texts: Is 20 amp line needed for washer and gas powered dryer?

texts:
I pulled some really old and rigged-up shady wiring out of my laundry room and replaced it.  It was a two-wire 15 amp line to a 15-amp breaker.  On it were two GFI (possibly GFCI) outlets.  One was used for the washer and dryer and the other wasn't being used.  I removed the second outlet and old wiring connecting it and hooked up the GFI for the washer/dryer to a new 14 gauge grounded line to the same 15 amp breaker.  It's now the only thing on the circuit.

I've been told that the washer and dryer should be hooked up to a 20-amp line.  Is that really necessary for a gas dryer?  The main draw on the power is coming from the motors in the washer and dryer. In the 4 years or so we've been in the house, the breaker has never tripped.  I'm considering adding one more outlet to the circuit for recharging a hand vac and maybe a CO/gas detector.  Is it possible I'll start having issues if I do that while the washer and dryer are running?


texts:
I had a faucet drip in my bathroom sink. I determined it was the hot water (confirmed by the warm drip and it stopped when I shut off the hot under the sink). I assumed that the stem went (which happened before, to the cold stem) but after replacing it and tightening everything, I still have the drip. Can I assume the faucet needs to go?  It's an old Price Pfister.

Note: The plumbing and shutoff valves are new but the faucet assembly is old.


texts:
My electric oven is exhibiting the following symptoms:

Oven not heating up at all
Grill (Broil in American English?) not heating up at all
Fan is working OK
Power light doesn't come on, nor the light next to the temperature dial (that indicates the oven is yet to reach the selected temperature)
Light bulb inside the oven doesn't come on

The first thing I noticed was the light bulb inside the oven wasn't on whilst I was cooking, but the oven was working OK. But then the next day, it doesn't heat up at all or appear to be turning on at all (except the fan).

Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot the problem? I would be nice to find the fault before calling out an engineer.

Make and model is: Bush AE6BFS


texts: Can the water heater be damaged if the gas has been shut off?

texts: Can the water heater be damaged if the gas has been turned off for a period of time?


texts: What should I do about this unfinished corner?

texts:
I've got this bit next to my back door that looks like it was never properly finished. There doesn't seem to be any structural issue, so I'd feel comfortable fixing it myself.

Trouble is, I have no idea what to do there. Plaster a corner? Put some drywall in? It's a strange shape and I am not sure where to start.

EDIT: As requested, a picture of the top corner and the left side. (This is really a lovely house, overall, I swear! Despite the insanity of a few things like this)


texts:
I have a big Sycamore tree in my front yard and the roots are growing towards the foundation of my house.  One of the roots is about a foot from the foundation.  My husband is not able to do the work, so I will have to try and cut the roots myself.  We can't afford to hire someone to do the work. A Sycamore tree has large roots. I've tried using a hand saw and a  hatchet, but it takes a long time.
What would be the easiest tools to use to cut the roots?  I'm 73 years old, but I'm pretty strong.


texts:
Earlier this week I had a plumber rough in valve/piping for a shower renovation. Since then, I have decided to go back and redo the walls (long, long story) and, as a result, the final finished wall will be 1/4" thinner. I know for a fact that this change will leave the nipple of the tub spout exposed by roughly that difference. The shower valve should be ok, but I won't know for sure until tiling is complete.

Rather than calling the plumber back to redo the spout (and possibly the entire valve!), I would like to place 1/4" shims behind the straps that are securing the pipes to the blocking. My question is this: Can the copper pipes and soldered joints handle the very slight amount of pressure needed to shim the plumbing back that 1/4" or is it essential that the plumbing is secured as it would normally rest?


texts: Short while trying to measure line voltage on a 3 way switch

texts:
So i am trying to change my regular 3 way switches to smart ones and before i started taking them out, I took a multi meter to find hot wires and label them.

So with the upstairs 3 way switch ON ( aka light is ON), using the multimeter probes:

Black probe to green ground, red probe to bronze screw with red traveler wire: 120v

Black probe to green ground screw, red probe to black screw ( which i believe is the common) as soon i touched it with the probe, POOOOOOOOOOOF! smoke, bright spark, and the tip of probe got black. Breaker didn't trip tho, the light was still on....
Is there something funky with my wiring? I would assume i should be able to measure voltage this way without any issues.

Or maybe the multi meter is bad? Don't think so because it measures the red wire to 120v just fine without firewoks..

Any ideas?

I can get pictures of both upstairs and downstairs switches later when i get home if that helps, but the wiring seems pretty standard.


texts:
I have a dry wall in the kitchen that has some stains on it. I would just like to put a new coat of white primer on that dry wall so it doesn't look stained.

My questions are:

Should I sand the old primer off from the dry wall first? Or simply start putting new coat of primer on the dry wall?
What kind of primer should I use?


texts: What is the difference between a GFCI ungrounded circuit and a grounded circuit?

texts:
From reading this article it seems like an ungrounded 3-pronged outlet can be made safe by installing a gfci downstream in the circuit.

Although the technique of installing GFCI devices in an ungrounded
circuit doesn’t ground the circuit, it does provide protection in the
event that any electricity leaks to ground, thereby preventing
electrical shocks and injury.

So, what is the benefit of having both a GFCI (say right in the panel) and a ground in the box?
Does the ground in the box provide any extra protection or benefit beyond the protection of the GFCI?


texts: Why does my heat pump's fan always stay on when in heat mode?

texts: I have a heat pump. This unit does have emergency heat. I only know this because I have used it. I noticed that the other day the fan stays on with the heat on. The fan switch set to auto and the temp set way below the actual room temperature. I removed my thermostat to examine the wiring and it has E and W2 connected together. Could this be the reason for the fan constantly running?


texts: How can I get my sprinkler / home irrigation system to not ruin my car with water spots?

texts: I have a sprinkler system (i.e. irrigation system) at home. Occasionally I park my car too close and it gets hit with the water. This causes horrible water spots. I've seen that some do-it-yourself car washes have a "spot free rinse", that is to say water that does not cause water spots. I assume they use some sort of filter. Is it possible to add such a filter to my system? Where would I get it? How would I install it? Does anyone know a good way to remove water spots from a car?


texts: Hot air gun / paint stripper for melting plastic

texts:
I'm not sure if this is the right kind of question for this site, but I thought that people here are more likely to know the answer.

I'm looking for a hot air gun in order to melt plastic - mostly acetate, but perhaps thicker materials later on - such that it crumples up, or perhaps even burns very slightly. This is for artistic projects such as building sets. I'm not sure exactly what type of tool is needed for this, as craft shop hot air guns tend to be for tasks such as embossing, and probably aren't hot enough. On the other hand, I'm worried that a paint stripper might be far too hot. Perhaps even a simple hair dryer would do the job?!

Some of these tools describe their temperature - is this generally the temperature of the element, or of the air at the nozzle? A device with a variable temperature setting would be good, but I need to know roughly what range I'm looking for.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
One of our bath walls is green Sheetrock with a white semi gloss paint finish.
As you can see on the pictures attached, the paint has started to bubble and strip.

What can we do now?

shall/can we tile?
can we keep a painted wall (our aesthetic preference) but using another primer and an exterior type paint? in that case what shall we use?
are there any cement layers that could be added to the wall and that would allow us to have a white finish?

Wall behind tile and paint.

Found construction picture (shows what is behind the sheetrock).

We really cannot tell from photos if they used vapor barrier or not...


texts: What shelves to get for a china cabinet?

texts:
I just purchased a somewhat old China cabinet. It has 2 heavy, thick glass shelved. One shelf is cracked so I plan to replace both shelves with painted wood shelves.

The width is 40 3/4 inches by 15 inches deep. The glass shelves are held in place by 4 metal pegs, 2 on each end.

Could someone tell me what material I should use for the shelves? I don't want the shelves to sag or collape.

Thank you


texts:
I own/live in a brownstone (build in 1900) apartment (split off in ... 1960's?) that's been worked on by many clueless DIY or incompetent electricians so I'm slowly but surely untangling (pardon the pun) the mess that's here.  I'm about to replace all the cabinets in my kitchen and it seems like a good opportunity to correct many terrible mysteries that lie there.

While taking inventory of the number of circuits that run to the kitchen now, I came across something of a puzzle.  There is a 12/3 armored cable that comes out of the wall that was direct wired into a dishwasher that was here (that I got rid of) and there was 12ga black and neutral, and ground wires coming out of the cable.   However, on the panel, that conduit has 12ga black, red and neutral going into it.  The circuit breaker that the red is connected to does not seem to control/effect anything.

Is there a way that I can track down where the red hot wire ... uh ... leaves the conduit?  It's certainly possible that the conduit goes through some junction box along the way and we will be opening the walls behind the cabinets when they are removed, but for planning purposes it would be helpful to know now whether the hot red wire is somewhere in the kitchen or not.

In case it helps, here are some pictures:


texts: Can I convert a fused dryer outlet to two 20 amp circuits?

texts: We have a dryer plug we no longer use. We would like to make it a quad outlet box instead. The outlet is wired to a fuse panel with 2 30 amp cartridge fuses.  Is it within code to switch those 2 fuses to 20 amp fuses and then wire the existing wires to 2 separate outlets with a shared neutral. It is a 208 circuit currently which should make the shared neutral just fine, but I want to make sure. I also thought about putting 2 gfci outlets instead of regular ones so that if it does trip we can simply reset it, instead of having to replace a fuse.


texts: How can I replace garage door opener remotes?

texts:
I have a working garage door opener, and at least the button on the receiver works too (the thing inside the garage with the button on it) but I have no remote clickers to it and it's pretty old anyway.

There's a thin double wire that goes into the receiver. Seems standard. It's an old Sears garage door opener.

I did some research on here and found a post linking to youdoitstore.com garage door parts site:

I found some digicode and multi-code receiver sets.  Anyone know the difference or know whether a replacement here would even work? Here's what I was considering..

MULTI-CODE 2 CAR RADIO SET 2022
DIGI-CODE 2 CAR RADIO SET

What is the difference between multi and digi code?

One last thing, I also have a key entry to the opener, which is a separate thin wire from the key to the main opener unit. I think this will continue to work since it's a separate wire altogether.  I'll consider other brands and models, I just like the idea of having a couple clickers or even a key chain remote too.


texts: I don't know what is the part called, but it is supposed to divert the water to the shower head. As shown in the photo, it is in the fully up position, however, large amount of water still coming out of the faucet. Can it be fixed, or I need a new faucet?


texts: Advice for replacement/repair of an HVAC with a cracked heat exchanger?

texts:
My townhouse has a downflow 1994 Rheem 2.5 ton HVAC unit on its roof (combines both A/C and heat). We have had two issues with the unit and have been in the townhouse for a little under two years. In this latest case, the contractor noticed there was a crack in the heat exchanger of the unit, requiring him by law to shut off the gas and electricity to the unit. His recommendation was to replace the unit completely, in that the amount of labor spent on this and future repair work would overshoot the cost of complete replacement.

I am liable to agree with the recommendation of the contractor, but wanted to ask and see if there was anything out of the ordinary I should be aware in considering the HVAC unit's replacement?


texts: Lime/bath stone - In need of clean and repair

texts:
The stone on my house which I think is Bath stone or Limestone is getting dirty. I’m not sure if it’s pollution, acid rain or something else.
I tried to give it a quick scrub with water and a gentle soap but I didn’t have any luck.
Can anyone tell me the type of cleaning agents that might be able to help or if this needs something more extensive?
pic
pic2


texts: How to level out or grind down concrete basement floor?

texts: I had a french drain installed in my basement and the top of its cement sits around 1/8" to 1/4" of an inch higher then the rest of my basement floor. I need to somehow level this out so I can put flooring down. How would you recommend I do this?


texts: Can 7 day programmable thermostats typically be programmed with each day the same without having to duplicate?

texts:
I only need 2 settings for my heating, one for night and another for day since we're basically at home all day every day.

We have a ground source/underfloor setup which was designed to run primarily on night saver electricity, a bit like a storage system. So we set it low in the daytime and high at night. But because of the storage nature of the system and the fact that it takes probably a few hours to properly react to weather changes, I sometimes need to make manual tweaks to the temperature so I watch the weather a bit etc. It actually works fine believe it or not - EXCEPT THAT the thermostat that came with it is a nuisance because for instance if the weather gets suddenly cooler and I want to set my nighttime temperature higher I have to make seven changes ( one for each day ).

I want to replace the unit with a Programmable Thermostat which is set once for the seven days ( since they're all going to be the same anyway )  - however I only see one such device on the web and I'm not sure I can even buy it here ( Ireland ) ... there are many options for 7 day programmable stats and I know they have modes 7day, 5-2, 5-1 etc but none suggest being able to put them into a simple "single day" type mode - though I studied this stuff in college so I know a mode like this should be simple to add to a unit during design and manufacture

So my question is — it typical for a 7 day programmable to be capable of working in a more simplistic single day more, or do i have to go on doing seven times the programming every time I want to account for the weather?


texts:
I have a HSS blade whose size is 200mmx30mmx3mm. For some particular reason, I need to make it thinner to 2mm-2.5mm.

Is there any tool or approach that I can use to archive this without too much effort?


texts: What is the strength of a TV signal at the antenna?

texts:
When understanding signal attenuation along a coaxial cable from an antenna to the television (e.g., signal loss from splitters, coaxial connections, etc), it's also important to understand what the signal power at the starting point is (i.e., at the antenna).

How can we determine signal power at the antenna, before it travels down to the TV?

For instance, my TV antenna has around 12 decibels of antenna gain (it's not amplified). Would this pretty much be the "starting" signal power before it heads for the TV, or is the signal strength calculation more complicated than just using the antenna gain figure? (e.g., depends on the noise margin of the particular TV channel).


texts: Does spacing of screws matter for the holding strength?

texts:
I'm attaching a TV wall mount which is shown in the image to external studs that I will install in front of the wall.
Does it matter for the holding strength which holes on the TV mount I use, those at the ends or those closer to the center?


texts: Why doesn't my replacement lighting work after my old fixture died?

texts:
I live in a pretty old condo in MA, and the living room track lighting stopped working. New bulbs didn't help, but the second set of lights on the same outlet worked fine. Replacing the bulbs and cleaning the fixtures didn't help either.

This weekend, I decided it was time to replace the lights, but this is my first electrical DIY project. I pulled down the old lights, hung the new set connected all the wiring, and turned the circuit back on. No dice: same as with the old set, the new ones don't light up.

A voltage tester shows power at the switch (a dimmer), and power throughout the track.

Any ideas why I still don't have any light?

EDIT:
I tried with a CFL, rather than LED bulb, and the CFL flashes. Also tried with an incandescent, which didn't turn on at all. Suggestions?


texts: Can I frame over an existing deck with a new deck to raise the level?

texts:
I was looking at below photo and realized they basically put the trim joists of the platform on top of the bottom joists / beam. Is that allowed? I thought you have to actually put footings for the raised platform.

Anyhow, if this method is OK, is there limitation on how big the platform could be?

Credit: centralctdecksandporches.com

UPDATE 1

Sorry for being unclear and the photo example above is not a good representation of my question. So here is a drafted plan for my deck that I just drew in Google Sketchup:

There are more on the right side of it. But it's the idea. I basically have 4 beams. Joist span is 9 feet except the middle, which has 2 beams spacing of 7 feet apart because of some trees.

Now I want to build a raiser like below:

I assume it will be 7" high. My question now becomes:

Can I just put a new 2x6 joists on top of the 2x8 joists below but running 90 degree across?
Or is it better NOT to run joists underneath but create separate set of footings?

If both are OK, I think #1 is easier to do but costly. #2 is a bit harder due to bunch of cutting but save some materials!!?

Please help.

UPDATE 2

So I did some more search and found this http://www.diydeckplans.com/tags/framing

I was trying to use similar idea. Basically, look like it's OK to have upper beam and lower beam. But in my case, I won't put the beam on the side of the post but it's directly on top of the 4x4 post.

UPDATE 3

This is a new design I just came up with. Basically, starting from the left, I will have 2 joists hanging (left red circle). Then 9 joists laying on top the beams to act as the raiser platform.

On the right side of the deck, there is a large area that is 7" lower. Here are a few points:

I will make the 4x4 posts 7" lower on the right side.
That makes the joists hanging near the house but laying on top of the 3 further beams.

But I have a question about the right red circle area. How should it be connected to the post?

Option A: Can I nail or hang a "beam" to "post"?

Option B: Or do I have to make the post closer now (instead of 5 feet spacing) and that part is an overhang?

Thank you for your patient.


texts:
I've been replacing outlets in a bedroom in the house I just bought. The outlet near the floor, near the light switch in this bedroom has 3 hots, 3 neutrals, and 1 ground run to it.  It's an older outlet with 12-gauge wiring and 2 hots and 2 neutrals are pushed into the back quick-connect spots and 1 of each is on the corresponding terminal screw on either side of the outlet.  Ground is, of course, attached to the ground terminal screw.

That being said, my new outlet back push-in terminals only accept 14-gauge wire, so I can't hook it up the same way.  That being said, is this the correct approach?

3 neutrals and neutral pigtail to wire nut; pigtail to neutral terminal screw
3 hots and hot pigtail to wire nut; pigtail to hot terminal screw
1 ground to ground terminal screw

There are no switched outlets in the room, by the way.

Thanks!!


texts: I have a vintage Kohler cast iron sink that I want to mount outside to use as a beverage station. It has legs and bolting points on the back (see picture). I am hoping to bolt it directly to the brick exterior of my home. The contractor can't quite figure out the best way to do this. It appears that it has brackets along the top back that can slide/sit in a wall mount but I don't have those wall mounts. Any thoughts?


texts: Copper water water line is out of round slightly

texts: Copper pipe water line is out of round....can I still use a compression fitting valve and just add some teflon tape at the compression nut to ring seat fit.  it is slightly oval.  I noticed a slight wetness just behind compression fitting.  I think I can reset it with a little Teflon placed over the ring setting where the nut stresses down on it.


texts: Is it code compliant to vent my bathroom exhaust through the turbine vent in our attic?

texts: My contractor wants to vent our bathroom exhaust fan by connecting tubing to our attic turbine vent (aka whirly bird) to exhaust it to the outside instead of plumbing it to the outside through the roof.  Is this up to CA codes?  This seems like a short cut.


texts: How to hang a projector screen from a thin horizontal part of slightly curved ceiling

texts:
I have a brick wall in front of which I want to hang a projector screen. Here is an image of a typical projector screen that I am looking to buy:

The part of my ceiling near the wall is curved(the ceiling becomes horizontal only in the middle part of the room), however there is a thin horizontal part(3 inches thick/wide, where I mean thickness as the perpendicular distance of the outer tip from the brickwall, see image for clarification; the actual depth of concrete or vertical thickness is much more) of the ceiling that directly joins the wall, see the following pictures:

I don't have any DIY experience before this, so please help me go through the steps. From what I have researched on the internet, I think I should install two hangers along with S-type hooks on that 3-inch part of the ceiling using sleeve anchors, and then hang my projector screen using those two hooks. The screen should be between 15 to 20 pounds in weight. Am I correct in my basic plan? Or should I hang it from the brick wall? What kind of equipments will I need for this job?

This is a university apartment, and I would like this job to have as little damage as possible(I would ideally like to remove or at least hide/paint the screws when I leave the apartment eventually). As I said, I have not done any drilling/hanging before, and will have to buy all equipments afresh(I don't even have a driller with me), so a detailed walkthrough of the process would be much appreciated.


texts: How do I close this hole in the HVAC vent?

texts:
What's the best way to close up this hole in the venting leaving the hvac?

Would foil tape be sufficient? Right now it bleeds out hot air into the basement in the winter, and cold air in the summer.

Click for full size image


texts: Sheath is too short! Can I finish in EMT?

texts:
Gah!!  My fat, expensive #4 SE cable going to a subpanel... Somebody stripped the sheath a little too far back. I have tried my darnedest and cannot find enough slack to bring the sheath inside the panel.

So here's my plan.  I want to use a 1" knockout to a very short nipple to a 4-11/16 square box, which will be barely an inch from the panel.  I want to enter the SE cable into a knockout in the square box, and fit it down properly with a cable clamp.  Then run its bared wires through the nipple into the panel proper and to the lugs.

Here's my worry.  It is not legal to unsheath a cable and use its individual conductors in place of THHN wire, mainly because those individual conductors are not marked/listed as such.  Would this count as that naughty thing, or would it be OK because it is shch a short hop?


texts: AFCI breakers in a Main Panel installed and tripping immediately with neutral pigtail connected

texts:
Finishing my basement and had some help with our electrical install.  I'm located in NJ btw, being that we installed new branched circuits (about 18 outlets and 16 LED lights), I had to use 3 breakers.  For the new circuits, I used 3 AFCI (Eaton, CH, 15A, 120v) breakers, the pigtails connected to my neutral bar.  However, each existing neutral is wired into each lug-hole with a ground, all other breakers in the box are standard, non AFCI.
When I test with it hooked up and turn the light switch on (with only 4 LEDs connected, for now), it trips right away.  Which to me means a ground fault.  Our home is from ~1997, all inspections passed then as the sticker on the panel indicates this.  The panel actually looks really well done inside, no corrosion either.  Note this is not a sub-panel, it's the one and only.
Here is the breaker:
All is well if I leave the pigtail disconnected, the breaker stays on, but the test functions do not work and it will probably not pass an inspection, which I require for our permit.  Any thoughts?  The only thing I can think of is the following:
Get an AFCI Type CH breaker without the pigtail
Get a 2-Pole AFCI Type CH Breaker
Thanks!


texts: Can I lay an attic floor over electrical wires?

texts:
I've been told that the electrical wires in the roof can heat up and potentially start fires if you cover them up. How can I get around this to lay the floor for an attic?
The type of floor is just chip-wood since I'm just using the space for storage.

Any other help in putting this project together is welcome!

Cheers


texts: Ice buildup inside Samsung RF266 refrigerator

texts:
Per the suggestion to the question Samsung RF266 refrigerator not cooling - Fan making noise I completely defrosted the refrigerator. The issue went away for a few days, but re-surfaced again. So I decided to disassemble to refrigerator understand the root cause of the problem. Yes there is Ice build up. Here are some images.

As you see in the image below. There is a good amount of ice buildup.

What are any suggestion to try fixing the issue? How can one test to verify if the fan is still working.


texts: Testing a wired smoke detector system, with in-ceiling fire suppression - how to test detectors

texts:
...without setting off the sprinklers?
I'm not sure wired detectors (on 3 floors of a condo) are connected to the in-ceiling fire sprinklers, so...
How do I determine the detectors are all working/inter-connected SAFELY? (as in, no sprinkler action)?

thanks!


texts: Why are my new roof shingles showing these lighter patches in cool weather?

texts: New roof shows patches of lighter shingles. Is it heat loss? Installation error?


texts: Samsung Front Load washer WF45k6500/AV/A2 trips GFCI Combination AFCI breaker

texts:
I have a new home constructed 10/16. The washer was installed at the time of closing.  We did not have an issue until January when the washer required a self clean cycle.  With about 10 minutes left on the spin cycle, it tripped the breaker.  We set it back and it finished.  Since then, around 7 out of 10 spin cycles it trips the breaker, we reset it and go on our way.  Some spin cycles it takes 5-6 times for us to reset the breaker before the washer will actually finish.

We had a tech come out yesterday 2/15/17, and couldn't find anything wrong with the washer.  He called Samsung and they told him we need to switch the breaker from a Square D to a Siemens or a GE breaker.  My fiancé was home, and I wasn't, she passed on that samgsung said it had to do with the digital read out from the washer and it works with the other breaker brands.  After doing some research, it seems that many people have issues with either AFCIs or GFCI breakers.

I can buy a  square D AFCI breaker only.  Any suggestions if that is worth a try?  The other brand breakers GE or Siemens aren't the same shape, they are much shorter, so I'm not sure how well they will mount in the box.  Would the brand really make a difference if it is AFCI/GCFI combo? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


texts: what is the right drainage system around a floating crawlspace foundation?

texts:
4 years ago I bought a house in a town on the Canadian border of MN.
What I didn't realized was...the property is sloping and my neighbor filled his property up so it's half a foot higher than mine.
Combined with the slope...I have quite a bit of water running diagonal towards the house and then it seems to collect on the opposite corner of the house because that is the wettest area in the crawlspace and the room above barely warms up during the winter.
I had issues with outside doors not closing and cracks in the sheet rock.
So to make it short ...I need a drainage system, but I get confused about the different systems.
Is a French drain around the house and at the property lines to my neighbors the right approach?
Do I put the pipe just above the T shape footing or do I go lower since it is so cold up here?
As I understand, a floating footing is only 14-16" deep.
I noticed that they left the footing forms in the ground...They should have came off, right?
I plan on digging myself and would like to take this opportunity to insulate the footing and wooden crawlspace from the outside.
So do I put concrete paint on or not?
Then insulation sheets and then membrane ...or is that overdoing it?
Do I start at the highest end of the house/property and work my way down with the slope of 6" per 10'?
I can run the drain to a storm water ditch, I already asked.
I know these are a lot of questions and I hope someone can answer them because I only want to do this once and hopefully have all my issues resolved.


texts: Fixing foundation crack with repair kits

texts:
I have a crack in the foundation visible on both sides, interior and exterior on an older home (built in 60's).
In my case the foundation does not seem to be sagging.

I have received some advice suggesting that patching it might be enough.

However, I see a lot of sources pushing crack repair kits that cover the a cement foundation crack with epoxy, leaving injection ports, then filling the crack with polyurethane or epoxy.

Is this the de facto way of doing it now?


texts: How do I determine if a slow toilet leak is due to an actual leak, or due to sweating?

texts:
I got my wife a bidet for her birthday (something she'd been asking for for a while). Several days after install, we came to realize that there was a thin sheen of water under the toilet, enough to have heavily dampened (but not soaked) the bathroom mat. I have been unable to see it actually drip, but the surface of the connection is damp, and there was water on the floor. Originally, the water came out of the wall, into a flexible pipe, and then into the tank. The bidet added a metal T junction, with the bidet getting its water from the added connection.

Unfortunately, I can't work on it right away due to work. I put a towel under the junction last night, and it was indeed damp. I've since stuck a bucket underneath to hopefully catch the water and gauge how much of a problem there actually is. My next step will probably be to unscrew everything tonight, and rebuild it with teflon tape, but if this is due to condensation, I'm not certain how much good that will do. Is there a good way to determine why the problem is happening?


texts: Flood Plain Craziness - Do I really have to listen to the county here?

texts:
Question:

Preface - I am NOT building in the flood plain. Is the burden of proof on the county to prove i'm not complying with the rules? What is the worst to happen if I simply build a 100% flood plain compliant house and stop providing surveys and additional maps proving i'm not in the flood plain?

County Rules:

No permit to build county, no cert of occupancy etc., drain-field permit only (already have).  Permits required (by state) + engineering if inside the flood plain.

Details:

Below is a snapshot from the 1980s fema maps which shows the Base Flood Elevation Break-line in red at 3195 feet above sea level, running East-West. 1/3 mile to the south of that line, is a 3196 breakline (not pictured). The blue area is determination of the floodplain from 1980 air footage and said to be "on average 95% accurate". The red square is where I wish to build. The mobile home pictured is gone / I removed it. There is a functioning drainfield behind it which we have permission to use from the sanitarian (only permit actually required).

The flood plain administrator and building official in my county seem to be making up some rules or at least be over-cautious (or i'm just confused).

They requested I provide a detailed survey proving that FEMA is actually accurate "because 1980s photos at 30k ft aren't 100%". So, I provided a detailed survey (to the 1ft contour) which shows basically what you would expect below with some areas where I want to build all 100% between 3195 and 3196. Now they are claiming that's fine if I build above the 3195 break-line because that guarantees that 3195 contours, north of the 3195 break-line are above base flood elevation. The issue is, if I want to build south of the 3195 breakline (as pictured), the base flood elevation is likely 3195 + maybe an inch or two at most (based on the distance to the 3196 contour. They want a base flood determination done in this area even though my contour map shows it at or above 3195 and some of it even at 3196 and 97.


texts: Are these black marks near an electrical box signs of an electrical problem that I should be concerned about?

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My garage has an electrical box with no receptacle in it, just wire-nutted wires. It came this way when I bought the house.

A non-contact voltage tester shows that the black wires are hot. I was about to shut off the breaker and install a receptacle in the box, but then I noticed the black marks around it which almost look like burn marks.

Should I be concerned that these marks tell the story of an electrical problem in the past, perhaps hinting that there's a good reason why there's no receptacle hooked up right now?


texts: Test button on GFCI breaker does nothing?

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I've installed a 240V 50 A GFCI breaker for a to-be hot tub in a subpanel and just done a preliminary test. If I power it on, a non-contact voltage tester shows its load cable is live. However the TEST button on the breaker does nothing. I've pushed it fairly hard, I don't think its just stiff. And most test buttons I've used before are pretty sensitive.
I've not independently tested the two legs vs ground or neutral, but could do so.
I think there are two likely possibilities: the breaker is bad, or my wiring is bad. As far as I can tell the wiring is fine. (I've wired numerous 120 and 240 V breakers before.) Any other possibilities?
I'm looking for advice on diagnosing this. I assume that if the wiring is in fact OK, then the breaker must be defective?

FYI at the moment the breaker is OFF and the cable run to it is terminated at the other end, not attached to any equipment yet. So I think this is safe for the time being.
Actually, assuming I do have to replace the breaker, is this the best state to leave it in the meantime?  I could pull the breaker & cap off the wires in the subpanel but that would leave the front cover with a big hole.

Update - I did replace it with an identical breaker - no change to wiring - and the new one worked fine. This seemed conclusive that the breaker was bad.


texts: Removing or leveling an old iron pipe embedded in concrete patio

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I have an old concrete patio in the back of my house. This patio has until recently been covered by a small deck, but for several reasons I've decided to replace the deck with synthetic outdoor flooring material that can go on top of the concrete, sitting on top of plastic grid stand-offs. Unfortunately it requires is that the underlying stratum be reasonably smooth.

Having removed the old deck, I've discovered that the concrete has an old iron pipe embedded within it, as can be seen in the attached picture. The pipe is clearly disused - one end of it is open to the elements. I suspect that there used to be, or still is, a heating oil tank under the patio, as is common in my part of the world, and the pipe connected to it. I have no idea what would compel someone to just pour a concrete pad and ignore the pipe (never mind decommissioning the oil tank itself), but there it is. The pipe is quite substantial - the metal is some 1/4 inch thick, and the part above ground is about 18 inches long.

The pipe presents a challenge to my plan of laying down the plastic flooring onto the patio, since it protrudes about an inch and a half at highest, and will surely interfere. I am trying to figure out a way to get rid of the metal, that does not involve busting out the concrete and pouring it anew.

My best idea so far has been to fit a cut-off disk into my angle grinder and cut around the "water line" of the concrete around the pipe. I tried it out and it was a failure - the metal is thick enough that my 4.5" grinder and thick-ish cut off wheel just get bogged down. I plan to try again with a thin cut-off wheel, but I am not super-optimistic. I've also considered renting out a big concrete saw and cutting out the area containing the pipe - however I don't think it would be a good idea to use the saw to cut through the pipe itself given its thickness, and given that I can't see where the pipe is under the concrete, that could involve taking out a substantial part of the patio to be safe, which would also interfere with my plans.

Are there any other options I could consider here? I am willing to borrow or rent tools to accomplish this safely (and hopefully quickly).

Thanks!


texts: How to create waterproof dog kennel floor?

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I want to build a dog kennel that is 4' x 8'. I want the flooring to be able to be cleaned out by using a water hose. I was planning on creating a concrete slab with a raised edge around it. I'm not sure if there are better methods to do this.

Requirements:

Floor/foundation must not leak from the edges except for a designated area to allow drainage.
Must be something that can be easily cleaned with a hose.
Can't cause future water damage to structure on the slab.

This is a rough design of what I would like the kennel to look like (side view).


texts: How to fix loose box newel handrail post

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Here's a link to the post and a video on it wobbling.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/huCeNoR4D79aDTJR9
In one video, you can see the whole post is moving quite a bit.
As you can see in the photos, I have access to underneath the stairs. And it appears they put a piece of pressure treated lumber under that spot with the post. There is nothing visible in the area under the tread.
However, I don't know how this post is assembled or attached. There's no plugs or anything on the post itself that I could remove to access screw or bolts. I see some brad nail holes in a few places. The top trim piece doesn't appear to have any brad nails or holes in it. Should it just pop off with a little pressure underneath?


texts: HVAC technician can't do ductwork because of zoning limitations?

texts: I'm doing a renovation on an unfinished area, size about 350 sqft.  During my rough framing/electrical/mechanical phase inspection, my county inspector didn't mind the idea of tapping into the existing system for heating/cooling. However, when I called up a technician to schedule a time to take a look at setting that up, they mentioned that by law they can't do work on something where the unit isn't zoned for the square footage.  Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the sqft zoning is a rule of thumb and not a strict law, isn't it?  Wouldn't the county inspector want to scrutinize the condenser tonnage/SEER if he thought it was in question?  Is it possible the project would be halted because of this unless I supplemented with an air unit or changed out the condenser/HVAC system?


texts:
Underneath my kitchen sink you can see the following:

As you can see, the spout (is this the correct term?) has kitchen roll stuck in it.

Isn't this suppose to be sealed with a cap? Doesn't it run the risk of leaking (granted it hasn't just yet). If it does need a cap what should I be getting for it?

Thanks.

EDIT

Further pictures for clarity.


texts: How do I mount a TV bracket to a plasterboard/drywall ceiling?

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I'm really just looking to confirm what I assume is the best way to do this.

I don't know what the total weight will be but the bracket is rated for 30kg (66lbs), so let's assume the TV is the heaviest possible for the bracket.

My understanding is that I need to find a (wooden) joist above the plasterboard using a stud finder, and then mount the bracket to this. I don't have any screws with the bracket though, so is there anything specific I should buy for the actual mounting? Are a few heavy duty, long wood screws going to be sufficient?

If it helps this is on the top floor so I can access the joists from the attic.

Thank you so much for the help.


texts: Building a 1 layer thick brick wall over drywall

texts: Looking to lay a brick wall over drywall in my basement.  The floor is a concrete slab which covers my entire basement.  I am looking to see what issues or concerns I should have laying a 1 layer brick wall from floor to ceiling. I am concerned the wall would topple over.  How can I lag this in?


texts: How can I fix this loose chandelier mount?

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This is the mount for a chandelier in our dining room.  I can tug downward on it and it's pretty solid.  There's still something holding it in place but when I push up it jiggles around.  It should be flush with the ceiling and not loose.

Is this something that someone with limited home improvement skills can fix?

Update:

So I took the faceplate off and unscrewed the mount and it was mounted to this bar about 18" long that's not secured to anything. It's just laying on the sheetrock. There are joists on either side, or plywood above, that I could mount the bar or something else to.


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I'm having a metal fence custom-made that will have a regular (pedestrian) gate as well as a double gate for vehicles. I'd like to install deadbolts on both gates for better security than other locking methods.
I see several places sell metal boxes that can be welded on with two holes (for a deadbolt and lever) or one hole (for just a deadbolt), so it seems like that will work well. But I'm wondering what to do on the other side opposite the deadbolt. I could just drill a hole through the post, but then there's no strike plate. Or weld a strike plate on and leave a bigger gap to accommodate it? Or do they sell similar metal boxes to weld into the other side?


texts: Ok to use 3 wire to wire pairs of lights, for pairs of dimmers?

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I have a room with 9 pairs of halogen lights, currently all wired to one switch, and one circuit. So 18 total lights, with pairs sharing appropriate boxes. This might actually be more then is allowed for 1 circuit, but is for sure more than a single dimmer can handle. I'm resigned to rewiring things, wondering however what I can get away with. Physically distributed in 3x3 pairs, it doesn't ascetically easily break in two, except breaking up each pairs of lights.

Would it be acceptable to use 3 wire in this case? i.e. wire all "left" lights with the black hot, all "right" lights with the red hot, and a common neutral? Side-by-side dimmer switches, and input side of dimmers only with the existing single hot from the panel.


texts: Replacing light fixture, current box has too many wires for new fixture

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I've been working on setting up a new light fixture for a few hours now and ran into a bit of a problem.  This fixture was replaced about 6 years ago with the current one, so it's not too old, but it's old enough for me to be confused about what to do when replacing it.

Here's our new fixture setup with bracket in place and the fixture's ground wire attached to the ground screw and house ground wire.  We see 3 white wires, a ground wire, and a black wire coming from the outlet.  The black and single white wires are both hot and the two white wires are both neutral, and were already tied together when we replaced the fixture.  So far that's about all we've done, since we're not sure where to put the new wires.  The clear tubes are both from the new fixture, one having text on it and another being completely clear.  The guide says to attach the clearest wire to the neutral white wire and attach the clear wire with text to the hot black wire.  But doing that leaves us with a hot white wire by itself, so that's where we're stuck.  Mainly wondering where we should go from here?  The fixture model is a Hampton Bay 3 light chandelier if that helps.


texts: Roughed in electrical wire tucked in the ceiling by builder/electrician

texts: When I was checking my unfinished basement I found two very long wires being folded/tied and left between joists by the builder/electrician. What are they and how to find what are they for? Each wire is (both are white 14 gauge) at least 15 feet long. They do not have power on to them, so not connected anywhere. Wires are closer to the walls and going into the walls towards the first floor. Any one has any idea?


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Background:

I wanted to replace the wax ring on my toilet but when I took it apart I found that the flange was in bad shape. The notches that hold the bolts were broken out. That, I think, led to the toilet wobbling, which led to a leaky wax ring.

The flange was screwed down and the screws were rusty and I was stripping them trying to get them out, so I had to chisel the flange apart and remove the screws with some pliers. The flange was the kind that fits inside the pipe. It looked like this after I had broken up the top of the flange and removed the screws:

That's a tile floor, slightly crumbly around the hole (it doesn't look as bad in person). You can see the little piles of rust where the screws were. Finally, I used a saw and chisel to remove the last of the flange from the inside of the pipe.

The problem:

Once I got the flange out, it looked to me like there was another layer in there. I mean it looked like the pipe contained small second pipe, into which my old flange had been inserted. I began chiseling that out as well when I stopped and wondered whether I should be doing that. It didn't seem that the inner layer was coming out as cleanly as the flange had done. At this point it looks like this:

I believe that's purple PVC cement around the inside. You can see that there appear to be two layers. On the right you can see where I started chiseling out the inner layer. On examining a bit that I chiseled out, it does appear to be an inner layer. Here is a photo of it. You can see some printing on the outside surface (by which I mean not the purple side).

The question(s):

What now? I'm up to my neck in this project and I'm not sure how to proceed. What do I need to do in order to prepare this pipe to accept a new flange? Should I stop now and just install a new flange in the pipe as-is? Do I need to remove that inner pipe? And the big question, is it time to admit defeat and call a plumber?


texts: Running conduit near knob and tube wiring

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I have some new AC ducts in our new house that will soon be concealed behind new drywall, but before the drywall goes up, I wanted to run some conduit from the upper floor down to the basement for cable and network. Unfortunately, in the space between the two ducts (where I pretty much would have to put the cables, there is, attached to the floor joists a run of knob and tube wiring. I tested it with a voltage tester and it doesn't appear to be hot, so I'm assuming it's the neutral line (I can see where it's partner live line is, however). It looks to be in pretty good condition with the insulation in tact, but I'm leery about trying to run flexible aluminium condition right next to it. I have limited space to work in and limit options on securing it, but obviously I don't want the potential for the conduit to end up live!

How worried should I be about this? If I secure the conduit away from the k&t, would I be okay? Or should I just forget the conduit altogether and just drop (insulated) cables down the hole and hope I don't need to change them or add more at a later date?


texts: My Lennox gas furnace runs for 1 to 2 hours, then shuts down

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My furnace will run for an hour or two, cycling 3 times each hour, then shuts down. I have to turn the temperature setting to "off" and then back up to 70°F, and it comes back on. I've replaced the thermostat and air filter, cleaned the flame sensor, cleaned the burners, checked all sensors with a meter (all have continuity). It's a Lennox G20Q3E-75-6, fairly old, not sure when it was installed.

Any ideas?


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My fan in the bathroom is constantly running no matter what position I put the switch to.

The switch looks like this:

And there is some other controller that I don't understand what it does (never used it before):

Can someone please tell me, how is it possible that the fan keeps running even if I put the switch in the off position?

Is it probable that it has some internal sensor and that sensor turned it on?

Also, did someone see that "Thermolec" controller before and can point out to me what it does?

This is the model of the thermolec controller:

And this is the fan case (sorry I can't get to the fan right now because my hand is broken. I'll need help):

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

P.S. There was a power outage insident recently. A lightning strike hit the house and there was no electricity for 3 days in the neighberhood because 2 transformers were blown out. That's when the problem started.
It might be a coincidance because a real brutal heat wave has also arrived at the same time and the electrical generator that the State Electrical company has put infront of my windows doesn't help with dissipating heat. lol


texts: One of the "legs" in the circuit box is dead

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I'm fixing up the back room and after turning off the breaker for that part of the house, I disconnected an outlet high up on the wall (no idea why it was there) and since it was powering the lower outlet, reconnected the power line to the bottom one.

When I turned the breaker back on, there was no power to all the breakers powered by one of the two legs. No issue with the other leg, or the breakers associated with the live one.

Is there any way I could have caused the issue? An electrician is on the way but I'd like to know if anyone else has an opinion. Seems too much of a coincidence but since the breaker was off the entire time I can't imagine what could have happened. Also, no sparks, no burning smell, no heat, no indication of any damage in the box or any of the wiring inside or outside.


texts: Where can I find LED indoor floodlights?

texts: Where can I find LED Indoor Floodlights? I have recessed lighting and one of the lights over a nook in my house gets the person hot who sits under the light for too long - plus LED is more energy efficient. I currently have a halogen indoor flood light installed.


texts: Is it normal for a power strip/plugs to have a metallic smell?

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I had most of my computer stuff plugged into a (rather new - about 2 months old) surge protector. I noticed a weird metallic smell coming from it for about a month, but I figured it was just because it was new - until today, where it was just too much to bear. I bought a new power strip for my desk and have been using it for a few hours or so, but when I unplug things or smell the power strip I still get that same sharp, metallic odor.

I have tried it with my old power strip as well, one that I've had for quite a while, and the same thing happened. The wall outlet itself doesn't smell, but any plug put in the strip does. I admit that I'm not the most judicious about turning power strips and devices on and off when plugging and unplugging them, so sometimes things spark when I plug them in - I don't know if it's that heat that is creating the smell or something.

This happened at my old house as well so I don't think it's an outlet/wiring issue in my house. Is this just something power strips do? I'm a pretty anxious person so I'm worried I could be freaking out over nothing.


texts: Goodman Furnace igniter glows but doesn't ignite

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Specs: Goodman Model GDS80703, over 10 years old, Control board replaced 2 years ago

2 months ago, it just started glowing and not igniting, and after doing some basic troubleshooting (Reboot, clean filters, reset thermostat) the problem wasn't solved

As there was sufficient voltage to the gas valve, I was advised by a tech over the phone to replace the gas valve, and did so, It fired up about three times, and each time it didn't reach the temperature desired

Now, we're back at square one, and so we come to you, the people of the internet, for help.


texts: Which thinset to connect USG Durock® Brand Cement Board with EdgeGuard?

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I am about to install USG Durock® Brand Cement Board with EdgeGuard onto my bathroom frame where the toilet is (I'm using HardieBacker for the shower FYI). This is new construction. According to USG's directions, I need to use a "latex-fortified mortar" to fill the joints between boards.
I'm looking all over Google and the Home Depot website. I see a product called Thinset Mortar Admix, which can be mixed with PremiumPlus, MasterBlend or CustomBlend thin-set mortars. They say to use that latex additive instead of water when mixing.
However, I already have purchased Porcelain Tile White 50 lb. Fortified Thinset Mortar (Custom Building Products) from Home Depot.
Question:
Since the above porcelain thinset is described as "fortified," is that as good as using regular thin-set mortar with a latex additive mixed in? Or should I return the porcelain thin-set mortar, and buy the cheaper normal thin-set mortar and use (instead of water) the latex additive when mixing it?


texts: We removed the plaster from several walls because they were friable and bulging, but chose to leave the lath attached to save time/work. We will screw 1/2 inch drywall onto the walls, but upon further consideration are concerned that the lath underneath may cause irregularities in the finished product.  Is this an acceptable practice or should we remove the lath also?


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I have a projector screen which weighs 26kg and I'm trying to fix it on to the wall.  The screen has holes for two screws and I'm wondering what size screw I need to support that weight.

To complicate matters - I live in an old Victorian townhouse and upon drilling in to the walls it seems that they are made of pebbles and big pieces of flint.  I've drilled 3 holes in a vertical line, about 2 inch below each other and it seems like the pebbles fell through from top to bottom, so I've filled the top two with polyfilla and stuck a yellow rawplug in the bottom and am waiting for it all to dry.  I have some 2 inch screws - is this a recipe for disaster?

Below is one of the screws I have - I think I need bigger but can't make a hole big enough in the wall because of the flint all over the place.  Is there anything else I can try?


texts: What size pipe to use when hooking up 2 dryers

texts: How to hook up two dryers with what size exhaust pipes horizantal


texts: How to safely cap a wire coming from a wall

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I'm in the UK. I have taken two electric radiators off the wall, one behind where my fridge goes, and one behind a set of shelves. Each radiator has a standard (live/neutral/earth) wire coming out of the wall, and I have them taped up with electrical tape.

I would like to safely cap them, in a way which doesn't stop me pushing the fridge/shelves up against the wall. What do I need for this?

Thanks!


texts: We have a single handle Grohe kitchen faucet which was leaking severely at the handle. After replacing the cylinder, the leak stopped. However, now the hot water does not come on at all. The dishwasher does have hot water as does the rest of the house.


texts: How do I remove a plunger inside the overflow assembly? without the rod?

texts: I have an issue about some type of plunger stuck inside the overflow assembly. The tub is older and the overflow cover plate was gone and the entire assembly was missing when I got to the tub (helping a friend). I know there is something in the overflow assembly because I sent a plumber's snake down the overflow, pushed past a little resistance and the tub drained, almost as if I had pushed past something. I pulled the snake out and ever since then, I can't push the snake down anymore and the drain is completely blocked. With no assembly attached to the plunger, is there anyway I can retrieve it without going behind the tub or under the house? I tried coat hanger retrieval, I've tried the snake again and I tried WD-40, but to no avail.


texts: I believe the person (idiot) who remodeled the home I recently purchased let the grout and other construction material he used to rehab the bathroom go down the drain.  I believe it has dried in the pipe and there is only a very small opening for water to drain through.  The house is a slab, so I can't get to the pipe under the tub.  Is there anything I can use to dissolve the grout so that the water will drain faster.  He obviously didn't know what he was doing as the tile is already bulging behind the faucet.


texts: Is a ground required when replacing an old single pole single throw switch?

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I need to replace a switch that controls a single light source in a bathroom.

The switch has two wires connected to it.  I bought a replacement switch that has two screws (one for each wire), and a green ground screw.

Is it OK to connect just the two wires to the new switch and have the green ground screw unconnected?

This is not a remodel.  Just trying to replace a switch that's broken.

EDIT: strangely, I didn't see a ground screw on the original switch.  Was this permissable at some time?

EDIT 2: Picture as requested.  The left switch is for a light source and is the broken one.  Right switch is for a fan.  The two switches are on the same circuit.  The outlet is on a separate circuit.

I can't tell if the box is metal.  It seems plastic but could be painted metal I suppose.

EDIT 3: With switches and outlet pulled out.


texts: Putting a rain barrel on a deck or on a stand

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I'd like to have a rain barrel setup directly connected to soaker hoses (that will eventually be electronically controlled) to water a garden on-demand. The rain barrel obviously has to be above the garden beds (what's the minimum height differential here?), so my placement options are:

On the deck next to the garden beds. The deck is well built, but the place that the barrel would go is on the deck, lofted above the septic tank. This will put an additional ~200 pounds static load onto the roof of the septic tank. Will this cause an issue?
On a stand on the lawn. I assume I'd have to lay down a gravel/stone dust packed base, some large pavers, and then build a relatively beefy wooden stand to hold the rain barrel up.

Which of these options (or potentially others) would be best?

Edit: I'm mostly looking for longevity and safety. I am happy with both locations from an aesthetic perspective. The deck is easier because I don't have to dig/fill, but the footings being on top of the septic are a structural concern that I'm asking to have verified


texts: What kinds of items should not be put into a sink waste dispenser?

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With some of the advanced food waste dispensers available today claiming to grind "anything" and do so quietly, it may be tempting to skip regular waste disposal, especially if taking the garbage out is not the most pleasant of chores.

While common sense dictates that bottles, cans or utensils (I didn't make the last one up) should not end up in a sink waste dispenser, what innocent-looking items should not end up there either?


texts: Ceiling Light with no switch to turn off

texts: We bought an older home there was an old ceiling fan in the kitchen with a pull string.So we changed it and put a new light fixture in .It works fine except we can't turn it off.The switch in the kitchen turns on onother ceiling light in the kitchen.but not the new one. It is the only switch in the kitchen we tried the one in the hall to no luck.Hopefully someone knows whats wrong


texts:
I've installed the ridge cap, using modified 3 tab shingles.

I've installed the ridge cap all the way to the other end of the ridge, but I'm not quite sure what to do now.

The next shingle will be hanging out over nothingness, how can I nail it down?

Please don't nitpick about not using Ridge Cap Shingles, that's a different question altogether.


texts: How can I open a door with the knob removed?

texts: My door automatically locks when you close the door. I of course forgot about it and closed my door as I left now we can't get it open. Please help I'm not sure what to do.


texts:
I have an old fence with round metal post that are concreted in and in good condition but I want to replace them with timber posts. To avoid digging everything up I would like to cut the metal post down to about 150mm and drill out the post to slide over it and bolt through.

My question is, if I need to drill 50mm hole 150mm vertically into the middle of the post is a 100x100mm post big enough to still maintain enough strength? - I can go 150x150mm it just might look a too over sized for the area the fence is in.


texts: Hello I need help interpreting results from a sample taken in garage ceiling. The gypse was covered with a cement coating . The results I will post indicate less than 1% Actinolite. What does this mean . Is it safe to leave or dangerous


texts: Is it ok to calk drywall corner joints rather than taping them?

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Instead of removing the popcorn ceiling I decided to just put a layer of drywall on top of the existing popcorn ceiling.
I noticed the worker used the caulking instead of taping where the old and the new drywall meets.
Is this okay?


texts:
I don't like mowing my lawn (too sisyphean). I'd like to go about a year in between having to do anything. So I'm thinking about torching it with a weed burner.

How's that likely to work out for me?


texts: How should I support rectangular duct in wall?

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In California, I'm installing a 3x14 rectangular supply duct from my attic to my first floor. It goes vertically through the second floor wall, through the floor, and ends in the first floor ceiling.

How should I support the duct run in the wall cavity?


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I have a custom built new construction home, but I was not involved with the build process, so I don't know the thought behind some of the equipment decisions.
I am an engineer, so curiosity has me exploring some of the technical details of my home, I am not having any issues with the electrical system.
Near the main electrical panels, there are three low voltage DC power supplies.  I am trying to understand what they are used for.
Using a multimeter, I was able to determine that they are powered via a circuit breaker in the main panel labeled "Low Voltage System".  Turning this breaker off doesn't seem to make anything in my home stop functioning (Lighting, smoke alarms, HVAC all work normally with this breaker turned off).
They are not involved with the door bell or HVAC equipment (As there are standard AC transformers for this equipment).
My home is equipped with a generator transfer switch (See: Using portable generator with transfer switch), could these somehow be involved with that?
Does anyone know what these power supplies are used for?
Main Electrical Panels:

Cover Removed from power supply:


texts: I have power at all plugins but when I plug something in it doesn't work an voltages testers goes to 0

texts: I have 119.1 volts at all plugins but when I plug in a light the light does not work and the voltage meter reads 0.


texts: Installing an ecobee4 thermostat. Have a 2 stage furnace with ac. Had a Trane furnace installed couple years ago and just noticed it's jumpered between W1-W2. Old thermostat wire was only 4, apparently HVAC guy didn't want to pull a new one and just did this for the timed second stage. I will be running new wire and want it to run truly 2 stage. Question I have upon looking at everything is as I understand it the Y should be connected from thermostat, furnace control board, and outdoor ac unit. And the other ac  wire connected to the B/C on the furnace, which is also going to be connected to the new ecobee. This isn't how it currently is though. Currently the Y on the thermostat goes directly to the other wire on the ac unit not connected to B/C. Furnace board has no Y connected to it. Now everything works fine, ac in summer has been fine. Is this how I should run the new ecobee4? Does the Y on the furnace not need to be used? Thanks.


texts: Could I use perlite under floor heating foam panels?

texts:
Context:

I want to install an in-floor water based heating system in an apartment on a higher floor.

As such, there are 2 problems:

I cannot afford to have 2 layers of screed (because I need something lighter).
The current concrete slab suffers from level and adherence issues. There are holes, level differences between rooms of up to 6 cm, 2 rooms have a layer of bitum on them (was previously used as insulation and adhesive for the former flooring), 1 room has a slab of shiny mosaic-like screed that we couldn't remove.

This is why I thought about using perlite as the bottom layer (under the studded insulation panels).

Questions:

Is this a good solution?
Does the studded insulation panel need to be anchored to the surface below using screws or something else?
Will it have enough stability on the perlite layer if I level it appropriately?


texts: Can I extend an electrical ground wire with a copper wire crimp?

texts:
I am working with an electrical socket and I need extra length on the ground wire.  It doesn't seem unreasonable that I can attach an extra three inches to the existing one and attach it with a copper wire crimp.  Does anyone see a problem with this?

I have no extra slack on the rest of the wires, so I am not able to pull it through any further.


texts: Decorative metal plates on finish lumber

texts: I am looking for a name of a product. It is thin decorative metal plates that are usually engraved and nailed to things like doors or other finish lumber. 100% decoration, no functional utility whatsoever. What are those called?


texts: I have 2 window air conditioners in my house. None of them seem to have a setting to bring in (a little bit of?) fresh air. When we cook, the house becomes a bit smokey. Also, the vapors of freshly cut onion can can be felt even in the rooms adjacent to the kitchen. On cool days, I open the windows and place a fan near a window to drive out air from the house (and get in fresh air from other windows). But what is the best solution on hot&humid days when turning off the AC and using the above method is not an option?


texts: question on the roof structure of my garage

texts:
This is a follow-up question on how to carry 20ft lumbers to home. Thanks for the advices and comments. I learned a lot. :) Because the question is now diviated from the original question, I made a new thread.

My garage is about 20 ft x 20 ft and has the hip roof structure. It has a long beam (rafter tie) that connects the front and the rear rafts and three beams that connect the right and left rafts. The three rafter ties are all located in the rear side. There was one rafter tie in the front side but was removed by a contractor about 3 months ago. The reason is that, we replaced the roof of the main house about 8 months ago and the roof workers put all the materials on the garage roof (which I still do not understand). Since then, the front side of the garage sunk a little bit, which caused the front rafter tie to be hit by the garage door when it was opened. When I talked to a contractor about this problem, he tried to lift up the front rafter tie but found that the nailed parts on one rafter got damaged and couldn't lift it up. So, he simply removed the rafter tie, telling me that it should be fine. Now that I learned that it is NOT ok, I plan to install rafter ties in the front side.

a) Firstly, is it something that amateur DIYers like me can do? Or, is it better to be done by a professional? Because it is a structure problem, I am concerend with any possible mistake which might lead to a severe consequence. But, if it is a simple job (for example, just nailing 20ft 2x4 to the rafters), I probably can do.

b) If I hire somebody else, whom should I contact? Would a handy-man be able to take care of this? Or, should I contact a professional structure engineer?

c) In general, how many rafters would be needed for 20x20 garage? Would it be even better if I add more rafter ties beside the removed one?

For the reference, I am attaching three photos of the roof structure:


texts: Attempting to install GE single pole motion light switch.  The existing switch controls two lights in a small hallway.  Can the single pole motion switch be wired for 2 lights?


texts: Can I remove this interior brick chimney?

texts: Bricks are all messed up I'm curious if I can just remove the hump part? This is on the ground floor.


texts: Can I use two 2x4's to replace 4x4 posts in a loft bed?

texts:
I'm building a loft bed for a queen size bed. I planned to build a platform and support it with 4x4s, but I'm having trouble finding untreated 4x4s. I plan to loft the bed 5' or so. The platform will be made of 2x6's covered in 1/2" plywood.

This shows what I'm planning to do:

Can I use two 2x4s instead of the  4x4's to carry the load?

If so, will nailing/screwing them together in several places be sufficient to hold them together?

I'd like to use 3/8" bolts to join the platform to the posts (for easy disassembly). If so, should I only bolt down the long side of the platform, or try to place bolts on both sides of the corner? If the latter, how should I put a bolt through the narrow side of the joined boards?


texts: Black stuff comes out of faucet after running hot water for 10 minutes

texts:
After running my bath tub’s hot water for about ten minutes, the faucet is ejecting 1-2 second streams of black particulates, every few minutes. This is happening consistently after running the water for 10 minutes or so.  It only happens when running the hot water.

This is happening in a 10 year old, United States high rise, with what I believe is a tankless water heating system.  I haven’t been able to reproduce the same results from any other faucets in the unit.

What could these black particulates be from?

Here’s a video: https://vimeo.com/246658414


texts: I have a flooded basement and have an electric cord plugged into an outlet. How can I unplug the cord without getting shocked?

texts:
We recently got a lot of rain and my basement has standing water.  The water is about a quarter inch deep.  I have a freezer that is plugged in with an electric cord that is submerged in the water.

I want to clean the basement up but am afraid to with the electric cord being plugged in and submerged in the standing water.

The circuit breaker is also located down there. Thought about setting up chair and walking across room to shut breaker off.


texts: How long should the hot water last during a shower?

texts:
Given a 40 gallon natural gas water heater, and a shower head with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. How long should the shower be able to maintain 105°F water temperature?

Assume the average cold water supply temperature is 58.7°F. The tank will be set at 140°F, to avoid Legionella. The tank recovery is typical of a natural gas heater, so it can recover its volume in an hour (40 gph in this case).


texts: Water fills trench outside of home appears to be coming from under foundation

texts:
Live in San Diego, CA in an early '70s townhome unit that shares both walls with a front courtyard.  Previous owner rerouted the mainline from detached garage above ground (possible slab leak all of our pipes appear to be above ground now).  We are digging a trench in our front courtyard to properly bury the main line before entering into the home above ground, plumber to install new piping. While digging the trench along the neighbors wall water started to fill in the trench.  Followed the water to underneath the foundation into neighbors unit.  Water fills the hole to a level then stops (stayed at same level overnight).  Water is clear and cool. Have attached a photo.  Called plumber to come out to evaluate. Townhomes are in a four unit block with same meter into city main (HOA fee includes water).

Plumber used listening device at pipe shut-off in garage for our neighbors and our unit, no sound of running water. Also listened interior of homes. Went to water meter at street (vault was full of water) and meter was not spinning nor were the numbers scrolling.  Water still filling hole when emptied to same level. Checked irrigation lines, none in the courtyard or nearby.
San Diego has received above average rain this winter and 1.5 inches last week. There is a creek runoff that is within 100 yards across the street and is about 15-20 feet lower in elevation that our home. There does appear to be water coming from the front lawn that slopes towards the street and into the gutter.  Is it possible that the water table has risen? Or is this a leak under our home? Any way to test water to see if it is from the city water?
New homeowner and not sure what to do next.


texts: Options for new line path from breaker box

texts:
Previous homeowner added on a kitchen to the basement without running a new line from the breaker box. Kitchen is on the opposite side of the basement as the breaker box.
Just read through this post: How to rewire house electrical? but it sounded like they weren't going to go through the attic.
Edit:
Is it more work/cost/risk to run something up into the attic, across the house, and down to the basement than it is to cut open walls along the basement to get across the house?


texts: Ceiling Fan lights turn off on their own w/ a Twist

texts:
A search brought up similar questions  but my situation involves a ceiling fan w/ lights that operates via a battery powered remote.
This fan is on a circuit that previously had a total of three switches (master bedroom). One of the switches was taken out of the equation during the fan install (numerous years ago), but over the past 12 mos. or so, the lights go off by themselves. I have always used 4 CFL bulbs, which are fairly low wattage, originally without problem.
Sometimes  the lights go out after being on for less than five minutes, other times they stay on for 30 minutes or more before being "extinguished".  I have never noticed if the fan operation is affected the same way.  What gets the lights back on is switching the two regular light switches in some order/sequence, which I haven't figured out, but the lights tend to eventually go out again w/o using the remote.
As far as I can remember, the original lighting didn't have any problems, and the fan/light fixture has worked okay for the first few years.


texts:
All the cold air from my AC flows through a stairwell and into the basement. The entrance to the basement is the through a doorless opening on the 1st floor.
I am planning to put up a curtain in that entryway to block the precious cold air from flowing down to the basement. I’m thinking of using a tension rod since I don’t care if there is an opening at the top of the curtain. only the hot air would flow through. However the bottom must be touching the floor and should seal off any cold airflow.
Would this method work? If so, is there a particular kind of curtain available with weighted bottoms or rubber bottom that can stop airflow?
Any insight would help!
Thank you


texts: Would a replacement condenser capacitor of differing specs reduce cooling?

texts:
My outside condenser fan quit running, so I tested the capacitor, and got nothing on the meter.  The cap that was in there was a 35/7.5.  The closest one I could find at the time was a 50/7.5.  Now that the new capacitor is installed the fan runs, but it is taking a very long time for it to cool down the house.  It will not get below 75 even though the thermostat is set to 68, for testing.
I was thinking that it may be low on refrigerant, but it cooled fine before the capacitor went bad.  I don't have any gauges to check pressures.
Would the difference in the capacitor cause this, and is it safe to continue to run the condenser with that capacitor?
Update
Installed the new correct capacitor, and cleaned out the condenser coils. Also had an HVAC person check the charge, which was fine. Now the unit is working perfect.
Thank you to everyone that has helped.


texts: The power in my master bath worked at 2pm when I left my house and was not working when I returned home.  This is the only room in the house that does not have any power.  Nothing on the breaker box has flipped.  To be safe I turned everything off and back on again.  Nothing is working.  Any other ideas?


texts: Laying new tile on subfloor with old plumbing holes, patch needed?

texts:
Laying floor on a subfloor that has old plumbing holes in 3 places. The biggest one is just 2 inches, the rest are smaller. Otherwise the floor is in excellent condition.

I'm using ditra. Is it necessary to cover up the holes to lay the new tile floor on top. I'm using small porcelain tiles on a mesh matrix.

If it is necessary to cover the holes, would a thin piece of wood veneer do?


texts: What's the maximum span for a regular kitchen worktop?

texts:
I'm looking at using a regular laminated worktop as a desk in my office room. The room is just under 3m long - would I need to add a leg support in the middle if I attach it to the wall with a simple timber baton on three sides?

Something like this - http://www.wickes.co.uk/Worktop-Solid-Wood-Beech-28x600mmx3m/p/193142


texts: What's the best way to fix a panel garage door?

texts: I have an old garage door that has segmented panels.  The panels look like some kind of mdf or hard board, but they have begun to rot.  The wood holding the panels in place is fine, but 2 of the panels have rotted & need to be replaced.  I haven't disassembled the bottom of the door yet to determine the thickness of the rotted panel material.  Does anyone know exactly what that material is, how thick it is, & where I can get replacement material & how best to treat it to prevent future rot?


texts: Steps to renovate uneven oak tiled Parquetry on cement?

texts:
I have Romanoff oak parquetry on the floors, new one shown here with 160mm tiles. The floor is uneven. The old parquetry in the pictures has become a bit dark that I want to polish besides filling the hole with new parquetry tiles. The photos below show the hole, filling the earlier kitchen island, which I now want to have as open space.

where you can see that current parquetry is perfectly aligned as shown by laser, also in vertical way.

The size of the area is 2m2, taking 80 new tiles (4 x 20), surrounded by already installed parquetry. The exact size for the backer board is 0.64m x 3.2m (=4*0.16 x 20*0.16) i.e. 2.048m2 -- BUT the problem is that the middle-layer cement is not even, it is 1cm in other end while 2cm in other end. Only backer board available is even quality of 2cm thickness which would require grinding about 1cm concrete.

I have identified the following steps:

I. straighten up the underlying concrete with a spirit level and sanding/grinding? How coarse does the underlying floor stay for the glue to attach to it later?

II. installation of some other type of floor between the cement and the parquetry

II.1. install noise-cancellation floor if needed

II.2. the floor has 1cm cement on the other end, 2cm cement at the other end and everything in-between between 1cm and 2cm -- so floor is not nicely levelled horizontally.

III. using 2-phase glue to install parquetry to the extra layer

IV. sand the installed floor and the old floor to make it on the same level

where the hardest part is probably II because we cannot use ready-made concreate layers, the backer board get thinner on the other end and the market seems to have only 2cm backer boards available.

How to renovate the old parquetry with a hole in the old parquetry?


texts: I am hearing that termites come through mulch, is that true? What do you guys use as an alternative? I see some people use Pine straw mulch, will that help ?


texts: Should it possible to remove the heat exchanger from my natural gas furnace?

texts:
I have a 20 year old heating and cooling system. I was able to remove an inspection panel and clean the backside of the evaporator coils.

To clean the front, it appears the only way I will be able to is if I remove the heat exchanger from the natural gas portion of the furnace. I disconnected the natural gas and turned off the power. I was able to remove the portion that supplies natural gas.

I then removed about ~15 screws around the perimeter of the heat exchanger. However, there is no clearance between it and the top of the stamped steel cabinet. Any attempt to remove it just results in it getting caught on stuff and wedged at odd angles. There is no possible way that is was installed like this. It appears the top of the cabinet is literally resting on this now.

Is it likely that over the years it has become only thing holding my A/C unit together? Should I give up on trying to remove it if it is this bad of condition? I'd like to clean those evaporator coils, but it seems that trying to get this apart is just going to be destructive overall.


texts: Remove asbestos-covered ductwork or leave in place?

texts: Asbestos tape-covered ductwork that is coming from the furnace leading to each vent in the entire house. Is it a bad idea to leave it as is without disturbing, or would replacing all hvac system coming from the furnace be a better solution?


texts:
I'm re-planking my deck and shoring up some of the substructure while I'm in there. The beams are side-mounted to the posts like this (from dca 6):

This is obviously non-ideal, but is impractical to replace. I'm spot-checking the existing lag bolts and am finding some surface rust (not bad after 30 years), so in an abundance of caution I'm going to replace them with new ones.

Galvanized is what appear to be recommended, with stainless steel being preferred if you have the budget. However, what about the Hillman Deck Plus lag line? The only information I can find on them is their own marketing material claiming they are 2x more corrosion resistant than galvanized. Is this legit? Or should I stick with Galvanized or stainless steel?


texts:
I'll try to keep this short but there is a bit of background info that may be needed. Couple of days I rented a floor grinder to eliminate uneven concrete floor in the basement. The grinder kept tripping the breaker every 10 or so minutes. All the circuit breakers in the main panel are 10 amp. Needles to say I took the equipment back and was told that this kind of equipment requires a minimum of 15 or 20 amp circuits.

Quite disappointed not being able to finish the project I started thinking and I realized that recently I added a new sets of duplex GFI outlets (one GFI and 3 regular) in the garage using a #12 wire but only a 10 amp breaker to match the rest.  Can I replace the 10 amp breaker for a 20 amp? I mean the 12 gauge wire should be OK, I just wondered why the builder chose 10 amp breakers in this house.


texts: Why is it taking so long for my house to heat up?

texts:
Firstly, I should probably mention that I'm in the UK...

My wife and I bought a house new from a builder over 9 years ago and have had no problems whatsoever with our central heating system in that time. It is a typical modern system with a gas boiler in the kitchen feeding radiators upstairs and downstairs and a pressurised hot water system. The radiators have thermostatic valves on them (except for one in the entrance hall).

Earlier this year, I contracted a local plumber to do 4 things:

Replace the original ("bimetallic") thermostat with a more modern programmable thermostat so that we could keep the heating on over night but at a lower temperature
Service the boiler (for no real reason other than that it was 9+ years old and had never been looked at)
Re-balance the radiators
Re-pressurise the hot water system as the showers had lost their original mains water pressure

The system has never been quite right since but of course we haven't really been able to pin anything down until the recent cold weather. We are now seeing the following:

For a while, the thermostat would call for heat, but the boiler wouldn't fire up. The boiler casing was very, very hot, so I suspect overheat protection had kicked in.
When the boiler does fire, it doesn't stay on for more than a minute and then goes of for 2-3 minutes before firing up again. Again, suspicious that it is overheating.
As a result of the above, it can take all day to get the house up to temperature (20C)

The plumber came to investigate last week and made a number of noises about the pump overrun not working, and the possibility of a pump failure, but ruled both of those out. He made some adjustments and now:

The boiler appears to fire up reliably, although it does cut out periodically. He assures me this is normal and that it switches itself off while the water is circulated. I can't honestly say I was aware of it doing this before the summer.
The radiators get too hot to touch, but I'd swear you used to be able to feel the heat radiating from them up to 12+ inches away which you no longer can.
But still the house is very slow to heat (it appears to heat up at a bit under 1C per hour).

The house is a fairly typical British 4 bed detached (c. 1800 sqft) and is relatively modern (being newly built 9 years ago) so has pretty good thermal characteristics.

So my questions are:

Does taking 8+ hours to get the house warm sound right? I'd swear it used to be warm within an hour or so of the heating coming on.
What further diagnoses can I perform to help (the plumber and/or you good folks) identify the problem.
Does it sound reasonable to assume (having had 9+ years of faultless service) that my problems stem from the work done in the summer? Perhaps a valve was closed while the plumber worked that he subsequently forgot to open, or something like that?

Taken together, all the symptoms sound to me like the hot water is not being circulated around the system quickly enough (boiler over temperature, house not heating up), and the plumber would appear to agree. He seems rather keen to fit a bigger pump. But I'm reluctant given that the system has worked fine for so long previously.

Sorry for the rambling post, but I'm pretty much at my wits' end with this and we have two small children that we'd really like to keep warm over the winter.


texts:
Do I need to replace the drywall that was ripped out?

Nail-gun or hammer and nails?

What type of nails?

Thanks!


texts: Old cable: type of isolation and size of ground

texts:
one of the cables going to our electrical panel uses silver color insulation ("silver cable" in picture below). I can identify all cables types on our panel except this one. When were these cables used? What is the type of insulation? I don't know the exact gauge but the ground wire from this cable is pretty small compared to modern 12/2 NM (see picture). Is this a potential concern?

Thanks!


texts: I'm adding a second switch in my hallway   The layout is power box and switch at one end, light in the middle second switch at the other end and outlet in the next room.  This is a mobile home.  Would you possibly have a wiring diagram I could use.


texts: How can I fix a not-quite-hole in my carpet?

texts:
The actual strands of my carpet have been pulled up in a half-dollar-sized area, but the base weave that holds it all together is still intact. Is there any way I can repair this without doing a full-on patch? IE, can I "harvest" strands from elsewhere and superglue them there? Or will that still be obvious/undesirable?

Photo of the spot:


texts: How can I get my sink's trap to fit around the rest of the drain assembly?

texts: I'm in the process of adding a new bathroom to my house.  I had a plumber rough in some connections for us, and then we are in the process of finishing it off.  We used plastic accordion pipe to connect the P-trap to the sink, but during our county inspection they failed us saying that the accordion was something we could use because its a known area that hair gets caught in.  The drain from the sink is brass as is the P-trap.  We can't S-trap trap because they are not allowed per code either.  Does anyone know what we can do?


texts:
I have 1/3 horsepower sump pump currently plugged into my home's 120 volt outlet. I have a 105 amp hour 12-volt battery and a 1200 watt pure sine inverter ready to go when the power goes out.

The only issue is if the power goes out, I would need to be home to physically unplug the sump pump plug from the wall outlet and plug it into the power inverter and also switch the power inverter on which is connected to that 12 volts 105 amp hour battery.

Is there a switch of some sort that I could get to automate the process where the inverter could be switched on and the sump pump automatically get power from the battery without me having to be home to physically move the plug over?


texts: Circuit to make Nest thermostat think there are separate heating and cooling systems

texts:
I have a Nest thermostat that I am trying to wire in a simple but unique configuration.  My apartment uses fan coil units for heating and cooling.  The building changes over from hot to cold water for the summer months and back to hot water for the winter months.  The old thermostat jumped the Y1 and W1 terminals.  When the building changes over for the winter months, the mode on the thermostat is switched manually so the display shows the heating set points, but the same fan that blows air over the cold coils in the summer will now blow air over the warm coils for heating.

Unlike the old thermostat, the Nest does not allow the Y1 and W1 terminals to be jumped.  It is programmed to see separate circuits on those terminals that turn on cooling and heating systems, respectively.  I want to create a circuit that, when the Nest closes the circuit between the R and Y1 terminal, the fan turns on but the W1 terminal does not have a current.  When the Nest closes the circuit between the R terminal and W1, the same fan turns on but Y1 does not have a current.  After reading about diodes, I thought that I might be able to use two diodes to make the circuit perform as I described above, but then I became (more) confused when reading about using diodes on AC circuits.  Can the circuit be built similar to my picture with the diodes below with a resistor to stop the diode from burning up or am I totally on the wrong track.


texts: The oven in my range has stopped heating up, but the burners still work

texts:
The oven recently stopped getting hot, but the burners still work fine.  Any ideas about what might be wrong?
Here's the kind of stove I have: Hotpoint® 30" Free-Standing Gas Range
Here's what I tried so far:

I checked the circuit breaker.  The circuit wasn't tripped and I flipped it on and off again just in case. No effect.

The manual said to check the shut off valve under the stove.  I think it's on, but I can't be sure.  Here's what I see:


texts: Replace a cellular shade fabric but use existing hardware?

texts:
[Revised post]
I want to try to replace a shade and use the existing hardware.

But I am new to all things DIY shades (never installed a new one, let alone tackle a repair of new shade/old hardware).

The shade is a picture-window size, Levolor cellular duette. Due to the sheer size of the window, I'll find helping hands. I'll also do the research to find videos and such to do the work.

But are there nuances or surprises that I should be alert for? Or tips 2-N that will help me do a better job (because tip #1 is, I assume, go SLOW)?


texts: Adding corrugated plastic panels adjacent to existing roof

texts:
I have a 30 x 15 stick built shed with composition shingles over 1/2" sheathing. I would like to take 12 lineal feet off the end, remove the roofing and sheathing and install corrugated plastic to turn it into a greenhouse. How do I make that joint between the remaining composition roof and the corrugated plastic weatherproof?

Thanks

This is what I'm going to try. Any comments would be appreciated.


texts: Is this iron pipe lamp grounded/insulated enough to be safe?

texts:
I replicated this lamp from a Home Depot tutorial.

http://blog.homedepot.com/diy-industrial-lamp-cool-desk-lamp-made-from-pipe/

I'm worried that the lamp socket isn't isolated enough and that the frame of the lamp can become dangerously live. It is definitely not grounded.

Step 9 - 12 show how the socket is constructed.

Is it safe? If not, can you be specific on how I can make it safe? I'm no electrician


texts:
I have very good building experience but in a house we bought recently I have been wondering what the heck to do with my loft. Initially its converted to a mini workshop / storage

The max height is 1.8m from the floor boards to the centre of the roof. I stand up straight just about. The previous owners laid down some off cut planks to make the loft walkable.

Ideally I would like to lay proper pieces of plywood and make the entire central area flat so that I can get in the loft, sit on a chair with wheels and wizz from one end to the other.

Problem is these weird beams that run left, centre and right of the roof structure. OK- initially you think yea these are support beams- but they do not lie within the masonry structure on either end- and are really badly joined in the middle- as if temporary. These beams are screwed ONTOP of the actual support trusses that all the planks are screwed on to and the ceiling batons are right at the bottom.

Half of the loft with the joined "temporary" beams shown.

A closer look at the central beams- You see that they are screwed on top of the support trusses and nothing else touches them.

Another close up at an angle of something like 45 degrees

Apologies for my terrible representation here.. but its just for illustration.

RED - The central beam that is top most
BROWN - The cross load bearing trusses that lie on top of masonry in the supporting structure. I can stand on these they will not collapse.
GREEN - The house perimeter- masonry load bearing walls

I am not interested in removing the left and right beams as they are in a tight spot. I will build cupboards there later on or something.

I know from experience I can remove this beam with out the house collapsing. But, I wanted to confirm it here with other experienced people,  as I have never seen anything like this and I do not know why its there and if it serves any structural purposes.

Can I remove this beam (the 2 beams joined up)?


texts: How can I tell if my junction box will support a ceiling fan?

texts:
I want to install a drum type ceiling fan to the dining room ceiling of a new condominium I just bought. The drum type fan with a light weighs 24 lbs, as per the Home Depot website. How can I tell if the junction box will support this fan?

I would like not to have the electrician come twice i.e, first to look at the installation and then again, to install or maybe just tell me the fan unit is too heavy for the junction box.  The management cannot seem to tell me what the box will support.Thanks


texts: Why is my clear pex tubing turning red/brown?

texts: I am noticing that the pex tubing in my home ( at the supply line) is turning to a brownish/reddish color.  The color fades as it spans out ( after 8ft or so) Is this normal or is this something that I should be concern about?  Please advise.


texts: Should a special type of paint be used on a forced air HVAC heat register?

texts: I'm not sure if the higher temperatures would compromise the finish.