texts: Likelihood of asbestos under newer ceiling texture?

texts:
Edit: Adding some up-front clarification because people seem to be fixating on the "asbestos" part of this question.

This is what I am asking for: help determining what prior work may have been done in my house based on the context I have and some visual clues.

If that's not appropriate for diy.stackexchange, that's fine! But the provided answers and comments have not made it clear if the problem is with the asbestos part of the question or the fact that I'm asking for opinions about previous work.

What I am not asking for: determination of asbestos content based on photos or discussion of the varying degrees of danger that asbestos exposure represents.

OP follows:

We moved into our house about 2 years ago, and at the time it had 2 bedrooms with asbestos popcorn ceiling texture (that we've since had removed). The rest of the house has either a (poorly-done) knockdown or orange peel texture that was done sometime before we bought it.

I'm trying to figure out how the previous owners dealt with the popcorn ceiling that was very likely throughout the house (besides the 2 bedrooms we know about). If they did it right, they would've scraped it, repaired the drywall and re-applied texture, then painted. There's one area where the ceiling meets the stone fireplace, that makes me wonder if they could've instead just covered it rather than removed it.

This photo is from the top left of the fireplace. There's a little bit of texture that looks like popcorn texture to me, to the right in the photo. To the left, where the ceiling meets the wall, it looks like there's some drywall tape?

This is basically the same shot, but from a little further away for context. What's the likelihood they covered or contained the old asbestos popcorn texture, rather than properly scraped? The knock-down is pretty thick and not very well done. Seems possible that they sprayed on a bunch to contain the old texture, but I don't really know how common that is.

To clarify in response to some of the comments - the popcorn ceiling we had removed was tested independently and contained asbestos. I'm trying to determine the likelihood that the previous owners removed vs covered the popcorn ceiling in the rest of the house.


texts: How do I keep water from getting under the garage door?

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Our garage door, pictured below, is right on a sidewalk that slopes downward slightly as it moves past the garage. The result is that one side of the garage door is 4 inches below grade while the other side is 1 inch above grade. There is no drain. A previous owner attempted to keep water out by pouring the cement bump right at the door you see in the picture below to force water to run past the garage door. The problem is that the bump is cracked and does not form a seal with the garage do, so a little water (not to mention draft) still gets into the garage when it rains.

I'm considering repouring the bump, ensuring it is more flush with the garage door, and adding weather stripping. What do you guys recommend? Alternatives? Is it worth considering some type of drain?


texts:
I am looking for an approved method to run class 1 low voltage wiring in a wall from jbox to jbox. What kind of cable and what kind of cable clamps are approved?

I have searched unsuccessfully for rated NM cable that contains just two 16 or 18ga. conductors. I've seen the MC luminary cable that contains two 14ga. conductors and two 16ga. low voltage wires, but this is a 3-way circuit so I need three 14ga. conductors. I would also rather not use MC cable unless it is my only option.

I did find a non-metallic wire sheath with a "UL Recognized" rating, so I could make my own cable from 16 ga. THHN wire, but would that be acceptable?

The rest of the installation is complete: there are 10 ceiling boxes connected by conduit, for dimmable LED lighting. I just need to run the wiring to the dimmer switches.


texts: I want to install 2 walls on top of floating laminate floor. Do I have to cut a channel in the floor or can I just fasten the walls to the floor. Do I have to fasten to the concrete below the laminate?


texts: Can fill in a doorway opening in a foundation wall over the top of the slab?

texts:
I have an exterior service door on my garage I'd like to remove and wall off. The exterior of the garage is cedar siding. Replacing that and framing the doorway in is not the issue. My concern is pouring concrete over the existing floor. There is a foundation on the exterior wall, maybe 8" as the garage is attached to the house

Can I just pour new concrete over the existing concrete without leaking issues? I plan on drilling into the floor and insides of the foundation doorway walls, and adding lengths of rebar to tie it all in. Will this be enough? Thanks


texts: Can I use mortar to level out a patio made of cinder blocks?

texts: We recently ripped out our deck because it was rotted and laid a level of cinder blocks 10ft x 32in for a small patio, basically just a step for coming out the back door. I was just wondering if I could use mortar the better level at a slight angle and maybe cover with polyurethane.


texts: How can I best balance current loads among my existing kitchen circuits?

texts:
I'm at the phase of my kitchen remodel where I have to figure out my outlets.
The Layout:

Each wall of outlets is on one of two 20amp circuit in the kitchen. I have indicated the circuits with Red and Green

The wire hanging out of the wall near position 8 is a 15amp circuit that runs the range hoot and kitchen lights.

The kitchen before had a countertop 1000w microwave (plugged into outlet 6), the new kitchen will have a 1200w microwave built into a cabinet in the same location.

Appliances:

Fridge 340w/ 6amp
Microwave 1200w/ 10amp
Range hood 200w/ 2amp

My plan:

Move the GFCI from outlet 6 and put it at 4,5, or 7 since 6 will be behind a cabinet

Create an outlet at position 8 (purple) for the fridge that will be going there ( the oven outlet is getting relocated)

My question/ problem:
I am trying to figure out the best way to balance these appliances between 2 maybe 3 circuits.
There is no dedicated circuit for the microwave and it wouldn't be practical to add one.


texts: Want to change a half switched outlet to constant power

texts: I have a half switched outlet that I want to change back to a regular outlet.  When I am looking at the wires, there are 2 neutral (white) wires going to the silver screws, a ground wire, and a red and black wire going to the brass screws.  Is it as simple as replacing the outlet with a new one and not removing the brass tab?  Would the wiring be the same?  This wall switch controls many different outlets in the room, not just the one I want to change.


texts: I am looking at painting hardiboard or mudding and then painting.  Is that OK?


texts: I have 10 separate LED strips behind a dropped ceiling feature. Each seems to have its own driver and none appear to be connected to each other except via the same power source and switch. Two that aren't even adjacent to each other will suddenly begin to flicker simultaneously after many hours. Switching the lights off and back on stops the flickering for awhile but the same two sets simultaneously start flickering again eventually. Any ideas how to stop this problem?


texts: What is this difference between these two 4 pole (3 phase) GFCI breakers?

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I'm living in France and encountered this 4 pole (3 phase) GFCI in my apartment:

My understanding is that this thing protects against a difference, between the neutral (return) and the hot (phase), that is greater than 300mA. I hear that 300mA is too high to protect a human so I wanted to swap this out for the French norm which is 30mA.
It looks like the brown wire entering into the 3rd top terminal is the phase wire coming into the house and the grey wires are just setting up two more parallel circuits. The blue wire, into the 4th top terminal is the neutral wire.

To minimize work I wanted to just swap everything in place so I bought this thing:

I hooked it up and everything works, but the TEST button does not have any effect! I'm assuming the new breaker is working and it is my understanding of the thing that is broken. Looking closer at the schematics, they are not identical. The old one seems to have the T connected to the N and L1 terminals, while the new one seems to have the T connected to the 3 and 6 terminals:

Could someone please help me understand the differences?
Is the new breaker inappropriate for my setup?


texts: Is there an "exposed work" cover plate for keystone jacks/data ports?

texts:
I've run Cat 5e ethernet cable through 1/2" PVC conduit out to my shed so that I can connect a wifi extender and improve wifi coverage in my backyard. The conduit comes into the shed and elbows up to a location under the roof and away from harm. I'd like to terminate it with an rj45 keystone jack that I can plug my extender into.

With something like mains power, I can connect the conduit to a handy box and then attach a metal cover over my receptacle:

However, I can't seem to find a similar product for keystone data jacks. I tried a regular plastic data port wall plate, but it doesn't seem to sit properly on the handy box as it's made to attach to some other kind of box. I could always take a blank metal cover and use my dremel to cut a custom hole for the keystone jack, but it would be easier and neater if such a product already exists.


texts: Is it safe to replace ethernet wall plate with a camera?

texts: I want to mount a camera horizontally with no wires showing. I thought it might be easiest if I just covered the ethernet wall plate with the power over ethernet camera. This would completely cover the hole in the wall, but there would be a small gap (2-3mm maybe) between the camera and the wall. Since it is a low voltage wire, I'm tempted to think it doesn't violate electrical codes. Would it violate building or fire codes?


texts: How can I find the part to fix this bookshelf?

texts:
I have a bookshelf with a broken part, but don't know what this kind of bookshelf is called or what the part is called.

The bookshelf has glass doors that slide up and in:

Each door has a catch (if that's what it's called):

The catch slides along a rail and hangs from a knob when the door is closed. Here's a normal assembly of those:

But one rail just got broken:

I could fix this if I could order the right part, but like I said, I don't know the words to use to find it.

What kind of bookshelf is this? What is the broken part called? And how might I find one like it?


texts: How to attach a deck ledger board to a house with no rim joist

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We are building a deck, and the whole time so far we have been planning on attaching the deck to the house via a ledger board. After stripping the siding and insulation foam board, we discovered that all that remains is ~7/8" sheathing attached to the ends of the floor joists (I-beam shaped, spaced a little more than 19" on center). As far as we can tell, this is insufficient for attaching the ledger, no matter how many lag screws and such we use. Is this true? If so, how can we solve this?

Some of our constraints:
- Making the deck free-standing would be difficult / impractical at the height we have to work with. Our current design has the beams at the same level as the joists. Putting beams below the joists to make a cantilever toward the house would require making the beam either very short or partially under grade.
- Our basement is finished, so we can't easily add structure to the floor joists from there. We could cut away some of the sheathing, but we're a bit concerned this could increase the risk of water getting in through the seams.


texts: time delay adjustment on Rheem elect furnace

texts: Upon a call for heat the blower motor starts too soon resulting in cool to cold air coming out of the ceiling registers until heat strips start heating up.Wires coming from thermostat connect to curcuit board first then wires connect to the two sequencers.Time delay looks like it is solely controlled via ckt board. How do I adjust for a longer delay on motor start up? Furnace is a RHEEM model#RHLL-HM6024JA (07/2010) blower motor= 3/4hp X-13 CKT BRD is an EMERSON 4632E.(I have been in the a/c & heat trade off and on for 35yrs,with commercial refrigeration service making up 19yrs of it, I haven't been very active the past 10yrs so im a little rusty.


texts:
So I bought great but slightly damaged speakers and I would like to restore them, I understand they won't look like new but I would like to try my best.

The damage:

The wood texture detail:

I was thinking of using some wood filler/wax, do you have any experience you could share? Also I was thinking of creating an negative imprint to recreate the texture, what material could I us? Maybe silicon? Some form of dental acrylic?

Any advice is welcome!


texts: Grout in shower stays wet in some spots?

texts:
A few years ago I had my shower redone- complete with tiled floor.  I believe the contractor did not seal the sanded grout for a few reasons to lengthy to mention.  After less then two months the grout started showing signs of staining and a few spots of cracking despite cleaning and my drying the shower after each use.  He showed me how to ‘patch’ the grout which I was told was due to normal movement of the walls etc.  For the sealing: After going back and forth on his schedule (setting up a time and then not showing)the contractor just gave me advice on cleaning the grout and which sealer to go buy to do the job myself.  Which I did.  Overall he thought I was being paranoid about water getting behind the tile since ‘it has a waterproof liner’, when I’m actually worried about mold. Fast forward to 2 years later and after trying to patch different spots I decided to tackle the areas I thought were a concern all at once.
While removing the old grout in some spots that I wasn’t sure about (appeared to be starting to crack or was discolored) I noticed some of the grout is actually not discolored but isn’t completely dry! This is along the front wall where the shower head and drain is but also in a few spots on the floor as well.  I started this over 24 hrs ago and the grout in those spots is still not dry despite my removing most of it.
My questions:

My concern is:  does this mean moisture is trapped under the floor tile?  Or just that some of the grout is compromised due to poor sealing?
if the advice is it’s fine I’ll work on regrouting.  But should I redo the silicone seam where the floor meets the wall?  I though I saw somewhere that some people do not recommend it?  The seam is very narrow in spots to where I wouldn’t be able to get grouting in some of them.

Note:  the areas on the floor not in question (grout seemed fine/solid/no cracking or discoloration) feels solid, the isn’t any give etc.  The tiles are not stone, they are ceramic or porcelain so no concern that water is going through them.


texts: Can I change an under mount sink for a drop in?

texts: i want to change my kitchen sink without changing the counter top. Can I use the cutout of my undermount sink to install a new dropin sink?


texts: Accessing Liftmaster controlled garage door from afar

texts: Is there an iPhone App that will allow me to access my HomeLink controlled Lift Master garage door opener when I am away from home?


texts: Mini-spit AC unit consuming electric power when off

texts: I have discovered that my recently installed mini-split is still consuming electric power when it is turned off.   This is a 12k btu cooling only TGM mini-split inverter. I noticed that it seemed to be using more electricity than the similar mini-split that it replaced, and I thought that was strange given that both units have the same SEER rating of 21. So I started measuring loads on the circuit with my amprobe. What I discovered is a constant 24/7 load of 0.27 amps on each leg when the unit is off. This is with the remote set to off, air deflection vane in the closed position, no evaporator fan, no condenser fan, and of course no compressor load. I was measuring the load at the breaker and although it is a dedicated circuit, I thought perhaps there might be something else that I don't know about tapping into the circuit. So then I measured the load at the condensing unit and got exactly the same reading - 0.27 amps on each leg with everything off. In my opinion this 24/7 load is not an insignificant parasitic load that would normally be necessary to await a signal from the remote. And by the way, the other mini-split in my apartment is an older single speed unit that draws 0.0 amps when I select the OFF button on the remote. Yet it still responds instantly when I send a signal from the remote to turn on. Any new theories as to what is going on here with my new mini split? I have had this new unit for less than a month, and I am wondering if there is a defect.


texts: How can I run a new sub-panel directly from the meter base?

texts:
Large house with attached garage.  Overhead wires come to meter located at rear of garage....then running along-side 2 sides of house at great distance electrical & cable runs through an underground conduit to ultimately arrive at its final underground point to enter full basement & large main electrical panel.

We want to add a couple electrical appliances to studio located above garage...a great distance from main panel. Therefore, we want to know/confirm whether we need a particular electrical part to safely create a new service directly off meter box, coming into rear of garage, to then create a small sub-panel to service some new/additional electrical needs directly above garage in finished studio.  We thought this would be easier than running new home runs all the way back to main panel in basement on opposite end of residential structure.

Please advise how we might do that & any other helpful info & guidance.  Thank You!


texts: What distance should I see between studs in a wood frame home built in 1943?

texts: My house was built in 1943.  It is a wood frame house and the interior walls are lath and plaster.  My goal is to find the studs so I can mount a TV bracket for a flat screen TV.  I have read that the stud detectors can in some cases detect metal nails used to mount the lath prior to the plaster being applied. It may be removing the baseboard to look for the studs might be just as successful.  My question is if the convention for studs being centered at 16 inches would have been in effect in 1943?  I think the house was built by a European builder since the kitchen counters depths are a couple of inches less than the depths in more recently built homes.


texts: Replacing a two prong outlet with a 3 prong/ 2 prong didnt have a grounding wire, can I replace them?

texts: Can I just replace the socket with the 3 prong and not worry about grounding?


texts: Do I really need an expansion gap around the entire hardwood floor?

texts:
I'm preparing to install Bruce 3/4" pre-finished nail down Hickory hardwood flooring in my dining, and living rooms.  Currently there is a wood transition piece between the dining room and kitchen, and another similar transition between the living room and the hall. I'd really like to keep these transitions, but to do so I'd have to not have an expansion gap where the flooring meets the transition.

Click for larger view
Once the flooring is installed, the transition will be about level with the flooring. I can't raise the transition up, because it would be a tripping hazard going from the kitchen into the dining room.
Is there a way to do this, or am I out of luck?
Extra Info:

The transition pictured is a solid piece of wood 37 1/4" x 4 1/4" x 3/4"
The tile butts up against this piece of wood, there is a grout line between the last tile and the transition piece.
The top of the transition is ~3/8" above the top of the tile floor.

Click for larger view


texts: Drop height from Exterior door to driveway

texts:
We're having our gravel driveway regraded.  As of right now (it's fall) the basement floor of our side door/garage door is level with our gravel driveway.  During the winter, the driveway heaves and rises and water has entered in both of those doors.

I remember the home inspector saying that having the two surfaces (basement floor & driveway) flush isn't up to code. Is there code regarding a step height, that we can refer to for this regrading?  If not, what's the recommendation?


texts: Anyone know what this small hinged opening on the kitchen window screen would be for?


texts: How soon after sealing grout can you use a shower?

texts: I used Mapei Grout Maximizer to seal the grout. How long does it need to dry before we can use the shower?


texts: How do I wire challenging bath situation

texts:
I have opened up my bath with studs and ceiling exposed. I have one power source going into the room.  I have :

Ventilation Fan/Light/Night light
3 switch for one gang box
Vanity light that I wish tied to Main Light in Fan
Separate shower lights
Single switch for shower lights

I have 12/3 wire and 12/2 wire.

I know I'm going to split the power source to the shower light switch and to the 3 switch.


texts: I have a very old forced air heater in my house. When I try to light the pilot it will not light. It has gas coming out of it because the pressure of the gas even tries to blow the match out when I try to light it. Any ideas?


texts:
I have an ordinary residential
ceiling-light that emits an audible electrical hum that increases in amplitude as the dimmer switch on the wall is turned down.

In other words; as the room grows brighter, the noise fades away.

What exactly is this sound?


texts:
A little over 30 days ago a new HVAC unit was installed at my home. Saturday night I had a buckled ceiling and a BIG problem.  The installer told me both primary and secondary lines were clogged—-the secondary had a wasp nest I am told-therefore they are not responsible-  this sounds wrong to me.  Please help.  I need to come back with a knowledgeable argument.
Thank you


texts: Connecting 14/3 off of 3 way switch to 14/2 line for new outlet

texts: I have 14/3 going to a 3 way switch. The switch is the 2nd switch in a line that controls a ceiling fan.  I need to connect a 14/2 line to the 14/3 which will power a microwave outlet.  If that makes sense.


texts: Identifying neutral and hot on wire connector

texts: On my ceiling there's this connector where you attach your lamp's wires but it has no indication which side is hot and which is neutral. Is there a simple way to figure it out or does it not really matter?


texts: How do you stop the floor from squeaking?

texts:
I have a home built in the 1940's. The main floor creaks a lot and more squeaking and creaks seem to spring up in new places all the time.

Is there an easy way to stop the squeaking and creaking? I don't necessarily need to prevent future annoyances, but I would like to stop the loudest creaking now.

The basement ceiling (bottom of main floor) is mostly exposed (if that helps).


texts: Tri-Level Home, 3 Zone Boiler heat, Lower Level is FREEZING, No Heat???

texts:
We live in a tri level house in WI. The boiler heats via baseboard on the main and upper floors, but in the lower level the  hot water pipes run through the floor itself, basically giving us a heated floor to warm up the lower.  This winter, our lower is not really heating at all. Last year, it seemed intermittent. Some days it would come on, others not. The thermostat down in the lower, has no on/off switch...nothing. It's just a Honeywell that shows current temp and temp to set it at. Here is a pic of it:

Any ideas why the heat down in the lower will not even engage to turn on? My gut feeling is it is not the thermostat itself, and I'd rather save a trip to the store to attempt to buy the right thermostat then install it, or call in a the heating guy if it is something simple here that I am missing...any comments would be great!


texts: How to fix a slate floor tile in my kitchen

texts:
I’m renting my house and one of the slate (it looks like slate rather than the white ceramic type stuff) tiles from the floor has come loose, intact, just come loose.

Rather than go through a tedious process of reporting a fix through the letting company, I figured I’d just try and repair it myself. What’s the worst that can happen?

It looks like it was cemented (for lack of a better word) down, to describe it,  it has stripes of cement like adhesive that held it in place and it’s just come loose.

Question:

Does anyone have any idea what type of adhesive this is and where I can get it from?

Amazon UK URLs/links would be amazing!

Please see this photo I took of the tile.


texts: I have a double sink with equal size basins. Which side should the garbage disposal go on? The dishwasher is on the right.


texts: Is it safe to trim the torsion bar on a garage door?

texts:
The torsion bar on my garage door extends ~6" past the end bearing bracket (picture below).  I would like to trim it by ~3" to place a cabinet on the wall.  Are there any requirements for torsion bar extension beyond the bracket?

The below link seems to indicate centering the torsion bar.  If one side is trimmed should the other side match?
https://diygaragedoor.com/diy-instructions/how-to-install-a-single-torsion-spring-assembly.php

Thanks!


texts: How do I properly insulate an attic ceiling?

texts:
I'm considering insulating my attic ceiling using a foam kit.
Doing a bit of research tells me that air sealing and proper ventilation are key

I live in Long Island NY and currently have about R-19.
The house is 2400 sqft and the attic floor is 20' x 26' = 530 sqft.
I've not measured the attic ceiling square footage, but its about a 45 degree angle, so I know its going to be more sqft than 530 sqft. The house does have soffits and a ridge vent.

I know I should put baffles before spraying any foam, but I don't know what to do about that ridge vent. How do I ensure the air going into the baffles goes out the ridge vents? I've not heard of a material to get that would connect the baffles to the ridge vent.

My goal is to insulate the attic ceiling since we want to keep the attic floor for storage.
I'm considering doing this myself since the quote I received was $6400 and there's no way I can afford that now or in the near future.


texts: Will a rusty tool or bolt lying with other tools or bolts induce them to rust as well?

texts:
I have a toolbox with a bunch of tools in it. In addition, I have a large plastic box where I keep all my bolts and nails in a disarray.

Some of the bolts are a little rusty, and some of my tools (e.g. screwing bits) are rusty, and now I am concerned as to wether storing them all together (some of them touching each other), might induce the unrusted tools to rust as well.

Of course a thorough (i.e. scientific) explanation would be even more appreciated.

Thanks!


texts: The holes in our ceiling junction box are not parallel to the walls. Do I have options other than removing the junction box?

texts:
The base of the new ceiling light is a 30” x 9” rectangle. Mounting it as the bracket currently sits would look really bad—not at all square to the room.

I don’t need the hole moved much; maybe an inch would be enough. I tried looking for a bracket that might work but came up empty. Sometimes that’s because I can’t find it and sometimes it’s because it’s a bad idea.

Any and all help appreciated!

Here’s a picture of the bracket. The red line is roughly parallel to the wall.


texts: I have some ABS Cellular-Core Pipe for a DIY project. The project is a garden in the pipe. I have been told that this pipe has chemicals that could harm my family when consuming the food. The question is are these ABS cellular-core pipes safe to drink water from and plant plants in?


texts: Why won't a LED bulb work in a standard light fixture?

texts:
I have a wall fixture in my Brooklyn apartment's bathroom that is my only source of light. A sticker on the fixture says that it is Max 75W. The other day, the 14W / 60W equivalent CFL that was in it since I moved in burned out and I had to replace it. Since it is my only source of light in the room and it is 2015, I bought a 13W / 75W equivalent LED bulb to go in it, the highest I could find at the local hardware store. No problem, right? A 13W bulb is way lower than 75W.**

The strangest thing is, when I screwed in the new bulb, the light refused to work. When I screwed in a larger CFL, say a 20W / 75W equivalent, it also refused to work. Only when I screwed in another 14W / 60W equivalent CFL did it finally work. All brand new bulbs that work in other sockets around the apartment.

Does anyone know what might be behind this? Should I get an electrician in to check this out, or are some light fixtures just not compatible with LEDs?

** Ref: Can I put a 75 watt equivalent led bulb in a fixture that says 60 watts max?


texts: Filling gap between Schluter transition strip and drywall

texts:
I did a noob mistake in my first major DIY project of bathroom remodeling
When I installed the cement backer board I left some gap between the cement board and the drywall. On top of that when I installed the tiles I did not go all the way to cover the transition between cement board and the drywall.
Now I have this gap with the Schluter transition strip on the bottom, membrane coated cement board on the back and the drywall on the top. Please see the attached picture. Also note the drywall and cement board are not levelled.
The question is how do I fill this gap?
Some options that come to my mind are:

Fill it will cement, coat with drywall compound and paper tape and topcoat with drywall compound
Fill it with narrow and skinny(1/4 inch thick?) drywall strips, coat with drywall compound and paper tape and topcoat with drywall compound
Fill it with narrow and skinny(1/4 inch thick?) plywood strips, coat with drywall compound and paper tape  and topcoat with drywall compound
Fill it with Hot mud(I have 90 minutes USG), coat with drywall compound and paper tape and topcoat with drywall compound
Fill it with foam backer rod, coat with drywall compound and paper tape and topcoat with drywall compound
Fill it with foam backer rod and caulk.

There could be other options I am not aware of.
I am really confused as what I should do.
Please help!!
Thanks


texts: What materials do I need to fix these walls? (not even sure if it's actually drywall)

texts:
The holes are right around the frame to a window. Not really sure how to fix it. It ended up like this after I removed anchors from the wall that the previous tenant left behind. Some of them were stuck in pretty deep.

Thanks in advance for any help!


texts: Design for an outdoor swing to hold at least 300lbs

texts:
I am trying to build a super strong swing for my big kids and adults to use. I know it's preferable, but I would like to avoid an A-frame design because I just don't like the look.
If I sink two 6"x6"x14' posts 4' deep on each side, with a 6"x6"x10' beam sandwiched between them at the top, will that hold?


texts: I have a finished basement with a floor made up of square, 8" ceramic tiles.  I have a putting green placed on top of the floor that is made up of interlocking hard plastic modules, each about 2 square feet.  The green in total covers about 16' by 7'.   I have tried multiple things to try and create a level surface for the green to sit on, but the settling of the floor over the years has made this impossible.  Since the green is modular, and the tiles settle individually AND the whole floor has probably settled over the last 6o years, there is no simple way to create a level surface.  Obviously the floor is finished, so I don't want to pour concrete on top of the tiles.  I am hoping someone might have a simple solution for creating a non-permanent level surface that I can rest the green on top of.


texts: Why must all outlets share a ground conduit?

texts:
I was reading this answer in my quest to see how possible adding grounds to my existing knob and tube house would be, and was suprised by:

  Are you asking if it's OK to run a separate ground wire from the existing? The answer is no; all your wires have to be in the same conduit

I am far from an electrician, so I can't see what the problem is in having two outlets grounded independently. What is the danger?


texts: What tools would I need to have/borrow/buy to build a table?

texts: What are the types of tools that I would need to have access to in order to build something like a table from wood?


texts: Okay it is clear that the portable heat and air system has to be vented outside for the air conditioning but does it have to be vented outside for the Heat? I have an idylist portable heating and cooling system


texts:
My new Oneida bench top dust collector works fine on non protected circuits, but it trips all the GFI as soon as I plug it in (with the fans off).   I asked Oneida but they have not heard of this yet.  The product has only been out a few months.
I figure there are capacitors in the DC, as it has 6 fans that vary in speeds from stop to high.  I am thinking it is the capacitors that cause the imbalance, since it happens on all protected circuits immediately upon plugging in, with the unit off.
My solution is to remove the GFI on one branch and use the unit on that branch.  I am looking to confirm my theory and ask is it safe to remove the GFI from one branch?


texts: Best way and best tool to file sch. 40 PVC

texts:
So I'm doing some DWV plumbing, and I'm close to being finished with my project. I'm looking for advice on the best way to clean up and chamfer PVC sch. 40 pipe (I'm mostly using 1-1/2" and 2" diameter).
My question mostly is which type of metal file to use?
Also, what angle of chamfer should I strive for? Should I file towards the length of the pipe or towards the end/opening? Should I consider the file enough, or also use sandpaper, and if so, what grit?
I would have bought a Reed DEB4, but those are pricey and since I'm almost done I'm going to stick to my file/sandpaper method.
I've been Googling this question for a while. I'm very surprised that there is little info out there as of now. I saw one mention that a "Flat Super Shear File" and a shear tooth file are the best options, but no real explanations; plus I don't find either of those tools on Amazon labeled as such.


texts: Is this Radiator handle/valve a replaceable part? Do I need to drain the system first?

texts:
Perhaps a stupid question...

The ON / OFF valve on one of my 1900s radiators does not turn. Pictures below. The radiator is in a permanent "hot" state.

Is the "valve" (handle and "small nut") indicated below a replaceable part? Or must I replace the entire pipe elbow + valve to replace the valve?

The small nut turns easily with a pipe wrench. I have not tried unscrewing it fully so as to not create a (possible?) geyser...

The boiler/radiators are off. If the valve is replaceable, will I be able to simply unscrew it and replace it (without all the water spraying out, without draining, etc.)? If not, can this individual radiator be drained sufficiently by itself? Or must the entire building's radiator system be drained?

I will explore finding a way to turn the handle, and re-use this valve. But assuming that's not possible, what are my options?

All images: http://imgur.com/a/Ar8iU


texts: What are the steps or phases to prepare a basement for finishing?

texts:
I've got a small house with an old finished basement, and want to refinish it.

I've removed most of what's there (carpet, panel walls, old ceiling tiles, floor tile, etc) and am at a point where I need to prepare the basement for finishing.

What do I need to do to the concrete floor and walls (and maybe the rest of the area) before I start framing walls?

A few side notes on where I'm at:

Carpet glue / tile glue is on the concrete floor.

There are small chunks missing from the floor, and it's very uneven.  I plan to install tile or laminate over it.

As far as the walls go, no water gets in as long as my downspouts are in place.  If they're knocked off, water comes in one corner.


texts: Can a Smart light switch be used for a Gas fireplace insert?

texts: I have a gas fireplace that the on/off function is controlled by a light switch. The switch is connected to two wires only, a black and white wire. There is no ground wire. Can a smart switch be used as a replacement and will it work?


texts: Is it okay if my ledger board overlaps my foundation wall?

texts:
I just got done demoing a 20yo deck that had no footings or flashing. It was constructed of 2x8's on a 2x10 beam cantilevered. So, my design was to be all 2x10's with a flush beam because the deck is not high off the ground, there is a lot of erosion where the deck was and after I grade it I'm pretty sure there is no room for a beam under the deck framing.

So, anyway, this would call for a 2x10 ledger, the problem is that it would overlap the foundation wall by about 2 inches. I planned on using LedgerLoc screws to attach the ledger board and their min distance for bottom screw is 2 inches I think. But they do say that the ledger board should be no taller than the band joist.

The deck is only about 20 inches off the ground, does anyone see a problem with mounting the 2x10 ledger and proceeding as normal or should I shoot some concrete anchors in the overlapping portion or reengineer the whole design (not preferable)?

Thanks for any info.


texts: Botched grounding in receptacle junction boxes

texts:
Background: I recently moved into an apartment building in Canada (built in 1969). I don't know much about the electrical code, how grand-fathering works within it, etc., but I have an intermediate knowledge of household wiring.

Some previous electrical shenanigans raised my suspicions and induced me to do some investigation in my new apartment's electrical work.

My first observation: none of my receptacles' junction boxes have grounding wires going into them. I figure that's a byproduct of the age of this building. My circuit tester doesn't complain about an open ground. I've read that electrical cable conduit could be used to provide grounding, so I figure that must be what's going on. Is this correct?

Second observation: None of the receptacles' junction boxes have grounding screw terminals. Instead, a knockout cover was punched out on one side, and used to improvise a clamp that holds down a short ground wire.

Seeing that made my jaw drop. There's barely no mechanical retention here. I was able to pull that cable loose with practically no tension at all.

So my questions:

There's no way that's legit, right?
Is is possible that the building is grand-fathered onto old electrical code rules, and doesn't need to provide proper grounding?


texts: I've attached a photo of a ceiling box my wife is having me install a light fixture on. I have done many fixtures with the standard hot to hot, neutral to neutral, and ground to ground. I'm not sure what is going on in this box. Can anyone offer any insight into how I would go about wiring to the fixture?  The switch it is on is a standard switch, not a 3-way.  The fixture being installed has 1 hot, 1 neutral, and 1 ground.


texts: Better way to fit wires in electrical boxes?

texts:
So in pretty much every video I watch with installing a ceiling light or fan they just sort of 'stuff' all the wired pigtails up in the box.

Is there a better way to do this? maybe it's my distrust of wire caps/connectors? I always feel like that seems sorta hazardous...or the wire caps might get disconnected?

Am I wrong? or is there a better way than just stuffing everything in a box?


texts: How should I reconnect my light fixture with red, white, and blue wires?

texts:
So I have switched a lot of fixtures in my house, but this is a first.  I had drywall repairs on the ceiling, so didn’t remove the fixture the contractor did. I have no idea how it was wired in before but when I connect the fixture’s black to the red and white to white (or vice versa) the light is on regardless of the switch being on or off!

I assume they are both hot, but what do I do?


texts: What is the proper way to bring a water line in through skirting on concrete runners?

texts:
Hello,

I have a new manufactured home in the greater Seattle area. Our frost line is at 12” and the home sits on concrete runners.

My contractor ran a common trench for our utilities, power and cable and water.

We are supposed to back fill the house a bit but I’m not sure how much, but I’m trying to find the right way to bring plumbing in.

One plumber said they would just put insulated pex on and pass it straight in above the runners. Another said he would put a valve box in and a main shut off first.

Neither addressed frost concerns. I asked online and everyone said the line should come up through the concrete not above it.

What’s the best way to solve this properly?


texts: How is Hanstone compared to other quartz products?

texts:
We're settled on putting in quartz countertops in our new kitchen, but now we're down to comparing and pricing various brand-name products.

I've looked at Cambria and a few others, but they are a bit pricey. We've found a company that sells and installs Hanstone, and the prices are very reasonable by comparison. The dealer said  the price difference was mostly due to cheaper transportation from Canada to Texas versus most quartz manufacturers being overseas.

Any opinions on Hanstone's product line as it compares to others? Anything about quartz in general that I need to be on the look-out for?


texts: How can we cover a carpet for the long term?

texts:
Are there any plastic covers (or protectors or films) available that are more for long term (like about a year) as opposed to the short-term ones that last only 30-60 days.

We're about to rent a place, and the landlord has "no stains on carpet" demand. Since most of us are always at home and there are people who would certainly take food/drinks to their rooms, we are left with no choice but to cover up the carpet.

Yes, there are cleaning solutions available, but they are usually effective if you use them right away. Some of these people would completely forget about it for weeks.

Please understand that it can not be too costly. We'll there for a year or two, and we can not justify spending $500 for this cause.

Feel free to get creative. It does not have to be plastic, as long as food/spills don't reach the carpet.


texts: Replacing dimmer switch with 3 way switch

texts:
I've currently got a dimmer switch which I'd like to replace with a standard 3 way switch. It looks like the following:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wm4kwdZXYhlQlPlp2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sGm5ojotf3ItuIbY2

I've actually gone ahead and replaced the switch, which I subsequently had to revert back to, as while the light at the new switch worked fine, I found my basement lights didn't work with the new switch. However, putting the old switch back and everything worked.

I connected the new switch as follows:

Where the red wire is (connected to single wire), I connected to the common terminal on the new 3 way switch (black terminal)
the yellow and black wires were connected via a wire nut to 2 wires, I've connected them each to a traveller terminal (brass terminal)

As mentioned, this works for the light switch in question, but also kills the basement lights i.e. switching that switch doesn't work.


texts: Are there any legitimate concerns about tandem breakers?

texts:
I recently had an electrician install a new 30 space 60 circuit panel in my house, upgrading from a 20 space since I was running out of space.  I bought a small number of tandems to save some space.
The electricians did a great job, but after the install put in single breakers in place of the few tandems I had bought.  They said they didn't like to install tandems.  I'd also talked to a different electrician who said the same thing.
Now, I don't fault them for doing what they think is safe or best practice.  But I can't seem to find any real evidence that tandems are il-advised, or create problems. It seems to be more like unsubstantiated bias.  Some people say they don't like it because it's "double the heat".  (I can't back this up with any real evidence that double the heat makes any significant difference).  Also, a single 30 amp breaker is allowed in the same space as a tandem 15, which should generate equivalent heat.  Other electricians seem to think they're perfectly safe, otherwise they wouldn't be UL listed, or be banned in the NEC.
Are there any legitimate, backed up with evidence concerns about tandem breakers?


texts:
I live in Seattle and it's currently wintertime. The house was built in 2014, we purchased this house in 2018 and did not have any nail pops or drywall cracks back then but the house was freshly painted so they probably just covered up a bunch of nail pops and cracks.
When it started getting cold this fall, I noticed a few nail pops in the ceiling on the 2nd floor of the house. A little later I got a crack along the edge of the ceiling and what appears to be drywall tape peeling in a couple of places.
I've checked the attic and there is no sign of water damage in these spots. There is some water near the edges of the foundation in the crawlspace that we are having addressed this spring by installing a french drain via a foundation repair contractor.
What's the best way to repair the peeling tape along the edge?
Is there anything out there that's better for edges than just applying more drywall tape?


texts: GE Water Softener: Can it function without the outflow turbine that monitors water flow going out?

texts:
I just replaced the resin in my water softener which went find and dandy, but while reassembling the unit to the plumbing (in-flow / out-flow), I accidentally put the water flow turbine in backwards and broke it. The Turbine is the little plastic fan piece that rotates a magnet so a sensor can monitor outflow.
My question is: Is this an essential piece to replace? if my water softener recharges every night, can I assume that this sensor is only for troubleshooting and monitoring, thus I can live without it?
For reference, this is my water softener's manual. This page shows a little picture of the turbine on the bottom right corner of that page of the manual.


texts: Need to build a lip on half the front of the shower pan

texts:
I have a bit of a situation...

I have a 3x5 Fiberglass reinforced acrylic construction designed for a 3 wall alcove.  However, in my infinite wisdom, I overlooked this crucial detail and proceeded to mortar the thing in place prior to building the 2' wall in front in which I installed my vanity (and of course drywalled/finished).  At the time of construction, I was in a bind and thought I would engineer flashing to divert the possibility of water getting over the curb on the front portion that is against the wall.  The other 3' or so of the front is just where you would enter/exit the shower. A door or curtain will protect this.

I went ahead and started to DenShield the back wall to get an idea of how everything works on that bottom profile.  The lip from the factory is substantial.  It's a good 3/4" tall and it's also a good 3/16" thick, meaning it protrudes the bottom edge of my tile board.  Per manufacture install instructions, I am to cover 1/2" of that lip, and leave 1/4" gap between board and the bevel of the pan for obvious reasons such as water wickiing into the tile board over time.

Right now I am at a loss of a permanent solution for the front lip creation.  I originally was thinking some kind of plastic or pvc molding epoxied to the pan with something like those big box store 2 part mixes in a squeeze tube.  I fear this would fail over years of use?  Either the plastic would break or the bond would break if that portion of the shower was ever bumped into from all the weight.  A tiler told me to just silicon the gap between tile board and pan, leaving my entire protection on a bead of silicon that is supposed to adhere to a painted acrylic pan and a fiberglass/gypsum type tile board.  This seems sketchy, too.

Anyone have a better idea?  A type of adhesive that would work for molding/welding/melting the lip to the pan for this 2' section?

Edit: Added picture.  See the front? No lip, just a rounded nice edge for entering.  Sides and back have that lip pictured.


texts: Does leaving ceiling fans on improve A/C effeciency?

texts:
Let me start with saying I know ceiling fans don't cool the air. My question though, is do ceiling fans help circulate the cool air from the handler in such a way that it would trigger the thermostat to less frequently turn the system on?

When we leave the house, we have the thermostat set on about 80. We live in Florida though, so the house has no issues hitting 80 and staying there basically 24 hours if we allow it; point being, the air is going to kick on throughout the day, regardless. I'm curious if ceiling fans will help it to kick on less frequently.

I guess the best option would be to set the thermostat at 82 instead of 80. But even then the question remains, do ceiling fans help lessen the time the unit is actually on?


texts: Why does the pressure, attached to a submersible well, keep increasing?

texts:
I have changed the pressure gauge, a Square D switch, and checked the pressure (from 40 psi) to 28 psi.  Within 3 to 4 days the pressure increased back to 40 psi. I called a plumber who lowered the pressure to 28 psi (as I had done).  Again the pressure has risen to 40 psi. I lowered it to 28 psi.

Where and why is the pressure rising?  The attending plumber was at a bit of a loss.


texts: How do I calculate my monthly water usage?

texts:
In terms of water usage, how much is 10 cubic meters of water?

I ask this because I live in a small apartment with another person and our monthly water bill is now over 6 times higher. When I called the water company, they tell me that they give me 10 cubic meters of water per month, and during the last bill we used 29 cubic meters of water (almost triple the allowed use).

Nothing in our water usage has changed, so  I guess my question is how much is 10 cubic meters of water in terms of showering, doing laundry, etc?

In our case, we both take two showers per day and we do laundry once (sometimes twice) per week. But nothing else has changed.


texts: What is this "on" cap that's adjacent to my tankless water heater's service valve?

texts: There's a "cap" next to my water heater's service valve that says "on" with an arrow. What is this "cap" and its purpose?


texts: Putting up a curtain rail on a dormer wall

texts:
We have a loft conversion with a dormer and a window in the wall of the dormer. I'd like to put up some curtains, but I'm not sure how to attach the curtain rail. The dormer walls are described as:

12.5mm foil-backed plasterboard
35mm Gyproc Thermaline Plus finish to internal surfaces
50x100mm studwork to cheeks at 600mm c/c
100mm Kingspan Thermawall TW55 between studs
breather membrane
18mm WBP plywood
25x38mm treated battens on BS747 1F reinforced felt
tile hanging

Can anyone tell me how to attach my curtain rail? If I'm screwing into wood, how do I know where the wooden struts are?


texts: Primer mottling, is it getting absorbed into the wood?

texts:
I have been having trouble priming some hardwood boards. The primer goes on fine, but after about 15 minutes, it begins to take on a mottled appearance and you can see the wood again. So, either the paint is pooling and migrating into clumps or it is getting absorbed into the wood, not sure which.

The wood is supele and the primer is an finely ground oil based base coat made by Fine Paints of Europe.

What is going here and what should I do if anything to correct the problem?


texts: Are BTU's only calculated using square feet?

texts: I'm building a 16'x20' storage building with a barn roof, so it's pretty much a 2 story area. Will I calculate the BTU's using 320 sq.ft. for my window unit? (Not for heating, just cooling.)


texts: Does 3/4” pex supply enough water for a house

texts:
Will 3/4” pex with an inside diameter of .68 inches have enough capacity to supply a 3/4” manifold with 1/2” supply lines to a bathtub, washer and toilet and sink with no pressure drop?
I plan on running 3/4” pex from water meter to the house. Once inside the house the 3/4” will branch off using a 3/4” Tee. The (1) 3/4 supply line will run to a hot water heater then as hot water leaves the heater from a 3/4 supply to a hot water manifold with dedicated 1/2 supply lines to each fixture. The second 3/4” from the tee joint will deliver cold water will also run to a manifold. Every fixture will have its own dedicated 1/2” supply. The outdoor faucets will have dedicated 1/2” supply lines as well.


texts:
A new home has GFCI breaker on a dedicated outlet for the refrigerator. Since the manufacturer recommends Non GFCI circuit I want to swapping it out. I've added new circuits before in the main box but never converted from GFCI to non GFCI. Can someone please guide me with the wiring?

The refrigerator is not within 6 ft to a sink or water outlet (besides ice maker line)


texts: Heating element of my Oven is deriving huge power (10 KW)

texts:
I have a Siemens oven and the upper baking element was faulty so I ordered a new one and tried to replace the faulty with a new heating element, but as soon as  I put my oven in operation the upper baking heating element was very quickly red within 30 seconds, and within another 10 seconds my electrical power tripped off. I did this twice but same story repeated.
I tried to troubleshoot and this time did not use the upper baking element and tested my oven (selecting only the bottom heating part) I did not notice any problem at all i,e it heated up to the desired temperature (i.e the thermostat was working fine)
Conclusion :  When I use the whole oven (base , fan and upper heating element (baking element) the power that is derived by the oven shows about 10 KW (very high for a 2.8KW oven) and When I use only the base part of the oven the power is 2.3KW. Thank you.


texts: Using an incoming cat5 cable for my phone, how can I wire it so it goes to a switch and also to my phone line

texts: Currently, my house only has one wall plate, which uses a cat5 cable that utilizes a wall plate with pre-installed wires (blue, green, white, black, red, yellow) that the cat5 wires also connect to. From it, I use a splitter to connect to my phone and modem. I am in the process of installing data ports at other locations within my house. I pulled the incoming cat5 wire from my upstairs kitchen to my basement where I have a switch. I am unclear on how to connect the incoming line to the switch and then to my modem and phone. Especially since both the phone and modem have female RJ11 ports.


texts: Ceiling fan with 2 wall switches and missing remote

texts: I am renting a house that has a Hampton Bay Clarington fan. I have the book. There is no remote here. One wall switch operates light and one operates fan.  The problem is that the fan is stuck on high and I cannot turn it down.  I bought a remote and have tried the 16 frequency combinations to avoid climbing.  After reading, someone said that I couldn’t use a remote with 2 switches operating.  Is there anyway to turn fan down without rewiring?


texts: I purchased an ice maker from amazon for my Frigidaire side by side.  It woke me up in the middle of the night just pounding.  It seems that the heating element is not getting hot enough fast enough to loosen the ice from the sides of the ice tray.  This is when the fingers that push the ice out of the tray just keep hammering until the heating element gets hot enough to loosen the ice.  Would this be a defective ice maker?


texts:
When installing the ufer ground in a single building, with an expansion joint connected properly with bonding jumpers, and the foundation rebar is completely connected throughout the 800,000 sq ft pad. There is a ground ring, water systems will be grounded, grounding rods will also be placed throughout the building connecting
i beams, and of course the systems individually connected to building steel also. So would only 1 ufer be needed for the 6 distribution systems that feed the building,  or would each 6 systems need its own ufer ground?


texts: Is there a tool to find a the closest spot on the other side of a wall?

texts:
I need to install a water line for a new fridge, and would like to know what is on the other side prior to drilling a hole in the floor - is there any tool which would let me place a "marker" or a "beacon" where I intend to drill the hole, then go into my basement, and find where it would end up on the other side if I were to drill there?

edit: I have done my best to measure/map it, unfortunately I don't think it's very accurate since I don't have a good point of reference on both levels. I was hoping for something other than drilling a pilot hole, because there is an air vent that runs in that general area, and I don't want to poke a hole in it


texts: Why would two regular outlets stop working after I replaced GFCI outlets?

texts: I replaced two GFCI outlets and they are working fine, but two regular outlets on the same wall stopped working and are not receiving electricity. I checked and checked to see if I did the GFCI ones correctly but can't figure out what the problem is.


texts: Why would a lawn irrigation pipe slope down to nothing and just end?

texts: In my lawn sprinkler system, one of the PVC lines starts off at a normal depth around 6 inches but slopes down and ends up 2 feet down and leads to nothing. The pipe just ends, not even capped off. It looks like it was intentionally bent. What does this mean? Was it just a potential area for expansion of the system and the installer bent the PVC instead of capping it? Or does it have some sort of purpose like drainage? The line runs parallel to the driveway and slopes down to the edge of the lawn.


texts: How to fix running toilet if pushing down on the fill valve is the only way to stop it?

texts:
My toilet runs without stopping.  As I say in the title, the only way to hear it stop is if I push down on the fill valve directly from the top.  This is not something where it fills then stops and then after a while fills again, rather it is consistently running to a small degree.
I was guessing it might be the shank washer on the fill valve.  Is this a possibility, or what things could go wrong if the above temporary remedy is the only way to make the toilet stay quiet?


texts:
I recently accidentally knocked the ground clamp off of one of my two ground rods with my lawn mower. This rod is the one connected to the water line, not the one connected to the main service panel.
I had an electrician come out and he (understandably) would not replace the clamp because the rod is from the builder in the 80's and isn't up to current code. So now I am in a dilemma that I need to re-ground my plumbing, but I don't have a suitable grounding rod installed.
I know that for a new install, DIY is not an option unless you are licensed. This is a replacement.
I would like to fix this myself.
I am in Texas. I realize I have to follow the NEC.
I believe that fixing an existing install should be no more difficult than removing the old rod, installing the new one nearby, and attaching the ground wire from the plumbing.
The new rod will be 3/4" x 10 feet. The old rods are 1/2" x 8 feet (or shorter).
I am not planning to replace the rod near the service panel myself, I will call an electrician for that.
The service panel's rod is at least 40 feet from the rod I would like to replace, so I am well beyond the 20 feet minimum requirement of the NEC for 2x 10' rods.
Does the wire from the plumbing have to be upgraded as well? It's original and runs through the brick, and is a #8 (measured by my wire stripping tool). I believe the NEC requires #6 now for new installs and retrofits, but since this is not a new install or retrofit, I am not clear on the requirement.
I'd also like to confirm if there is anything else I am missing, unaware of, or just plain wrong about?
Any input is appreciated.


texts: The house we are working on has an outlet missing the plug in part so it is hot! My mother decided to put plaster right onto the hot wire! At first I didn't really pay attention or think about what she did! However, I'm now feeling like my house is going to go up in flames before we even get to move in due to her actions! What do I do? Is it OK that she did that can I stop worrying or should I call fire department and have them undo her mistake before my house burns?


texts: Sweat or threaded connections for shut-off valves

texts: I'm in need of installing a shut-off valve for my hose bib (sillcock), specifically a ball valve. But I was wondering if a threaded connection was better than a sweat in terms of effectiveness and maintenance.


texts: What could be causing these mold issues in my brick townhouse?

texts:
Live in a town house in Virginia built in 1970's.  We have lived there for about 12 years.  Two weeks ago I noticed a picture hanging on my bedroom wall was wet and discolored.  I moved the picture and under the picture was mold growing on the drywall.  I cut a section of the molded drywall and removed wet insulation.  Once the insulation was removed I could touch the wet cinder block.  Since this first spotting I have several other pictures with mold growing.  Some are on different floors of the town house and opposite exterior facing walls.  My question is should there be some type of sheathing or moisture barrier between the cinder block and stud/insulation, and drywall?  Again the town house is brick on the outside with the drywall and insulation removed I see the cinder block, but no vapor barrier.  Is this a case of poor construction?  Is it possible to take so many years to appear?

I have had my gutters looked at and roof checked.  All appear fine.  My attic is fine as well.   Several roofers have looked into the problem but can't solve. Any suggestions?


texts: Can I bore a 4inch hole through my ceiling joists?

texts:
I need to install a bathroom ceiling fan for a new bathroom I'm adding to my house. The only issue is that the floor joists are running perpendicular to where I need to run the 4'' aluminum duct pipe.
My question is do I just bore a 4'' hole through the joists?
Based on this answer from StackOverflow and this one it seems I can bore a hole 1/3 the depth of my joists (which are 11'') as long it's a joist (and not a beam) and the hole is no closer than 2inch from each edge... is that correct?
Thanks in advance!
Follow-up Note: This room is on the first floor, and there is a room above it (so venting through the attic isn't a possibility - as far as I know)


texts: How big of a transfer grille do I need between two 500 sqft rooms if I want to balance humidity

texts:
So I have two basement rooms about 500 sqft each and I want to balance the humidity between both rooms.  One room has a dehumidifier and drain so I'd like to cut a transfer grille between the two rooms so the dehumidifier can work through both rooms.
How big of a transfer grille should I have between the two rooms for the dehumidifier to be effective across both rooms.  How far above the floor should the grille be mounted?
Looking at the original blueprints - it looks like they had planned to put 24x14 transfer grilles into the wall - but the actual building does not.


texts: Two socket fluorescent lamp OFF switch hot / not working with single bulb

texts:
I have a two-socket fluorescent lamp. Initially only one light tube was inserted and it worked fine. At some point, it started to go off seconds after being turned on. I thought the tube went bad, so I bought another F15T8. Surprisingly, if inserted alone, the new light tube would also go off right after being turned on. However, if I put both tubes in, BOTH would stay lit. The OFF switch then gets very hot (>100 C), which did not happen when I was able to use just a single tube. The lamp has two switches. The ON switch has to be kept pressed down for a few seconds until the light is turned on, while the OFF switch only needs to be pressed briefly.

How should I understand what happened here? Is the switch going bad and did that cause my first problem that a single light tube no longer stays lit? How could the switch get so hot?


texts: Excessive Water Running Alert (Left the Hose On)

texts:
We are designing a rain water collection system involving 27,500 gallons of tank storage that will serve to replace a dried up well for the whole house needs.

Accidentally leaving a hose running happens (especially with kids :).  We are looking for a monitoring device/system that will alert if the tank pumps are running excessively (more than the normal flushing of toilets and doing laundry and filling horse troughs).  It would be a shame to accidentally empty those tanks of precious New Mexico rainwater.

Any ideas or thoughts?

Thank you,

Kevin


texts: What can I do about these exposed grounding rods?

texts:
There are two grounding rods outside my house that stick out above the ground. Besides being a pain to mow around, the longer (bent) one is quite easy to trip over. Is there anything I can do to get these completely buried?
Longer exposed grounding rod (~7"):

Shorter exposed grounding rod (~3"):

Zoomed out to include utility box near smaller exposed rod:


texts: What did I do wrong when replacing a switched power receptacle?

texts:
My setup is as follows:

Light Switch
Duplex Receptacle with two plugs (upper controlled by switch)
Second duplex receptacle (presumably always on)

As far as I know, the second receptacle had not been attached to the switch (but I may be wrong about that). The wife wanted white instead of off-white receptacles, so I replaced the second non-switched outlet with a new white one. I kept the wires attached to the same locations on the new outlet.

Here's what happened: the new outlet works (always on, irrespective of the switch), HOWEVER, now the old switch-controlled outlet is no longer switch controlled (it's always on!).

Any ideas on figuring this out or what might have gone wrong?
Is there such a thing as a receptacle that's made for switches vs one that isn't?


texts: How can I use a 12VDC bilge pump with an Intermatic timer for pond circulation?

texts:
I have built a small rock water feature using a 12V bilge pump as the circulator. I purchased an Intermatic 12V light timer/transformer to power the pump.

There are two connection terminals on the timer which I assumed connected to the two wires on the pump.

When I connected the pump to the timer the pump ran rough and would not pump.

I checked the pump on my car battery and it ran great, fast and smoothly. I connected one wire to the + terminal, and the other to - terminal.

So my question is how should I correctly connect to the timer terminals?


texts:
I have some vague, probably erroneous memory of seeing some hot water fixture that said it wasn't meant for potable water, which made me believe that residential hot water in the USA may have different standards than cold. It might've been something related to the hot water heater. I know things like garden hoses and spigots do NOT meet the same standards for potable water and often have labels that make it clear.

Anyway, does hot water plumbing meet the same standards as cold water?

There may be other reasons why you don't want to drink hot water (eg, it might leach more easily), but I'm just curious about the standard practices in the USA.


texts: Electrical advice concerning a 220v dryer outlet and circuit

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I have a 220v line that feeds my electric stove, the line is accessible via a junction box in the basement. The line is fed from the service panel and is protected via 4 30 amp "cartridge" fuses.

My question is this:  Can I run a line from the existing junction box to a new 220v outlet for my electric dryer? (new outlet would be less than 15ft from junction)
I know that technically the line can handle the load, and it "can" be done, I want to know is

Is it legal in the state of Massachusetts to do such?
will the (4)  30 amp cartridge fuses be adequate for the load?
Original Cloth type wiring from service panel to the junction box exists, I would, of course, install appropriate wire for the dryer outlet.

All wires have been inspected by a licensed electrician and are in great condition.
All I want to do is add a second 220v outlet to the circuit already in place for the stove.


texts:
I am replacing the compression-style water shutoff valves. When I cut off the old compression sleeves with a hacksaw, I found that the location of the old sleeves were slightly compressed. Is it ok to put the new sleeves on the same spot? Or, should I put it in a different location -- possibly ahead of the old marks?

Thanks in advance,


texts: My stove has 4 wires coming out from the back

texts: The stove has 4 wires coming out from the back. 1 black.  1 red. 1 white.  1 ground. The wall socket has 3 holes . 1 black.  1 white.  1 ground.  Can i put a plug that matches the  wall outlet on to the stove and how do i wire it correctly.


texts: How can I coil up a rope so that it doesn't get tangled?

texts:
When I get stuff for DIY projects, I regularly use rope to tie it all down to my trailer.

When I coil up a rope for storage I wind it around my palm and elbow (on the same arm) then use the last approx 1 metre to bind it together. However, when I come to use the rope again I often manage to get it tangled up. I think the large loops might get inside each other? I'm not sure, but there must be a better way.

How can I coil up my rope so that it doesn't get tangled?

Here's a photo of how I currently do it:


texts: How do I stop my island from sliding across the floor?

texts:
I've recently moved into a new apartment and bought an Ikea Stenstorp island for my kitchen, and it's been solid so far except for one key issue: it slides across my basic condo laminate flooring like it's on ice. It looks like there's some plastic nubs on the feet, but they don't do much to stop the island's movement.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this in a way that won't damage the floor?


texts: I am in the US. I need an independent assessment of  air-tightness of windows. Whom should I hire to do that?


texts: How do I measure for replacement screws?

texts:
I'm attempting to replace some screws. The problem is, I don't have any existing to compare against a chart.

How can I measure the tapped length and diameter? Obviously, thread spacing is still a concern.


texts: Does a hose spigot with lower water pressure than my others indicate a leak?

texts:
One of the three hose spigots that are attached to the exterior of my house has a much lower rate of water flowing out of it, roughly a third to half of what the other two put out.  Does this lower water pressure indicate a leak somewhere in the piping leading to it?

There's no water leaking from the spigot on the outside, so I fear there's a leak somewhere inside the wall where I can't see it and didn't know if I should contact a professional plumber immediately.

There's one notable difference between the problematic spigot and the others, though I don't think it's the reason for the lower water flow, since they're simply designed to prevent water from the hose from going back into the pipe.  My other two spigots have a vacuum breaker attached to them, similar to this one.

Here's one of the two good spigots that has a vacuum breaker at the end that connects to a hose:

And here's the questionable spigot:

Edit: I've lived in this house for almost a year now but don't know the history behind the spout differences.  This isn't quite a new problem, as I noticed it during this past summer, but I don't know if it was like this when I first moved in.


texts: Can I have independent heating zones with a standard boiler?

texts:
We have a new standard gas boiler in our home along with two thermostats, one for the basement and one for the rest of the house (living room, bedrooms, etc).
The problem we're having is that the basement has become the main thermostat and the upstairs thermostat doesn't even work. Whenever we raise the basement thermostat just a little, the upstairs gets extremely hot.
We wanted to know if we are able to have 2 separate heating zones with the same boiler so that the basement is able to have its own temperature while the upstairs can also be independent. We're not sure if we would need a different boiler to provide this kind of service or if it's possible to stay with the boiler we have to control the 2 separate zones in our home.


texts: Do I need to cut this shop vac hose adapter when I use it?

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I am using this with Rigind vacuum and a router table. The router table adapter is the size of the second section in the picture, counting from the right side bottom up.

The vacuum is struggling because its hose diameter is reduced from 2" to whatever the end diameter is and it is not very effective at collecting dust in this situation.

So do I need to cut this ?


texts:
I have a developed an old stable, a wood clad barn, to become habitable, but unfortunately, one of the builders appears to have put a screw through from the outside and damaged part of the ring main within. It has apparently severed the neutral wire in the cable.

My electrician has suggested that rather than repairing the broken section (it would require a major part of the building to be taken apart to find and replace the offending cable), he could rewire, at the circuit breaker box, the two ends of the ring main into separate circuit breakers, and treat it as two radial circuits.

I am concerned at whether this solution would be safe.... The earth, and live wires are obviously still intact. I think it is supposition on the part of the electrician that the cable has been nicked at a particular spot , and I am also concerned that if I touch the offending screw, I will be electrocuted, as the live is still intact.

No doubt, there will be many that simply suggest that this electrician is a cowboy, to offer such a solution. However, if we can get beyond that, I'd like to understand the electrical risks.  Many thanks, Garry.


texts: dimmer switch only lights the first of 3 sets of lights

texts: I recently changed out my incandescent lights in my kitchen to LED lights there are 3 lights each have 5 LED light bulbs with 2 3 way switches controlling their on/off function. I found the leg side and the power side, I was told to install the dimmer switch on the leg side but when I do that the dimmer switch only dims 1 of the 3 light fixtures> I'm trying to find out why and what can I do to correct this problem to control all of the lights connected to the switch


texts:
This is a follow up to a question I asked recently about a subpanel that was not wired properly. I'm working on an extremely bizarre situation with the electrical system of an old house that predates electricity and originally had knob and tube. There are lots of issues with it, but this one is about the service.

This house has a 200 amp service that comes in via an overhead drop line. This will be a bit difficult to expain, and I apologize, but I do not have any more photos at the moment than are posted here, but I am trying my best. The electric meter is then connected to two adjacent meter boxes to the left with what I'm pretty sure are metal bars, not fuses, across the terminals. All three of these boxes each subsequently feed a 125 amp panel located directly below (I'll call these the main panels to avoid confusion) and each of these panels also further feed a subpanel (including the one I asked about in my previous question). There is no main shut off for the entire system or the subpanels fed by the main panels located directly below the meter boxes. Instead, the shutoff breakers in the main panels are located on the branch circuit bus, and the service wires to the subpanels are wired to the main bus, where the service wires feeding the main panels should come in. So, to put it in Layman's terms, there is no shutoff for the entire system or the subpanels; just the three main panels.

I have never heard of a situation like this before and have no idea why it would have been wired this way. Is this a unique situation here? I was thinking of just taking out the three panels and two extra meter boxes and replacing with a 200 amp panel with shutoff breakers for each subpanel, as well as moving all the additional circuits in the three main panels here. I guess I could just get a 200 amp disconnect box for the entire system, though, and rewire the main panels to include a shutoff for the subpanels. But I'm not sure that would be consistent with code.

Here are the three main panels, as they are located from right to left. In each of these panels, the two hots connected to the main terminals actually service a subpanel, while the service wires for each of these panels are connected to the 125 amp breakers on the top. The meter boxes are located directly above the panels. Note that I am aware that there are lots of other problems with these panels that I didn't mention, and plan to fix them too.

EDIT: Here is a photo of one of the labels.

EDIT: Here is a sketch of the layout of the system. Note that I have omitted the neutrals and grounds for simplicity's sake. The subpanels are also not located anywhere near the meter boxes and mains; they are included for explanation purposes. I was also unable to provide a photo of the entire setup due to the fact that I am away from this location at the present time.


texts: Why am I not getting any power in two legs of my main power?

texts: I have a house that runs solely on 120 volts. For some reason I am only getting 120 volts on one leg on the main power plug going in to my house. The others are not getting any. What could cause this? I only have lights working as well as all but 4 outlets and no hot water heater. It, my house is an old trailer.


texts: Disable noisy timer on a magic chef gas range model 6458xst

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Does  anyone knows how to access the timer and disable it on  a Magic Chef gas range model 6458xst.  I would be more than interested to find out!
It is a flat stove and the timer is right in front of the burners. The top of stove will one not totally come off even though I've removed all visible screws.
Any help would be appreciated!


texts: How do I prevent this bath faucet from leaking while the shower is running?

texts:
Here's a photo of my setup:

The hose and nozzle hanging down in the picture make up the shower head assembly (it is a hand shower that can hang up on the wall or be removed for directed use). You'll note that the shower is running, but a good portion of the water flow is still leaking through the faucet (with a corresponding loss in pressure at the shower outlet) even though I have the diverter set as forcefully as possible to direct water to the shower head.

I'm assuming that there is some component inside the faucet that needs to be replaced, but I'm not sure which and/or how to go about it. Any suggestions?


texts: Should I use self-leveling concrete or mortar to level a patched area of concrete prior to tiling it?

texts:
I had to repair cast iron pipe in the basement.  This left me with a 2ft x 3ft hole in my tiled basement floor.  We cut along the grout lines,  so I just need to replace the tile and concrete.

Well,  I have poured the concrete,  but I was not able to get the concrete perfectly level.

On two corners across from each other,  when I lay a tile down along those corners I notice the tile is not flat.   It it is about a 3/16" inch gap.

I'm inclined to to get some Quikrete leveling sealant to bring everything up to level.

My buddy was mentioning that we could just use the mortar that we are using for the tile to  fill the gap.

I'm concerned the tile will crack even with the mortar under it if we don't level it.  But is 3/16" of an inch anything to worry about?

What do the tile experts here say?


texts: I have porch steps where the bottom step has a 9-1/2" rise while the rest have a 7-1/2 " rise. The run is 11". Can I add a new bottom step or platform with just a 2" rise so that the next step will now have the normal 7-1/2" rise?


texts: Is it safe to shut off cold water entering water heater?

texts:
I have a pretty bad situation at my place. I have a leaky shower faucet which has gone from drips to a steady stream. I calculated the flow at .3 gallons per minute. My very old home has no private shut off valve for the water. I tried to shut the water off at the meter, but the valve was very tough and I didn't want to force it, break something, and be liable.

I've noticed that the water coming out of the faucet is pretty hot. So, I tried shutting off the valve supplying cold water to my heater. The amount of water leaking from the bathroom faucet reduced significantly. Is  it safe to simply shut off the cold water supply to my gas heater or will it cause problems with pressure? Will water come out of the pressure relief valve at some point?

This is a temporary measure until I can have the water shut off by the water company or plumber. For now, I've left it on.


texts: I had the drywall in the kitchen of my condo (built 1980) inspected for asbestos about a year ago. To do this, the tester removed half-dollar-size pieces of the wall for testing. It turns out there wasn't any asbestos in the drywall, so I just left the holes unrepaired as they were near the floor and I never have guests over anyway (lol.) But I realized there might be other asbestos-containing material inside the walls, like insulation, and I was wondering if any of that could have gotten into the air, and if so, how much I would have been exposed to over this past year. Also, there is significant water damage behind the walls I had tested, if that makes any potential asbestos release more likely.


texts: Pipe leak occasionally when washer is running

texts:
So this has been a very weird case for a few months.

We have sent at least 6 different plumbers there for over 10 times and nobody could find out the reason.

What happens is sometimes when the washer is running on the main floor a lot of water pours out from ceiling in the basement. But this only happens SOMETIMES.

The plumbers came and tried to recreate the leak but it just didn't happen while they were there. The basement ceiling was opened up so we could clearly see the pipes. One leak was caught on video (when there was no plumber around) and we could see a fair amount of water came down from the pipes.

We showed the video to the plumbers BUT none of them could find any holes or cracks on the pipes!

Anyone experienced similar issues?


texts: What is a suitable mortar when repointing a wall made of soft red brick?

texts:
I am about to re-point the front of my Victorian (1895) house which has soft red bricks.

Is a 4:1 ratio of sand to cement suitable?
I have read that cement can force the moisture though the bricks and cause issues, and therefore some people suggest lime instead of cement.

What colour sand is most common for the mortar in this case?

Do people tend to use red sand, or a dye of some sort?


texts:
I'm stumped. I bought a Lutron Maestro MS-OPS2 occupancy switch and an LED light fixture for a closet when the old fixture's bulb burned out. Everything worked well for a couple of days, and then the light would be super dim when it came on:

I thought the light had burned out, so I bought a different dimmable LED fixture and hooked it up, but it did the same thing. I assumed that the switch had died, so I bought a new switch and installed it, but the same thing happened. I replaced the light with a different fixture and the motion switch with a regular old light switch. The same thing happened:

I removed the switch from the equation completely and wired the fixture directly to the non-switched romex - same result. My multimeter is reading 120 volts between hot and ground, and I've done and undone the wire nut connections a few times. What am I missing here? As best as I can tell, the only other things on this circuit are an outlet with nothing plugged into it, a vanity light and the vent fan in the bathroom - those all seem to work fine.  I feel like I'm going insane.


texts: Opening and closing solenoid deadbolt with key

texts:
I am starting a project to implement a "smart" lock for my door using Arduino nano, a solenoid deadbolt and a fingerprint reader.
Which on its own works fine, but the whole project will run on a battery and I would require a "failsafe" method to unlock the solenoid deadbolt with a key. How can a solenoid deadbolt be controlled with a key without any current?


texts: I don't know much about what I'm doing, and I need help. I'm trying to cut a hole in my wall for a 1 gang low voltage bracket. Do you know what type of wall this is? It's very hard to cut into with a drywall saw. Do you perhaps know how I can cut into this easier?


texts: Can I install insulation behind a shower stall that is already in place?

texts:
I am in the process of renovating my kitchen. I removed everything down to the studs. One of my bathrooms backs up to my kitchen. Once I opened up the wall behind my bathroom shower stall (a fiberglass one piece tub and surround), I see that there is no insulation, drywall, or cement board around my shower stall. It is just sitting in the open on the other side of my kitchen studs.
The bathroom is a small 3 fixture bathroom that has 1 exterior wall. This exterior wall is about 10’ long and the foot end of the tub is on the exterior wall. From what I can see, there is no insulation in this exterior wall. This bathroom was remodeled about 20 years ago and they added this stall. I think they removed the insulation only in this area--not the entire length of the wall.
This stall does not go all the way to the ceiling so it has drywall from around the top of the shower to the ceiling. Is it possible to put some type of insulation in this void around the stall? I have often said that this bathroom didn't feel as though is was insulated. It is always cold in this bathroom in the winter.
I do not want to tear out the shower stall at this point, but am hoping to be able to do something with the access that I have from my open kitchen walls. I do not know anything about vapor barriers or appropriate types of insulation for this situation.


texts: Do I need to replace skirting in these places?

texts:
I've recently been clearing out damp, mold and insects behind some kitchen cabinets.  In the process we had to remove certain skirting boards which got damaged.

The skirting board in questions are shown substituted with red lines in the picture below.  The blue lines represent kitchen cabinets currently take apart.

As you can see these skirting boards have no appliances in front of them and have cabinets in front of them so the area is pretty  is unlikely to get hit except if you are trying to clean with a vacuum cleaner sticking the pipe in.

The area in the left of the picture is basically just empty and one might need to put a vacuum hose in or brush.

I'm wondering if I don't have to replace the skirting board since theres is no real activity in these areas.  I would say they don't need to be replaced but then it makes you wonder why someone put it there in the first place.  In worst case I imagine they may get hit by a vacuum hose when trying to reach down once month but then in the pic you can see where the skirting ends to the right and there is no skirting they obviously didn't think it needed to be there.

Do I need to replace them or not?

Thanks


texts: How can I resolve tripping problems with CAFCI?

texts:
Situation: I was having combination arc fault circuit interrupters (CAFCI) installed in some 20 Amp and 15A branch circuits. In several cases , the CAFCI immediately tripped after installation, or tripped when an appliance was started. Devices were installed by licensed professional electrician.

Load center is Square D, Type QOC 30UF, Series S01, Type 1 enclosure.  Single family residence.

The offending circuits are:
1.  Branch circuit (20A) feeding a furnace induced draft blower motor (12 Amp full load). No other devices in circuit.
    CAFCI is Square D, QO120CAFIC  (pigtail neutral)  Device tripped immediately on installation and CB set to ON.

Branch circuit (20A) feeding kitchen, with a refrigerator, convenience receptacles, and some CFL lighting.   CAFCI is Square D, QO120CAFIC  (pigtail neutral)  Device tripped immediately on installation and CB set to ON.
Branch circuit (20A) feeding kitchen dish washer and a disposal (Insinkerator).  CAFCI trips when disposal is started.
CAFCI is Square D, QO120CAFIC  (pigtail neutral)

I have had no tripping problems on these circuits with the standard 20A 1-Pole CBs installed.

Q1: Will a AFCI cause the same incompatibility problem as the CAFCI?

Q2: Are CAFCI (and perhaps AFCIs) not compatible with circuits supplying appliance or HVAC motors? (is this a series arcing problem?)

NOTE:  I have square D QO dual—function (CAFCI+GFCI) and CAFCI CBs installed on other branch circuits (20A & 15A)  that include ceiling fans, range hood blower, microwave, desktop computers (fans), and a tankless gas water heater. These CBs do not trip when fans are started or the water heater gas ignition operates.


texts: Two separate breakers for one 240v appliance?

texts:
I have what seems to be an unusual wiring situation for an old 240v baseboard heater and thermostat that I am replacing.  One of the hot sides to the heater thermostat is on a 120 breaker and the other hot is from one side of a separate 240 double breaker for the microwave. Besides being what I would consider unusual, will this work correctly and more importantly, is it safe?  And maybe this is why the old heater never worked?

I’m comfortable replacing these items but if the wiring should be corrected at the panel I’ll call in a pro.


texts: Replace light switch with smart switch, existing wiring used to be three way

texts:
There is a light switch that controls some recessed lighting that I want to replace with a smart switch https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-WLS040. The old light switch is a three way switch that is wired as single pole.

There are two red wires for line and load on the old light switch.
There is two black wires wire nutted together in the back of the receptacle.
There is one white wire wire nutted by itself in the back of the receptacle.
There is one white wire that is not stripped, just sitting by itself in the back of the receptacle.
There are two ground wires twisted up together in the back of the receptacle.

Picture https://imgur.com/a/kBPylL0
I've tried tying the smart switch line with what I think is line, smart switch load with what I think is load, the smart switch neutral with the white wire nutted wire, and left smart switch ground wire nutted alone. When I flipped the circuit breaker back on, nothing happened. The smart switch didn't "turn on", and pressing the button on the switch didn't turn any lights on/off.
Do I need to strip the other white wire and tie all the white wires together?
https://imgur.com/a/7FKT491 Here is the other switches controlled by this circuit breaker. They are two single pole, the right one controls a hallway light and the left one controls porch lights.


texts: How can I prevent sudden increases in shower water temperature

texts:
I assume, but am not sure, that this is caused by someone else in the house competing with the shower for cold water.

I'm guessing an anti-scald valve might be necessary but perhaps there is a way to keep the cold water pressure higher so that it doesn't drop as much when someone flushes a toilet or something.  The shower in question is on the 3rd floor.

Added:
I have since learned of at least three approaches.
1) pressure balanced valve
2) thermostatic mixing
3) anti-scald shower head

Here is a good site comparing the first two: http://www.hometips.com/buying-guides/shower-valve-anti-scald.html

The anti-scald showerheads I have found online are very inexpensive (under $30) but poorly reviewed.


texts: How best to paint over melamine facing to look like painted wood?

texts:
I know you're not supposed to ask for product recommendations on here, but how would you recommend painting over melamine faced chipboard so it looks like other woodwork?

I need to match actual painted wood in a specific colour with an eggshell finish, so I'm thinking of some kind of surface primer that I can paint over as if it were wood. I've seen expensive spray primers designed for metal and plastics, and also "cabinet and wardrobe paint" by the tin which is considerably cheaper.

What's the best approach?


texts:
We got new fan (hunter)
It came with 4 traditional 40W lights.

I want to replace these with 4 led daylight lights 6 w equivalent to 40W, I think.

When I replace 1,2,3 out of 4 lights they are well lit.
But the moment I take fourth traditional light off the socket are all dim. With all 4 led also it is dim.

As long I leave at least one old light everything is pretty brights. Any solution?


texts: I have an outdoor GFCI outlet that was running our Christmas lights. We was just struck with a storm that we received 3.6 in of rain in a 6 hour period. Now the reset will not work, green light is not on and the outlet is reading Open hot. Due to the season, we will not be able to get anyone to look at it in the near future. The question i have is, did the CFCI "internal" breaker go bad? and Are in any kind of fire danger for the next week or so?


texts: Is there supposed to be a gap between the wall and the roof?

texts:
We bought a new house last year. Going up to the loft we noticed there is a considerable gap (5-6 cm) between the roof and the wall, like this:

Is it supposed to be like that?

It's freezing up there but I'm more concerned about animals entering the house.


texts:
I'd like to make one of my bathrooms that one special place where a guest can go about their business in peace.  Essentially, I am going to be soundproofing/insulating my entire bathroom, but the doors are an area I need a little help with.

Right now, both doors are light, hollow doors with about an inch and a half of space beneath them.  The first order of business is to get heavier, denser doors and also lessen the space between the bottom of the door and the floor.  That I can handle, but there's inevitably still going to be a small space left over and I want to make sure even that is sealed up.

I conceptualize a hard, rubber-like strip that is installed on the floor beneath the door.  Alongside the bottom of the door is another strip that butts up against the bottom strip, creating a tight seal.  I don't know if something like this exists on the mainstream market and, if it does, what it's even called so that I can look for it at my local hardware store.

Perhaps you could offer your own ideas as to how I can soundproof my doors much more efficiently.


texts: Serious corrosion of vent connector duct in gas hot water system

texts:
I have a combined radiant heating system/domestic hot water system.  This unit is a middle efficiency unit rated at 87% The boiler is connected to a B-vent chimney with single wall vent connector.  The boiler is also equipped with an electric damper to reduce air going up the chimney when not operating.
The B-vent was replaced 15 years ago and is in good shape.  The vent connector is so corroded that last night it collapsed.  It was replaced at the same time.
I have shutdown the unit until I can get it vented properly again.
A:  Why is my vent connector pipe corroding so badly?
B:  How can I prevent this from happening again?

My suspicion is that the boiler is oversized (90,000 BTU) and is short cycling.  Even on cold winter days it rarely runs more than 2-3 minutes at a time with 10-20 minute off times.  This results in hot humid air in the vent and chimney which is kept there when the electric damper closes.  Water condenses in the exhaust system, and never really dries out.
My thoughts:

Disable the damper in the open position.

Punch a hole in the damper so that  it doesn't shut all the air off in the off position.


texts: This is the first time I've done anything like this before. I used a part a and VB a part b type resin. After mixing I applied it to the wood surface. I was told all I had to do is gently blow the bubbles out. Well, that didn't work. The more I blew the more bubbles appeared. So now I let it dry completely and am trying to sand all the bubbles out. My question is, am I supposed to completely sand the entire bubble away, crater and all?? Also, after sanding I cannot completely remove all the dust fom the surface and from inside the craters. Please help.


texts: Can a Solartube be installed in a garden shed?

texts: Can a Solar tube be installed in a "Tuff Shed" , used as a workshop? There is no drywall ceiling- just a plywood roof covered with shingles, tar paper, etc. The height of the shed is about 10 ft.


texts:
We are looking to build a small pond (9'x18'x6'), but we want the edge to be raised up about 8". I am thinking about using CMUs (Concrete Masonry Units) which are 8x8x16. The entire pond will be lined with an EPDM pond liner.

My question is that since some of the water will be pushing up next to the blocks, how do I figure out to engineer this so that the blocks don't push out?

Concrete footing?
Rebar in some of the blocks?
Rebar in all of the blocks?
Fill the openings of each block with concrete?

So, I have a pretty good idea of how to over engineer this, but I don't want to waste time and money though either.

If you don't have any concrete answers, but if you know where I can find this information, that would be great too.


texts:
For a house that I'm in the process of buying, there is what I think is called a "catch basin" in the backyard (under a manhole-looking cover). It seems that the kitchen sink may be draining into this, which results in some food/etc items appearing in there.

A home inspector warned me about this (the catch basin should be for storm drains, but appears to have sanitary sewage in it), but the owners said that a kitchen sink draining to a catch basin is normal in older homes.

Around the internet, I can see some vague off-hand references to kitchen sinks in older houses draining into a catch basin, but I have trouble finding detailed information. Is this indeed common and okay? What is the point of this system, and why would modern homes no longer do this?

The house in question is rather old (built around 1920). It's one of the million bungalows around the Chicago area.