texts:
I live in central NC in a house with a crawlspace. The house had 400 sq ft of white oak flooring installed when it was built in 2003. Prior to moving in, I had the downstairs all converted to white oak flooring (about 870 sq ft). The existing hardwood floors were left untouched (but were sanded, stained, and a finish added).
After two years, I am noticing that the new flooring looks and feels different. I believe it could be characterized as cupping. I run my hand over the flooring and it feels like it has valleys and ridges. It is higher between adjacent boards. It is noticeable in the sunlight at the right angle.
However, the original flooring of the house is not experiencing this problem.
The new flooring was acclimated (at least for 2-3 days) in the house. There was a moisture barrier installed (Aquabar B moisture vapor barrier per the quote).
My crawlspace moisture readings have been around 16-20% during the last 3 months. My internal temperature is around 79degF, with a humidity level of ~50%.
Any idea what could be going on? Will it return back to normal in the Winter?
This photo doesn't really show the issue well, but at least it's something.

Thank you!


texts: Does each hot wire in a double pole breaker carry the breaker's rated amperage or does each wire split the amps? For example, if a double pole breaker  is rated at 50 amps, does each hot wire carry 50 amp protection or 25?


texts: Proper way to wire a sub panel to an attached garage?

texts:
I am planning to install a new sub panel in my garage. My concern is following proper procedure/code. I contacted the local building code office and confirmed that they follow the 2014 NEC.

My main panel is located in an interior room approximately 40 feet from where I would like to install a 70 amp sub panel. For the 70 amp sub panel, I would run 3 4 gauge conductors (2 hot, 1 neutral) and 1 6 gauge ground (all wires THHN/THWN). Since they are individual wires, I would have to use conduit, so I was planning to use between 1" and 1.5" sch. 40 PVC conduit from the main panel all the way to the sub panel.

Since the main panel is in a finished area, my only thought is to cut the drywall beneath it and feed the wires from the panel through the floor and into the crawl space.

I am planning to use between 1" and 1.5" sch. 40 PVC for the 30 ft run in the crawl space where the crawl space ends at a wall which has a utility closet on the other side located in my garage.

Drilling through this wall would put me into the utility closet in my garage between my gas water heater and a utility sink. My thought was to continue with the conduit 7 ft vertically, then turn and run approximately 4 ft horizontally (and over the utility sink), turn a corner and proceed another 6 ft horizontally until I arrive where I would like the panel to be which would require 1 last turn down and into the panel.

Does my plan seem ok, or have I missed a part somewhere?


texts: What stops water from stagnating in a gutter drain line that has a pop-up emitter?

texts:
I'm planning on burying some rigid PVC pipe to attach guttering on my house to a few pop-up emitters like this:

But the pop-up emitter makes a right angle UP, so doesn't that mean that basically the entire buried pipe will remain filled with stagnating water? It seems like this would be normal but I'm not sure if this causes smell issues or any other adverse effects.


texts: concrete drive heaves where it meets garage floor

texts: This past winter, my concrete driveway heaved 1.5" above where it meets the garage floor. It is three years old. Also, we dug along the sides of the drive to try to guage if a 4" slab was actually poured- discovered many crevices on the side. Could this cause a problem later? Specifically cracking?


texts: Why do I have low water pressure with more than one fixture turned on?

texts: What would cause low water pressure or flow when more than one fixture is turned on. It does not matter if it's hot or cold water.


texts: Why is my lighting circuit tripping the breaker?

texts: I have several MR16 2 pin style light bulbs in my kitchen - The other day the trip switch for the light bulbs tripped when turning these bulbs on - I went and flipped the trip switch and tried again to the same result.  This happened three times, the same number of times as the number of MR16 lights.  Now the trip switch doesn't trip but also none of these bulbs turn on, and replacing the bulbs with new ones doesn't work.  I don't know much (anything) about lighting, these bulbs were in my house when I moved in, and was wondering if anyone could help me work out why this is happening and what I can do to fix it.


texts:
I am installing a stainless steel work sink. I researched as much as I could. Are these the parts and materials I need for this install? I have FlowGuard Gold, which is CPVC I believe. I believe the drain pipe is 1 1/2".
    2 Keeney Brass 1/2-in FIP x 3/8-in Compression Quarter Turn Angle Valve
    2 Charlotte Pipe CPVC Adapter
    1 Christy's PVC Pipe Cement and Primer 8-fl oz PVC Cement and Primer
    1 Oatey 0.6-in x 43-ft Plumber's Tape
    1 Keeney 1-1/2-in Plastic Sink Trap J-Bend
    1 Keeney Brass 1/2-in FIP x 3/8-in Compression Quarter Turn Angle Valve
    1 IRWIN 1.5-in Multipurpose Pipe Cutter
    1 Christy's PVC Pipe Cement and Primer 8-fl oz PVC Cement and Primer

Turn off water
turn on faucets to drain water
cut existing pipe
apply primer then apply glue and install adapters

This look like a solid plan to you guys? Anything I am missing?


texts: I have a heat pump system and would like to get a nest thermostat.  On my system I have to switch it from heat to cold.  See picture of wiring.  If a nest won’t work what WiFi enable one will work.


texts: How to fireblock irregular shaped hole in subfloor with pipes and electrical wires?

texts:
I've created an access hole in my subfloor for a couple pipes and a few electrical wires to get down into the crawlspace.  It's coming up through the floor behind a chase wall, but the space is super irregular. I need to fireblock and also keep out rodents.

Would fireblocking foam meet code? I see a lot of posts that foam's just not actually effective fireblocking. Nonetheless, I'm thinking maybe some hardware cloth and fireblocking foam would do that job.

Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions?


texts: What do you call the attach-y things on the business end of adjustable shelf brackets?

texts: See this here?  I am trying to find something like it so that I can create wall riser extensions for my cubicle at work.  I'd cut some lengths of 3/16"-thick board, attach to them these brackets, and then mount them on the inserts (or whatever those are called).  The thing is that I don't know what the end pieces of these brackets are called.  If I knew, I could execute a proper Google search to find more of them, but I don't, so I can't.


texts: How to keep an occupancy sensor triggered without motion?

texts:
I had to make changes in my office and now the main light switch (which is slave to an occupancy sensor, very likely passive infrared) is blocked from seeing me.

The result is that every 5 min or so my lights go out and I have to wave my arm to get it to turn on the light again.

Is there any kind of device I could buy (or build) that would emulate infrared changes that I could leave on while I'm at the office so as to keep the sensor triggered?


texts: I have a 220 outlet for my air-conditioner. I just got a tanning bed,also 220. The cord on tanning bed is too short to reach the outlet. Is it ok if i make an extension cord to reach the outlet?


texts: Direction for deburring and filing tools

texts:
After cutting a metal block I need to deburr the corners and edges. If there a large edge that stands out, I like to use a file, rather than a small deburring tool.

However I never understood why the deburring tool needs to be operated towards me, while the file needs to be slid away from me. Why the discrepancy in the directions?


texts:
My family just moved into a new house and it's awkwardly laid out. We are planning on moving in another year or two and we want to fix up the house enough to profit from it, but to also make it as comfortable as needed. Therefore price is a real concern.

One of the plans we came up with involves moving the front door to the other side of the front room, a move of about 17 feet. We would be covering up where it is at the moment, and cutting into the house on the other side to create enough space for the door + a small porch step. Our house is older, made probably in the 60's or 70's, therefore we know there might be some structural difficulties.

Is it possible to move the front door without it eating up too much money? Or is it really just based on the structure of the house?


texts: Just bought a house with some questionable diy work.  What's best material to replace these drains with?  Abs?


texts: what is my risk of asbestos exposure due to a previous drywall work?

texts:
A few years ago my parents did some work on an interior drywall in our house (built in 1987) [US]. Now I wonder if I might've been exposed to asbestos and I'm freaking out. On the bright side, I was never near the work area when the work was being performed. Given it's an interior drywall (the partition between kitchen and family room), probably there wasn't any insulation that could've contained asbestos.
Given the research I did, it seems asbestos was far more commonly found in the joint compounds than the dry wall itself, and that asbestos was banned from joint compounds in 1977.
I understand there's nothing I can do at this point. Just hope someone who knows more about this topic can give me an idea of my risk.
I would send a sample to get tested except the housing is being rented now and my parents have moved to a newer house and I no longer live with them.
Thanks


texts:
I'm having some condensation issues with ducts in my basement.  Based on what I've read, it sounds like I have to get a dehumidifier and wrap the ducts.

I've wrapped a few, but it's hard to get the seal really tight the way I'd like it.

I was going to have them wrapped professionally.  But someone suggested that I could have them covered in closed cell foam to make a tighter seal.  Which do you think is better?


texts: Had these gutters installed last year.  During a rain storm, water runs behind the gutter and down the fascia.   What good is my drip edge doing, if it is BEHIND the gutter?


texts:
How can I wire an earthing system if I am installing a single phase panel board?

Which type of grounding/earthing would be okay for such installation?


texts: Installing vinyl siding over concrete foundation walls

texts:
A while back I tore down a deck and did a bit of landscaping, exposing quite a bit of the concrete foundation of my house. I have vinyl siding above and around this portion of concrete but would like to extend it to cover up the newly exposed concrete portion. The vinyl siding that around the concrete portion that I want to cover up is attached to an OSB board that's attached to the framing of the house. As a result, the OSB protrudes about a half inch farther out than the concrete. In effect, I would need to add a bit of spacing between the concrete and the siding.

My initial thought was to attach whole sheets of 1/2" OSB around the portions I want to add siding to directly to the concrete using concrete anchors. However, as is common with foundation pours, there's vertical protruding "lines" of concrete that results from the gaps between the panels used during a foundation pour. While those can be grinder down, the paneled sections aren't exactly perfectly level with each other, either. I'm also running into the problem of only having a 1/2" of room for driving nails in.

My other thought was to use 2" x 1/2" furring strips with 4" wide strips around the edges, attaching them using concrete screws. Significantly easier to attach than a whole OSB panel. In between the strips the plan would be to add 1/2 XPS foam. The foam is a bit easier to work with to handle the unevenness in the concrete. However, there's still the problem of only having a 1/2" of OSB to work with. Going this route, I'm not sure what the spacing should be between furring strips (couldn't find any online resource that had a recommendation).

It seems like any way I do it, I'll have to be pre-drilling holes into the concrete for whatever anchor I use to attach the siding. If I do pre-drill, what kind of anchors should I be using? Galvanized nails? Concrete screws? And if at the end of the day I'm fastening the siding to the concrete, is there really a need for OSB or can I just use 1/2" XPS foam throughout? I'm guessing I'll need to use some OSB to properly attach flashing and maybe a bottom starter strip but I'm unsure about everything in between.

Thanks


texts: Running a wire from an existing interior outlet to a new exterior outlet which is lower than the interior one

texts: How do I determine if pathway down inside wall is clear to connect wire to exterior outlet lower than the interior outlet. Also the interior box k.o.'s are hard to remove since it appears wood surrounds box. Then how to drill hole through the wood with box in place?


texts: Can you leave cold water running (inlet) through gas water heater - with the heating element actuall OFF?

texts:
I think this is a stupid question.  It makes sense to me, that you could run cold water from the main line into the tank, without actually having the water heater on (gas) - or actively heating water.  So basically just cold water throughout the house.

But am I out to lunch here?  Is there something I am missing?  Can this be destructive in the short term? I'm planning to replace the system, so I'm bracing myself for cold water for a week.

Thanks for any help!


texts:
I would like to replace a few mosquito net screens at my house. I was quoted with 130$ each and I have to replace 8 of them. After some research I can get the net for quite cheap. However the current system has it's own "lock" that has the net "glued" on it, so I would like to find out what kind of tape I am supposed to use to cut the old net, replace it with a new one and "glue" it on stock lock base.

I am attaching some pictures to make understanding easier. I am sorry for my english it's not my native.


texts: Squeaky sounds from our GE dryer. Is this the dryer belt failing?

texts: Our 6 year old GE dryer has a slight (so far) problem. Just as the drum start spinning it makes a squeaky sound. Then it goes away, but I can still hear a reduced version of the squeak every now and then as the drum turns. Seem like it gets worse with a full load. The squeak last less than a second and is not very load.. It has done this for while and it works just as great as it always has but I have a feeling the squeak is telling me something needs to be done and I do not want that to be all of a sudden leaving us stuck without a dryer. Our expensive Samsung dryer totally died on Dec 23 without any forewarning and will be very expensive to fix so we are back to the good 'ol GE which in many ways dries clothes better. I need to keep it alive though!


texts: What is a good solution for hiding insulation in an unfinished basement?

texts:
First off, let me note that I am a tenant in this house. My landlord lets me do small improvements, but I'm not going to finish the basement with drywall myself.

Basically, we have an unfinished basement space in the house that is used for storage, laundry, and minor workshop duties. There are also some drainage pipes that are in the center of the room. The ceiling and wall areas are filled with pink fiberglass insulation, but they are open and exposed.

I'd like to make the space a little more inviting and perhaps a little safer to breathe in for extended workshop sessions, by covering up the insulation with something inexpensive and quick to install (and that won't require a construction permit). Is perhaps stapling Tyvek sheeting to the studs a solution that would work here? Any other/better ideas?


texts: Can I install a 220V chandelier from Turkey on a Canadian 110V circuit?

texts:
I got a 70 years old chandelier from Turkey that is wired in 220V. The seller told me that the electric cable has been recently changed and that it will work in 110 or 220V.

I'm in Canada where the cabling is all 110V. The wiring of the chandelier is different from here and I was wondering if it's safe to use here... And if so, how to install it? My father is working in the home improvement industry and is able to install anything electric related but I want to make checks before.


texts: Could it be that smart light fixtures are the future and not smart switches? At least for retrofits?

texts:
In my house built around ~1970 all ceiling lamps are wired in a way where 120VAC power first enters light fixture and then hot wire proceeds through switch and return back to fixture as load wire. If I understand correctly, then somewhat newer houses built around ~1990 are wired the opposite way where 120VAC power enters first into the switch and then load wire makes a loop through light fixture. Also, there is 3rd option where 12/3 Romex extends neutral to both light switch and light fixture box.

All this time I thought it was a disadvantage to have wiring like mine, because I could not install smart light switches that usually require neutral.

However, it just occurred to me that maybe the future of smart lighting is not smart switches, but rather smart fixtures? Especially for retrofits? If I would switch to smart fixtures instead of smart switches, I could:

eliminate almost all physical light switches in my house (currently I have to upgrade them to CO/ALR rated switches anyway)
simply pull out some old aluminium wiring that runs behind walls as it would not be necessary anymore and my house will have less wiring in attics overall (currently I would have to trace all this wiring and replace splices with AlumiConns)
still be able control my lights with help of voice, motion, phone or with a smart hub touchscreen as I would with smart switch. But I would not be able to have easily accessible physical switch that can turn light on or off.

I am wondering what NEC or any other electrical standards in USA have to say about this? Would it be fine to remove wall light switches altogether if the light fixture can be controlled through WiFi?


texts: House wiring and grounding. How do you retrofit an old house and ground it?

texts:
A contractor looked at our house and told me that you can't fix a house (with old wiring) that has some outlets that are not grounded.  He said that you can go on YouTube and search the internet and it will tell you that you can.  He says that the only way to properly fix and ground everything is to do a whole house rewire.

Is he correct?

If, theoretically, you have an old house that has no ground whatsoever, can you run a grounding wire from the panel to all of the outlets to fix this?

updated

We have BX/AC wiring. And also apparently we have "...old-style AC (BX) with cloth insulated wires in a paper overall wrap under the spiral armor (no bonding tape)" Courtesy of @ThreePhaseEel.


texts: One fuse turned off, still 130 Volt on circuit. How is this possible?

texts: I have a 3x230V electrical system in my house. Every circuit has 2 fuses (one at both ends). On one of the circuits one fuse is switched off, but my lights kept working (although at half their strength). I measured the voltage of the circuit and it was 130 Volt. Is this caused by an unwanted contact and if so how could I find it?


texts: Constant cold air from vents with new downdraft furnace

texts:
Replaced with newer, high efficiency furnace and cold air constantly coming out of vents (except when furnace running). It's like the downdraft is totally free flowing and when windy outside very strong cold air blowing out of the vents.  Is there some way to put a vent on the downdraft? Not sure if it's the outer column of chimney for the down draft or the actual exhaust chimney.

Do people put a vent over the chimney part to stop air from blowing back in? (there is a cap on the chimney). How can I put a vent on the downdraft part? Or can I filter it at the top?


texts: Humidity causes Asko clothes washer to buzz and not start

texts:
I have an Asko 20004 Front Loading clothes washer.  When the air is very humid (in the summer) it buzzes when I turn it on but the moter will not start.   I've disassembled it and the buzzing seems to be coming from the motor.

When I run a dehumidifier for a few hours it runs fine.  (Not a fluke, this is the third year I have noticed this phenomena).

Any ideas?


texts: Furnace end bell burned out twice in 4 years

texts:
We moved into a house with a 12 year old goodman (Xenon brand but I was told goodman parts) and two end bells on the furnace fan motor have burned out now (I know from the old owners receipts it happened before). The folks who repaired can't tell me why...that I seem to have a lemon. I use MERV 11 filters, have the furnace cleaned annually and vents cleaned last year. Any thoughts on what might cause this and anything I could look into so we don't have this happen again. @chris mentions airflow potentially...how do I know if Adjustments are needed?
Also, I read that the newer furnace filters MERV 11 and under have good airflow...is there a way to test my system for airflow and how the filter way to affecting this? I can easily change air filters if that is this is the consensus though.
I don't know if this means anything or not, but we also have water dripping out of the air return during the air conditioning season...I thought I heard repairman say that fan speed could be adjusted to fix this...any ideas?


texts: How can I remove old tea stain from carpet/rug?

texts: I once accidentally spilled some tea on my carpet, and since I was in hurry I couldn't clean the carpet at all. The stain is now dried up, and my landlord is asking me to replace the whole carpet. How can I remove the stain?


texts:
I have a White Rogers 1E78-144. My house has heating only and no AC.
https://climate.emerson.com/documents/ie78-non-programmable-thermostat-instructions-en-us-4209010.pdf
The current wiring only enables the fan to run when heat is required, even if I force the fan switch to ‘on’ and set heat to ‘off’. If I set it to cool or off, the fan won’t run no matter what.
In other words, if I want the fan to run, it must come with heat, which won’t happen if it’s warm enough in the house.
Is there a way to bypass the heat and just have the fan on?


texts: What could cause a condensing units fan to stop working?

texts:
My AC unit fan stopped working suddenly. I tested the 3 pole condenser (capacitor) and the it looks OK ( 45 uf , 5 uf is what is mentioned in the spec of capacitor). I tested the resistance in the the wires going to the fan motor and it turn out to be 30 Ohm 50 Ohm and 80 Ohm. so there is no open in the motor. Does it mean Motor is fine?

contractor should be OK (** and i am assuming it **) as it is powering the compressor correctly. What can be the way to debug it further.

I can say with reasonable confidence the compressor is OK as i am still getting the cold air at vent also compressor temperature is rising up when the unit is ON.


texts: Pergola 13x15 floor space what is 2x6 WRC maximum span?

texts: How far span can WRC 2x6 be placed as a pergola rafter/roof? Would be using 5 posts 6x6, 3 in front and 2 at back (connecting to an existing pergola), 4 beams 2x10x18, and need to know if the 2x6 can span over a 13 ft space with no additional support in the middle. These will over hang by 1.5 feet on each side making the 2x6 total length of 16ft. And will have 2x2 on top.


texts: Fix water pooling on porch connected to driveway

texts:
The steps to my back porch are connected directly to my driveway. However, the paved section of the driveway leading to the steps is improperly sloped. This leads to pooling at the bottom of the steps. This is inconvenient and I'm also worried about damage when water is sitting against the wood steps for extended periods.
Any suggestions on how I can regrade slightly to drain away from the steps? I've considered getting some asphalt cold patch so I can match the look of the driveway, but I'm unsure if it will hold up for this use.


texts:
I went to Home Depot and Sherwin Williams and I was unable to find a deck stain that looked like the shiny blondish color of the following image:

At Sherwin Williams they said that their stains were all matte.

Does anyone make glossy stains that are appropriate for decks?

Would it be appropriate to just use a matte stain and then go over it with some sort of glaze? I have a gallon of Shield-Crete which is supposed to make cement shiny. Could I use that over the top of a matte stain?

Ideally it'd be great if someone could just point me to a place online to buy a glossy blond stain like the one in the image. I've googled for a while, but nothing seems quite like that.


texts: LED landscape lighting. Adding one more fixture causing all to strobe

texts: I have installed outdoor landscape lighting ..my transformer is 300 watt  and I have only used 200 led watts so far..I go to add one more light and they all start to do strobe like effect.. ..I remove it and the other ones go back to normal...I am working with 150 feet of 12/2 wire....help please!


texts: Can a furnace high limit switch be bypassed for testing, and is that dangerous?

texts:
A repairman recently found that the actuator and the high limit switches were not working when our 15+ Carrier gas furnace was only blowing cold air. There are separate thermostats for the downstairs and the upstairs.
I understand that he bypassed both of these controls until parts were ordered.This was on a Friday and left operating at full capacity like that until the new parts were installed the following Monday. Meantime, when he returned that Monday the coil on top of the unit had overheated and melted, as did a section of the ducting. My friend who lives downstairs said after the repair, when he got home from work, the CO alarm was going off.
Can these controls be bypassed and the unit allowed to operate for 3 days? I thought that this method of bypassing these controls should be for testing the unit on a temporary basis for testing, not left to have it operating at full capacity for this length of time. Could this have caused the further damage that was not present that Friday? Also, could any of these factors cause the CO alarm to be activated after the final repair? I was out of the state when all of this happened.
Please advise. Thanks.


texts: How thick should should wood be to hold 160 to 180 pounds over a four-foot span?

texts: I want to paint the walls above my living room stairwell.  The stairs are four feet wide.  I'd like to cover the stairwell with wood boards so I can stand my ladder on the boards to paint the walls overhead.  The length of the boards would be about 4' 5". How thick should my boards be?  How wide should they be?  What type of wood would be the best?  I am about 165 pounds.


texts: How do I grind down #10 galvanized DeckMate Screws?

texts:
I drilled about 50 #10 galvanized Deckmate screws into my new fence before realizing they are too long, and sticking out the back of the 2x4 the fence pickets are drilled to by 1/4 in.

One of the answers in a similar post suggests using 4 1/2 inch side grinder, "Very carefully."  Would this work in my scenario?  What does "Very Carefully" mean?  Would a 7" grinder be more effective?  Does this method contemplate ruining 50 grinder blades?  Would it be less expensive and/or faster to remove and replace the screws with with shorter #8 screws, or does this significantly compromise the strength of the fence?

UPDATE TO POST

Thank you all very much for the answers and insight.  It never occured to me that #12 2" screws might be found online.  Since the local hardware doesn't sell them, I assumed they didn't exist.  Today I counteed out exactly how many of the shorter #12 screws to order, and  realized the 50 I estimated above is way off; it's more like 250.

My inclination at this point is to cut the ends off with a reciprocating saw as Nate suggests below. Is a specific type of saw blade or technique recommended for cutting nails?

I also failed to recognize the rust problem Nate identified, and wonder if the superhero-ultraviolet-blocking paint sheild that I am double-coating the fence with might prevent the cutoff ends of the screws from rusting?


texts:
At a local workshop we have a portable and old heating device where the heat generator's housing reaches around 180°C during operation. The original external aluminum radiator with a fan attached to it have small dissipation capabilities. The integrated heat protection often trips that sometimes breaks our work waiting it to cool down a bit. We decided to give it a go and attach two old CPU tower-type coolers, each has 4 heat pipes to it.
The idea is to remove their pipes from their bases, straighten the pipes (slowly) and cross them so the fins are in the four directions and in one plane.
The problem is now clear; Which one is better for cross-connecting the pipes, soldering or brazing, Which will hold against the 180°C?
Note: That this will be a pure spare-time project before the better device arrives


texts: Screws for mounting exercise rings on concrete ceiling

texts:
I want to have a pair of still rings for training purposes in my room. To be more specific I want a pair of adjustable and storable still rings and for that, I need two screws in my concrete ceiling. My main concern is that they can hold my body weight. I'm around 65 kg and I will NOT swing with the rings (the room's too shallow anyways). I want to do exercises like L-sits, planche, pull-up, muscle-up etc. So I'd say the screws would need to hold a maximum of 150 kg in an extreme situation.

What size and kind of screw should I take and is there anything else I should be concerned about?


texts: Is there a functional/performance difference between standard and self adhesive mesh drywall tape?

texts:
Its all in the title but I am preparing to do some drywall work and I plan to use a self adhesive mesh tape for the job as I have always had trouble getting standard tape to work (just don't do it often enough).

Are there any performance differences that would make this a bad idea or are they pretty equivalent?


texts: New GFCI outlet; green light is on but no power

texts: I installed a new GFCI outlet with an one that was working. I wired it exactly as the older one and it isnt working. The green light is on but no power? I reversed the wires and no light. I replaced it back with the old one and it works.... I purchased a 3 pack of GFCI outlets and tried all 3 of them. None of them work but the old one does... Im stumped and need some suggestions. Thanks


texts: I have three close windows here. We are putting in a chair rail 6 inches above the sill and I was thinking of just putting a 30 degree miter cut on all the pieces across this bank of windows. I am wondering if it will look bad... or, would it look better to trim all the windows? They are just so close together I am not sure how to trim them out. Anyone have experience with close windows and a chair rail?


texts: air gap between insulation batts and subfloor

texts:
I'm looking at the insulation in a crawl space below the first floor of my home.  Joists are I-beams (12" deep, model TJI 350), 12" on center.  Insulation is R19 fiberglass bats, tight-fitting side-to-side, but sitting on top of twine at the bottom of the I-beams.  There is several inches of air -- 6"? -- above the top of the insulation, below the subfloor.  That's not standard -- best practice seems to be insulation flush with the subfloor.  So I'm thinking about what to do about this.
I have two basic ideas.  One, there's room to install much more insulation, probably doubling the amount in this area, via another layer of R19 batts right below the current batts.  Two, I could install metal insulation clips to push the insulation flush with subfloor.  The insulation clip cost and installation time is not trivial, and more insulation wouldn't necessarily cost that much more or be that much more trouble.  Finally, it's perfectly easy to do nothing.
How to think about the upside?  How bad is it to have a large air pocket between the insulation and the subfloor?
2003 home in greater Seattle.


texts:
First off, I live in Phoenix, AZ. This is desert here. I live in an area where people mostly have natural desert landscaping rather than lawns.

Now, this will sound really odd to folks who live elsewhere, but the house I'm in now does not get "cold" water in the summer. I can literally shut off my hot water heater and take a shower just from the cold water coming in from the city water line. The so-called "cold" water temp is somewhere over 110 for most of the summer. It's fine for most of the rest of the year, just not from May thru Sept.

I've lived in different parts of the city throughout my life, and this is the hottest "cold" water I've ever had to deal with. I think a big part of it is because the ground in this area is quite rocky and sandy, not much solid dirt. And it's dry as a bone.

Where you've got a water main running under yards that have lawns that are watered regularly, the water seeps into the ground and cools the ground and whatever pipes are there. Hardly anybody in this area has lawns, certainly nobody along the route where my water main comes from.

Short of putting a 50 gallon water cooler into a fridge (the opposite of a water heater), I'm wondering if anybody has any ideas about how I might rig up something that could cool the water coming into the house by 20-30 degrees?


texts: What happens if you wire a four-prong dryer cord backwards?

texts:
What happens if you get the red and black wires of a four prong dryer cord backwards?

This question assumes:

we are talking about U.S. Residential wiring
the person doing the wiring gets the green and white wires in the right place


texts: What do I need to do to replace this shower faucet handle?

texts:
I've had a surprising amount of difficulty finding the answer to this question via traditional means (vendor website, store clerks, etc).
I recently moved into a house and I've been updating various things within it on my own. I'd like to replace this old Delta shower faucet handle:

with a handle of this style:

I have a feeling I need to buy more than just the new handle, but if so, what do I need to buy? A new mixer valve, perhaps?


texts: Is 3/4" OSB a better soundproofing material than 5/8" drywall?

texts:
Assuming the construction was done properly, would 3/4" OSB (oriented strand board, it's like a particle board but better) a better soundproofing material than 5/8" drywall?

This OSB has an R-factor of 0.90, which is really good. 1/2" drywall of course is abysmal at 0.45, but actually 5/8 drywall isn't much better with an R-factor of 0.5625.

Compare this to common brick. Brick has an R-factor of 0.80, so the OSB has even a brick wall beat.

1" plywood actually has an R-factor of 1.25, just a side note.

Soundproofing has several elements:

mass (weight, density)
airtight
absorption (e.g. foam [good] vs thin steel [bad])
damping (e.g. green glue)
resonance (e.g. foam [good] vs metal [bad])

Mass is non-negotiable. If you put two sheets of 1/16" plastic together with green glue and make it airtight, it still isn't going to do much. And because plastic has little absorption, the sound may well pass right through. So that's an example of a poor design.

OSB seems to kill it with mass. Not only is it nearly the same price as drywall, but it has nearly double the R-factor of 5/8 drywall. In fact, it's similar to having two sheets of 5/8 drywall (without green glue).

That's not the only benefit of OSB. If I wanted to put it on a hinge or screw something in, OSB is a lot greater material since it can hold a screw, and not crumble under its own weight. It's possible with drywall but you also need to build a full frame for it which not only increases the cost and resonance (both bad) but is a ton more work.

The downside of OSB is finishing it, but for some applications it doesn't matter. The best way is to seal it with resin, or sand and paint before install. If you don't need to finish it, there isn't much downside to OSB as far as I can see.

Also, cutting to shape is easier and less messy. There is some sawdust but drywall has drywall dust which is way more messy for install.

The only thing I don't know about is resonance of OSB. However, being strands of wood held together with glue, I'm guessing it should be at least comparable to drywall if not better - but this is just a guess so don't take my word for it.

You could even put two layers of OSB with green glue, and anectodal evidence says it is about the same benefit - except that the 3/4 OSB will have double the mass of the 5/8 drywall, so possibly far greater sound reduction.

So, can 3/4 OSB be a better bet for soundproofing than 5/8 drywall, for the same installation?


texts:
I have an old CRT TV (Samsung) that has been running for several years with just a couple of repairs and with no major issues. Now, there is a problem with channel changing (when you change a channel it's number changes but the program won't change).

One TV mechanic said there is a problem with the tuner and the other said it is an IC. They said the tuner is not available in the market.

The solution everyone suggested is to use AV ports instead of RF (the first thing these mechanics suggests is to use a setup box). I can't use a setup box so I am looking for something like a converter.

I see some AV to RF converters are available in the market but could anybody tell me if there is a converter available for RF to AV? Are there any other solutions?

Also, do I get new problems if I continue using the TV set with this problem?


texts: I have read that I should use 8 gauge wire for a 40 amp circuit.  If I had extra 12 gauge wire from a 20 amp circuit, could I simply use two lines of 12 gauge wire instead?


texts: Lights don’t work after installing single pole switch

texts: I have one black wire and one red wire in a bedroom switch.I connected the black to line (bottom screw) and red to load (top screw). Bedroom ceiling light and bedroom closet light don’t turn on. All outlets in room  work. Everything else on the circuit works.  There is no ground wire. I was replacing a dimmer with single pole toggle switch.


texts: Convert Three-Way to Single Switch and Add Smart Switch

texts:
Would like some feedback/instruction on converting a three-way to single switch and then install a "smart" switch that requires LINE, LOAD & NEUTRAL.

Current Configuration:

( Switch A ) has (2) black wires and (1) red wire. + ground

BLACK silver screw                RED silver screw
      black screw               BLACK black screw

( Switch B ) has (1) black wire (1) red wire and (1) white wire. + ground

BLACK silver screw
WHITE black screw                RED silver screw

Have REMOVED BOTH SWITCHES and have capped off all of the wires.

With the BREAKER TURNED ON and the SWITCHES REMOVED:
.

( Switch A ) black wire that WAS connected on the bottom right black screw is HOT.

To clarify when the black wire is disconnected from the switch it is HOT.

When this same black wire is connected to the switch it is NOT HOT.

( Switch A ) red wire that was connected on the top right silver screw is HOT.

( Switch A ) black wire that was connected on the top left silver screw is COLD.
.

( Switch B ) black wire is HOT

( Switch B ) white wire is HOT [so this appears not to be neutral]???

( Switch B ) red wire is HOT.

.

The breaker feeds two other lights on different switches. These lights remain on with ( Switch A & Switch B ) removed.

There appears to be a NEUTRAL in both gang boxes.

Thanks for your time.

The first picture is ( Switch A ) [middle switch] is the one that is being replaced / removed.  (wires removed)

The second picture is where ( Switch B ) was.

The first switch, what remains of it, is ( Switch B )

This is left side of ( Switch A )

This is right side of ( Switch A )

Clarification of when wires are hot or not:

When the BLACK wire is disconnected from the right bottom of ( Switch A ) it is HOT.

When this same BLACK wire is connected to the switch it is NOT HOT.

( Switch B ) has been removed and testing wires without connected to it.

When ( Switch A ) is in the ON position ( Switch B ) RED wire hot  BLACK wire cold WHITE wire hot

When ( Switch A ) is in the OFF position ( Switch B ) RED wire  cold BLACK wire cold  WHITE wire hot

Island Light Box Below

IF cables are coming into the box from the direction of their associated switches then ( Switch B ) would be entering the box, out of view, at the top of photo and ( Switch A ) would be coming in at the back hole, in view.

3 Gang Box For kitchen recessed / kitchen island / mud room light

The middle one is for the kitchen island light.  WHITE wires are nutted together, see behind switch.


texts: What could be causing the light in my basement to heat up and turn off?

texts:
I have installed 8 lights in the basement.   It is pretty straight forward parallel wiring into each junction box.  the last one of the 8 just ends, obviously, as no other light is needed so no wires come out of that junction.

Now,  they all work great and turn on but the last one in the bunch is getting hot and turns off (dim) after about 30 seconds... then after about 10 seconds lights again.  and so on.

Should I be looking for something specific or maybe that light is defective?

They are LED downlights from Lithonia Lighting.


texts: Can I carve a portion out of the side of a floor joist to accommodate a Fernco Clamp

texts:
I am tying a pvc sanitary tee into a 3" copper DWV line which runs along a floor joist (2x12) in the ceiling of my basement. I plan on using a fernco shielded coupler 3007-33 (https://www.fernco.com/specifications/pipe-material/plastic-connecting-to-copper) to connect the copper to the pvc. There is very little to no clearance between the copper pipe and the joist. To be able to fit the coupler onto the copper and accommodate the pvc, I'd need to carve out about 1/2" out of the side of the joist along the circumference of the 3" copper. This would need to happen near the end of the joist, where it sits on a beam which supports the entire house.

Am I ok to carve out part of the joist or am I running a risk of causing a structural issue / running afoul of code?


texts: Can I use dimmable leds without a dimmer?

texts:
I recently bought "dimmable LED lights" without knowing exactly what this means. I did some research, and now I get it.  A dimmer is required to regulate the intensity of the lights, for which I don't have a need.

Is there any problem with using dimmable LEDs without a dimmer? Will they work normally? I don't actually  want to dim them, so I am not sure if I need a dimmer or not.


texts: Makita impact screwdriver was dropped, now it doesn’t work. Prospects?

texts: I dropped a brand new impact screwdriver (Makita XDT 14) and now it won’t work. It’s like it’s has no power? I know it’s a good battery. The work light doesn’t work, nor do settings indicators.  Any chance of fixing it?


texts: Does open stairs between basement and main living cost extra electricity bill?

texts:
Does with No door or open stairs between basement and main living lead extra electricity bill, specially in winter, even though entire basement is finished and well insulated ?
We want to have open stairs for basement and no door.
Thanks


texts: stainless steel water heater water quality

texts:
I am doing some research to decide if a stainless steel water heater is right for my next water heater replacement. The trending opinion I find as I google around is that stainless steel is superior in terms of preventing galvanic corrosion (some models don't even use anode rods), but is also susceptible to premature death if the water's chloride levels are too high.

I pulled up my city's water quality report, and I am wondering exactly what values I should look at and what is the threshold for "too high"? Is it just the chlorine and chlorite ppm values to be concerned with, or other metrics as well?

In addition, I know that the stainless steel is resistant to galvanic corrosion, but what about the copper pipes connected to the water heater? Are those going to suffer from corrosion without an anode rod?


texts: Should I replace my conventional interior water heater with an exterior tankless model?

texts:
I'm shopping for a tankless water heater. When the salesman talked to me, he told me they install them outside and this is better because then the tanks do not take up room inside the house. I'm worried that the tank will freeze in the winter and that the installation will require a lot of extra installation costs such as plumbing, wiring, lines, etc.

Wouldn't it be better to just remove the old water heater, which is close to both bathrooms, then put the tankless in the same place, which would keep the installation costs down to a minimum? And, wouldn't keeping the water heater indoors eliminate any future weather concerns of freezing, draining in cold weather (which totally confuses me as to how this would be done and how you would then get hot water flowing again)?

Bottom line, which is best, which has the least maintenance, durability, and is less costly to install?


texts: Pex Plumbing System w/ Manifold (Entire House)

texts:
I am redoing a bathroom and while I have access, I would like to do my entire house in Pex. It looks like I will be able to get to all supplies and had a few questions. My main supply is 3/4 and will run to a Viega 30 port system (2-3/4 supply and then 1/2 for all outlets).

Should I run each fixture its own line or is that overkill?
Will the 1/2" lines suffice for shower pressure?
All upstairs will be run through a kitchen soffit, does it matter they will lay in there unsecured?
Lastly, do I have to use 90* bends if I have enough room to give it an easy turn into the soffit?

My current plumbing is the standard 1980's copper tubing with 3/4" and 1/2" lines that are branched. I did not know that you could get away with the 1/2" as which most Pex Manifolds come.


texts: Single pole switch installation - 4 wires in box

texts:
I recently had a renovation complete with only the rough in work done for electrical. Due to the pandemic, its hard to get people to come by to finish the work. I am trying to install a single pole light switch for my laundry room, but i am confused by the layout of the wiring to the box. It seems there are four wires coming into the box - and i cant tell which to use to wire the switch.

Any help would be really appreciated, or an explanation. Thank you!

Bronson


texts: Hello. We are converting a former metal portable building used for a school classroom in to a living space. We have got all the site plans, remodel plans, electrical and foundation ECT. We are trying to do as much work as we can ourselves. We are used to doing remodel work ECT....but this is a first for cement like this. Question is...what is the best way to suspend the rebar cages so they will pass inspection. Can we use bricks? We are at an incline so all 4 cages vary in size from 4 feet up to 8 feet. They piers will be 36 inches around. Thank you.


texts: special primer to use after skim coasting horsehair plaster

texts: We just had our dining room which has horsehair plaster skim coated.  We did not prime first as we were unaware we had to do that.  When i went to buy the paint, the service man told us that we had to use a special primer before we painted the walls. Is this necessary?


texts:
I have had a leak down into my finished basement. When I cut away the drywall there is an obvious crack that runs to the corner of the basement window. I have sealed outside along the foundation as best as I could and it has slowed the leak, but hasn't stopped it. I would like to try to seal it from the inside before spending the big money on excavating outside. I have two questions...

What is best product to use to seal this crack?
Any suggestions on how to seal behind the metal support? There is only about .5" clearance between the foundation wall and the support.

The leak is coming about right where the crack goes left behind the support in the picture below.


texts: How do I wire three 3-way switches in one gang box to three switches in another box?

texts: I have two 3-gang boxes (with 3-way switches) to control 3 sets of lights within our kitchen. Since there are two entrances to the kitchen, I have a box at each door. My main question is how to connect the two boxes together. Do I use 3 runs of 14/3 or a combination of 14/3 and 14/2. Here is my schematic if anyone can help.


texts: How do I vent a floor drain and toilet sharing a common drain on the second floor?

texts: Can the upper portion of a sanitary tee installed vertically in the  stack be used as a vent if both a floor drain and toilet enter it at the same level through a common drain (wye) and there are no fixtures above?  Plumber in Albany N.Y. looking for clarification...


texts: Different options to convert brick wall outlet box to junction box with more outlets

texts:
I have a dedicated 20A circuit that comes into my kitchen area as a duplex outlet:

During the upcoming kitchen remodel this circuit will likely be the best one to provide power to the very nearby fridge plus a couple of outlets.

That means putting in a junction box instead of the outlet box and running a couple of conduits from it, if I understand the code correctly.

It would be very desirable not to do any unnecessary cutting into the brick wall and while I'm not a huge fan of the electric conduit on top of brick wall look, luckily, this it pretty low (about a foot off the floor) so there may be ways to make it less prominent.

Here's the current outlet:

The wires are coming up in BX/flexible armored cable if that matters.  I'd like to avoid the need to increase the brick opening, but I'm not sure if the space is large enough for a junction box of the size I would need and how the wires can come out to then go along the brick (I've seen extension junction boxes but I'm not certain this is the sort of application they are meant for).

Are there other ways to achieve the same goal with minimal "disturbance" of the brick wall?


texts: Reinforcement for Ledger Board on Bearing Wall

texts:
I'm helping a friend remodel an old addition on his house. We've uncovered a construction technique that may have been normal 60 years ago, but isn't up to the standards of today. I'd like to know if there is a simple remedy.

We are looking at a 2x4" (actual dimensions, not 3.5x1.5) ledger board that is face nailed in to the exterior wall studs, which are also 2x4". The ledger is not let in at all.

There are 2x8" floor joist for the 2nd story that are resting on the ledger. What this means is the entire weight of the 2nd story is effectively being loaded on the old nails that attach the ledger to the 2x4s! Talk about some sheer strength!

We've considered adding a wall directly below the ledger to help support the weight, but there simply isn't enough room to make that happen. We've also looked for some sort of Simpson Strong Ties that might add additional support, but found none. Even after calling the manufacturer.

Do any of you have any bright ideas that might help us out of this pinch?


texts: What should I do if I get my adapter prong stuck in the outlet?

texts: So the metal thing that you plug into the outlet broke and got stuck inside the outlet and I don’t know if this dangerous, what should I do? I live in an apartment building so I don’t have one of those circuit breakers to shut off the outlets to take out the prong.


texts: Calculate savings from/cost-effectiveness of installing a tankless hot water heater?

texts:
Following up on "Which water heater types do you recommend?" and "Are tankless water heaters worth it in cold climates", is there a way to calculate the point at which installing a tankless water heater makes economic sense? Given the cost of purchase and installation, it should be possible to determine the break-even point, factoring in the amount of hot water used and the temperature change required.

Is there a way to estimate hot water usage separately from cold water? If I have a gas furnace and gas hot water heater currently, can the gas usage by each be separated?


texts: Ecobee 3 lite Installation -- Confusion about C wire (on furnace but not at thermostat)

texts:
I am about to install the Ecobee 3 lite thermostat. On the thermostat end, there is no C wire - just the typical 4 wires - R,Y,W,...
On the furnace end though, there is white C wire too, which I do not know where it leads to (definitely not coming to thermostat).
Given the situation, following are questions I am looking answers for:

Can I simply remove the existing C wire and replace with the C wire from the PEK kit from Ecobee? Wondering what else may break in the house.
Can I simply keep the existing C wire as is, and add the C wire from the PEK kit in addition, at the same terminal?

Any info or any tips that can help me out in this situation are highly welcome.


texts: How to determine the sizes/arrangements of supply pipes?

texts:
I'm going to replace my rusted-out iron pipes with copper. The plumbing is exposed in the basement so I'm not forced to use the existing design. I'm trying to figure out when I can run fixtures in series off of a main pipe, and when I should use parallel pipes. (sorry; I'm an electrical guy!)

As a specific example, let's look at a bathroom. The thick lines are 3/4" copper, the thin lines are 1/2":

I don't want the shower temperature/flow to change if the toilet is flushed. So, it seems that I can:

Not worry about it; the layout is fine.
Increase "A" to 3/4".
Run a parallel pipe, as shown:

(I know that I could solve this with a thermostatic mixer valve, but I'm looking for a generalized answer.)

I know that there must be guidelines for this sort of thing. Is this described in code somewhere? How do you decide when fixtures in series are OK, and when you should run pipes in parallel? This answer was illuminating but I'm looking for more details.


texts:
I am installing soffit and vents from the outside on my house which is framed and dried-in (new construction). It is a large Victorian style, white farmhouse look. 2 story, already sheeted (roof and walls). 5.5" LP facia and drip edge is already installed. Intend to use 8" flat (no wood grain) LP siding as well. The ceiling cap is not installed (no drywall, no insulation yet). I'd like to do the soffit next. My space between walls and facia lip is 11".
I think I'd like to use my 5.5" and/or maybe 8" primed, LP siding product as soffit. And I suppose I'll use the long strips of vinyl vent that appear to be 3" wide. It would make sense to me, to put the vent right up against the facia lip that is hanging down and caulk it in between facia and soffit LP product. But, I see all recommendations to have at least 3" of soffit between the facia lip and the vent strips. Why?
Would make more sense to me, especially considering the plastic baffles I'm installing from ProVent that I would install that soffit vent as far away from the wall as possible. Why does everyone basically say not to do that? Why shouldn't I?


texts: Is it Code legal to hardwire a refrigerator in a basement?

texts:
Suppose you have a refrigerator in a basement.  You have two dueling safety systems:  The cord-and-plug-connected fridge needs to run to keep food safe, but the GFCI needs to trip to save people from potential shock. (and refrigerators do tend to trip GFCIs incidentally).

So what is the Code impact if we lop the plug off the fridge, bring the cord into a junction box through a strain relief, and hardwire the fridge?   Does this wash away the GFCI requirement?

Will it continue to do so after NEC 2020?


texts: Low city water pressure booster - when would it turn on?

texts: If I were to install a pressure booster pump, would it work / be on consistently or is it only triggered by specific water pressure ranges?  A plumber told me it would only kick on if the pressure dropped below 30 or 40 psi, but the documentation I'm finding about different pumps doesn't indicate that that is the case.


texts: I have two switches for one light. One is a dimmer switch and other is single pole switch

texts:
Dimmer operates light but if the single pole is off the dimmer switch doesn't operate. The problem is the single pole light switch has only one black and white wire connected inside. No other wires in box.
The dimmer has two wires in box. Two blacks connected to switch and two whites married. Is this fixable without running any other wires through wall?


texts: What’s the marginal value increase as toilet price increases?

texts:
I’m going to replace the four toilets in my new house with elongated taller toilets.

I’m looking at the $300 range because of some design features (taller seat, elongated bowl, tank attachment, easier to clean around seat bolts, etc) but I note that toilets start at $125 and go up from there. What are the features of a toilet that mark the marginal improvement as toilets get more expensive?

Edit - to clarify this point, among elongated tall toilets, what justifies the price differences? Is it purely aesthetics and brand name? Or are there things that make one toilet “better” than another?

Also it’s annoying that at least one store sells so many “exclusive” models. Are these just unique names so we can’t compare head to head with other retailers? Or are their differences between two apparently similar but differently named models at two retailers?


texts: Installing European outlets in American kitchen for heat-based appliances

texts:
I'm interested in using European kitchen appliances to heat things faster.  My house is a 2014 construction in America, split-phase power.

My understanding is that their 230V toasters, kettles, and toaster ovens cook faster because they have more watts available due to the higher voltage on a given size of wire.

Understanding that I'd have to avoid appliances with electronics and motors, What are the pros and cons to adding a circuit to my kitchen with European outlets?

I imagine that I might have to use a breaker smaller than optimal for the European outlets since American and European breakers don't come in the same capacities.  What else could I be missing, and is there a better way to accomplish this?

It would be nice to have a microwave that was twice as fast too, but that definitely gets into electronic and motor land.  Not to mention the magnetron might derive its frequency from mains.


texts: I'm replacing all the doorknobs in my new house. The new knobs "latch plates" (not sure what the proper term is) are thinner than the old ones, so they sit a bit too deep in the space that was cut out of the door (see image below). Is there any easy way to shim the plate? This is purely for cosmetic reasons (it functions fine as is). Pre-made hardware would be ideal, and maybe I'm just lacking the right search term.


texts: I'm redoing old rotten cast iron and I have a problem with a gas line in the way. Is a 9 inch drop too much in a 6 foot run of 3" pvc coming from the water closet to the main stack?


texts: Should my dryer cord's neutral and ground be connected to the same terminal?

texts: I installed the dryer cord like the dryer diagram and the dryer was not working properly so I had an exchange. When sears came to install the new dryer they connected the neutral of the cord and the ground of the cord on the middle joint of the dryer. They told me I did it wrong on the previous dryer. Is this correct? I used a 4 prong cord and the outlet has the 4 wires all the way to the main panel.


texts: i have an older, 1930ish, home with only 2 conductors on the branch circuits. im trying to install GFCI outlets in kit/baths. im running new romex to the single-pole Pushmatic (ancient, i know) breakers. There is only 1 neutral bar in the panel, w/white wire and a few bare ground wires connected. im connecting the neutral and the ground conductors to that bar. im getting 115v on the hot side, a circuit indication on my wiggy from the bneutral side, but no power through the GFC, brand new ones. Do i need a better ground for the house? Also, as i disconnect (while still hot) the black wire on the feed side, i get momentary flickers from the LEDindicator  on the GFCI. A good connection results , again, in a no power situation. It doesnt trip so cant be reset, just nothing, despite a good ac supply and good neutral. Help?


texts: Installing Tankless Hot Water System - Amp Questions & Using AWG 6 Wire with Current Tank

texts:
I'm looking into researching about installing a Hot Water Tankless system.

Specifically I want to install the following:

Rheem Tankless Water Heater 2.14 GPM 13 kW Self-Modulating Electric Wall Mount

It has the following power requirements: (RTE 13)

I had a few questions:

Lets start with the obvious, I'm not 100% my service is adequate. I have 100Amp service in a 1 Bedroom trailer that utilizes Electric Heat. I have 2 20Amp breakers dedicated to two different Electric Baseboards as well as the usual appliances. As it is a one bedroom it isn't often that many appliances are being used simulataniously, but I do want to be not tripping anything just by using hot water + heating the home.

Can my setup handle this hot water tank?

Here is an image of my breaker and the panel breakdown:

If so, perhaps this should be a seperate thread, but I'm just putting it all ine one for now....

Can I upgrade the current wire to AWG 6 and the breaker to 60Amp and hook that up to my current hot water tank system. The reason being I'd like to get the wiring/breaker setup so that when I go to install the tankless system it's "plug and play". I'm not sure if the different thickness of wire and size of breaker will matter if I am using a higher rated wire/breaker than needed. I'm guessing people just don't go higher because it costs more, but I'm not sure.


texts: Increasing gas pipe size from 1/2" to 3/4" at appliance

texts:
I'm planning to purchase and install a new condensing tankless water heater (Takagi T-H3J-DV-N) that will supply both domestic hot water and space heating (radiant via heat exchanger, separate closed loop).

The gas connection on the water heater is 3/4", but my current line running to my existing water heater is 1/2", off of a gas manifold with a 1" service from the meter (manifold is on the other size of the wall from the meter, ~8" away).

The distance from the manifold to the new tankless heater is less than 8'. According to the natural gas sizing chart in the Takagi manual pg 26, a 1/2" line will carry over 172,000 BTU/hr over the 8' distance. The heater maxes out at 160,000 BTU.

I have two questions:

Since the 1/2" pipe will carry the required amount of gas to operate the appliance, would increasing the line from 1/2" to 3/4" at the appliance cause any functional issues?
In general, do plumbing codes prohibit increasing from 1/2" to 3/4", as long as the line is sized properly (for 1/2")?


texts: How long can I leave a recently cleaned deck without stain?

texts: I have cleaned my deck and was planning on staining it. My problem is the weather is calling for rain everyday for the next 2 weeks.  How long will my deck be ok without stain?


texts:
I recently bought a 5-bulb track lighting & installed GU10 base MR16 shape, dimmable LED lights bought off of eBay. The lights started flickering after turning them on after a few seconds.

I thought it was due to the cheap bulbs & bought a 3-pack from HomeDepot. I swapped 1 bulb from the track & it looks like the flickering issue is gone.

Can someone explain whats going on here?

edit: Gu10 base, MR16 shape. Plain regular plug in socket.

Also, I would like to install a dimmer switch to this & I hear there are different kinds of them. Which one should I be buying?

Please let me know if you need any further details or if you want me to try something.


texts: Are there any wide-angle hinges that lift up while turning?

texts:
I need a hinge, that as part of its turning motion also moves 'up'*. It's like a casement hinge, except that unfortunately casement hinges only go until 90º, while I need a hinge that can bend at least 120º. I haven't been able to find anything else, so I'm posting here. Is there any type of hinge that moves up while bending?

Thank you.

*When I say up, I mean that the hinge moves in a direction in the same plane as the rotation. I'm sorry for not making that clear.


texts: Flexible palm disc sander: Are there any other names?

texts:
I came across a hand tool in a This Old House/Nick Offerman video that is some sort of flexible pam disc sander.

How it's used: I think the user can simply velcro on a hook-and-loop sanding pad (which seems quite convenient).

Question:

As mentioned, I am aware that flexible pam disc sander is one way of describing this tool. However, I'm not getting many hits when searching that name online.

Are there any other names for this tool?


texts: The junction box in the ceiling has three wires: black, white, and bare copper. The ceiling fan has four wires: black, white, blue, and green. I assume the blue goes to the light, but don't know where to connect the blue wire in the junction box.


texts: Electrical Connection AprilAire 600M Bypass Humidifier

texts: I have a 2-stage furnace and I want to connect the 24VAC from the humidifier to the thermostat connections on the control board.  Since the control board has W1 and W2 connectors, which one should I use in conjunction with the C so the humidifier operates when the blower runs?


texts: Why does my toilet randomly start running?

texts:
Sometimes my toilet starts running for a few seconds at a time, like it's just finishing filling up the tank.

Usually this happens when the bathtub is being drained, or when I turn on the facets in the sink, but I think it also happens sometimes when no water is being used anywhere else.

As far as I can tell the flapper in the tank is working fine, and I don't see any leaks anywhere.


texts: Can I replace a 40A water heater breaker with a 60A breaker to prevent trips?

texts: Double 40 amp breaker tripped as HD want work. Can I use a double 60 amp on my water heater?


texts: Metal junction box shows 5V relative to ground when circuit powered. Why?

texts:
I have a small, octagonal junction box in my basement with one 2-wire-no-ground cable going in and a standard porcelain lightbulb fixture attached to the bottom. In the process of investigating an unrelated issue on a different circuit, I discovered that my non-contact voltage tester would go off anywhere in the vicinity of this box. I pulled out the multimeter, touched one lead to the box, and the other to the ground socket of an extension cord plugged in elsewhere. It showed about 5V. When I switched the circuit off, that 5V went away. I opened the box up and checked to see if there was any worn insulation or bare wire contacting the metal, but I couldn't find anything that looked fishy.

There are other similar junction boxes down there, but none of them set off the voltage tester and none of them show any voltage on the multimeter. Any idea what could cause this? The number 5 in particular is confusing to me. Contact with the hot wire would give 120V, but how can you get 5? All the components here (box, wires, fixture) are probably about 60 years old.


texts: Water pipe extension to livestock corrals

texts:
I have horses and sheep that live about 100 feet from the main house/ outside water faucet.  We want to install a pipe that allows access to the water down at the corrals, what sort of things should I be worried about? It seems simple, lay the pipe then connect to the main water line, but I know that I'm dealing with a high pressure so I should probably install a safety valve? maybe even turn off the water before adding the pipe? etc.  Tips/Advice for safety & efficiency?

P.S. Never laid pipe before, never worked with the water mains either.  Complete newbie in this area.


texts: Furnace vent pipe on roof full of frost, fan won't push hot air

texts:
After living in the same house for 7 years and having much more snow, my vent on the roof was full of frost. The thermostat would kick on,but no heat.
This is the second time in 2 mths I had the vent taken off and cleared of frost. Once the vent was cleared the problem was gone. An elbow was left instead of 2 elbows on a pipe that was previously attached.
I asked the tech what else it could be, and he said maybe a secondary burner.$5000 for a new furnace installed and vented through the side if the house and not the roof. Will wait

Vent removed from on roof
[


texts: Do I have to add a ground wire that has been missing for 20 years?

texts: I am replacing a 20 yr old dishwasher in a 20 yr old house.  The wiring from breaker box connected to the old dishwasher had no ground wire.  Can I just attach the old white & black wires to the new dishwasher?  Will the independent connection to the breaker offer GFCI?  Or do I need to attach new ground wire?


texts: What is this copper ring insert in my sharkbite supply valve?

texts:
I'm about to connect my new faucet supply lines to my new sharkbite valves. The valves came with these copper rings and I am wondering what they are and should I leave them in when connecting the supply lines.

Also, do I need to use plumber's tape for this connection?


texts: Should drywall be hung horizontally or vertically?

texts: For reasons including time, money, ease of installation, and structural strength, should drywall be installed horizontally or vertically.


texts: How would I wire a thermal circuit breaker and switch together?

texts:
I want to wire a circuit breaker and switch to a GFCI and some other outlets. This is for power outlets on a work bench.

Something like:

I have this for a circuit breaker:

and this for a switch:

How would I go about connecting these and where would each wire go on the circuit breaker and switch. In other words, where does the load wire go and the line wire go.


texts: Pressure Cycling and Suspected Ruptured Line

texts:
We're having a bit of trouble with our well and water pressure, and I'm hoping you all might be willing to help us troubleshoot.

This is a residential home with a well and a tank with a 40/60 pressure switch. The home is around 20 years old, the pressure switch and gauge have been replaced in the past, and I believe the well pump and pressure tank have never been replaced. Tank pressure is at 38 psi. No water is running in the house. The pressure switch engages at around 40 psi, runs for about 12 seconds until it reaches 60 psi, then disengages. Over about 22 seconds, the pressure drops from 60 psi to 40 psi, and the process repeats. This has been happening for a couple of weeks now and would, at times, drop completely to 0 psi, though that hasn't been happening the past few days. Shutting off the water to the house does not change this cycle. (We have been cutting off the pump when water is not in use to reduce load on the pump.)

We have had two people out to troubleshoot the system (that's two opinions, and I guess posting here would be a third). Both folks watched the cycle, shut off the water to the house to rule out anything there, then went out to the well head and listened for water rushing back in. Neither heard anything, so they both concluded that there must be a break in the line between the well and the house. Does that sound right? Should we expect them to do any more troubleshooting (like pulling the pump) before having the line replaced?

The two things that give me pause are the following. I believe I have noticed surprisingly warm water coming from an outdoor spigot, even though the weather is cool here now (though I don't know what that might indicate). And, we haven't noticed any particularly wet spots in the yard, and I guess I'm surprised that the pressure could drop so quickly without leaving such evidence of a rupture.

Finally, we're interested in exploring our options and, of course, reducing cost as much as possible. Are there straightforward ways of locating the line between the well and the house? Would finding the rupture just include looking for wet areas in the yard? If found, is it reasonable to just dig up the area around the rupture and patch it? Failing all of that, if we have a professional run a new line, how much should we expect to pay in Virginia (assuming the well head is about 75 feet from the house)?

We appreciate any thoughts you all might be willing to provide.


texts: How do I lay joists over a complex-sloped basement floor

texts:
I am helping a friend install a bathroom in his basement. The basement floor is partially rock which has been covered in plastic vapour barrier and then covered in a thin layer of concrete. (The builders obviously didn't want to spend the money on excavating the rock to build a full basement with a level floor) That area of the basement floor which is rock slopes basically in two main directions (but the slopes aren't uniform - picture rolling hills!) towards the corner of the basement where he wants to place his bathroom.

In order to create a level floor surface, I think tapered joists will have to be laid from the deepest part of the basement and will have to be extended to where they horizontally intersect the concreted rock. To maximize finished floor space, the joists would have to be tapered considerably and over different lengths depending upon where they contact the concreted rock.

Height is also a problem. The wider we make the level floor, the higher up we have to secure the deep end of the joists. We can probably go up about 10 to 12 inches at the deepest corner before the ceiling clearance will be too low.

So my questions are:
a. How do I anchor and support the tapered end of the joists where they meet the concrete covered rock,

b. How skinny can I make the tapered end of the joist (bearing in mind that the longer I can make the joists, the wider the bathroom floor can be)

c. How can I find the "level" line on the concreted rock when the rock is not uniformly sloped. (Is there something like a spinning laser level that would project a level line on the concreted rock that I could then mark with chalk?)

Thanks for any help or light you can shed on this project.

Dave
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Canada


texts: Can paint/hardware stores match stain like they do paint?

texts:
I know you can take a color sample to a paint store (or some hardware stores) and get them to match it and mix you up a custom batch.

Is a similar service provided anywhere for stain?  The color charts from the stain manufacturers sometimes help, but often don't have an exact match for what I am looking for.

I know that stain is somewhat of an inexact science, and I'd probably need to provide an unstained sample piece of wood for the type I intend to use it on, but it sounds at least marginally possible to get custom stains based on a color sample you are trying to match. Am I asking for the moon, or is there some source that provides a service like this?


texts:
We're looking into doing a basic remodel of our kitchen: replace current tile with new tile, reface cabinets (maybe replace a couple of cabinets), replace back-splash and replace the counter-top. We're on a budget and we won't be doing it all at the same time. Most likely during the span of 12-18 months.

My question (challenge) is: what is the best order for these jobs in order to minimize the risk of having to break or redo any of the previous work.

Thanks for your help,

PS I'd be willing to live with some broken/unfinished portions in between the jobs if it can prevent any rework.


texts: Using non-metallic cable with this metal box having armored cable attached?

texts: I'm planning to using this existing outlet to add an additional outlet for a TV directly above. The kit I purchased has a plastic old work receptacle box. Can I use building wire (Romex) into this metal box to connect to the new box? And how do I ground the outgoing cable - can I ground it directly to this metal box using a pigtail?


texts: Strange looking garage beam support post

texts:
I was looking to buy this house and then realize this room is strange. It used to be a garage but got converted to living space (with permit):

It was a single lumber running across so I am not sure why it needs the support in the middle. I guess the span is too wide for that lumber.

Anyways, the support post looks weird:

Is this piece of metal a "Structural" component or just some "hack" from previous owner?

What do I do in order to remove this post? Larger beam?


texts: Car in driveway is source of garage door opener interference

texts: It has been determined that the car parked in my shared driveway is interfering with 2 other condos. The garage door company is sure it is coming from my car which has been parked there for years. When I remove my car from the area everyone is able to use their remote. Hynundai has never heard of this and doesn’t know what to tell me. Anyone have a solution?


texts: What circuit does the samsung NE58H9970WS induction range need?

texts:
I tried looking through samsungs install manuals. The manually helpfully says the oven should only plug into the circuit with the correct amps - however it doesn't say what those amps should be.

I did find on home depots website it says 40amps - but thats the ONLY site i've found that mentions the specific amps. A discussion on houzz seems to think when you add up all the elements and features on the oven that draw power, that you'd need at least 50 amps.

Would 40 amps be enough?


texts: Plug HRV (Constructo 2.0 ES) into power bar?

texts:
Would there be any issues if I plugged this HRV into a power bar? I have this unit  (says 200 watts of power) which is in the closet of the master bedroom and plugged directly into a wall socket.

I want to plug some other things (router, computer, PoE Adapter) in and got a Surge Protector that's rated up to 1800 watts.

Are any issues if I plugged it into the surge protector?


texts:
I have a skylight on a shingles roof. I don't know much about the skylight as it was installed by a previous owner, but every year, at the beginning of the rainy season, the skylight leaks. And every year, when that happens, I go on the roof to add some sealant, which usually gets me through the rainy season.

In the first picture below (click to enlarge), you can see the skylight, the shingles, and the sealant. The second picture zooms on the sealant, which starts cracking. Finally, the 3rd picture shows the sealant I used. I am thinking that the sealant cracks during the summer, explaining the leak when we get our first good rain of the year.

What would you recommend to fix this problem in a more permanent way?


texts: Using wood glue instead of fasteners for raised bed garden

texts:
I need to rebuild my rotten raised bed. This time, I want to use 4"x4"x8' lumber to make a bed in 16' long and 12" tall. But I'm thinking to use Titebond 3 Ultimate wood glue instead of metal fasteners. The reason is fasteners put too much stress at one point but blue will distribute the stress to all surface.
But with Pacific NW weather on the west cascade, I don't know if TB III Ultimate will hold up or not since I haven't used it on any projects that constantly exposed to moisture.


texts: Fixing minor tape blemishes/bubbling after a fresh paint job

texts:
Unfortunately 1 week after a new paint job was done with a decent job of skimming and all, there was a small flood in a laundry room above.  Some water came down, but we averted disaster.  It's very minor.  You can see some small lines from some joint tape around 1 panel of sheetrock on 2 of 4 sides of that panel on the ceiling.  In another spot it looks a bit wet but I think that part will just dry and I can throw a bit of paint over it even if it discolors slightly.  It's just visible enough to be annoying.  The laundry room itself has a drain, but a bit of water pooled in a corner and a small amount made its way down.  It could have been a LOT worse without that drain.  Most of it just drained out, but the floor wasn't quite level.

OK enough background ... the tape has bubbled a tiny tiny bit and it kind of looks like an unfinished joint tape job.  Someone put mud in between the sheetrock panels, threw on some tape, and did a cruddy job throwing mud over it.

I ran a putty knife over the tape and flattened it out pretty well while it was damp.  Some tiny creases, but it's pretty flat.

OK so here's the question.  Should I remove the tape, or just throw a tiny bit of joint or spackle over it and paint or prime+paint?  Which is better?  Joint or spackle?  I'm thinking I can get away with a very thin skim of the dap pink stuff -- the joint compound OR the spackle (despite warnings), but maybe I just suck at DIY.

I've done decent patching with spackle for holes and whatnot.  The ominous warning NOT to use the spackle as joint compound confuses me.  I thought it might just be a bit harder to sand.


texts:
I have a door frame that we had a hard time figuring out due to ceiling bulk heads. The Rough Opening was supposed to be 82x32, however, after drywall we have a Rough Opening of 81 3/4" x 31 1/2". The right door frame stud has bowed inwards causing the middle to be 31 1/2", where the top and bottom are 32". We would like a 30x80" door for this bathroom, however, I will take a 28x30 if there is no other choice.

My question is do I attempt to plane the middle of the stud down with a reciprocating saw or planer to try to fit a 30x80" door? Or do I just go with a 28x80""?

Or should I just order a custom door based on the RO dimensions

[Update] This picture was taken before the drywall was put up. Drywall is up and primed.

[update 2]
used a magnet to find the screws and take em out. Then cut a wedge 32" and jammed it in the middle. I had to knock the top in a bit as it wasn't 32".  Then I put in a buch of 2inch drywall screws all the way down on both sides and took out the wedge. Worked like a charm! warped the drywall slightly around the box as I didn't factor enough movement. will have to fan this out a bit or just leave it. Thanks for the tips guys!


texts: We have a rental house that still has some knob and tube wiring. We did not know about the knob and tube wiring when we bought the house 18 years ago. We didn't know such a thing existed but remember the seller telling us her father was an electrician and updated some of the wiring. Some of the knob and tube has been removed but there is still some in the house. Last year we hired an electrician to remove it but because it is an old house he wasn't sure if he could get all of it out. It ended up he installed AFCI instead and said we should be safe. There is some lose insulation in the attic over the wire. Should we hire someone else to remove the knob and tube wire? Is the AFCI enough of a safety feature that we should not have to remove the knob and tube? thanks for your help!


texts:
I just remodeled my bathroom by the master bedroom and the toilet needed to be shimmed since the tile around the flange was a bit higher than where the toilet bowl ends.  After shimming there is a slight gap exposing beneath the toilet. I attempted caulking it on a whim but it did not look good.

How do you caulk around the base of the toilet and make it look good? a.k.a. how to make the caulk even and smooth.  I tried a spoon as well,  that did not work.


texts:
See Additional Added Info:
I have an electric motor that I want to plug in at my house (USA).  The device is 220V, 50hz and 600watt.  The power cord (no plug) is 3 wires, and rated as 10amp.

If I connect a dryer plug to this cord, will I be able to plug it in to my dryer receptacle?  Should I worry that the cord is only rated at 10amp?

Additional Info:
Power cord actually came with it unexpectedly (opened the box tonight) and it's plug is exactly the same as a typical 110V 3 prong grounded plug.
Is this even possibly going to work?  I thought 220V required 2 hot, 1 neutral, optional ground?  In this configuration, I assume the normal ground plug is actually neutral and the two parallel plugs are both hot?  Is it a big deal if I don't ground the device?  Do they even make 220V capable receptacles approved for this purpose in this configuration?  Seems like a nightmare to have a 220V unit hanging around with the same plug/receptacle as a 110V device!!!  Accident waiting to happen?!

This is actually a oil-less piston air pump (not a motor), in case it matters.


texts: How do I tell if this is a box for a ceiling fan? This is a 25 foot ceiling. No idea if this is ceiling fan friendly or not.


texts: Can I replace all the Qest pipe in my home by myself?

texts:
I have Qest (polybutylene) pipe in my thirty year home. We bought our home in 2007 and since then we have had two tiny pin hole leaks in the attic. Replacing those sections of pipe was pretty easy with the shark fittings. I am thinking of replacing all the Quest pipe in my home before we have any other leaks.

Should I get a pro to do it, or can I do it myself? I am reasonably handy and can figure things out.

If I decided to do this on my own is there a guide out there to help?


texts:
It is in a shed I am helping to clean out.
When I know what it is, then I can pass on or dispose properly. I suspect some sort of anti rust or paint for metalwork.
Location :Australia.
The company is long gone, so a google search is not helpful.


texts:
I am troubleshooting some electrical issues on three different ceiling fans in my upstairs bedrooms. All three are wireless Harbor Breeze ceiling fans. They all have the same issues but at varying levels. issues include:

dimness
fan run slower than it should
flickering

I measured the house power and I get 118-120v on all three boxes. So I then measured the voltage from the light output(blue wire) on each unit. the readings are as follows:

1st light: 90v - dimness, flickering
2nd light: 103v - slight dimness, flickering
3rd light: 50v - This guy just barely works

All of the wire nuts are tight and they are wired correctly. I have the same ceiling fan in my living room and it doesnt have any issues. I measure the light output on it and it reads 110v which I would expect to be normal.

What would cause this issue with three or four different voltage readings? I cant imagine that I would have three defective ceiling fans. With the house voltage reading normal could there still be an issue else where in the circuit? The last two fans are on the same breaker, but the first one is on its own.

Here is an example of the ceiling fan wiring:


texts: Will these low watt LEDs work with a 12V transformer?

texts:
I've inherited a pretty poor quality garden light kit that runs off a 12V/2500mA AC transformer. It supports x6 lanterns which each have a measly 5W halogen bulb. Barely illuminating anything.

If I swap the bulbs out for LEDs I figure I can have a 200Lm or more while easily staying under the maximum 30W load on the transformer.

My question is will they work and what exact specification would I need? I've seen various models some consuming between 1.2W to 2W. Is there any danger this is too low? Are all G4 capsules designed to run off low voltage AC transformers designed for halogen bulbs?


texts:
So I've been doing the installation of a lot of cctv systems recently and the most time consuming part of it is always the cabling. Currently I am using coax cable clips to hold the cable. The issue is that using the cable clips if I hit a hard section of pebble dash or concrete and mortar I end up with about a 5% success rate of getting the clips in which is not in any way shape or form efficient.

So what I was wondering is what i sthe most efficient way to cable into concrete (external walls) that is a durable and not too offensive looking.

I've had a look at using a ramset but I can't work out how that would functionally work with the cabling in a safe manner (i.e. not firing 2mm away from a finger).

If a staple gun style thing existed which could fit over a coax cable that would probably be optimal.


texts:
I have a gas (propane) dryer. We just had a huge amount of snow 5ft. plus drifts around my house. This morning I turned on the dryer and started to smell propane. I went out and cleaned out the lint vent outside. In the past it had been clogged with lint but I never smelled any propane in those cases the clothes just weren't drying. Could there be another outside vent for the dryer exhaust other than the lint vent on the outside of the house that I'm not aware of? My furnace and water heater vent on the back of the house the dryer lint vent is on the front of the house. I'm afraid there is another exhaust vent for the dryer somewhere around my house buried in snow but with so much snow I don't know where to look.
Thanks
Worried in PA


texts: Is it safe to put a 120W equivalent LED bulb in a 100W max fixture?

texts:
I bought a 15W led bulb which is the equivalent of a 120W incandescent. But, I can't find a cord grip ceiling bulb holder rated higher than 100W.
Is it safe to put the 120W equivalent bulb in a 100W ceiling socket?


texts: Replacing pressure gauge on water holding tank

texts:
The water coming in from the well is supplied by thick rubber type pipe cut and angled with metal bands. There is no cut off valve to the water holding tank.

I need to replace the pressure gauge (leaking from bototm). Well is 250ft deep. I understand that I can turn off electric to the well and should cut off the water supply. There is no cut off for the water coming in from the well.

I believe I need to cut off electric to well, release pressure (can open a faucet), quickly put on the new pressure gauge, turn electric back on and turn on water. I talked to someone who said the little amount of water leaking out of the 1/4 inch hole would be insignificant, the water would have to drain back to the pump before I have a problem.

I would like any comment on installing the pressure gauge. Can anyone comment on how to install a cut off valve from the pump coming from the wall to the holding tank. The metal clamps are looking old and there are about four elbowed sections from the wall (well into house) to the holding tank. If I cut off the electric and disconnect the hose to the holding tank and the water drains back to the pump, how do I know it did that and what are the steps to get the water back up the tube

At some point I want to replace the hole unit, don't know the tech terms, but the water release valve handle is gone and the "gray box" that trips the pressure gauge to work all need to be replaced. I don't want to try that until I have enough money to call a plumber in case my attempt goes wrong.


texts: Finding an Electrical -- Break? Open? -- Caused by a Rodent

texts:
I had a problem with squirrels in the eves of of my "built in 1905" (i.e. old) house.  The squirrels ended up chewing through an electrical wire, and I lost power to my front porch light, and entire upstairs.

I've taken care of the squirrels and their entry points (for now anyway -- see old house)

I've had an electrician over who was able to partially restore power by doing -- something?  I think they terminated/looped back the power earlier in the circuit. They told me that the short was somewhere further down the line, and since they didn't have access the only way to find the problem was to start taking down the walls -- which they didn't do.  So I have power to my floor outlets, but not to the lighting system.

How do I approach fixing this?  When I call handymen or electricians they quickly get that "this looks/sounds complicated, time consuming, impossible to estimate, with no clear win" look on/in their face/voice and I don't hear back from them.  Is there a specific sort of professional I need to look for?  If I wanted to fix it myself how would I go about doing that in the least destructive way possible?


texts: Can an alcove tub be installed with most of it behind a wall?

texts: Please forgive the quick sketch for the concept, but I'm wondering if the following is prohibited by code, or failing at that, a bad idea in general. I have a small (6'8" x 9'3") bathroom that needs to be renovated. Since there is only one bathroom in the house I've been told that having at least one bathtub is mandatory for resale purposes, but I would like to have a walk-in shower that does not require stepping over a tub wall to enter. Can an alcove (or another option) tub be installed in such a way that most of the tub is behind a wall, or is this prohibited by code?


texts: Adding a electrical outlet in a closet for wireless router

texts: I want to move my wifi router to a central location in my home. The only ethernet jack is all the way at one end of my house. However I have a hall closet that is centered in the house and would be a perfect location but there is not an outlet in there. On the other side of the closet is the kitchen with an outlet. Can I run wire from that outlet through the attic and back down through the top plate of one of the other walls of the closet. I plan on putting the router fairly high in the closet (about one and half feet from the ceiling) on a shelf and have the outlet right next to it. I have the tools to do the work just not sure if it would be legal.


texts: Densheilds project progress with leveling issue

texts:
I  have installed Densheilds tile backer boards as showed in the pictures and I noticed on the big board (5'x5') that at the corner there is a light gap (not leveled.) I'm going to install a 12"X24" porcelain tile on it.

Will this slight gap  be an issue when I start tiling or can it be leveled with adding more thinset in this area.

!(https://i.stack.imgur.com/SKd6U.jpg)


texts: What is this black material in my attic?

texts:
It looks slightly metallic. It glints slightly in my headlamp. Like black snow crystals.

I found it under the insulation. See attached pic.

Thanks.


texts: Expanding two gang box to three gang with metal conduit

texts:
I live in Chicago so everything in my walls is in metal conduit. In what is currently a two gang box, all three of the top punch out holes are connected to metal conduit. I'd like to expand this to a three gang box, but then the top punch outs will no longer line up with the metal conduits that feed it.
Is there a simple way I can alter the positions of the conduits so they would line up with a three gang box?


texts: Generic water-based polyurethane for concrete desk?

texts:
I recently made a desk with a concrete top. It was a little rough so I smoothed the top with a liquid mix of just cement and water.
I'm now preparing to finish it. I have a pot of water-based polyurethane left over from a previous project. This one. It doesn't mention masonry or concrete on the tin.
Is there any reason why this won't be appropriate for a concrete desk?


texts: Why won't my pilot light stay lit on my hot water heater?

texts:
I have a reliance model 5 30 NORS971 gas HOT WATER tank. The basement flooded a little and put out the pilot. When it would not light, I replaced the pilot tip and went ahead and replaced the thermocouple. All went well and it lit and fired the burner.

One week later, the pilot would light but go out when button released. Replaced the gas control with one from another tank and it worked for about a week. The pressure relief was then leaking a little so replaced it.

One more week and not working so bought new gas control and replaced and all lit.

Now 2 weeks later, not working and pilot will light but, goes out on release. used multimeter and get 20 mv on thermocouple.

What would be cause of gas controls burning out?


texts: When I turn down the dimmer switch on my lights, do I actually use less electricity?

texts: My wife and I have several lights on dimmer switches throughout our home. We generally prefer the ambient lighting provided by dimmed lights. I am curious, though, if we are saving any electricity by dimming the lights. I feel like I read somewhere that dimmers work by rapidly turning on and off the current to a light, though it's just as likely I fundamentally don't understand how a dimmer switch works.


texts: How do I correctly wire my ceiling fan with these other switches and outlet?

texts:
First photo overall wiring, second fan switch, third Outlet switch.
I am trying to re-wire so that I can have separate ceiling fan light and motor switches. I thought this was simple enough but am having issues.
There are 4 cables coming into my wall gang box. Bottom cable is 14/2 for an outlet and is the power source. There are three different 14/3 cables. The first  runs to an outlet (which jumps to another outlet also using 14/3). This seems to have been done for the purpose of a wall switch for lamp (simpler for me to keep this if possible). Wiring at the outlet is both neutrals on one side, black- hot at top, red at bottom.
The second 14/3 is for my ceiling fan which comes with a light. I want to turn this into 2 switches as mentioned above (one for light, one for motor). The third 14/3 wire jumps from here to another wall to work as ceiling fan switch as well (don't need or want the switch but it apparently provides power to another outlet via electrical box in attic). The switch for the outlet was using the neutral (white from outlet wire) and 2 reds (one from outlet wire and one pigtailed from remaining reds).
(from one of OP's comments to an answer below)

Believe my issue is at the switch not the fan. I have 14/3 running to the ceiling fan. I already separated the fan wires. Hunter fan has black, white, blue, and ground. This has been wired to the 14/3 with black, white, red (to the fans' blue), and ground. Once it's back to the wall switch I should simply be able to have 2 switches by running pigtails off power source to each switch and then taking ceiling black (for motor) to one switch, other switch gets the red (for light), marry the neutrals, connect ground. It does not work because of the other wiring. Please help.....

How do I wire this correctly?


texts:
Here is a link to my home earthing condition when the lights are dimly lit  https://youtu.be/eqR-CawKdgw

Measuring a socket I am seeing 225 volts between hot and neutral as expected... But 91V from neutral to ground and 144V from hot to ground (when I would expect to see 225 volts).

My home is a 220 V single phase connection. All LED lights are glowing in my home.