found an additional outlet as I had continued to trace the circuit back, but with every thing disconnected, I had a short black to white on one line. I finally traced it back to a junction box and found the feed from there that was failing was one that I thought had power on it. But unfortunately, I cut a wire assuming that it was the bad (shorted) wire and was going to wire a new circuit around it when I found this junction box and then the outdoor outlet with the GFCI so now I have to fix my damage. Life lesson: don't begin to fix until you know what you are fixing. I would have been done now had I not jumped the gun and cut the wire. It had to be it, right? No, it wasn't. I cut the wire too close to the wall so that I cannot repair it so now I will have to replace the wire as I was going to do and so needlessly if I could have figured out how to find it earlier. Even now I am guessing about where the cut wire comes out - it just has to be that one right there - but what if I am wrong again? I have no way to check - the two wires are about 8 feet apart - it could have been routed anywhere. So here goes...


texts:
I'm building concrete steps along the hillside parallel to my exterior wall.
Lower part of the wall is concrete foundation and upper part is stucco/felt paper/plywood and wall studs. Part of the steps will be against the stucco.

I know I need a water barrier between the concrete and the stucco part of the wall.
Can I just use felt paper? Or self-adhered flashing?
I was thinking originally of using galvanized steel roll along the wall but it would be a pain to cut it to match the steps along the wall.

Note : I've used rubber paint to reseal my foundation and I'll have a french drain under the concrete steps.

Also, this is in Socal (not much rain), and this wall is covered by a large eave (so water is not coming down that wall).

Thanks.


texts: What is causing my ac unit and thermostat not to work with one another

texts: Inside unit and thermostat are not working properly. In the beginning, something needed to be changed in it,it was a small black box and a round cylinder like plug thing.changed out the thermostat also.worked for over a year. I kept it clean from dust by cleaning the air filters and the coil unit. One summer I noticed outside unit was freezing up.well, bought cleaner for coils cleaned inside out from leaves and debris.had plugs checked well had it serviced, this was a new outside unit since my boyfriend killed the first one because a snake was going up the side of it. It stopped freezing. Winter started and it started to always run. The heater never turned off, I had to throw the power from the box cause the thermostat wouldn't turn it off. Changed out thermostat again, makes 2 one so far. Then the next summer it gets crazy, the outside would freeze,service that, then inside unit freeze,serviced that, then it would kickoff fan was always running had to throw power in box cause thermostat wouldn't turn it off. Changed thermostat s,this makes 3. Now nothing works. All together 4 new thermostats.


texts: Why is there water dripping through my soffits?

texts: This picture was taken directly below the roof in the 1st picture. You can see it is soaking wet. I do have a skylight on that roof but that has been replaced and sealed repeatedly. I always blamed the skylight but now I am wondering about the drip edge.


texts:
I have an older bathtub with a "plunger drain" setup like this:

I can see the very top of the plunger's linkage assembly (it must have become detached from the trip lever linkage at some point, and sit's much lower in the drain now) and it has an "O" that I can get a hanger or hook around with some work.

The issue is that the plunger won't budge. It's almost as if it's lodged or rusted tight. When pulling with a coathanger bent into a hook, it takes me pulling so much that it unbends the hanger without moving. I don't feel any noticeable sign of give or wiggle.

Unfortunately, the drain opening is not an open drainpipe (it's some kind of closed stopper valve) so I can't try to do anything through there.

Is it likely that the plunger, itself, is jammed in there? Or, perhaps it's rusted? I considered throwing some DW-40 down there, or something to see if it might loosen. But, I figured I should ask first. I'd hate to open a wall, since it backs up to another shower, requiring me to demolish the siding to get access.


texts: Wet sanding using 1200 grit on my brown table has created a white/dust-like cover

texts:
I worked on 2 projects for painting a wood table and a metal table, where wet sanding had worked perfectly on the metal table while it ruin the wood table, as follow:-

I have a wood table which i painted using oil-based semi-gloss Jotun brown paint around 3 months ago. where there were many paint brush strokes.. so i decided to do a wet sanding for the table. i used 1200 grit  sand paper + water. after wet sanding the table i cleaned the surface, but the sanding has created a white/dust-like surface, which will not go even if i use soap to clean the table for many times.

while on my second project, i have a metal table which i painted using Dulux oil-based satinwood white paint around 3 days ago. where there were many paint brush strokes.. so i decided to do a wet sanding for the table. i used 1200 grit  sand paper + water. after wet sanding the table i cleaned the surface, and the surface had a glass-like finish and most of the paint brush strokes disappeared, which is what i were looking for.

so can anyone advice why the wet sanding worked on my white metal table and failed on my brown wood table? is it because wet sanding dark colors will not work? or because i wet sanded the wood table after 3 months of painting it unlike the metal table while i have painted only 3 days ago?
Thanks.
Here is a picture of the failed project:-


texts:
I'm looking to create a wood stand for a white board.

I have never built anything before and am looking for both insight on what to do and possible schematic ideas. I took basic construction classes in High School, but I was not particularly gifted at it.

The board is 36 inches wide and 24 inches tall.

The board has a trim of 7/8".

The board has a lip for markers and erasers on one 36" side that is 1 3/8" from the back of the board, where there is not a lip (the other 36" side and two 24" sides) it sticks out 3/4" from the back of the board.

I am 5'11" - 6' tall and am  not sure what height would be appropriate for the board either so that it is comfortable to use.

What would be some designs that could work for this?

Bonus

I would really like it if I could pivot it 90 Degrees clockwise so that could be used with the 24" side as the bottom.

The board is here on Amazon


texts: Wiring a double oven on a wall opposing the wiring?

texts: I upgraded from a single to a double oven and need to move it to the other side of the kitchen. Is it safe to run a 220V extension cord from the wiring to the oven under the flooring? If not what is the best way to approach this?


texts:
I have this metal electrical box that has no ground wire. I was thinking that I could buy a ground screw and screw that into the side of the box. There's a wooden frame on all sides. Afterwards, I could simply hook a wire onto that and then connect it to the ground screw on my outlet.

I'm not entirely sure if this would work though or if it'd violate the NEC.


texts:
I am not a carpenter (programmer actually), therefore I need to know if it is possible to conceal wires in a baseboard. Basically I want a combination of this

And this

But I don't want my entire house to look hideous.

If it is possible, are there any off the shelf baseboards, or do I have to get a carpenter to custom make them?


texts:
We recently purchased a home that had the washer and dryer left behind. The washer is a GE and in good condition. We were told by the previous owners that the washer worked fine, but we tested it with a couple loads of rags to be sure.

It seemed alright so we did two loads of our laundry and on the second load it wouldn't drain. We kept getting a warning buzz and blinking lights. Code read clogged drainage hose so we took it apart and sure enough it was all jammed up....with ROCKS.

They looked almost like small pieces of concrete that had been soaked for a while. Many of them looked like they had originally been formed into a square grid. There were about 30 pieces total.

I cleaned the lines and put everything back together. So far the test loads have been running fine.

My questions are...

Are there any parts in a washing machine that would splinter into rocks/stones when breaking but still allow the washer to work?
Is there something else I should be checking or am I correct in assuming the previous owners children may have had rocks in their packets when their cloths were washed?


texts: Why does my GFCI receptacle trip when anything is plugged in?

texts:
My house was built in 1994.  The garage is fed from one 20amp circuit wired to the lights first, then a GFCI, then a couple regular outlets.  This has worked fine for me for 19+ years.

We had a storm Friday morning, after which the GFCI now trips when anything is turned on (even a power-strip with lighted switch). Garage lights still work (as expected since they are ahead of the GFCI).  With the CB off, I put my meter on the receptacles to look for a short, but found none.  With CB back on, all receptacles have 120vac available, but the second something that draws even the smallest amount of current is plugged in, the GFCI trips.

I replaced the GFCI with a brand new one, but still have the same problem.  I pulled the GFCI out of the wall and put my meter on the screw terminal.  Both line and load have 120vac when reset.  If I press the test button, the line side drops to 32vac and the load side to 10vac. The garage lights still work fine at full intensity, so the line voltage on the garage circuit isn't dropping.

The only possible explanation I can come up with is that a broken wire (high winds caused the garage structure to shift?) is still making some contact to pass 120vac at no current, but the poor connection is causing the voltage drop with any load and causes the GFCI to trip.  The GFCI has a tiny LED that comes on when tripped (off when reset) which must be creating the small current draw.

Anybody else have any thoughts?

I don't relish the though of opening the walls in the garage to run new wire.  Perhaps I'll temp one with an extension cord to prove the solution electrically first.


texts: lights do not go on but i can verify that power is delivered from the switch to the light

texts: My basement lights do not go on.  I have tested the breaker and there is continuity.  I tested with a sniffer that power to the light from the switch is good and that the switch will cut power in the off position and deliver power in the on position.  I tested the light bulbs on the fixtures and they are good.  To be clear it is all the lights on the floor, not just one or two.  I am confused as to why the light does not go on if there is power and the bulb is good.  One day it worked and the next not at all.


texts: How do I add an on off switch to the power cord of a 2 wire AC motor

texts:
complete novice here so please take that into account when responding.

I want to add an on & off switch to the power cord of an AC motor so that I don't have to unplug it from the wall outlet every time I want to turn it off.

Both wires coming out of the motor are black, I guess that means there's no neutral, and I'm gonna be using a wall switch.
, hope it's helpful.

Please help

Peace


texts: How to repair / reinforce deteriorated footings and subsoil below brick & concrete porch

texts:
My fiancee and I recently moved into a 1922 brick craftsman-style home. The front porch has a ~4" poured concrete floor and large solid concrete railing caps (12"W x 4"D). Brick columns support the roof, and brick posts & balusters support the large railing caps. I mention all this to emphasize this is a lot of heavy material.

When we inspected the home we noticed that this porch's floor and railing caps had some settlement cracks. It also appeared much of the lower brickwork on the porch had been re-pointed. Upon further examination, it was clear that the north side of the porch had sagged about an inch. Someone had clearly placed extra wood spacers between the roof and the corner column to compensate. When I went beneath the porch (it's fully accessible with standing room via the basement), I noticed a few things:

Several temporary support columns and one 8x8" CMU column were added underneath the sagging side of the porch.
The footings beneath the brick go down about 18-24" below grade and this
little room's dirt floor is about 18" lower still.
Someone (not me!) shoveled material out from around and beneath
the footings (hence how I could see where they bottom out).
Tangential, but of note, the original wooden concrete forms for the porch floor were left
intact above head. I guess plywood hadn't yet been invented in 1922 (or
was rare/expensive) so it initially looked like maybe the whole floor
was being supported by 2x4s and 1x4 slats! This wood is not in the
best of shape and I've thought about removing it -- if for no other reason than to have a better attachment point for support columns.

So, it seems that someone may have decided it was a good idea to undermine the footings in this old coal chute/storage room, then--half way through--realized it was causing the porch to sink. They put up some columns and patched up the cracks and walked away. No idea how long ago this may have been. Judging by the condition of the repairs, I'd guess about 4 years ago. It doesn't appear there's been too much (if any) movement since, but it's damn concerning nonetheless.

The question is what to do about the situation. I've batted ideas around with several people but can't come to a definitive consensus.

One camp suggests building a knee wall up from the floor so that it overlaps with the existing footings and connecting them with rebar to arrest  further settling both down and laterally.

Another camp suggests jacking up the corner (I do have a 20-ton screw jack) and incrementally under-girding the footings from below. Then building the knee wall as described above--mostly to avoid potential lateral shifting.

In either case, I plan to add several more concrete columns for "belts and suspenders".

I've been at a stand-still of apprehension. Being new to the town, I don't have a network of trusted contractors. I've had a couple people look at it and, I just didn't get the sense they had a good handle on this situation or enough experience with older buildings. I'd greatly appreciate any insights from those with experience and knowledge to help me move toward fixing this correctly (insofar as that is possible).

Thanks.

PS: The soil here is mostly red clay. Your typical eastern Tennessee type of earth.

PPS: Uploaded a gallery of photos for reference: https://imgur.com/a/0l6X8


texts: Running ser cable from 200amp main to 100 amp sub panel

texts: I'm running ser wire from my 200 amp main box in my garage to a 100amp service box for tankless water heater. I'm running the cable along the top edge of my garage around a corner about 30ft run total. I was wondering how I need to secure this 2-2-2-4 cable along the top of my garage ceiling? I know I ser does not require conduit so can I just wire clamps or what? I was going to secure with wire clamps every 3 ft of run and then cover with some angled crown molding?? Just trying to make sure I won't have to tear down if I ever sell my house. Thanks!


texts: 6" faucet hoses seem to be unavailable, what do I do with an old design?

texts:
I'm replacing a faucet on a pedestal sink.  The supply hoses are the old plastic rather than the modern braided ones and I would much prefer to upgrade the old (21 years) hoses.  Unfortunately, I'm having zero luck finding hoses that short.  As it's a pedestal sink I don't see how to use a longer one without it sticking out and being ugly.

Any solutions?


texts:
My house is 150' long.
The main breaker box (pic 1) is at one end of the house and 2 Eaton Pullout Switches at the other end.
The pullout switches power 2 A/C evap coils (pic 3-6).
The pullout switches are fed from 40amp breakers at the main (pic 2).
I replaced 1 of the pullout switches with an Eaton BR48L box which has a 220 breaker for the ac and a 220 breaker for a well pump (pic 7).
I have a shed 105' away from these breakers.  I wan to run an extension cord down there for some lights and light drill and bandsaw work BEFORE I get my main service put in to feed the shed.
I purchased 250' 10/2 UF-B wire to create a long extension cord.
My plan was to remove the well breaker and put in a 110 20 amp breaker for this new run but there is no neutral bar.
How can I get a 110 outlet, or breaker to wire the 10/2 wire to?


texts: How can I remove construction adhesive from finished wood flooring?

texts: I was attaching some transition molding to a floor section yesterday using PL proline construction adhesive.  Apparently I did not do as a good a job of policing the edge as I thought, and I have several visible places where excess adhesive has come out.  It is not yet fully cured.  Am I better off scraping it up now or after it cures?


texts: Will the water heater be damaged if its turn off and on?

texts: Is it ok to turn off water heater when no one is home or using the water?


texts: I've seen it around a lot, but cannot figure out what it's called. I assume it's a kind of compression fitting.


texts: How do I fix an irregular hole in my heater closet?

texts:
The plumbers cut a roughly rectangular hole in the water heater/heater closet floor when fixing the drain pipe for the condensate line.  The closet is located in the garage.  There are two 2" PVC pipes coming out of the middle of the hole.  Can I patch this without removing the water heater and air conditioner and replacing the entire plywood floor? What's the best way to do this?

Here's the "before" pics; I've included two images from two slightly different angles to help with the perspective:

Here are the "after" pics:


texts:
This is a porch roof, single layer, 54 year old house.  Started tearing off rotting fascia and found a sub-fascia rotted as well.  Also took off soffit in that area.  All the rot is at the end, by the fascia.  Pic 1 shows rot (NOTE:  oddly, the soffit and gutter of the house (upper) roof showed up in the pic and it looks odd, so I labeled it so no one gets confused (just ignore that part).  I looked up into the roof and most of the sheathing is good, except the last 3 inches--some parts have rot (pic 2 shows this).  Noting is moist--the sub-fasica & fascia rot is bone dry.
[edit]:  Perhaps a clue to the original problem:  I just examined the removed soffit and it had about 6 inches of black on it and that part was dirty.  Maybe water sat there?
First question:  what caused this?  I'd like to know in case there's some other repair I need to do.  Because it's bone dry, maybe the issue was addressed at some point in the past?
Second question:  the porch roof is cupped a bit at the end where the gutter was.  Once stuff was removed, I confirmed the sheathing appears to have rotted at the end.  I plan to roof next year.  Is there anything I should do about this NOW (maybe before I put new soffit, sub-fascia & fascia on)?
Third question:  The horizontal parts that the soffit is nailed to (see '?' in first pic) are loose--I can rotate them a bit by hand because they only have one nail at each end.  Is this an issue?  I don't think so because they seem to be only there to hold up the soffit, but since I'm here, I'll ask.


texts:
Hi I have a fan motor off a blast chiller which im hooking up to my still radiator. the wires are brown black and blue.
it has to have a capacitor in line and thought it would be brown but I have tried that and it just sat their poleing.
does anyone have any experience and can point me in the right direction please

kind regards
pete


texts: I want to re-tile and extend my old hearth floor which means the new (large) tiles would be laid partially over the old concrete substrate and partially over new plywood.  Will Ditra membrane covering these two different substrates suffice to prevent cracks in the new tiles?


texts: Why does my bathroom shower have too much water pressure?

texts:
I have the same shower head, nothing has changed except the pressure.  It sprays so hard that it hurts, and in 10 minutes the hot water is almost gone.

What can I do to fix this?


texts: adding more insulation on garage side of wall, and held in place with plastic sheeting has resulted in a moisture issue

texts:
I am closing the ceiling of my garage, and wanted to do a few things before that was completed.  It's a 2 story house, and there is a shared wall between the house and the garage, on the second story.  On the garage side this is above the level that the ceiling will be installed at - so will remain a cold spot.  I thought I would add some extra batt insulation to the garage side of the wall.  This wall would already have insulation in it(from when the house was built), and a vapour barrier on the house (warm side) as the garage is unheated.  THere was also a house wrap on the garage side (exposed) and I put the new insulation right against that.
I added the insulation against this wall, and used a sheet of plastic over that to keep the extra insulation in place.  It now appears that I created a moisture issue, as there is moisture trapped between the extra insulation and the plastic used to keep it in place.
I'm located in a Zone 3 area (Canada, just above ND), so considered a very cold climate during winter.  I think the issue is because I used the plastic to hold it in place - can anyone confirm.  Then any thoughts on what else I could use to hold the insulation in place, but not trap any moisture?
Thanks


texts: How to insulate whole house fan opening for the winter (from the inside)?

texts:
There is a 3'x3' opening in the ceiling of my second (top) floor. The opening leads into the unheated attic.  I want to both seal and insulate this opening to keep out the cold in the winter.  (I live in New York, were it can get cold.) I already have built a box around the fan in the attic using hard pink insulation, But it does not seal perfectly and is not all that well insulated.

How might I secure a 2"x3'x3' box to the underside of the opening (i.e., in my second floor hallway)?  The box would contain 1.5" hard, pink insulation in this box and would have a 1/2" cover framed with 1"x2".

How might I attach this to the ceiling so that it will be a tight fit but easy to take off in the spring?

Thanks.

P.S. These related posts do not cover this question.
How do I insulate a whole-house fan during the winter?
Air sealing a whole house fan

Here are photos of the vent opening and fan.


texts:
I have made a bat house and now I have put it up. To do so I purchased two teen foot galvanized steel poles at Home Depot, and attached them together. Where they meet I drilled a hole through the two and put a 4" bolt and wingnut through the hole to help hold the two together. At the bottom of I dug a 1.5 foot by 1 foot hole and put in 80 lbs bag of quickcrete, and then attached the bottom end of the pole that is about 2" from the ground to a raised bed that is about 2' tall, full of dirt, and attached it where the raised bed end and side meet with a 2x4 post that holds the two ends together of the bed. So I have the pole in concrete, and attached to the raised bed with two u brackets. End result is I have a cedar bat house attached to the very top about 17.5 feet off of the ground. The bat house weighs maybe 5 pounds? It's a 3 chambered bat house.

When the wind blows I see the top half of the pole sway a bit, but the bottom portion stays relatively straight without much wobble. It's not a huge wobble but it does sway a bit. I guess where I am going with this is seeking someone to tell me if they think this will be strong enough to hold the structure for the long haul, or if there is something else I need to do to further reinforce the two poles together. I would hate to have 30+ bats living in the house and then it fall or something.

My gut is saying "hey silly, you have this thing in a huge concrete hole, and attached to a 2' raised bed for extra support. Sure it's going to sway a bit where the two poles meet in the middle, since it isn't one solid pole, but it will be fine. Drink a beer or something." Other part of me just wants someone who is more experienced or has more hair on their chest to offer their thoughts or opinion.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Is it safe to remove part of the drywall behind plumbing to eliminate noise?

texts:
We've had a noise when water is draining from upstairs bathroom since we moved in 13 years ago. Now that we have the wall open on one side for other reasons I can see that the PVC drain isn't parallel to the wall and is rubbing the drywall behind in the section in the photo, specifically the wider joint on the bottom of the Y, possibly the upper part of the Y as well.

I know that the drywall (originally 1950s) is very thick, (probably 3/4 of an inch). I've wondering if I can somehow remove part of the thickness of the drywall to put an air gap. My other option is to cut the drywall out and then replace with thinner drywall but I'm not sure how to attach it, I usually use wood pieces attached to the studs for a nailing surface but there isn't really room.

EDIT: I've been working with a screwdriver on the left side and removing material. I can't get the screwdriver in on the right side well because of the stud. Any other tools I might use?


texts: Why do my light bulbs glow when off and make noise when on?

texts:
The situation: I want to replace incandescant bulb in a ceiling socket with LED or CFL.
The conditions:

When I plug in a CFL, it glows when the wall switch is in the off position, gets brighter when turned on, and makes ominous hissing / crackling sound.
When I plug in an LED, it is on when the wall switch is in the off position, gets brighter when turned on, makes an ominous hissing / crackling sound, and flickers.
Pre-existing condition: With incandescent, wall switch position doesn't always determine on/off status (i.e., sometimes have to toggle several times)
The switch is not a dimmer switch and does not have a timer.

The questions:

Does the hissing / crackling sound indicate danger?
What accounts for the pre-existing condition? Is it simply a faulty switch?
Does the pre-existing condition explain the CFL / LED issues?

and, of course

Is there a solution?


texts: Can't calibrate infrared motion detector

texts:
I've installed a mains-switching infrared sensor unit, Cybertech LFMS-WH.  It doesn't say passive sensing anywhere, but I think it is passive. The lamp switching part of the circuit works properly and the detection part is problematic.

The sensor is on the wall of a exterior corridor that opens onto a public sidewalk six meters away. The goal is for it to light up when someone enters the corridor, not when someone walks by outside. I get the impression that heat doesn't reflect off surfaces, but I do wonder if the shape of the corridor is related to the problem. It's under an overhang, so the sensor location is darker than the area of the motion.

The device has two levers of adjustment: its aim and the sensitivity ("RANGE") control. In my tests it behaved the same aimed downwards in any direction, even away from the street. With a tiny turn at around 20% of the adjustment range the device goes from seeing nothing at all to seeing me out on the sidewalk. The circuit lights up way too often. I have tried mounting an aluminum shield on its side to block the street angle, but the problem persisted.

Is this hopeless? Should I switch to a ultrasonic sensor?


texts: Is it normal for acrylic caulk to dissolve?

texts:
I didn't want to purchase a new shower door kit as we plan on remodeling the bathroom in the next five or so years, so I had to deal with the horrible old existing sliding doors and track.  The bottom track is not just an edge with a small guide for the hanging doors; it has two tracks that run it's entire length.  It is a pain to clean as the shower enclosure is not quite level, so water accumulates on the low side.  Below is an image similar to the style of bottom track:

I drilled an additional drain hole to allow more water out near the low side, but I still have to deal with the joint between the track and the vertical side piece.  I didn't want to mess with silicone sealant as the clean up is a pain so I used ACE Hardware brand tile and tub acrylic caulk, which has worked great around the sinks in my kitchens and bathrooms.

I let the caulk cure for three days as stated on the tube and I noticed that in that low corner where water is standing for many hours after taking a shower, it is dissolving.  Any thoughts on why this is happening?  Is this to be expected?  Will silicone stick to the acrylic caulk?  Can I dry it out and use silicone on top of the corner now to get me by for several years?  Would a marine epoxy be a better solution in that corner?


texts: What is this 110/24V 60Hz transformer in the breaker room for?

texts:
My friend sent me a photograph of this transformer, which is installed above the main breaker panel, with leads running from the panel into the transformer. The stamped labels read

PRI. Volts: 110
SEC. Volts: 24
CYCLES 60

However, the leads out from the transformer disappear into the ceiling (so either to some unknown device or terminated somewhere). The house was built in the 1960's and we believe the device to be from time of construction.

Does anyone know what this might be for?


texts:
I have 4 wall mounted shower heads that form a square pattern. When I first moved into the house 4.5 years ago the top 2 heads had strong flow and the bottom left was weak and the bottom right was medium strength. Over the 4.5 years the flow in the bottom left has completely stopped and the flow in the bottom right has been reduced to very week (almost a trickle). (As an aside, one of my kids pulled off an broke the bottom left shower head.) My house has a water softener that's always worked well.

I have a theory. The calcium and lime that makes it through the water softener has been building up and blocking these heads. On the head that's come off I can see a wire mesh in there which I assume it to catch sediment and prevent it from blocking the small holes on the shower head. I think that the calcium buildup in the pipes has been falling towards the bottom 2 shower heads that are probably on an elbow and that's why the bottom 2 have stopped working and the top 2 are still okay.

How do I go about repairing or replacing this to restore the flow? Do I need to unscrew the stem from the wall and if so are there any precautions I should take before doing so?


texts: Can I save energy costs by turning off the refrigerator for 1-2 hours every day?

texts:
Now that I'm looking into home automation, I'm thinking about automatically cutting off the fridge power from 3am ~ 5am. Given that modern refrigerators are well insulated, it should be able to withstand 2 hours of non powered cooling.

If I proceed with this project, will I see a big reduction in my monthly electrical bill?


texts: Is Reverse osmosis still necessary after whole house filter

texts:
I have water softener and Whole house filter installed in the basement. Now that I am going to finish the basement, I need to plumb a line to the fridge to replace the saddle valve. Then I think that I can get a reverse osmosis system installed the basement and plumb lines to the sink and fridge.

Is reverse osmosis system redundant since I already have a whole house filter? The filter is a Whirlpool whole house system.


texts: Are there any major differences between a smaller table band saw and a larger stand up band saw?

texts: I'm considering buying a small table sized 9" band saw because it's much cheaper than buying a full sized stand up band saw. Are there any major differences in terms of what kind of materials I can cut and how large of pieces I can cut? Are there any other major differences besides size and cost?


texts: I replaced an old paddle switch after installing backsplash. With the old switch the wires were just pressed into a grid and was rated at 15a. I thought a single pole light switch would work but unfortunately it didn't. I have 2 sets of 14g wire, one is the feed and the other is the outlet. I wired the new switch black on top leg and white on bottom leg. Outlet works when turned on but kicks breaker when switched off. I looked at the old switch and it had one leg connected and the other leg was the paddle. Does this mean I need a 2 pole switch?


texts: How can I safely mount a pull-up bar on a suspended stud wall?

texts:
Wanted to install a pull-up bar in my room. I'm building it out of steel pipe. I want to attach the pipe to a wooden board, and mount the board on the wall. I feel like this would provide better support than without the board?

I'm unsure where would be the best spot to support the weight, since there aren't any long studs. (I weigh 150 lbs) Would the cripple studs or plates be able to support the load?

Similar questions have been answered already however, the wall I want to work on isn't attached to the floor.

In the photos the black line is where I would like the bar to be and the red indicates the same corner in each photo.

I'm new to this kind of thing, so any advice would be helpful!


texts: Extremely long dryer vent line, non efficient dryer

texts: my house is older, and my Dryer vent line runs the length of my house, which is approximately 30 feet.  I am constantly sucking water out of my vent line.  My new dryer still takes forever to dry clothes...  I need help! any suggestions?


texts: What's the right size pipe to buy for gas supply for this furnace?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out the right pipe to buy for a direct vent wall furnace. The instructions show 3/8 inch npt, and also say that the gas inlet is 1/2 inch. When I measure the gas inlet it appears to be about 3/4 inch. I'm attaching pictures of the instructions and the gas Inlet to show what I mean.
It's an Empire Heating Systems furnace, DV210SGXLP-1.

I could use some explanation of what the numbers mean.


texts: On a slight incline, How do I construct a wooden garage floor that is level, floating and not-anchored?

texts:
Here is the situation_
I am about to start building a shed/garage in my back yard, the whole yard slopes away at about 2-3 degrees from the house.

The yard is currently block-paved (bricks) in the standard fashion.

I dont want to take these bricks up as i might be moving in a year or so. I want to build this shed on-top of this surface.

What would be the best method for building a wooden (floating/not anchored) shed base on this? I also want to park a (small) car in this so must be quite low to the ground on the side closest to the house, and be able to take the weight.

The base will need to be about 12 ft square.
I'm basically creating a huge wedge-shaped base...


texts: Extending horizontal urinal flush handle vertically

texts:
We have a urinal used by small young children where the handle is too high.  We'd like to extend it lower so that it could be reached by them.

My only thought is kind of ugly and hackish -- a couple of zip ties, a chain, key/split rings, and perhaps some kind of handle.

Another option is carefully drilling out the handle (vertically) and putting a stainless steel eye hook through it, then attaching a chain, etc.  Then at least it won't slide and I can avoid the beautiful zip ties.

I'd really prefer an off-the-shelf solution -- perhaps there is a product that exists that does this to make the handle handicap accessible.  I haven't had any luck searching.

Is there a product (or better suggestion) available?


texts:
I put off stripping the paint of my interior trim until the winter, since there were so many more pleasant outdoor tasks during the warmer months. Now that it's time to fish or cut bait, I'm thinking about ventilation.
The paint I am trying to remove seems to be latex, just a coat or two, and not terribly ancient. (I'm very confident it's not lead-based). I started out (over the summer) using denatured alcohol as a stripper, but it was pretty slow going, lots of scraping, so I recently picked up some multi strip, which has dibasic esters, ethoxyproprionate, and benzyl alcohol as active ingredients. Not as dangerous as methylene chloride, but not exactly non-toxic either.
If I don't want to open my windows in January in Chicago, should I just put this project off until spring? Or will I be fine with the natural ventilation of my forced air system? The effected area will be in just two rooms--living room and dining room.


texts: The image is outside of my house where the down drain leads away from the house. The water flows in the direction of the arrows, and leak occurs where the "T" connector connects to the outlet. I tried pushing the T-connector into the outlet more, but it didn't help.


texts: How to remove these nails (no access to head)?

texts: Installing closet doors. Had to knock these guys out of the way (first image). Realized after doing that the magical hidden nails are sticking out. Didn't expect that. Thoughts on how to get rid of that without having to remove the whole framing situation going on?


texts: How do I cap off an unused refrigerator water line?

texts:
I am installing a new refrigerator. The new one doesn't have an ice maker in it and the old one did. I need to turn off the water, and when I do it will shut off all of my water. This is a rental house so I can't do major plumbing work.

Is there a plug that I can use to stop the water when I turn the main line back on?


texts:
I'm doing a remodel and I wanted to ask for your advice.

I have a fairly large shower spanning the entire width of the bathroom (see the plan below). I'd like to set up the showerhead at one end of the shower (the furthest point from the 5'6" unmovable glass door) - but I worry that with that plan, I won't be able to turn the shower on without getting wet before the water warms up.

What I would like to do ideally is to have the showerhead where it is on the plan, have the mixer right there, but add a secondary set of flow controls where the red arrow is on the plan. Is that possible? Is it crazy? What kind of equipment would I need to add to make that happen?

Thanks in advance!


texts:
I am replacing an OLD h/l/v with a BROAN 100HFL

I DO NOT have a 12/2 and a 12/3 coming from the 3 switches on the wall.

I DO have this,  two 12/2 coming from the 3 switches AND another 12/2 that ran to a small light that came on with light in hlv

The heater has one red and one white.
The light/fan has a white/blue/black

I got the heater to work connecting the black to red and white to white.....   but do not have the 3rd RED wire coming from wall switches.

I know this is out of code, but CAN NOT run new wiring.

Can someone help me out here??   I know it can be done easily, just having trouble as I am just not an electrician!


texts: Wall outlet only works when AFI breaker is OFF?

texts:
Bit of a mystery here.

We've got an outlet in our 2nd floor bedroom that I assumed was dead or disconnected. I poked it with my AC voltage detector to confirm — yep, nothing. I was wondering if maybe the outlet itself was mis-wired, so I went to the breaker box and turned off the 2nd floor lights (15 amp AFCI breaker) so I could safely open up the outlet and take a look.

Good thing I thought to double-check with the voltage meter before sticking my fingers in there. Turns out, now that the breaker for the rest of the floor was off, suddenly I'm getting current to this outlet! Confirmed that plugging a floor lamp in works, which it didn't before. Confirmed that turning the AFCI breaker back on renders the outlet dead again.

...WHAT?

Any insights on what could be going on here?


texts: Ground wire in the house but not in the fixture?

texts:
I have been reading some posts here and am still unclear.  I have an old fixture that I want to install.  The fixture does not have a ground wire.  Just white and black.  My ceiling wires have a ground as well as one white and one black.

Do I simply attach the bare copper to the ceiling box with a screw?  I have tested to see if the ground wire is properly grounded by putting my tester on the bare copper and the black.


texts: Proper Procedures for Regrading Under a Deck?

texts:
We have been getting tons of water in our basement during downpours (not regular rainfalls). The water comes in where the deck is located. I ripped up some deck boards and found the soil underneath basically in a mound, where all the water drained towards the foundation, especially so where the water was coming in.

I am going to regrade the soil, but what do I have to do after this? I am toying between landscape fabric or plastic on top of the regraded soil, then cleaned 3/4" crushed stones on top of that to keep it in place. Is this the proper procedure? Is it better to use landscape fabric instead of plastic? I want to make sure my regrading does not erode away over time. Any help would be appreciated - thanks!


texts: My Hampton Bay ceiling fan with light is about 8 years old.  The light recently burned out, so replaced with with a 100 E11 halogen 100 watt bulb, resulting in very little light - about 50 watts.  I have since tried 150 haologen watt bulb, same results - about 50 watts shinning.  I replaced the E11 socket, no change.  The three-speed fan works okay.  I have replaced the Hampton Bay remote control - no difference, so not the problem. What is the problem?  Can the problem be in the the remote modual.


texts: Was my approach to repairing stripped holes in a door jamb appropriate?

texts:
Two of the screw holes on the doorframe of a bedroom in my house are completely stripped out, to fill them in I soaked small strips of paper towel in wood glue and carefully stuffed them deep until the hole was evenly filled. I made sure they where heavily saturated so the majority of volume is just wood glue, and I stuffed them evenly so the paper towel was not crammed at the bottom. It's drying now and looks good.

My thinking is that as long as the majority of volume is woodglue, and paper towel is just a carrier, this will be solid. After impulsively doing this without verifying if it works or not, I looked up common ways to do this and saw someone mix sawdust and wood glue. It looked as if their mixture used less glue than my concoction, which seems promising for me.

Can I expect my experiment here to last or should I prepare for a dehinged door in the coming days or months?


texts: Can I use a fireplace that is setup for gas to burn wood?

texts: So I have a traditional brick and mortar fireplace w/ chimney. It has a gas pipe (black steel) feeding a gas burner with fake logs on it. This is not an insert. I want to use this fireplace as a wood burning fireplace will this be possible?


texts: Potential asbestos exposure from adding screws to drywall?

texts:
My father manually screwed in two self-tapping screws into drywall that most likely contains asbestos in the compound. It was in a garage in a house built in 1976. It was actually those hooks that you screw into the wall to hang stuff off of.
He did not use any power drill. Is the risk of asbestos exposure low?
I understand the drywall usually doesn't contain asbestos but the compound usually did. No idea where he screwed it in.


texts: HVAC compressor turns on when calling for fan only

texts:
I just moved into a new apartment with HVAC, and I'm looking to control the thermostat with a few Phidgets (I had already invested in that ecosystem, so I just needed a couple of relays).

Anyway, when I connect the R and G wires together with my relay, the system turns on both the fan and the compressor (the letter behind the green wire is indeed labelled G). I'm guessing this isn't normal; how would I go about troubleshooting this? I haven't had the chance to turn the Fan switch to "On" on the original thermostat to verify its operation.

Shorting the blue wire (labelled Y in the photo) and R turns on the compressor + fan as well, which is expected.


texts: Possible to add 240V plug to my condo electric outside?

texts:
This is obviously not something I plan to DIY, but just curious if it is feasible.  I'm in a third floor condo and wondering if I'd be able to setup an EV charger by my parking, which happens to be near the main electric supply for the building.  My plan would be to have a box with a 240V plug, like a NEMA 14-30, that I could plug a mobile J1772 in to when needed.

As you can see, there are meters for 6 residential units.  I'm on the bottom left of those, with one 100A breaker off the meter in the box just to the left.  Ideally, I'd run a 32 amp charger, but could definitely get by with 24 amps.  Hot water is provided by the building, so interior electric needs are minimal.  A 30 amp breaker for the dryer, 30 amp for the stove.  I have no problem no charging the car if we happen to be using those simulanteously.

Let's assume I get buy in from the HOA.  Don't want to start the conversation if it's not going to work anyway.


texts: How to soundproof rehearsal room in shared building with other rehearsal rooms?

texts:
I rent a small room for rehearsals of my rock band. It's 16m2 (172 sq ft). It's in a building with many other rehearsal rooms. There is no soundproofing in the entire building, so if you're unlucky enough that your neighbor is rehearsing at the same time you are, it's a disaster. You hear everything, and vice-versa.

It seems that the noise is only a problem on the walls; the ceiling and floor don't seem to let in noise from the other floors.

What would be an economical way to reduce sound bleeding from outside our room? And it will need to be very thin, as the room is pretty small as it is.


texts: The wires coming from my wall A/C unit are not color coded. The unit was hard wired  and is being replaced. the wires that are coming from the a/c unit into the power connection box are not colored . both are stranded copper straight out of the plastic sheathing. the connection wire IN the power box ARE BOTH BLACK ....just seems weird to me. Any suggestions?


texts:
Have a 1hp 11 amp above ground pool pump that is going to be about 50 feet away from the breaker. Will 12 gauge wire be enough to run it?

Photo of the pump can be seen at link below
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qZxYcZ9aCNohwWk67


texts: Putting a new finish on engineered hardwood floors

texts: Recently, I dropped a jar of pickles on my engineered hardwood floors.  I cleaned it up immediately with a little Mr. Clean and water on a paper towel.  It was still sticky and I used vinegar and water on a paper towel and then a little soap and water on a paper towel.  The shine is still there but the finish is not the same.  When you walk over it with socks, you don't glide over it like you do elsewhere.     You can not see the difference, you can only feel it.  What can I do to make the floor smooth again on that spot?


texts: How can I open a desk drawer that is jammed closed by the stuff inside?

texts: I have a desk drawer that I need to get into but it only opens and inch. I had a lot of stuff packed inside, I'm not sure if something is jammed.


texts: What can I do "spread" load on breaker for single bedroom?

texts:
Thanks for the help ahead of time. I'm not a certified electrician, but have VERY extensive experience working construction and repair. I do know quite a bit about electrical, but I'm not sure if I'm pushing my house breaker and fuses by doing what I'm going to do.

I work from home and need quite a bit of equipment installed in my office. I have an 850w computer and 5 servers in a cabinet that I want to install. I also have a window A/C unit. This is all running on 110v wall sockets. I have the A/C unit on its own socket. I have the high powered computer running on its own socket, and I have one free wall socket left. There are two 8-port surge protectors in the server cabinet. I plan on using those both on the 3rd available wall socket.

Is this safe? Right now the computer and A/C aren't making the breaker hot. The do cause a minor light flicker when they turn on. Nothing too serious, but I don't want to set my house on fire. I also don't want to pay $1000.00 to run a dedicated breaker box to my office. Is there anything I can do at the panel to make this safer? Perhaps change the breaker and fuses to something that can handle more juice?


texts:
Today, as I was walking through campus, I saw a cart full of wall debris. It must be some demolition going on in a building. I noticed one side of the pieces were of a different color. The pieces were like rocks yet the surface were smooth so it might not be paint. It could be tiles attached to rock.

My question is, would demolition of painted wall be done in a special way so that paint dust (with lead) does not spread? Or do people really just smash them and let dust float?


texts:
Is 6” too much for a spacer between these 30x12 cabinets.

My wife and I can’t decide.

We’re putting bookshelf on top.

UPDATED**FINAL PRODUCT


texts:
So I've got a scenario where I'd like to re-enforce my joists, and I don't currently have the ability or time to sister the entire length of the 12' joists. Now I could remove blocking, insulation, and pipes and sister about 6' of them on the sill side, but that got me thinking:

Would adding "sisters" between the existing blocking actually work well? To me it seems like the small "sister" board would carry any bending/shear forces of the original beam in that area to the blocking. This would then result in either compression forces on the blocking, or rotational forces, both of which seem much more tolerable. It would also result in sharing the load between the joists. Obviously the sister will be glued, clamped, and nailed to the existing joist.

I'm trying to determine the pros/cons of each approach:

A) Sister between blocking, and block the "center" of the sister

B) Sister between blocking, and block the ends of the sister

C) Sister between blocking, and double up the existing blocking

(Blue = existing joists/blocking/sill)
(Red = new "sister" boards)
(Orange = potential new blocking)
(Joist are 16" OC with blocking ~4ft staggered)

[Edit]
Although some comments/answers have been provided I think it would be best to provide some supporting information as to why one way or another might be best.

[Edit 2]
I think people are missing the actual question. I do know that the more of a joist you can sister, the better in most situations. I understand that to do this blocking would need to be removed. I also understand people want to suggest things targeted towards a specific problem/solution.

The question however: why the suggested re-enforcement methods will or will not provide any increase in structural integrity. Logic dictates that it will indeed increase the load sharing capabilities from one joist to another and outward to the foundation, and although not quite as strong as an actual continuous sister, it should mimic one as there are no gaps to allow the smaller "sisters" to move in any way. They would simply transfer the forces to the blocking, and then onto the next smaller "sister" on the other side of the blocking.


texts: When you are adding new pipes segments to existing lines and they are capped at the end(ex copper stub outs)? what happens with the air trapped there?

texts:
I am in the process of adding new pex segments and I have this question:when you are adding new pipes segments to existing lines and they are capped at the end(ex copper stub outs)? what happens with the air trapped there?
does it get pushed out if I open the taps to adjacent sink (next room) or upstairs (bathroom)


texts: What sheen of paint is most commonly used by builders?

texts:
I just built a half wall at the top of my stairs, and I need to blend it in with the existing wall.

The wall I'm blending in to is a wall in a stair well, so it's really tall and difficult for a typical homeowner to paint. Because of this, I'm guessing it has never been repainted.

It's white so matching color shouldn't be difficult, but I'm just not sure of the sheen.  I don't have the time to paint the whole wall right now, so I'm just going to blend in as best I can.

since I don't think it's ever been repainted, if I knew what builders typically used it would be helpful.  So what is the most common paint sheen used by builders?

This is in the northeastern United States.


texts: So if i have 8 sand & 1 cement, is this a shovel full or bag? i've got a small area to render with a pigment mixed with Snowcrete and don't want to be using more than i need.


texts: Tile underlayment, Ditra vs wire mesh lath

texts:
My previous kitchen tiles were laid on top on wire mesh and mortar. Except for a few smaller grout cracks they were relatively okay and flat. After removing the tiles, mortar, and mesh I have discovered that the plywood is sagging/flexing in some areas which I will try to fix by securing it with screws.

However, as per underlayment, I am not sure if I should go again with wire mesh or Ditra would be a better option when it comes to preventing possible cracks?


texts: What could cause a false positive report from a line tester?

texts:
I'm in India where the domestic supply is 250v @ 50Hz.
I've been working - gradually replacing the solid-core wire/s with stranded wires purchased recently.

To my surprise the line tester showed a feeble glow when touched to a wire (no connections made i.e. both ends free) draped over the phase/live wire. That little piece of wire (about a metre in length) itself is new, and so is the phase/live.

Further, as a general precaution when I play with these things at the residence, I had taken the precaution of wrapping non-adhesive PVC over the phase wire. Ergo, insulation leakage really should not be an issue but I'm not possessed of a megger. Oh ... and the line tester glow dies when the supply is killed.

Assuming the insulation is fair - what could possibly cause the line tester to present a false positive? Could a static charge induced from handling be so strong as to cause a glow?


texts: What type of insulation and waterproofing (if any) should be done for a monolithic slab on grade?

texts:
When building a new residential home with a monolithic slab on grade (footer and slab are poured at the same time), should any water proofing, insulating or drainage be added besides the vapor barrier?

With basement walls, there is drain pipe installed where the basement wall meets the footer to reduce hydro-static pressure buildup that can cause basement water seepage. The wall is also tarred or covered in some other waterproofing material, and foam insulation board is often added before back filling the dirt.

What, if any, of these things should be done with monolithic slabs? Does anything need to be done to terminate the vapor barrier where it comes up the outside of the footer? Should any waterproofing or insulation be done to the slab edges before back-filling? Is there ever a reason for a french drain or other draining techniques?


texts: Substance to help cold patch adhere better?

texts:
I moved into a house recently that has an unmaintained driveway.  It looks like it hasn't been sealcoated in 20 years.  I plan to use "cold patch" to fill one small pothole (4 inch diameter) and fill some low depressions that tend to become puddles when it rains.  Note that I have already pressure-washed the driveway and there are no crumbling bits present on the driveway.

Is there some substance I can put down on the old asphalt first, to help the cold patch adhere better?  For instance perhaps Quikrete Concrete Bonding Adhesive?


texts: Concrete porches pulling away from home and cracking

texts:
I have an 1940'sish home with old concrete porches (x3) they are cracking, chipping, and pulling away from the home. Would I be able to repair them? If not could I build a deck over them (wooden)? I would prefer to build stairs for the time being as I am low on funds for a deck so that would be the best option, would that be possible? They are not solid concrete, filled in with cinder blocks and rocks.
thank you!


texts: What causes wet/damp concrete blocks in a newly built shed?

texts:
Over three weeks ago, we had building contractors in to build a turf shed and today there was heavy rainfall all day and we noticed wet/dampness on the inside of the blocks. There are two coats of plaster on the outside of the shed.

Can anyone help?


texts: Pulling out a 1222 moen shower cartridge that won't turn

texts:
I have Moen's plastic tool for rotating a 1222 shower cartridge to help make it easier to pull out, but whenever I try to rotate the cartridge with the plastic tool, it bends and warps slightly and seems about to break.

Maybe I need one of those metal cartridge puller tool, but I don't see how even that could possibly rotate the cartridge; the plastic tabs (which say "HC") are wedged in an indentation of the metal tube. I don't think the metal part is supposed to rotate, so how could the cartridge itself rotate? Or is the plastic suppose to slide up on the metal incline as it rotates and pull out the cartridge that way?

I've heard people say to use vinegar to help loosen the cartridge; where exactly would I put vinegar? And the cartridge being mostly plastic & rubber -- would calcium really be holding it in place (I would think vinegar could be useful for defusing two metal parts that are stuck together, but do metal & plastic fuse together due to calcium?)


texts: How to stop Central Air unit from freezing over inside and outside

texts:
Today I noticed the AC wasn't working. I checked the unit outside and saw the line freezing. I checked inside and it's frozen as well.

I turned the AC off and fan on. The ice is melting now.

I suspect it has to do with poor air flow. I bought this house 3 months ago and the pleated air filter was missing. I put one in and the AC continued working fine. It stopped working one time a few weeks ago. I turned it off for a bit and back on and it worked again. I didn't think much of it.

After the ice melts, what should I do before trying to turn it back on? I'm going to clean it as best I can. I'd like to avoid further damage and calling a professional.

This is inside the house. Looking up into the AC. Normally there is a pleated filter coving this but I removed it to see:

This is right below the above picture. The ice is melting into the buckets:

Edit: After the ice melted. Hard to tell but I cleaned it using a mop. A lot of dust fell from it. I turned it back on and it's working well so far.

Edit: Same issue happened again. Had to call an AC repairman for $135 to add refridgerant.


texts: Changing light fitting with red/black uk wiring

texts:
I have attempted to replace my bathroom light fitting. It has 2 red wires and 2 black. In the original standard light fitting, it has one black in the live and one in neutral. Then the two red loop wires were in the middle fitting see photo:

Now see below photo of the new light fitting. It worked when one of each the black and red were in both the neutral and live. But when I turned the light off, the electric trips, and won't come back on. What am I doing wrong? Note the naked wires are earth.


texts: Can I cap the air return in my unfinished basement?

texts:
I noticed today that there is a massive air return in my unfinished basement. The opening is about 2 meters from the blower, and as large in diameter as the return duct coming from the upstairs. This makes me think that the furnace is pulling most of its air from that intake rather than from the upstairs rooms. Also, the supply vent in the basement blows very hard compared to the upstairs rooms.

Will capping off this return or limiting the basement's supply vent cause any problems for the equipment, or lower efficiency?


texts: How can I properly drain heatpump condensate?

texts:
I have a heat pump in the attic That drains to the ground outside two floors below. I naively added a hose fitting so I could redirect the water where I wanted it, slightly up hill.
This created a trap in the line and my overflow pan filled. My HVAC soon shut off (2 days later) and I had to drain the overflow pan by hand. Removing the hose from the end of the drain and emptying the overflow pan allowed the System to start up again.

My question is: If I put a Y in the down pipe above my new intended outflow so that there is always a way for air to get out, will that cause any problems?

Diagram in text below:

HVAC Unit
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|
Y    Site of possible Y
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C  hose coupling     -------   End of Hose above coupling
L-------------------/