texts: Hoisting and securing 5 gallon bucket vegetable planter 25 feet up

texts:
I have a light availability issue in my garden.  To compound that it is in a very small area so diseases and pests tend to hit everything at once.

I want to try lifting a couple self watering 5 gallon bucket planters up on a rope I have tied between two trees, at about 25 feet over the ground.

The rope is a nylon / polyester blend rated at 280 lbs and apparently very resistant to weathering, etc.  If this works this season I plan to replace this piece with a (much more $$$) metal rope.  But for one season I was thinking this should work.

I put some O shaped rings on this line, running from tree to tree, loosely bound in place with a zip tie to prevent it blowing up and down.  Through this O ring I threaded a 100 ft piece of paracord rated at 100 lbs.  On one end is the bucket.  On the other end I pull.

This process turned out to be a LOT more difficult than I expected.  I got the bucket about 5 feet in the air and realized I needed to change something.

I am going to try using a pulley on the O-ring instead of just threading it through -- I think friction is making me pull harder than I should have to.

I am also planning on tying it down to a heavy-ish log with an anchor screwed into it.  What I don't want to happen is for this bucket to come crashing down unexpectedly (it wouldn't kill anyone because it is hanging over the rest of my garden, but it would do a lot of damage); but also I need to raise and lower it on a regular basis to refill the water and harvest whatever from it.

If I am going about this in a foolish way please let me know.  I don't have much experience with this sort of thing.


texts: Murray mower with B&S 500e engine running strange

texts: I got a Murray mower with a Briggs and Stratton 500e 5 HP engine from a friend. Not sure how long it may have been sitting, but I can start it first or second pull. After it starts, it runs slow, unless I tilt it back until the handle is level with the ground. When it's tilted back it runs like normal, but then it cuts off because it stops getting fuel after a few seconds. I've already cleaned the carb, replaced the gas, checked the fuel filter, checked spring tension on the throttle/choke rod (no actual choke, just a spring attached to a rod to hold the door in the carb open) and that is fine, and I checked the air filter/cleaner "sponge" and that looks clean and the engine runs the same with or without it. Only thing I haven't checked was the spark plug, but I don't think that would be the issue because it runs fine while it's tilted. Does anyone have any idea? Or should I just rebuild the entire engine?


texts: How do I separate many devices controlled by one switch?

texts: I just moved into a new townhome and have noticed that one switch controls 3 outlets, a light fixture inside and 1 outside AND a hallway light. The lights have their own switches but will only work if this switch controlling all of those things is switched on. How do I go about fixing it?


texts: Glass cooktop sealed to quartz countertop

texts: I have a glass cooktop that is sealed to the quartz countertop with silicone.  From what I have been able to learn the cooktop should not have been sealed to the countertop.  My problem is that one of the cooktop burners won’t ignite and a repairman says the cooktop has to be removed to do the repair.  I am wondering how I can loosen the silicone adhesive in order to lift out the cooktop from the countertop.  Would applying heat with hair dryer loosen the silicone enough?  Looking for suggestions.


texts: Water heater still won't heat after replacing thermostat and elements

texts:
I have replaced both thermostats and elements in a Reliance water heater which
checks out 120v at each screw in thermostats and each side of elements still will not heat. What else can I do?


texts: Wiring two motion sensors from separate locations to control a bank of lights in between both?

texts: I want to turn on a bank of lights running along a deck between two entryways. The power switch is inside one doorway and feeds the circuit to the outside.  How do I wire the two motion sensors so either will trigger the lights to come on?


texts: Hole in wall behind and around plug socket (England, UK) – do I need an electrician to fix?

texts:
A socket in our bedroom seems to have been installed poorly in the first place. On one side, it seems quite secure – the screw is going into a rawlplug at the back that's securely anchored. But on the other side there is nothing for the screw to go into, just a big hole. The hole extends around the edges of the socket this side too.
I suspect I could fix this myself using pre-mixed filler (though please let me know if there's a better way!)
However, my main question is – Am I allowed to do this myself in the UK (England, to be precise), as it's around an electric socket?
Is this the kind of thing I'd need to call in a certified electrician to do, to avoid invalidating house insurance etc? To be clear, I don't think there's any actual wiring work needed, just the filling.
(This looks superficially similar to Repairing wall around a plug socket but the hole is deeper and also it's the safety/legal aspect I'm most interested in.)


texts: How to properly frame/finish "trimless" interior doors?

texts:
I decided to try a couple of "trimless" interior doors in my add-on room, like  this pic.  No trim, no cut, line etc.  Just smooth drywall up to the actual door opening.
It turned out pretty well, but the problem is that I'm not sure the proper way to do it.  I just ripped the trim off some cheap standard interior pre-hung doors, installed the frames in the rough openings, and butted the drywall up to it, filling in with mud as needed to achieve the smooth edge.
The problem is, obviously, that some of them are cracking where the mud is very thin on the wood door frame, and doesn't stick to the wood very well. When the door gets slammed or slightly flexes the frame due to use, it creates cracks.
Can anyone enlighten me to the correct way to achieve this effect to prevent it from cracking?
Thanks!


texts:
BACKGROUND:
Remodeling our kitchen and SWMBO wants open shelving on one wall versus piecing together 10' of upper cabinets. The lower cabinets on this wall will actually have a big 33" sink and lots of countertop space on each side. The shelves would hold all our dishes, cups, some pots, some pans, and decorative things. I really like floating shelves so am hoping to build the frames out of 2x4's that screw directly in to the wall studs. Something like these (only finished completly):

QUESTION:
My question is if two of my shelves cover the entire 10' width of the wall from end to end, is this shelving system strong enough by itself without any additional support brackets? Here is more or less the layout we are going for:

UPDATE: Pic of wall I'm dealing with:


texts: Why does the riser go before tread when installing hardwood on stairs?

texts:
I want to install prefinished hardwood on my stairs and I have no difficulty with the process.
Every diagram I find online installs the riser first and then butts the tread to the riser.

It seems to me that I could hide the cut edges by installing the tread first, riser covers it (mill finished edge on the riser down) and then the nose lips over the riser (thus covering its cut edge). In this way I'm always showing the mill finished edges.

Is there a reason to install the riser before the tread or am I fine to install the tread first (riser lips over)?


texts: When the apparent Upstairs uses their central heating

texts: Upstairs uses their central heatingWhen the neighbors upstairs and use their central heating it affects my apartment blowing air into my apartment is this supposed to happen


texts: Motion sensor switch doesn't fit in faceplate

texts:
I am trying to put a motion sensor switch in a surface mounted box as shown:

However, the switch has a "plate" (where the "tabs" would be on a normal switch) that does not fit inside the faceplate as shown below:

The only thing I can thing to do is cut that "plate" on the switch (with a hacksaw?)? It seems like even though I don't have to cut much, it'd be awwwfuly close to the hole where the nut is to hold the switch onto the faceplate (actually using a nut here seemed odd, but perhaps this is normal for these steel boxes?).

What am I supposed to do here?

------------- EDIT ------------
Here is how it turned out:
With the mud ring, before the faceplate:

Final result (using a nylon decora faceplate, because I haven't gotten a chance to go to a proper electrical supply house to get a metal faceplate:

It does seem "less than fitting/flush", but it's better than it was!


texts: Web-based remote access of my Carrier Infinity thermostat and Flash end-of-life

texts:
I have a Carrier Infinity system, installed some 3 years ago. I was able to access the thermostat over the internet until very recently, because the web access feature uses the Adobe Flash Player which Adobe has now end-of-life'd. I've been aware that Flash was being end-of-life'd for a long time, looking forward to Carrier moving away from it to keep the web access feature alive. I haven't seen any indication of Carrier actually updating the web access feature, although they did recently refresh their website. I can still see the system status via the refreshed site (it never relied on Flash), but can no longer remotely control it because Flash will no longer work.
Has Carrier plotted a path out of this? Do I have to buy a new thermostat to get the remote feature back? Do I have to switch brands, and if so, what about integration with the rest of the "Infinity" system?


texts:
I live in a 1970s apartment block in Melbourne, Australia. It’s been fully renovated since then (I’d say around 15-20 years ago), but I know not all asbestos products were removed - we still have old asbestos fire doors, for example. I found this plaster peeling away around one of the downlights, and the hairy fibers in it scared me. What do you think the chances are that it is asbestos?!

Thanks!!


texts: Should I use a hammer or a mallet when driving a chisel?

texts:
I'm planning to install a lock into a wooden door and I'll need to cut various holes for the lock body using a chisel. I'll need to use something like a hammer or a mallet to drive the chisel and I'm concerned that using a hammer with a steal head would damage the chisel handle. I've seen a lot of photos where a hammer is used and a chisel handle doesn't look very good there.

So which do I use - a hammer (steal head) or a mallet (rubber head) - for driving a chisel when doing woodwork?


texts: Do I need to do some drying before filling a small gap in the bathroom caulking?

texts:
I discovered a small gap in the caulking between the floor and the bathtub.  The gap is an inch or two long -- but it's right where the water sprays at the edge, when someone takes a shower, and a very small puddle always forms there.

I propose to fill it with some silicone caulk.  Do I need to pull up some of the floor first to make sure the subflooring is not damp?

Should I run a space heater and a fan for 24 hours before caulking?

Is there some way of detecting whether there's a moisture problem underneath the floor?


texts:
The sanitary drain in my house, going to the city through the concrete basement floor has started to leak. I realized the leaking is around the access cap. The issue is this specific access cap seems to be un-openable. Almost like it is leaded or just very rusted in place. A few years back a plumber actually tried with a 3ft wrench and gave up. (There is a 2nd access port across the basement he was able to easily open and use.)
Ideally I think the fix would be to crack it open and just tighten it more... But that seems to not be easy, or I am concerned cranking on 70 year old cast iron pipe with >3ft wrench seems like it is asking for trouble... Also the fact that there seems to be water leaking from it even though it is above floor level seems odd. The image does not look like much, but there was a 2ft diameter puddle near it this morning I mopped up. It also bubbles around the opening when you run hot water...


texts:
My deck has a diagonal decking. To attach the decking to the ledger side of the deck, 2x4 blocks were screwed directly to the ledger. I'm trying to improve water flow from the ledger. I'd like to move the blocks so that they are as seen in the picture I found below

This is what the blocks look like now:

In the photo, you can see that there was some sort of filler or something to attempt to seal the space between the block and the ledger. It just doesn't seem like the right way to do it. There the space between the decking boards is so narrow and having this blocking here just makes the distance the water has to travel to escape the ledger flashing longer. Compound it with all the debris that builds up between decking boards and I suspect it is contributing to my water problems.

Will moving the blocks as I described cause too much unsupported overhang of the decking? Is there some other reason I shouldn't move the blocks? Is there some other standard way diagonal decking is fastened on the ledger side of the deck?


texts: Can I power both legs of my breaker panel with 120 volts from a Honda eu3000is generator?

texts:
I have already installed a interlock kit and reliance 30 amp inlet with 10/3 wire and a two pole 30 amp breaker. I also see there are pigtails you can buy to jump the single 120 volt wire coming from the Honda so the inlet and panel configuration would meet code. I don’t have any MWCB in the panel.
I do have two double pole breakers one to power the dryer and the other for the stove.
I will buy another generator if this plan won’t work but I really like the idea of not spending money on a new generator when the Honda is almost new.
Also I almost forgot to mention I have natural gas heat and water heater.
Well will it work?


texts: Extending copper water pipe to fridge/icemaker and leaving options open

texts:
I've got a 1/2 inch copper water pipe into the back of my attached garage [Img1], conveniently next to where I have a fridge/freezer unit. I'd like to attach water from that pipe to the built-in water/icemaker in the fridge, but I may also want to add an outside spigot or some other function down the line, so I don't necessarily want to limit my options by taking over the whole pipe for that one purpose. The water pipe comes from inside my house and has separate shutoff valves available there so I could shut off water for the winter to avoid freezing risk, etc. Icemaker/fridge has 1/4" pex.
I've cut and deburred the pipe. I was originally going to use a brass 1/4 turn angle supply stop valve (5/8" OD Comp Inlet to 1/4" OD Comp outlet) with compression fittings [IMG2] that I have but could return, then run that to a steel 1/4inch ice maker supply hose [IMG3] to the plastic pipe that came with the fridge. Simple, think that should work...but if i wanted to attach anything else down the line, i'd probably have to cut it and reconfigure.
However, the option I'm now looking to do is to take that pipe and create a "t" to essentially split off (with a valve either as part of this or just down the line) the icemaker line, while also having an 'output' to continue the 1/2 inch copper pipe, which I'd then cap for the time being...might at some point go to an outdoor hose bib or something else.
What's the safest/easiest/simplest or perhaps "best" way to do this? Want to reduce risk of leaks or too many unnecessary components, also avoiding soldering if at all possible.
I could use a brass "t" with compression fittings, buy two more small lengths of copper pipe, one of which I then attach a compression "cap" end on for now, the other goes to the supply stop valve I currently have (but could return) then to the icemaker...but is there a better way of doing it? Thanks
[Image 4 is a general diagram of this situation, with the X box being what i'm trying to figure out essentially.]


texts: What grease should I use for an aftermarket cylinder valve (Moen)

texts:
We've a Moen faucet for the kitchen sink. Years, maybe decades old. The faucet was dripping last year so I replaced the cylinder with a Moen cylinder. Solved the leak but the handle would not stay up in the on position.  Returned the Moen cylinder.  Bought an aftermarket cylinder from Home Depot.  Handle stayed up.  Now, a year later, the faucet is very very difficult to turn on, as if the cyclinder needs to be re-greased.

What type of grease is compatible?

EDITs:

1) the cylinder looks like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/100051867

2) found a possible duplicate:
What can I use to lubricate a new kitchen faucet no longer turns?


texts:
I saw a diagram as below:

I am confused with inlet air and outlet air. I think heating air should be all output from the vent port, why still need some inlet air? If I clogged the inlet air,what's the negative impact to my heating system?


texts: What size wire should I use to feed a subpanel in my garage?

texts:
My main panel has been upgraded to 100 amps.  I would like to add a subpanel in the garage which would supply:

20 amp Mig welder running on 120 volts, but later upgrade to a larger Mig welder as i am experienced at welding.
Large jointer
Medium sized table saw, which is 120 volts and 12 amps
4.5 hp portable shop vac
A sander
Branch circuits for good lighting, and 5 receptacles.

The main run from the 100 amp panel is 37 feet exactly, so what would be the ideal gauge and type of wire to use for feeding the sub-panel?

Is it a good idea to run the wire in metal conduit the whole span, since the feed goes though the basement ceiling and though a concrete wall in the most direct straight-line to the garage?.

I would like to do the job myself as I have seen the sloppy job the so called electrician did with the main panel, which passed hydro's inspection! I have taken and passed an electrical college course at my local college, I have an eye for detail and am a perfectionist.


texts: Trying to understand why a light would be wired this way?

texts:
Just moved in to an older home with fiancé and WAS planning to change out a light fixture with a new ceiling fan. However after turning off light switch and breaker and proceeding to remove light fixture I ran into something I felt was strange and later confirmed was very strange to a novice such as myself.

When I removed the fixture to expose the wires I discovered it was connected to two white wires. Not the single black / white I expected and that was at the switch.

Both black wires were taped up together and not used.

I also got nervous over the fact that despite the switch being off apparently it was still live when I used my tester. (I am going to re-affirm this however as I noticed after the fact that my tester lights up and is audible just by waving it in the air near there. Appears something in the attic is causing it to light up, more to come on that)

Either way things weren't as they should be to a novice and thus I promptly shut the project down.  I don't play around. I do however find it odd and would love to hear thoughts on how it works this way and why would it possibly have been wired this way? I thought black was hot and white was neutral so if nothing else it would be the black ones used?


texts: Fan coil wiring problem with new thermostat

texts:
I'm trying to upgrade to a new line voltage thermostat. The new thermostat has many more connections, including three fan speeds. My current system has a manual fan switch on the wall so all I need the thermostat to do is allow power to flow to the fan coil unit.
This diagram tries to show how the system is wired and a proposed new wiring. I propose this because I've tried attaching the heat and cool and neutral from the new thermostat to the R, and the black to the black. The white wire is capped at the thermostat and junction box ends, but I'm proposing to use that as the neutral connection at the thermostat and add it to the W to W current connection in the junction box. Any advice on whether this would work?

(source: blogspot.com)


texts: What should I use to patch this gap between brick siding and top of foundation

texts: I have a small gap between the top of our foundation and the start of the brick siding in one isolated area and was wondering what the best material would be to fill this area.


texts: UV protection on window now purply in colour and scratched. How to remove?

texts: On one window the glass is etched and off colour.   No idea what damaged it.  Can it be removed with any kind of product?  it is factory installed.  Not a DIY covering.


texts: how can i make a garage door opener run in one direction only

texts: I am using an old garage door opener for a school project but the motor must only run in one direction. How do I get the motor to run in one direction only?


texts:
I am looking to diagnose reasons why my first attempt at torch-down patching of my almost-flat roof (1/12) failed. I used this inexpensive torch fueled by a small, camping propane tank, for compactness and ease of transport to the roof:

To make a small patch around a fart fan roof vent using this material:

I couldn't get the other side (mating surface) of the material to melt and become adhesive, so it wouldn't stick. The environmental conditions were around 35°F and windy (probably 15 mph wind, which visibly interfered with the flame and was "sailing" the material as I was holding it with groove joint pliers). I did make sure the roof surface was dry.
Could it be because:

Inadequate (cheap) torch
Inadequate fuel tank (should have used 20 lb like for grilling, which would make it harder to get up on the roof)
Environmental conditions (temp + wind)
Lack of workman skill
Something else?


texts: Using white cement + water to mould a part

texts: I'm trying to cast a small robotics part for a local college. Its small in size but needs to be heavy. So far I've created one with epoxy resin and it is okay. However, for the same size, I wanted something denser to make it heavier. I was hoping to know if a mix of white cement + water only is strong enough to withstand a few light knocks and if so what ratio would they need to be mixed in? Since its small, using large gravel would not be possible.


texts: Is it possible to add a "C" wire to my electric heater?

texts:
I bought a Wifi Thermostat but my old thermostat did not have a Common Wire. I can't use any of the swapping the G for the C solutions because I have an electric heater. I was told by Honeywell that I needed to run a new wire from the "C" terminal on the HVAC to the thermostat, but there is nowhere on the HVAC that is labeled "C."

I've searched everywhere for an explanation but I haven't been able to find anything analogous to my situation. All the other diagrams or solutions I've seen indicate a "C" Terminal somewhere on the control unit, but there is nothing like that on mine.

I am assuming that I can piggy back off one of the connectors on the circuit board (below) to create the common wire, I'm just not sure exactly where I should do it.

Below is the wiring to/from the thermostat, the twisted blue/brown/black wires are extras that were run through the wall but don't connect on either end. The thicker wires are the ones coming from the control panel which are then connected to the thinner wires running to the thermostat via the wire connectors.

Can anyone tell me where would be best to connect the new Common Wire or if it is even possible?

P.S. I can take more pictures of the actual wiring if it helps. Just let me know what section would be helpful to see.


texts: modify fridge to temporarily defeat auto-defrost?

texts:
I would like to modify my 3 year-old KitchenAid KRFC300ESS french-door (freezer on bottom) refrigerator to disable the auto-defrost cycle on a short-term basis, preferably by putting in a switch mounted near the front (ideally, connected the low-voltage control circuitry, not the defrost heater itself).

The motivation is that I'd like to be able to drive a few critical loads from a 1kW inverter, during short-term (few days) power outages.  The inverter is usually able to handle these with aplomb, but during a recent power outage it could not (overloads and shuts off) even when I isolated so the fridge was the only load.  I believe the auto-defrost must be the culprit.

I am a EE, and I'm comfortable going inside of appliances (in fact, I fixed a noise problem on this fridge that a tech could or would not).   But I don't have the first clue how auto-defrost works, in theory or in practice.


texts: Why are my water heater's hot and cold connections oriented opposite convention?

texts: I installed a 30 gallon Rheem water heater at one of my apartments. When I started to install the water lines, I noticed the right side indicated it was the hot side.  The HOT word was stamped in the metal on the right side. This was the opposite of any I ever installed. I have installed many over the years. I did not look down the pipe for the dip tube. I hesitated but followed the indicators . There was no red or blue tags on the heater. I installed it as indicated. It is working. However, it is disturbing and was wondering has anyone else seen this before.  It was annoying because I installed the lines for easy exchanges in the future but had to change my set up.  Thank you for any and all comments.


texts: Conflicting Information Between Electrician and Home Inspector?

texts:
I purchased a recently renovated home about six months ago (in Illinois).  Prior to the sale, I had a home inspection done.  I'll admit, I did not actually crawl around the tiny attic space with the inspector, but I was told 'Everything looked good'.

More recently my wife has decided we need to add some overhead lighting.  We had an electrician come out, but he's identified a whole laundry list of problems and quoted us a very high (in my mind) total to fix them.

The home was built in the 50s.  I don't know the history of the house, beyond the previous owners renovated it.

I tried to take some pictures, but my cellphone was not up to the task.  This was about the only clear image I managed.

Some examples from his To-Do list include:

All of the 'flexible' metal cabling (there is a fair bit) needs to be 100% replaced with rigid metal conduit.
All of the existing wiring is 'above' the ceiling joists.  They all need to redone so they are protected by running through the joists or retrofitted with some sort of protection.
Basically every lighting fixture that we do have needs to be ripped out and re-positioned because they aren't 'flush' with the drywall.  Some of them are just slightly setback, the worst offender is just over 1/4th of an inch in (it's actually slanted a bit, so one end is much closer, but the other end is further back).

I'll admit, seeing a twist-tie thing holding the cabling together is a little concerning.  But I'm also surprised that none of this came up during the home inspection.

Needless to say, money is tight.  I was looking to spend ~$500 installing a light in the master-bedroom.  Now we're talking several thousands of dollars.  Do I really need to do all of this?


texts: What is the maximum eves height allowed on a log cabin when you have dug down?

texts:
We have built a log cabin in our garden, believing it to be "permitted development", and therefore not need planning permission. We have two things that we are not sure about though and are a little worried in case we should have obtained a planning permission.

Our land is sloped, so we dug down the high side. We made our eves 2.7m high, despite the max usually being 2.5m,but dug down way more than the 200mm difference. We have read that the inspectors measure from the ground immediately adjacent to the building at the highest point of the building. If you were building in brick, you might leave the mud right up against the wall, but as we are building in wood we have dug a good channel right around the building and built a retaining wall to keep the high land back away from the wooden walls.  Now the high land is maybe 500mm away from the wall. Will they still measure from this or from the ground level that we have dug down to?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Also, one corner of our building is a little less than the required 2 meters away from our boundary fence, but the other side of the fence is just an alleyway - does anyone know if you still have to keep the 2 meters distance from this kind of fence, when building over 2.5 meters to ridge height???


texts: Material lighter than concrete for planters?

texts:
I'm trying to build several 24"x 24" square planters with each wall 1.5" thick, similar to the following picture.

The issue is that each one of these planters will weigh at least 200 pounds (without soil), and they will be used in a rooftop. This means that five planters will be 1,000 pounds at least, and our rooftop isn't designed for so much weight.

I used concrete because it's cheap (at around $4/60-lb bag) and it's easily manageable.

Two questions:

1) Is there any building material, similar to concrete, that doesn't weigh that much?

2) Is there an easy way to build 24"x 24" pots? I'm sort of a DYIer, but I'm a  beginner with all of this.


texts: Can I add additional lighting to a standard motion security light?

texts: I have a 2-story house with walkout basement, so my existing under-eave security light is essentially 3 stories above grade in the back. I swapped out the existing 100w flood bulbs in my motion security light with 24w (250w eq) LED flood bulbs which helped but due to the size of the yard I'd like to add a few high-lumen LED panels. Can I wire standard 3-wire light fixtures like these panels to turn on/off with the integrated motion sensor?


texts: LED lights at home not turning on sometimes

texts:
I have LED lights in most of my home, but lately those in the hallway and bathroom behave weird: mostly in the morning when I wake up and try to turn the lights on in the hallway they don't work. When i try it in the bathroom the light also doesn't turn on but the bulb shines very faintly. After several minutes they suddenly turn on without me doing anything. This behaviour is not perfectly deterministic as sometimes they turn on without issues, but mostly they do not. Also after they "start working" they usually work fine for a while until I leave them off for extended periods of time.

I would like to fix this but my knowledge about electricity/wiring is almost nonexistent. It seems to me that the problem could be something small but so far any attempts at locating it/fixing it have failed. I tried removing one LED light from the hallway at a time to see if any are broken, but it happens even if I remove several/most of them or remove the bulb in the bathroom.

Relevant background about the flat:

We moved in several years ago and then did a reconstruction of basically the whole flat in three phases: first the bathroom, then bedroom and finally the kitchen, living room and the hallway. The issues began about a year after the hallway was finished. All was done by a reputable company and this is (so far) the only issue we have. As far as i know, all electricity wiring was replaced with new one, as the flat had old copper (?) wires and very few power outlets.

Some other relevant info:

The hallway and bathroom are on separate breakers. The hallway has 1 light switch at every end (so there are 2 switches for the hallway lights).

Lights in the hallway: Kanlux CT-2114 (https://www.svet-svitidel.cz/kanlux-324-podhledove-svitidlo-argus-1xgx5-3-50w-12v/?gclid=CPKZk5bZzNQCFQwo0wod6vsG7g)

Lights in the bathroom: regular Philips 9.5W LED bulb

Does anyone have an idea what could be wrong or how could I locate the issue? Thanks!


texts: How do I tune a Bandsaw so the blade doesn't drift?

texts: I just bought a 9-inch Delta bandsaw and I know there are some things you have to do to get it tuned right so the blade doesn't drift etc., but I have no idea what those are.  What are some tips I should follow to get this tuned correctly?


texts: How can I calculate the load capacity of a platform?

texts:
I'm planning to build a very basic bed frame, but I'm not sure what size lumber to use.

I was thinking of building the entire thing from 2x4s (legs would be 4x4), but I'm not sure if this will be adequate.

Some other ideas:

2x6 Perimeter with 2x4 cross members.
All 2x6.

I'm also not sure how I want to attach the legs. I was thinking of using carriage bolts, but I'm not sure if this is overkill or not in this situation. Maybe notch the 4x4s to receive the frame, then use carriage bolts to secure them.

I'd like to be able to do some calculations with different combinations of materials and fasteners, to figure out the optimal combination.  Do I have to go back to school to become a structural engineer, or are there tools/formulas for figuring this stuff out?


texts: How to repair screws popping through drywall all along corners?

texts:
We had an addition built on our house recently. While adding on, the screws popped through the drywall in the original portion of our house. The screws have cause a small raised bulge every 6” along every corner of the room.
How do I repair the screws that have popped beneath corner tape. Can I take a razer blade to each of the bulges to smooth them out and then mud over it?


texts:
I bought a property for relatively cheep, the one bedroom has about 8 holes or so ranging from about 2-3 inches and others 4-8 inches most of which are in a 4 foot square area. I don't know the exact paint but it's white so that shouldn't be hard to match.

I just want a relatively seamless patch. Advice or walk thru?


texts:
My dryer is giving me an error code e64. It is an affinity Frigidaire dryer. They dryer heats up just fine. It cuts off after 10-20 minutes of running with this error. The "Dryer Tech Data Sheet" describes E64 as follows:

  E64 - Heater Open Circuit - Heating Element or wiring defective -
  Check heater coils and connections for open circuits. Replace heater
  and or wiring and retest.

My theory is that the thermostat has gone bad and is stuck "open" and never cuts off the heating element. Eventually the unit gets hot enough for the high limit sensor to get tripped and the dryer throws the error. Does that sound plausible? What else might be going on here?


texts:
Our house is built into a small hill, leaving a section of our basement exposed with both a small garage and a people door leading to the driveway. There are several (3-4) courses of block above the existing grade. Because of the height of this grade, we currently need to have flood insurance for our mortgage due to a small tributary Creek across the road from us.

What I want to try to do, is to close off these doors (with block primarily) and dump topsoil against the foundation and regrade out several feet into the driveway to bring the grade next to the house above the base flood elevation. My main question is, would!D this work? Are there any other concerns with this plan?


texts: Is it possible to stack two dryers?  Ideally, I would like to have two dryers for my washing machine, but space is limited.


texts: How much of the old adhesive needs to be removed before reinstalling new engineered flooring?


texts: How much seam allowance should I have for drywall joints?

texts: When hanging drywall, how much distance should I allow for seams? Do pieces fit flush against each other, or do I leave a gap? This is for USA construction, in case there is some code for such consideration.


texts:
My mom has a Nutone wired doorbell but is finding it is not quite loud enough when she is in some parts of the house far away from the bell.  I looked at the doorbell and it seems to be functioning properly and has directions that say not to oil the plungers.  There are two plungers with springs that get activated by the front or rear doorbell button being pressed.  The current Nutone box with the plungers has two toned bars on opposite ends of the plungers so that one door gives one tone and the other door gives two tones.  There are some other directions which I cannot read about maintenance due to some paint which I wonder what they state.

I'm wondering how we might get a bit louder doorbell?  Would there be maintenance to perform that would help with volume?  Ideally we would keep the existing bell since it is pretty well built into the wall and not easily replaced.  If required, we could put a new one on top of the old one that is flushly embedded into the wall.


texts: 2 way switch operates opposite to my preference

texts:
I have two sets of 2 way switches in my new home but I prefer the lights to be off when both ends are in the "off" (as compared to regular switches) position. Conveniently there is one double 2 way switch that controls both downstairs and upstairs hall lights. I turned the MCBs for all the lights off and took this photo:

In order to make the switches off in the "off" position is the basic principle just to swap the blue and yellow wires from each cable?
Edit: Thanks to @JimStewart I realised that I needed to check one of the other switches to confirm the wiring arrangement, so here it is:

So my understanding is now that I need to swap the red and blue wires from each cable on the first switch, right? What other steps (aside from turning the power off again) should I take for maximum safety?


texts: water leaking into room downstairs when I shower

texts: Shower leaks into room below only when I shower, not my husband. He is 6 feet tall and I am 5 feet so must adjust shower head. Any thoughts ?


texts: What could cause my gas oven not to ignite?

texts:
I have a Whirlpool gas oven Super Capacity 465.

The four cook-top burners work ok.

When I turn on the oven on broil, I hear gas hissing and igniters ticking. Within a second it ignites the top burner inside the oven. I could see flames from the jets.

On the other hand if I use the bake setting (to use the lower burner). I hear gas hissing, igniter ticking but it doesn't light up. It stops for a minute or so and tries again. It does light up rarely sporadically but not dependable. I opened the bottom panel to expose the burner and sprayed some oven cleaner over the jets. No luck. If I manually ignite the lower burner, it ignites. To try this I lighted up a small piece of paper, close the oven door and turn on the oven on bake setting. When the lower burner is burning, I can see all jets have a flame. I did this only to diagnose and later closed the bottom panel.

I have used the self cleaning feature of the oven a few times already without any luck.

My issue is similar to this but in my case the igniter is firing.

Some time back I discovered a gas leak from behind the oven but it was fixed by the gas company. They unscrewed the gas inlet hose and applied some kind of grease and tightened it again. I'm not sure if this could be related.


texts: can I put a double 50 amp pole in a 100 amp box


texts: How to convert this outdoor lamp box to GFCI receptacle?

texts:
I want to install outdoor string lights and need a receptacle to plug them in. I have removed an existing outdoor wall light, which reveals the following shallow box (see picture).

The box is 3" in diameter and 3/4" deep. It's set in stucco and screwed into a stud. It can't be made deeper because of the stud. I'm willing to expand the diameter though if needed.

What sort of box do I need to put in its place so I can convert this to an outdoor GFCI receptacle?

UPDATE:

So I chipped out more of the stucco and installed a weatherproof box and weatherproof in-use cover. I'll patch up the stucco, of course. But it looks terrible. Sticks out way too far.

I may end up installing an LB connector similar to what's described in the following post and running conduit to elsewhere:
Is a splice permitted in a PVC conduit body?


texts:
I already have a deadbolt keyed lock on my front door, but there is a small vertical window next to it and one above the door that could be broken out and a smaller person could get through or a larger one hoisted to above the door to get in. The door is secure, but I need help with the windows.

Thanks!


texts:
I've been searching online for a NEMA 3R enclosure to act as a combiner for two 40 Amp, 240v circuits coming out of two solar inverters.  Total combined amperage is 80 Amps.  The AHJ is going to be inspecting this box to make sure that there is no way to take any power off this box prior to the power meter socket, so I have been looking for an enclosure that can accept the two inputs (6 wires) with a single 80A, 240V ouput.  I already have a 3 wire visual disconnect device  (VDD) Square D DU323RB.  While my AHJ appears to allow the VDD to act as a combiner, the VDD I bought doesn't have the capability to act as a combiner.  In essence, I'm asking for help with my Google search to find this elusive box.  I think this might work, but I'm not sure:
https://www.zoro.com/square-d-load-center-lug-125a-120240vac-1ph-qo112l125g/i/G0578426/

In my plan, the AHJ and Utility made me specify:
COMBINER BOX 80 AMP, 240V DG LOAD CENTER SIZED FOR DG BREAKERS ONLY OR RENDERED UNABLE TO ACCEPT ADDITIONAL LOADS


texts: Can I use the crushed remains of an old concrete slab as a base for a new slab?

texts:
I have recently broke up my old concrete shed base which was 100mm thick, I also have quite a lot of gravel.
The broke up shed base is quite large chunks of concrete so could I use that a long with the gravel as a sub base for the new concrete base I am about to lay?
The chunks are a range of sizes from 20mm to about 90mm. Would it be ok for me to whack it down? Or should I just buy some proper stuff.
The new base is for our new summerhouse.

Thanks for looking.

Graham


texts: Draining 2 series connected water heaters?

texts:
I have 2 series-connected water heaters.  I have sediment showing up in my shower head clogging it.  So I am thinking I need to flush my water heaters.  I understand if I have 1 water heater to shut off the inlet valve and drain the 1 unit and flush.  However, I have 2 and they are in series.  There is only 1 inlet shutoff valve that goes to the first water heater.  Do I drain and flush the first water heater then try and drain and flush the 2nd (downstream) tank?  I can see how to drain both but not sure how to flush the 2nd tank (downstream).
Thanks,
Marvin


texts: What wood is our floor made from and will it be good as polished boards?

texts:
Can anyone tell what wood this is.
It is a photo underneath the house (Southern Australia region).
Will that come up well as a wooden floor?


texts: How high can a 'sub floor' be raised withh plywood sheets?

texts: Re-tiling the entryway to my home and had to remove the old mud floor that the old tile had been laid on top of.  This lowered my floor by approximately 2" so now assume I need to raise by that much in order to place the new tile.  My question is can I install multiple 1/2" or 3/4" plywood sheets on top of one another to build up my subfloor the additional 2"?


texts: Some ideas on how to block a wheel on a metallic rod?

texts:
I manage somehow to put some old inline roller wheel to some old trolleys I use in my house for shopping (and trekking). The average weight is about 20-30 kg. I am looking for a way to fix those wheels knowing that, I only have some basic tools (no electric ones). I'm looking for a cheap solution, I dont want to invest more than a couple of dollars to fix those wheels.

I'm looking for a simple and smart idea to prevent the wheel from getting out of the rod

the big trolley rod is quite long, I might cut it. the small trolley rod is more tricky.

The best way would be to thread the rod, but it would only work for the big trolley since the short trolleys's rod is not long enough (only 3 mm are cylindrical, the remaining part, 7 mm, has been too much filed to put the wheel on it, and it has a kind of conic shape). But anyway I don't have the thread tool so it's out of question. Drilling the rod to fit a pin would be great but, once again, no drilling machine.

I thought about using hose clamp, but I'm afraid the wheel will make it turn with it, and damaging the hose clamps. I also though about using some sort of "weld epoxy", (I would just file the resin to change the wheel when needed) but I'm not sure it will be strong enough.

Any creative idea and advice would be very appreciated.

This is the big trolley:

This is the small (foldable) trolley:


texts: Is it safe to use an HVAC system even though the duct wrap contains asbestos?

texts:
In our rental house the furnace ducts are very dirty. We brought an expert to clean it, but he said he just won't do it because the tape around the ducts (in the attic) is probably asbestos.

After notifying the landlord, he got another company to have the material tested. The results came back, confirming that there is indeed asbestos in the tape. However, the test "results" also state that "as the material is on the outside of the ducting/unit, the asbestos material is not being subjected to the furnace air flow, and therefore is not causing a contamination issue, not a reason for concern".

Our concern is with the fact that the guy from the asbestos test company barely took a look at the duct system: he did not look inside the ducts, and did not see an area where the tape starts to crumble (in the attic, outside the duct). All he did was to take sample of the wrap material next to the furnace itself.

The questions are :

How can we know if the system is really safe to use? Is the braking tape a reason for concern?
Isn't the landlord supposed to make sure the heating system is in a usable condition? Currently he says that since the test indicates that this is not a concern, then he won't do anything. Also, he does not want to take care of cleaning it (even tough it hasn't been cleaned in years, possibly decades).
Suppose we do believe the conclusions of the test results. How can we get the system cleaned?

Related question:

Must I remove asbestos from my heating vents?

Edit:

Thanks for all the tips. I don't mind writing the check for a 2nd opinion test, but here's a breakdown of professionals that I spoke with:

HVAC cleaning companies: don't want anything to do with it.
Asbestos companies: don't understand what I'm talking about, and propose to take more samples and test them.
Other HVAC companies: "we don't clean ducts" / "We won't touch anything with asbestos" etc.

Any recommendations on companies that do systematic evaluation of the system (that has asbestos in it)?


texts: Fixing insdside window sill heights to match

texts: I have 3 windows that i'm trying to match sill heights on.  This is like a bay window (not a true bay window because it's 3 separate windows).  I cut all 3 window sills with returns but I wanted to match all the sills making the appearance of one continuous sill (if that makes sense).  The problem I ran into is all 3 windows are at different levels.  The smaller left window is almost 1/4" higher than the bigger middle window and the middle window is about 1/8" higher than the smaller right window.  So just to clarify, the returns on each sill will butt up to each other (if I can fix the height problem).  Can anyone help with solutions to fix this?


texts: Are voltage adapters suited for long-term use?

texts:
I live in the US, where household current is 110/120V. After a recent trip to Europe I'm wondering whether I could buy a 220V appliance there and use it at home. This page says that the best solution is to use a voltage adapter, but I was under the impression that those were for short-term use only (e.g., when you're traveling in a place with different wiring than in your home country). Is it really that simple? Can I buy, say, a lamp in Europe and just stick an adapter on it to use it in my living room in the US? Or would I have to actually rewire a lamp (or whatever) that I bought abroad?

EDIT: this question/answer makes it sound like rewiring isn't too hard, if I had to do it, but if I can avoid messing around with it, so much the better.

EDIT 2: To clarify, in response to comments, the question initially arose in regard to a table lamp. It applies equally to a coffee maker I saw. We're not talking about, say, a dishwasher.


texts: Does anyone know what this material is in my septic system?

texts:
These photos are of my sewage system and were taken at an inspection point right outside my house.
I have had this issue for years and I don't know what the material is. I have tried changing dishwasher and washing machine products but it still appears, and there's quite a bit of it as you can see from the photo ... what you see would have appeared over the course of a few months probably.
To describe the material it is like chalky but sticky and oily but still crumbly ... and its fairly white in colour the yellow is only on the outside really.


texts: How to clarify and remove green tint to an in ground pool

texts:
I recently opened my in ground pool two weeks ago. The volume of the pool is approximately 20,000 gallons. The pool water has a greenish tint and the water appears cloudy. I have used a automatic robot to clean the bottom of the pool and clear out the debris settled down there. I have used a pool brush to scrub the walls / bottom of the pool in an effort to dislodge any debris. During all this time, the filter system was running on full. Chemistry of the pool as it stands right now:

PH of 7.6
total alkalinity of 90
Free chlorine of 2 ppm
combined chlorine of 3 ppm
Calcium hardness of 220

I have already shock chlorinated the pool two days ago. I added dry acid to lower PH from an initial reading 8.1 and calcium chloride to raise dissolved calcium levels from an initial level of 150 ppm. The pool is a concrete pool with no liner.

What could be causing the greenish tint to the water and the cloudiness of the water?


texts:
We have a problem with our toilet. When we flush it, water rises in the bowl, then slowly leaks away through the drain onto the floor. I took a video of the problem to possibly send to a plumber. However, firstly I wanted to know if it is possible to fix it ourselves.

The water seems to be leaking through cracks in the caulk where the drainage pipe goes into the floor. I was wondering if unclogging the toilet and re-applying the foam/paste would solve the problem, or if it would only serve as a temporary fix. We haven't tried this yet because:

We currently don't have a plunger.
We don't want to worsen the problem in case a plumber needs to come

All help is welcome and thanks in advance!

video of the problem, still capture:


texts: White mold (?) in wooden bench's crevices: how to test and clean

texts:
I have a wooden bench that by design has crevices and recently I have noticed white mold-like things in these crevices:

How do I tell if this is mold or not? In any case, how I properly care for these wood furniture pieces?


texts: How can I make an even ground for a garden nursery, without using concrete?

texts:
I want to make a garden nursery. I know that many use concrete for this purpose but I would like to find out if there is a cheaper alternative. My requirement is simple - the ground should be even to walk on, low maintenance and it should be able to withstand the weather (I think water clogging can be handled by using the right gradient in height).

Are there any DIY options as well?


texts: Advice on removing brick fireplace and gas fireplace

texts:
I would like to remove this fireplace in its entirety...

My 'current understanding' of the best approach to this is as follows..

support the wood sleeper on either side, then chisel away surrounding cement and remove
starting at the top layer, chisel away cement from each brick and remove
Once brick surround removed, have professional gas fitter cap the gas outlet
remove tiles and remaining brick as per point 2.

My current understanding is entirely based on conversations with friends & family and YouTube videos of similar jobs.

Is this a sound approach, or am i overlooking anything important?

A few close up pics...


texts: Do gas fireplaces need chimney cleaning?

texts:
Is it necessary to have the chimney cleaned by chimney sweeping service if I use a gas imitation fireplace log (no wood) exclusively?

If so, what is the reason?  What is the root cause for chimneys needing cleaning in the first place?


texts:
I have an old O'keefe and Merrit Oven that is not lighting.  I tried contacting a local mechanic but he refused to work on it because he called it an antique.  Unfortunately they simply don't seem to make ovens of this configuration any more (24" wide by 48" tall gas double) so i would like to fix it rather than have to rebuild some or all of my kitchen to get a new one in.

The oven is probably from the late 70's as that is when the house was built.

Here are the symptoms.

1) Pilot light is on
2) Pilot light is adjustable via adjustment screw
3) I hear a click when I turn the dial that should turn the oven on (sounds normal?)
4) I do not hear any gas flowing from main burner when the oven is "on"
5) Attempting to light the burner manually while oven is in on position does not work.

My assumption here is that it is a gas flow issue because if it was just the igniter then i would assume my manual lighting approach would work.

Any suggestions are welcome.  and here are some pics (both from the bottom oven/broiler side)


texts:
I have an old Lennox boiler which doesn't appear to have a PCB board. Originally the old honeywell thermostat had a 2 pair wire attached which included Red and White Wires. I snaked an 18/5 thermostat wire and replaced the thermostat with a google nest thermostat. When I tried using just the red and white wire it prompts me to attach the C wire, but I'm not sure where to attach it on the boiler. It also prompts me that it detects the white wire, but doesn't detect the red wire. I'm not 100% certain whether it is not detecting it solely because the C wire isn't currently attached. I can confirm that there is definitely power coming from the switch to the boiler. The wires coming from the switch are marked with L1 and L2 and I tested it with a voltmeter. When I test the voltmeter against the white and red wire I get about 26 volts so I'm not sure why the smart thermostat isn't detecting it.
If i'm missing any pertinent information guys please let me know and I'll include it.


texts: How to hard disable the air conditioner beep?

texts:
I bought this model: MFL69782201 (User manual PDF http://gscs-b2c.lge.com/downloadFile?fileId=S45tMoOwlLqIpW2lkIGLfA)
It is a split dual inverter.
The problem is there is no way to disable it's beep that happens every time we press a button in the remote control. I contacted the manufacturer and they say "it is how it works and is impossible to disable the beep".
The noise is very annoying, mostly in the morning, and mostly because I live in an apartment. I dont want that noise to cause trouble with my neighbours.
I know if I make a hole on it somewhere I will be able to reach the beeper and cut it out or block it enough to lower the beep volume in a hardware way.
But I can't find a maintenance manual for it, so I dont know where to cut. Yes I am aware about warranty, but... The beep is so horrible that I avoid using it as much I can. I feel like I bought the wrong product...
So, has anyone done that kind of thing?
Did it work?
Where can I find such maintenance manual?
Cut or damage the utterly annoying beeper can cause other problems on the circuit board?


texts: Best adhesive for reinstalling this wall tile

texts: The grout lines still match up; I just need a good adhesive to put back on. I don’t want to scrapes old mortar or grout out if possible.


texts: Can you wire a T12 fluorescent Strip light and a T8 fluorescent strip light together?

texts: I have a 2FT Strip light and a 4FT strip light wired together in the kitchen.  They are both T12 . I need to replace the 4FT one and I bought a cheap T12.  However, I have to go back to the store anyway, so I was thinking of getting the more efficient T8 fixture. Any problems wiring mismatch T8 and T12 fixtures together?


texts: Can I wire this three wire fixture to my two wire junction box?

texts:
I have this three wire LED motion sensing outdoor fixture (labeled grnd, Neutral, Black)
And I’d like to wire it to my current junction box which has only two wires, red (!!!) and white.  Is this possible?  It’s replacing my old fixture which actually was a three wire incandescent, which just used two:

Is this doable?  The garage actually has three wire wiring, just this box doesn’t.  I could do the old college try (it’s cheap enough that if i fry it i won’t cry) but i want to do the right thing.
EDIT the junction box.  Notice there’s a bolt hole labeled GRD. I have no idea if it’s actually Ground


texts: Have an office cube with sliding door I want to control with an Arduino and rack/pinion gear. What motor should I buy?

texts: I don't know what kind of hobby motors will be suitable so that the door can slide freely too when not using the motor to move it.


texts:
My energy provider sent me a WiFi A/C system to hook up to my window unit, however, I cannot plug it into my wall because I appear to have a NEMA 6-15 outlet that matches the plug on my A/C unit and based on my attempt at internet research this WiFi thing looks to be a 6-20 plug. Would it be safe to simply get an adaptor so that I can plug this in?

Hopefully the images below work, as I’m not familiar with these things so images can probably speak better than I can!


texts:
in my apartment I noticed recently that my bedside clock and oven clock, which are both powered from the wall, were about 15 minutes ahead. I changed them back to the correct time, but the next day they were already a few minutes ahead. I have also had a few WiFi routers suddenly stop working over the past few months.

Could this indicate that something is wrong with the electricity in my apartment? If so, what can I do to check it myself before calling an electrician?

Thanks!

Update: I contacted the power company and it turns out that the mains frequency was, in fact, higher than normal. There was a water main that burst (and caved in part of the street) in my neighborhood and the city feared that it would damage the underground powerlines, so they turned on the emergency power generators to ensure that nobody would lose power, even temporarily, while they fixed the water pipes. They said that they had to increase the mains frequency in order to prevent damaging the generators. They ran the generators for about a week, but service is back to normal now. My clocks are functioning normally again and it turns out that my router issue was unrelated. Thanks for everyone's input!


texts: Can push-in wire connectors handle 20 amp circuits?

texts: Can push in connections handle 20 amp circuits?  The box claims that 22 to 12 gauge wire can fit, but little else. Sorry if this is a silly query.


texts: How to salvage this ruined wall so it can hold paint?

texts:
We have a big wall plastered with clay.

It was originally brown, and we wanted to paint it white or a light pink, using lime paint. Lime paint is said to be an ideal match for clay plaster, and has beautiful moisture-regulating properties.

However, we failed spectacularly. Any paint that we try to apply to the surface comes right off, often taking a part of the original plaster with it. We also used a silicate-based ground coat that is supposed to work in situations exactly like this. (We did not manage to get hold of a caseine-based ground coat where we live.) All to no avail.

The result is a huge mess that seems unsalvageable. Anything we try to put on the wall comes right off in places because it's so porous.

The problem is especially big on the left hand part of the wall (see the photo below) and we're pretty sure there has been water damage to the wall, caused by a leaky roof. On the right hand side the problem is there, too, but much less so. It seems like moisture has  ruined the wall.

We really don't know what to do any more and are looking for ideas.

We have considered:

Scratching off the clay and trying to work with the concrete underneath: will likely not keep, as the concrete is as porous as the clay on top of it.
Scratching off the clay and trying to build a new layer of plaster: we fear that new layer would come right off, too
Trying out just normal, white dispersion paint - very likely wouldn't keep
Building a new wall out of blocks or wood: extremely expensive and an insane amount of effort
Building a faux wall in front of the ruined one, out of wooden panels, plastic foil, or some other material: we're so desperate we're open to this, but couldn't think of anything that'll resemble a real wall and not cost thousands
Using epoxy as suggested here or some other super-strong grounding  - it might be an option, but we fear it'll simply come right off together with a bit of the plaster underneath. Advice based on experience would be welcome.
Using normal, white dispersion paint after applying some super-effective grounding - perhaps an option? Does anybody have an idea whether this would work?

The wall is load-bearing and we can't remove it.

We are based on the Canary Islands and may not be able to get our hands on very special materials - but don't let that slow down your imagination for the moment.

Advice would be most welcome!


texts: Why is my paint bubbling and peeling after removing my popcorn ceiling?

texts:
I removed my popcorn ceiling.  I made all my repairs, and wiped the ceiling down after I sanded the entire ceiling.

I was trying to prime the ceiling but my paint is bubbling and peeling. What should I do?


texts: How should I drain an area of gravel between a sidewalk and retaining wall?

texts:
We are reclaiming a flower bed and extending our existing patio. After a gully washer I am now concerned about drainage for this 5ft by 36ft impervious surface we are adding.  We are also adding a stair case in the middle to access the upper yard over a brick retaining wall. The stair case will be 2 risers and end where the retaining wall brick drops off 4 feet wide stairs. For relation each existing concrete square is 2ft by 2ft
So my question is how would you drain?  Can I run pvc pipe under the stair case to allow draining under the stairs?  Should I drin towards retaining wall and away from house and existing patio? Should I drain towards existing patio and add a channel?  The next problem is what to do with the water once it gets to the end of the patio?
Just add a French drain along the length of new concrete and funnel to flower bed?  Any help would be great.  Mainly wondering about the possibility of running pvc under stair case to allow drainage and not ruin concrete integrity.  Thanks in advance.


texts:
When I flush the newest toilet in my house there is a massive bubble that comes out of the toilet bowl.

The toilet flushes incredibly slowly.

The bubble does not come from the drain, but from the small hole near the front that shoots water into the drain. I don't know what that hole is called, because for whatever reason I can't find a diagram that shows that hole.

Here are some items:

I have done the bucket test, and dumped a 5gal pail of water into the
toilet. This drains pretty much instantly and there is no air bubble.
I have 3 toilets in my house, 3 showers, and 5 sinks, only this one
toilet drains slowly.
I appear to only have one sewer vent on my roof, and I have sprayed a
jet of water down the vent for several minutes, there is no water
backup and I don't expect there is any clog.
The toilet is rarely ever used, it's in the "guest" part of my house.
I have used Draino on it.
I have plunged it, there doesn't appear to be any backup.
I have tried poking around in that hole where the bubble comes from,
but there doesn't appear to be any obstructions.

I've seen some sites where people mention a misaligned "small hose that feeds into a bigger hose" but there doesn't appear to be any hoses that fit that description in my tank.

Anyone have any idea what this issue is?

EDIT:

Some Pictures:
The Tank:

The Bowl:

The Vents

Unfortunately you can't really see the vent that I found to be clogged, it's very hard to see it. The rusty smudge near the top right of the picture is where the clogged vent is. Although, I'm thinking it may not be a vent at all, possibly a crack?

EDIT:

I replaced the toilet with a much better one. An American Standard Champion 4. Now it flushes like a shotgun.

The moral of the story is: don't buy cheap toilets.


texts: Suburban SF-30 RV furnace has trouble lighting when it is cold

texts:
I have a Suburban SF-30 furnace in my camping trailer. It runs most week days during the winter so it gets a lot of use.

I have been noticing for a while that it struggles to light. It seems the worst when the thermostat is set to lower temperatures like 40F.

Recently, I had it apart to replace the blower motor so I blew out the nozzle to be sure it was clear. Since putting it back together it lite fine the first day and ran over night and all day at 70F. Then it set the thermostat down to 40F and let it run over night. In the morning it was out and would not light no matter how many times I turned it off then on again. Today I turned it on and off 5 or 10 times then it lit and went up to 70F and held it all day fine.

In summary, it appearers to struggle with lighting when the furnace is cold. Once it is warm it always lights nicely.

Any suggestions as to what I can try make it light more consistently?


texts: Best option for replacing rotting redwood exterior trim

texts:
I have 12” painted redwood fascia boards rotting in places, and I'm looking for a smooth board to replace it with. Exterior kiln dried treated and primed pine has been suggested but would have to be processed (not available) also an exterior borate treated primed spruce has been suggested.

I also need to replace boxing around cantilevered beams to match other redwood boxed beams with beveled edges, so no cement board types. I need a smooth surface to match other beams. Any suggestions on best choice or another suggestions?


texts: How long must be the vertical leg of support brackets?

texts:
I need to install some heavy granite contertop (650mm depth) on masonry walls, and I have a lot of angle iron (1 1/2" by 1/8") and U channel (70mmx30mm x 5/64") leftover and thought about welding them myself.

I do remember something about levers and pull strenght, but I don't quite remember how to calculate the ratios of horizontal and vertical legs to get a good support. Can anyone enlightmen me?

I thought about using at least 300mm (1 ft) on the vertical leg, but using angle iron I will be able to use only 2 bolts (one at the top and 1 at the bottom, since the middle doesn't really need to be bolt because most of the force is at the top).

Another choice that I have is using 4mm (5/32") plate as the backing (which goes agains the wall) about 100x100 in size welded to a U channel (5/64") cut in a sort of triagular shape (like the image below). This will allow me to have 4 bolts (2 on top and 2 on bottom) on the backplate.

The first design has less bolts but a longer leg, the second has more bolts and large footprint, but a shorter vertical span. What would be stiffer/stronger?


texts:
I've got a surface mount box mounted to the drywall. I now want to run an outlet to the adjacent room on the other side of this wall, but not directly lined up with the existing box.
Is there any problem with knocking out the knockout pointed to by the green arrow and just drilling a hole in the drywall big enough to fit the MC connector and then running the MC to a flush mount box on the other side of the wall?


texts: Can I prevent my tub faucet from leaking by diverting the water to the shower, and shutting off the shower head?

texts: So, my tub faucet is leaking. I live in an apt and I'm not too sure when the landlord is actually going to get this issue fixed. Right now, there is a steady, light stream of water coming out of the faucet. I know fixing this would be pretty easy , but I don't have access to my water heater, etc so I can't do it myself. To temporarily stop the faucet from leaking until it actually gets fixed, I found I could divert water to the shower head and turn off the flow of water with the flow control on the shower head. This results in dripping from both the shower head and the tub faucet, which is less than the stream with no water diverted to the shower head. My question is, is there any consequence to temporarily slowing the leak like this? I'm just concerned that there could be some sort of pressure build up or something that could affect the pipes or something.


texts: Turn 1 Switch Into 3 Switches That Control Outdoor Lighting?

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We've added a patio to our backyard.

Currently we have 2 lights near our backdoor that are controlled by a switch inside.

We wanted to add an outlet (always on) near the patio, in addition to a pole light (controlled via switch) and some low voltage landscape lighting (also controlled via switch).

Existing setup right now looks like this(

Here is how we wanted to have it setup:

I don't know a ton about electrical - but can I run one ground wire to all 3 outdoor items?

Am I correct in thinking I would need 3 'hot' wires ran to the patio area (one for outlet, one for light, one for landscape lights) - 1 'ground' (which could be used on each item) and 1 'neutral' that could also be daisy chained?

I guess my questions are as follows:

Can you use one ground for multiple items
Can you use one neutral for multiple items or do they each need their own?

Trying to figure out how many wires I need to run to the patio and how it all needs to be thrown together.


texts:
I have a gas water heater inside my home at the moment. I am planning for the work to remove it, and install a new electrical tank-based water heater, at a different location.
The new location is just on the opposite wall of the current location. It already has hot water and cold water pipes (that are currently simple taps). These pipes are the same diameters as the pipes currently going in and out of the current was water heater.
My plan is to close the pipes that are currently going in and out of the gas water heater (with a simple cap - I do not have the skills to properly crush them with a machine, and there is not enough space to do so). The length of these pipes will therefore become unused.
I am not sure how this will play out, but I imagine this could result in the length of these 2 pipes containing stagnant water : they will be filled in the first time I turn water on after installation of the new, electrical, water heater and then the water in there might not ever be used because it's a dead end.
Should I be concerned about that?
Here's a picture of the current gas water heater:


texts: Swapped out light switch and now WIRES have no power?

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We’ve been swapping out all our outlets and switches in our house....with minimal problems until today.

In our living room we have a dimmer switch on one wall that controls our overhead light.  On another wall, we have two switches (in one box).  One controls an outside light.  The other switch was a mystery to us.  It did not turn on the overhead light and did not control any outlets.  We assumed it was a dead switch.

We replaced the dimmer switch first.  We found a black and red wire pigtailed and connected to the common screw and a white on the other screw.  We connected it the same way and its worked perfectly for the last few days.

Today we tackled the wall that had the outside switch and “dead” switch in one box.  The outside switch replaced easily and works fine.  When we pulled the dead switch, it had a red, black, and white wire on 3 separate screws.  So we put in a three way switch to replace it.

When we turned the power back on, we figured there was no way to “test” it.  But then I noticed the new dimmer switch for the overhead light no longer worked.  After scratching our heads for a few minutes, my husband flipped the “dead switch” and the overhead light came on.  After some testing we learned the “dead switch” wasn’t a true three-way switch....but wasn’t really dead either.  It seemed to merely provide power to the dimmer switch.  The dimmer switch provided power to the light.  But if the dimmer switch was off, the “dead switch” couldn’t turn on the overhead light (which is what we had tried earlier when researching the switch).

We were fine with the setup....so we shut the power off again and went about getting the switches back in their boxes and putting the covers on.

Once that was completed we tested everything again.  Now we have no power to the “dead switch”, hence no power to the dimmer switch.  We took everything back out, disconnected the three wires, and turned the power on.  None of the wires are showing power for the dead switch (and therefore none of the wires for the dimmer switch show power either).

All other outlets and switches on that breaker are working fine (including the wires in the same box for the outside light...) and we never tripped a breaker.

So what could have happened?  I’m thinking my husband may have connected the wrong wire to the common screw initially.....but 1) why would it have worked and 2) could it have then shorted something?

Any thoughts or ideas will be appreciated.  We’ll be calling an electrician....but we’re really scratching our heads right now.


texts:
We just completed a 20x20 great room addition on the side of our house with a 4 foot crawl space and poured concrete floor. There is a 4’ by 4’ cut through to access this crawl space from the existing full sized basement. We live in New England. The new addition has baseboard heat and the floor is insulated with insulation bats. The new addition includes 3 foundation vents (metal with screens, we can slide them open or closed) for the crawl space. The rest of the existing basement has no venting to the outside (just a door with stairs to a bulkhead).

The contractor said these are required and wants them left open. However, in the winter - even if we slide the vent closed, cold air is making the floors cold and it just lets cold air into the normal existing basement which will be half finished.

Do we need these vents or can I just plug them with some sort of ridid foam insulation?  All this cold air seams like a big waste of energy. In the summer we keep a dehumidifier running - is this enough to keep the crawl space conditioned as well?


texts: Ledger for Exterior Stairs - Attach to Existing Wood or Remove and Add Ledger

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I'm adding steps to the exterior of my house. I know the steps need to be attached to a ledger. However, I cannot decide what the white piece of wood that is already there:

Is it a ledger without the bolts; thus, I just need to add the bolts?
Is it just a cover that I need to pry off (it's nailed in pretty good)?
Can I just attach the stair hangers to?


texts: Selecting proper tiles for the floor in the hall

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NB. I'm a total noob when it comes to home improvement so it's both fine and preferred to answer me like if I'm a retarded banana. Understanding my ignorance I have a lot of respect for the competence needed and I'm afraid of making choices that I'll regret later on. (I have a guy to help me but I'd like to understand what's going on and learn myself.)

In my hall, I'd like to put tiles and I can't decide between different parameters (specified below) because I don't understand the implications of the choice. Asking in the store lead to recommendation that is suspectedly pricey.

Color: I'd go for dark/black because the dirt won't show as easily as on bright tiles.
Filling: I'd go with bright one (but not too bright) to create some contrast and enhance the grid pattern.
Size: Here I'm stuck. What are pros and cons of large/medium/small tiles?
Format: Here I'm stuck. What are pros and cons of squares/rectangles?
Texture: Here I'm unsure. Personally, I'd prefer some uneven-ness but not abrasive. What is downside of that, if anything?
Pricing: I've been told that the price range is due to quality. But I'm not sure how it works. It's not that I'll be riding a horse with horseshoes on it. How fragile is a tile of lower quality?

The last item is the most confusing. I prefer to lower the cost, of course, but I definitely don't want to go and cheap myself into problems. Please advise. (The fact is that the cheapest tiles they had is around 10$ and others are around 25$-120$. And I kind of liked the cheapest the best...)


texts: How to fix a cupboard to 32mm thick plasterboard

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I want to fix a cabinet to a bathroom wall. The wall is 710mm wide and has a single stud slightly off-centre, about 270mm from the right, but which is too near the middle to be useful for hanging the cupboard.

I was planning to use heavyweight plasterboard fixings. (I think they're also called mollies.) The pack I have says "Interset(R) 10mm Plasterboard Fixing... DRILL DIA: 10mm, FIXTURE: Max 15mm thick".

Unfortunately, when I drilled into the plasterboard, it turned out to be much thicker than I expected. I used a paperclip through the hole to help measure the thickness, and it turned out to be about 32mm thick. This seems to be much thicker than is common for plasterboard. Now I have a pair of 10mm holes in this plasterboard and I'm not sure what to do with them. I'm not sure if it's normal plasterboard, or something else. I thought perhaps it's insulated or sound-dampening.

For context, the wall in question is internal and divides one apartment from another. I understand it must have been installed in the last 10 years, since the  apartment was formerly a ground-and-basement-level shop, and was converted into apartments within that time. This is in the UK.

What can I use to fix a cabinet to this thick wall? Can I get spring toggle bolts that are suitable for this thickness? How do I find suitable fixtures, since most seem to be designed for 10-15mm walls?


texts:
I have a plumbing system just like this picture in my house:

The water comes from the water tank that is on the top of the house. In this particular situation shown in the picture, the water goes to the first floor, enters in a forked connection and goes to the tap 2, in the first floor, and to the tap 1, in the second floor. This is a project failure, the connection should be in the second floor, due to this, I'm having problems with air inside the tube that links the tap 1 with the connection. I think the air is getting into the tube by tap 1.

Tap 2 is working nice. Is not always I have tap 1 not working. When I take the air off the tube, it comes back to work, but, by the time passing, 6 months approximately, tap 1 stops flowing water.

How I can avoid this situation without change the tube system? I thought about a retention valve connected to the tap 1, would it work?


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I'm trying get some advice on whether this design is even possible and if so if my post size and joists are correct (ie safe/structurally sound). I have seen many cantilevered pergolas so I think this T shape design is possible, but I am concerned that my width, 17 ft, is too wide for a design that only has one post to hold up each joist.
I am trying to create a T shaped pergola which a canvas material will be stretched across.
The dimension of design shown are for both posts to be 6"x6" cedar 12ft and 13 ft tall. 6.5' apart.
I am planning to secure each post with a footer 4 ft deep and 18" diameter. Is this deep enough?
The joists are the part I am most concerned about as they are 17ft wide (2"x6" cedar) with the post in the middle, so the beam will span 8.25ft to each side. Is this possible to do with not other posts?
If it matters, the property is located in Dallas, TX.


texts:
I'm planning on painting the breeze block wall in my garage. Do I need to use a specific paint type or am I ok to just use left over matte?

Also, is it safe to paint the floor?


texts:
My house is a tall colonial. At the tallest point the gutters are almost 30 feet above ground. I do not have a tall ladder and do not want to climb on a roof which is even higher. I do have a gutter cleaning gadget with a steel fork at the end BUT it is only 5 feet long.

Is there a extension pole system or some other idea so I can raise this gadget up to 20 feet safely?


texts:
How can I fix a cast iron wood bench from rim rack from side to side?

I have tightened all screws for each slat of wood including brackets underneath to secure the wood to the iron, but I cannot sit on it as it sways.

Thanks, C.


texts:
My dad just bought a house and let me move in. He's home once every three months so its practically my house.  I just have to take care of it.

What I want to do is have my internet closet on the north side of the house and my office on the south side of the house.  Well I wanted to achieve this by running a 50ft Ethernet cable up into the attic, across the house, and then drill a hole through the joist that's above the office room and feed the cable through the wall so I can have Ethernet ports on my wall.

Only problem is, I've never done anything like this before.  I had assumed that if I go into the attic there would just be a wide open space where the wall is with a bunch of electrical wires and crap hanging down into the wall, which then I could just drop the Ethernet cable down and find it when I get back out of the attic.

I found out that there's a wooden joist covering it so I'd have to drill through. I tried to drill through and the drill only went halfway and then it wouldn't go through any more. So. I stopped.

Why didn't it go through? Is there a better way to achieve what I want? Am I doing something stupid?

My biggest concern is that when my dad goes to sell the house, will a home inspector see that and then flag him for it? I want to do this in a way that won't create problems in the future.


texts:
I have two ropes apparently attached to weights inside the wall that come down on pulleys and they are attached to a window in my house on both sides.

I cannot close the window.  I hear the weights when I try and plaster and old paint fall down when I attempt to close it.

Other previous owners have attempted to close the window and have apparently had success as there are small bits of glass missing from said window, which must have resulted from taking a hard swing downward and a big slam at the bottom.

This is the dumbest invention I have ever seen and I don’t understand the purpose of such a window apparatus.

I’m told that in the event that you have two Sache Weight Windows together, that they can even share a weight betwixt them;  but mine only has one Window.

It seems that the one pulley turns while the other does nothing at all.  The one rope moves and the pulley turns but the other is stuck fast.


texts: What's the easiest way to clean concrete

texts: Driveway is in horrible condition and needs cleaning. Afraid I'll damage it using muratic acid but a pressure washer didn't do that great


texts: Add 2 downstream receptacles from a single outlet

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I have a receptacle in the middle of a series of receptacles, it has line in and load out to the next receptacle (no pigtails). I need to add another outlet near this receptacle and due to placement this is my only option.
What is the best way to do this? Should I strip some 6" pieces and pigtail the charge, neutral and ground wires at the line end of this receptacle? Or should I pigtail the load end and make this receptacle feed two others simultaneously?
Also, while the current series is all 12/2 (on a 20amp circuit breaker), I'm thinking of using a GFCI 15amp as the new outlet, can I just run 14/2 to the new outlet?
This image shows what I am trying to do (notice the last outlet says "new"), except the last outlet will be GFCI.
(https://i.stack.imgur.com/o09Ej.jpg)


texts: I have tried everything to adjust and fix the sensors on my garage door. They will not close when the sun is hitting them. Can I just remove them?


texts: Using conduit from ceiling to wall for closet switch?

texts: We're adding a wall to separate a garage and want to put outlets and a light switch in the wall but it was installed aligned with a steel beam above it so there is no way to fish a wire down into the wall from above. Would it be within code to come down from the ceiling about 8" away from the wall and run conduit down the wall to a switch? Also, in that same conduit could we run the wire for the outlets and just continue that in the wall to install outlets? It won't look great but it will be in a closet anyway.


texts: We currently have 240 high bay metal halide lights in our gym we bought 110 led high bay lights to replace them ( new fixtures) can i not just remove one leg  of the 240 in the breaker box and move it to the neutral bus to make 110 from the 240 wiring i have been to electrical school but not very up on 3 phase thanks.


texts: Is some condensation on bathroom walls safe?

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I have an exhaust fan in my master bathroom and also a wall heater.  I like to run the heater without the fan running during my shower so that the room is nice and warm when towel drying off.  I then run the fan for 15 minutes on a timer.  This does a good job of removing the moisture and heat from the air, but condensation still remains on the drywall above the shower enclosure.  Even with the fan running, so steam ends up forming condensation on those walls close to the shower.

Is it alright to have some condensation forming on these walls as long as it evaporates in a hour or so?  Do I need to worry about moisture making it way through the paint and turning into condensation when it hits the vapor barrier behind the drywall?  To date, I have never seen any spots of mold form on the painted drywall.


texts: What type of wire to use in underwater applications

texts:
I live in the San Diego County (CA) and I am trying to resurrect a well and I have a question about the type of wire that I need to use from the control box down the shaft of the well.  From the research I've done to date, I need to use submersible wire, but I am seeing conflicting information that UL direct burial would work as a substitute.

The question is, to be up to code, what type of wire do I need to run down the well to the pump?


texts: Which wood does the icc not recognize as decay resistant? It is either western red cedar or redwood, cannot find in code book.


texts: Can I break up the floor of a raised floor basement bathroom without damaging the plumbing?

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I have an interesting remodel project.  I have an existing basement bathroom - which has a raised concrete floor.  The toilet sits on the slab.

I am remodeling this to create a bigger bathroom for the basement, and the existing toilet and shower drain are very close together.  I am thinking if I am going to do this right, I will have to break up all this concrete and then put them in appropriate spots.

Question: Is the toilet drain/water piping embedded in the raised concrete slab?  Can I break up the raised floor without damaging the core stack and pipes?


texts: When I turn the bathroom light off it doesn't always go off

texts: The light always comes on but I often have to switch it 2 or 3 times to get it to go off.


texts: Can two 120V outlets be converted to one 240V for stacked washer dryer combo?

texts: There are two 120V outlets in laundry area of all electric townhouse built in 1982. All the 24" wide electric stacked washer dryers combos require 240V. What is the best way to make necessary improvement?


texts:
I recently had contractor build several retaining walls ranging from 12" to 20" high.

They dug a shallow one inch trench then filled it with mortar, upon which they laid and leveled first row of blocks.

No drainage behind the walls, just soil.

Blocks were all glued, so the walls are basically one solid piece.

Is this ok? Will the walls hold up over time?


texts: We installed our shower base - round corner, and tiled our walls. Now our glass shower doors on steel frames don't fit on the base. It's too small and doesn't have enough room to sit inside of the base. It's off by about 1 inch combined from both sides. I don't think we took into account the walls. Is there anything we can do to fix this?


texts: Can I move second-floor duct-work from the floor to the attic

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I have a two story home that sits on a slab. There is some duct work that runs through the slab. I have some duct work that runs through the ceilings of the first-floor and points towards the floor of the second-floor. I have at least one duct that runs through my attic and points down into the second-floor.

The duct-work is very poor -- half of the house doesn't even get heat. The air doesn't cycle (warmer down stairs than up stairs) even though my intake is upstairs. In at least one point, I've found where a previous owner used a dryer vent to run a duct line in the ceiling of the first floor.

Instead of tearing up all of my ceilings in the first floor in an attempt to properly re-run the ductwork, would a better option be to run the ducts from the attic and just seal off the ducts in the first-floor ceiling?

I've never done any work with HVAC, although it doesn't look too hard to run ducts. I'm assuming it's a bit more complicated than it sounds. Here's my utility closet which looks to be pretty unusual or overly complicated.


texts: How to repair toilet flange that is glued and recessed

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I installed new flooring. The existing toilet flange is recessed - see picture. The flange is glued into and existing outlet and I don’t see a way of removing it without cutting the pipe lower down and making a new outlet. An alternative is to cut the top of the flange and add a new flange with a smaller outlet - there are flanges that fit within a 3 inch outlet.
Would this work?
Also, would I need to build up the subfloor or can I still have it recessed?


texts: Looking for lever handle for old Briggs shower faucet as per picture attached.  Acrylic part has cracked so just glued and put elastic band around to hold together


texts:
Condo is in Florida. The building is 32 years old. 8 Units in a 2story building. Mine is on the 2nd floor. Brand new HVAC system including ducts-2018.

Attic insulation was fine according to a home inspector in 2018, but some "bare" spots were remediated in 2019 through weatherization assistance program. Humidity is maintained 50-60. Temp is set 74-77F.

No leaks, no visible mold anywhere. Walls are clean and painted in 2017 before selling. No old furniture. No carpet. Large windows, plenty of day light. Mix of cathedral ceiling and normal ceiling in bedrooms. Washer and Dryer are on Lanai (outside). No pets.

I live there year around. I am very sensitive to odors. When I walk in from outside, the old house odor is clearly felt. It is not very strong, but I sense it.

Any ideas on where it may be coming from?


texts: WiringTrouble With replacing blower motor in my furnace

texts: When replacing the blower motor in my furnace I notice the old blower motor had a Brown and a Brown and white wire going to the furnace off of the motor the new motor however does not Instead it has an additional green wire which typically would be ground But I see it has a green and yellow wire grounding the blower motor to the housing. What do I do with this additional green wire Coming off the blower motor and the open Brown and Brown and white wire coming off my furnace


texts:
I have not relocated/changed the thermostat or had any work done on my furnace. The fans turn on well before the furnace starts giving off warm air, which blows a lot of cold air into my home. I have noticed that this happens when the temperature drops on the thermostat and does not happen when I push the temperature up manually. Also, the furnace cycles before the temperature drops to the next lowest degree on the thermostat setting. Any suggestions?
The furnace is an Ameristar M4PG4030A1060AA and the Thermostat is a PRO T701. They are both less than three years old. The clod air blows for a minute or two before the furnace starts. This has not happened until recently.
There is nothing flashing or any indication that there is something wrong on the outside of the unit. Thanks for your help


texts: Adapter for small 1/4" ratchet screwdriver to take Leatherman bit tips

texts:
I have a small ratcheting screwdriver as seen here, and a Leatherman multi-tool. I have also bought the Leatherman bit accessory pack that contains roughly 40 different bits.

I use both my ratchet and multi-tool a lot, typically for different things. However, on occasion, I noticed some tasks need the Leatherman, because only it has that specific bit. The draw back though, is I lose the ratcheting leverage. So for this type of niche task, I think it would be beneficial to buy an adapter that would allow my small ratchet to accept Leatherman bits. Leatherman bits are flat, rectangular bits, I have included a picture for reference.

Question: What kind of adapter do I need to buy to have my small 1/4" hex bit driver ratchet to accept Leatherman flat bits?


texts:
While remodeling an older house (where nothing is quite straight) we used fiber glass mesh joint tape and 3 coats of joint compound. The first coat was applied with a 4 inch knife, the second with an 8 inch and ending the third on a 12 inch knife. I can still see the texture from the mesh tape I used on some of the joints.

I hoped that a coat of primer would level it off, but after using Kilz 2 primer I can still see the tape in some spots. :(

Sanding through the primer now proves difficult (doesn't work) with a medium grit sanding block.

Should I add another coat? I could never quite get the joint compound to adhere over the mesh tape. I've always been taught to go as thin as I can on the joint compound to reduce the sanding part. Did I go too thin?

I'm hoping a second coat of primer and 2 coats of the final latex paint hides it, but I know this isn't the right answer. How can I fix this?

following what doresoom and shirlock said; i just applied a coat with the 12 inch knife practically against the wall (accidentally touching the wall with the handle once or twice) - more or less dragging the compound across the surface

this produced the result explained - about 1/32nd ? thickness of mud, covering the tape that i'll need to feather round the edges

i miss spoke earlier - i was using a sponge sanding block (not strait paper sand paper)

now that the primer has dried (did it saturday) its not as bad as i thought it was, but this is the right way to do it (not covering it with paint)

just as a side, we've used sherwin williams paint throughout the house and although its great paint (IMO) the plaster and lath walls that remain, even those repairs show through - and if those do, than this new work will... may as well do finish it right...

thanks for the help guys - i'll check this coat tomorrow and give a last one with the soap and water if it needs it.


texts: Need a gas cooker but have no gas supply

texts:
I am not sure about the terminology, i.e if it's called an electric cooker, burner, stove or something else.  So I'll just refer to it as a electric or gas cooker to simplify things.

We don't have a gas supply to our house in the UK as we have moved to a more remote location.  We did have a gas supply in our old house and are finding the electric cooker in the new house extremely slow.  So I started looking into bottled gas, but I am not sure which direction to go in as I have so many options.

For example, do I get propane, butane, or something else?  Which kind of pipe will I need, what kind of regulator will I need? What kind of cooker will I need?

So far I have seen the following, but am not sure if these are safe for internal use and also I am not sure if these are the most economical options.  1 of my requirements is that I need a nice strong hot flame to I can get cooking done quicker.

Gas cooker

Regulator

Pipe with clips

Gas


texts: Design choice and max weight+bending for cantilever

texts:
I am playing around with designing a truck camper with overhanging/cabover sleeping area/bed (picture).
The sleeping area/bed will be supported by 3 2x4s.
Now I need to figure out the best design and if they are actually feasible.

Design 1:

All 3 2x4 are cantilevers resting on 2x4 coming up from the bottom.

The view from the top:

-----|

-----|

-----|

View from the side:

-----|
     |
     |

Design 2:

The middle 2x4 is a cantilevers resting on 2x4 coming up from the bottom.
The 2x4 on the sides are longer and resting on 2 2x4s

The view from the top:

-----|-----|

-----|

-----|-----|

View from the side:

------------
     |     |
     |     |
     |     |

The dimensions

The cantilevers are 72" long.
For Design 2 I will have an extra of 36" coming to the 2nd 2x4.

The weight on the 3 bars will be around 440lbl.
This excludes any movement which might add stress to the structure.

The questions

Is this feasible at all?
Can any of the 2 designs carry the weight?
If possible could I come by with 2x2 to save weight?

Also I would greatly appreciate any reading material on how I can calculating this.


texts: Difference between NEC code book and handbook (who is the target audience?)

texts: My city requires electrical work to be done in accordance to the 2014 NEC.  Therefore, I am purchasing the 2014 NEC.  I see there are several other NEC-related books available.  My question is: What is the benefit of the handbook over the regular NEC (how do they differ)?  More to the point, who is the target audience of the NEC?  Is this type of resource intended for the average DIY'er who has no interest in NEC certification (am I in the NEC's target audience), etc.?


texts: Can I have a washer, electric dryer, oil tank, and oil burner all in the same room?

texts: Is it safe to have the washer and an electric dryer in a basement room with an oil tank, oil burner for water baseboards and water heater?


texts: I realize it may have been answered but there are so many nuances I want to be sure: I have one (metal) double-gang box with one outdoor light circuit. I want to add a switch for a completely different outdoor light. The two independent circuits would co-exist in the same box. Is this legal? Should I put a warning note in the box there are two power sources (on different breakers) in the box? The obvious danger is someone switching one breaker and thinking the box is safe.


texts:
I have a switch that turns multiple lights on. But I make some recent renovations and while maintaining the current switch I want to control each light individually too with different phases / hot lines independent from each other and from phase #1.

I try to make a schema.

Is this possible? How two phases can control the same light?

Thank you.