texts:
2 years ago, I used LevelQuik RS to level/smooth out a concrete foundation so I could install stick on vinyl planks (terrible idea). The resulting floor has plenty of waves and high spots. I'm now looking to do the entire house in an hdpc vinyl plank.
I feel I have to remove it. I'll also be removing tile right next to it, so I'll want to match the elevation there.
How should I remove the layer of LevelQuik?  It's 1.5mm thick. Should I go at it with a Power chisel before grinding it? Will it likely chisel up easily, separate from the underlying concrete?


texts:
How can you have waste pipes for underground stories of a building?

For example, my waste pipes are buried a few feet under my yard because I only have a crawlspace. If I had a basement, I imagine they would just have to dig the pipes deeper, which would still be possible because the city lines would most likely be deeper than my basement. But, what if you had a really deep basement or a commercial building that went several stories underground?


texts:
Pump control panel (electrical diagram attached). Could someone tell which ones of 1 2 3 4 5 6 are hots and which one are neutral?

http://www.docdroid.net/zjph/wd-s115.pdf.html


texts: What is this fence-like feature on colonial roofs?

texts: I've seen this feature from time to time on both commercial and residential buildings exhibiting some form of colonial-style architecture. It's essentially a fence on top of a roof. Does this feature have an official name?


texts: Modifying a plastic electrical box for structured wiring usage

texts:
I'm building a new home and wished to install structured wiring (2 cat 6, 2 rg6 and 2 fiber optic cable). In pricing the orange open front and rear boxes, I found them ridiculously expensive. The open back is need for extra wiring.

My question is: it against any code to remove the back on a plastic box to accommodate the structured wiring. Would it have to be painted orange?

It doesn't affect fit, form or function.


texts: How do I cut down a bathroom wall drain?

texts:
I am doing a minor renovation on our second bathroom, and I have run into a problem.

I was able to remove the old vanity,mirror, etc., and repair the drywall. The water valves both leaked, so I removed and replaced both of those. The new vanity (Godmorgon from Ikea) is installed, but now I've run into a slight problem.

The drawer for the vanity hits the wall drain, with about an inch needed for clearance, plus whatever is needed for installing the drain piping from the sink. Also, the drain piping that came with the sink (Also from Ikea) is much smaller than the wall piping.

I've attached 3 photos of what it looks like, where do I go from here?

Wall piping with Ikea tubing

Wall piping:

Drawer needing clearance:


texts: If the top layer of my subfloor is structurally sufficient, can I skip patching plumbing holes in the bottom layer?

texts:
I'm doing a master bathroom remodel in which all electrical and plumbing must be moved.

The old floor had two layers of plywood: 15/32 as the bottom layer, and 19/32 as the top layer. (The numbers I'm giving are those on the APA stamps.) This setup supported ceramic tile for 30 years without any issue.

I plan to leave the first 15/32 layer there and put 3/4 as the new top layer. I've done the math. Structurally speaking, a single layer of 3/4 plywood by itself would be enough for the tile. (I know I'm raising the floor level, and taken that into account relative to the level of the floor outside the bathroom.) If I were in a setup where the bottom layer is needed to provide the structure that the tiles need, then I'd patch the bottom layer. However, since I don't need the bottom layer for structure, can I skip patching the holes left in it by the old plumbing setup? Or am I setting myself up for trouble?

I've given consideration to entirely removing all the subfloor but I'm trying to avoid that, as it would lead to a whole bunch of complications in the basement. (The master suite is on the 1st floor, with the bathroom just above the machine room.)


texts:
What’s the worst that can happen if i put a switch in the neutral instead of the phase?

I just found out that 3 light bulbs sockets in my home  are connected this way, it first came to my mind to fix it but then I recalled the flow of current from positive to negative is just a convention since the electrons are charged negatively and they actually flow from N to L so i cant really find an solid excuse to mess with the wiring for the next 2 hrs


texts: Which side of a sink should I install a garbage disposal in?

texts: I am about to purchase a garbage disposal to install myself. Our kitchen sink has a large, deep side, and a small, shallower side. Which side is more appropriate to install the disposal in?


texts: Pouring foundations in cold weather, builder didn't protect them - how to tell if it is set right?

texts:
Our builders have just poured the foundations for our house this past Friday, but did not cover them to protect them from the cold. We experienced temperatures ranging from -2 to -7 overnight during the last two days, with highs of +6 in the day. I am concerned about the integrity of the strength of the foundations, I have read this type of exposure to cold unprotected can ruin the foundations, and they are most at risk of this in the first 24-48 hours. Are my foundations compromised?

He did say he used a low water mix with an accelerator to help it set quickly, he also said because they were pouring below the frost line (in the ground 85cm) it would be fine. However I don't want the build to continue until I am sure they are ok

1) What are some signs I should look for so see if there are issues with the foundations?
2) How long will these signs take to show up? I want to be sure before we continue the build.
3) In your opinion is it likely these foundations would need to be dug up and re-poured? (we plan to do a third story extension in the future so they need to be right)


texts: Sliding door drapes rod - special rod kit needed, or generic window rod OK?

texts:
I have a sliding glass door in my master bedroom, which leads out to my backyard. I need to get a replacement drape rod and mounts. Will any window curtain rod kit be suitable, or are there special kits designed for sliding doors?

I ask because I believe generic window rods are mounted into the drywall. Since a sliding door might get more traffic, I'm not sure if this would be strong enough as the drapes will be tugged on more. Also I'm not sure if the clearance that generic window rod kits provide is suitable for a sliding door setup?

Thanks


texts: How to clear an obstruction to run power cable through stud

texts: I've drilled a hole through a stud and hit a very thin metal frame that appears to be a support for dry wall. I'm looking for a recommendation to cut this piece of metal so that it doesn't interfere with the electrical cable. I was thinking that a oscillating multi tool would be ideal (approaching from between the lathe and then bending the metal) but I can't find a depth that is sufficient to cut this. Looking for other suggestions.


texts: Did the plumber hook up my water heater backwards?

texts:
I just had a plumber install a new 50 gallon water heater, but the cold water pipe is installed to the hot side (the left pipe when facing the front of the heater) and the hot water pipe is installed to the cold side (the right pipe when facing the front of the heater).  Is this ok? I thought that the cold water pipe had to go into the cold intake value and the hot water pipe would be connected to the hot value.

So I called the plumber and he said that everything is installed correctly. And he wouldn't change the plumbing.


texts:
I need to build a mailbox post (for two mailboxes) and have confirmed  underground power and data cables exist.
Unfortunately the plans don't specify the exact position or depth and it's likely the data cables are 300mm down. I don't have access to a metal detector.
Can I get away with 200mm concrete footings? With 50mm of gravel under the concrete?
I'm thinking of making wide shallow concrete footings, with steel bolts anchoring the posts. There will be two timber posts 300mm apart connected above ground with railings (planning to make it look like our fence).
Does this sound reasonable?


texts: Is my contractor doing a botched up job installing the soffit with staples?


texts: Retaining wall on a 2-way slope under an existing block wall

texts: I live on a corner home and the street/sidewalk on the right side of my home travels up a slope. The way my yard is currently designed, the right half of the yard follows the same slope, but not the left, almost at no angle at the front of the yard, but at an increasing angle as one goes towards the back of the yard. The pictures probably explain it better than my words.. in any case, what I want to do is add a retaining wall and remove excess soil in order to flatten out the lawn area. Due to the slope, the wall would also need to be sloped. There is a small section of block wall at the highest point of the front yard area, that I could remove if needed (I'd consider some white picket style fencing to ensure nobody "falls" into my front yard from the adjacent sidewalk), but if I didn't have to remove the wall that would be even better. I don't want to cut in from the existing wall as my yard just isn't wide enough for that to make sense in my opinion. Is there a way to build a sloping (not stepped) retaining wall (maybe concrete with some form of decorative facing) so I can have a flat yard (I want to install new sod and sprinklers as the next project eventually.. and yes the palm tree will be going away and I'll be tweaking the fence between the front and side yards too). Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!


texts:
I picked what I thought was a very fine brand of motion sensor, but the units are lasting only a few months.  It's a 3-wire sensor: always-hot and neutral power the sensor, and switched-hot is passed through.  As I read the documentation, I see them mention "Tungsten".  I am driving LED "barn light" type products.

I could install one incandescent bulb to make the sensor happy.  But when it burns out, it won't be quickly replaced, which would create the failure condition.   So I want something that emulates a tungsten bulb, but is long-lasting.  I'm thinking a resistor.

The question is, how do I find a resistor product that mounts on an electrical box it in a code-legal way, and is outdoors-safe?   Is that even a product one could find?  I'm not asking "shop for me" but I don't even know where to begin.


texts: How to finish the broken edge of my exposed brick wall?

texts:
I'm in the process of exposing the brick on an exterior wall around some newly installed patio doors. The majority of the brick work looks fine, the problem is the edge of the wall where the brick looks like it's been cut by a blind man with a sledge hammer. It's next to impossible to clean (I've only done about half so far), cleaning brick is hard anyway but I can't even get to a lot of the broken edges with the chisel and wire brush I'm using.

The plan is to do as little as possible to wall once it's been exposed—ideally I can just seal it and I'm done.

Is the brick (the broken edges specifically) going to be ok if I clean it up, remove everything that's loose and seal it as it is? Maybe since the brick is so broken anyway I should just have at it with my chisel to smooth off the worst bits?

Another problem it's left me with is the big gap between the brick and the patio door (probably 2 ½ inches at the worst areas), what's the best way to fill the gap?


texts:
I'm about to move into an older home at the end of the month. Upon inspection, the inspector found that the outlets aren't grounded. I've been doing a lot of reading on how to fix the situation. I understand that my options are to 1. Ground the outlets. I can do this easily but there are a lot of outlets. 2. Install GFCI outlets and ground them. This is expensive but I'm not really worried about that. 3. Install GFCI or GFCI/AFCI breakers in the electrical panel.

I'm leaving towards option 3. I keep reading that I can do option 3 depending on my homes wiring. There was no elaboration on what wiring my home needs to make sure that GFCI breakers will offer the protection that I need. Is it just as simple as replacing old breakers with GFCI breakers and grounding them on a ground bar (I forget the actual name of the bar) or will I have to run additional wiring all around the house in addition to installing the GFCI breakers? The house was built in 1952 and had a new panel installed but uses what looks like non GFCI breakers. Any help or a link to better reading material?


texts: What could be causing my Lennox furnace to blow cool air?

texts: My Lennox outside furnace is blowing cool air, not hot even when the burner is lit. It takes  3 times longer to heat the house than it should. I just had the draft motor replace about a month ago and did not have this issue before then. The only thing I've noticed is that the fan that blows air into the house comes on at the same time the burner is. Shouldn't there be a delay to warm up the heat exchanger. It appears the temp in the house goes down before it goes up very slowly. Other than that everything appears to be working properly. unit has no problems lighting or anything like that. Help!!!


texts:
Just purchased a home and under the laundry room sink I found the below picture:

Is it MOLD?

If it is MOLD, do I need to get a professional here to remedy the situation or do I scoop it up with a shovel and then dump bleach on and around the area?

I haven't disturbed the area... yet.


texts: What is the safest and quietest practical lightweight electric saw to cut 2x4 to use inside an apartment?

texts:
I have a miter saw but that thing is loud. Same with the circular saw. Moreover, while the miter saw can be used on the ground with not even a table, the circular saw is too dangerous without a full workbench.

A table saw, even mini one, is too big, expensive, and also too loud. It needs to be handheld. Obviously, chainsaw is not the answer either.

Of course, the quietest is a simple hand saw. Unfortunately, it's also too much work and takes too long. I want something electric.

This brought me to the reciprocating saw. It could be used easily with a couple portable sawhorses or even just clamped to the table.

Handheld jigsaw might be the same.

For safety, of course awareness, alertness, glasses, earmuffs, gloves, and common sense will all be used. Still, some tools are less safe than others without a full workshop. I'm also thinking of building a small portable workbench.

I don't want to disturb the neighbors or cause any alerts with the apartment complex. So, what is the best, quietest, safest, and easiest electric saw to use to cut 2x4 without a full workshop or full work bench?


texts: How to repair/waterproof Arch Top Windows

texts:
We have this Arch Top Windows on top of our double pain windows. I noticed that the black seal (not sure what it exactly is) is coming out. What are my options to repair it. I am worried that will impact the integrity of the window due to leaks, water proofing etc?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
Regards
Sid


texts: How do I keep this old shower pan water tight

texts:
I have my shower room down to the studs.
It has an old terrazzo shower pan which I hope to reuse. It had an inch high metal (lead?) edging around it. It was fairly decayed so most of it has broken off or been removed.

I have Wonderboard lite and Redguard ready to go up, but I'm not sure if I need something to further waterproof the section between the shower pan and the backerboard? I had a drywall guy in and he mentions that there is usually a rubber strip on new shower pans that prevents water ingress.

Is there something I should do before putting on the wonderboard / tile?


texts: I installed a ( 4’x 4’x 32’) gravel bed gray-water pit in order to relieve the load on my 20 yr old septic tank. I also placed a (4” x 3’) septic-tank effluent bristle brush in the feed pipe going down into the gravel. When I pulled out the bristle brush it had a lot of black mold ( looks like thick black gravy ). I also can see the same black mold in the septic tank clean-out line going out to the septic tank. QUESTION: What are you guys thoughts on using bleach to kill the mold. I’m afraid the mold will grow and eventually clog up the gravel. This kind of mold already clogged up the 2”HVAC condensate line. So would bleach be ok to kill the mold since it can’t be pumped out like the septic tank, thank you Oily Tex


texts: Does Makita multi-tool DTM51 have a real Starlock mount

texts:
I own a Makita oscillating multi-tool DTM51 but the question is valid for more Makita models.
The multi-tool is compatible with Starlock blades, it is shipped with a lot of these.
But the mounting head is different from the Bosh and Fein ones.
So the question is, does Makita use the Starlock system? Or are Starlock blades just backwards compatible and therefore fit my Makita?


texts: Why won't my security lights turn off after I upgraded to LED bulbs?

texts: I replaced old halogen lights with new LED bulbs. Now they seem to stay on a little.  They look dim, like a very low wattage bulb.  Is that normal?  Or do I need to change the sensor/switch?  It only has one switch, which turns all the lights on and off.


texts:
I have a number siemens optipoint 500 economy phones.

They have been used in an office environment in which the networking of the phones were managed by a third party. I would now like to use them in my new building to allow transfer of calls to other rooms and phoning handset to handset.

I've got 1 landline coming into the building and would like any of the phones to be able to pick up the call and transfer to another phone. Luckily all the phones are in the same large room and so is the landline so I shouldn't need to do anything in the walls.

Can anyone point me to what additional hardware I need and any info on how to get this setup?


texts: Removing baseboard heater and installing elec oven on that wall

texts: We are purchasing a home that has a baseboard heater on the wall that will be ideal for an elec oven can I just remove it and use that wiring for the oven socket?


texts: What is an air conditioner compressor hard start kit and how does it work?

texts:
My air conditioner compressor wasn't functioning properly recently. The compressor wouldn't start when the start relay energized. A HVAC technician diagnosed the problem nebulously as "It needs a hard start kit because the compressor is getting old and tired."

The compressor is a machine. It doesn't get tired. I am asking for a precise description of the components in a hard start kit and how they're connected to the compressor.


texts: Should LED can lights be warm to touch when they are not on?

texts: I recently had 8 old can lights converted to LED lights with kits bought at Home Depot. I noticed today that the lights themselves and an area around the lights is warm to the touch. They have not be on all day today or yesterday. The house is not warm either.  Should these be warm when they are not in use?


texts: Side mounting (base attachment only) of glass railing panels to wooden house frame. Requirements?

texts:
Background
I'm trying to design/install a custom glass railing in my home. Here is my design concept:

It consists of a 13' span covered by 12' (4 pieces 3' wide) of railing with an aluminum channel at the top to serve as a handrail (it also contains lighting).
The plan is to side mount the glass panels into the lower surface as indicated in the model. Here is a detail view:

The framing underneath looks like this:

The Ask
My understanding is that the building code requires the railing to withstand 200 lbs of lateral force at 42" from the floor. Those numbers make sense to me as it predicts that if an adult accidentally fell against it, it wouldn't fail.
Does anyone know the relevant code(s) for this sort of thing?
Can I simply screw into the beam? If so, with what hardware?
We're trying to avoid having any vertical posts, but is there an alternative mounting strategy that might make more sense -- or be more cost effective?
Thank you for you time and consideration. Cheers.


texts:
I am a DIY newbie. I want to mount a TV on the wall. The wall is drywall, but the builder of the apartment told me there is concrete behind it, and the fixings should go in the concrete.

What kind of anchors and technique should I use in that situation if I want to make sure the TV stays on the wall?


texts: How to attach deck ledger with furred out sheathing

texts:
I'm a DIYer planning to put in a deck, and am working on a permit application. I've got what I think is an unusual configuration of siding and sheathing on my house, and I'm wondering what the best method would be for attaching a deck ledger board. The sheathing is spaced away from the wall studs by 1.5 inches (sheathing is attached to 2x4s on their sides). The siding and house wrap will be replaced at the same time as the decks, so I'll be able to cut back the sheathing to access the rim joists and sill.
Two possibilities I've considered are are:

Attach a board to the rim joist that's the same size as my ledger board, sheath over that to make for a flat exterior surface, and then attach the deck ledger to the sheathing, fastening through to the rim joists with long bolts. I'm not sure if this configuration would provide adequate support. It would be possible to attach a board to the sill to provide additional support for the spacer board above if that helps (the sill is a beefy 6x8).

Attach the ledger directly to the rim joist so that the ledger is inset behind the spaced-out sheathing. The challenge with this approach is how to properly flash this configuration.

Thank you!


texts: Do I need the v-baffles sitting on top of pool heater's heat exchanger?

texts: I just finished cleaning the soot out of my pool heater. Actually the biggest problem was all of the rust and scale left behind by the v baffle bars that sit on top of the heat exchanger. I was wondering if there is any safety reason I shouldn't run my heater without them or if it's just an efficiency / effectiveness thing.


texts: Will Modifying a Wardrobe Box for Temporary Use/Moving ruin its structural integrity?

texts:
I have some time between leases that I'll be living in a temporary location and I picked up a wardrobe box (a large box with a cross-bar for hanging clothes).  I'd like to try to store most of my wardrobe in it, including shoes and non-hanging clothing items, for a few weeks and while moving.  There's a lot of space in the bottom of the box underneath the hanging clothes, but as it's pretty deep it's hard to access.  I was thinking about cutting a flap near the base that I would tape shut while moving, but leave untaped during the few weeks I need access to the clothes.  Is this likely to ruin the box's structural integrity?

(Let me know if this is off-topic; I really wasn't sure)


texts: Can I use three 2x8 beams instead of two 2x10s for a deck?

texts: Can I have 3(2x8) beam/girder with 2x10 joists 12" OC? I'm building a 16x16 ledger mounted deck. Two footings were poured a little higher than they should be. There are four 16" footings of 5,000 psi concrete supporting 6x6 posts.


texts: What could be causing water to drip from the relief valve of my new gas water heater?

texts:
My old hot water tank met its maker about two or three weeks ago, and since then I have installed a new Kenmore 50 gallon gas water heater to replace it.

The new water heater seems to work fine, I was able to hook up the hot and cold lines with the new fangled compression fittings and special 3/4" to 1/2" couplers (I have a 60 year old house, all the water lines are 1/2"OD copper while the water heater came with 3/4").  Because of the hack job on the copper tubing that was there I just got that flexibile ribbed tubing to go from the existing water lines to the water heater.

Little bit of sweating at the fittings, no leaks though.  Sprayed leak detector on the gas line, no bubbles.  Everything seems good.

Ever since I got the thing the relief valve has been steadily dripping water onto my basement floor.  I have an expansion tank going to it, although it is about 3 or 4 feet away from the water heater for overhead space reasons.  I typically see these installed much closer to the unit itself, never 3 or 4 feet away if this makes a difference at all in how it performs.  It is not leaking there is no rust or any other signs that the bladder inside it is leaking.  When installing these you want to make sure they are on the cold line correct?

So I thought perhaps I have the temperature too hot, it was at B, I have since turned it down to A with no noticeable difference.

Water pressure coming to the house has always been extraordinarily high, but I tightened the pressure regulator enough that it should be well under 80 psi.

It is leaking probably over half a liter of water each day.  Something wrong with what I did, setup, existing issues with the plumbing?  Faulty relief valve?  Is it okay to just install a hose from the relief valve and just have that water drain to the A/C water pump and ignore it?


texts: Wiring a light fixture when no previous light fixture exists

texts:
My husband and I purchased a mobile home to fix up. The plugs, switches, and light fixtures were all missing. We have replaced all the plugs. We only have power to half of the house, assuming it's because we have some missing switches and light fixtures.
   Placement of each seem very obvious and hooking switches and plugs we've done before, but the light fixture wires are confusing us... Mainly because the previous owners twisted some of the white and black wires together and I've never heard of this bring correct in any instance. I wish I could attach a picture... Any ideas?


texts:
These are steel basement windows on a 1968 house and it appears they open.  I'm sure things are rusted & will require some "persuasion".  I'd rather not break the glass, so knowing how they open will tell me where to tap with a block of wood & hammer.
You can see the handle at the top of the first pic (middle top of window).  The second pic shows the opening mechanism.  The third pic shows a rivet which could be a pivot point for the opening mechanism (red arrow).  The last pic shows a drawing of how I think this window would look from the side when fully open.  Does anyone have this kind of window and could tell me how it opens (what it would look like fully open)?
Second question:  someone replaced the glass in one with an aluminum adapter for a dryer vent hose.  The home inspector flagged it & said I should replace it with glass.  It would be nice if I could take the window pane out to do this, rather than try to do it "in place" because a washtub is in the way.  Can the pane (easily) come out?  My gut says "no way", but it can't hurt to ask...

I know someone will ask:  the brown & gray stuff at the top of the first pic are plastic bags that I temporarily stuffed in to fill the gaps (air was flowing in & you could literally see outside in places).  The sheet at the bottom is a temporary "storm window" to help cut the breeze.


texts: Plumbers are replacing cast iron piping with pvc and water lines with Pex. Anything I should know?

texts:
Here's some pictures of the work done from last night, in an imgur album:

http://imgur.com/a/87eIw4E

They had to jack hammer through my floor and concrete to get to the piping to replace it.

They said that they're going to pour 6 inches of concrete to ensure that it's reinforced and sturdy when they pour concrete. Currently have 4 inches there.

They pulled permits and are working with the county inspector as well.

Anything else I should know? Will the pvc and Pex be safe under the concrete like that? I live in Ohio, it gets pretty cold. Don't want it to crack or burst.


texts: How to diagnose and fix apartment AC that makes intermittent whooshing noise

texts:
My AC recently (I think, it's pretty new, possible I just didn't notice before) started making a whooshing noise. It sounds kind of like a sudden gust of wind, but it repeats every few seconds. Another way I can think of to describe it: imagine a PC cooler running relatively silent, but still being able to hear it. Now imagine it increasing its RPM noticeably for just around a second. Now imagine it doing this continuously.

It's a Whirlpool split type 12k BTU.

It also doesn't result in air being blown faster but, when you can hear it, if you stand in front of the indoor unit, air stops coming out for like half a second on just one side of the unit. Like the unit "chokes".

Things I've noticed and done:

efficiency doesn't seem to be affected, it still cools very well, but the sound is annoying.
it only seems to happen on higher temperatures. For example at 24 and 25 C. Any lower and my unit will start blowing out more air as well, which seems to result in a steady stream of air uninterrupted by whooshings.
if I lift the front panel, revealing the filters, the phenomenon stops! I thought something might be pushing on the filters, or that it's not closing properly, but I can't see any issues...
also, if I remove remove the filter on the offending side, it doesn't happen even with the front panel closed.
it doesn't always happen. Sometimes I run it for hours with no annoying sound, other times it starts a few minutes after turning on the AC. Sometimes it stops for a while.

Any ideas? I tried recording the sound but my phone doesn't really allow you to notice it when it occurs. I can try again if you think a recording would help.


texts: Garage door opener stops--even when I take the chain off the gear!

texts:
My garage door opener (LiftMaster 1/3 HP) stops partially through the cycle of closing the door.

I have removed the chain from the gear attached to the sprocket, and tried cycling it like that. I wanted to see how it performed with no weight to lift.

The problem persists. Even with no chain attached, the thing stops before it gets to the "bottom" position.

Also, I noticed that the stopped position of the sprocket is not all the way to the electrical contact for the "top" of the door.

So in other words, something is jamming the sprocket to only be able to move a couple feet between the full-up and full-down positions.

I just finished replacing the sprocket assembly, and this problem still persists.

What else could be causing this problem? The motor? The worm gear? (Worm gear looks fine upon visual inspection). Or is it just time to get a new opener? I believe the current opener is about 15 years old.


texts: How to mount a power strip without holes to the wall

texts: I got a power strip (this one) that doesn't have holes on the back for mounting to the wall. I had figured I'd use Command Strip adhesive and be done with it, but it has little grippy feet on the bottom that raise it up off of the surface just enough that a command strip wouldn't grip securely. What else might work? Since it will have power cords (and USB cables) plugged and unplugged every now and then, it needs to be able to stand up to forces perpendicular to the plane of the wall.


texts: Should I add batt insulation to concrete basement walls?

texts:
We're planning how to finish our basement, and haven't been able to figure out something related to insulation.

The home's in Minnesota, and was built in 2008. XPS insulation (installed by the builder) covers all concrete surfaces, and I haven't seen any indication of any sort of moisture intrusion. I can't see what's behind the XPS, though I took photos during construction and it doesn't look like there's anything but concrete there.

Here are my questions:

When framing the exterior walls, should I add any sort of vapor barrier between studs and XPS, or will the existing XPS facing suffice?
Should I add batt insulation between studs, or leave those interstices empty?


texts: Why did the water stop a few hours after my Culligan reverse osmosis filter change?

texts:
How do I change the Aqua-Cleer Culligan reverse osmosis filters (the sediment and the carbon ones, the leftmost two of the four)?

Why did the water stop few hours after my change?


texts: Connect to pre-wired Cat5e (no clear demarc point)

texts:
In three of ours rooms, we have Cat53 wired and I can see the lines all running to a central location from an access box. Outside, we have one line just hanging from the exterior wall. I can't find a clear central access point, or a good way to use the exterior cable. After a few days of searching I wanted to come here to see if anyone had any suggestions.

For some more context, here's how it looks outside (there's a Comcast box right above it, but it only has the connector to the incoming cable line).

Inside, we have a small access box (covered by a white plastic cover) next to the main electrical panel. Opening it up shows all the cables coming in, but I can't see well where they're going:

Has anyone else seen this before or know how to set up a network in this situation? I highly doubt they would terminate in the electrical panel, but is that even a possibility? Really appreciate any help!!

Adding a shot showing the electrical panel and white access panel to the side:

And looking into the access box:

Pulled out wires:

Looks like they were tied up/stapled to the wall back there:


texts: Using a second thermostat as a remote temp sensor

texts:
I’m using Honeywell WiFi enabled  thermostats to control heating and cooling at home and cottage. I would like to add another thermostat of the same type simply so that I can remotely read the temperature in the basement of the cottage, not to control the furnace.  Should I be able to simply attach ground and C wires to that 2nd thermostat?

Thx ... Dave.


texts: Bonding CSST to electrical ground system

texts: I had a licensed natural gas tech/plumber install a new branch line using CSST to a new fireplace.  When I am asked him about bonding it, he said he had never heard of that before.  From everything thing I've read, bonding seems necessary (to avoid damage to the CSST from lightning strike or otherwise stray electrical charge).  What I can't wrap my head around is this: If the gas line is bonded to the electrical panel (circuit breaker service entrance) which is bonded to the water supply from the street (just a lead pipe (yes, we still have lead here) that runs through the ground), how is this different from the gas pipe which already is a metal pipe running through the ground?  It seems that the gas pipe is already grounded by virtue of being buried.  If I put what seems like an additional ground on the gas pipe, don't I run the risk of other charges on the grounding system running through the gas pipe to discharge instead of the water pipe?


texts: Should I connect the ground to the box when relocating a dryer to the basement?

texts: The dryer cord is a three wire cord, I am installing a new dryer outlet in the basement, the previous outlet wire was a 4 wire cable with ground attached to the metal box, I am replicating the same setup in the basement, I bought a romex 10/3 cable and a metal box, my question is do I connect the ground to the box ? the metal box I bought does not have a ground screw, can I use any screw to connect the ground to the metal box ? or should I use a PVC box instead in which case where do I connect the ground coming from the cable?


texts: My house has slab heat and the pipes come out of the dirt and go to the heating unit.  This is located in my basement and I'm wondering how to seal it to help reduce radon entering the house.


texts: Way to prevent mineral buildup in toilet?

texts:
Our apartment has extremely hard water, and the toilet has severe mineral buildup that makes it impossible to flush. Is it possible to attach a filter to capture this before it deposits on the toilet?

Edit: It's a brown stain, so I'm guessing it's not lime.


texts: Proper tool for installing engineered wood flooring

texts:
Lauzon 3 1/4 planks, tongue-and-groove. To clarify, it's the stuff with 1/8" real wood on top. Over OSB sub-floor. This is all new construction. About 500 sf right now, but another 500 sf about 6 months from now.

If we use a brad nailer and tapping block, will we get a tight enough joint? (Note, we have a flooring nailer, but it seems we can't use it with engineering flooring. One thing the flooring nailer ensures is a tight joint.)

Is it worth buying a proper flooring nailer for engineered wood, given the amount we have to do, and my husband's 63-year-old knees? We'd have to order it online, neither Lowes nor HD carry them.

Also, any opinions on the problem of getting the correct angle on the nail, if we use the brad nailer. (Obviously with a dedicated floor nailer that's not a problem).


texts: We have a window that is in a shower. I had noticed the paint was pealing on the outside of the house and realized that the caulk between the tile and window was gone, letting water drip down and to the outside. I fixed that issue. When I took off the framing on the outside, the wood is all rotten and soggy. I figure that I need to clean out the rotten wood and then rip new pieces of wood to replace the damage wood.The window opening is too big for the window, so they have the double trim. The left weeping hole is also half covered by the window flashing, which seems to be not correct. I fixed the issue inside, so what else do I need to do to fix the outside issue?


texts: What is the difference between R20 and PAR20 lightbulbs?

texts:
Are they compatible? What do R and PAR prefixes represent in general?

Important decision, need to buy several replacement lightbulbs!


texts:
What is the best way to hang a 30" round, 35lb mirror with a keyhole slot? Diameter of keyhole is 3/8 inch.

Wall is drywall. I have located a stud, which is in the right place, but in case I don't, I'd like to hear options for non-stud approaches too.


texts:
I'm trying to put a 16mm hole through the centre of some 35x35x2.0mm square hollow section (SHS) gal steel. The holes need to be fairly accurate, because they're going to be holding an axle that needs to be straight. I put some 3mm pilot holes through both layers with a drill press, but the press table flexed, and now my holes on the back side are out by about 1-2mm. That's really gonna screw up the axle.

I can't easily re-drill the holes, because the correct centre is inside the existing pilot hole. Is there a simple way to fix this mistake, and get a hole centered in the correct position?


texts: Attaching a PTFE tube inside a bigger PTFE tube

texts:
I have two PTFE tubes:

A thin one: OD 4mm, ID 2mm
A thick one: OD 6mm, ID 4mm

The thin one fits inside the thick one, and I want to glue them together so they'll have a strong connection. Glues don't work well, because it's PTFE.

I tried the following:

As you can see, I used heat-shrink tubing for the connection above. This is stronger than glue but still not strong enough, the tubes slip away if pulled hard enough.

I've seen all kinds of metal PTFE connectors online, but I can't figure out which one I should use for this specific task. Can anyone help?


texts: How do I repair a curtain rod anchor that was ripped out of the wall?

texts:
My children managed to pull on the curtains hard enough to yank the bracket which attached the curtain rod to the wall out.  What is the best way to repair this?

Here's what it looks like:


texts: LED Strips: Is thermal glue a suitable compound to be used with them and allow for heat dissipation?

texts:
I have a project where I will be building a LED light panel onto a ceramic floor and wall tiles. As you know LED stripes to come with a 3M sticky adhesive which generally does the job fairly well however due to the LEDs creating heat I would like to TAP into the heat conductivity of ceramic which means I should be able to run high powered LEDS without worrying about a heatsink, or at least that's what I hope!

My question is simple, will the compound be okay to use on top of the 3m Adhesive?


texts: How can I turn the light off on my fujistu halycon split unit

texts: I run the A/C at night and the unit has green lights that turn on to indicate its on. How can I turn the lights off without turning the A/C off?


texts: How would I tell if a dealer sold me a refurbished appliance as new?

texts:
I've got a DOA fridge that I'm having to have a service tech come look at a second time. The dealer I bought it from has been accused of selling refurbished items as new in the past. How would a person actually go about finding that information out?

I noticed this stamp on the back. Do you suppose I'm getting excited about nothing?


texts:
Is there a way to lock a door temporarily without making modifications to the door or its frame; or making minimal modifications like screw holes. I don't want to be cutting big circular holes in the door.

The door swings inward and is made of wood.


texts: Connection new 4-line phones to an existing multiline network system

texts:
We have an office with several telephone lines working under the same number.

We are using super old phones (4-line phone devices) in each line. 2 of them did not work and we bought 2 new Panasonic 4-line phones.

Our old phones have only 1 phone connection that goes to the wall's phone connection. The new phones come with 4 different connections (1/2, 2, 3/4, 4 being these numbers the lines).

Now, when I connect the new device from the 1/2 connection to the wall's line connection, the phone is working as an independent line and none of the other lines (2,3,4) work at all. Also, I can call out but I cannot pick up if there are calls coming in.

How should I connect my new 4-line phones so they integrate with the current internal network?

OLD PHONE: BELLSOUTH nt8b30ah

NEW PHONE: PANASONIC KX-TS4100B


texts: Moving main service breaker panel lower on wall exposes feeder wires non-sheathed

texts: I am replacing my main breaker panel and want to add a cutoff breaker inline before the new panel. To do so I will need to lower the new panel about a foot. The problem is that the sheathing on the 14/3 feeder wiring does not extend down the wires into the panel. It has been stripped off and stops right at the bottom of the cable clamps. The wire above the new lower main panel would have the hot, neutral and ground wires exposed above the top of the panel where the sheathing stops. Is it acceptable to run these wires inside stubs of conduit coming out of the top of the new main panel? I'd rather not have to wire nut new Romex onto all the runs above main panel and have them secured in junction boxes.


texts:
Our attic has foam insulation and is fully encapsulated. As part of this project, we removed all of the old cellulose insulation above the ceiling, so now there's nothing between the attic joists except for the ceiling drywall. We plan to put flooring for storage in the attic over the joists using 3/4" plywood.

Is it OK to use nails to secure the plywood? If not, what are the problems with using nails? Is it OK to use any type of nail or will it only work with certain kinds? I may get the help of a handyman who is quoting the job based on nails instead of screws, so I'm trying to decide how big a deal this is.


texts: My thermostat wires go to a control panel heat pump system which go to the furnance , i need to wire a c wire but not sure how to go about this with the york control panel


texts:
I tiled a bath room can I get leak from the tile grout?
I wake up in the morning and I find a small puddle of water by my tub.
We take showers and wipe up the floor after we are done at night.


texts:
I am reading a book about HVACs (not finished yet,I might find my answer down the road) and they say that you can increase the speed of your blower (well ..you can adjusted) to obtain the airflow you want. The increase depends on the design of your duct system.
My question is this: when your HVAC technician installs the furnace, for an optimal functioning, does he have to chose between the two-three options available these days or the motor arrives from the manufacturer with a factory default speed and the design of the duct system has to be done around that ?


texts: Dual pressure switch / dual pressure tank issues

texts:
I have an Airaider ez radon bubbler right after a filter and my pressure tank / pressure switch for my well.

The radon bubbler has its own pump and pressure switch.

After the radon bubbler is a very small pressure tank.

I have low water pressure on the second floor at one shower head.

The well pump is set to 30/50 however the radon bubbler system is set to 40/60.

The radon bubbler pump faulted out due to overheating.
I cleaned the tank and it seemed to work ok for 48 hours

Should I try to replace the small 101 model pressure tank with a larger unit?

Also if the bubbler is set to 40/60 , should I replace the well pump pressure switch with a 40/60 model?

I noticed that when I bypass the radon bubbler my
 water stops while taking a shower etc.

The well pump pressure switch goes to zero and then
slowly raises , the second smaller pressure tank
 is not bypassed when the radon bubbler is valved off but there is no pressure gauge before or after it anywhere else on the supply line.

If small tank is set properly for a 40/60 pressure switch is it causing the issue with my well pump not kicking on in time ?

Thanks in advance. I can upload pictures if it helps. I would like to solve the well pump issue first then try to get the bubbler back on line.


texts: Should I use 14/2 Romex or Armored Cable between plaster attic ceiling and exterior roof?

texts: I am running wire for some recessed lights in my finished attic. It is a typical gable roof; the interior is plastered with 2x6 joists. Im curious to know if running Romex in the ceiling between the joists is ok. There is the occasional nail coming through the roof and wondering if this could be an issue. Also, if we ever put a new roof on the house, there could be a stray nail that nicks the Romex. The other alternative is Armored Cable which would be a huge pain...


texts: I have a GFCI outlet which is testing wierdly.  On one of the plugs, one prong tests hot and the other does not (using a Voltaware).  On the other plug, both prongs test hot.  The other outlets on the same circuit test fine.  I reversed the black and white wires and nothing changed.  Any ideas?  Will replacing the GFCI outlet resolve the problem?


texts:
I want to store boardgames on the top of the wardrobe in my bedroom. Unfortunately, there are a few screw and wooden lists on the top of it, which makes it impossible to store anything on the otherwise flat-top wardrobe.

To fix it, I bought a polystyrene plate, which I want to put on the top of the wardrobe (so the screws and lists just digs into the polystyrene instead).

My issue is: The polystyrene plate which I bought from the local DIY retailer smells pretty chemically, so I am unsure whether it would be wise to place it in a bedroom, which usually has its doors and windows closed at night (so the ventilation isn't the best while I sleep). I figured to begin with that I could use polystyrene safely, since it is used for food-packaging, etc.

My question is thus: Is the scent from polystyrene hazardous and is it temporary (since food-packaging does not smell)? Also in case it is dangerous, are there some variation of polystyrene plates, which I can use in my bedroom? (Perhaps the ones I bought was bad for this, since they were low-priced products bought at some DIY centre).


texts: Should I remove and reinstall a Jacuzzi / whirlpool tub when replacing the paneling around it with tile?

texts:
I have a large Jacuzzi / whirlpool tub in my master bedroom suite which currently has an all wood surround. As part of a renovation I want to get rid of the wood surround (at last partially), waterproof all around it and tile it.
While I could waterproof/tile around it with it in place- there is very little clearance between the tub and the walls so I'm afraid I'll have a hard time getting in there and I would like to potentially replace the piping, jets, pump, etc. as they are all 30 years old or so and I would hate to have to tear everything up in case of a leak down the line (is that a legitimate concern?).

Is it possible and would it be worth it to remove the tub, do waterproofing/tiling and then reinstall it? I know during installation there is some type of cement poured underneath to help seat it better and prevent vibration - would this need to all be redone or can it just be placed right back on top of the existing poured material?

If it's best to leave the tub in place: should I be concerned about the jets/piping not accessible from the front access panel leaking at some point in the future?

If it's best to leave the tub in place: the tub is currently sitting on top of the "decorative" horizontal wood pieces (see photos) - would I just attach backer board to those, waterproof and tile on top of that OR should I cut them out somehow and replace with backerboard? In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVgCGy7N63s they seem to be attaching the backer board directly to the framing.


texts: How to wire telephones together as a intercom/party-line

texts: I'd like to wire a few phones together to use a intercom. Any body have any ideas as to a good starting point.


texts: TV mount is 16.5" wide but stud centers are 17" apart. Is it still safe to mount?

texts:
I am not able to install the mount by positioning it on the exact center of the studs. Is it alright if the holes are slightly off-center on the studs? The mount I am installing is this one, and my TV is 70 lbs.

Would it help if I used Snaptoggles? I was thinking of drilling through the wall and the stud and using the Snaptoggle like that.


texts:
I have a Black and Decker LST 136 grass trimmer. Its a 36 volt model and is apx. 4 years old.
While using to trim,i noticed that the power was not as it usually is. them the unit would would start to die and i would have to shake to keep it going. then it stopped and a little white smoke came from the motor , located on the unit assembly on top of the cutting head next to the ground. Replaced the battery with a new one , but no luck getting it going. I wondered if it is possible it could be the PCB board and not the motor or is it for sure the motor ?


texts: Power Miter Saw, Hand Miter Saw, or Jig Saw?

texts:
Looking to build a utility/storage shelf in the unfinished area of my basement. Considered dropping the $170 to get the metal unit from Home Depot (in the U.S.), but thought that now that we have a home, it'd be fun to build one on my own. I already have the design sketched out and have figured out how much material I need, but now I'm stuck with this question: what sort of saw should I invest in to cut the 2x4s (I plan on either purchasing the plywood pre-cut or else having it cut to spec at HD)?

Originally, I considered purchasing an inexpensive power miter saw, but then wasn't sure if I'd use it again (i.e. I don't have any plans for doing work with crown molding in the future, and the only possible work we'll be doing to internal finishes in the future will be to create some decorative framing squares below the chair rail in our dining room...something using stock that a hand saw would have no troubles handling) and also wasn't thrilled about the space I'd have to find to store it in our basement (we have a townhome; while not small, I'd like to minimize the amount of space I need to take up in the unfinished utility area, since I'm building the storage shelving to get things organized and make space that doesn't exist now). Not uncomfortable using it, but also lack the workbench space to use it properly. So then I started thinking about it, and wondered whether getting a hand miter saw (the kind that is pre-attached and swivels as you turn the blade), a miter box and tenon saw, or inexpensive jig saw (provided I'm using a guide to maintain a square cut) might also work for cutting the 2x4s to length, while not taking up space and minimizing the odds that I'll lop off a finger inadvertently while working with a less than ideal workbench set-up.

I'm sure my wife would find some crafty uses for the jig saw, and saving the money I'd spend buying a power miter saw would allow me to upgrade my drill driver from the crappy NiCad Black and Decker I have right now (though I do have a nice Craftsman impact driver). At the same time, I've read of folks having issues with the blade bending the cut with the jig saw, though I'm not sure how much of an impact that would be for making cuts to 2x4s on utility shelving. Part of me does like the appeal of using a handsaw (e.g. general inexpense, space saved, and etc.) to make the cuts...although I wonder if modern hand saws (I only remember using them when I was younger, and they were older blades) are relatively "easy" to use and make cuts. Does it feel like a lot of work to make cuts in 2x4s with hand miter saws?

Anyone have any ideas? I apologize in advance for the lengthy question, but wanted to put it all out there in the event that someone else has been in the same position. Look forward to reading your ideas and hearing your thoughts. Thanks!


texts: How should I wire my thermostat considering the existing adapter device?

texts:
Currently 18-4 is running from furnace to thermostat. I should be able just to use the T terminal to get power but there's some kind of funky adapter on it.

Any know what the adapter is for and how to wire around it?


texts: Added a new 5th wire for my wi-fi thermostat, now where to connect it?

texts:
4 wires at thermostat: R G B W (red green blue white)
5 screws at furnace: G C W Y R
Single-stage gas furnace with A/C unit

The home's previous owners kind of did everything in a very make-shift way.

I'm trying to replace an old, analog thermostat (4 conductor) with a new wi-fi thermostat (needs 5 conductors).
I added a new single wire between the thermostat and furnace.   I moved the existing 4 conductors from the old thermostat into
the new one.  (No problem.)

Here's a picture of the board at the furnace.   Where should I attach my newly added single wire?

I have a voltmeter.  Can I test for 24 volts?  How and where?

I've already watched countless videos on using various methods to solve the common "c-wire missing" problem.  But I do NOT
want to do any of these, since I (now) have the 5 wires I need:

Use the fan wire for the C-wire and just forget about ever using the
fan-only switch again.
Use more complexity with that add-a-wire circuit kludge.
Buy a different thermostat that eats batteries constantly.
Install a new 24-volt transformer.

Where's the simple "I've already added a new wire" video????

Also, how can I measure the total load on the 24 VAC transformer using my multimeter?


texts: How do I "fix" a bad sweat (solder) joint?

texts:
I tried soldering some 1/2" copper (to make something like this) and some of my joints are horrible.

I tested it with water and some of the joints leak.

What is the best way to fix the joints?
What is a quick and easy way that will work?

These pipes do not need to much pressure.  (they are fed fluid from a holding tank into a float valve - the tank is about 100 gallons and sits about 3 feet above the float valve)

I cleaned them and fluxed them before attaching but since the joints are so close together I am not sure if I burned off the flux in the unsoldered joints before I got to them.

I might also have a torch that is too hot?


texts: How can I improve air flow in my basement?

texts:
I have a pretty odd two floor duplex apartment with one of the rooms practically being a basement. I have previously had problems with mold, and in general the air isn't great in the basement. So I was wondering what are the best options to improve the airflow in these rooms? I was thinking of getting a fan to at least get some airflow, because I don't think it would be easy to get any some sort of air intake installed.

I have one window in this room, but I don't think it would be easy to turn that into an air intake. There are some ventilation holes just under the window, but they do not seem to do much and I don't think having the window open 24/7 is a good alternative, especially not during the winter.

The apartment I am living in was renovated when I moved in, but as I live in Versailles, France these buildings are probably over a hundred years old. It tends to get very humid as well, especially during the summer which doesn't help.

How can I improve the air flow in this basement?


texts: Realistic / Optimistic duration to Knockdown Ceiling

texts: I am interested in apply knockdown to 3BR/2BA apartment.  If two newbies watch a youTube video (regarding Knockdown).  How long will it take to do 1300 square feet?  One newbie has an engineering background and the other is also handy with tools.


texts:
There are a lot of things around the home which can be automated.  For instance, at certain times during the day lights get turned on, sprinkler systems run, and so forth.  Some of these operate based on time, while other operate based on need, such as pool auto-levelers, and sump pumps. However, some of these things are more important than others.  If a light burns out it is less important than if a water value fails to come on or shut off.  In an arid climate, a value failing to come on could kill a tree, while a valve failing to shut off could result in flooding an property damage.  A pump failing to shut off could cause a fire.

Yet when I look at these systems, I don't see anything obvious that stands out as an alert mechanism when things fail.  If I'm away from my property for a while, I expect the automation to work properly the whole time I'm gone, and I can't babysit things which should work.  Yet when something does go wrong, I would like to know so the problem can be fixed ASAP.

How do people generally handle exceptional conditions like this?  Am I just having bad luck?  Am I the only person who has had things fail which don't call attention to themselves until something bad happens as a result?  Or is there some best practice (aside from continual babysitting I hope!) to catch and detect these various sorts of problems as soon as they occur?  If a home alarm system can send an alert to my phone when a door is ajar, why not when a device malfunctions?


texts: Flexible Metal Conduit length limits with grounding

texts:
Basic question - if I have a long run of flexible mc, 12/2 with a green equipment ground wire inside, am I limited in my overall length of this run as long as I meet the support requirements? I see conflicting statements online about 6’ limits unless I provide another dedicated equipment ground line.

I have a garage with finished walls, and want to add a circuit to provide a few additional outlets for the garage and for the outside walls of the garage on the exterior.

The service panel is in the 2 car garage on one far exterior wall, and I need to make a run from the panel to the closest one side of garage door 1 for an outlet, up and over the door and down to put an outlet between the doors, up and over the second door to put an outlet on the side of door #2, and then transition through the wall to put an outlet on the exterior outside.

The runs up and over the doors will be about 30’.

If I tie the box/outlets together with the green wire inside the fmc, will this suffice to provide proper grounding?


texts:
I am adding 2 additional light receptacles in my garage attic.   I thought this was going to be pretty straightforward until I got to the currently working light in the attic (pic attached).   I get white wire to white wire and black wire to black wire but how do I attach 2 new lights (black, white, and ground wires) to this configuration?

There is a single switch next to the attic door. I've attached pics in the link below.


texts: What is the best proportion mix cement, sand and aggregate to use in mosaics?

texts:
I am pouring mosaic
concrete stepping stones to be placed in a city sidewalk. The mosaic will go face down into a form and the concrete poured from the back. I have been having problems with my test tiles in getting the sand to move all the way forward to the level of the face of the tile and have been ending up with air bubbles in the surface where I want it to be flat.

How can I alleviate this problem? Would pouring a mixture of just sand and cement first to fill cracks and then pouring the rest of the mix with the gravel behind it solve the problem or would it weaken the top surface of tile?

Normally I lay the mosaic on top of something with mortar, thin set or other adhesive and grout once the adhesive is dry. Not sure how to duplicate that with a concrete pour.


texts:
I am planning on creating a small "door frame" structure that is able to be wheeled out and placed away using a pulley-system. This project is for a performance that will be on carpet and as such I am unsure if wheels would be a good idea as they may end up just getting jammed with any debris or fibres and whatnot. While the carpet is hoovered on a daily basis I'm still worried about clogging up the wheels.

Is there another way this could be accomplished? Alas it couldn't be levitating as I have no way of fixing it to hold the load.

Thanks in advance!


texts: Backyard shed with keyed hasp same as house key

texts:
Anyone know if there's a solution for locking a backyard shed, that would let me rekey it to be the same as a normal house key.

The shed is a Tuff Shed with double wood doors like this:

Currently the shed is secured with a basic swivel hasp like this, and padlock.

I'm looking to minimize the number of keys I have and avoid having to fumble with a padlock (especially at night).

I've found keyed hasps like this one:
- Prime Line Keyed Hasp

But it seems like the keys they use are tiny ones like on lockboxes, so I probably can't rekey it to my standard house key.

I'm also up for any other keyed/securing options I was thinking about maybe a keypad secured door lock (but that would probably require replacing the basic swinging wooden doors).

I've also seen T-Handle shed locks but again the keys seem like they're smaller than standard house keys (not sure if I could rekey it)

http://www.amazon.com/Shed-T-Handle-Lock-Set-Chrome/dp/B004WGBQBK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460243639&sr=8-1&keywords=Shed+Windows+and+More


texts: Running vinyl tubing from a foot pump to a faucet.  I have the standard compression supply hose that came with the faucet.  What's the easiest way to marry the 2?  I want to attach that supply hose to the vinyl tubing. a male compression to 1/2in barbed fitting?  does such a thing exist?  I tried a regular compression adapter for size alone but it leaks I'm guessing because I need the barbs for the vinyl instead of the threads with a clamp.


texts:
I am not 100% sure how to wire my new bathroom fan, and I am looking for a little guidance. (This is for a NuTone QTN130LE1)

Here are the existing wires in the attic. I have a white wire, a black wire, and a ground.

Here is the wires for the unit:

There are taped into pairs

First pair is White and Black
Second pair is white and Blue
Third pair is White and Red
Fourth is ground.

And here is the wiring guide.

I am a little confused because of the red wire for the night light (Unit has 2 lights, a fan, and a night light) but I do not plan on using the night light if that makes a difference.

Any help is greatly appreciated.


texts:
My contractor replaced a section of a ceiling with a new section of drywall (about 2' x 3'), he then built a floor to ceiling closet which
covered most of the repaired area.
The entire section was neither mudded nor taped.

Is this acceptable ?


texts:
Lately our hot water has been running out very quickly, a lot quicker than it used to.  I have an Whirlpool electric water heater with 2 elements with the top element has a reset switch.

I followed this guide to troubleshoot.

I checked the resistance of each element by removing a wire from each and measuring across the connectors for the element and I got 13 ohms on each one.  I restored power to the unit and tested the voltage across the top element by turning the bottom thermostat to the lowest temp and the top one to the highest temp and got no voltage across the top element.  I reversed the thermostats and tested the bottom element and got ~240 Volts on the bottom element so I figured the top controls were bad as the article indicated.

I replaced the top thermostat, making sure to label all the wires and reconnect them in the right place, but I'm still getting the same behavior, no voltage across the top element.

Is it possible that the top element is bad?  I'm not sure what else to do at this point other than call a plumber.

UPDATE:
Apparently it is still not working.  I did drain the tank, but the water looked pretty clear and it didn't seem to help any.  Here is the extra info on the water heater:

The year is 2002.
The hot water runs out about 20-30 minutes.  It used to last probably an hour at least.
It's a 40-gallon tank.


texts: Can you remove foul paint in new construction to bare drywall?

texts:
I have an art studio built in the back half of my garage that has been unusable ever since we painted. We built new, with drywall, the building is roughly 6 years new. We finally installed the drywall about 3 years ago. The walls were primed first since it was new drywall.

When the walls were finally painted we used a matte ceiling paint so there would be no reflections etc on the walls. The paint ended up being rancid but we did not know at the time as we were wearing masks. It smells so bad I get a headache after being in there for only ten minutes or so. I painted 4 coats of an oil based shellac primer from the many recommendations on sites as these. Still smells.

It sat for a year hoping the smell would just dissipate with the windows open. Twice,I room shocked the room with biocide room shockers, still smelled bad.  I ended up writing the paint company and they recommended two different products to try, I did... room still smells awful. I let it sit all winter with 9# of activated charcoal in there while it was too cold to paint and opened the windows and had fans running all winter long. Still smells awful.  The company wants me to try one more primer of theirs but I wrote them asking whats next if this doesn't work? And they have stopped responding.

Is there a way I can remove the paint down to the drywall and see if that cures the stench? I'm afraid to rip out the drywall as there is 16" of blown insulation in the ceiling, which by the way does not smell, I stuck my head up there to check.  This room has sat unused for almost 3 years now because of the smell.  I'm so mad at this point. What would happen if I stripped the paint and the drywall paper off with it? Can you have sheetrock without paper?


texts: Insulate Floor with No Crawlspace Access

texts:
As a corollary to my other question on insulating existing walls, I am also interested in insulating my floors. Right now, only about half of the 300 sq. ft. has its "final" flooring completed. We installed tongue-and-groove laminate over a light foam underlayment on top of the existing subfloor. Unfortunately, the floor is pretty cold. It's probably close to ambient + 10°F. Because we got a ridiculous quote on a mini-split, we plan to install either electric or hydronic (above subfloor) radiant heating, and I'd like to minimize heat loss to the crawlspace.

Things to know:

There is currently no insulation at all, other than the underlayment we added (and that's not very insulative)
The crawlspace is about 6" deep, making access nearly impossible
The subfloor is made of 1x2 (actual dimension, this is old construction) planks, nailed into the floor joists
I don't want to add too much on top of the existing subfloor because a hydronic radiant system will add ~1" to the floors already

I'm willing to consider ripping up the current floor, installing rigid insulation between joists, installing a new subfloor with radiant channels already underneath, etc. but I would really rather see if there is a better way.

EDIT: I just asked another question about radiant ceilings instead of floors, so I can also consider insulation above my subfloor, provided it doesn't add more than 1-2" maximum.


texts: Is lag bolting ledger board into foundation safe for overhead storage?

texts: I'm planning a project for an unfinished room in the basement and I have an important structural question. There's about 15' of vertical space but I want to build 10' ceilings with access to overhead storage. The room is 13'x12' and my plan is to lag bolt a 2x6 ledger board to the foundation on one wall and on the opposite side securing the ledger board to the existing frame. I'm going to run 2x6 joists across the 12' room every 12". The wall frames will be built with 25g steel framing studs to lower cost and manual labor of transporting/carrying wood. Since the steel studs are a bit less sturdy than wood, is this a reasonable plan or will I have to worry that the ceiling may not be able to support the weight of the drywall and some minimal storage?


texts: Acoustic stud wall - over laminate flooring or not?

texts:
I have one question for whoever might know a thing or two about sound insulation. I will install a stud wall over the existing brick party wall for sound proofing purposes.

Currently we have laminate flooring over the old floor boards, is it ok to install a stud wall over the laminate, leaving 1cm gap at the bottom for the acoustic sealant, or should I cut the portion of laminate beneath and go with the studs down to the floor boards?


texts: How can I connect a portable propane bottle to a tankless hot water heater?

texts:
I'm looking at a tankless hot water heater (Rinnai V65EP) with a 3/4" NPT propane input. The manual says that a 1/2" propane feed is acceptable if it is relatively short. Required gas supply pressure is 8.0 ‐ 13.5 inch W.C.

I am planning on putting a dedicated 40lb (10gal) propane bottle right next to the water heater. The propane line will only be a few feet long, and the water heater will be the only appliance drawing from this tank.

Is this a workable plan?

What regulator and other equipment should I install between the tank and the heater?

Installation manual: http://www.rinnai.us/documentation/downloads/U307-1120.pdf


texts:
I need to install a door in a corridor 47inches wide and 90 inches tall with laminated flooring..
The door we picked is 36x80...
How to I feel the gap on the side and top to fit my new door?
Do I keep adding 2x4 on both side?


texts:
I have just removed some frog tape from a painted wall and it has taken the paint off down to the plasterboard (4 layers, 2 undercoat and 2 topcoat).

How should I go about repairing the damaged areas?


texts: Should I install a floating floor or a staple down for engineered hardwood?

texts: I would like to to put down a DRIcore subfloor over my on grade concrete slab floor and then install engineered hardwood flooring on top of it. Should I staple the flooring to the DRIcore and if so should the DRIcore itself be fastened to the concrete slab? I have heard conflicting opinions on whether or not the DRIcore should be fastened to the concrete. Or would a floating floor be recommended over stapling with the DRIcore? I have often heard that floating floors are inferior to stapled down flooring in terms of sound and feel when walking on them, that they sound 'hollow' or creaky. I do not want to glue my floor down. Any recommendations?


texts: Why does my gas stove smell like burnt gas when turning on the oven and burners

texts:
I bought a gas stove over a year ago. I continually smell burnt gas. It has smelled since day 1.

Why does this happen and how do I stop it?


texts: Can I connect a 100 amp sub-panel to a 200 amp main through a standard breaker?

texts:
I'm running a 100 amp sub panel from my 200 amp main. I have my disconnect breaker for the main 200 amp panel outside in a combination electric meter socket and breaker panel. There is the A/C being fed from here and the 200 amp disconnect breaker for the the main panel.

My question is there are about 12 extra slots in this panel can I put my 100 amp disconnect breaker in this panel. It would be so much easier and and closer to the shed Im running the 100 amp line to.

Any help on this matter will be greatly appreciated..


texts: Add bathroom light fixture to GFCI or not possible?

texts:
In my bathroom near the sink is a GFCI outlet. I installed a new medicine cabinet and I want to add lights that currently do not exist. I will connect these fixtures with Romex wiring that I will install. But what I want to know is, can I pigtail my new lights from the power that currently connects the GFCI on the same wall? I just read that a GFCI has to be powered by a separate circuit on another forum. But I'm not sure if this is correct. If this is the case and I CANNOT pigtail from the GFCI can I run a Romex from an outlet from the bedroom next door and run it to the same junction box. To keep things looking neat and tidy I want to replace the existing GFCI with a two gang junction box that will allow me to have a GFCI and a light switch all under one switch plate.

If I can do any of the above would you be willing to provide me with detailed instructions?

Thank you.

By the way, this is the light switch I want to add in the long run:

Photo of blue junction box below added 03/19/18 at 2:35PM PST

Drawing of my junction box to explain what's what:

Should I just follow this diagram? I need visuals and I can duplicate this since I can see it. But this doesn't look anything like what Jim Stewart was telling me to do in terms of wiring:

This wiring diagram belongs to do-it-yourself-help.com. The original can be found here: https://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/gfci_wiring_diagrams.html


texts: Gas furnace fails to fire up and provide heat

texts:
My gas furnace won't turn on when it's set to heat.  My girlfriend and I both noticed that it was a little cold today.  I went to flip the heat up a notch after dinner, and that's when I noticed that it's 63 in the house when the thermostat is set to 68.  I've been doing some troubleshooting/watching YouTube videos and googling.  I stumbled upon this board, so I thought I'd ask to see if some kind soul can help us out.  Here's what I did so far:

I flipped the breaker switches in the electrical panel for both the A/C and the furnace
I switched the batteries to the thermostat (it powers without them, but i figured worth a shot).
I flipped the fan from "Auto" to "On" on the thermostat.  Interestingly, the fans in the house will kick on if I have the theromstat set to "Cool", but not if it's set to "Heat".
I took the cover off the furnace (where I change the furnace filter).  I am noticing the panel has a light that is blinking green 4 times when I hold down the sensor that tells the furnace if the cover is on or not.  I'm not sure if the 4 times means something or not, but worth a shot.

That's as far as I've gotten.  Any ideas?
We're trying to avoid a cold night...
Photo of the label inside:


texts: What is this silver plate beside by tub and what is it for? Why is it leaking? What to do?

texts:
So I was draining the tub in my 1920's era condominium a moment ago when I noticed a substantial amount of water pooling on the floor next to my tub. I soaked it up in a hurry but then I noticed a little more bubbling coming up from under this silver mystery plate next to the tub:

I've used this tub many times before but never had an issue. As soon as the tub had fully drained out the water stopped coming out from under the plate.

What is happening here? I'm totally befuddled. What should i do?


texts: How can I choose the best lag screw / lag bolt?

texts:
I will be fastening Unistrut vertically along studs to facilitate garage storage, and want some guidance on choosing the "best" lag bolts to use.

I want them large enough to handle hundreds of pounds of shear and tensile load, but small enough that I don't significantly weaken the 2x4 itself.

2x4's are only 1.5 inches wide.  And mine are hidden behind drywall on both sides, so I'm not confident that I can hit them exactly centered.  I could be off a bit if the wood has knots or the 2x4's are less than perfect.

e.g. If I was a half inch inch off from center, and drive a half inch bolt, it probably would pop out the side of the stud, right?

What's the maximum percent of a structural member's profile you'd want to drill out to install a bolt before you'd worry about reducing the strength of the member?  For instance, I'm sure it would be self defeating to install a 1.25 inch diameter lag bolt in a 1.5 inch wide stud, even dead center, because the remaining wood would be so weak you could sneeze it in half.

UPDATE:  I went on to test four options:

4" 'Traditional' lag bolts hex head
4" SPAX Lag bolts hex head
4" SPAX Pan-head Torx drive
4" GRK RSS Pan-head Torx drive

I made four test jigs out of 2x4's.  I assembled them perpendicularly to form a t-beam, but with a 5/8 inch spacer between to create a gap in which I could measure deflection.  I pre-drilled the 1.5 inch thick top beam so that it woud not grep any of the threads.  I also used the same 5/8" washers with all bolts.  The perpendicular 3.5 inch beam was only pre-drilled for the traditional lag bolt, as the other three did not require it.  This perpendicular bean gives the threads the full thickness of a stud to screw into as it would in a residential wall.

My results were as follows:

Traditional lag bolt easily stripped out the stud and lost traction.  I was not impressed and it at no point felt "tight".
SPAX Lag got tighter, but still stripped out the wood it was drilling into quickly.
SPAX Lag drove itself in SO tight, that it sunk that 5/8" washer 3/4 inch deep into the top stud before I backed off.
GRK RSS sunk into the top stud about 1/4 inch before starting to strip, but it was starting to strip the base stud with enough "notice" for me to stop.

I chose the SPAX Lag as hands down the best choice.  I will be using 7 along each piece of unistrut to firmly anchor each to the vertical studs, and also to the sole plates and double plates.  I am confident that because of the relatively small diameter of the shaft of the SPAX Lags they will not meaningfully degrade the strength of the studs.  And between their strength and the strength of the unistrut, the entire wall will be reinforced.

At this point my greatest concern is that I don't tighten them down so much that it pile drives the unistrut right through the drywall like its playdough.  The SPAX lags have enough pulling force I wouldn't put it past them at this point to just crush the drywall in their way.

The GRK RSS were very stout feeling as well.  I got the impression they would be better served in harder woods, or into concrete.  GRK RSS felt substantially beefier than SPAX panheads.  But the SPAX Panhead lags just worked out better in pine framing 2x4's.


texts: Replacing dining room Light switch : 4 wires, what is the pink for?

texts:
I wanted yesterday to replace my dining room light switch. However, when I looked at it I found 4 wires :
- Black (Hot)
- White (Neutral)
- Copper (Ground)
- PINK ???????

The light switch I had bought at Home Depot only could accomodate the Black, White and Ground wire ? Do I need to buy a special light switch ?
Should I cap the pink wire as my dining room lamp is not a ceiling fan any more ?

Thanks


texts: Should I use steel or wood studs for basement exterior walls?

texts:
Related: When should you use metal studs?

I'm planning on finishing my basement.  (assuming all water issues are resolved)
I'll be putting up a water barrier (tar paper) on all exterior walls, Framing a stud wall, insulating, installing a vapour barrier, and dry-walling over top.

There will also be a fire-wall built around the furnace (obviously I'll use steel here).

For the exterior walls, should I use steel or wood studs?

If you can't answer, at least give me points to consider.

UPDATE  I plan to start this project in February.  I've just had entrenching and exterior waterproofing done on the foundation.  Parge, Aquablock, Delta board and new weepers put in.  Does this affect the vapour barrier situation?  (obviously this is cold-side waterproofing.)

Much later update:
Went with steel studs and spray foam.  The contractor sistered some of the studs with 2x4's to provide mount points for shelves and a wall mount TV should we decide to go that path.  Here's some in progress photos.  For some final photos, check: http://diy.blogoverflow.com/2012/09/installing-laminateengineered-wood-floating-floors/


texts: Wood knots showing through gloss paint on knotty pine doors despite applying knotting solution prior to painting

texts:
I painted some knotty pine doors about 3 years ago but (despite applying knotting solution) knots are showing through on nearly all of them!

I followed the instructions on the bottle of the knotting solution (applying 2 / 3 coats with a rag IIRC) but obviously

a) I did something wrong or
b) the knotting solution I used (which was basically shellac) or
c) these doors are really knotty

Any suggestions as to why I have such a paint failure are welcome but what I would really like to ask is... is there a product on the market that will

paint over gloss paint
and will definitely seal the knots

I do not like the idea of sanding the doors (I have nine) back to the wood and I do not want to have to repaint them every 2 - 3 years.

Follow up

I have done a bit of googling and found this post.  It sounds like this Zinnser 123 or "ZinBin" are products similar to the "Kilz" paints mentioned by DA01.

I shall get one or the other (probably Zin123 since that is a bit cheaper and is soap+water cleanable (something I always like) unless anyone knows that ZinBin does a better job that is.


texts:
I have been living in my house for 8 years now, and there has always been a mystery switch and outlet (both located on the same wall).  My wife has rearranged the room, and now we will need to use the mystery switch and outlet.

The switch is wired and has power, but it does not go to anything. In order to determine which circuit it was on, I removed the switch and wired an outlet to it.  I plugged a ground fault detector and it read Hot/Grnd Reversed.  So I did what anyone else would do (i think) and switched the wires around.  Same reading.

So I found a junction box in the basement, where I thought I would have found where my issue was or where the switch is wired to. NOPE. Here I found a white wire colored black attached to a black wire, so I change them around thinking this was my issue - nope same reading. There are 8 wires going into the junction box, so I undid all the wires and put them all back together (trying to find the wire for the switch) no luck.

The light switch in the room where the junction box is trips my breaker (the lights turn on when the light switch is off and trips the breaker when I switch the lights on) - yes this switch is wired to that junction box.  I checked to see if I may have swapped a wire in the junction box but all neutrals are together as well as all the hots.  Why is this happening?

Sorry for this being so long.   I am looking forward to any insight or assistance you can provide.


texts: I have shelves that stick straight out from the walls and want to add decorative ropes or such to make the the shelves stronger, What can I use? I would like to be able to stack many hard cover books on these high shelves.


texts:
I work for a well known hotel chain. Corporate has mandated that we replace the bathtub tread with a corporate approved product. In order to do so I must remove the current tread from 94 rooms.

I have tried everything available to me. Paint and varnish stripper, goof off, brute force.

I have a sharpened spackle tool that I'm using to try and scrape it off. I don't have to worry about damaging the enamel coat on the (steel I believe) bathtubs. I have spray that can cover any scratches.

I am trying to remove a 2 step non slip kit that is: Bathworks brand - bathtub bottom non-slip kit.

A link to the product is here:

https://www.bath-works.net/product/PREMIUM-BATHTUB-REFINISHING-KIT-WITH-NON-SLIP-PROTECTION

I still have a couple ideas, but I'm getting frustrated. I still need to try a heat gun and gasoline. If I have no success I also intend call the product manufacturer and ask them directly. If I have success I will answer the question myself but i could really use some advice from someone who had experience with something similar.

Any suggestions?

Edit: not sure if this would be exactly the right place for this question. SE has so many sites. Please let me know if there is a more appropriate place so I can move this question there


texts:
I just bought a replacement NTC probe for my boiler (bought with specific part number) but once the item arrived I noticed the connector wasn't matching. I think this is due to past maintenance when the original probe was probably replaced by a 'compatible' one along with the wire.

Now I want to replace that probe because my boiler does not modulate any more on DHW but it does on space heating. So the first suspected is that (faulty) probe.

Said that, this is a photo of boiler's connector and with new probe on the side. I'm asking if someone could tell me what connector (or adaptor) should I get to install it.


texts: How do I go about fixing an apartment buzzer?

texts: My apartment's buzzer has stopped working. I can use the intercom and buzz people in but if someone presses the button outside I hear nothing. What's likely the problem here and how can I go about fixing it?


texts: Remove stripped copper from brass threads

texts:
How do you get copper debris out of brass threads?

I screwed in a Home Depot Everbilt C604 3/4 male adapter into my NPT isolation valve.  I could only get four or five threads, when I determined something was wrong and tried to pull it out.  I had to use a pipe wrench on the last few turns and after struggling, finally got it out, though leaving behind half the threads.

Reading another post on this forum, I suspect the Everbilt was out of tolerance, but I am interested if others have an idea of what went wrong.


texts: Does OTR Microwave need to be flush against upper cabinet?

texts:
Installing an OTR cabinet and have run into an issue. The upper cabinet has a lip that runs around the whole thing. This will cause the top of the microwave to not be flush against the bottom of the upper cabinet, as the microwave will come in contact with the lip/trim first.

There will be about an inch gap. Is this still safe to install this way? It looks like even with the gap the bolts will be able to go about an inch an d a half into the microwave.


texts: Weight of gas dryer drum? Kenmore 87071110

texts: In order to repair my dryer I have to remove the drum. As a senior citizen I have difficulty lifting things that are over 25 pounds. I can’t find dryer drum weight listed anywhere.


texts:
I am planning to event a fence this summer and, given the size of ~ 250 linear feet, am looking for the cheapest option for cementing the poles. I am considering the use of metal Postmaster (MasterHalco) posts and plan to set them 4' in the ground in ~ 8' holes as I am up north and the frost line is ~3.5 feet.

I have checked out multiple types of fast dry concrete specifically designed for fence post but would like to find a cheaper option. Is a standard portland concrete mix acceptable for this application? If Yes, what ratios of cement/sand/gravel should be used?

Also, are sonotubes recommended?

Thanks


texts: On wall near floor or ceiling for supply ducts in basement

texts:
I'm starting to finish my basement and I'm curious if I should put my supply ducts in the ceiling or the exterior wall near the floor.

I have the configuration to easily do either.  Any thoughts on these placements?  I think the wall-near-floor would "ideally" provide more comfort but I'm worried that it won't get enough velocity to adequately supply.

Thoughts on exterior wall near floor vs ceiling?


texts: Will I be forced to bring fridge and laundry circuits up to code?

texts:
I'm adding new lights and a few receptacles to my basement. I just discovered that my kitchen fridge and laundry washing machine are both on the basement lights circuit (14awg, 15A breaker).

I think code says that both fridge and washing machine need to be on dedicated 20A circuits.

Will this pass inspection, or will they require me running new 20A circuits for fridge and washer?

I'm the home owner doing my own electrical in Ontario Canada.  I have the whole ceiling pulled down, but don't have easy run to the panel. No breakers have tripped since moving in a year ago.


texts: Do new wire runs in an existing ceiling need to be stapled down?

texts:
I've heard some people say that code requires wiring in the wall to be stapled to framing every so often (how often?), but when you are doing a remodel, is that necessary?

I have a two story house, and would like to remove one standard dome light on the first floor ceiling and replace it with 6 recessed lights.  There is about 12" of empty space between the floors, and it seems easy enough to run the wire from light to light without cutting any drywall except for the 4-5" holes required for the lights. However, there's no way I'd be able to staple the wiring down.  It's just going to be loose in the ceiling, running through a small hole in the I joists every once in a while.

They sell "remodel" light cans that are made specifically so you only have to cut a hole big enough for them to fit in, so this seems like a common job.  What am I missing and how can I do this job in the most correct way?

This is in Dallas, TX, single family residence.


texts:
I have recently purchased a home that has a high efficiency furnace in it. The previous owner had done some demo on an interior wall leaving a 2x4 with a switch on it. As well there is the usual turn off switch above the furnace on the ceiling. You can see the second switch connecting to the furnace just below the condensate pump. What would this be for?
top wire leads to roof switch bottom to wall switch

roof switch

wall switch


texts: How to prevent cockroaches climbing onto something?

texts:
Not much info I could find on what surfaces do cockroaches are unable to climb - nor I have read much into their precise methods of how do they climb stuff, however on this website: https://www.terminix.com/blog/bug-facts/can-cockroaches-climb/ they mention that the following give cockroaches a hard time climbing: Porcelain, Glass, Smooth metal, Granite, Marble surfaces.

So from what I gathered two things came up to me on how to prevent these bastards to climb onto something, in my case - I don't want them to climb up on my bed.

1.) Coat a slippery surface on my normal surface (bed legs, however I don't have bed legs as I have a box bed).

2.) Spray the bed legs (better if you have box bed) with a repellent like pepermint or  eucalyptus, which btw I have no idea how effective these are at all or how long do they last, as the sources where I read this weren't really factual.

Do you guys know any other way on how to prevent them climbing on my bed? If method 1 is ok, what material should I use - I thought of wrapping up transperent tape around my bed but not sure if that counts as slippery. I know it will look terrible, but the crawl of a cockroach shell waking you up and presenting itself to you is far worse image than anything else and a far worse nightmare than the one you were waken up from. I thought about sticking some other material to it, but I really don't know what will work - I have oriental cockroaches why do not fly. Also if anyone tried method 2, is this legit, how long does the effect last for?

Thanks.


texts: Front door shuts/locks but still gives about a quarter inch when pushed

texts:
The front door to our house shuts completely and the locks work correctly.  There is weather stripping between the outside surface of the door and the door jamb.

If I push on the closed door from the inside near the handle it gives a little over 0.25 inches.  I find this peculiar as I have not seen this in past houses.  We have even had false positives from the alarm in the past although that has subsided in recent months (the switch is near the hinges).  I'm also concerned that this may be impacting our air conditioning.

What are some options for reducing the amount of give when the door is closed?


texts: I have a power source with black, white and bare wires.  My cook top has black, white, green and red wires.  After connecting black to black and white to white, not sure what to do with the bare wire coming from the power source and the green and red wires on the cook top.  Any help would be appreciated.


texts:
After living in a house for a year, I noticed my backup sump pump discharge pipe is 1 1/2", but then changes to 2" before it goes outside.  It changes to 2" about 2/3 up the vertical section.  The pump runs OK when tested but I'm worried in case of a real emergency that it'll burn out quick.

Am I being paranoid?  Has anyone seen a battery backup pump with a 2" discharge?


texts: This is a new 200 amp main breaker panel service and with no service drop yet.  With main breaker off and with all circuits off I show continuity between neutral and the screw on the breaker when the hot is connected yet no continuity on the breaker without hot leads. This is occurring on several circuits. This does not make sense to me if the breaker are off.  Is this a sign of a defective breaker panel?


texts: How do I make a spider farm in my kitchen to eat flies in the house?

texts: I am planning on making an area set aside in the kitchen to breed and grow spiders to kill flies in the kitchen. This is completely theoretical right now, just something I am pondering, so I don't really have all the details fleshed out. What I am planning to do is to make this triangular box so that it will fit in the corner of the kitchen. Then, I will coat the bottom of the box with whatever flies are attracted to (I think it was vinegar?). Finally, I'll need to get some spiders, I probably have a couple of them crawling around the house. However, I am not sure what to use as the lid of the spider farm so that no spiders or baby spiders will escape while also letting flies and vinegar get in. Any ideas? Also, do you think my spider farm idea is effective for getting rid of flies or as stupid as it sounds?


texts: Add C wire for Thermostat to Goodman furnace

texts: I have read most of the posts here and have a specific question about my install. In the picture you can see the 3 blue wires coming off the 24v side of the transformer.  One goes to the side and than another blue wire is connected to the metal and goes to the ac unit outside. One goes up to what I believe is the exhaust fan.  The last one connects to the circuit board.  There is also a 24v HUM screw on the board. My question is should I connect to the 24v Terminal on the board or one of the wires that are screwed into the metal next to the transformer.  Thanks for any help.


texts: Is this vertical crack/split in stud significant?

texts:
Stud is in the exterior wall of my garage. I am looking to hang something fairly heavy (30-40lbs) using lag bolts on this stud.
I am curious if the vertical cracks would be an issue or if they are fairly normal sized and insignificant.
https://imgur.com/a/DWrgaU0


texts: Does Manometer Tubing Size Affect Measurements?

texts:
Does the diameter & length of tubing used with a digital manometer affect gas pressure readings? I'm trying to measure the outlet gas pressure going into my furnace and I had to connect different diameter sized tubing together to connect/fit to my digital manometer's ports.
I'm not sure however whether the readings are skewed by this or by the length of the tubing. I'm assuming the tubing length doesn't matter, not sure about tubing diameter though.


texts: Toilet drain roughed in to wrong location

texts: New construction home plumbing issue. Architects placed toilet in front of bathroom door. What the heck- that is where the sink should be! We did not notice until slab was poured and we saw the drain rough in. We want to move the drain at least 5 feet. This is a pier and beam foundation due to lake location and bad soil. Builder said he can cut into the slab, but I am concerned this will cause possible foundation or plumbing issues down the road. We could move the doorway but that means giving up valuable cabinet space. What would you do?