texts: Does a new manufactured home on permanent foundation need a shutoff within 30ft?

texts:
I am installing a new 2020 manufactured home on my land about 40' from a permanent underground 200A service meter-center/meter-main panel (Eaton MBE2040B200BTS). This panel currently only has 2 circuits in it: a 110V 20A utility outdoor GFCI circuit and a 30A 220V RV hookup.  Both receptacles are installed on the same post as the panel and two ground rods are installed.  The manufactured home comes equipped with a Siemens MB2040B1200G 200A indoor main panel with the neutral and ground busses disconnected. The manufactured home will be installed on a "permanent foundation" consisting of a concrete perimeter wall with a crawlspace.

Here's what I'm thinking: Add an Eaton BRS225 main lug kit to the outdoor meter-main panel and connect 4/0-4/0-2/0-4 Aluminum Mobile Home Feeder Cable(RHH/RHW-2) to the Siemens panel in the manufactured home. I'll use Schedule 80 conduit where the cable is inside the crawlspace and also where it drops from the Eaton Meter-Main panel. The rest of the run will be direct burial without conduit. I'll leave a 6in section of rebar sticking out of the top of the foundation wall and connected to the main horizontal rebar in the footer as a Ufer. I'll use a rebar rated connector to connect to bare #4Cu and run that to the ground bus bar in the Siemens panel.

Questions: Do I need an additional disconnect outside? Will my Ufer be all the grounding I need? Am I on the right track? Thanks!!

EDIT: Here are photos of the breakers in the manufactured home panel.

EDIT2: Here is the main HUD label from under the kitchen sink. (This is the same model house but mine is not built yet) and an electrical info plate outside on the wall.

EDIT3: Here's 2 new photos of the 200A outdoor panel with the 20A and 30A circuits in it.


texts: How should I fill channels left in old plaster after dado rail removal?

texts:
I just purchased a condo in the Boston area. The house has been built early 1900s.

I'm removing dado (chair) rails in the dining room that don't look great and are just dust collector at this point.

I used a pry bar to remove one of them and am now wondering how I could patch those holes.

It seems that I am dealing with:

lath
Horsehair plaster
wallpaper 1
wallpaper 2
drywall

More pictures

Here is what I think I should do:

Option 1:

take a piece drywall, screw it to the lath
dry wall tape + joint compound
primer + paint

Option 2:

screw plaster washers on the remaining plaster
add missing plaster to the lath
take a piece drywall, screw it all the way to the lat
dry wall tape + joint compound
primer + paint

Please advise. Thanks!


texts:
A novice DIY-er, I'm building out my arsenal of tools. One of the things that has been possible me is the bit holder vs the hex chuck.

When buying bits, so far I've gone for the Irwin impact-ready line. They lock securely into the hex chuck of my impact driver and they won't come out unless I pull back the sleeve on the driver, popping the bit out. The bit holder is from an old machine, but despite not being impact-ready it locks nicely into my driver too.

Given I have the choice in what type of bits I buy, is there any reason for me to prefer "an impact ready bit holder with bits for it" vs. "directly inserting impact ready bits into the hex chuck on the driver" ?

Appreciate any comments to clear up this confusion for me.


texts: Can a well pump be moved from inside to outside?

texts: Due to the noise and unsightliness of the pump, wife is wondering if we can move it outside...


texts: Can I hang a bathroom cabinet on a single stud and drywall anchors?

texts: I have a 15-20lb wood bathroom cabinet (24 inches wide, few feet tall) and I'll be looking to load it up with heavy bathroom supplies. Problem is there is only one stud available. Do you think one stud + drywall anchors on the other side is enough support? I was thinking it'd be best to cut out the drywall and put a backer board in between the studs?


texts:
I have gotten my walls prepared by "professional" painters. They have put putty on the drywall and sanded them down. Finally they have painted.

When I stand in front of the wall and look at them straight, they look pretty OK. But if I look at them with an angle, especially right across where the light is coming, I can see different patterns.

Please look at the pictures and tell me if this is as good as it can get.


texts:
I have a whirlpool gas cooktop that is black and porcelain steel. I can absolutely never clean it entirely. The black color masks the spots when it’s wet and they show back again when it’s dry.

It appears there is some stuff sticking on the cooktop but I can never take it out.

I've tried a standard cooktop cleaner but didn't get good results. Any advice on cleaning?


texts:
I have a piece of furniture that is in need of some improvements.
This is the piece:

As you may already see, there are a lot of light marks in it.
If we look closer to the surface, this is how it looks like in some areas:

And like this:

I'm not sure what kind of wood this is.
I was trying to avoid sanding it because I like the current color and lighter finishing in the edges and I don't think I will be able to make it look as is.

Is there any way to minimize the marks? Some polisher that can be applied?

I don't know much about this kind of stuff and don't want to end up ruining the piece.


texts: Do rainwater drain pipes have to bend at the bottom

texts:
One of our rainwater pipes ends half over a small drain, but the bend at the bottom means some of the water misses the drain and runs off along the patio,

I thought I could simply cut a hole in the bend so the water drops straight down, but does the bend perform any function that would be missed if it was removed?


texts: When does it makes sense to remove the existing paint (lead or no lead) before putting on new paint?

texts:
I want to repaint the interior of a 1930's house we just bought.
When does it make sense to strip the paint before we put on new coats of paint? What if there is no lead underneath?

I know that the EPA has guidelines on how to work with lead in the house.

We talked to a contractor and he said that for our kitchen renovation, he would demo and scrape off all the paint, reseal, prime and then paint.

What factors go into deciding whether to remove the existing layers of paint before repainting?


texts: Carrier infinity 25vna heat pump utility curtailment

texts:
I have a newly installed infinity greenspeed hp system and the utility is trying to figure out how to control the outdoor unit in heating mode.

It's my understanding that the utility sends a signal to the UTIL input on the outdoor unit which then gets relayed to the infinity stat for instructions on how to respond to the curtailment demand from the utility.

Under advanced service menu, set up, and utility curtailment, there is a option to set up a response in cooling situations... "Disable, turn off, or low stage". There's no option for what to do in heating mode.

My infinity touch stat shows it as possible to curtail in heating mode in the install manual (page 61). But... It isn't there when I go to implement that option.

I've seen elsewhere on boards that the infinity can not curtail in heat mode, but that would mean the install manual is incorrect. Plus, when I first enter the curtailment menu the option is there for a split second and then disappears. It is almost as if some other selection or setting is preventing it from being displayed.

Any ideas? I would really appreciate help as it is preventing me from receiving a large rebate from the utility


texts: How can I lock a sliding door that doesn't have a door lock?

texts: I don't know if this question constitutes a home improvement or life hack but I'll ask here first. We live downstairs for my wife's parents in Japan. My wife's mother occasional invades downstairs. She changes around things- this infuriates my somewhat control-freak wife. Is there a device that I buy on the internet that allow a sliding door to be locked? Its a double sliding door with no internals of Japanese design- more robust that those paper doors but essential light weight wood on the wood runner with no bearings. I need non-permanent- no modifications to either door or wall. Just need to provide some resistance to entry. Its an internal door. Because there are two sliding doors- I envision perhaps a Z connection- A L with an end- the gap between the doors is 5mm- and small lock to lock the doors together. Have you seen something like that? We have a decent a hardware store at last near home but no tools.


texts: How do you remove an ASSA double cylinder deadbolt?

texts: On my entry door is an ASSA 7000 double cylinder deadbolt that has no screws and no screw head caps. I have found videos on removing Schlage double cylinder deadbolts with the caps and without. Those without use an Allen wrench along the bolt however this lock does not have such a mechanism. Some kwikset double cylinder have a face plate that removes to reveal the screws but if this lock has that I cannot figure out how to get it off. This is a really nice lock so I don't want to deface it trying to remove it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: My daughter was using a rug shampooer. She said that all of a sudden the shampooers power went out.  She finnished the job with a different outlet. Then while vacuuming, using a different outlet, the same thing happened. Here is what i have done so far. I have tested the two outlets, neither has current. I have reset the curcuit breakers, by firmly turning them off then on. My home was built in the 50s and I dont have any of those wall outlets with the built in breakers. Both of these outlets are in the same room but on different walls. Just found that two more outlets are out in th same room


texts: how to position the screen and window for winter mode with a double hung window

texts: my double hung windows have a half screen and a half window, how should they be positioned for winter mode? Should the window be on the lower half or the upper half?  These are new windows, but so drafty.


texts: How can I remove scratches from mat plastic?

texts: This is the sheet of plastic that I would like to clean up. I've researched the Internet a bit, but I could only find solutions for glossy plastics that involved polishing. Is there anything that can be done here (apart from making it glossy).


texts: Is there a big difference between specialised wall smoothing pastes and joint filler/finsiher?

texts:
I have been renovating some interior walls that were damaged through age and the process of removing wallpaper.  I didn't want to replaster, and I wanted a very thin covering, so I opted for a big-brand wall smoothing paste (or actually "Enduit de Lissage" in the local language). There are similar products from a few manufacturers.

The product wasn't as easy to employ as suggested (lots of sanding and touching-up is required) but the results look acceptable so far.

However, the product is expensive and I am now wondering whether there is a big difference between it and joint filler or joint finisher compound which seems a fraction of the price.

Is there any advantage to the specialist product?


texts: I've been thinking about installing a CSV (cycle stop valve) after my F&W 2 horsepower booster pump to maintain a constant PSI at the house and put a stop to the water hammer. Has anyone done this? How does the above ground booster pump behave to the CSVs imposed flow restriction? Amperage cut down to compensate?


texts: How can I find places to nail/screw into walls of ICF (insulated concrete form) home?

texts:
The home I bought has exterior walls made of ICF (insulated concrete form).  I don't know the brand or type, I just know that somehow the builders attached the drywall to the styrofoam/concrete.

I'm looking to add picture molding and want to ensure it will be secure when hanging weighty items.

I've tried a new stud finder and it doesn't work.

I was under the house the other day and saw the bottom (2") edge of the styrofoam and could not find any change in the styrofoam in the horizontal direction.  I'd expected an embedded strip of something more durable than styrofoam.


texts: Sealant used to prevent water getting between bath and wall?

texts: What's the name of the 'rubbery' sealant they use between the bath and the wall, and why don't they use it in between the wall tiles?  They use a hard grouting between wall tiles, but if the weight of the bath water makes the bath slightly drag the tiles down when it is filled which may crack the grouting (presumably why they use the rubbery sealant between bath and wall), isn't it more sensible to use that rubbery sealant for all the grouting?


texts: Does Homeowner's Insurance Typically Cover A Broken Well?

texts:
My well is horizontally fed through a wall in my foundation.  It recently rained a lot and I believe the pipe that feeds my well has been cracked.  I had to cut the power to my well pump in order to stop water rushing out of a basement wall.  I am estimating this will be an extremely expensive fix; so my question is this, does homeowner's insurance often cover this type of situation?

As a side note, in regards to the severity: my basement was completely flooded with water, but I've soaked most of it up and pushed the remainder down the sump.


texts:
Gas Water Heater will be permanately out of service. Pilot & Gas is shutoff.
Should I drain the water or leave it or does it matter at all?


texts: Sharpening blade, move away from self or pull towards me?

texts:
Most instruction books I get included with sharpening stones say to push the blade away from myself as though I was trying to slice off a thin layer of the stone. In other words, the instruction books recommend moving the blade towards edge side.

In "The Razor's Edge Book of Sharpening", however, the author, Jovanovitch, says that this is wrong and that the blade should be pulled across the stone away from the edge. He says that pushing the edge towards the stone will cause grit to flow over both sides of the edge and this will cause dullness.

Which advice is better?


texts: Removing grout from perimeter of counter and backsplash?

texts:
The previous homeowners of my house remodeled the kitchen and without looking too close, everything might look professionally done, but unfortunately we're left trying to correct a lot of these bad decisions that they made with the remodel, this being one of them.

This particular issue is that grout was put in the corners/intersections of where the backsplash (a glass mosaic backsplash) and the walls meets the laminate counter top (faux-granite style counter, matte finish).  And for some reason...it was also put in the crevice where the bottom of the top cabinets meet the top of the backsplash.  I already know that the grout was not mixed properly because we're missing patches of grout in between some of the mosaic tiles (and sometimes when we're cleaning it, some more pops out, which is fun).  The grout in this area is pretty thick and grainy.

I'm concerned that if I start chipping away at it that I may ding-up the other close-by areas (glass backsplash, cabinets, wall, counter, etc...) or that not all of the grout will be able to be cleaned away and it will be patchy.

I was thinking that maybe, given my situation, it may be sufficient to caulk over-top of the grout (even though I know it won't look perfect).

Any suggestions?


texts:
I was trying to hang an IKEA Kallax shelf on the wall  but ended up tearing away part of the wall.  I am not too sure what kind of wall this is (in a ~1960s apartment building), first layer looks like drywall, no idea what the brownish layer is, but I know there's probably concrete/brick behind the brownish layer since I couldn't drill through it with a regular drill.
What's the best way to patch it up so that I can try redoing it?
Originally tried using some plastic anchors with screws for drywall, but the wall was too shallow and the screw + anchor couldn't go in very far (clearly wasn't enough to hold the shelf as you can see). I am thinking of trying to drill into the concrete/brick after patching the wall up and using some sleeve anchors . The shelf weighs ~35lbs and I will be using 4 anchors to hold it up, so I would like the anchors to be able to hold up at least 50lbs in total.
The hole is about 4 in tall on white part and 2 in tall on brownish part, and 1 in at its deepest.
Any tips on what type of anchor I should be using?


texts: How tall can I go above ground with a concrete footing?

texts: I am building a 20' x 20' foot deck with a 10' x 12' Pavilion in one corner, away from the house.I need the concrete footings for the pavilion to be flush or just above the surface of the deck. There are four 8"x8"x8' posts for the pavilion, (it was a package deal), so each of the concrete footings will be a different height above grade due to yard slope. Three of the posts will have a footing of 20 inches or less above grade, but that fourth one will need to be 34 1/2 inches. Will a 12"x12" Footing at 3 feet deep and 34 1/2 inches above ground be sufficient? The wood, connectors, and roofing for the pavilion weigh in at 2300lbs. This is my wife's dream deck for sitting back and people watching but I want it to be safe. we are in the KC metro area in Missouri. Any help will be appreciated. Steve


texts: Light bulb lumens output between Europe and America

texts: Considering the voltage difference between Europe and North America, will an E27 base bulb, in Europe, emit the same lumens as an E26 bulb in america?, Or will there be a different output because of lower American voltage?


texts: Can I drill holes into the front of my fridge to attach a new handle?

texts: I am going to attach contact paper to a fridge with no drilled holes. My old handle was glued on with two sided tape. I want to buy nice handles that will stay attached. Tape? Epoxy glue? Screws?


texts: Can you install a steel beam in timber posts?

texts: I'm planning to remove a load bearing wall and place a 4500 beam. Steel is stronger than timber and I should be able to use a thinner steel beam than a timber beam. Does this make sense and how do I attach it to the timber posts and rafters?


texts:
I recently installed some decorative LED shelf lighting (specifically these if it makes a difference).  The manufacturer says they will last 50,000 hours, where "last" means maintaining 70% of lumen output. (I realize this might be inaccurate.)

I would like to keep these lights on most of the time.  Question:  If I keep them dimmed, will they last longer?

More specifically:  If I keep them at half-brightness, will they last twice as long?  Or somewhat less than that?  Or no longer at all?


texts: How to make sure a dampen floor and wall is caused by a leaking pipe?

texts:
I got damp tiles on the floor in my bathroom.
I also noticed rising damp on tiles fixed to a wall from exterior side of the bathroom.

Pictures:

I think it is a leaking pipe installed bellow the tiles but not 100% sure.
As I remeber the pipe was installed somewhere close to the area where I see the damp so the leakage is likely to be true but....

From the other side of a coin just before the problem shows up we were cleaning the patio with a preasure cleaner and it was very extensive cleaning as we were preparing it for sealing/painting job.
The patio is a cross of the bathroom wall and I belive high preasure pushed a lot of water in to the concrete below the tiles as they are not not well grouted, so this could be the other case.

Leaking toilet output could be a case as well.

To check posible pipe leak I have done simple test with a water meter like this:

1) Checked that all outside connection (shower, sinks, garden outputs) are not leaking.
2) Closed all outgoing water sources and took a picture of a meter at that stage.
3) Than, after 40 min I took another picture of the meter.

As you can see on the image bellow the gauge has moved sligtly in this 40 min. This would indicate water loss.

I'm not sure how to read the gauge, what exactly is the loss and what it could mean.

What further steps to take to make sure whats wrong?

Thank you.

I'm adding an update with a third measurement following 5 hours after the send one. In my view they all show nearly 1 liter leaking a day. Could someone validate please?


texts: How to strengthen two joists that have had big sections cut out to make space for roller garage door

texts:
The diagram below shows the problem and also the atypical way the roof was framed originally (see this question)
This garage door was already in place since long before we bought the house and separate garage about ten years ago, I've noticed no visible problems until now as I'm looking into flooring the attic.
I dont know how old the cracks are in the wall plate under joists 2 and 3 (joist 3 wasn't cut at all)
There are smaller cracks in other places and there are some metal reinforcing strips screwed into the plate crosswise.

One solution that came to mind was to add further joists on top of the upper plates over joists 1 and 2 and possibly 3, as in the diagram below.

Would the above be a valid way to proceed or not?
Possibly related, the two rafters attached to joist 3 have a very crude collar tie between them, quite high up in the attic, well above head height standing on the third joist. There aren't any others except one, ten or twelve joists further along. The tie isn't even level.
Thanks for reading and especially for any guidance offered.
Edit to add photos
Taking these, i realised that the diagrams above are incorrect, the upper plates are not directly over the lower ones, they lie approx 4" lateral
which I think might explain the upward bowing.
The second photo maybe gives some clue as to the quality of the 10" by 2" joists.
You can also see the cracking in the lower plate in the third photo.
The wall to wall span is 16 feet and the joists are every 16"


texts: The faucet is leaking. How do I remove the faucet handle pieces?

texts: I can remove the hot and cold handle pieces, but the rest of the handle is not coming off to get to the screw below.


texts:
At home, we have two smoke detectors: one on the ground floor and one on the first floor. The problem is that the one at the first floor gives a lot of false alerts (and the one at the ground floor never does). We already replaced it twice, but it keeps giving false alerts, so it might have to do something with the position of it.

It gives most false alerts at night (I don't know if this matters, but I add it here anyway).
It is very close to a lamp and to a closet.
We occasionally test it and remove the dust with a vacuum cleaner, but it still gives many false alerts.

Why is it giving false alerts? Does it have to do with the position?


texts: One Big Power Supply vs Multiple Smaller Ones

texts:
I'm remodeling my kitchen and decided to get LED strips. I already know the necessary power for my LEDs, but I want to decide whether to power them all from one source or multiple sources. These are the zones

1 zone: 8 meters 120LEDs 5050 double strip (power supply will connect in the middle on the fourth meter to avoid voltage drop)
2 zone: 4 meters 120LEDs double strip
3 zone: same as zone 1

Since the power supplies and wires will be all behind cabinets I have the option to choose whether to power them all from one power source or get three separate ones for each zone.

First scenario will be:

1 power supply 240Watt for zone 1
1 power supply 120Watt for zone 2
1 power supply 240Watt for zone 3

Second Scenario would be:

1 600Watt power supply for zone 1, 2 and 3.

I'm aware that both will work great. 8 meter zones will be connected in the middle to avoid voltage drop.

In terms of price it seems like multiple power supplies is the better option, at least that's what Chinese suppliers on ebay say. I'm pretty sure that the 600 watt must have a fan which may do produce some noise. Some 240W power supplies I've found are with passive cooling so in terms of noise, separate ones might also be better. And if something happens and some of them dies, I can only replace the one that's dead.

What do you think are there any advantages to having one big power supply for all of the leds?


texts:
I couldn't find any help on forums or websites if anyone may have tried to install Nest by replacing old Viconics P117 Board and E117 thermostat. I have an Electric Furnace and Heat Pump configuration. I have already brought the Nest 3rd generation and couldn't get it running. My system have only 3 wires connected in Thermostat(All other colour wire are note connected). I am adding the system diagram here so that you can look and suggest if I can make any wiring changes. Please help. Could only find manual in French.

Final Configuration on Nest


texts: I'm doing some work on the inside of an exterior wall.  It's covered in nails from the siding on the outside.  I know you're not supposed to flatten these kinds of nails when used in roofing.  Is it safe / recommended to hammer these nails sideways so as to ease the installation of certain kinds of insulation?


texts: How to fix capillary action on anti-condensation coating on box profile steel roofing sheets?

texts:
We have some carports here that were installed by a previous owner a few years ago.  They have side walls, but are open front and back, and have a steel box profile roof.  Big green sheets like this:
https://www.roofingsheetsbyrhino.com/box-profile-roofing-sheets/
The sheets have an anti-condensation coating on them, which probably does the job it's supposed to... but sadly wicks water from on top of the sheets all over the underside.  I initially naively thought it was coming up from the drip edge, so I scored the coating and tore a 4" strip of it off all along that edge.
That has helped, but I can see now that it's also problematic wherever the sheets overlap, especially on the end laps.  I think the coating should have been stripped off the sheets wherever there's an overlap, and some lapping tape put in there, but as far as I can tell they did neither thing.
I'm not sure how best to solve this.

take all the sheets off, trim the coating, add lapping tape, and re-fit...

seal the laps from above with some flashing tape or similar.  The roofs are very visible from further up the garden and the house, so I'd want some tape the same colour as the sheets which feels like a big ask!

other....?  Any ideas?

Thank you!


texts: Patching small-medium drywall hole with wall cutout

texts:
As pictured below, I have a 4" x 6" rectangular hole in my drywall, which I cut using a jab saw. I plan to patch with the original drywall piece that I cutout, with a couple of furring strips behind. (They are 0.75" x 1.5".)

Questions:

Do I need to use drywall tape, or could I get away with just using the drywall mud?
Will I need the standard 3 coats of mud? And the wider knives? (I only have a 2" now.)
How do I avoid bumps from the patch (i.e. tape & drywall mud raised on the wall)?
What would happen if I just used the furring strips, and filled the gaps with spackle?
Anything else I should be asking?


texts: Does the Baco Code require double 5/8 on the ceiling in a garage when there is living space above?

texts: Does the Baco code require double 5/8" 0n the garage ceiling when there is a living space above ?


texts: Galvanized Gutters Required For Dormer With Rubber Roof?

texts:
I have a long dormer and currently there is no gutter, water just runs off and is starting to seep into my basement. I got an estimate to install gutters on  the dormer and the contractor said that because the roof on the dormer is rubber (I have shingles on the rest of the slanted parts of the roof) that the only type of gutters than can be installed are galvanized and they are 7x the cost of regular aluminum gutters.

I'm wondering if this contractor is taking me for a ride or not.

In summary, is it OK to install standard aluminum gutters on a rubber roof? If so, are galvanized better and would this guy tell me galvanized is the only way?


texts: grounding wire from ceiling with no place to attach to the fixture?

texts: I was took down my parents 45 year old kitchen light fixture to tighten a screw and when i went to put it back up i noticed that there was a grounding wire coming down from the ceiling but no place to attach it to on the fixture. was it safe to just leave touching the inside of the wire box?


texts: rotten wood between concrete slabs of floor

texts: When prepping the floor to tile, I came across what appears to be old wood siding between 2 solid concrete slabs in a doorway.It is about a half inch wide a d runs the width of the opening. A quickcrete patch had been over the wood that came up while scraping the floor. What should I do? Try digging as much out as possible and then add concrete into gap in stages?


texts: What masonry anchor should I use to install both window boxes and shutters into brick?

texts:
I have a brick house and my wife and I want to install plastic shutters and wooden window boxes on some windows. I know that the shutters will not be heavy load bearers, but the windows boxes will be much heavier.

I've looked all over online and am still pretty confused by the differences in the masonry anchors that I might need to use for this project.

I see tapcon screws are anchors and screws in one, but would they be strong enough to handle a window box?

Are there standard plastic/metal anchors I could use that would work just like a drywall anchors?


texts:
I have an electric Kenmore dryer, actual manufacturer appears to be Inglis - model number on the sticker says "C110-8240091", though that doesn't bring up much in my online searching.  It's been working fine since we bought it (used) 6 months ago.

Today it stopped heating, so I pulled it out, opened the back panel, and had a nice "well there's your problem" moment.

One of the wires on the temperature switch mounted to the bottom of the heating element has melted.  I can easily cut back the melted part of the wire, crimp on a new connector and plug it back in.

But first I really want to know what caused it to melt like that in the first place.  My guess is that it was poorly crimped, and had enough resistance to heat up and slowly melt the wire.  Does that make sense?

The thermal switch appears to be closed circuit, which is normal.  Anything else I should check for before repairing the wire and testing it out?


texts: What is electrical code for number of wires in a breaker?

texts:
US, Georgia
I am adding some new ciruits to add some additional outlets.  The closest place is to run a wire to the main panel box.

My question is, can I connect more than one wire to a breaker and still meet code or do I need to get a new breaker.  Both the wires and plugs are the same rating as the breaker - 15 amp.

Making the assumption that only one wire can be under each screw in the breaker, can I make a junction in the panel box?  IE, one wire to breaker, but two wires to a wire nut connecting them together, or does the junction need to be in a separate box?


texts:
I am currently renting a room, that was a living room once, and one side of of walls are just pieces of wood that you can slide on a track. I use the middle one as my "door". But there is a small gap between my door and the other piece, I am thinking if I can fill that space with something then it would reduce the sound from the other side.
I am renting so I don't want to do anything permanent, I was thinking of maybe hanging a thick blanket or something over the gap or just fill the gap between them with something that would not stop the sliding of the door.


texts:
I live in Southwestern Ontario (seasonal temps of around -5°c in the winter, around 30°c in the summer) and I would like to build a cold room in my basement.

The basement is unfinished with poured concrete walls, concrete floor and standard North American layout joists (18" apart) in the ceiling.

I will be framing with some insulation, and plan to use foam board to cover the ceiling.

My question is regarding the ventilation: My research shows that I should have two vents, one pulling cool air from the outside running down to around floor level, and one vent to the outside for warmer air to leave.

This makes perfect sense in the winter, however in the summer this would lead to warm air (around 30°c) being pulled into the cold room.

Is there a solution to this besides using some kind of a/c unit?


texts: I mounted a vinyl picture window sideways, can I drill small weeping holes into the frame?

texts:
I found a nice picture window on the cheap but its frame weeping holes are designed to drain in a horizontal orientation (one in each lower corner).

I have mounted it vertically, so now there is a weeping hole in both a single top and single bottom corner.

I was thinking I might seal the hole in the top, and drill tiny holes in the vinyl at the bottom.

Is this a good idea?


texts: Can I use electrical tape for making a splice? If so, how?

texts: What is the approved method for creating an electrical splice to 14 gauge wire intented to carry 110V, 10 amps (standard residential power) in USA? What does code say about tape-splices? The splice will be in an electrical junction box, located in a hallway, and a split bolt will not be used.


texts: Installing double-pole line voltage thermostat for 2 baseboard heaters

texts:
I'm trying to replace an old manual thermostat with a new digital thermostat for my line voltage baseboard heaters. If it's important, this particular thermostat simultaneously controls two separate baseboard heaters on opposite sides of a large room.

The hole in my wall has 6 wires, 3 black and 3 white (and a 7th ground wire, which I am ignoring for the purposes of my question). The wires come in black/white pairs from three corners. I am naming these corners α, β, and γ (alpha, beta, gamma). Thus the six aforementioned wires are αb and αw, βb and βw, and γb and γw.

The old double-pole thermostat seemed to function correctly. The wiring was as follows, where parentheses indicate a single solderless connector:

(L1, αb, γb)

(T1, βb)

(αw, βw, γw)

L2: unused

T2: unused

I thought it was strange that L2 and T2 were unused. When I wired my new double-pole thermostat I did as follows:

(L1, αb, γb)

(T1, βb)

(L2, αw, γw)

(T2, βw)

However, this new thermostat does not appear to be working. Did I wire it correctly?

I hope my notation is clear but I'm happy to edit if necessary. Thanks in advance for your help; much appreciated!


texts: Need help adding fan to existing 3-way switch setup

texts:
I'm including a diagram, because it is difficult to describe all of the things going on here. I have 2 sets of 3-way switches on either side of a room. 1 set operates some can lights with a switch on one side of the room and a dimmer on the other side. The other set has a switch on either side of the room and looks like it was once wired up to a fan. I'm attempting to add a new fan, but i'm not sure how to wire it up with the existing setup. The new fan has no light and comes with a wall switch that just has the hot, neutral, and ground. It looks like this:

From what I can tell the is a line coming into the middle of the box, then each 3-way is wired up from there up to the ceiling. In the ceiling where the new fan should be, I have 2 of the 3-wire (white,black, and red) cables. Here is my diagram of the switches on the hot side (I've excluded the grounds for the sake of simplicity):

So, question #1 is: Can I use this fan switch with the existing setup?

And question #2: How would I go about this?


texts: How to remove this door knob on the mortise lockset?

texts: I have an old mortise lockset that I want to replace. And I already removed all the visible screws and the cylinder. However, I am not able to figure out how to remove the knobs. I could loosen the cover a little bit and I saw a "half" screw head on one of the knob. Posting some pictures here as well.


texts: What compound is best to use when skim coating a plaster wall that had wallpaper removed?

texts: What kind of compound is best to use when skim coating a plaster wall that had wallpaper removed. Should it be thinned with water? when would one use Toping Compound instead of joint compound. Light weight compound, blue bucket, or regular, green bucket if going with joint compound


texts: Why would a central vacuum breaker trip once every time I used it?

texts:
This will be a hard one to find out. I have a central vacuum Drain Vac 2G20028-c , 12.5 amp at 120 volts.

It has a mini 15 amp breaker on the unit. The power going to the vacuum is on a normal square D breaker 20 amp breaker.

After a few weeks of being installed, every time I start the unit for the first time in the day, after about 30 to 90 seconds the 20 amp breaker in the panel trips (not the vacuum 15 amps). Then after resetting the breaker, I could vacuum all day long without any more trouble. The problem is still there (every time I use it !) after having done those thing :

Change the panel breaker for a news 20 amps
Change the 20 amps, 120v power outlet
Having check by the repair shop the vacuum, apparently all is fine
Change the entire cable between the power outlet and the main panel 20 amp breaker
Change the location and again the breaker in the main panel

Except changing the brand of my vacuum, I can't think of anything else. Could electric charge be a problem ? Could moisture be a problem ?

My vacuum outlet is pipe outside with a weather protection flap outlet, similar to those for laundry dryer.


texts: Custom ductwork mixing box vs manufacturer accessory

texts: I am trying to fit some equipment in a tiny space and the mixing box that the manufacturer sells has a 34"x5" opening on it for the outside air intake.  I don't have anywhere close to enough room to accommodate a transition piece to this size  and was wondering if there is typically anything special about the mixing boxes that manufacturers sell with their equipment or if you are just as well off ducting the equipment and making your own "mixing box".  Then I can make all of the openings where I need them rather than being stuck by the limited variations that the manufacturer offers.


texts: Installing ceiling rack with a LPI32 Plus I Joist Framing.

texts: My garage ceiling has LPI I joists that are 11 7/8 deep and 24 inches on center. Wondering if I can install ceiling racks if the supports run perpendicular to the joists and span and are  secured to at least 2 joists.


texts: What are the pros and cons of titanium lawnmower blades?

texts:
I have a Honda stone-flinger with a cutting blade and a mulching blade, both steel of some flavor. I remove the blades about every other time I mow, and touch up the edges with a file, or the angle-grinder if needed.

Every season, about the 2nd time I do this I gets to thinkin' (as is my wont when faced with hard work) that a blade of a different material might be more resilient to the stones and tree-carcasses I often excavate with the derned thing.

a) How much more brittle than a typical blade would a titanium blade be?
b) How much longer than a typical blade would a titanium blade keep an edge?

I don't know anything about the different grades of titanium billet, or titanium alloys, but that might have an effect on performance.

Yes, I know that titanium is super expensive. Price is not a consideration, for this question.


texts: What type of hurricane protection offers the best ease of deployment?

texts:
Seeking lesson-learned from seasoned hurricane survivors: I would like to install hurricane protection for windows / sliding glass doors for multiple properties.  The primary consideration is the ease (minimal manpower and effort) to deploy and remove protection.  There are 8+ homes, so if it took 1 hour to deploy it would cost 8 hours.  Ideally it would take less than 10 minutes to deploy / remove one unit.

Half of the windows and a sliding glass door or on the second floor and another sliding glass door on the ground floor.

What are the best candidates for hurricane protection, given the emphasis on speed?  If you have experience and any specific recommendations
 lessons learned, this would be highly appreciated.  Thank you


texts:
Our 1950s era house has a 2-prong switched outlet by the front door. Both plugs are turned on/off by the switch next to the front door, so it's not one of those split kind where one plug is always hot and the other is switched.
The outlet has 3 wires like this:

The metal between wires 2 and 3 on the left is connected, so it's not like the modern outlets where you can break the tab to stop the continuity between these 2 screw terminals.

I did an experiment where I disconnected each wire one at a time and found these results:

Disconnected 1: Both plugs on this outlet stop working.
Disconnected 2: Both plugs on this outlet stop working.
Disconnected 3: Both plugs on this outlet work, but another outlet on a different wall stops working.

I held a non-contact voltage detector by each wire and it shows 1 and 3 with voltage. The really baffling part is that the voltage tester still shows voltage on 1 and 3 when the switch is turned off, but I've read that you can have "phantom voltage" so maybe it's showing that. The switch doesn't turn off the other outlet, just this one.

Does the following sound like a correct assessment?

Wire 1 is the incoming hot for this outlet.
Wire 2 is the neutral.
Wire 3 is the neutral leg coming from the outlet on the other wall.

I'm also curious how the switch is involved here to turn off the outlet. Maybe Wire 1 is being turned off despite the tester showing voltage there. I also thought perhaps the switch is interruping the neutral wire 2, but if that's the case then the other outlet would be shut off too.


texts: I have an outside 6 foot high and 4 feet wide PVC gate. the problem is it swings open way too far especially when windy.I have a wall there that the gate constantly hits.


texts: What's the best way to seal an access hole in a wooden gate?

texts:
I have had to cut out a square hole in a tall wooden garden gate in order to be able to gain access to the bolt and padlock that sits on the side of my garden. I've put all weather seal on the cut edges but despite all my sanding and tidying up, the hole still looks a bit untidy and crappy.

Could anyone suggest a good way of putting a border around the inside of the hole to make it look nice and neat?


texts: Blomberg refrigerator making intermittent loud knocking sounds coming from the ice maker

texts: Sounds and vibration coming from the sealed ice maker assembly in top left side of freezer.  50 seconds knocking, 10 second pause, knocking resumes.   When we unplug refrigerator and plug back in, the knocking stopped for 50 minutes before starting again.  When I unplugged and let defrost for 2.5 hours, and then plugged back in, the knocking stopped for 77 minutes before resuming.  Repairmen can't get here for 3 weeks.  Any ideas?and vibrtion


texts:
I have a sunken backyard concrete patio which is sloped for drainage. The slope reduces usability for sheds, BBQs, picnic tables, etc.  The space is approx 15' x 25', with concrete walls on 3 sides.  The 4th being the house (wood siding).

The back door opens out onto a concrete step/platform which then drops 7-1/4" down to the patio.   The first step of the stairs on the other side is 7-1/4" up from the patio.  The max depth from this level line is 10-1/4".

My plan is to use 2x6" joists 16" OC running from the house to the retaining wall (15'), attached to joist hangers on a ledger (bolted to concrete wall).  The joists will support 2x6 or 5/4 deck boards (undecided).  All joists/ledgers will be pressure treated.

Q: Can I run a single joist 15' from one side of the patio to the other, or do I need a beam half-way across, or maybe blocking between each joist?

I am also considering adding footing to the joists to help with support.  Either leveling feet, MRP pedestal supports, or scrap PT 2x4 cut to size as a "shim".


texts: Furnace filter inserted backwards, will this cause permanent damage?

texts: Just found out that my wife changed the last furnace filter and inserted it backwards.  This was noticed after the ac was not cooling the house very well.  I went outside and noticed that the coil itself was frozen over.  I shut it down and waiting for it to unfreeze currenlty.  My  main worry is that this could cause permanent damage.  Thoughts on this?  Is it probable that this would cause permanent damage?


texts:
We moved in just shy of a year ago. In the past month these spots have been showing up- they are dry to the touch and only in our living room - on both the interior and exterior walls.

For reference the home was built in ‘92. THOUGHTS? Thanks so much!


texts: When removing siding with a mildew smell, and then replacing it, should I wrap the house in something airtight first?

texts:
I have a home built in the late 1960s in Massachusetts. The prior owner covered the house with vinyl, which was not done with care. Water gets behind the vinyl. The cedar wood clapboard and trim is rotted in some places. Also, behind the cedar is missing and or torn tar paper. There is a heavy mildew smell outside in places. Inside there is a dry musty smell as well sometimes mostly on hot days. To fix these problems, we are considering removing the vinyl and replacing the siding with new cedar wood along with putting in a rainscreen. However, my main concern is that everyone wants to wrap the house airtight. I am concerned that wrapping the house airtight will prevent the house from breathing and trap dry musty and mildew smells inside the house more so than it already does. If I put in a rainscreen, however, it seems that I should wrap the house with something. My house does not have central air, which makes an air exchange less practical as an alternative solution.
What do you recommend for my house?


texts: Repair crumbling edges of deliberate (wanted) hole in plaster ceiling

texts:
In my bathroom, there is an extractor fan mounted in the plasterboard/drywall ceiling. It's there to remove moisture and stale air. Naturally, there is a hole through which the fan fits, and the fan is held in place by four clips that radiate outwards, over the edge of the hole, from the internal (roof-space) edge of the fan.
The edges of the hole are now crumbling and the fan is in imminent danger of falling through the hole. The crumbling extends about 10 mm outwards from the edge of the hole. An additional problem is that the fan needs to be replaced and it isn't always possible to get the exact size for which the hole was cut, although it is probably possible to get something within 10 mm diameter of the existing fan.
How can I repair and strengthen the inner crumbling edge of the hole without replacing vast amounts of the ceiling plaster. As the end of the task, I want a hole into which I can mount a new extractor fan.


texts:
I have a furnace located in my basement in a small enclosed room. I also have a large vent upstairs above this room in my kitchen. I always thought that the furnace takes the air from the kitchen upstairs, heats it up and circulates it back. However, when I was changing the air filter today, my wife asked about the vent located downstairs near the furnace.

It seems to me that the air is bring pulled from 2 locations. First, upstairs by the kitchen and second also directly in the room where the furnace is located (the second location is not ideal. In an enclosed room with hot water heater and sewer pump)

I searched around online and I couldn't find anyone with a furnace design similar to mine that had another intake in the air return. I closed the second intake off by wrapping the vent in a plastic bag to prevent any additional airflow. Once the furnace started again, we noticed a much stronger pull from the first intake upstairs.

Does anyone know why there would be two intakes and will blocking off the second intake in the enclosed room be a problem?

Edit:
The main problem is there is a slight smell that gets circulated from that room. Once I closed it off, the air got quite a bit fresher. My worry is that there was some good reason it was there in the first place.


texts:
I have a ceiling corner above the stairs that needs to be repaired.  It was previously drywall on the vertical, and finished ceiling on the horizontal.  We caused some damage early on that I covered up and further prevented with a piece of angled aluminium - 2" x 2" at a 90 degree angle that I cut to length and screwed in to cover the angle.

Is there a common way to cover and protect this corner?  I'm not against redoing the drywall but if there's an easy way to cover and protect this corner I'd probably go with that.


texts:
I'm installing 3 light pendants above my island. They are connected to a single pole light switch.  I installed 2 of the 3 and noticed the junction boxes for both have 2 black, 2 white, and 2 ground wires.  I connected both black to the black of the fixture and same for the other wire sets. The lights don't turn on so I figured something is wrong with the connections but just not sure what I did wrong.  I stopped installation and did not do the third since the other two weren't working. This is a new build (2018) and nothing was connected before.

Update: Installed the third light,  still nothing.

Update:  Tested the switch connections and looks like their both dead. No action. Time to call the electrician.  Thanks everyone for your help!


texts: Replacing old Electric Radiator Thermostat (220v) with a 4-wire Honeywell CT410B (Non-Programable)

texts:
When removing and tagging the wires from the box to the old Thermostat, the two Neutral (White) were wired together with a wire nut, and a single White wire (pigged-tailed) was going into the Thermostat. One Black (Gray) into LOAD and One Black (Gray) into LINE were connected into the old thermostat.
The New Thermostat is a Honeywell CT410B that has 4 wires - L1 (Black/LINE)to connect Power Source/Breaker Circuit. Then L2 (Red/LINE) to connect Power Source/Breaker, The T1 (Black/LOAD), and T2 (Red/LINE) to connect to Radiator.
Question? Do I separate the two White to connect to new Thermostat (L2) separate (T2),
OR, Where can I connect the connected single White to what connection on the new Thermostat?


texts: Is there any reason not to use radiant barrier sheathing in walls of attic room

texts:
I am finishing out an above-garage room that is currently attic space. The roof has radiant barrier sheathing (ie foil-lined OSB).  I have a few walls that are currently just studs open into the attic.  I plan to add OSB on the back of these walls and insulate them along with the outside walls.   I went to price the OSB and found I can get the same foil-lined stuff used on the roof, or regular unlined OSB sheathing.

Looking at the specifications section on the Lowes website, there is an X (as opposed to a checkmark) by the "For use with walls".  Why is this? Is there any real reason not to use this for the attic-facing walls?  If it is OK to use, should the lining face into the room?

This is in southern US.  The floor and garage are already insulated, and I plan to do blown fiberglass or cellulose insulation on the walls and ceiling.


texts: Garden light connected to main lounge light stopped working

texts:
I have recently moved into a new property and all light fittings came with no shaders/were pretty basic. I have then proceeded to (safely) remove the light fitting of the living room, replaced it with a proper pendant lamp, and reattached it. It works well.

However, since doing this a floodlight in the garden (sensor activated, halogen) stopped working. The floodlight comes with a switch to turn it off completely, I checked it is in ON position and the bulb is not damaged (tested it on a different lamp).

The builders confirmed the circuit/cabling of the garden floodlight is connected to the one in the living room but refused to articulate any further.

A look at the living room light fitting shows the current situation:

To illustrate better, here are the cables getting IN the eight holes (pardon the terminology):

BLUE (to lightbulb) BLUE empty   empty BROWN BROWN    BLUE BROWN (to lightbulb)

There are also two spare cables, one blue, one brown, hanging forlornly by the side:

I half suspect these may be those giving electricity to the outdoor light, but as I have done enough damage with my first intervention, I turn to you for any indication of what may be wrong with this/where I should place those two leftover cables.

Thank you for any help!

Edit: I am in the UK.


texts: What slope angle does a garbage disposal outflow pipe need?

texts:
I replaced my garbage disposal with a new unit and attached it to the existing drain with the manufacture provided straight outflow pipe. The new disposal sits a little lower than the old unit, which also had a straight outflow pipe. The result is that the outflow pipe is now angled about 5º down towards the disposal.

I'm guessing that's a bad thing as the ground up food sludge will pool towards the disposal end. What slope angle should I shoot for?

The level was just a touch too long to hold flat against the pipe, so that's why there's a gap. But you can see that the horizontal air bubble is just off to the T end.

The T connection on the left is a split 1.5" baffle. The connection on the garbage disposal itself is full rubber with a metal ring clamp, so it can flex to a wide angle if needed.

Is there a combination level + protractor + measure tool that could tell me how much I need to lower the T connection by? How would I go about dropping the T connection by such a small amount? I was imagining disconnecting the pipe and carrying it into a hardware store...


texts: What tack like options are stronger then blu tack?

texts: I want to use something stronger then blu tack as a non permanent option to secure things, such as christmas lights, paintings, small mirrors etc. I mean non permanent in the sense that it does not harden overtime and remains pliable. I have read other questions that quote blu tack as good for posters, but I am looking for something stronger. I also am not really worried about residue left behind. It has to be mold-able like blu tack, so 3M command strips wouldn't work. Non-water soluble would be a benefit.


texts: Repairing tile laid on harwood floor - how to make best of bad situation?

texts:
The previous owner of my house laid slate tile over hardwood in the entryway.  A 9 square foot area has become loose and I need to re-set the tiles.  Pulling everything out is not an option; I'm wondering how to make best of a bad situation.

Several products I've seen say specifically "don't apply directly to hardwood" (eg http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/TDS/TDS-133.pdf).  I'm wondering if using an appropriate primer first will make success more likely, such as CBP's Multi-Surface Bonding Primer (http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/TDS/TDS-115.pdf).  They describe it as "polymer-modified mortar ... for tiling difficult surfaces, such as plywood, vinyl and laminates, and for hard-to-bond, nonporous tile, such as porcelain and glass."

More generally, when a tile adhesive says "don't use directly on" hardwood or another surface is this because the product will perform poorly or because there could be unintended consequences (eg chemical reaction).


texts: should labor charge include waste percentage?

texts:
The carpet company is charging so much per yard for the carpet, and labor included.  A 10% waste factor is added on.  That means I'm paying 10% more for the labor, right?  Is that normal?  I'm told by the company, 'that's how everyone does it.'

Similarly with a small tile job they will also do.  The job measures out to almost exactly 2 boxes of tile.  I have to pay for a third box of tile because of waste.  Understandable.  But the company also wants to charge labor for the whole box of tile.

I'm about to back out of this deal.


texts:
I bought a house and the sink leaks. I've searched everywhere and, as best I can tell, the leaky part is Pfister's 974-232 cartridge.

I can't find this for sale anywhere, nor a suitable replacement.

The leak happens out of the end near the handle (the left side of the picture). Is there any straightforward way to repair the cartridge?


texts: What brand of faucet is this and how can I hook the sink sprayer up to it?

texts:
The sprayer for my faucet is not hooked up to anything, the rubber hose just dangles below the sink. I'd really like to get this wired up, as it would be very handy to have, but I have no idea how to go about doing this.  I have two primary issues

1) What brand of faucet is this?

2) How do I hook up the sprayer to it?


texts:
My tenant reported that ants have been digging dirt up between the cracks between house and sidewalk.

However, this seems to be quite a lot of dirt. Could it possible be termites causing this?


texts: Is my leaky faucet missing a valve seat?

texts:
I have a standard two-handle faucet in my shower. I noticed a drip from the faucet, and decided to repair this. The rubber seal on the hot water side was completely ruined, so I figured this was the problem. I replaced the stem, which improved the situation but did not seem to cure it.

I then learned that a damaged valve seat can also cause leaks. When I looked into this, it seemed that I do not have a valve seat on the hot side (as compared to the cold side). Is this correct?

That being said, I also do not see any threads to install a valve seat now. So maybe this is normal? Or maybe it is just some kind of "flat" seat?

I'd really appreciate some advice how to proceed.

Faucet (note that hot / cold are reversed from standard set - with hot on right hand side)

Hot water side (missing valve seat?)

Cold water side (appears to have valve seat)

EDIT
The only marking I see anywhere is "Jameco Canada". But that is on the handle cover plate, so I am not sure that is actually part of the faucet. (You can actually partially see this marking in the "hot water" photo above.)

As requested, adding a couple of photos:

Handles

Stems (matching replacement part was labelled Jameco 1100 hot)
broken on left and replacement on right

The valve seats ended up having the keyed portion very deep-set, which made it very hard to notice originally:


texts: What kind of eye protection would I need for this particular spot welding system?

texts:
First of all, if this is the wrong StackExchange site for this question, I'm sorry. (If someone could point me to the right one, please do so!)

So in this DIY YouTube video, the person makes some sort of spot welding device. (I'm not sure if it's "truly" a "spot welder," but it's the term he uses, so I'll just go with that.) If I made it using the same materials/components, what kind of eye protection would I need to use it safely? I only know a little about oxyacetylene and arc welding (I've done those before, and I wasn't good at them) and I think an arc welding mask would be overkill and regular lab goggles would probably be unsafe/insufficient.


texts: Should I Use 3/4 Inch Tongue and Groove OSB for Exterior Sheathing

texts:
I've recently built an addition and over ordered sub floor so the result is I have enough sub floor (3/4" tongue and groove OSB) to do a good amount of exterior sheathing.

My question however, should I? Are there consequences other than the sheer cost of the lumber to actually using this heavy grade of OSB on a 2x4 exterior wall or will it just produce a tighter, more insulated wall?


texts: What would cause my LED tape to flash when plugged in?

texts:
I just removed our new tape lighting and plugged it in. The brand name is Patriot Lighting 12 volt 16.4' flexible LED tape light.

All it does is flash on and off.  Any suggestions?


texts: Replacing wall sconce (that has on/off swtich) with ones that do not. Need options for control

texts:
I have several very old wall sconces that have their own individual on/off toggle switches that I would like to switch out.  Unfortunately there is no wall switch that will allow for control of these.  I have found some wireless receiver controllers that might work - X10, EnOcean.  I wanted to see what people's opinions were/prior experiences with these devices.  I'm also open to any suggestions short of rewiring everything.  That will be done but we're not ready for a major remodel.  Thank you for your help.
Elmo


texts: 2 pole or single pole breaker to feed sub panel

texts: I want to run wires about 70 feet to a panel that will feed a 30amp rv hook up and a 20amp receptacle. Should my feeder breaker be a 2-pole or single pole?


texts: Even heating in home with partial basement

texts:
How can I evenly heat a house with a partial basement, as shown in the diagram below? The rooms over the slab are consistently several degrees cooler than the rooms over the basement, particularly when the doors are closed for a while.

The portion of the house on the slab foundation is heated from ceiling vents whereas the portion of the house that is over the basement is heated from floor vents.  The ceilings are 9 feet high, which may contribute to the inability of the heat from the ceiling vents to circulate throughout the rooms.

This is a new house with good insulation and windows. The portion of the house over the basement is mostly one open space, whereas the portion of the house on the slab is divided into two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

I have tried closing or mostly closing the vents in the portion of the house over the basement in an attempt to get more heat to the portion of the house over the slab. Leaving doors open helps the issue some, but it is not desirable to have to leave the doors open all the time.

Is the HVAC for this house set up appropriately? What measures would help heat the house evenly?


texts: My carpet gets wet along an exterior wall when it rains heavily

texts: The home is 15 years old.  The concrete blocks outside this area appear to be very damp at this location after a hard rain, but I don't see standing water. There is no window present on this wall, and I don't have any dampness in the wall. I have had my gutters cleaned.  Any idea who I should call?


texts: Honeywell RTH9585WF thermostat behavior with heat pump and Emergency heat

texts:
I just installed a Honeywell RTH9585WF1012 to control my forced air furnace system which has:

Cool: 1-stage heat pump
Heat: 1-stage heat pump (same) + emergency gaz heat from furnace

I have a fossil fuel kit on the furnace that controls switch between HP and Gaz according to outdoor temperature (-13 Celsius or lower is gaz) therefore when Y pin is activated it will fire the right one. The E pin will force the Gaz and disable the HP completely until heat stops.
I have 6 wires: R, C, G, Y, O, E and my old thermostat had a separate W2 and E wires. My E (Emergency heat) was connected to the thermostat's E pin, so the only time it would start is when actively putting the thermostat into Emergency heat mode.
With my new RTH9585WF1012 the W2/AUX/E functionality are merged into 1 pin therefore I had to connect E to that one. Now every time heat turns on and there is a slight 1deg Celsius difference between indoor temp and set temp, the emergency heat will be activated and cycled on and off periodically. This makes absolutely no sense with my setup since as soon as the E pin is triggered the emergency heat disables the HP and runs on gaz. I want the HP to run at all time when possible.
This behaviour looks to me more like for a system that has an Auxiliary heat strip that can run along with the heat pump to support it. How can I configure the thermostat's W2/AUX/E pin to run as Emergency mode rather than the current Auxiliary mode?
I searched all documentation from Honeywell and could not find any info on this. Thanks.


texts:
Background

I try to build an attachment for my desk. The attachment will be a place to put my joystick/throttle while gaming. This attachment needs to be easily removable (many times), preferably without tightening/loosening any screws. The permanent part on the desk needs to be very flat, as I need the room for my legs in normal operation.

Requirements

low profile
easy attachment/detachment
somewhat stress resistant (I should be able to push on it, but not sit on it)
the attachment needs to be tight (little to no wiggle)

My ideas

After some quick brainstorming I came up with the idea to use a cap rail (normally used in electrical engineering), as they are cheap, have a low profile and are durable (steel, brass). Attachment/detachment would be easy, as I could just slide the attachment on the rail and that would be it (pulling on the attachment is not an issue).

The problem now is the part on the attachment, which needs to slide over the rail. I did some research and did not find any "counter rail" to the cap rail (I assume because there is no need for it if you use it for its purpose).

I thought I could probably just use screws, but it would be a pain to screw them in correctly, to get a tight fit.

I also thought of rails you put in drawers, but they are either not removable, too loose or to high profile and most importantly they are made to move around.

Question

Does anyone know the proper term to find a "cap rail counter rail" or has some DIY hack to build one?

Or is there a good alternative to the cap rail?


texts: I want to remove a wall dividing my living room from my porch

texts:
The ceiling joist on the porch runs east and west connecting to the last ceiling joist over the living room, which runs north and south.  The roof is a hip roof and has no load on the ceiling.
The ceiling consists of 2x8x12 overlapping each other in the center,  1/2" drywall and 8" of insulation. Currently  the living room is supported by two 2x6x12 (10 foot visible)  with 1/2" OSB in between.  I need to span a total of 16 feet with a 1 foot overhang on each end.
Suggestions?


texts: Can I use 4x4 posts as the primary support for a deck?

texts:
I have an old cedar deck, and most of the decking and vertical support posts are rotted out. I'd like to rebuild the deck as-is, just replacing the rotting pieces.

The current design is as follows:

2x8 treated ledgers anchored to concrete foundation
2x8 treated joists coming off the ledgers
2x8 treated rim joists around the edges
4x4 cedar posts around the edges (4 foot intervals), sitting on concrete footings
Posts are notched and are supporting the rim joists, attached with nails
There are no other supporting posts or beams
Deck extends about 8 feet out from the house
Deck is about 4 feet off the ground for one section, and 2 feet off the ground for the other section
Deck is located in Texas, so snow is not a concern

My concern is that all the information I've found on decks shows people using 6x6 posts as the main supporting structure, with beams on top of those and joists on top of the beams. I only see 4x4 posts used to form the supports for the railings.

I'm hoping to use the current design, and replace all of the posts, decking, and railings. The only significant change I have planned is to attach the posts to the rim joists using carriage bolts instead of nails. Is it reasonable to have 4x4 posts as the primary support, or do I need to consider more significant design changes?


texts: What is the difference between a framing hammer and a claw hammer? Can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
I have a strange setup in one room of a house I bought. I'm not there at the moment so I can't provide photos so I will describe as well as I can.
On one side of the room there are two switches, one that turns the room light on and off, the other turns an outside light on and off.
On the other side of the room there is a dimmer switch that can also turn the room light off.
I never use this dimmer switch and would like to disable it.
When I use the light switch, the lights flicker a couple of times and then slowly come up to 100% brightness.
This flickering, I believe, is causing issues with Smart lights as they keep resetting.
To be clear, I can turn off the lights from both switches, but the dimmer switch will override the main light switch if it is turned off. If the main switch is off the dimmer switch will not turn the lights on. If the main switch is on, the dimmer switch can turn the lights off.
How would I disable the dimmer switch to give full control of the lights over to the single on off switch on the other side of the room?


texts: Wiring a ceiling fan to a possible non grounded line

texts:
I am wiring a new ceiling fan and noticed there is no ground wire unless the two twisted copper wires are the ground. Does the green connect to the fan itself by attaching it to the black screw on the yoke? If not, I have no idea what to do next. Here is a photo.

Thanks for any help.


texts: Is there a reason for an exterior vent not connected to anything?

texts:
I have an exterior vent on the side of my house not connected to any piping within. You can look inside and see wood/concrete/insulation into the cavity between the basement ceiling and main floor. I'm guessing it was an old vent before basement renovations. The dryer and basement bathroom fan both vent to another wall.

After a recent infestation of wasps I want to know if there is any reason I shouldn't just seal it up.


texts:
I wake up one morning for work and I'm walking down my hallway and there were 10+ fly's on my light .I just stayed away from them because it creeped me. I took my son to school came back about an hour later they were gone. About 4:30 that night I had been cleaning and washing clothes; I saw nothing but I went to my sons bathroom and there were 6 on his light and maybe 5 on the hallway light. I went back into the kitchen where I had been cooking for the past 45 minutes no flies and there's three on my light above the sink. Ok then the next day they were still in the house same place later.

That night my husband and I had had enough. we tried killing all of them. Well, they were all gone we thought. We sat down ate dinner walk into our boys bathroom and there were 6 on the light and 3 on the hallway light and 2 in our bathroom on the other end of the house.

I done with this. Please, any ideas? It's driving me crazy.


texts: Can I support 6x6" deck posts on 10" diameter poured concrete footings?

texts:
I am building a new 13x10 deck. So far I have the ledger board in place, and yesterday I finished building 3 concrete footings, 9 ft away from the ledger board. I use tubing, 36 inch deep with gravel on the bottom (30 inch tube+ 6 inch gravel, as per city requirement).
The problem is that there were no 12" tube anywhere to be found so I decided to go with the 10" tubes. Now I will be mounting 6x6 posts (j-bolt + Simpson post bracket).
In terms of load, the 2x8 joists will span 9 ft and sit on the beam (double 2x10) + 1 ft cantilever.
I read that either 10 or 12in diameter tubing are fine, but now when I place the 6x6 post on them they seem so small. Did I just mess up the footings size? If so, is there a fix that doesn't involve demolishing the 3 pillars?


texts: Ceiling paint peels while rolling new coat

texts:
We are repainting ceiling in the kitchen of a summer house.

First, we scraped a lot of old paint (yellow) and laid joint compound on top of the patches without yellow paint (looks gray in picture)

After that we sanded joint compound, and started applying white latex-based indoors ceiling paint (Behr). When we use roller we see old paint peeling off in patches. There is no peeling of joint compound. The peeling paint is not yellow underneath, so we are peeling off flakes of old yellow paint plus whatever it was painted over.

When we use brush, there is no peeling of the old paint.

Is there a way to fix that?

Our plan so far looks like:

wait till new paint dries
Try to scrape as much as possible where paint peels
Apply joint compound again
Let it dry, sand it
Paint over using our new white paint


texts: My door bell transformer is on an outside wall in my ceiling. I want to know if I can put the whole thing with the wire behind the drywall?  Concerned about it over heating.


texts: Is this the source of my hot tub leak, or just a symptom?

texts:
Background:

I have a Galbocca 2-person Plug and Play HotSpa (tm?) that I imagine is quite old.  It came with the house I'm renting, so I have no idea exactly how old it is, but the company doesn't seem to have a website.

Judging from their LinkedIn page and cross-referencing the address listed there with Google Maps, I think it's safe to say that this company is now out of business.

The problem:

Except for some issues regulating the thermostat, it worked fairly well last winter.  Towards the end of the season, I noticed some water pooling on the floor near one side of the bottom exterior of the tub.  So, I drained it almost down to the bottom (maybe 2-3" of water in the foot well), and the leak stopped.  It is an indoor tub.

I'm now looking to fix it, so I drained the rest of the water out and examined the bottom.  This is what I saw:

As you can see, the veneer seems to be bubbling and peeling, as if water has infiltrated the surface.  On closer inspection of the bubble under the intake suction vents:

Ah ha, that must be the leak!  This is even the same side where I saw the water pooling.

But...wait a minute.  That crack could only have formed after a bubble appeared, which means that water must have already been infiltrating the surface before the crack formed.

It also seems that similar bubbles have formed, even on the other side of the tub:

So, am I reasoning this out properly?  Is this the source of the leak, or a symptom of a leak somewhere else?

I should note that I lifted the tub with my car jack to see if I could get at it from the other side, but the entire underside is completely filled with spray-foam insulation.


texts:
Just moved in and noticed the kitchen faucet has low flow. About 1 GPM.
Rest of the house is fine.

Seems like the faucet supply lines are too narrow.

Never seen this before.
Is this normal?

The extreme left and right lines are the hot and cold.
The other two are the pull down head in and out lines.

The connectors are 1/2 inch for reference.

Here's a pic of the full flow:


texts: Which bolt pattern to sister a ceiling joist?

texts:
I need to sister a ceiling joist — put a
2x6 8ft piece next to existing joist, and
fasten with 1/2 inch bolts. It will be supported
by a stud wall on one end (but not other end)

Anybody knows what are the rules about
bolt pattern for such repair?
Is this described in any building code or
somewhere else?


texts: How would I replace 4 posts and beam holding my covered patio with 2 posts?

texts:
I have a covered patio that extends 10' from the house towards the yard/pool and has a width of 30-33'. The covered patio seems to be part of the roof, I even have access from the attic as we ran some speaker wire a few years ago to the patio.

It is currently supported by (4) 4x4 wood posts which are rotting away. The posts are holding what appears to be (2) side by side 2x6 pieces of wood acting as the beam and span the 30-33' patio.

I would like to replace the (4) existing wood posts and beams with just (2) posts (I'm assuming steel) as far to the edges of the beam as possible. My concerns are due to the span and weight. I want to avoid any sagging of the beam in the middle.

How can this be achieved?


texts: Does Nest utilize all the benefits of a communicating furnace

texts:
We just got a new furnace, the Lennox SLP98V. We have it hooked up to a Nest and its working fine. It is set up with two stages. We also have a whole house humidifier set up to it as well.

Lennox offers a thermostat of their own. My question is, does Nest utilize all the capabilities of the new furnace or does it lack or fall short in comparison to the Lennox product?

The reason for this question is that it seems like the Nest turns it into a 2 stage furnace instead of a fully communicating system that can adjust the blower speed and output between multiple stages.

Also, to be clear, I am not looking for a review in terms of which is the best product. I am looking for the technical difference between the two and which utilizes the furnaces capabilities better.

After More Research

After reading the installation manual, I did learn more about how the onboard control board works so the following is based on how I interperted it.  A conventional 2-stage thermostat will only have control to set it to 1st or 2nd stage. From there, the control board will auto adjust blower speed and auto modulate itself based on how long its been at a stage. With the propietary thermostat, it has full control over modulation and blower speed. So 2-stage thermostat on a modulating furnace is still a modulating furnance, just without the amount of control as if the propietary thermostat was used.


texts: How to connect furniture without cam locks?

texts:
I am planning to build my own coffee table.
Is there any other way to connect furniture without using cam locks?
Because it's hard to align and requires skills.
Any ideas?
Thanks.


texts: thermostat causing heating element to click on and off repeatedly

texts:
I have an electric heater central air/heat system with a standard thermostat.  I have replaced the thermostat with no change (that was some time ago), so I believe it's not the thermostat causing the problem.

I put the left dial obviously on "Heat" and the right dial on either Auto or On.  For Auto it doesn't come on (fan or heat).  For On, the fan runs, but the heating element clicks on and off about every 3 seconds.

Make: Frigidaire
Model: B3BM-042K-B

Does anyone know what this problem is?  Also, is there some way I can override for now and just make the heating element turn on to warm up the house?  Thank you

-- EDIT/UPDATE #1 --

I have removed the access plate and there are 6 basic components that I can see:
 1. Two-element slide-in panel - top back.  Two large black and two large red wires coming out
 2. Single-element slide-in panel - bottom back.  One large black and red each.
 3. Contactor (?) Left front - where the thermostat wires lead into
 4. Transformer (?) Left back
 5. Circuit breakers - front center
 6. Blower motor (below everything) - 3 wires lead into it.

--- EDIT/UPDATE #2 --

OK, so on the blower motor is the diagram for everything that is NOT on the front panel, including the blower relay and the 24VAC transformer.  The diagram and the blower relay part number are shown in these photographs:

and, the relay..


texts: Why do my lights glow when the switch is off?

texts:
I have 4 down lights controlled by 1 dimmer switch. When I turn them off they all still glow very slightly.
What causes this and how can I fix it?


texts: CO, USA - Code Violation for Switch or Subpanel to Power AC & Humidifier?

texts:
My mechanical closet is on the third floor of our townhouse and our breaker panel is on the first. To install a steam humidifier, I’ll have to run a 220 line between two floors or outside, both of which are expensive options.

My AC unit is on the roof immediately above the mech closet. I’m hoping I can use that 220 for my humidifier, but the first few electricians I’ve called have simply said that they don’t think it’ll pass inspection so they don’t want to try.

Any thoughts?


texts: Short Circuit that only makes certain electronics go out?

texts:
Yesterday at around 11 PM we had a short circuit that lasted just a split second. I was in my office with my back turned when I saw the lights flicker. Then, I went to the kitchen and the same thing happened. Not a big deal. But somehow, the TV and fan in our bedroom also went out, despite the TV not being connected to the other one and in a different place in the house. Also, the clocks in the bedroom weren't affected by this shortcircuit. Does anyone know how this is possible?
P.S. I know it helps to have pictures, I can't get them right now, I'm a work until 7, but I'll try to get some then.


texts: Should dryer vent hose be half embedded in drywall?

texts:
We are at the tail end of a laundry room renovation that included installing drywall over cement walls. Our contractor swears having half the dryer’s vent opening and hose embedded in drywall is perfectly fine. We disagree. Should we fight for him to enclose the vent and hose in a recessed dryer vent box or trust his craftsmanship?
Thank you!

Update here is his solution


texts: What's the best practice for non-90 degree corners on drywall / plasterboard?

texts:
I am putting up some drywall in my basement which has been tanked out. I'm using metal C-Stud to keep the plasterboard away from the walls.

Am just about to board round the bay window and wanted some advice on how to manage the angles to make sure I get a nice sharp finish.

External 90 degree corners are fine, as I can just put corner skim beads on. However, how do I do the following (see diagram):

A. Internal 90 degree corners  I have seen various methods - mainly in the US using paper tape. Is this standard practice in the UK? I'm using scrim tape for the butt joints. Would I use this for an internal corner too? Have heard it can be a pain to put up in corners.

B. Internal non-90 degree corners I presume whatever I do for A will work for B too? Also, should I bevel / chamfer the edge of the board to get a tight joint at B?

C. External non-90 degree corners What should I do at C. to get a neat edge? Edge beads on the topmost sheet of drywall?


texts: How to Repair Laminate Countertop Wear Near Sink

texts:
I have a laminate countertop that my kitchen sink is mounted in. I've noticed the laminate is beginning to wear away and expose the particle board where the sink meets the counter.

Since this is where the sink meets the counter, I am worried about water damage to the counter. Is there a simple way to repair this and avoid water damage?


texts: I have a house built in 1956. I am trying to put in a new LED mirror where there was an old medicine cabinet with florescent lights. The wiring has a black and white coming out of the same tube, but there is a separate white wire off to the side. I got in the crawl space, and it looks like this was the previous owner's attempt at a ground wire. The new mirror has black (hot), white (neutral), and green (ground) wires for the light. Think it's safe to hook the green up to the separate white wire for the ground?


texts: Is it safe to pass a natural gas hose under a wooden step, and to keep it pressurized?

texts:
Is it safe to take a flexible natural gas hose such as the one pictured and pass it under a patio's wooden stairs to reach a BBQ? Can it simply lie on the concrete under the patio?

Can you ever leave a hose such as the one pictured pressurized overnight, or must you always turn off the incoming gas, rather than simply turning off at the BBQ?
Suppose you're hardy and intend to broil something once in a while in freezing temperatures, can such a hose be left outside over winter?


texts: Washing Machine Stator Wire Harness Melted

texts:
I have a Kenmore 40318900 front loader that started giving the LE error(motor stall). I bought it as a display model 5 years ago. Tub spins freely by hand, I started troubleshooting according to the tech manual I found inside(quite convenient) and it said the stator was bad due to resistance being way out of spec. I took the stator out and to be 100% sure measured windings directly, and lo and behold they were all fine, around 8 ohms each. Then I figured it was in the harness and sure enough one of the wires had 1.2k ohms between the stator pin and the pwb connector. I started following the wire harness and found a melted and burnt section.

While going through the machine I also noticed one of the three shock absorber is missing the mount pin. Looked all over the laundry room and turned the machine on it's side and it is nowhere to be found, no broken pieces. My thought is it must've never been installed. The washer has always been pretty noisy and vibrates around on the tile floor.  My hypothesis is that the excess vibration may have frayed the strands in the wire and caused it to overheat due to the current flowing through a lot less copper. The fix should be a simple wire replacement, but I wanted opinions before I power it up and risk a fire. Any thoughts?

Edit: I ended up cutting about 4 inches out of the blue and yellow wires and splicing/heat shrinking some new wire with butt connectors. I also found out a 1/2" bolt fits where the shock mount pin was missing and put one and a nylon lock nut in. Ran one load of laundry and all seems well, but will monitor it for a bit for heat.

UPDATE: It's been a month and the washing machine has been fine. Seems it was simply the wire chafing. Thanks all


texts: Do pressure reducing valves also function as check/one-way valves?

texts: If installing a pressure reducing valve, is there any sense in installing a one-way check valve in series, or would it be redundant? (i.e. does the PRV also act as a one-way valve?)


texts: Can I remove this wall or is it load bearing?

texts: We want to knock the kitchen and dining room into 1 room and I am hoping someone can help tell me if the highlighted wall is non load bearing:


texts: I have a light switch that turns on an outlet

texts:
I am installing a ceiling fan with lights in a old house. Theres a light switch that turns off the outlet. I pulled the light and see there is a black cable and a red wire. I ran a new cable for the ceiling that has white and black and neutral. I want to keep the outlet always hot and I also bought a new 15 amp single pole switch. My problem is the red wire, Do I connected that to the white wire? Also how can I make my outlet hot?
Thank you.


texts: what's the minimum depth of a wire channel in a concrete ceiling?

texts: I would like to install fans and and ceiling lights at different locations on a concrete ceiling and not have the wire or the conduit visible. I've seen previous posts recommending a trench as a solution and like this idea. Is there a minimum depth to the trench? (I also tried to find out if the OP of a similar question had successfully pursued any of the solutions offered but that query was deleted for some reason).


texts:
Light bulbs on our kitchen lighting circuit need frequent replacing (lasting only a few months.) All other circuits in the house behave normally. There are three switch legs on this circuit:

6 recessed lights, on a 3-way switch, with LED bulbs. Distance from switch to first light is ~10'. Each can is ~3' from the next.
5 pendant lights, on a single dimmer, incandescent bulbs. Distance from switch to first light is ~15'. Pendants are ~3' apart and ~5.5' long.
Chandelier with 5 light sockets, on a single dimmer, incandescent bulbs. Distance from switch to light fixture is ~15'. Light sockets are ~6' from ceiling.

An electrician came out and discovered that the voltage at each switch is 120v, yet each light socket only reads 113v. The electrician checked in the attic and didn't see anything odd; the wires looked fine, no extraneous junction boxes, no damage, etc... The advice was to try out bulbs rated for 110v instead of 120v or re-run the switch legs.

What could cause such a voltage drop over short runs and three distinct switch legs? Do I have any other options besides the two offered by the electrician?


texts: How to connect c-wire to Burnham Series 2 boiler?

texts:
I am trying to install my ecobee 3 light but the previous thermostat did not use any c wire. Fortunately, there was an unused wire in the wall and I would like to set it up as a c-wire. The problem is that I have no idea where to connect it to our boiler. We have a Burnham Series 2 boiler, which uses Intelligent Hydronic Control (Honeywell S9361A2072) and a Transformer (40 VA, Honeywell AT140D1297).

Is it possible to connect a c-wire to the boiler?

I did try to find information in the technical user manual, which includes the diagram below, but couldn't find anything that describes the different ports/slots. It does say that "For zone valve wiring, a separate 24V transformer is required rather than attempting to use the boiler mounted control". But I think that is unrelated.

Edit: Added image of P5-8.


texts: How can I separate two panels bonded with urethane glue?

texts: I glued a painting wood panel back to another small piece of wood to add hanging wire with gorilla glue.  I now want to take these two wood pieces apart.  What can I use?


texts: Ceiling light controlled by switch stays on permanently once something is plugged into an outlet

texts: Hoping for some help here. My parents recently moved into a new place (older house though) and there is one quirk about it I can't seem to figure out. In one room, the ceiling light is controlled by a switch and works fine until something is plugged into an outlet on one of the walls.  Once something is plugged in the outlet, the ceiling light stays on permanently and the light switch now controls the power going to the outlet. This happens for two outlets, both on the same wall. I looked in the ceiling light and there are two 14/2 wires entering the box. One white wire is marked with black tape and crossed with a black wire. I had a quick inspection of the outlets and nothing obvious (didn't see anything loose, etc). Any thoughts on what is going on here.


texts: Christmas decoration lights were plugged into outlet while sprinklers were running. Came to find out lights were out, outlet had no power, and all other outdoor outlets around the house lost power. Probably related to sprinkles. None of outdoor outlets have those test/rest buttons but all are enclosed in special protective covers. No other outlets in the house lost power. No breakers were tripped on the panel. Tried resetting them all anyway, to no avail. Checked exterior, attic and garage for any additional breaker panels - nothing. What is my next step in identifying the problem? Thanks!


texts: I have a Jennaire gas range (model SVD48600P).  The burners on the right won't light without a match.  I suspect it's the spark module or spark electrode because I don't see any spark when I try to light the burners on that side.  How do I know which is the problem?


texts: What are my options for venting my oil boiler?

texts:
I have a small New Yorker AP-U (480?) boiler that is currently vented to a large flu in my house's chimney. I want to install a wood stove in my house and I'd like to use the chimney to vent it, which means the furnace would not be able to use that flue. What options do I have for venting my furnace?

P.S. I have a chimney expert coming to take a look tomorrow. I'm just looking for other opinions.


texts:
I have a problem in my apartment where 2 sheets of drywall are falling from my ceiling, seemingly in the full sheet and in 2 different rooms.  They are coming down in rectangle shapes, with straight edges.  I'm wondering what the cause is, and there are several factors that could come into play here.

The kitchen has 1 sheet that is falling down so that I can move it with a probe, and it seems to be held up on one end by only the joint tape.  The other sheet is in my living room and also looks to be held up on one end by the joint tape.  These 2 sheets are not adjacent, but only about 10-15 feet away from each other.

I live in a fully finished basement apartment that, in the 5 years I've lived there, has not seen any real moisture problems due to being partially below grade.  The end of my apartment seeing the issues is the only end that is even partially below grade, with the bottom of the windows being 50-some inches from the floor.
The people above me play loud music, to the point where the police have been called several times, and one of the officers was heard to say they could hear the music from a block away.  This same family has several kids that run, bang,  and jump around, making a lot of noise, to the point where my walls rattle, even though I only have 1 wall hanging.
The same people living above me had a water leak in their bathroom a couple months ago, causing it to effectively rain in my bathroom.  The water spread into my bedroom (which is right next to the bathroom), causing water to run out of my light fixture there, as well as the light fixture in the hall next to the bathroom.  The kitchen shares a wall with the bathroom and doesn't have any light fixtures near that shared wall.
I don't cook much, but I use a warm mist humidifier in my bedroom.  This is at the far end of my apartment compared to the entry to the kitchen as well as the living room drywall sheet.  The humidifier is under a plastic covered window that doesn't show any moisture.  I've been running the humidifier the past 2 months.
The apartment complex has cockroaches.  I don't see very many of them, but I know the people above me do, and lots of them.  I can hear them walk/stomp around, and the other day I heard them enter the apartment, then start to quickly stomp around above my kitchen, presumably to kill the roaches.  We've had exterminators come twice to spray for them.

As I can fairly easily hear the people above me, I don't believe I have much, if any, insulation in my ceiling.  I can see some dimples in the drywall, which I'm assuming are the screws that have pulled through.  The paint is intact and I only noticed this situation because of shadows on the ceiling.

I want to know so maybe I can avoid this in the future, if I caused this, or have some information for the landlord, if they try to blame me for this and it's not actually my fault.  I don't want to falsely accuse my neighbors, but I wouldn't mind seeing them get kicked out, either.

Are the roaches too many/heavy for the drywall?  Did the flood from above get into the kitchen ceiling, causing it to weaken?  Is it all the noise/banging on the floor above causing this?  Is it the humidifier?  Something else entirely?

Really, it all boils down to: Does anyone have any insight as to what single or combination of the above possibilities could have caused these sheets to become detached?


texts:
I've noticed on a couple of small repair interventions, aluminum drywall corner L-bead does not hold mud as adhesively as drywall does, due to the texture/grip of aluminum. Is there a way to improve it by some kind of primer?
It's usually not a problem when the application mass is large so the less adhesive part around the bead is cohesive with a bigger one on drywall. But, when it doesn't have much drywall to piggyback on, it easily peels off or doesn't stay when applied.


texts: Getting single handle faucet off with no set screw

texts: I am trying to fix a leaky single handle faucet but I cannot find a set screw or really any way to get the handle off. I tried prying off and just pulling. There are no screws under or behind the lever. Any advice?


texts: Wiring help for a Switch with LED Guide Light

texts:
In my bathroom I have a dual switch box. The left side controls a light, the right side controls a bathroom fan.

I'm trying to convert the light switch (left side) to a Switch with LED Guide Light.

The right side (fan) I will replace with a simple Decora switch.

The old light switch (left) has a black, red, and copper wire.

The new light switch w/nightlight apparently wants a white/neutral wire, as well. Is this white wire mandatory?

I see there are 2 white wires (one from each initial bundle source from the wall) that are connected together. Should I somehow use one of those?


texts: We have about 3" of old insulation in our attic. We want to bring it up to R49 but I have read that some suggest taking it to R60 to get more energy efficiency. This may not be a question that can be answered without seeing the attic, but would the extra few hundred dollar be worth the energy saving benefits? The attic is already air sealed as well. Thanks for any insight.


texts: Installing a dimmer switch to multiple lights

texts: I have read the wiring configuration for a regular switch. Is this the same configuration for a dimmer switch? One switch, several lights. I don't need a three way switch do I?


texts: Solid door on top of hollow apartment door to reduce outside noise?

texts:
To reduce hallway noise I'd like to replace my hollow apartment door with a solid one, but I'm renting and can't do that (I tried mass loaded vinyl, movers blankets, etc.; it's not enough).

So I'm thinking putting a solid door against it. To avoid having to bore holes for the lock I'd choose a narrower panel (e.g. a 80x32 solid pine slab against the 80x36 hollow door). Would that work, and how would you attach it?


texts: Shower valve either very hot or very cold - too sensitive

texts:
Basically, I'm trying to figure out if this requires replacing the whole shower valve.

Anyone know the cause?


texts: How to determine if wall can handle TV weight

texts:
I just moved into a new apartment and I’m working through getting settled in. I want to hang a TV over the fireplace (see pic) but I’m not sure if the wall can handle it. The TV and mount weigh 70lbs total. I will screw the mount into studs that are in the wall over the fireplace but I’m not sure how it’s supported around the fireplace.

What should I look for on this wall to make sure this wall can handle the weight?


texts: How can a "class 320" service legaly/safely supply two 200 amp panels?

texts:
I have a "class 320" service with a single 320A meter that feeds two 200A main panels in parallel.

USA, Evergy (formerly KCPL), Built 2014

How can a 320A service safely supply 400A of downstream loads?

The main panels should each be able to safely supply 200A.  De-rated to 80% that's 160A each.

Is that where 320 comes from (160x2) if so, can the meter safely handle momentary/short lived loads of 400A?

If so, why don't they call it a class 400 service instead?  My panels are sold/labeled as 200amp panels, not as 160amp panels with a 200a breaker.  Why the inconsistency?


texts:
Situation: I'd like to eventually upgrade my toilet from a cheap, manual flush (need to physically apply foot pressure) to an affordable one that has a "walk away" flushing mechanism. It doesn't matter to me whether the unit is designated for "RV" or not, there seems to be plenty of small 10" toilets available. The rough-in size for mine is 8 1/2". It seems the smallest "UniFit" rough-in adapter  would expand the rough-in to at least 10".

Question: Perhaps there are rough-in adapters for a 8 1/2" rough-in available on the market? If it's safe to use "UniFit" adapter, what should the installer keep in mind?