texts: How can I fix a leaky door with new compression stripping?

texts:
I have two exterior doors that are leaking air, they shut fine and the weather stripping is the original installed when the house was built about 8 years ago (with the exception that I replaced today).

The doors use compression weatherstripping like this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_29415-81-91868_4294929691__?productId=1082127&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

However, it doesn't fill the entire gap. The back door does seal if I press on the door once it's closed (it has to move about 3mm to seal the gap). But I can't figure out how to make it close more tightly. The front door, the door isn't completely square the the gap at the bottom is wider than the strip.

What should I do to seal my doors?


texts: Illinois house, built 1963. Not sure if there is a ground rod or just the water pipes used for ground. Want to put in another/first rod. Can I connect it to the clamp on the electrical meter housing which has been used for other grounds? If not, where do I have to connect it, noting there is no known existing rod. Also, is there a distance limit from the ground connection point (e.g. electrical meter) and the rod? I'm looking at about 50 feet. Adding additional ones between would be problematic due to concrete.


texts: Why does my toilet overflow during my washer's spin cycle?

texts:
Whenever I use my washer, the toilet makes a gurgling noise and then over overflows. I have to turn the washer off until the water in the toilet recedes. I have noticed this during the spin cycle. It has been doing this for about a week or so.

What could be the problem?


texts:
Looking for verification before I have this wired.

The hob is 220-240v 50/60Hz 11Kw being wired to a 50 amp breaker.

The hob has 5 wires; 4 hot 1 ground.
Me Electrical has 4 wires; 2 120v hot, neutral and ground.

This schematic seems to show 1+2 positive 120v,
3+4+5 negative 120v, and ground. No neutral.

The cable that came included has 5 wire, my electrican say I can use this cable I think I should swap out for a 3 wire (2 hot + ground) and use bridges in the wire box.

Is this reading of the schematic correct?
Should a 3 wire be used?

Edit: @ThreePhaseEel the hob came prewired with (best guess from comparing to wire strippers) strand copper 10awg. You can see it in the image. I do not think larger wire would fit. I do beleive branch line circuit rules would allow 10awg for the last 5 feet or less.


texts: Are hydronic systems set up as loops or ladders, and how can I tell the difference?

texts:
My hydronic system has a loop (or ladder) that visits baseboard radiators on four floors. All piping is hidden in the walls.

On the attached diagram, squares are windows, red is baseboard radiators, and black lines are potential configurations of the pipes in the wall. The tops of the black lines have bleed vents.

I would like to install Danfoss valves (TRVs) where the blue circles are, but this will only work if my hydronic system is in a 'ladder' configuration, rather than a 'loop' configuration.

Are most systems set up one way or another?  Are there good ways of telling, short of ripping holes in the wall?


texts: Can I convert a knob to deadbolt - in a steel door?

texts:
I have a fantastic commercial grade steel door.  It has a regular knob (a very good one) and 2-3/4" spacing.

Folks would rather have a deadbolt there instead of the knob.  The door swings in.

Will a deadbolt physically "bolt up" in a doorknob position without drilling, cutting or welding?

It would presumably have a pull handle on the door inside.  How do I attach this?  The steel door doesn't weigh a ton so it must be hollow, and I'm worried if I through-bolt it, I'll crush the door.


texts: What could I have done wrong while changing to LED bulbs in my recessed lighting?

texts:
I have six recessed lights in the kitchen. I bought six new LED bulbs to replace the old incandescents. I had to lower the socket an inch or two along the track in the recessed fixture in order to get the bulbs to fit.

The first two replacements worked fine. When I turned on the switch after swapping in the third, the circuit breaker blew. I turned the breaker back on, and it immediately turned off again. I removed the bulb, and turned the breaker back on. Then I turned the switch back on, and none of the ceiling lights lit. I've now cycled several times through the breaker and switch, and it's definitely not working.

I've removed the sheet-metal cover thing from the recessed lighting fixture, so now I have the light socket itself hanging loose by its wires. All the wires still look firmly connected.

I'm pretty sure electricity is still coming to the circuit, because the switch itself has a very dim light behind it that turns on when the switch is turned off, and when the breaker is turned on but the switch is off, that light still lights up (it turns off when the breaker is thrown).

I'd rather not have a simple light bulb switch wind up with a $200 electrician visit. What could have gone wrong?

ADDITIONAL INFO 1: I'm pretty sure the dimmer switch has failed, but also that it is not the only problem. With the switch connected (on or off), the breaker can turn on and off without any problem. I bypassed the switch entirely by just connecting past it (so the power is always flowing past the switch) and now the breaker pops immediately if I try to turn it on. (note that the first time I tried turning the breaker on with the switch still in the wall, the breaker popped, but now it doesn't. I think I fried the switch by trying to turn on the breaker a few times while it was still connected and shorted.)

So the switch seems dead, but even bypassing it entirely, there's still a short. So somehow I perhaps damaged the socket itself? I borrowed a multimeter from a friend. With the breaker turned off, I switched the multimeter to measure resistance and touched the leads to the input and output contacts on the back of the socket (no light bulb in it). The resistance wasn't zero, but it dropped from infinity down to a few dozen resistance-thingies. So perhaps the socket is damaged as well?


texts: Using a 1-pole GFCI to test half a multi-wire branch circuit

texts:
I'm searching my electrical system for defects, fixing the last guy's work. He loved to cross neutrals (grab a hot from circuit 5 and neutral from circuit 19). I've found several instances, but it's really slow going.

It seems like I could speed this up a lot by turning on every load, putting dummy loads in every receptacle chain (night lights), and temporarily installing a GFCI, and see if it trips.  I'm comfortable with that plan.

However, he also loved multi-wire branch circuits. I've given them special attention and I think they're OK, but want to test them nonetheless.  This panel is obsolete, and a 2-pole GFCI breaker is prohibitively expensive.  So I want to use the 1-pole GFCI to test half the MWBC at a time. The other hot would cause a false reading, so I just want to disconnect it temporarily.

Does this seem like a reasonable plan?


texts: Installing shelf over block construction walls, plus more

texts:
I'm in Florida. Exterior walls are concrete block, then rigid foam insulation with randomly located wood furring strips, then a double layer wall covering (sheetrock covered by a layer of concrete board), and then ceramic tile over the whole thing.

I have pretty, but heavy, iron shelf brackets, and we're planning to store dishes on the shelves, so I really need to anchor these things properly. I'm at a loss as to what kind of anchor to use, or even how to figure it out.

Suggestions please!
--Danny


texts: What is the correct procedure to turn a 10" rough-in toilet drain into a 12" rough-in drain when the drain goes through a slab-on-grade?

texts:
I need to replace a leaking toilet, but the distance from the drain to the wall is about 10.75". The selection of toilets that I'm finding in the 10" rough-in range is pretty pathetic and overpriced, especially water-conserving ones.

Ideally I'd like to relocate the drain 2" so I have a standard 12" rough-in. The problem is that my house is on a 4" slab-on-grade (with just bare dirt right under it), and the plumbing--all original cast iron-- is thoroughly entombed in the concrete. The bathroom floor is ceramic tile right over the concrete slab.

What's the best way to go about doing this without causing too much damage or destroying enough of the bathroom tile that the damage will be visible even after placing the new toilet? Or is that a given? I have a rotary hammer, a sawzall with diamond abrasive blades, a circular saw with a masonry blade, and lots of other such tools.

Or is this a patently ridiculous idea and I should just get a 10" rough-in toilet?


texts:
I don't see how to remove this stem valve. It fits into this brass pipe which is not a collar--it is entirely round, and I tackled it with channel lock pliers and quite a bit of force, and it did not budge. My next thought is the stem valve simply pulls out, which is tricky. One hardware store salesman suggested vice grips & a hammer. The other suggested extracting the rubber washer with a dental pick and he thought there might be a collar underneath that I could use a shower stem socket on.

As a new user I can't insert images, so here are the links to the pictures.


texts: How can I remove a non-load bearing wall in my basement?

texts:
I have two small rooms in basement. I want to remove the common wall between the two and covert the resulting big room into a home theater.

What is the best way to remove the studs, wiring, etc.?


texts:
Imagine a square room with four walls (12x12). Say you wanted to string a net across the area at a height of 6 ft, like a hammock. The net will be attached on all 4 walls, and it must support up to 400 lbs.

How would you go about affixing the net to the walls? Assume typical home construction - drywall over a wood frame.

Clearly you would have to first attach some kind of (metal?) hardware to the wall, which you would tie the netting to.

Any other ideas? Any recommendations on what product/material to attach to the walls? Any recommendations on netting material? Must be safe enough to hold up to 400 lbs worth of people.

Thanks for all the advice. Will upvote once I have enough rep. What if I did this?

So basically run a 2x4 around the room. Then run the eye bolts through this 2x4, though the drywall, and into studs. That should help take some pressure off the walls right? And add some reinforcement to keep the walls from pulling inward.


texts: i have good pressure in bathroom but really bad in kitchen?

texts: i have no presser in the kitchen,while i have good pressure in bathroom.  I replace pressure switches all the time.  Can anyone help?


texts: Swapping to Hive thermostat. 4 wire communicator has 2 wires per post

texts: I'd previously asked if I could swap my wires from the 4 wire communicator to the larger board and was told I could. I finally found time to do it. However, as I was preparing to move the wires, I found there are 2 wires per post. A post has 2 green wires, B has 2 yellow, C has 2 white, and D has 2 red. I followed the wires and they go under my floor and I assume over to my pump that is outside. The other set of wires runs to the thermostat. If I'm swapping these wires to the main board do I move both wires or do I leave the ones that go to the pump and just move the thermostat wires? Hopefully all that makes sense.


texts: Best way to stick a very long Ethernet cable semi-permanently to walls?

texts:
TL;DR: I am looking for good ways to stick flat Ethernet cable semi-permanently to ceilings/walls ideally suited to someone with no DIY expertise whatsoever

After successfully untwisting the very twisted Ethernet cable (thanks @Ecnerwal) I ran the cable to my room. However my parents were not keen on it being on the floor as it posed a tripping hazard. So I used a lot of sticky tape to tape the cable from the router all the way to my room via various walls and ceilings.
This worked well for about a day or so before the sticky tape became not-so-sticky and the cable started to droop and fall off in places. I attach photos:

So I'm looking for a slightly more permanent solution here. I know there are some U-shaped panel thingies (can you tell I'm a seasoned DIY professional??) that might work if I can figure out how to stick them to the walls.


texts: Help me identify the hex-to-allen adapter in this image

texts: I'm trying to determine the name of the red-circled adapter so that I can buy it and replicate this setup to fix something at my place.


texts: How to move utility sink and extend trap / drain pipe under it?

texts:
I'd like to move the utility sink (that my washer drains into) in my basement ~6 inches to the left to accommodate a new washer dryer.

The incoming water lines aren't a problem, but as you can see from the image below, the drain goes straight down to a trap and then back 90 degrees to the house drain.

My question is: if I move the sink to the left should I build with a couple of elbows and a straight section  from the house drain side and connect to the trap or is there any kind of "extra long trap" I should be looking at instead?

If it makes any difference, I'm in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Thanks!


texts:
My wife and I have been in our home for a little less than a year, and the paper blinds are starting to get tired to look at. The prices on blinds.com look appealing, but I'm hoping there are no hidden gotchas I'm not aware of.

The majority of my windows would only be one piece, there are a couple of windows that would require two blinds, and a couple would require three. We are looking at horizontal blinds also and not vertical.

My self-assessed 'DIY Level' is pretty high by my standards, just to give some background, I do the majority of the repairs on my car, and as for the home I painted the living room ceiling, walls, and baseboards all different colors, and replaced all the electrical outlets in the same room.

So, my question is: Is this something that the average home-owner can tackle? of course the blinds.com website says so, but of course I have to take the question to Stack Exchange. I've seen this question, I didn't read every answer but I did a search for blinds and it hadn't come up yet, so that's a plus.

Update 11/5/2013

The blinds project has gone pretty smooth up until this point. It seems that some walls have plaster or sheetrock behind it. Probably not a big deal, but I've snapped a couple of quality drill bits in the process. The proper method for this should be posed as a separate question imagine, so I'll do just that.


texts: Will a drywall anchor work fine after it's already open or engaged?

texts:
I'm going to install some shelving that is going to require either drilling into the stud, or using drywall anchors.

The brackets are kind of thick (half an inch), so I'm wondering if it matters if the screw is in all the way after I install the anchor.  Can the screw be out of the anchor almost halfway for it to still work?


texts: How to mount TV to basement wall under stairs?

texts:
I have a 55" TV I'd like to mount on a basement wall, which is located under the stairs. The area under the stairs is actually accessible, and I've gone back there to see what's available. It looks like there are studs there, but they're only 2 1/4" x 1 1/2"? Here is a picture:

Here the sloping ceiling is the underbelly of the stairs.

Is there any way to mount this TV to this wall safely and securely? Sorry if this is an easy question, I'm a complete novice at this.

Edit: some more photos.

Here's the front of the wall:

Here's some better pics of the back of the wall:


texts: Is there a code-compliant way to label a wire where the conductors are not wired in the expected way?

texts:
This might be an X/Y problem, so if there is a better solution, I'm all ears. I have a 3-gang electrical box in my basement that is already overcrowded. It has

The wire for the three-way light in the stairwell
The wire for the doorbell transformer
The wire going to the "j-box for smoke detectors" (handle labeled junction in the ceiling, I have no idea of what this is, but I presume it's important)
The wire for the lights in the basement.
The two double-dimmer switches I'm planning on adding are extra deep

I intend to introduce three more wires, and cut out 1 as I'm replacing the basement lights with 4 dimmable zones. I have open access to the wall (the other side is the utility room). I know that the simplest solution would be to move the doorbell and smoke detector wires to an intermediary junction box, but that only gets rid of two wires and I'm still planning on adding three more. I'd like to if possible have a carrier(s) between the two junction boxes for the light zones as well

I'm thinking the below (stupidly complicated) diagram is the easiest way to get it all done with the least space used in the actual switch box if I introduce a secondary junction box above it. Please note, in the below diagram, common is indicated by blue wires (it's hard to show white wires on a white background).

I'll have three sets of wires running between the two junction boxes, 1 to carry 120VAC, the other two to individual dimmer circuits plus ground. My main concern is that I'll be using white wire to carry a hot voltage between the two boxes. Is there any way I can label this to keep it to code, or do I have to run all four light-zone wires to the lower box? For code reference, I'm in the US, kansas to be exact.

Edit: As per the diagram, tan boxes are shielded NM wire, grey boxes are wire nuts/splices, the two large black boxes are the electrical junction boxes (blue plastic), and the lower large box also shows how the switches would be wired.


texts: I have a Junction box with incoming 120v coming into it.   I want to Install a GFCI recpetacle in this location.  From this same location I would like to splice the load side of the GFCI in order to protect planned receptacles which will be located to the left AND Right of this location. If I splice the load and carry load in 2 different directions, will this protect properly?


texts: Water pressure in apartment (2nd floor in two floor building) lower since new pipes and new shower

texts:
I live in Seattle. I don't know anything about plumbing but after a problem on the ground floor, over two days all pipes in my apartment and one below were changed. I didn't want them changed but they said they hadn't been changed for many years and this had to be done. Then we both got new showers, which work differently from old ones. Mine used to have separate hot water and cold water knobs but apparently the management is installing new showers in all their 10+ buildings, and these ones are like one knob for both hot and cold water and also a wider shower head which spreads the water out way more than my last one.
I feel like the water pressure is lower and told the manager and he said he had not heard from anybody but would send the plumbers. A guy came and took a look for 20 seconds and said it's normal.
I'm perplexed because whenever I shower I definitely feel a change. It's not just the shower head, which obviously does not direct the water the same way. When I soak in the tub, letting it fill, it takes longer too.
My questions:

Could a new shower lower pressure? Like having one knob vs two? Because when I used to turn both knobs to the max, that seemed to produce more pressure than pulling out this one knob to the max.

Could new pipes, due to diameter or build quality affect pressure?

Thank you so much.


texts: SDS hammer drill torque vs impact drill?

texts:
I am looking for a new drill and need some advice on how much torque i need. I've read alot of stuff on the internet and is a bit confused.

I got 2 in mind. A Makita HP 2071 and a Metabo UHEV 2860

The Metabo is a true SDS hammer drill while the Makita is a impact drill both have 2 gears and varialbe speed and around 1000 Watt.

I would prefer to get only 1 drill due to cost and I could use a real hammer drill for concrete and chisle function. But i also want a drill that can cut large holes in wood and Im worried the Metabo don't have the torque needed.

The Metabo is rated at 18 nm torque and 35mm holes in soft wood while the Makita is rated 40mm in soft wood, they don't list the torque rating.

I've run into the problem due to my old B&D 400 Watt simply stalls when trying to drill holes using a bi-metal 55mm hole saw in some 25mm wood planks.

Looking at different drills i find the true SDS hammer drills often have much lower torque then their non SDS counterparts. But is it in reallity a non issue? and will i be happy about the performance of the SDS drill?


texts: Outdoor Motion Sensor Light Fixture proper fish wiring

texts: Hello: I am trying to find a better way to wire and connect the outdoor Motion sensor light (top corner of the house) from the internal power source (outlet, switch). Could you please advise the right way to do it. I have the outlet inside the room on the same wall and the outdoor outlet (but it's far from the intended light location). Shall I use some other power sources or go from the attic route and find some power source through that? I looked on YouTube and many other forums but can't find a proper way. Thank you in advance!!!


texts: Hey how do I cut 45 degree angle iron to join them, I used my chop saw but they dont fit? I can send some pictures of the cuts


texts:
I have an interesting concern. I bought a house built in 1978, and since then the previous owners made some changes. One of which I can't figure out how to do safely and up to code. And I have read about a dozen similar questions on here to try to ensure I am not doubling up.

I have a closet in a bedroom, with a separate light to the rest of the room. Now, the closet has a switch for the light in the hallway - through a wall. My question is would it be easier to move the switch (about 8") and place it within the closet? Or just to tie it off and use the "pull switch" that they put on the fixture? As a side note, I am in Alberta, Canada - if you know what code issues I may run into that would also be greatly appreciated insights.

And leaving it to me isn't an option, I don't like the switch in the hallway for a variety of reasons.

Thanks.


texts: I have just moved into a house with an open area in the back that is glassed in.  Something that they call a Queensland room in Australia.  A patio that has glass walls and windows.  My neighbour loves his music.  How can I reduce the noise coming from his place through glass.  Is there something that can be stuck on the glass that is see through that stops the noise from coming into our space.  I don't want to antagonise him because he sounds like he is having a great time and is a nice neighbour otherwise.


texts: Best way to mount metal boxes on EMT run through 2x4 framing

texts:
I've gone over this in my head a few times, and I think this is the best solution given the problem at hand. Just want to get some feedback and see if anyone has an alternative idea.
This is going to be all new electrical for a detached garage, from a 60A sub panel inside the garage. AHJ follows NEC 2017 with no amendments.
I'm planning to use metal boxes that will house 2 duplex receptacles each and run 1/2" EMT conduit between the boxes. Each duplex in a box will be on a separate GFCI protected circuit (two receptacle circuits total) because it is a workshop and in case tools close together need to be operated simultaneously. EMT is probably overkill and I could just use MC, AC, or even NM-B (can't get a clear answer on whether NM-B is allowed for a detached garage); but I think EMT will be a good exercise and I don't mind doing some extra work here.
The garage is unfinished and uninsulated, with 24" OC 2x4 framing along the exterior walls. I don't have current plans to finish the walls but want to leave that opportunity open in the future, hence not running along the surface.
Here is a primitive and absolutely not to-scale drawing of my plan:

The boxes will be mounted on 2x4s cut to length and screwed between studs. Conduit will travel through holes in the center of the studs and come up to the boxes with 90 degree elbows (based on this table the 90 in 1/2" EMT will be 5 7/8" from horizontal to vertical center, so should be plenty of room within 24" OC framing).
Questions:

Is there a better way to mount these boxes when using EMT?
I plan to make the depth between the surface of the framing and the front of the box about 5/8" to account for drywall. Is that appropriate for using the crushed corner metal box covers? I can't find any images of a 4x4 box going through drywall and what the cover would look like.


texts: Can a poor application of driveway sealer be corrected?

texts: Our contractor put one very thick coat of sealer down instead of applying it in multiple thin coats. It looks like patchwork and very unsightly. Is there any way to correct this?


texts: How to plumb a washing machine 30 ft from the waste stack?

texts:
I would like to install a washing machine in my basement, about 30 feet from the main waste stack. The stack is fully accessible and already has a capped 2" port about 8" above the concrete floor.

Can this be done? How do I look up the diameter and slope requirements? Where do I put a vent?


texts: This is from a serving tray in bamboo, whose legs won't stay tucked in when I transport it. I thought I might try to do something with these screws, but... how do I unscrew them?


texts: strange issue in kitchen InSinkErator power outlet

texts: I am trying to connect another very low power electrical equipment to the outlet that is used by the working InSinkErator... I tried connecting table lamp, fan etc to make sure .. it appears nothing other than InSinErator works off of that outlet. I am stumped. I know some electrical basics but cant think of how this can happen. Appreciate help


texts: Canadian (Alberta) Residential Electrical Code

texts: Is there a homeowners version of the current electrical code for residential wiring in Alberta available at no cost? I’m renovating my kitchen and would be helpful to know the many changes and requirements for budget purposes.


texts: Gas-fired water heater safe to have in living area of home?

texts:
A un-licensed renovation on our house was performed about 15 years ago, which turned a former garage into a 200 sq ft den directly attached to the rest of the house.  In this den is a gas-fired water heater.  It is not enclosed, and still has all the same venting it had prior to the renovation.

Is having a gas-fired water heater in a living area legal according to the Florida building code?  Or to get right to the real point, is this a carbon monoxide hazard?


texts: In a house fire, how hot does the foundation have to get before it too has to be replaced?

texts:
Not long after the Oakland Hills fire in the early 90's I was talking with a homeowner. I ignorantly said that at least he can still rebuild on the same foundation. He said that at about 2,000°F the rebar in the foundation gets hot enough to expand, leaving voids in the foundation when it cools, and at over 2,500°F all the water gets cooked out of the foundation, leaving you with a pile of concrete dust that looks like a foundation. In either case the foundation has to be replaced. The extreme temperatures created from the burning eucalyptus trees were supposedly responsible for those temperatures.My question is twofold:

Are the temperatures cited more or less correct?
Are these temperatures encountered in a non-wildfire environment where the only fuel is the structure's flammable materials?

It seems like rebar would get hot enough to expand well below 2,000°F.


texts:
I have a washing machine which is plumbed into the drain with a standard sort of appliance trap:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mcalpine-appliance-trap-40mm-white/81714

There's a nozzle for the appliance, an outlet connector which clamps onto the waste pipe, a P-trap, and a sink connector on the top.

The only thing is, i don't have a sink!

Well, not right next to the washing machine, at least. So currently, i have the sink connector open to the air. Most of the time, this is fine, but if the washing machine drains a particularly foamy load of water, then the foam shoots up out of the top, and spills all over the place.

Can i somehow seal the top of the trap? Is there a blanking plug which will fit this?

I had a look, but all the plugs i could find are for the connectors which joins to other bits of pipe, not the connector which joins to the sink, which seems to be different. The sink connector is a plain pipe with a threaded nut around it; the dimensions are:

Internal diameter of pipe 33.8 mm
External diameter of pipe 41.2 mm
Internal diameter of nut thread 45.5 mm

Is there something which will fit this?


texts: remote closes but does not open garage door

texts: I have a Linear LD003 garage door opener which is wired and I have remotes from one of two cars and some handheld remotes too. In all cases, using any of the remotes allows me to close one of our garage doors, but none of remotes can open the door. We have a fixed wire connection to the same door and that opens and closes it just fine, so I know it's not a mechanical problem, per se. Any suggestions?


texts: Last week plumber installed new vanity faucet, supply lines in small hall bath.  Now the shower in that bathroom and the one in master bath do not have water until the sink is turned on...when sink is turned off the showers go off and there is no hot water...HELP!!


texts: Boiler heating gauge drops to negative pressure (psi) on cooling

texts:
I just moved into a older house (1937) which has a boiler heating system (steam). When the boiler kicks on the gauge barely goes above 0 psi, and after heating the gauge will drop to about negative 5 -7 psi. It eventually settles back to 0 psi if the heat does not run for a while.

I will also add that most of the house heats up except for the room farthest from the boiler. And the water level appears correct on the sight tube.

Do I need a new gauge? And how can I get the far room warmer? Is there something else I should consider?

Thanks.


texts: Do the breaker amp readings sum up to dictate my current panels total / possible amperage?

texts:
So I know practically nothing about houses having rented for many years, just bought a house and was told by my inspector the panel is only a 70 amp panel and will need to be upgraded before I go to install AC.

I took him at his word, and had one AC consult, mentioning this to the guy he looked at my panel and agreed it needed an upgrade.

He gave a terrible quote ($5500 for a 3 ton goodman AC install without the electrical work, no ducting work necessary), so I got somebody else to give me a quote.

Now here's the problem: Fellow comes over and says I have a 150 amp panel and there's room (which I can see) for a couple more breakers on it, and gives me a considerably better AC quote (3500 for a lennox 3 ton 14 seer, all the same bells and whistles).

So now I'm thinking, considering how terrible the quote was from the first consult, perhaps he was just trying to squeeze even more money out of me? Why did my inspector tell me it was a 70 amp panel?

I look at the panel and there's like 6 or 8 15/20 amp breakers on it as well as a 30 amp double-breaker thingy (not sure if this is 30 per or 30 total) and a 50 amp double-breaker thingy.

I'll get a picture when I get home to post here, but off hand my question is:

Is it accurate to say I definitely have over a 70 amp panel due to the sum of amps on breakers in there right now? Is the sum of those little labels on the breakers make up my panels current amperage?

I look online for 70 amp panel and it's this tiny dinky thing with 3 breakers on it..

Edit:
Here are the pictures, if this is not a 70 amp can anybody identify the amps?

Appearances to me are the diagram on the box does not match the actual panel, as the panel has 20 breaker spots (as I read it) while the diagram shows 14. And yes, I realize it's missing a main breaker, so I included the other two pieces I understand identify the max amp load; the conduit and the meter.


texts: I have a water line to my fridge with no shut off valve

texts: Is it hard to add one or even something to cap off the end?  I removing the whole refrigerator and won't be using that line. I may want to use it in the future so I don't want to remove it.


texts: Which numbers identify inputs and outputs in circuit breaker

texts: I have always though that the numbering on the circuit breaker is in as such that the input wire (supply line) is 1 (3,5,7) and the output wire is 2 (4,6,8). However today I discovered that in my panel the input wire is 2, and the output wire is 1. Is this correct? And does it matter?


texts: Can a simmerstat switch be fixed? And how?

texts:
I stumbled across this site and think it sounds like someone might be able to help me with my problem…

Let me outline… I have a cooktop (St George CC355, if that's useful) and it has two hotplates (well three, if you count the fact that one is a dual hotplate). The dual is the problem… it used to work, then suddenly it only worked on the full hotplate setting, which is actually, both the small and large on together). Because of this, I think I have narrowed the problem down to the control or the simmerstat switch, which I would love to just be able to replace (job done), but they no longer make it and have no alternative.

So, my question is can a simmerstat switch be fixed? And how? The switch is a TDL-205 if that helps. I really hope someone can give me some advice.

Kind regards, Lyndelle.


texts: how do i remove kitchen sink drainer basket without a visible lock nut?

texts: my kitchen drainer basket is made of plastic without the usual lock nut. i could not remove it.


texts: How could I flatten these warped sleepers layed on uneven concrete to an acceptable level?

texts:
The concrete in my basement is, as most concrete is, very uneven. I was building up my subfloor to match an existing floor, so I got about 200 board feet of PT 4x4 and ripped 1/2" off using a table saw followed by a planer. Then they kinda sat for a month while I trecked across the trans-Canada railway. Anywho, the combined effect of the planing and the sitting was warpage. I put anchors in the concrete and tightened them down real good to flatten them, but some pieces are really far gone, where some of them snugged right up.

Here's a photo of how it is right now:

It has a lot of high corners because of the warpage, and I sanded a good bit down with my angle grinder and some 36 grit.

Every time I move the level though it seems like something else is too high or too low. It's been hours of back and forth and it's starting to seem impossible to make this flat. The floor isn't actually level, it's 2-3 degrees tilted outwards, but flat is what matters to me. I'm starting to think if I put the plywood down that things just might go well, although at some points the plywood seems like it would be resting on the edge of the 4x3's because of the warpage.

Is there a reasonable tolerance that I should abide by in making these flat? Is there a better way? Is it ok if not the whole sleeper is in contact with the floor board? (bonus points: my framing down there looks structurally sound enough, right?!)

(and because I know somebody will call me out on it, there's no plastic under there but the epoxy coat I have down there is one of the moisture barrier variety, and I also put PT on to just to be safe - I know already! I know!)


texts: Advice on connecting this light to a ceiling rose

texts: I have bought a vintage light but i'm not sure how to attach it to my ceiling. I currently have a regular ceiling rose (UK) but I can see I need to replace that with something else. Just not sure what.


texts: Using 15-amp thermostat on a 20 amp circuit

texts:
I live in Washington state. I have a 20 amp circuit breaker on a circuit that drives two fan-forced heaters, connected through a single line voltage "dumb" thermostat, unknown rating. I would like to replace the "dumb" thermostat with a single wifi-connected smart thermostat.

The heaters look to be the same model and one of them has a nameplate shown below. Assuming the worst case of 2 x 1500 W, this should yield 3000 W / 240 V = 12.5 A.

Most line voltage smart thermostats I can find are rated at 16 amps. Can I use that on this circuit to control both heaters, or would I need a thermostat rated at 20 amps? 12.5 is less than 16 so it should work, but is it compliant with electrical codes?

From the below question it appears the answer is yes, but the second answer mentions "You can have multiple stats on one circuit. The code requires more than 1 you have 3 so this is up to code." I have only one thermostat - is that still ok?
Using 15 amp thermostat on a 20 amp circuit

(I wanted to add a comment under that answer to ask this question but I don't have enough reputation points.)


texts: I have a 50 year old Murray box that will not take the current circuit breakers. I need to find out how to order or find the number for a 4 pole 20/30/30/20 breaker that will fit the old style box or universal version with the deeper cutout on the plugin back?


texts: Light replacement for a complicated light ceiling cover

texts: I need to replace the lights in the below shown light ceiling cover. I have read another post on this forum and tried those methods I.e. sliding the glass cover between the metal holdings or trying the move one of the side brackets but it doesn't work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Which whole house generators put out a good sine wave?

texts:
Some postings on DIY caution about using square waves and dirty sine waves to power some electronic equipment.

Which whole house generators generally put out clean sine waves?   (I looked on the official Briggs and Stratton website and found nothing on this topic.)


texts:
I installed a nest thermostat a month ago. A very simple two wire install for a boiler.  It worked fine without any issues for a month.  This morning I went to adjust the temperature remotely and was told it was offline.

When I went down to the thermostat I found it had a low battery condition and had disabled the wifi antenna. I checked the voltage in the line, ~28V.
The unit does appear to be communicating with the boiler as adjusting the temperature does cycle the boiler, it just appears to be no longer drawing energy for a charge.


texts: Why does my cork subfloor test positive for formaldehyde?

texts:
This week I have been having engineered wood flooring installed, with a 1/2 in. cork subfloor installed to help reduce sound transmission between upstairs and downstairs.

I bought a tester off of Amazon to make sure my floors don't offgas high levels of formaldehyde:

https://www.amazon.com/Detector-Accurate-Formaldehyde-Detection-Vzznn/dp/B0759H76CL/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1515827920&sr=8-4&keywords=formaldehyde+detector

To my surprise, while my wood floors are fine, the cork subfloor was registering HCHO levels on the meter higher than 0.1 mg/m^3 -- the threshold between 'very good air' and 'somewhat pollute' on this unit. Since I couldn't find any information online on the company that produced this cork product (Portofino) I asked my flooring guy to rip out the cork he had already installed (glued down) and start over with new much more expensive cork that I called the manufacturer and confirmed does NOT contain formaldehyde. (They said it uses polyurethane as a binding agent.) This product is "Acousticork" and you can read about it here:

http://acousticorkusa.com/

Thing is, today when I get home (with Acousticork installed) and turn on my meter, it goes OFF THE CHARTS on both the HCHO rating and the TVOC rating. Whereas previously I had gotten values around 0.14 mg/m^3, the air in my home when I got home was around 5.4 mg/m^3!!

I opened the windows, and eventually it decreased below 0.1. The if I place the air detector directly on a sheet of Acousticork, it goes over 1.4 mg/m^3.

This leads me to one of three conclusions. Either:

a) My meter is not measuring Formaldehyde at all, but rather some safe substance that this cork product emits,

b) The company selling Acousticork lied to me and it WAS made with Formaldehyde, or

c) I am using the meter incorrectly.

I realize I could try to find a company that does formaldehyde testing, and have my cork tested to see if it's (b). If so, I could presumably try to sue the company to get enough $$ to have my floor replaced.

But in the mean time, I thought I'd see if anyone knows anything about these testers, or about cork subflooring products. Specifically, is there something about cork subfloor that could cause a formaldehyde tester to incorrectly show formaldehyde emissions when there are none?


texts: How can I locate the doorbell transformer?

texts: my doorbell stopped working and I tested it with a multimeter and found no current to the box. How do I locate the transformer to replace it?


texts: How do I remove this drain pipe from my garbage disposal?

texts:
I found a leak in my garbage disposal, and I think I know the source (possibly a crack in the drainpipe).
However, now I'm stuck on how to actually take off the drain pipe.
The disposal pipe (3 in the picture) seems to be getting stuck right after the threading in piece #2.
Is there a correct way to take the pipe off?


texts: can i wire 2x 30amp double pole circuits to a 60 amp device

texts: In the USA, I am replacing a 4x 30amp tankless water heater on double pole circuit breakers with one that is 1x 60 amps. Can I reuse 2x 30amp double pole circuits and wire them both to the L1-L2 terminals in the heater?  I want to avoid pulling new #6 wire that the 60amp DB-CB requires.


texts:
I'm doing some remodeling on a river cabin. It was built 50 years ago and most of it is not to code.

It's not mine and I'm trying to get my family to look at upgrading all the wiring. It doesn't even have outlets with grounds in them.

Also, for those who might be concerned, I do have some experience wiring. My uncle wired his whole home and came down to wire my dad's shop. He taught me and an inspector said it was wired better than some homes he'd been in. I know how to safely wire this project in, just not issue like this. If I can't find a satisfactory answer or I don't feel confident, I will call in a professional.

My issue is that I'm working on redoing a wall in the bathroom. There is currently a light fixture with a built in plug for plugging in something like a hair dryer. I'm replacing that light fixture and would like to add a gfci outlet in the wall before I add the FRP board I'm covering it with. The current gang box for the light is free floating and I'm going to replace it with a plastic one with the little wings that hold it in place. Being able to push it back I can read that the wire says 14/2.

Ideally all the wire would be 12/2, but I don't know when or if that will happen. I'll never use 14/2, so instead of buying a roll of that, can I use a piece of the 12/2 romex that I already have, and wire off the light to the outlet?

I understand that the outlet would only work when the light was on. I just want to make sure I'm not going to burn the cabin down. In my mind, it would be fine, because it's already wired correctly for 14/2, with the correct amp breaker, so if it hits a load too high for the 14/2, then the breaker shuts off. It just has the capability to run more power. I wouldn't be able to do the reverse, but this seems okay.

Am I correct on this or is there an issue I don't know about? Thanks. I did see similar questions, but none that I thought were exactly this issue.


texts: How do I reduce the noise from my forced air furnace?

texts: We recently had a new forced air furnace and return installed. The unit works great, but the return (which is in an adjacent closet to the furnace closet) is quite loud. What are some solutions I can explore to reduce the general noise the furnace makes as it is circulating air?


texts: How would I join several pieces of thick plywood together?

texts: Ok so this question is regarding my Design and Technology GCSE, I have 5 pieces of 15mm thick plywood. These pieces of plywood have no middle and need to join together to make a sort of box with another piece of plywood that is 3mm thick on the bottom. I was thinking about just using wood glue to glue every piece together or would it be more durable if I drilled holes, through all the pieces, countersunk at the top and used screws instead or is there another way entirely for example biscuit joints.I'm limited to, while it is still very well equipped, a school workshop.


texts:
My furnace unit started making a squealing sound today. Does anyone know what this is? Anything I can fix myself?

Maybe related, the temp was high 90s today and the AC was actually behind. I have it set at 76 and it was at 78 early this afternoon and still hasn't shut off yet, 6 hours later. Secondary question, should it be behind or is that another issue?

It squeals for 2-3 minutes, then is silent for probably 2-3 minutes.

Video: https://youtu.be/yWVDllF5rrc

EDIT:
Is this where the oil goes, this black tube?


texts: Best replacement for broken in-wall dehumidifier?

texts:
My wife and I are new owners of a home with a partially finished basement of about 1,700 square feet. We found a dehumidifier mounted in a wood cutout in the wall near one end of the finished part. It appears to be an old Hampton Bays that exhausts out the front and intakes from its rear end from a small adjoining office. From the unit there is a hose leading through some cutouts in the wood paneling, where it drains. Here are pictures of the front, back and a closeup of the attached hose:

I believe it is no longer functioning because the humidity stays stuck near 70% regardless of whether it is running.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a similar unit on the market today. I don't see any that intake from the rear and exhaust through the front.

Portables seem to be very popular today, but the drain here appears to be high on the wall. I wouldn't be able to drain with gravity and would either have to run a pump or empty the drain manually.

Any recommendations? Thanks!

Update:

We have central air cooling. Our first zone includes the basement and first floor.


texts:
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Setting: Victorian house, kitchen.

Light switch.
1 red wire going into common.
1 red wire going into L1

Original set up in the ceiling rose.
1 black wire, neutral.
2 red wires in the loop on the ceiling rose.
1 red wire, live.

I recently changed my light fitting. I took all the wires out of the rose and connected them directly to a Habitat Fisherman light fitting.

It should have been simple.

Connect neutral to neutral. Earth to earth and live to live. Isolate the 2 remaining red wires into connectors.

I did that and the new light won't switch off. It's permanently on.

I tried changing the red wires in turn to figure out if i had connected the wrong red to red but there only seems to be one red wire that is live.
(I haven't done a pro test using measuring tools)

I  took a picture of the rose just after I connected the first red wire to a connector. Originally this wire was in a loop position.


texts: Seized "ballofix" ball valve can't shut off water properly

texts:
I have a dripping shower/bath mixer tap (read "running hot water and rapidly getting worse") which I need to fix. I have found the water switch off valves for the apartment, but I cannot close them fully - the apartment is ~45 years old and the whole building is due to have the pipe system changed in the fall so it's probably quite an old valve. There is quite a lot of calcium deposit around the taps so hard water may be a factor.

Here is the valve in the open state:

Here is the valve, as far as I can get it:

How can I get it to close fully? What should (and shouldn't) I do? I'm concerned about applying too much force such that the handle or valve gets damaged and I'd be left stuck without water - is this a risk, and how can I best apply enough force to close the valve while minimising the risk of damage? E.g. is there a way to grip the handle properly? Should I also grip the pipes around to ensure they aren't put under force?

The black tap handle is actually removable, it just pulls of, and reveals that it is just a glorified hex-key. Could I just use a longer hex key to provide better leverage or is there a problem in applying too much force?

I've seen also suggestions of the following too, are they good or bad ideas?

tap gently with a hammer as I turn the tap
use spray oil (e.g. WD40) and let that soak in


texts: Safe to use electrical tape on cracked microwave light socket?

texts:
I recently purchased a house with an over-the-stove microwave and discovered the two lights under the microwave (above the range) were blown out. When I went to change the light bulbs, I found the light bulbs were gone but the bases were still in the sockets. The plastic covers for the sockets also were broken. After removing the hardware, taking out the metal light bulb bases from the sockets and looking up the replacement parts based on the microwave model number, I found the replacements sockets are like $84 each! (A new, same-model microwave is $300.)

https://www.midwestapplianceparts.com/5304424251-wci-p-frigidaire-light-socket
After getting the light bulb bases out of the sockets, I put in new 40W appliance bulbs, wrapped the sockets in electrical tape and re-installed everything. It works fine, but it does get hot, and I'm worried that the tape will melt if the lights are left on too long. Is that a legitimate concern? If it is, is there any way of fixing the sockets that I have? Or should I bite the bullet and buy new sockets? The microwave itself works fine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


texts:
I need to make solar PV cable enter my home, horizontally through a hole in a wall. There are four insulated wires in two separate 1" conduits but there is one hole through which they must go in.

Is there some electrical fitting I can use for this entry, to cover the hole and make it look proper? I was thinking of attaching a junction box. No building codes apply where I live.

Edit: Here is a picture as requested. Currently there is only one conduit but there will be two. Also the conduits can be made to come up form the bottom.


texts: What is the solvent that will dilute the non-cyanoacrylate clear Gorilla Glue?


texts: I am running a hose under a deck which has a wooden "fence" covering the "crawl space". I'd like to have a spigot on the side of the deck where the hose come out. Do they make something like this that I can screw a hose in the back/inlet and screwn the bib into the fence? All of the bibs I've found with screw mounts like this do not have FHT on the inlet, and all of the bibs I've found with FHT on the inlet do not have a mounting flange/holes. Any recommendations?


texts:
I know that by construction, OSB is anisotropic -- it has different properties in different directions.
So I wonder: Is is this significant? And if so, which direction is the stiffer/stronger one? I'm mostly interested in bending stiffness when loaded.
I'm considering OSB3, 2500x1250x18mm, if that makes a difference. The project is a detachable bed into my MPV car. So the consideration is in which direction to cut the individual pieces from the board as some of them might be quite narrow (70mm width).


texts: air conditioner venting pipe functionality

texts: Today I found the venting pipe of air conditioner pump out hot air out of my house. I wonder if it will cause energy leak. If it's hot air, is it better to pump it inside my house?


texts: Do I need to grade my turf for drainage in a small plot

texts:
So I have a townhouse with a small 20'x 30' backyard with a 20' x 7' garden in the rear that I'm converting into artificial grass (the green area in my diagram).  I'm keeping 2 large tree-like shrubs in the corners and putting artificial grass all around it, and using a 20 mm playmat foam turf pad underneath.  The bulk of the backyard is paver stones (in gray) with a surface drain in the center and a remaining garden strip on the right-hand side that I'm putting bushes in.  The house is to the bottom of the diagram with a balcony and stairs to the garden, and the yard abuts other back yards made of pavement or dirt on every side.
My question is this: I see in the instructions for artificial grass to grade away from the house for drainage.  Since I have such a small patch of turf that's separated from the house do I still need to grade for drainage?  To mound up in the middle or to slope away from the house is a challenge as outlined below.
I tried flattening out all the dirt after removing the plants and it seems like there is a slight grade back to front towards the house (down in the diagram).
Additionally, the area where the brush trees are slightly raised on top of that.  If I were to do the easiest grade I would fill in a bit towards the middle top so that it's even with the raised dirt around the trees and slide the whole thing slightly towards the paver stones and house.  However, that seems to go against the instructions to go away from the house.
Leveling the dirt around the tree bases and reversing the grade seems like a lot of work and might expose some roots.
So can I get away with either:

not grading the dirt and leaving the dirt higher around the tree base
grading the dirt to slope down towards the paver stones (and the house - down in the diagram) so that it can keep the dirt around the tree at its higher state?

or do I have to dig down around the trees and re-level the back garden area to slope away from the house to the top of the diagram?


texts: What are the downsides of a pressurized room?

texts:
The door to a bedroom is closed 24/7. Someone told me, "Be careful. It sounds like you are pressurizing the room."

The room is fairly pressurized, I suppose; I can feel air rushing out from underneath the bottom of the door if I stand outside the room and in front of the closed door.

But what is bad about that? I don't understand the practical significance of air pressure.


texts: I want to run 12/3 wire to gfci-outlet-outlet-outlet-gfci-outlet-outlet-outlet. How can I accomplish that? There will also be 2 separate breakers


texts: How is a high altitude natural gas burner different?

texts: What is the difference between high altitude natural gas burner and conventional low altitude gas burner and why high altitude natural gas burner are needed?


texts: to Calculate the capacity of Voltage Stabilizer required for Home use

texts: wanted to calculate the capacity of a voltage stabilizer for home use, Refrigerator has its own inbuilt voltage stabilizer, please tell me shall i have to include the refrigerator to calculate the capacity of voltage stabilizer for complete home via main line single phase.


texts: I have a 2 zone system that intermittently shows temp 2 degrees or so above set point; on one or the other thermostat, day or night. At some point, the condenser kicks back on and everything works fine. Outside temp doesn't matter, it will keep it 70 inside with it 100 outside. The problem is obviously the condenser not coming back on immediately when the thermostat demands cooling. When the temp is above set point, the blower is running, but the condenser unit isn't. Again, after a bit, it does kick back on and bring the temp back down.


texts: How can I anchor to a 1" thick hollow wall with a very shallow cavity?

texts:
I just moved into a pre-war apartment in the Upper West Side, New York. I'm trying to install some wall shelves.

I don't know anything about the construction of this building, so I'm learning about it as I go. It's been impossible to find studs near where I need to mount (have yet to find a stud using a density or magnet stud finder), so I've resorted to anchoring in the "drywall".

After drilling a  hole, I see that the drywall is over an inch thick, and after 2 inches my drill bit is hitting the building's stone exterior.

I'm not sure what kind of hollow wallboard this is. After some research, it sounds like it is probably lath + plaster, but it doesn't flake or crumble like plaster though. Either way, it is about 1.25 inches thick and doesn't give me enough room in the back for a toggle anchor to open up.

The question is: How do I appropriately anchor these shelves into this wall? Is there a type of anchor that supports thick walls like this, will support the weight of the shelves, and doesn't need a lot of space in the hollow part of the wall?

Shelf Specs:

Dimensions: 36" long, 5.5" deep.
They'll hold no more than 50lbs, most likely much less. Planning to put plants on them.
Shelf Brackets: 2 brackets wrap around the ends of the shelf. 2 screw holes per bracket. Image here

Thanks for your help!


texts: Can sliding doors be replaced while retaining the existing frame?

texts: Can I just take out the old glass sliding doors and replace them with new ones without ripping out the frame?


texts: Can I apply a second coat of stain if the first coat is still damp?

texts: I just finish staining the deck and now I want to put a second coat, but the wood looks like it's still damp. Can I put on a second coat?


texts: How do I rust proof a garage door track?

texts:
I have a couple of questions about how to do this:

Is it safe to cut the bottom 1-1.5 inches off the track so that it's not in direct contact with the concrete of the garage?  I often get standing water during the winter up against the garage door and this would prevent the track from sitting in it.
Would regular rust proofing spray paint be adequate for this kind of use?  I don't believe the portion I'm cleaning is actually in contact with the roller so it shouldn't get too much rubbing from the rollers.


texts: Toilet will not flush and has Air Bubbles

texts: Toilet will not drain when flushed.  If I use a plunger for 5 min I can get the water to drain to normal level in the bowl.  If I turn on the water to the bathtub and sink both sandwiching the toilet air bubbles begin coming up in the bowl.  There are two other full baths in the home working fine.


texts: How to fix a separation wall in the bathroom

texts:
We have a wooden part in the wall in the shower, which used to pass laundry (I think) from the bathroom to the service area as can be seen in the image bellow.

The water from the shower and the humidity doesn't help keep the wood from catching mold and breaking down.

We previously smoothed the wood and applied new paint, but the wood deteriorated back to its previous condition.

Any advice on how to have a permanent fix? Or should we simply consider removing it and finding a different solution?

An image of it from the other side:


texts: Unvented gas heater shuts off (along with pilot) after running a while

texts: My new 30K btu Empire heater lights and burns fine but after a few minutes the flame gradually gets smaller then an audible click and it shuts off with the pilot going out too.  I haven't had chance to see if there is a fume buildup (my 850 sq ft house is pretty tight) but will try to see.  Anything else I should check or any ideas?  thanks


texts: What type of insulation should I use in a knee wall?

texts:
We have an unfinished bonus room over the garage on the second floor. A normal door goes to it and same height as rest of the 2nd floors and full sized windows and the house was zoned for the additional room but the original buyers from a few years ago decided to leave it unfinished.

In Southern New Hampshire we are in zone 5 which requires R49 to R60 for uninsulated attic and R13 to R21 for Wall Cavity and R5 to 6 for Wall Insulation Sheeting according to energy code website.

My question is in a knee wall which insulation would be required in the outside wall/roof and above the ceiling?.


texts:
What is a recommended way to go about removing screw anchors from a wall, after they've been there for "quite some time". I tried simply pulling them out with pliers, sometimes that works but more often (since they've been there a long time) I just tear them apart with the remainer in the wall. I tried drilling through them, but that still seems like overkill, and often leaves even more damage in the wall.

What are your experiences and recommendations?

Screw anchor


texts: tankless water heater before the reg hot water

texts: What if I installed a new tankless water heater before the regular hot water heater, so that the tank water heater is getting filled with hot/warm water vs the 40 degrees water its getting now? Our 80 gallon tank turns cold quickly. We had a 40 year old solar unit doing this which has to be removed or replaced, and want to look at all the options.


texts: How can I tighten a bolt in a circular hole?

texts:
I've assembled a set of swings, and am trying to tighten the nuts at the top. The trouble is that they are embedded deep inside a circular hole and I can't get to them with a regular spanner.

What kind of tool should I be using? I had a good look in my local hardware store and couldn't see anything useful.

Here's a (dreadful) diagram of what I mean.


texts: How can I predict now the heat sinks that will appear in winter?

texts: I've just moved into a house where I'm concerned that an energy audit might find problems.  The clue is that the windows appear to be old single-pane windows.  Once it's cold out I can borrow an infrared camera and go around checking to see how bad things are and exactly where the greatest heat losses are.  But it's hard to install new windows in winter.  What can I do now to anticipate where the problems will be?


texts: How can I fix a cabinet to plasterboard with brick wall behind?

texts:
I aim to fit a (fairly heavy) kitchen wall cabinet to a plasterboard wall. Behind the plasterboard there does not appear to be any studs. So I guess the plasterboard (what I would call drywall - plasterboard with no studs) has been glued to the brick exterior wall which lies behind the plasterboard. The cabinet once fitted will be laden with lots of heavy pans etc.

Can the plasterboard be drilled through and into the brick wall behind it? What type of plugs / fastening would be recommended?


texts: Can I protect 3 branch circuits with a GFCI outlet?

texts: I have 4 sets of wires coming into one outlet. 4 black 4 whites and 4 ground.  1 set is hot when power is on, all the rest are not.  I need to switch the outlet to a gfi outlet.  Is this even safe?


texts: Waterproofing between wall and new sink vanity

texts: We just installed a new sink vanity and there's a roughly 1 inch gap between the bottom of our mirror and the top of the sink where the wall is exposed. We'd like to protect the wall back there from moisture. What's the best way to do this? PVC trim? a backsplash of some sort? Not entirely worried about design aesthetics-- just want it to be waterproof.


texts: How can I remove my bathroom extractor fan's cover?

texts:
I have this Cata B-Plus extractor fan in my bathroom:

It's connected to the light switch and it stopped working. I want to take the cover off and remove all the dust. If I yank on the cover I can see that it is separating from the unit inside the wall but I can't get it off. What's the trick to getting this thing off? It's on the wall not the ceiling.


texts: If I'm changing the input (and output) hoses in my gas water heater, do I need to drain the tank first?  Or can I just shut off the water, shut off the gas to water heater and disconnect both hoses?  I'm somewhat worried the system is under pressure and water will come shooting out uncontrollably...


texts: Adding a hot tub which needs a 220 60 amp circuit

texts:
I reviewed some other questions - none of them seemed to be similar enough to consider.

I am planning on using an electrician for this upgrade and want to be able to explain to him on the phone our needs. We're out in the country and I'd like to have a much info for him before he visits.

We are getting a new hot tub which needs 220V/60 amp service. As part of our recent remodel, we already ran heavy gauge wire which we were told was big enough for the circuit - I don't think this part will be an issue and I'm sure the electrician will verify - I think it's at least 6 gauge my even be 4.

Our current master breaker box has a 220 outlet with dual pole 30 amp breakers which was used for a shop air compressor previously. The plan is to connect the hot tub to this breaker (with the new wire of course).

We need to replace this breaker with one that fits the needs of the hot tub. From a replacement perspective, is this as "simple" as replacing the current dual pole 30 amp with a 60 amp breaker?

I know when the electrician comes, he'll make sure it's done properly, but I'm trying to get an idea of the complexity.


texts: What considerations need to be taken when building a lakefront property?

texts:
I'm in the process of evaluating a lake-front lot in my city in hopes of building my next home there. The lot is on a small peninsula as seen on google maps here.

I briefly talked to a friend of mine who does home construction and he said the water table is high and that I likely wouldn't be able to have a traditional basement (something I would very much prefer to have). I'm wonder what other considerations I would need to take. Would it be standard to consult with a builder before even purchasing land?


texts: How to keep self cleaning oven from damaging things?

texts:
I would like to know some tips/opinions on the self cleaning function of an oven.

Can it possibly hurt the oven's own circuitry?
what is a good way from preventing surrounding from getting damaged (cabinets, micro, whatever)?  Last time I used it my cabinets fronts got scorched - turned them from white to light yellow.
are there any settings on the oven that help for the self cleaning?


texts:
I have to ask this because I have been doing a ton of electrical work in my house.  Will get inspected soon.

I am pretty neat - everything is stapled uniformly and ran at the same height- but I don't always make my cables face the same way.  They have some twists.  My framing holes are off by an inch here and there.

So my question is - what is workmanlike manner?  What is the cut-off?  If you have pictures of something that didn't pass because of this please show it - especially if you think it was workmanlike.


texts: Is USG Sheetrock(r) "SW Edge" a thing, or a feature?

texts:
I find references to "SW edge" ('SW' being 'smooth wall') in USG literature.  Ex (link),

  SHEETROCK Brand Gypsum Panels,  SW Have an exclusive tapered rounded
  edge design to help minimize ridging or beading and other joint
  imperfections.  This edge produces a much stronger joint than regular
  tapered edge when pre-filled with DURABOND setting type compound and
  finished with joint treatment.   Except for the rounded edge, panels
  are tapered like, and otherwise identical to, regular tapered-edge
  gypsum panels.

I got curious because the USG Gypsum Construction Handbook ch 5, "Joint Treatment for Drywall Construction" says, (bold added)

  Prefilling Joints is desirable when there are large gaps between
  panels. This step is necessary with SW edge board.

  Fill the “V” groove between Sheetrock brand gypsum panels, SW (see
  diagram), with joint compound such as Sheetrock brand setting-type
  (Durabond 45 or 90) or lightweight setting-type (Easy Sand 45 or 90). ...

However, I don't find (or don't understand) any references to "SW" in what I think is the USG panel products list.  Everything there seems to be either 'tapered' or 'square' edged.

This makes me wonder whether 'SW Edge' is a product per se, or just the name USG uses for all its tapered edges.

... And, if the latter, is it necessary (per the Handbook, above) to pre-fill the taper with Durabond/EasySand.


texts: Wire Gauge requirement for new bathroom fan install?

texts: Just bought Panasonic FV-08-11VFL5E BAth fAN ,LIGHT AND NIGHT LIGHT. .THIS PIC IS IN THE INSTRUCTIONS.  ONE GREEN GROUND WIRE CONNECTED TO METAL BOX.  2 BLACK AND ONE WHITE WIRE FOR THE LIGHT AND NIGHT LIGHT SHARE ONE OF THOSE SMALL CONNECTOR BOXES THEN ALSO ANOTHER CONNECTION BOX WITH ONE BLACK AND ONE WHITE WIRE FOR VENT.   i BELIEVE i CAN HANDEL ALL THE WIRING ONCE i UNDERSTAND WHAT WIRE IS IN THE INCOMING CONDUIT. and from where?..3 BLACK 2 WHITE 1 GROUND? AND CAN THIS ALL BE DONE WITH EXISTING 14/2 LIGHT SWITCH. I can get a new wire from fixture to wall switch for more wires, but difficult to get all the way to breaker box


texts:
I have had to raise the subfloor in multiple rooms of my house to bring everything up and level with my kitchen floor.  The worst discrepancy is the 1" between the kitchen and den.  To level off I will be raising the den floor with 2 layers of 1/2" fir plywood.  How should I best fasten these layers of plywood to the old plywood subfloor?
My current plan is to apply lepage PL400 in lines 12" apart and on the edges, use 2 1/2" flooring screws and screw into the joists (12" apart), fill seams with floor patch on each layer, and criss-cross the plywood so that no seams align.
I have read elsewhere that the fasteners for additional layers of the plywood subfloor should not penetrate into the joists, but I could not find a reason why this shouldn't happen.  Is my method here out of line?  Wouldn't affixing the plywood layers to the joists reduce squeaks?
Thanks


texts:
New boxes, wires, outlets and drywall. How do I keep the drywallers from rotozipping through the wires in the boxes? I've already had to deal with that before.

We gutted our house after the great flood and I'm now replacing EVERY outlet and half the wiring. Water damage, 70s house, bad previous workmanship, updated code, etc. I have an electrician through my contractor that will supervise/check my work and install a new panel.  I'll ask him the same question when he gets here, but wanted other opinions. I'll be doing the "grunt" work of running wires, replacing fixtures, boxes, outlets, and such.


texts: What wire gauge is needed to replace old wires in a vintage chandelier?

texts: I'm replacing the wiring from a vintage chandelier and need to know what gauge wire to use. There are five lights on it. This is for the  fixture only!


texts: Can I use a ceiling tie above the level of the top wall plates?

texts:
I'm beginning to research and design a DIY build of a fully insulated garden room.  Some key points:

I'm in the South West of the UK, Wind zone 3 with very little/infrequent snow.
I'm planning to stay more than 2m from my boundaries, so this will be classed as a permitted development, so long as the eaves height is a max of 2.5m, and the ridge a max of 4m.
The internal floor space is less than 30m^2, so will not require building regulations approval.
This question is about the roof - my diagram doesn't show the floor structure, I'm not intending to span 4.5m with a single joist.

The internal floor space will be 4.5x6.5m.  I'd like the room to not feel too vertically cramped when using it, so would like the majority of the headroom to be at least 2.1m.  I'm planning a warm roof, potentially with a living roof on top.
Having calculated roof loads, the total load of warm roof + potential living roof comes to 0.66kN/m^2.  Based on that, the span tables indicate I can use roof joists of 47x145mm at 600mm centres.
In order to keep the eaves below 2.5m, when taking floor joists and underfloor ventilation gaps etc into account, the maximum internal room size height right next to a wall is limited to 1880mm.  With a 15degree pitched roof, this rises to a comfortable 2.1m within 800mm of the wall or so - I can live with that.  However, with no other supports or ties, there's nothing preventing roof spread.  My intention in this plan would be to tie the joists together at a height of 2.1m, leaving the height clearance I'm looking for.  This would be done with another piece of timber the same size as the joists, and using plywood gussets to attach it to a pair of joists (along with a gusset at the ridge holding the joists together).

Finally, my question: Are ties at this level, and not attached directly to the wall plates, going to be sufficient to properly support the spreading loads generated in the roof:

With a living roof and a total load of 0.66kN/m^2?
If not, then without the living roof and a total dead load of 0.22kN/m^2 for just the deck and insulation?

Bonus question: If they are going to be sufficient, should they be on every joist pair, or could there be fewer of them spread throughout the space?


texts: Is it okay not to use a hammer drill with tapcon screws?

texts:
I got some tapcon screws to hang a floating shelf in brick. However, reading the directions, I see it says to use a hammer drill for the pilot hole.
I don't have one. Is it going to work fine with a regular drill?


texts: Do-It garage door opener will not close without holding down the button

texts: My garage door opens fine with the remote or the button. Will only close by holding the button down. I have unhooked the sensors and have disconnected the door from the opener and have the same problem. The sensors or door drag have been bypassed. What should I try next?


texts: water in some corners of cement crawlspace

texts:
I have a large crawlspace. I have seen water in two corners of the crawlspace. Not standing water or anything, just dampness... just enough water that I know there is water getting in. It's not just the dirt, it's the actual cement of the foundation that is getting wet, and it gets slightly worse when it rains.

I had a general contractor suggest to me that the dirt on the corners of the house needs to be graded away from the house. That's obviously something that can and should be done, but it doesn't seem like an actual fix, rather a temporary solution.

EDIT:
It seems that the solution would be to slope the soil away from the foundation.

Reworded question:

What's the best method to re-grade/slope the soil around the foundation to move water away from the house?  Are there special types of soil that can/should be used?


texts:
I have 3 - 75 inch TVs throughout the house and I want to connect these to RF Coax so that I can select a channel to watch like channel 3 on one TV and channel 4 on the other two.  The idea is each channel would be fed from a laptop to some type of hdmi to coax converter.  These exist for a single channel but I haven’t seen a multiple channel encoder/converter yet.
Issue 1. How do I get multiple channels onto the coax?
Issue 2. How do I control the laptop remotely without cross affecting the others?


texts: Should I resurface these kitchen cabinets or throw away?

texts:
I have these old kitchen cabinets and I cannot tell what wood it is. It seem "light" on the weight. No damage or anything.

Should I make it look nicer with some new paint and decoration (how)? Or is it just not worth it and throw away is better (which I do have budget to replace)?

The countertop is definitely not worth it as it's just wood (fake granite).


texts: How can I reattach an HVAC duct that came loose below the floor?

texts: I just moved into a new house and found that couple of floor ducts have fallen off in the space below. They were screwed from below to keep it in place and I am not sure how to fix it back again to my floor. Can someone please help me with this.


texts:
So i must have glued the closet bend about 5 degrees off or my subfloor isn't quite level, but I'm about to install the toilet flange.
I can force it down flat and screw down the flange with a bit of effort but will this tension in the ABS be a problem long term?
Another solution with be either gluing the flange slightly crooked or heating the abs pipe to bend it slightly with a hair dryer or pouring boiling water into it.
Thoughts?


texts:
Long story short some of the ceiling tiles in my bedroom are sagging. No idea why, it was like that when I bought the house.

How would I fix this:


texts: Is service entrance cable rated for outdoor use without rigid conduit?

texts:
I need to replace the service line for 200A service and the current line is just fastened to the exterior wall with straps. It does terminate at a service head but the rest is unprotected, including where it enters the home.  I'm rather uncomfortable with leaving this cable unprotected, but it would also be very difficult to install rigid conduit given the odd angles it would need to make.

What is required? and what is best practice when the path from the service head to the meter is nowhere near a straight line?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v5iz4u21r0yayee/IMG_0307.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ktyvcck8t8thkc/IMG_0305.jpg?dl=0

Don't judge.  It's a very ugly house.  Hence the renovation.  Yes, all the garbage is gone.  I took these before we brought in a demolition team. As you can see there is a service head limply hanging there which sloppily wraps around the house to the basement with 2ga wire.  Obviously I need to replace it with 4/0 for 200A, but I'd like to make it a little more presentable for the inspector.


texts: 2 switches controlling two lights in garage.

texts: I have two switches, (one inside the house, the other at the front of the garage). These control 2 lights in the ceiling of the garage.  I would like to install 4 new LED lights, and change the existing 2 lights into junction boxes. 3 wire runs in both switches. On one light base, there is 2 black, and 2 white.  On the other base, there is just a black and white.  Can I add a new 2 wire into this base and run to the new LED light? Marette off the black and the white wires?  I hope this makes sense.


texts:
My insinkerator and a light bulb comes in to a wall socket. I replaced the switch panel.
There were three wires total. 2 red, 1 black

Initially the light and insinkerator were independent with two different switches turning them on. However, with the new replaced switch when I turn on the light, Only THEN insinkerator turns on. The light turns on independently. However, the insinkerator needs the light to be on to be turned on

How can i make them independent again? I got the Di pole switch. Pics attached.


texts: Rapid changes in humidity levels in basement suite?

texts:
I live in the basement suite of a house in Vancouver. I've noticed something strange when running my dehumidifier in my bedroom: when I turn it on, the humidity is at 80%(!); after running for 30 minutes it goes down to 50%. But after three hours with the dehumidifier off, the humidity is back up to 80%!

Any idea what's going on? Is the hygrometer not reading correctly? If I don't run the dehumidifier, the humidity is really noticeable: my sheets feel clammy (can't sleep at night) and the air smells funky.


texts: How can I install a hood exaust vent with a joist in the way?

texts:
I was preparing to install a hood vent this weekend and found myself with a bit of an issue...
Here's what it looks like:

The larger hole in the middle is the center point over my cooktop and the red line is a 2x4 ceiling joist going over the top. The 4 smaller holes are where the mounting plate for the hood attaches (they look off but that's the angle of the picture).
I need to put a 6" circle in the ceiling to run the ducting through and that's pretty impossible here. I'm assuming I can't cut the joist, or maybe I can if I hire a carpenter to somehow shore it up. I think I could remove some metal from the mounting bracket and fit it though. The bracket looks like this:

If I basically cut out one side I can probably get a flexible 6" duct through the offset hole. However I'm worried that this could impact the strength of the bracket, and also that flexible ducting might collect grease in the ridges of the tube.
Any thoughts or other suggestions on how I could tackle this and what the best option may be?


texts:
I am removing all of the drywall in my bathroom due to old age and some damage over time. I have removed most of the drywall but have come to this point and I am a little unsure what to do. I have looked online for some demos or videos on what to do around this area but have come up short.

I know I have to remove the trim to get to the drywall behind, but do I have to remove the window sill or the window itself to get to the rest along the insides of the window enclosure itself? And help would be appreciated. Thank you!


texts: What happens if ground and neutral are swapped in a light switch?

texts:
I’m replacing a light switch in an old house with lots of uncolored wiring. I removed the switch plate to find two black wires (connected to the switch) and a capped up white wire (see photo below).
Is that white wire ground or neutral? What’s the difference? What happens if I think it’s a neutral wire but it’s a ground instead? (For what it’s worth, I’m installing a wifi switch that requires a neutral.)


texts: Strange light switch wiring... why would neutral and hot be connected?

texts:
I'm having trouble figuring out why my light switch box is wired the way it is. The place I'm living in is quite old (guessing built in the 80s?). Originally, I opened open the panel with the hope of installing a switch-outlet combo... which I can't do until I figure out why it's currently wired the way it is.

I've made a diagram (below). The large rectangles on the edges of the box are the ROMEX cables, while the smaller squares are wire nuts. W = white wire (neutral), B = black wire (hot), Gnd = bare copper (ground). The switch is on the far right of the diagram.

As you can see, the wiring is quite strange. Two of the neutrals are connected to ground, with another neutral connected to a couple of the hot wires. If I had to guess, it looks like they wanted to make another power line without having to run separate cabling.

Can anyone tell what's going on here?

Thanks for the help!


texts: What heating system do I have, and what can I do about water pressure in my shower?

texts:
New homeowner (UK based) and getting to grips with all that comes with that. I previously only lived in a flat with a standard combi boiler, my new home seems to have an older system in place consisting of boiler + cylinder, but I would really like to understand how all of this works.

Now, I believe this system was upgraded throughout the years, as it includes a thermostat and a continuous flow of hot water (hot water is on demand, even when the timers are off, pictures to follow and questions at the end).

Boiler in the kitchen:

Thermostat, downstairs and central in the property:

Airing cupboard upstairs:

Behind the above I found this scary thing:

What the heck is that and should I be worried?

Based on the above I suspect I have either system 2 or 3 of the video provided in the comments, but I'd like to confirm this.

Some things to note:

I seem to have hot water on demand, I thought I would depend on the timers, or setting it up via the "switchmaster", but we have hot water at any time of the day!
Once heating comes on, it will shut off automatically once temperature on the thermostat as been reached.

Considering this, I seem to have all the benefits of a combi boiler, just with a lot more stuff taking up space and more energy?

I also noticed the shower could use a bit more water pressure, a new shower hose and head helped a bit, but not quite there yet, is there anything on this system that I could do to increase water pressure in my shower? Would switching to a modern combi system help at all with this?


texts:
My wife and I recently completed a house inspection. A little on the house: it was built in the late ‘40s, the grade is excellent and has been built up around the entire house, the drain spouts do not extend far enough away from the house currently. There was seepage in the basement a number of years ago but has been dry for the past decade or so and was said to be caused by no drain extensions. Weeping tile was put in and drains to the sump (which was also put in), and there are two cracks in the foundation we could see. One was located under the stairs, although it was a hairline fracture, and the other larger one as shown in the picture was located under the deck.
The larger one looks large. Now what may downgrade the severity is the age of the house, understanding some shifting will occur over time. The other is that it is located on a footing that may be separate from the house and basement foundation, and kind of like an addition for the stairwell that doesn’t extend into the basement. It also looks as if it may have been filled but unsure as of when.
My questions are:
Is this a serious cause for concern?
How much more shifting and cracking can we anticipate?
If we fix the drainage issues and ensure we trigger the sump to make sure all water is drained, can we prevent further cracking?
If this is something you think should be fixed, what method of repair would be used, and what approximate cost would we be looking at to complete this work?
This is potentially the first house we are going to buy, so all critical eyes, professional and otherwise, are welcomed and appreciated. (We live in the prairies, Canada for reference).


texts: Should I use waterproofing product or caulk at the base of my foundation walls?

texts:
So I am about to Drylok my basement to treat old cinder blocks with a hint of moisture. I have the old asbestos tiles on the floor.  I know the dangers of removing these.  Basically all of the tiles along the wall have popped up due to moisture.  So I have the bare slab meeting the wall at the base.

Should I Drylok down to the slab and a couple inches over, or is there some kind of masonry caulk to put down where the slab meets the wall?


texts: Why does my toilet keeps blocking and then spill out of the drain outside?

texts:
Recently out toilet has started to repeatedly block. First thing we tried was the warm water method, which worked at first.

When that stopped working, and problem came back, we used caustic soda. This solution worked for a good couple of weeks, but the problem has again come back.

This morning, as I was clearing the toilet is preparation to use the the caustic soda techniques, I noticed a glugging coming from outside the bathroom. I went outside, to see my dirty toilet water being spilled over the patio. An unpleasant site so early in the morning, I think you'll agree.

Other symptoms that may help someone diagnose are that the all the waste pipes, from the kitchen and bathroom, seem to make the toilet glug at times, and this is usually a sign that the toilet is about to start slowing down.

Any ideas on what the problem is or what I can do about it? Should I use caustic soda on the outside drain?


texts: What should be the thickness of a glass table top

texts:
I want to make my own dining table. I'm planning to buy a glass table top, but I need to know if a glass of 1/4" will be fine for that.

Condition: Brand new item in box
Shape: Rectangle
Available: Sizes36x60
Glass Type: Clear Glass
Edge Work: Beveled Polish
Corner Finish: Eased
Strength: Tempered

http://www.dullesglassandmirror.com/store/36x60-inch-rectangle-glass-table-top-14-inch-thick-bevel-polished-edge-eased-T36x60RE6MMBETEM-T.aspx
Also I think using a Nano470 Construction Glass Glue for adhering to the base would be fine.
Should I buy a glass with a greater thickness?
Another thing I am asking is how can I illuminate the glass with LED. I see something in this site at the bottom of the page:
http://www.thinkglass.com/glass-countertop-residential/tabletop/tabletop
Would this work?


texts: How do I remove dried gorilla glue from stainless steel sink

texts:
Sink

I tried to unstop a bottle of glue and left in sink
Now can't get it up.


texts: Lights lowering in the kitchen when turning on microwave oven: symptom of an unstable electric environment?

texts:
Is it normal for my kitchen lights to lower their intensity for a second when I'm starting my microwave oven? Is it a symptom of a bad/particularly unstable power environment?

The reason I am asking is because I have had episodic problems with my computer turning off at random times, and I have already checked the power/reset button connections to my motherboard, ensured that my power supply unit is running probably, and made sure that my computer is not overheating.

Should I invest in a UPS or run further tests on my apartment's electric stability?

Would an outlet tester help in any way?


texts: Can I feed 2 sub-panels off one breaker?

texts:
I have a 225A main service panel.  I also have 2 sub-panels with 125A and 200A ratings respectively.

There's a 100A 2-pole breaker in my main panel.  I want to feed both sub-panels from that single breaker (all inter-panel wiring, lugs and terminations are good for 100A):

Can I run the cable to subpanel #1, replace all the lugs with 2-wire lugs, and leap frog to panel 2?
OR, can I have an intermediate junction box with 3-way splices on all 4 wires?
OR, am I absolutely required to serve each subpanel from a separate breaker (not illustrated)?


texts: What is the formula for fence height and fence post length?

texts:
My neighbor has requested that we remove our current shared old/broken 6' cinder block wall and put up an 8' high horizontal slat wooden fence.

The distance between the posts will be ~5.5'.

My question is how deep do I need to put the fence posts? This will help me determine the length of the fence post.

We live in Los Angeles. I think the frost line is 12".


texts: Can using a new evap coil on top of an older furnace cause problems?

texts:
I am getting quotes for a new R410A condenser unit/evaporator coil from several HVAC contractors. A salesperson refused to give me a quote unless I purchase a new furnace as well. He said that he has seen problems using a new evaporator coil on top of an older furnace. My furnace is an old natural gas Trane furnace from the mid 80's. My current evap/condenser is about 7 years old.

I live in south Texas, so the furnace isn't really used enough to justify replacing it if I don't have to. I had it checked out when I bought the house about 4 years ago and it passed a health check. Is there any truth to what this salesperson is telling me? Are there any issues that can arise from using an old furnace with a new coil?


texts: When applying a rubber waterproofing like red gaurd or aquadefence. What kisnd of morter do you use modified or unmodified. I have read through each one amd it dosnet say anything about what morter to use when your ready to tile.


texts: Why is my Panasonic Whisper series bath fan starting up so slowly?

texts:
I recently had a Panasonic Whisper Series bath fan installed in my bathroom by a plumbing/HVAC company and wired up by a separate electrician.  The fan starts up extremely slowly: it sounds like nothing is happening until 5-10 seconds after the switch is thrown, and it takes about 45 seconds to reach full speed.

Here is a video I made to demonstrate: https://youtu.be/X2nrfbXdfRU (note:  if I'd had the cover off, the video would show the fan won't move at all for 1-2 seconds after throwing the switch).

Unfortunately, I don't know the exact model of the fan, but I believe it to be a FV-0510VS1.  The plumbing/HVAC people didn't tell me and didn't leave any manuals with me.  It seems to have a FV-0510VSB1 motor assembly, as that model number is referenced on a the Spanish part warning sticker I can barely make out.

The electrician that hooked it up said that "all Panasonic fans are like that."  Is that true?  I'm skeptical because I can't imagine anyone would want a fan that works that way -- I thought it was broken the first time I tried it.

What's going on with my bath fan?  Is there any way I can fix it to start up more quickly?  Is there some kind of setting or could I hire another electrician to wire it up differently?


texts:
I have a switch that I would like to put in a workshop in a potentially damp location. It's not going to be outside in the rain, but it's entirely possible that at some point water might get splashed near it.

What's the best way to make this safe? I can't find any outdoor-rated switches like "WR" rated outlets, which was my first thought. Should I put an outdoor recepticle cover over it, like this? I'm not sure if the screw holes will line up in the right place. Or is there some other way to make this switch as safe as possible?

(Bonus question: if I don't want to put a GFCI breaker in my distribution panel, can I just use the load terminals on a GFCI outlet and use that to protect the switch & light?)


texts:
I know this question has been raised all over the internet, with a variety of responses, but here is my specific situation:
I purchased this antenna and plan to mount it in my attic. I have an indoor pipe chase leading from my attic to the basement to feed the coax through, and I have conduit electric throughout the house, including the attic for a pull chain light.
First, because everything is enclosed within the house,  is there any reason to ground the antenna? Some threads on other forums mention you ground outdoor antennas because of static built up by wind/debris or protection from nearby lighting strikes and its magnetic field, where indoor antennas aren't subjected to this..
It seems the attic will negate most risks.  My attic, like most attics have soffit and roof vents. Does the moving air coming through these vents create any risk for the indoor antenna?
Lastly, if I do ground the antenna, would grounding it to the outside of the electrical conduit coming into the attic be where I should ground to?


texts: stair riser variation between stairs and landings

texts:
I'm designing a stairs in a very tight space that has an upper landing and a lower landing, each segment requires a 90 deg turn.  If the landing riser heights are different from the main run - does this present a hazard?  If so - why?

Presently the upper landing is 10.5" drop, followed by steps of ~9.5", and back to 10.5" on the lower.  The stair runs are 11.5"


texts: How to touch up surface painted with airless sprayer

texts:
I painted a steel door with an airless sprayer - the finish looked wonderful! Unfortunately I scratched the door while re-installing it on the hinges. Now the question is how to address the scratch. If I brush paint over it, presumably it will stick out like a sore thumb? Do I have to sand around the scratch and "spot re-spray"? Or do I have to spray the full door again?

---- EDIT ----
I tried to brush with Purdy XL brush and the red paint with some Floetrol:

In the top left you can see some brush marks, and near the lock you can see a big "dip" where the old paint has been sanded through (it's a brand new door - it's not like there were 20 years of paint on it, so I'm kind of surprised the first layers of red paint are so thick). I'm in the "it looks good enough" camp, but I'm still trying to get a consensus out how you'd do it "right". I don't think spraying instead of brushing would have helped with the hard edges of old paint layer?


texts: How do you get the board foot of special shapes

texts: How do I calculate the board foot of different shapes other than squares and rectangles? To be more specific, I want to learn to calculate for trapezoids, triangles, cylinders. I dont know much about woodwork so please go easy on term, etc. Thanks!


texts: 100W LED floodlight indoors, diffused by concrete ceiling 1 foot away

texts:
During the electrical lighting system failure at work on a grey rainy day I was stuck with 400W metal-halide reflector lamp as the only source of illumination. Thing radiates about 38.000 lumen, so I pointed it to the ceiling, and kept on working in my office. To my surprise, the effect of the so diffused light was much like sunny summer day, and sometimes on November days (live in the central Europe) I play with the idea of firing it up just to improve my mood, although 400W nowadays is quire a waste of energy :)

On the other hand, my apartment is facing north and it is in at the first floor of the 7 floor building, so November days are dark and gloomy even with moderate cloud cover. I am constantly searching how to improve lighting and feeling in the apartment, and I remembered that metal-halide floodlight which made such a huge difference at my workplace one day.

I am an electrical engineer, btw.

So I got the idea of buying the LED floodlight,daylight color, about 100W, and pointing it to the ceiling in my living room. But here immediately lies the problem: instructions for all floodlights explicitly say that it has to be at least 1 meter away from the surface it illuminates. Why?

I understand that problem when people were using 500W halogen lighbulbs, which generated enormous amount of heat and IR radiation. Couple this with dark wooden surface, and there may be some serious fire risk.

But why shouldn't I mount a 100W (or even 200W) LED floodlight, mount it about 20 centimeters (1 foot) below the ceiling and point it upwards? The material is concrete, painted over with white chalk-based indoor paint (which I am pretty sure is as non-flammable as concrete).

So, the question is:

Why all manufacturers specify that distance to the lit material even with LED reflectors? As far as I understand, white LED spectrum is determined by the phosphorous used as the final stage of light generation and looks like this: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1041/2564/files/warmNcool_large.jpg?v=1472124974 which should really not be a problem, especially when the ceiling is covered in white paint
Any other reasons I should not attempt such installation?


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I have to run approximately 8-10 home Romex (14/2 and 12/2) wires to Electric panel box.
So, Can I run those wires to the panel box as per the picture, Is this sound ok ?
Is there any limit, I can group maximum no. of wires together ?
More Details : The wires have to run for 10 feet along the joist. so I am planning to run and staple wires parallel to cable wires ( green & black) and run the wires through a 2 inches of hole (1-2 feet away from panel box) and finally pull the wires through behind joists to run into the panel box.
I'll be using wire tie to group them together.
Thank you so much in advance.
Thanks
I know I have to group them together. any maximum limit for grouping ?