texts: Do I need to reuse these radiator connectors, or should I get new ones?

texts:
I have finally got around to removing an old damaged Stelrad radiator - I have an identical one waiting to go on the wall but despite using a fair amount of force, the connectors don't appear to want to come off. Looking inside them, the olive seems quite damaged anyway.

Is best practice to buy a new pair of these - and what should I ask for if so? I can get whatever measurements I need from them but am unsure what is important.

Here are some pictures of the connections. Obviously these are the bottom of the radiator - I have inverted it to show more clearly.

I can't see where to get a good grip:

Detail inside:

New radiator:


texts: What flow rate should I select in a shower head for a home with low water pressure?

texts:
We live in an apartment, and we have very low water pressure.

One of the shower heads I was looking at was the Speakman S-2252-E2 shower head, but I just noticed that it's available in 1.75 GPM, 2.0 GPM, 2.5 GPM.

In terms of the water pressure, Is there a benefit in buying one over the other? Or better yet, is it possible that (after removing the flow restrictor) one shower head had better pressure than the others?


texts: Do I need to upgrade my service/panel to be able to have a ground?

texts:
When I purchased this house built in 1967, I was aware that some of the outlets weren't grounded. The previous owner had grounded some of the boxes, but an electrician had told him he needed to rewire the house if he wanted to ground everything.

In a separate issue, I've noticed this winter how inefficient the house is in terms of R-value, and I'm thinking about redoing the attic insulation. My thought was that I might as well begin the rewiring job at the same time since I could run a lot of the wire while the insulation is out.

This is what I saw when I opened the box (it appears to have a history--and looks pretty unsafe):

Will I need to upgrade the main service entering the panel? It looks like only two hot wires coming in with a coil of what I guess is a neutral, but I'm not an electrician.

Thanks!

Update:

Update 2:


texts: Drywall work adjacent to painted surfaces - problems with adhesion?

texts:
If you have to do some drywall work patching into an existing painted surface, are there any special considerations or prep you should do, or will the drywall joint compound generally go right over paint & adhere OK?

This seems like it would be a totally common situation in practically ever renovation / repair scenario.

Assume the painted surface is in perfectly good condition - not flaking or peeling or anything.

In my specific instance the ceiling is flat finished with matte paint, and some drywall work is being done on a wall & its corner where it meets the ceiling.

Thanks


texts: How to diminish the appearance of a stain on hardwood floor?

texts:
A few years ago, some liquid (red wine or water from a plant) leaked on my hardwood floor (cherry). It took several months before we noticed it because it was under a carpet. This little incident left us with a very dark (almost black) stain of 4" in diameter (spawning across 3 planks).

Is there something I can use to diminish the appearance of the stain? Can I use some kind of bleach?


texts: Are gutters the only way to fix this ice accumulation issue?

texts: Whenever it rains or snow melts in the winter these rain guards drop water right in front of the walkway which freezes and causes an ice mess. I am reluctant to add a gutter section because no other part of the house has them or run off issues. Might look weird if only one edge of the house has gutters. Was wondering if there's any solutions that don't involve annual maintenance ie cleaning.


texts: Rear of house has no eves; how do I ventilate and prevent ice dams?

texts:
My home is in St. Louis and it just doesn't stay very warm. I am finding that the heat kicks on a lot just so it can keep up. The house is a ranch on a slab, built in 1960, 1073 square feet. In 2015 the entire home was rehabbed, pretty much every single thing besides the slab, studs, walls, and windows....which are newer vinyl.

The exterior was done this year in 2016 due to hail, roof, gutters, vinyl siding, window wraps and probably more. Anyways, when I had the roof done, I had them put in a ridge vent. I also have gable vents on the house.

I checked in the attic and found that the insulation is very poor; I can see the joists! I have a bid to do the attic blow-in insulation up to an R value of 39. Problem: I have no soffit vents whatsoever. NONE. I guess back in the 60's the gable vents were okay but it does not seem like it's getting good ventilation up there, plus from what I've read, with a ridge vent, you need soffit vents.

Here's the issue, I only have eves on the front of the home. Not the back. So I can add soffit vents to the front myself, no issues, but what should I do about the rear of the home? What I'm trying to prevent is ice dams.


texts: Where do I find an exterior plumbing box?

texts:
We had to break the stucco on the second story exterior to replace the shower/tub valve.  I need a box with a cover to replace the stucco so it can be accessed at a later date.

Where would I find something like this?


texts: How do I bend EMT conduit to a broader radius?

texts:
I work a lot in EMT conduit.  I have a 1/2" conduit bender that bends to a 5" radius, and a 3/4" conduit bender that gives a 6" radius. I also find bent pieces of conduit around the lodge that have a somewhat larger radius than that.

Suppose I want a larger radius, say because a 12" or 18" radius will suffice in my application, and would make pulling easier.  Or in one case I need a larger radius (ceiling line to ceiling line in a corner) to avoid blocking a conduit body (wall corner to ceiling line) that will be effectively under the radius.  Is that possible and how can I do it?


texts: Can I split a large amp 240 circuit into two lower amp 240 circuits?

texts: I just bought a house.  It has a double oven unit installed on a 50 amp 240V circuit.  I need to replace this unit with two separate units, one 30 amp, 240V and the other 20 amp, 240V.  Can I split the existing circuit in the kitchen to create the two circuits?


texts:
I just bought a wall timer to replace a three-way switch. The wall timer comes with three wires, one for the common screw wire, and the other two are for the travelers, with no place for a ground wire. When I took out the three-way switch it had the common and the two travelers that I needed and it also has the ground wire.

My question is, where do I put or what should I do with the ground in this situation?

I called the manufacturer and the guy said that "a ground is not needed in this situation and that I should just tape it off". Is that what I should be doing?

Here's a picture of the back of the timer.


texts: What gauge wire do I need for basement sub-panel?

texts:
Basement subpanel (100A max) will serve:
  One 30A clothes dryer (220V)
  One 15A bedroom outlet circuit
  One 15A utility circuit (furnace, washing machine, misc)
  One 20A bathroom circuit
  Two 20A kitchenette circuits

I want to use Aluminum SER wire, the distance is about 100'. Half of that will be in the ceiling void behind drywall, the other half will be in PVC conduit as it passes through the garage then pokes through the outside wall into the back of the main panel.

Based on the branch circuit requirements, would 60A suffice or should I spec it for 80A?
What gauge Aluminum SER wire should I use for 60A?
What gauge Aluminum SER wire should I use for 80A?

I have looked at the NEC codes but they vary by wire type and I don't know which temperature column to use, nor whether the distance affects the calculations


texts:
I do absolutely no electrical work. But today my mom changed our light in our kitchen saying it would be easy.
We connected the green wire to the green, white to white and black to black after turning the power off. We switched the power back on and the light worked, but wouldn’t turn off.
We switched the black to the red wire in the socket, and had caps on but we forgot to put a cap on the live black wire and we turned the power on and it sparked and the light wouldn’t come on.
We tried turning the lights in the kitchen and NONE of the other lights will come on now, we live in a townhouse with the bathroom off the kitchen and a total of 5 lights won’t come on.
The power with the electrical plugs work but the lights don’t.
Does anyone know what this means?


texts: How much should I worry about this large crack in the foundation slab?

texts:
I recently bought a 3-story townhouse in northern Virginia. I pulled up the carpet on the bottom level (foundation is a slab on grade) and discovered a large crack running along the whole room and into the mechanical closet.

The crack is about 3/8" - 1/2" wide and runs about 16 feet, under the wall at the top of the first photo, into the mechanical room. From there it goes under the furnace, but doesn't appear to continue outside of that room. It starts beyond the bottom of the first photo, at or underneath a gas fireplace. It looks to be up to 3" deep at points, maybe more. I was able to get the ten-dollar bill about halfway into the crack.

Putting a level across the crack produces a slight rocking, maybe a couple degrees, but nothing huge. Each side of the crack appears level on its own.

The townhouse is in a row of 7 townhouses; mine is adjacent to one of the end units. I have no idea how recent the crack is, but the townhouse was built in 1999. I haven't seen any moisture or anything coming up from the crack during recent rains.

How much should I worry about this crack? I plan to get it evaluated by an engineer, but is it something I should do immediately or could I wait a little bit?


texts: I need to add a 50 amp breaker, is there room in this box? (I will be hiring an electrician to do the work). Thanks!


texts: Water seaps in from concrete driveway under brick wall into concrete sunroom

texts:
My house was built in 1978, I bought it three years ago.

It has a step down concrete slab sun room. The sun room has brick walls and  joins my concrete driveway.

I have caulked the joint area where the brick wall separates the driveway from the sun room but i am still getting water leaking from outside in.

I was told i need a french drain.

Are there any alternative solutions ?


texts: How can I use a 16A appliance in a UK 13A socket?

texts:
I have recently moved from India to the UK and carried a Philips air fryer with me. The plug on this appliance is marked 16A 250V. Wattage is 1425. The UK house I have moved into has standard 13A sockets. Is there any way to use this appliance?

Addition after reading your answers - thanks for the replies. seems like this appliance can be used after all. I'm not too comfortable cutting into the power cord and replacing the fused plug. Do you think this product will work? http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/13a-16a-fly-lead-converter-13a-plug-to-16a-socket.html it says it's used for hooking up caravans to household mains but it seems the end purpose is the same i.e. plugging 16A into a 13A source?


texts: How to protect a 60 amp feed running through interior wall

texts:
I am installing a subpanel in my garage and feeding it from the main box with 6/3 romex.  I ran the cable across the basement ceiling, through the wall into my garage.  I was able to run it up through the wall that separates my house from my garage, into the garage attic, over to the other side of the garage and down the wall to the subpanel.

Inside the wall I used several staples to make sure the cable stayed away from the drywall.  However, now that I have the cable in place, I'm uncomfortable with the unprotected 60 amp feed running through a wall that someone could drive a nail through.  I understand I can't run it through conduit, so what is the best way to protect the cable (hence, PEOPLE) from damage?


texts:
I've never owned or used pneumatic tools, but recently I thought it would make a good addition to my tools.

I bought an 18ga nail gun and 2" 18ga nails. When I used it to nail together 1/2" plywood to make a small box, I had some problems with the nails curling and punching out at odd spots. Not all of them, but about 25%. Am I using too long of nails? Or is it a problem with plywood? Or???


texts: So yesterday I accidentally locked my bathroom door so I had to kick in the door and now a piece of my door frame came off (the door still closes and is fully functional ) I wanted to know how I can fix this or what supplies you recommend I could get at Home Depot to put the broken piece back in


texts: How to hook up a 240V 50Hz heat pump to 60Hz

texts:
I am facing a challenge:
Every EVI (-25C outside) air to water heat pump system seems to be 240V/1Ph/50Hz (and 1 exception I found so far: 240V/1Ph/60Hz, however with extremely limited information, and 1 option is not really an option).

My electrical panel however can deliver me 240V/1Ph/60Hz (30A). So how do I hook up a 50Hz system?

I searched for transformers, but can not seem to find one yet.

What is the best solution to get this heating system hooked up? Any supplier suggestions for transformers?

Thanks


texts: Can I install a whole-house water filter in my garage?

texts: I live in Winchester TN, in a one level home. The water line comes into the garage from under the house. I want to put it in the garage (in case of a leak. My husband states it may freeze. I do not believe it gets cold enough to freeze. Neither do a lot of the neighbors. What do you suggest?


texts: Is it normal for there to be a small gap between toilet tank and wall?

texts:
We recently replaced the toilet in our bathroom and I'm noticing a gap between the tank and the wall. Example:

Is this normal?  Our last toilet tank was flush against the wall.

My concern is that people might lean back and place strain on the tank supports.


texts: How to get rid of echo inside the apartment?

texts: A water pipe inside the apartment burst and was repaired. Ever since, the place has acquired a nasty echo. Everything resounds and we have to talk louder to be heard. Is there any solution to get rid of this echo?


texts:
My smeg refrigerator (SIL 566 H) is not cooling. The lower freezer is frozen and filling with ice, and the upper part is warm. After disonnecting the refrigerator for a few hours to let the ice melt, it starts working again for some days/weeks, and then gets warm again, while beeping and flashing a red !sr led.
This has been going on for some years, getting worse lately.
I've tried to find blockages or stuck fans, but couldn't find any. I also took down the inside panels and I can feel cool air flowing from the air tunnel, but it feels not cold enough.
Do I have to call a technician, or is there anything else I can try by myself?


texts: Groundwater cooled heat exchanger - forced air

texts:
I have kind of a crazy idea I have been scheming - I live in Alaska, and have a private well - the groundwater here is very cold(40-45F) or so. The last couple of summers have been miserable hot up here(A/C is very rare), and I have been looking at cheapy single room or diy air conditioners, and ran across a simple fan with a coiled copper pipe circulating cold water. That got me to thinking, why can't I scale that up, and have a cold water circulating pipe inside my furnace vent. I found some pretty inexpensive Water to air heat exchangers online, with copper pipes, and aluminum fins.

When it gets really hot inside, I turn the furnace fan only on, just to circulate some air. So I figured I could just turn the fan on, and run my sprinklers a bit outside, or do dishes to circulate cold water through the heat exchanger. I wouldn't be looking to cool the air dramatically, just slightly - enough to give some relief on very hot days. Here is a diagram that kind of explains what I am thinking. I also added a loop for the hot water heater, thinking I could switch the heat exchanger over to hot water in the winters.

How crazy is this, and what would the major problems be? I do have a condensate pump already, and I figure the heat exchanger will sweat so I would add a drain there.. Would I be adding so much moisture to the supply air I would also need a de-humidifier? Would the supply air not really cool down at all like I am hoping?

Thank you for any response.


texts: When white walls get kind of filthy due to smoking or dirty finger here and there, is the only solution to paint over? Or is there any product that could clean them once in a year or so to keep them fresh looking?


texts: References to calculate lumber size and span for flat roof?

texts: I want to design a flat roof extension to create a screen patio. I would like to find a reference for maximum span and sizing with standard (such as SY pine) lumber for beams and joists. I'm not going to decide on final dimensions until I know whether I have to change from 2x6 to 2x8, for example, if I want joists to run x number of feet between beams -- and to know how big the beams have to be. Can anyone point to an online site or a reference book for these types of calculations? I'm in Florida USA, so no snow load -- but I will use some kind of steel hurricane straps/joist tie downs.


texts:
I am trying to find this blanking plug, for a cable outside. It's flat and plastic

I found this on eBay however it has a bit that sticks out for the cable however I don't need the bit that sticks into the hole and guides the cable in.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x5-White-Plastic-Hole-Tidy-Wall-Grommet-Cover-Cable-Entry-Exit-CCTV-SKY-VIRGIN-/264463777668

Does that bit come off? Or is there another name for this blanking plug/grommet with just the flat cover?


texts:
Upon replacing some outlets in my home I came across 3 instances where the neutral wires not connected to the outlet but were wired together. The ground wire was wired to the neutral side of the outlet. The hot wires were wired to outlet correctly.
My question would be: would there be any legitimate reason for these outlets to wired this way?


texts: Why do my lightbulbs keep breaking in the fixtures?

texts:
I moved into an apartment maybe a year ago, and noticed many lightbulbs were out. When I went to unscrew them, they simply broke off (not shattered) in my hand. It was like someone had scored the glass right where it connects to the metal. In addition, there was a significant buildup of corrosion along the inside of the metal part (I don't have any pictures of how they look, but I'll try to add one the next time this happens).

I thought that was pretty weird, but I finished replacing them anyway (the metal parts remained stuck in the fixture so I had to use a pair of pliers to unscrew them). Ever since, another bulb breaks in the same way every month or so. This happens in multiple rooms, so I don't think it's one incorrectly wired fixture. I've also tried 60W and 75W lightbulbs (just your everyday incandescent bulbs), but that doesn't seem to matter.

Why might my lightbulbs be breaking in this way? Is there anything I can to stop it?

I have a theory that my lightbulbs aren't the proper wattage for my fixtures, and the excess current is causing the corrosion, which in turn destroys the connection between the metal and the glass, but I don't know much about lightbulbs. If my theory is right, is there a way to determine which watt bulb to use?


texts: Power outage in just one bedroom of apartment, then every receptacle in one circuit, tried everything. Please Help!

texts:
2/3 duplex sockets stopped working. Replaced them with Leviton 15amp. Did everything correctly, and everything worked for months. Since I had no issues replacing those and every other outlet/ switch in the room since everything was outdated, loose, and a safety hazard.

A few weeks  or so prior to the power outage in bedroom, I tripped the circuit to bedroom multiple times, I assumed it was because I overloaded the circuit by drawing over the amperage limit due to a 9 port power strip. Most of the ports being connected to devices and most of them were powered on at the same time, plus other outlets on that room were also in use. Also had a portable heater plugged in the power-strip and that was also running at that time.

Tried just about everything I could manage:

Checked and rechecked every outlet/switch  in bedroom made sure The source wasn’t a loose connection that caused this.
Replaced most upstream outlet. When I finished , I turned on the breaker. Now, the was no power to said outlet, along with entire bathroom within the same path (circuit).
Have not tampered with any receptacles the bathroom.

I never heard a click when power to the bedroom blew or did it switch to off. So I assumed since the breaker did not trip it narrowed to to either a loose connection on one of the receptacles in the circuit, a wiring issue,or  issues with one of receptacles as a whole. But I’m not so sure anymore.

I recently learned that the switch inside a circuit breaker can only be tripped and reset a finite of time before if stops working.

I’m inexperienced so I had no clue that was a factor. Switch never "clicked" when attempting to reset, so it makes sense that I arced it so many times, that the contacts that control the spring have burnt off. But that wouldn't explain why everything else connected to that circuit continued to work after the bedrooms power blew.

The morning after, I was told by my girlfriend that she had forcefully pressed reset on GFCI 2nd bathroom multiple times out of frustration, told me soon after she did this.  Then both GFCIs in both bathrooms went dead.

Having an electrician fix is out the window. Can't afford. Cannot rely on landlord for electrical or any upkeep since the apartment is not rented by me.  I need to figure this out, at least identify the cause/source. Please help!

After tampering with upstream outlet as of now. Every outlet in the circuit went dead. Total bedroom, master bedroom and one outlet living room.  GFCI socket same circuit in bathroom included.

Oddly, GFCI in other bathroom which was on a different circuit, and other bathroom light switch still has power. Everything else in the apartment is fine.

Summary
Bedroom
3 duplex 2switches(all replaced)(all dead)
Bathroom
1 GFCI 1 switch(dead)
Living room outlet
1 duplex outlet (replaced)( dead )

2 (bathroom)
1 GCFI Outlet (dead)


texts: What type of sump pump back up systems are available?

texts:
I have just about completed all the work to finish my basement.  I know, not a great time to think about this, but when I bought the home there was zero water in it and didn't think the winter would be the time it was needed.  I was wrong. I have noticed the sump pump in my basement runs quite often (didnt run at all in the summer/fall, but now in the winter it runs about every 3 hours).  So being nervous now that a crazy winter storm will come through and knock out the power and leave me with a flooded basement, I'm wondering what people would recommend for a backup Sump Pump.  I've only found two solutions so far online:

UPS or other battery backup for the sump pump
A water powered sump pump
Dont worry about it because home insurance will cover damage

I'm leaning toward using the water 'powered' sump pump because its cheaper (maybe not after installation) and would work during power outages, but I wanted to see if there was a better solution.


texts: Why does the gas furnace blow cold air at the start of the heating cycle?

texts:
What does this problem sound like?

There is a 25 year old gas furnace in the house we rent.
(The guy that owns the place claims there is NO problem at all.  He said the igniter is brand new and working fine.)

It blows cold air for the first 10 minutes of each heating cycle.
(Sometimes this happens for 30-60 minutes.)
Then heat starts to appear fine.

The "blowing cold airs" periods eventually get shorter and shorter... as the "blowing hot air" periods
get longer...  and eventually, after 3-4 hours, the home is at the desired temperature.

Perhaps a thermostat problem?
    Does the average thermostat independently control the "on/off fan" and the "on/off flame" events?'
    Perhaps the "flame on" part of the thermostat is bad or incorrectly adjusted?

Perhaps a furnace problem?
    Is there some timer-device that decides how long to wait between "fan on" and "flame on" events?
    Perhaps this delay is set too long?  Or the device is bad?

Another (perhaps totally unrelated) thing:
The problem seems worse when the furnace is trying to heat the place from 60 degrees, up to a thermostat setting of 70.
(Yes, it gets THAT cold in here sometimes.)

It seems to happen less often... when trying to heat the house from 75... up to a thermostat setting of 85.  (Yes, have to set things VERY high, to lessen
this problem.)


texts:
I have a house that was built in 1950, when it was built, the garage was built 10 feet away from it. At some point in the last 60 years, someone closed the space (side walk area) between the house and garage making it a connecting room, with a standard floor. The rooms at that end of the original house is the kitchen and a bedroom.
The end wall of the house is still intact, with the former 'backdoor' now the door into the room. I've not pulled any of the sheetrock and paneling down to do a inspection on how they joined the two buildings.
But from the attic I see that the original shiplap sheathing is still on the end (of the attic anyway), and the roof is the older rafter style, not the truss style.
So, what I'm wanting to do is remove the end wall of the kitchen that has the former backdoor in it, and open it out into the newer (former sidewalk) room.
Since I'm not changing or moving the middle support walls between the kitchen and bedroom, do I need to do any special supporting for the segment of wall I'm taking out?
Since its between the front wall and the middle load bearing wall, I would think it could be removed, but I wanted more opinions.
Once again, I've not looked at the quality of the 'add-on' connecting it to the garage, that may make several other decisions in itself. But wanted opinions on that one wall.
And before anyone says anything about permits. Yes, I'm planning on a permit, and I'm just wanting to get my ducks in a row before I take the time to draw out all these plans, just for them to say 'no'.


texts: How to install a washing machine outlet box on the inside wall

texts:
I have a metal building and my walls are thin. However it is installed and sheet rocked. This is what we call are game room and all my plumbing is on the inside walls covered with foam tubing
   I have been told sence my water lines or on the inside I can not put a 90 degree angle into the wall and a 90 into the box? Is this true will it slow down my presure.


texts:
So I'm trying to finish my basement.  I have a conundrum as to how to build a wall under a soffit.  Here's my situation - I have an HVAC duct that is running really close to the wall - like maybe 1.5" or less.  I need to build a soffit around the duct AND build a wall under that soffit.  Is it possible to attach a wall to the soffit? I was thinking that I could build a U, with a PT 2x4 on the back side (if it fits) and attach it to the joist at the top and to the wall at the bottom.  I could then use regular 2x4 to build the rest of the U and attach the wall to the soffit. That doesn't seem like it'd be super stable  How would I insulate behind the duct given that I might have less than 1.5" to work with?

Update: I measured on the open end and it looks like I have about 1", maybe 1 1/4" max, between the foundation wall and the duct.

Update 2: Not sure what pictures you wanted added, so here's 2. The first is the end of the duct line, the second is looking back at the duct running all the way back to the unit.


texts: Where to get the driver for these unusual Balthaup screws?

texts:
These unusual large screws are from a Balthaup (Germany) dining table,

(My child's "CSI credit card" there for scale :) )

The table's around 12? yrs old.

Any ideas??


texts: Need guidance for venting a new rough-in for basement bathroom

texts:
I'm currently finishing my basement, and I wanted to rough-in plumbing fixtures for a future basement.  I've already got the layout, but I just need to figure out the venting for the drawing for my Permit.

I'm a novice at plumbing, and not quite sure the most efficient way.  Below is my diagram I have so far with an explanation to follow.

So, on the left of the image, there is an existing PVC Stack which services my kitchen and second floor bathroom.  Under the floor is a 4" cast-iron drain which goes to the Municipal Sewer.  Nothing else attaches to this drain beyond the stack.

My proposal, is a Shower on the left of the bathroom, vanity along the back wall, and toilet on the right side.  All walls are exterior walls, so I dont' want venting and drains to be run inside them.

What I was planning, is a 4" Y, which reduces to 3" where the toilet drain meets.  From there, a new 3" stack will be run up the back right corner, which will replace an existing 1.5" drain for my laundry room on the main floor. This stack will continue out through the roof of an add-on porch in the back.   The vent for the vanity will run underneath the cabinets which will be installed later, up the back right corner and connect to the new stack above  the laundry drain.  The Shower and Toilet would be wet-vented through the vanity.

I don't fully understand all the small details of wet-venting, so I'm unsure if this will be sufficient for this bathroom.  The total pipe length from the toilet flange to the vanity drain will be no more than about 7', is that too long?  Will I need to find a new route for the toilet vent?

the end finished result will look similar to this:

Any tips/thoughts is appreciated.


texts: Correct Circuit Sizing - Two Machines Woodworking Shop

texts:
I have two machines that require 220+ and I was wondering if one double pole 230 amp breaker would do the trick for both?  The run is approximately 60' so I'm wondering if 12 awg wire will work or if I should go for 10?

It'd be great to get a pointer on how to do this math myself too :)

I am running a dust collector and a table saw so they will definitely be running at the same time.

Photos of motors and plugs below:


texts:
I am renovating my entire second floor.  Due to some plumbing issues I had to raise the bathroom floor a bit plus added cement board and ceramic tile leading to the 2+ inch step you see below.  I will be having carpet installed everywhere else.  Any suggestions on how I can handle this step before the carpet installer shows up?

Thanks!

Here is the layout of the rest of the floor to help see what I am working with.  There is hardwood under the existing carpet but it is in bad shape and appears to have a thin (1/4" maybe) sub floor on top.  The bathroom is the small room in the lower left of the image.

It has been a while since this post but I thought I'd share the finished product using isherwood's answer.


texts:
I currently have blown-in insulation, that reaches the top of the attic floor. I was told by several insulation companies that I need a R value of at least 49, meaning, I need to add a good 12-18" more of blown-in material.

I want to perform the work myself. The first thing I did was lay down some 2'x4' pieces of plywood across the attic floor so I have a surface to walk on when I blow in extra material.

The other thing I noticed, was I only have soffit vents spaced approximately 36-48" apart around the house. I can see light appearing in the attic where they are.

I also have a fan on the roof that I can turn on with a light switch, however, no matter how long I leave it running, I feel no difference in air temperature.

I have a few questions regarding the project I'm about to take on.

1) Should I install soffit venting along the entire edge of the lower roof line? Or is what I have enough?

2) Should I see vents on the roof on the upper part of my roof exactly where the vents are on the lower section? If I don't, should vents be added?

3) Do baffles need to be installed between each rafter if the vents are spaced every 36-48" apart? Or just install where the vents are? Do they need to go all the way up the roof or just a single 48" length is sufficient?

4) Anything else I should be aware of?

5) Is ventilation not even necessary anymore? I've been reading a lot of material that ventilation doesn't even help and what was previously done was wrong.


texts: Should I convert from a rooftop to a split HVAC system?

texts:
We have a packaged HVAC on the roof and the AC needs to be replaced.  It's 23 years old and dying/dead.  We were considering buying just an AC and keeping the package unit running for heat.

We feel that the AC always dies first anyway so why buy another package unit when the gas furnace part of it is always still in good operation when the AC goes.  On top of that, split-system AC units are always rated for a higher efficiency and we live in the Vegas desert so that is very important to us.

Are we being crazy?  This means we'd have to split the ducting  somehow.  Also, when it's time to replace the furnace, where will it go?  Can it go on the roof or will we have to change the gas piping, and the ducting again, to place the unit somewhere inside?


texts: How do I build floating shelves in a nook with a mirror behind it?

texts:
I have a bar nook area that I want to do something similar to the image below, but on the back of the shelves I want to put a large mirror. I was planning on ordering a custom cut mirror for the wall and then I want to install these floating shelves.

How do I get shelves without brackets showing on the sides? I also assume I can't put brackets that drill into the back of the wall because there will be a mirror there and it will crack.


texts: Is this algae or moss? How to remove it without damaging the shingles?

texts:
I live in the Seattle area. Below is a picture my roof. What are the green traces on the roof.

Is this algae or moss? What is the easiest way to remove it without damaging the shingles and the paint?


texts: What is the maximum wattage LED bulb that can be used in a 75 watt fixture?

texts: What is the absolute maximum wattage LED bulb that can be used in a fixture rated for 75 watt incandescent bulbs?


texts: How do I check if this furnace switch the blower to second speed

texts:
My furnace is overheating and I suspect that the blower motor does not go into high speed. Can anybody say what is the cause or how can I check if it indeed switches to high speed?

Here is the wiring diagram

and here are the specs. This sticker shows that it has a second speed. I suspect that switching to that second speed is not happening

the furnace is hotter in the areas marked on this picture. I suspect it might be either the blower at reduced speed or the heat exchanger that is cracked


texts: What's this black handle on my fireplace? It moves up and goes left

texts: My fireplace is manufactured by arrowhead brass. Its a gas fireplace. There's a part to the left outside of the fireplace curtain and it's this iron black handle thing as seen in the picture. It moves up, then left and stays there.


texts: Filling gaps in a shower hob - best substance for this gap?

texts:
My shower hob has a number of leaks. I've highlighted a gap in the photo below which appears to be allowing water to run through to the other side of the shower hob. If I use silicone sealant in the position with the red circle it prevents water running off the edge of the hob, so a large pool of water remains which cannot dry out overnight.
Is there a substance I can use to fill the gap circled in red?
I am planning to use a product such as "Shower Plug 220mL" after any other work in an attempt to prevent ongoing leaks.
Note 1: In the photos below, I've placed transparent packing tape over all of the gaps, which I used to test and verify where the leaks were coming from. With the tape on, all but one of the 5+ leaks around the hob stopped.
Note 2: I've let the shower head run in a bucket for a long period of time without any leaks appearing, so I'm not worried about leaks behind the shower itself.


texts: I found a solar panel rated 9v, 70mA. I want to use it to create a power backup for a 9v, 1A router. Is this possible?


texts: What are the proper steps for staining a deck?

texts: My deck just past its 10-year mark and is starting to look quite tired. It's time to restain it. What steps do I need to take to make sure I do everything right, from start to finish?


texts:
I am currently planning on insulating my shed this summer to allow year round usage.

My first step is to insulate the whole shed.
   - The walls and Ceiling are straight forward, I will be installing fiberglass batts, I'm just not sure which R-Value I should be using on either.
   - I will then cover them with vapour barrier, and tape (Tuck Tape) all the seams and staple holes.
   - The floor is another matter, I cannot access the underneath, nor do I know what the construction underneath is like. It is 3/4" plywood. Now do I cover it with vapour barrier, then 1" styrofoam panels, then 1/2 plywood, then I can finish it as I like. Or do I flip flop the vapor barrier and styrofoam.


texts: Outdoor HD ip camera - what do I need to take into consideration?

texts:
I'm in the market for an outdoor weather proof HD IP camera that can be remote controlled from a web-browser and can join a WLAN but gets power over a cable.

I'm good with computers but new to the outdoor camera field.

What requirements should I take into consideration in addition to.

HD
Mains or power over ethernet
Weather proof


texts:
My XL80 trane failure!
Limit switch SWT1258 fails at least twice a year now, first one lasted 10 years and then all replacements only last 3 to 10 months.
Seems the switch is used too much but air flow is OK!
Any ideas?
Jim


texts: what kind of cable connector do I use on an outdoor junction box?

texts: I'm planning on installing an outdoor light in a place that does not currently have one using an outdoor box like this.  The "knockout" is threaded, I think it is 1/2".  What kind of cable connector do I use with this?  It is ok to make a hole in the wall (wood and metal flashing) and run Romex from the inside of the house into this box?


texts:
I'm searching for the name of a hinge that looks like this for my project:

Middle part should be able to turn almost 90 degrees on both sides. Does this kind of hinge exists and if so, does it have a name so I can find it more easily?

I made the picture myself by the way. If I can't find a hinge like this I will probably have to make it myself by welding a metal plate on the back of it. I'm trying to avoid that because I don't have welding or soldering tools.


texts: Why does the water out of every faucet in my house feel soapy?

texts:
The water on new place looks very clean, but has a 'soapy' feel.

If I wet my left hand and hold a soap bar for a while, and my right hand I just wet,  the sensation if I rub my fingers on each hand is almost the same. What is it? I will call the water department to get a water analysis Monday.

What drives me crazy is that I get the same sensation with the water coming out of the faucet Brita filter (I know those are no good, but still).


texts: Should I run my condensate pump after pouring bleach water into it for cleaning?

texts: After I add the 50-50 mix of bleach water to the condensate pump to clear out the algae, do I add water to the pump? On top of the condensate pump it says "do not run dry" so I was wondering do I need to add water after I run the 50-50 mix?


texts:
My situation:
To start off, I will provide photos at the end of the post.
The Cat5 Internet cable comes through a wall and it ends at a socket which is currently laying on the floor. The output of that socket goes to the modem. However, the connection is supported only by two thin wires, which makes the entire thing really flimsy and it creates problems when connecting to the internet. I would like to make the connection sturdier by using a module (of some sort) and enclosing the entire connection in it. As it stands right now, I don't think it is feasible to connect the socket to the wall as the cable is coming in the room from a different point.
I would appreciate any help.
Entry point of cable in the room:

The old socket opening (before installing the new cable):

Input of the socket (with the two thin cables):

Output of the socket (wire to the modem):


texts: Trane Air Handler GAT2A0C48S41SAA Create "C" Wire

texts:
Can someone please Tell me the Best way to Create a "C" Wire for a WiFi thermostat Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat (RTH9580WF). I currently have a Trane thermostat TCONT602AF22MA. Please... Thanks Joe
I'm a retired USAF SMSgt and I'm trying to save Money.


texts:
I re-caulked my shower on Saturday afternoon, using GE Silicone II Kitchen & Bath Caulk. I left it alone until Monday morning, when I showered in it. I assumed it had plenty of time to cure so did not check before using the shower. When I used a squeegee to clean water off the walls of the shower, I hit a corner and discovered the caulk was still as soft as when I had applied it over 36 hours earlier. I could wipe it away with my finger.

What would cause my caulk to not cure?

Some possibilities:

Humidity is about 100% right now. I live close enough to Hurricane Harvey to get lots of rain.
The silicone caulk tube says to use by 2014. Does this caulk really expire?
I smoothed the caulk application using my finger dippped in warm water, based on a YouTube video I watched to give me confidence. Was this a bad idea?


texts: How to polish welding at 90 degree curves?

texts:
We have given contract to the local railings constructor and they have put the railing Balusters on the floor along with clips to put glass on. I am satisfied with their work so far, only thing that is bugging me is the weird looking welding work near the clips.

This is how they look after polishing

He says his grinding wheel does not reach the corners, so he cannot smooth it out.

Is there anyway to fix this issue ?


texts: Telco ground: meter panel vs service panel

texts:
My meter panel connects to an exterior service panel on the back of my house via a short stretch of NM conduit. The service panel has my main breaker and ties neutral to a grounding wire bonded to a buried rod.
Previously, my FiOS ONT was mounted next to the service panel. The telco installer bonded the ONT ground to the service panel ground by attaching a clamp to a corner of the metal service panel enclosure.
I have relocated the ONT and now it sits next to the meter panel. The grounding wire is not long enough to reach the service panel so I have mounted it to the meter panel. I figure the meter panel must be bonded to the neutral wire which is bonded to the grounding wire so we end up at the same place.
Any problem with this setup?


texts: how do I turn a glass door into a removable mirror?

texts: A glass door allows outside people to see into a private area. How can the glass door be temporarily converted into a mirror? I am imagining some kind of roll on mylar. But it would need to be removable so that the door could later be converted back into transparent glass without any lingering residue. Can someone please explain how to do this in a way that is explicit enough for a reader to be able to find _and order materials with the right key words?


texts: The circuit breaker does not stay on after lightning!

texts:
After lightning, one of the circuit breakers does not stay on. The breaker is connected to 4 different sets of lights in living /dining room. All receptacle are working in that area (connected to different circuit breaker). I am not sure if lightning hit my house or not, but it was very close! I have thought it might be a bad breaker and replaced it but that did not help. I took one of the light fixtures out and tested by connecting it to different area and it was fine. It seems like a surge or a shortage somewhere!
Not an easy access to any wiring except the switches.
Any help will most appreciated!


texts: Furnace keeps triggering pressure switch

texts:
I  have a York (Coleman) TM9X060B12MP11B furnace that is about 7 years old now.

For years I have had the issue that if it's cold outside, and often when it has been snowing, in the morning it kicks on, heats for a while but then stops.

The error codes flash 6 times, which means:

6 RED FLASHES: This indicates that after the unit was operating, the
pressure switch opened 4 times during the call for heat. If the main
blower is in a “Delay on” mode, it will complete it, and any subsequent
delay off period. The furnace will lock out for one hour and then restart.

Every time I have to wait an hour, then it will heat for a bit until the house is at temperature. Usually that's the last of it for the day, in the afternoon and evening it's fine.

When it happens I use a chimney cleaner to make sure no snow built up in the exhaust or intake pipes leading outside.

The furnace is positioned in the middle of the house with a run of about 40 feet leading outside (row house) with 2 small 45 bends to get it in the ceiling

The question I really have is, what does the pressure switch do? I see stories online about it triggering because the drain is clogged, but what drain would this be?

Does the pressure switch trigger because it can't get enough outside air in, or does it trigger because it can't get the exhaust air out quick enough?


texts: Why use a Thinner Water Pipe to Branch off From a Tee

texts:
Sorry if this question sound naive.  Normally in water pipes, when we see another pipe branch off from a T-junction, that pipe is a thinner one.  Say, a 3/4" pipe will branch off only a 1/2" pipe in a T.  What is the reason behind using a thinner one?

If water resistance is the concern, isn't that a thicker pipe will always have a lower resistance?  Using a thinner pipe only increases the resistance (am I right about resistance Vs size?) If we want higher pressure at the outlet, isn't that only the outlet need to have a smaller hole?

Borrowing the same concept from electricity, there is really no need to reduce the size of the electric wire (except to save cost) if we expect the end point can only consume lower power.  We can always use a wire as thick as the main wire anywhere.


texts: Broken drill bit is stuck in DeWalt drill

texts:
I know this may be a common issue.

I have searched the internet and  so far i am not able to get this broken drill bit freed from my DeWalt drill .

My idea is trying to hammer this bit down but it is very tight I'm not sure I'll be able to.

Any ideas?

edit:
here's a video of what happens when I try to loosen it with a wrench:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1cuyr79N5BPRCTg38


texts: Why are low-flow toilets more likely to overflow?

texts: I used a low flow toilet in an apartment that had been vacant for some time, and a toilet that had not seen much use. The bath in this area was never used. My recollection was that I flushed the toilet, and stayed around the unit for another 30 mins. without hearing or noticing an overflow. After leaving to the gym for 2 hours, I came back to find the apartment totally flooded to the extent that it flooded( or seeped to 2 I had heard gurgling in the past upon flushing. units below me). Only yesterday in my lease did I see mention that low flow toilets can overflow.  Please provide me an explanation for this, and causes. Thank you.


texts: How much does it cost to run 24kWh on my diesel generator?

texts: I've got a generator, and I'm wondering since my monthly usage is 719kWh how much would it cost to run the house per day if fuel is $4/gallon?


texts: Do retrofit ground wires need to be run in conduit?

texts:
I'm moving my water heater to another corner of the room it is in, to allow for more usable space in the room. However, the grounding wire is only 14 ga instead of the required 10, and it's not in the same cable as the power conductors. I need to upgrade the ground wire or run a new 10/2 w/ground cable, but I'm not sure which will be simpler.

This answer about grounding an oven receptacle states that you can use "any achievable route" to retrofit a ground. Does that mean you can run THHN outside of conduit, even though you'd normally never be allowed to?


texts: How do I trace a damaged security system wire?

texts: I have a hard wired security system.  I just finished hanging drywall. During the process, I apparently damaged a wire to either one of 4 windows or the door because I am getting a fault in the basement zone.  I have used a magnet to test the sensors and they seem to be OK.  Therefore, I believe I damaged one of the wires.  I have not taped or mudded the drywall yet, so I can easily get back into the ceiling or wall to repair it, but I need to know which wire to repair in order to avoid removing a lot of drywall unnecessarily.  The wires in the box are not labeled.  Is there a way to identify which wire goes to which window?


texts: Conduit fill - number of circuits .vs. number of branches

texts:
I think I get this one, but just to verify or clarify... (USA NEC)

When running multiple circuits (different breakers) in a single conduit, you have to derate after (is it 4?) sharing the one conduit.

But, if a single circuit (one breaker) is going to a bunch of light switches, and then the switched lines from those switches (and likely the hot line going on to other switches, LED lights do wonders for number of lights on a circuit) are sharing a conduit before they reach a junction box where they split off to the individual light strings, that's still one circuit (but more wires for the fill calculation, of course) from the "do not need to derate the wires in conduit" view?

I've seen too much rodent damage to be happy using NM cables...


texts: What is the best skim coating for polystyrene sheets?

texts:
My log hut is extremely hot, I have glued polystyrene sheets to the ceiling and would like to skim to create a clean finished off appearance. The sheets are the pressed pellets type (not isoboard)

can normal gypsum/ rhinolite/ plaster work? Any advice would help.


texts: How to get access to and change bulb in a hanging lantern

texts:
My task today was to change the light bulbs of a hanging lantern that we have on our porch. I simply cannot determine how to get to the actual light bulbs.

I've tried turning the bottom finial, which loosens the post in the middle, but that doesn't seem to work. I've also tried turning the bottom finial while holding in place the top, but I have no luck there either.  The bottom portion will just keep turning and never gets fully loose.

The glass fits too well to be opened and there is no latch. There are also no recessed or exposed bolts or screws anywhere to loosen the top or bottom.

Multiple searches and installation manuals were not able to give me the answer so I'm crowdsourcing this.

I would love it if someone would be able to help me change a light bulb...

Other pictures of the fixure


texts: High Wind-Resistant Retrofit Construction

texts:
I have an unfinished detached two-story garage that is about 20' x 24'.  Before I start putting on the make-up and lipstick I want to (if possible) make improvements to the structure beyond the basic building code safety requirements.  I believe the current local building code requires 3-second gust at 90 mph.

My goal is to make the structure resistant to an EF-2 tornado (3-second gust 135 mph).

It would seem that by now, "Wind-Resistant Construction" should be more common knowledge and less of a specialty field. New code requirements in Florida and costal communities require and promote more Wind-resilient structures which saves cost to the everyone in the long run.

There is a Simpson Strong-Tie Technical Bulletin titled, "Strengthening Dwellings in Tornado-Prone Areas".

High Wind-Resistant Construction Application Guide

F-C-HWRCAG16 is a 80-page, color application guide discussing the critical elements of high wind-resistant construction and includes information on the effects of wind, corrosion and uplift, and provides detailed product information for construction in high-wind areas.

I did see a Simpson Strong-Tie Strong-Rod uplift Restraint System on page 47 of the catalog.  This looks like a doable retrofit if it will meet the EF-2 requirement. Is there a way to determine if these will work for my application?

  The Simpson Strong-Tie® Strong-RodTM Uplift Restraint System for roofs
  (Strong-Rod URS) is a continuous rod tie down solution designed to
  provide a complete load path to resist suction (uplift) pressure on
  the roof. After hurricane ties transfer roof uplift forces into the
  uppermost top plates in a wood-frame structure, a Strong-Rod URS
  continues to transmit that resistance down to the foundation or  final
  termination point. Visit www.strongtie.com/srs for more information.

Thanks.


texts: No power to garage after cleaning fuse contacts and shorting a main circuit

texts:
Ok here we go. I got a little too confident and now I have no power. Originally I had no power to half my garage. The fuse was blown and when I would try to put a new one in it didn’t wanna go in. Like it was warped. So I decided to clean the contact. I pulled the big fuses in fuse box. (The ones that look like shotgun shells) to kill power and opened it up. It was full of crap and mud dabbed next so I cleaned them out then took apart the fuse holder and lightly sanded the contact and got the fuse to fit again. I put it all back together and this is when I messed up.

I decided it would be a good idea to blow out the box with air compressor. While doing so I stick my nozzle where I couldn’t see and BAM!!!!! It touched a wire I assume coming from the breaker and running into the box. It tripped one of the two breakers for garage with the lower off at the breaker I used a wire brush to clean up the charred wire. I did not take it apart though. Now I have no power at all to my garage. Well I have power cause if I put my tester near outlets it beeps but only on some the fuse that I shorted does not beep and none of the outlets beep. What did I do?


texts:
We bought a small conservatory a few years ago.  Despite following all the available advice (minimising condensation, cleaning regularly, etc...) mould still accumulates in the corners.
What can I do that would make it impossible for mould to grow in the conservatory?  For example, are there any coatings I could have applied?
NOTE:  I'm not asking about an on-going process that we'd have to keep doing, nor about something we could do that would only decrease the amount of mould.  I want that mould gone.  Dead.  FOREVER.
(In case it makes a difference, we're in the UK)


texts: What tool is a solid metal cube with dimples or half spheres on every side?

texts:
My neighbor found this metal tool in a box from his father’s workshop.

It's a cube with all sorts and sizes of circles and half spheres on every edge.

What is it?


texts: Framing long walls in sections and keeping 16" OC Layout

texts: When you frame a long exterior wall and do it in sections, say a 50' 2x6 wall in 16' sections, how do you efficiently keep 16" O.C. layout when the next wall section would throw off the 16" OC Layout?  Every wall section needs a stud at the end of it to be sistered against the next wall.  Is it better to cut the wall plates down so that sistered stud is actually an on-layout stud, and then the next section of wall starts layout  1.5" back so that 16 inches from the first section wall - last stud, lands on the 2nd stud of the new section wall? Trying to see how this is done by the pros in mass production so it stays efficient?


texts: Practical differences of two types of tile levelling system

texts:
I'm looking to tile a relatively small area floor (about 4 sq m) with ceramic tiles 300x100 mm, 10mm thick. There are two main types of tile levelling systems that I've seen: clip and wedge

and the screw-cap type ones

What are the practical differences between the two?  How to choose one or the the other? Or is this purely down to what I prefer to work with?

Please note that these images are purely for display purposes, I don't have any preferences at present on specific brands.


texts:
My wife was straightening her hair today when she noticed that whenever the straightener element turns on, the LED lights in the bathroom flicker.  The lights are on the same circuit as the outlet (which is GFCI), there are no dimmer switches installed anywhere in the house, the house was just built, and every single light in the house is LED.  On this circuit, there are only the 4 LED bulbs, a recessed led light, the bathroom outlets, and the smoke detectors.

I've noticed flickering before, but have been unable to isolate the cause.  I tried putting the straightener on a UPS with filtering, to see if it was some kind of noise being generated, and it did not help.

The flickering is visible on the 4 Feit Electric "Edison style" dimmable LEDs, as well as the (unknown branded) recessed light.


texts: How can we prevent the upper floor in a split-level home from getting too warm?

texts:
I have a split level home.  Main floor contains living dining and kitchen.  8 stairs up to top level with 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.  Down 6 steps from main level to family room and from there down another 6 steps to fully underground sub-basement.

My last house was a ranch which we liked to keep warm at about 75F or so in the winter.  With the thermostat set to 75 in the current split level, the top level must be 90F if not higher.  The thermostat is in the dining room next to a sizable window.  I just covered the supply vents in the top level but I'm not sure if this is safe/efficient/productive, etc.  The bottom 2 levels have electric floor heating in addition to vents from furnace.  Furnace is in sub-basement.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.


texts: Would I have flow issues if I hookup a 1hp sump pump along with a 3/4hp sump pump with a wye?

texts:
Backstory. I own a home that has a driveway that slopes towards the garage. The garage has a grill in front of it to catch all the excess water drainage and dump it outside the house, I presume to main drainage on the street. The garage grill drain is on the same plane as the sump pump pit.
The crux of the problem is that if there is really heavy rain then the sump pit will fill up above the inlets even with the sump pump running and cause the garage grill drain to begin accumulating water, so much so that the water flows into the garage causing flooding.
Right now I have installed a 3/4 hp sump pump - which ensures that the sump pit doesn't overflow but unfortunately can't keep up and the water fills above the inlets. I think its only a matter of time.
So long story short, I'd like to add another sump pump in 'parallel' to push water out.
Currently this is my solution:

My question is two fold. Should the 1hp pump be at the bottom or the top? I will be keeping the 3/4hp and would like to utilize it.
Secondly, when both pumps are activated, will there be an issue with flow? Will the PVC explode?


texts: Can you have two different circuits (separate) in a double gang box--one for a light and the other for a receptacle in a bathroom or anywhere in your house?


texts: Is there anything to help reinforce PVC pipe?

texts: I am plumbing a pond and have some above-ground PVC pipe. I used the purple and blue glue to attach the pipes, but am concerned some pipes could still come loose. I plan to wrap the pipes with duct tape, but wonder if there is a better solution, as duct tape doesn't do well in situations involving lots of water. How can I reinforce the pipes to make sure they can't fall apart?


texts: What should I use to wash the walls in my kitchen prior to repainting them?

texts:
I am repainting the walls in my kitchen.   I am sure grease has accumulated.  The instructions say to "wash the walls", but do not say what with.

Should I use vinegar, Clorox, Tide, ...?


texts: 3-way switch light is on when both switches on or off, otherwise works as expected.

texts:
Hope the subject was clear.  If not...

I have 2 3-way switches on my hallway. If both are in the same position (either off or on) the lights are on. If they are opposite the lights are off.  Other than turn one switch upside down, what could be the wiring issue?

Thanks in advance!


texts: What kind of window crank is this, and what brand is it?

texts: Looking for a possible identity of the brand of this window handle. The issue with the handle is that while it can open, it cannot close the window, and the gears from the outside have to be pushed in order to have it close. Below is an image of the actual mechanism:


texts: Main Breaker - Miswired connection Question

texts:
I am little confused and will be hiring a licensed electrical person to look at it, but wanted to get an idea of what maybe going on or if anyone has any experience seeing this type of issue.

In 2006 the building was converted from a 2 family to a 3 family by a licensed electrician with permits.. The building has 4 Main breakers connected to each electric meter. 1 common main breaker which control all the common lights in the lobby and hallways in the multifamily and seperate main breakers for Apt 1, Apt 2, Apt 3. Each main breaker is connected to a main electric meter. Total 4 electric meters.

Recently I discovered when I wanted to close the main breaker for Apt 2 the lights remained on, only 1 bedroom light went off.

When I closed the (Common lights) breaker the 2nd apt light went off along with all the lobby lights. While the common lights main breaker was off.
I turned the 2nd apt main breaker on and all the common lights and 2nd apt lights went on.
When I leave the lights on in the 2nd apartment and lobby lights and when I close the (Common Lights) main Breaker the electric register on the 2nd apartment electric meter.
When I close the 2nd apartment main breaker and keep the (Common Lights) main breaker on the electric register on the 3rd apartment electric meter.
The 1st apt and 3rd apt main breaker have no issues they turn off their apartment lights when I shut then off independently.
Each apartment has a sub panel.
the 2nd apt sub panel shuts off the lights.
However to close the 2nd apt from the main. I have to close the common and 2nd apt main breaker to close the power for 2nd apt.

Thank you again for your help.

Photos of Electrical


texts: Bosch washer won't start. Some lights are blinking

texts: I have a Bosch washer model WAS20160UC. After I turn the programming selector to the desired position, the Start/Pause light comes on, then after a moment Spin, Regular Spin, and End lights start flashing and the washer wouldn't do anything. Sears sent a technician to my house - he said the problem is with the door lock. Today, the new lock has arrived and I've installed it, but nothing has changed. How do I fix this problem?


texts: what should we do at the chipped tub rim lip

texts:
The new tub rim upturn lip has chipped and cracked a little. To install the wall tiles, which option is better?

Install the tile backboard (is it cement board) in front of the upturned lip and overlap it. Then install tiles over cement board. Question: the face of lip is 1/8"-1/4" in front of face of studs. Would the cement board be bent? and is it a tight overlap at the lip since there should not be screws too close to the lip or going thru the lip?
install the tile backboard above the lip so the face of the board flush with the face of the lip. Then install tiles over the lip and board?


texts: switch trips breaker when turned on if bulb is in

texts: I have light s on the same breaker all works but when I turn island light on without light bulb it's good but once bulb is in and turned on it trips.


texts: How do I cap off / remove a single sprinkler head?

texts:
I have a corner in my yard that is getting too much water from the sprinkler system. The grass is drowning and moss is growing because it's constantly wet. The adjacent zone seems to throw enough water on that spot. Can I somehow cap off that one rotor, or will I need to completely remove it?

If capping, is it a matter of replacing the rotor with a cap. If removal is necessary, will I need to remove that whole spur pipeline, or can that branch just stay in ground full of water?


texts: Replace light fixture ceiling box between levels

texts:
I was attempting to replace a simple light fixture on level one of our two story home.  As I went to install the new fixture, I discovered the bracket attachment point on the old electrical box was stripped on one side.  This was a box on bracket (between braces) installed, I assume, new with the home in '89.  I took the box off the bracket, thinking I may have access to remove the bracket - no such luck.

So, what I am stuck with is a bracket, surrounded by insulation, right in the way of any old-work electrical boxes that I've been able to find in town.

I have never attempted drywall work, plus I'm looking at a spackled ceiling, so I am attempting to avoid cutting if I can.

My question is this: How can I remove the old bracket (without starting a fire using a metal cutting bit on my Dremel)?


texts: What is the typical water pressure for a sprinkler system outside a home?


texts:
Since the house was built in 1986 it has settled unevenly.  Drywall cracks I can deal with.  But one problem has me stumped:

I have an exterior door where the top of the opening is now about 3/16 inch too wide, and the bottom of the opening is about 3/8" too wide.  At the strike plate the gap is just under 1/4 inch, which means that the latch isn't holding on by much. Added:  YES the opening is now a trapezoid

The house may just be badly built. (  The center of the kitchen/dining room is about 1.5" below the edges, but the grout lines on the stove back splash on the middle of the wall are level.)

That side of the house is on concrete sonotube pylons, presumably down to frost line. After they were set, the tubes were stripped, and the space between infilled with concrete that went down only to ground level.  This is a can of worms I am NOT going to open. It's taken 34 years to get into this shape,it's not going to fall apart next Tuesday.  I'll deal with small problems as they occur.

Checked:  How can I get my entry door to stay closed?

This had a good tip about filling holes with toothpicks and glue if you need to move a hole over some small amount.

Adjusting deadlatch so it doesn't fall into strike pocket

Mentions shimming out hinges, but doesn't give much detail on how it's done.

My guess is to do it like this:

Cut a strip of thin plywood (I have some plywood based wood paneling the width of the hinge.
Mark the existing location of the jamb hinge on the jamb.
Remove the jamb hinge.
Outline the plywood using the hinge as a template.
Cut out the plywood, and drill holes in the plywood to match the hinge.
I will need 1 of these at the top, and two at the bottom, if they are 1/8" thick.
To verify fit first, put in scraps of this plywood on the latch side.  Fasten with brads or double sided tape. Check that I can open the door with them in place.
Using the original screws, attach the jamb half of the top hinge.  Put the pin in and  verify that the door closes.
Repeat for bottom hinge.
Remove screws from top hinge, apply glue to the back of the plywood, put back in place, and use 1/2" longer screws to reattach the top jamb hinge plate.
Repeat for bottom hinge plate.  If the bottom requires 2 pieces of plywood, glue them together first.
Verify again that door will open and shut BEFORE THE GLUE DRIES

Tips?  Things I've missed?


texts: Does it make sense to use a nipple to connect a tub spout to copper?

texts:
I recently purchased a Grohe tub spout and it requires a MNPT fitting on the copper. The MNPT fitting must be placed behind the CBU and the tolerance is 1/8". Since I haven't chosen my tile yet, I'm still not sure how long to cut the copper pipe.

My question is: can I just sweat on another female npt fitting on the copper in the wall, then just make a smaller intermediate pipe with two male ends (basically a copper nipple)? I'm just thinking that way, I can cut the intermediate copper pipe & screw it in after the cbu and tile is done.

Here's a diagram of what I'm thinking:

Here's the spout in question: https://imgur.com/a/Ou43OW6


texts: Should I sand baseboard before painting it?

texts:
I am replacing some baseboards in my house. It is the most basic type: flat board 5-1/2" wide by 3/4" thick. I would prefer to buy primed board, but my local shops do not sell it for some reason (they have a great variety of more exotic moldings, but not what I need).

So I've been buying 10' x 5-1/2" x 3/4" pine boards (about 10$ apiece), installing, then painting them with two coats of latex paint.

As I discovered when the paint dried, some knots are visible through the paint (texture, not color), and even some ripsaw marks. I did notice these imperfections prior to painting, but they seemed minor and I was expecting that two coats of paint would smooth them out completely beyond noticeable.

They also sell "select" pine boards. They are generally more consistent in shape, fewer bends or twists, no chips, and no knots. But using this furniture-grade board for baseboards feels like a crime against the Nature and the common sense. So I am buying the non-select grade to keep it light on my consciousness, rather than to save a few bucks.

Should I sand the boards before installing them? What method of sanding is recommended? I do have a random-orbit sander. Or should I just give it another coat of paint? Is there a special primer for this purpose? I wonder what the pros do in this case. The old boards that I removed are not painted on the back, so the builders primed and painted them, and nothing shows through. I want to achieve the same result.


texts:
When rebuilding a drain field, is it imperative to dig individual trenches for each "tine" of the drain pipe "fork", or would it be possible to just dig one big hole to lay all the piping down. If I can just dig one big hole, I can just rent a skid steer. If I need to dig trenches, I'll have to rent a backhoe.

How deep below grade do the pipes need to be? I live in a place where frost typically reaches 6 feet or deeper before spring melt.

How much crushed rock needs to be beneath the pipes? Is there a limit to how deep the crushed rock can be? Is there a benefit of greater field capacity with deeper gravel?

Thanks.


texts: When I use drain cleaner the whole house smells like sulfur for a couple hours

texts: I used it in the bathtub, & another time in the basement suds tub, the whole house would smell. Last year I checked the vent pipe on the roof & removed a lot of old paper wasp nests, but am still having the problem.


texts: How can I insulate behind pipes that are close to a foundation wall?

texts: Reading around, it seems like most people suggest to put up XPS insulation when finishing a basement.  That's great and all, but how do you put 2" of rigid foam behind pipes that already exist in the ground, sometimes as close as 0.5" or less to the foundation wall?


texts: No idea where this came from. Just noticed today. Can't tell what it is. I tried to scrub it semi-hard (don't wanna do too hard for fear of scratching) with a towel and water and did not succeed in cleaning. Is it oil/grease? Feels weird on my finger. Appreciate your help!


texts: How do I nail plywood to flat roof framing?

texts:
I am putting some 3/4 plywood on top of 2x6 framing joists on my flat garage roof. The framing is spaced 16oc. I figured that I place 4x8 plywood sheets in such way that their short edge will be resting on joists. The entire roof is 17 1/2' X 10 1/2' so it requires about 7 sheets total.

That brings up 2 questions:

Do I need to space sheets from each other and from concrete walls of the garage? I heard that 8d nails used as spacers between sheets work well for it.
How do I nail those edges? I mean - there would be only 3/4" (not even counting spacers) under the edge. Do I just nail so close to the edge? Will it work? Should I put nails at the edge toward the center of the joist or just straight down?


texts: How can I remove residue left after removing aluminum foil from my windows?

texts:
Let's see whether this is a question for DIY or for Chemistry.

I put up aluminium foil on my windows for a few days, to test whether it was a good way to avoid the heating by the morning sun. I put it up on the inside, by wetting the glass with plain tap water and letting the foil cling to the glass. Some of the windows were done with water + a bit of dish washing soap; there was not a big difference in the result. The foil was applied with its shiny face to the glass.

After 5 days, I removed the foil (easily, as expected) to discover that the glass was patterned according to the imperfections in the way the foil had been applied. For example, if the foil got wrinkled while applying it, that was visible in the glass. Furthermore, the foil itself has a very slightly embossed pattern; this pattern has been transferred to the glass too, in patches.

The patterns have appeared in all windows, no matter whether I used plain water or water with dish washing soap.

Thinking the pattern had to be related to water hardness, I tried wetting them with vinegar. No result at all. There were also tries with window cleaner, rubbing alcohol, washing soda. No effect.

Assuming that the pattern is caused by some aluminium salt/oxide/whatever, finally I tried with caustic soda, hoping it would react with the aluminium. It worked, mostly: there are still some patches where you can see the foil pattern in the glass if there is light reflecting from just the right angle.

My question is: what else can I try to remove those last patches? The options I can think of are a stronger solution of caustic soda, or bleach, which also attacks aluminium.

For reference, the caustic soda solution I have used up to now was 1 litre of water + 3 tbsp caustic soda. According to the packaging, 1 litre + 2 tbsp is used for drain opening. I'm hesitant to go stronger because supposedly at some point the glass will get etched.

Also interesting: some of the window panes were much easier to clean than others, even if the foil was applied in exactly the same way.

Bonus points if anyone knows what actually got deposited in the glass. If this happens with tap water, I wonder how can this be used for food...


texts:
Any one know how to open this screw?

Tried pliers but no avail and standard box of security  screwdrivers couldnt open it.

Here are some more photos


texts: What would happen if I connected a dishwasher to a hot water supply line?

texts:
What will happen if I connect hot water to a dish water that is not designed to take in hot water?

Will it break? Or will I just not be able to use the cold programs?


texts: Ethernet cable instead of Thermostat wire?

texts:
I need to pull new wire from my furnace to my thermostat and was wondering if there would be any problems in using an Ethernet cable instead of standard thermostat wiring.

The reason being is I have left over cat6 cable and figured the wire should suffice in place of spending cash on a 4-wire thermostat cable.

fwiw: the run will be approximately 50'.

If the cat6 wiring will suffice, should I use both twisted wires as one? Or just a single wire from each twisted pair? i.e.,

Orange/OrangeWhite to 1 hvac connection
or
Orange to 1 hvac connection


texts: What conduit can I use to run 240v cable along outside of house, main to sub (San Francisco)?

texts: Question: What type of conduit can I use to run 50' of 8/3 cable from main breaker panel to spa sub panel along the outside wall of my house to get a 240v circuit to my Spa?


texts:
I have never seen a faucet leak like this. The supply lines are fine. The water moves to the center where it mixes the hot and cold water,  then drips from where the drain plug pull emerges. Is there an o-ring in there that the drain pull passes through?

The water is definitely coming from where the drain pull comes out of the center union.


texts: Should I cut-in the whole room at once, or only the portion I'm working on?

texts:
Never painted before. I've decided to paint my studio, which is a 770 sq rectangular space.

I'm going to need to paint the ceiling as well as the walls. I am planning to follow John Burbidge instructional videos on youtube. I'm going to paint the ceiling first then the walls. I'm going to use a roller for the majority of the work. I have several questions:

When painting the walls do I "cut-in" just the areas I'm going to paint or do I cut-in all the walls?

For example:

if I were going to paint the right side of my studio on Friday night and the left side on Saturday would I still cut-in the all the corners and edges?  Or just the ones connected to the wall I'm planning to paint that day?
what if I were going to take 3 a hour break between painting the right side and the left side?

As you can see, I'm trying to figure out when I should cut-in the entire room as oppose to cut-in only part of it.

Could you also explain how the "frame/border/halo" effect happens?  This is where the cut-in area is a different shade?  Is really because the "cut-in" area had dried before you painted the area?


texts: How can I repair water damage to a hardwood floor under a washing machine?

texts:
Recently we had an overflow from our washing machine, because we washed pillows on the high speed setting. The powder room where the washing machine is located had water on the floor underneath, but thankfully it was limited to one corner. We attempted to dry the area with fans, and now have a pan in place to catch some spills.

We checked out the area a month later, and noticed that the top of a few boards are lifting in an area and there are some black bits. I uploaded a YouTube video of the damage

I suspect it'd be best to replace the damaged floorboards, but that's beyond what I can do in the very short term. My preferred flooring guy is booked steady for a while, and it's a decent round trip for him. I was going to start with the approach for removing stains, but should I remove that board to investigate further?

I'm assuming this is tongue and groove board so it'll be trickier to remove. Is it safe to just remove the surface area that is lifting, dry that further, prep it and apply polyurethane as an interim solution. If there is an easy way to remove the board and avoid collateral damage I'd be interested in knowing that.


texts:
i need to move a 16x20 shed back about 12', so half the shed will remain on existing footings. the current footings are all poured concrete. do i need to dig new footings or can half the shed just sit on concrete blocks on the dirt or even on 2'x2' concrete pads about 2" thick. i'm in central NJ
thanks


texts: Can I pump down the refrigerant from an air conditioner myself?

texts: We are planning on having a new concrete patio poured in a couple of weeks and need to move our AC unit to make way for the slab.  Is it possible for a layman to pump down the refrigerant and move the unit or do I need to pay someone to do this for me?


texts:
My bath tub side panel was not sealed and it seems water has been splashing in causing some damage.
I always thought mold would have to smell musky however the damage doesnt smell musky.  I previously had a can of drink turn into an algae like substance(see can drink in pic).  The damage smells more like that.  Incidentally could it be that it was spores from the bathroom panel that went into the drink can and rapidly turned it into the subtance.
Anyways its the substance is different colours and look like the result of water damage.  Is this mold or is it something else? What are the black, green and other bits?


texts: laundry room fluorescent lights dim and flickering

texts:
Starting  about a week ago, the fluorescent lights in my laundry room became dim and flickering. I bought two tubes from lowes (F40KB-ECO 48", I don't think that's relevant but anyway), put them on, problem not solved.

Could it be a ballast problem? I can only guess 'cause I don't know how to further diagnose. Can anyone suggest?

These pictures might help:

Updated, after fitting two tubes into the inside slots as suggested, first it appeared to work fine with bright light:

then I turned off the light and turned it on again, it kind of worked but the light seemed less bright.


texts: subpanel tied to main thru 50 amp double. One 20 amp outside receptacle. Can I put another 20 amp on the subpanel?

texts: hot tub gone but subpanel still being fed from main that has a 50 amp double. Can I run two 20 amp outdoor receptacles from that 50 amp subpanel?


texts: Is this a 3/4 in. regulator, or a 1-in. regulator?

texts:
The image shows my home water pressure regulator and the 3/4 in. PEX coming out the low pressure side. I think (hope) it might be a 1-in regulator using a threaded adapter reducing to 3/4 in. Both sides look the same and use 3/4 pipe. The home was built in 2016.

(United States plumbing)


texts: I have a circuit that went dead a couple of weeks ago in a home that is 24 years old.  I have identified five outlets on the circuit, all are dead. One of the outlets is outside on a front porch with the proper weather-proofing cover.  Three outlets are in the garage and the fifth outlet is inside the home in a bathroom.  Using a small plug in outlet tester, it showed an open "hot".  What seems odd to me is that I am unable to locate any GFIC on this circuit and I thought that was required for both garage and bathroom outlets.  In the garage, I have a working outlet about three feet from one of the dead outlets.  I backfed the hot from that working outlet to the dead outlet and all outlets were live and showed correct wiring.  I removed the backfeed and removed the breaker box panel.  By the way, no breakers where tripped.  However, to be sure I reset all of "outlet" breakers.  The individual circuits were never identified in the main panel.  Next, using a digital meter, I tested the hot terminal on each breaker.  All showed 124 volts.  So, it appears that the breaker is not the issue.  I'm not sure where to go from here and would appreciate any advice.  At this point, it looks like I have a break in the wire between the first outlet, which I believe is the bathroom outlet, and the breaker.  I know this would be unusual, but I'm not sure what else it would be.  Thanks in advance.


texts: Looking for a dual thermostat for a combination furnace

texts:
I have a Continental Hybrid 150 Propane/Wood furnace and at present have two separate thermostats for the system. One for the gas side and one for the wood side. The system itself decides where to source the heat so that's not what I need the thermostat to do. I would like a single wall mount thermostat that allows me to set both side independent of each other. I’ve considered building a unit using a Raspberry Pi board along with Wi-Fi capabilities but am hoping perhaps there is something already available in the market to suffice.

TIA!


texts: Is it safe to replace the thermostat when furnace is shut off?

texts: I need to replace the thermostat in my basement. It is an old style round shape Honeywell mechanical non-programmable thermostat. The gas furnace is turned off (The switch is at OFF now). Is it electrically safe to open it up and replace it without shutting off the power to the whole basement?


texts: 12in rough dual flush toilet should be 10in rough

texts: I bought a 12 in rough dual flush toilet but should have bought a 12 in rough toilet. Will I be able to keep it or will I need to switch it out? It seems to get clogged every 2-3 weeks. Is there a quick-fix solution to declog it?


texts: Exhaust fan venting through soffit where attic has no vent

texts: I am installing a bathroom exhaust fan in a portion of the house which is a small addition to the original house. The attic above the addition is separated from the rest of the attic by the original roof (though portions were cut out for the A/C duct and wiring). I know that soffit vents are not typically recommended for bathroom exhaust fans, because roof vents cause air to be drawn into the soffit and exhaust from a soffit vent would get sucked into the attic. However, the attic above the addition does not have roof vents (thus air should not be sucked in through the soffits), so I am wondering whether it would be okay to use a soffit vent for the bathroom exhaust fan. I am in South Florida, where the temperature doesn't go below freezing in case that is relevant.


texts: Is there an issue using a stainless steel bolt with a hot-dip galvanized nut and washer?

texts: Question says it all. Will there be a problem  using a stainless steel bolt with a hot-dip galvanized nut and washer? This will not be a load-bearing application, will be exposed to outdoor conditions (snow, rain, etc.).


texts: how to sand-plaster a plaster wall without spreading plaster dust everywhere?

texts:
I have the following wall I need to sand

.

Issue is the wall is made of plaster.

Is there a way to sand it without spreading plaster dust all over my kitchen, please?

Thanks.


texts: I have 1 light in my attic but its not bright enough for the whole attic so i want to add 4 more lights. the switch is in the downstairs hallway, so all that is in the attic is a electrical wire and the light. How would i add the 4 lights to the attic. i want all the lights to turn on when i flip the switch in the hallway. Im new to electrical work, i know to turn off the power and basic things like that but i don't know how to wire up the lights.


texts: How should I mount this ceiling light fixture?

texts:
I have a fairly heavy (a few kg) hanging lamp which came with this ceiling mount (and no instructions):

So, to mount it, I can remove the bracket from the cover, screw it to the ceiling, put the cover back over the bracket, and screw the bolts back in from the outside to attach them. But there's a problem.

On the inside of each bolt is a split washer and nut. How can I get the nut back on the bolt once I have the cover back on and flush with the ceiling? Apart from the central hole for the cable, there are three additional holes in the cover. These are unfortunately useless for getting at the nuts on the inside: they attach to three anchors for steel wires which support the weight of the lampshade, so they will necessarily be blocked when I put the cover on, and in any case don't line up with the bracket:

The bracket itself is threaded, so the nuts don't seem to be strictly necessary. On the other hand, since they came with the fitting and it needs to hold a fair amount of weight, I'd prefer to have them in place if possible. Am I missing something here?


texts: How should I reattach laminate stair treads to eliminate movement and noise?

texts:
I apologize if the terminology is off for the components of a staircase. Please correct me in comments and I'll update the question.

My home has laminate stair treads that were fastened down with what looks like construction adhesive and 3 nails ~ 1" from the back in the stringer locations on top of what looks like an mdf/plywood (not sure what this piece of blank board is - false tread?) . They squeak like crazy and lift up in the front on several steps (presumably over the years the laminate treads have separated from this board.

( I have carpet squares on the steps right now, so the center stringer screws would not be visible but the outer 4 would be if I went with that approach )

I was going to pull them all up, scrape and re-apply sealant, and and hit them with 6 trim screws + countersink them and cover with a filler pen. Does that sound like an appropriate solution?

I was thinking of adding some type of cork/padding in between instead of the sealant but still use the trim screws. Is that a viable option?

/Cheers.

(Not my stairs/vid, but I think they look a lot like this situation but I don't have the moulding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iOsbprpe5g&t=4m35s)


texts: Low water pressure at toilets after main supply valve replacement

texts: Just replaced my main water valve that feeds the house. It's copper line and I used shark bite fittings. Kitchen sink, master shower and both toilets have very low pressure now. All other faucets are fine. Tried clearing the braided lines in kitchen sink. Got some sediment out but still nothing. What else can I do?


texts: Running electrical for bookcase LED lighting (choose a scenario)

texts:
I will be installing built-in bookcases to the right and left of the fireplace pictured below.

LED strip lighting will be installed in the bookcase.

I'm having trouble deciding the best/easiest way to run electrical to both sides of the bookcase.

Option 1) The blue lines in the photo. I could try to pull power from the can lights near the fireplace and feed wire to make a receptacle on both sides of the bookcase. This option would require cutting holes through several ceiling joists ... yuck.

Option 2) I could pull power from the outlet that is currently near the fireplace. The orange lines in the photo show this option. I would have to cut holes through 2x4's and a corner. Then I would have to figure out how to get it to the other side of the fireplace.

Any suggestions? I could use it.


texts:
Basically two small questions - Can I reasonably cut a large bathroom mirror and will doing so in that way look professional?

For the particular mirror in question we added higher vanity and need to take 8 inches off the top/bottom.  It is a basic thick bathroom mirror with no beveling.


texts: GFI trips when turning on a computer with the monitor on but not when the monitor is off

texts:
I have an unusual situation here. I have an older Dell computer that is plugged into an outlet. The monitor that I use with this computer has its own power switch and is also plugged into the same outlet.
If I turn on the computer first and then the monitor, all works okay. However, if I turn on the monitor first and then the computer, a GFCI on a different circuit trips. The neutral wire for this particular outlet is not shared anywhere with the wiring of the other affected circuit except, of course, at the box where all the neutrals are shared. There are additional outlets on this circuit where my Dell is plugged into.
A couple of things to note:

There are several individual circuits coming from the box and because the box is located in a shed away from the house, every circuit has its own GFCI.
Two of the circuits have GFCI breakers while the remaining circuits have GFCI outlets. One of the GFCI breakers is the one that trips.
The computer is plugged into a regular outlet downstream from its GFI outlet.
The separate wires for each of these circuits do run parallel to each other inside the wall.

Michael


texts: Is it okay to replace the Relief valve on a water heater, or do I need to get a new water heater?

texts: What happened was my wife smelled a different kind of odor.  I had a very good idea it was the water heater.  I opened up the compartment, and water was trying to come out of the pressure relief valve.  Water was all over the tank and the floor.  I checked the circuit breakers, one of the four were tripped.  I turned off all four and the box was pretty warm.  I went back and checked things out.  As I mentioned,the water ran down the front of the tank, both covers came off, water ran into the electrical parts, causing a short lived fire, which scorched areas on the outside of the tank.  I don't see it leaking water anywhere else. So I am back to asking, it is possible to just replace the Pressure Valve on the tank, or do I need to replace the water heater in it's entirety?


texts:
We've recently installed two new bathrooms.

The showers in both bathrooms seem to have leaks in the exact same places, outside he left corner.

We're in this new house a month and now I'm starting to panic, about this little bit of water after every shower.

Opinions welcome, my plumber returns this week. See attached pics.


texts: Low water pressure in both kitchen lines -

texts:
First some background;

our house was built in '56 and has galvanized pipe
Hot water heater is almost two years old
We finished remodeling our kitchen last July and installed a new sink and faucet (Grohe 32665DC1 SuperSteel Concetto Single Handle)
The lines running to the kitchen are linked to the faucet and the dishwasher.

The water pressure for the kitchen sink was always fine.  It's no firehouse but it doesn't need to be.  However, in the last couple of months it has decrease to just above a trickle.  I've opened up every possible inlet/outlet on the faucet to clear rust and it appears to be fine.  I disconnected the flexible supply lines and ran water through those.  There doesn't seem to be any obstruction but the pressure there is still lacking, although seemingly not as bad as at the faucet.

I don't know where else to look for an obstruction.  The faucet itself was/is low-flow but this is ridiculous.  The water pressure everywhere else in the house is fine so it has to be isolated to the lines running to the kitchen.  I've experienced an episode where I was running the dishwasher and the sink at the same time and caused some 'jackhammering' in the lines.  Shutting off the sink stopped the "hammering".

I intend on having the galvanized replaced with PEX at some point but it isn't in the budget right now.  I'm hoping there is a way to clear the lines for the time being.

I am not experienced with plumbing.  I've read quite a bit on the web but I don't like working with the galvanized for fear I'm going to make something worse.

I'm very close to calling a plumber but I want my ducks in a row if I come to that point so I'm not taken for a ride.

Any thoughts from the hive mind?
Craig


texts: MayTag Legacy Series Top of Dryer Won't Open

texts: I can not open the top of my Maytag Legacy Series Dryer. There is a screw on each side of the top of the dryer pinning it down to the base? What do I do now to get to the rest of the dryer since the top can't open?


texts: How to attach rebar to a sheet of metal?


texts: Necessary to insulate the ceiling of a conditioned crawlspace

texts: I have a new home that does not have insulation in the crawlspace ceilings (the floors throughout the home are above the crawlspace). Is it necessary to insulate the ceiling to prevent heat loss in the winter? The crawlspace is conditioned and has plastic sheeting lining the inside. HVAC is in the crawlspace and it is cool there in the summer.


texts: How do i unscrew this bolt to take apart the bed frame

texts:
I have this couple bed that need to disassemble but have no idea how to unscrew this bolt in the pictures. I have never seen anything like this in my life.

Thanks in advance


texts: How do I get invisible edges on my spackle jobs?

texts:
I have a basement that I am looking to eventually paint.  The basement has spackle in various places on the walls, in many cases, way too much spackle appears to be applied, in a rather messy way, with no sanding after the spackling.  I am now attempting the sanding and if need be, some re-spackling of the uneven areas.

I made a mistake in my living room of assuming that if I sand some spackle, even if the edge of the spackling job isn't perfect, it is good enough to paint over.  The result was a wall where I can easily see my poor spackling edges.

How do I fix these areas around the edges of the spackle?  What techniques and tips can I employ?

Click for full size image


texts: How do I wire receptacles for a washer and dryer on a new circuit?

texts: I need to add a new circuit that will have only 2 receptacles, one for a washer and another one for a dryer. This will be a 20 amp circuit. Can someone please tell me how to wire the two outlets together? I have experience with changing outlets but never added an outlet from another one and want to make sure I wire everything correctly before calling over an inspector to check the work.


texts: Why do I have pocket holes in my new texture ceiling?

texts: We sanded down old texture on ceiling. Then skim coated, and sanded again. After that was dry, put up knock down to ceiling. When it dried, we have little holes all over. What can we do to fix it?


texts: Looking for NEC reference on resizing main panel that will feed a new panel for 2nd unit

texts:
I've replaced several meter panels and subpanels over the years but I never had to figure out amp ratings for a new dual meter main. Here is what is existing:

125A meter main panel feeding house

1 1/4" pvc underground pipe to garage feeding 50A sub

Here is a description of the finish product:

Main panel that feeds front house is replaced
Garage is converted to a single family dwelling unit, will now call it "rear unit"
Rear unit new 125A sub panel is feed on its own meter from new dual meter main panel at front unit

Questions:

How do I size the main panel? 200A or 400A?

Does the optional ampacity calculation in the NEC give a more reliable answer?

What is the best formula for converting the total wattage of the front unit to find the amp rating for this new main panel?


texts: What should I look for in a battery backup sump pump?

texts:
I've got a pretty basic 1/3 hp sump pump that does the job quite well. However, i'm concerned about losing power and just the wrong time. Or worse the pump goes bad!

What sort of features do you look for when pricing battery backup sump pumps? Would a water powered backup be better? I'm not familiar with the water power solution at all.


texts: Can I use 6/3 NM-B cable for a 120v 20 amp circuit?

texts:
I just removed a hot tub spa from my backyard.  I am wondering if I might be able to use the 6/3 cable for an outdoor electrical outlet?

Could I change the breaker to a 120v 20 amp breaker.  Then attach a UL outlet to the other end?

Thanks for any advice,
~Jeremy

P.S. I am in Oregon, USA


texts: I have what looks like a filter and pressure regulator inline with the control valve for two of my zones.  These are the zones that are supposed to be low pressure.  But when I recently checked the pressure on the two zones, one was at 40 and the other near 60.  So I think the regulators have failed (they are lik e7 years old.  Replacing them in the box would be a pain for sure. But the zones surface to go to the low pressure sprinklers.  So I could just put new pressure regulators there.  But one of them splits in two underground.  Can I put a regulator on each point where it surfaces (so total of 3).  Or is there some physics that will mess up the regulation?