texts: How can I best salvage my 240V GFCI spa disconnect wiring?

texts:
Based on the answer to my recent question "How to wire a 240V disconnect panel for spa that does not require neutral", I need to run another wire from my main service panel to my spa disconnect panel to serve as neutral.
Current Situation
I began wiring already and noticed my problem halfway. Oops.

I have three 6 AWG wires running from my main panel to my 60A spa disconnect panel:

hot red
hot black
grounding green

All are THHN/THWN-2 rated
In locations where conduit is required, I'm using 3/4" liquidtight flexible nonmetallic type-B

Proposed Fix
Re-purpose the grounding wire and make it my neutral instead. I would then need to run an additional wire for ground.
My goal is to run the new grounding wire in the same 3/4" conduit I already have if possible. After reading NEC table 250.122, the grounding wire requirement for a 60A panel is 10 AWG copper.
I would put white tape (and a note) around the re-purposed green wire to prevent future confusion.
Questions

Can the grounding wire be bare if it's in conduit, or does it also require THHN/THWN-2? There are wet locations along the run.
Can I run the new 10 AWG grounding wire in my 3/4" conduit which already has three 6 AWG wires?


texts: How do I diagnose weak water flow from tub faucet and shower?

texts: I have a shower that has very low flow from the hot and cold water and also from the shower when you turn the valve to switch it to the shower.  All of the other fixtures in the house have strong flow including the sink in the same bathroom.  Unfortunately there isn't an easy way to get access behind the shower (tile on both sides of the wall).  Does this sound like something that could be caused by bad cartridges?  What about some kind of corrosion built up in the pipes?  How can I go about diagnosing this without ripping open the walls?


texts: How does a water pump know when it needs to turn on?

texts: I live in an area where the water pressure is pretty low, and when moving into my house noticed that there was a pump installed to assist the shower in pumping out water - when I turn my shower on, the pump turns on with it. Just purely out of interest - could somebody explain how a pump knows to turn on - in other words, what's its trigger?


texts: When I drill into concrete, stone or similar materials - a lot of dust gets scattered. I realize this might sound like a newbie/trivial question, but - how can I avoid this? Both dust getting on me, and even more importantly - into the air people breath and onto furniture and other items?


texts: AFCI breakers/protection and refrigerators - a bad idea?

texts:
The 2014 NEC requires AFCI protection for refrigerators. I've read that one shouldn't use GFCI protection for a refrigerator, but I know that AFCI breakers do include ground-fault protection (at a 30mA threshold, as opposed the 6mA threshold for GFCI breakers or AFCI/GFCI dual breakers).

Are nuisance trips a problem when using an AFCI breaker on an individual branch circuit for a refrigerator?

And if so, I'd be curious - are the nuisance trips typically due to false-positive ground faults (difference between line and neutral current - as a GFCI breaker would detect), or false-positive arc faults (series arcing or line-to-neutral arcing)? I believe most of the AFCI circuit breakers on the market will distinguish between those two, in order to help diagnose the wiring problem.

Some good info about GFCI and refrigerators here: Why is GFCI tripping on refrigerator circuit?


texts: How can I contain epoxy while it sets up?

texts: So I finally built my portable home bar but I would like to have a bottle cap bar top with epoxy coating. However, I do not want to add wooden edges to contain the epoxy when I pour it over the bottle caps because of the wooden molding design that is already present. So what would be the most effective way to contain the epoxy when pouring? If any members have bar-building experience either at home or for commercial "alcohol-serving" establishments, thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated.


texts: What light bulb can replace an 25 watt R45?

texts: I need to find a replacement light bulb for my kitchen hutch.  I can't find the 25 Watt R45 specified anywhere.  With what can I replace it with?


texts: Can water pressure changes cause hot water tank to leak?

texts:
I had to replace hot water tank yesterday. The previous evening, while shower was being used, the water was turned off to our neighborhood. The water was turned on sometime during the night. When I awoke I found the tank was leaking (flowing) from the top of the tank, flooding laundry room.

Can the pressure when water was turned back on be strong enough to cause this damage to the tank?


texts: Simple light switch wiring upgrade to new switch - NO NEUTRAL

texts: I'm trying to upgrade a light switch and would be grateful if someone could tell me what goes where. I've tried various combinations but the light either does not turn on or stays on permanently.


texts:
I bought a Chamberlain B750, but the belt appears to be several inches too long and will sag significantly when connected.
Is this normal? Do I need to shorten the belt somehow?


texts: Light switch using only black wires - Incoming whites terminate together in box - New timer switch requires white neutral

texts:
I want to replace a simple single pole light switch with a timer switch, which requires red, black, white, and ground. The existing switch is in a triple box, where all three switches have only blacks connected. It looks like all of the whites coming in terminate in the box with a single wire nut.

A similar question was posted about 7 years ago here, at Is it normal to have a light switch setup using only the hot wire?, except the OP wasn't putting in a timer. He/she just wanted to know if the new switch should "follow the original wiring."

In my case, I can't follow the original wiring, because I need a white. (I refer you to the original post because it has a picture of what my box looks like.

So, with a box like this, can I (and how can I) install a timer switch that needs a white?

Many thanks!


texts: I have a a faucet that leaks a bit from where the valves connect to the spout, and the threads where the aerator goes are badly worn. I was wondering if I can replace just the spout. It looks like screws in, so I should be able to, but I'm also not sure where I'd get a replacement. It's an old style (70+ years?), and I'm pretty sure it's an old faucet. Would most large home improvement stores carry a replacement, or would I need to confirm the thread size and special order it?


texts: I have a interior brick wall, with wall outlet in it, I am covering the wall with 1/2" sheet rock. But I am ancoring 1x2's on the brick so I can hang the sheetrock. How would I extend the wall outlet since I will not have a 2x4 to attach the box?


texts: Whirlpool oven gas shuts off one second after turning on

texts:
Problem:
I have a Whirlpool oven in the US, model WFG540H0ES0 (photo). It's worked fine for the last 3.5 years, but a few weeks ago the oven stopped igniting. When I start the oven in the control panel, the following sequence takes place:

I can hear the gas valve open and gas starts flowing out
The gas valve closes a second later, stopping the flow of gas
Igniter then sparks 4 times, but by that time there is no more gas coming out

Here's a video that demonstrates the issue. I lit a candle next to the vents so you can see gas come out for a split second, but then the gas shuts off before the igniter starts sparking.
Solutions I've tried:

Some Youtube videos online suggested I replace the igniter, so I purchased this replacement online and installed it, but the problem is exactly the same so I know it's not the igniter.
I tested the thermostat by holding a candle to it. It indicates 100°F when the oven is off, and starts climbing when the flame touches it, so I know it works.
I've unplugged it from the wall and plugged it back again, to no avail.

I took some photos:

Oven igniter (Since been replaced with a newer one)
Underside where the drawer usually is (You can see the gas valve leading to the burner tube)
Gas valves from behind the oven (One pipe leads to the broiler, the other to the stovetop range, which works fine)

Questions:

What is the determining part that tells the gas valve to shut off so I can clean or replace it? I know it must have a sensor that automatically shuts off the gas if a flame is not detected (to prevent flooding the house with gas), but where is this sensor? I've scoured the parts list here but I don't see anything that suggest it's a flame sensor.
Does anyone have any solutions to my issue? I already replaced the spark igniter, which didn't work. I'm trying to fix the oven myself because we're in quarantine and don't want to ask a repairman to come into our house.


texts: Why are my some of my LED lights flickering?

texts:
Something is causing some of my LED lights to flicker in three locations. Here are two examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J-g2z_YtYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlbPdvkZ-BU

There are a few peculiar aspects.

The lights flicker sometimes and not at other times. Each time the flicker period is prolonged. I would say the lights flicker about 30-40% of the time.
The lights flicker at different "flicker frequencies" as you can see in the videos. The flicker frequency also varies from time to time.
There are three different rooms/circuits where the LED lights flicker. (They don't flicker in other rooms/circuits.) In each of the rooms, the light bulbs are of a different brand. There are 4 brands in total: Torchstar, Feit Electric, Hyperikon, Philips.
Each of the three rooms uses a different kind of switch: Lutron dimmer (DV-600P), Lutron dimmer (DVW-600PH), and a dumb switch.
The flicker sometimes stops if I replace one of the lights on the switch with an incandescent bulb.
In one of the rooms, I have two sets of lights on two different switches, on a single circuit. Occasionally one set flickers more than the other.

A bad connection anywhere along the path is out of the question.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!


texts: How do I use 'surface shims' to level out a sloping floor?

texts:
Asked a question about leveling my floor here earlier this week, and one of the options suggested sounded appealing, but didn't contain enough detail for me (a not-too-handy, not-very-experienced-with-home-repair guy) to move forward on:

  Assuming jacking is not an option, the next easiest way would be to install "pearlings" or surface shim boards every 12 to 16 inches on center across the floor in decreasing thickness and install a new 3/4 inch subfloor over these, screwing it down all the way into the old floor.

Is there another word or phrase than 'pearlings' that is used for this process? Searching specifically on pearlings has gotten me nowhere. Can anyone walk me through the steps of the outlined procedure in more detail, or point me to a walkthrough of the procedure somewhere else on the internet?


texts: How do I begin to lay out floor tile in a small bathroom?

texts:
I have a small bathroom 58x52
Do I need to start in center of room
Can I start on wall. Less cutting.
How do I make sure tile is square on the floor in case wall is not plumb.

Tile is 12x12.   6pcs across 4 pcs down.


texts: Do I need separate expansion tanks for my boiler and hot water heater?

texts:
My hot water tank went and I'm trying to replace it with a tankless system, but the old water heater did not have an expansion tank installed with it.

In my previous house I had a combination unit with only 1 expansion tank, so I'm assuming there must be some sort of set up where by 1 tank can buffer against both expansion in the baseboard heat as well as the potable hot water system.

My boiler has a backflow preventer upstream of a 8.5 Bar auto fill valve which is upstream of an expansion tank.

Do these need to be in this order?
Can I put the autofill and
expansion tank upstream of back flow preventer and thereby 'T' off of
it and use the line for my ondemand water heater as well?


texts: HVAC furnance runs for awhile, stops for 2 minutes, then starts back up and continues to heat until set point reached

texts: I have a Carrier 58GS150 system.  At night it is set to 69.  In the morning it is set to 72. Recently, I replaced the air filter.  The system starts up fine in the morning and tries to reach 72.  Being that it is very cold outside, this takes some time.  Mid-way, the whole system will shut down for 2 minutes.  It will then start back up and continue to heat into order to reach 72. Sometimes one shut down is enough, sometimes it takes 2.  I don't think that I noticed this shut-down issue with the "dirty" filter. Any ideas what is happening??


texts: What could be causing condensation on attic pipes?

texts:
My son just bought a new house in Calvary, Alberta.  The last few nights have been approximately -30 °C (-22 °F).

When he was cleaning his second floor guest bathroom, he noticed a stain on the ceiling of the main floor directly under that bathroom. He called the builder right away and their plumber looked and said the stain is caused by condensation on a pipe in the unfinished attic space thawing and dripping down the pipes. My son lives alone and works full time so he is not there running the water and steaming up the house a lot.

Would there have been any reason to run a pipe through an unheated attic in a new build in cold weather?
Should they be looking for bigger problems like incorrect insulation or leak in envelope?


texts:
I have 200A service but,

I want to add a whole house generator (GENERAC 17k), but my transfer switch is only 100A.

Can I add a 200A subpanel (NEMA 3R 12-space with 200A main) on the outside of the house and then use a 100A dipole breaker to run to the transfer switch? I also plan to install a 30A dipole in the subpanel to run to an outbuilding.

I plan to change my inside load center to 100A and just have 100A service to the house circuits (backed up by generator) It’s a small house with gas appliances and heat and my garage has it’s own 100A service (seperate meter).

Are there any concerns installing the subpanel on the outside of the house, connecting the transfer switch to the 100A breaker and using my inside load center for the generator circuits?


texts: Why have my ceiling fans started running slower?

texts: We have had these ceiling fans for about 9 years. They worked great at first at very high speeds. But now even on high they are going as slow as on low speed. I have a wall switch for the fan beside the light switch. What could be causing this?


texts: Trying to find name of part for old kenmore oven

texts: I have a part that is getting worn and needs to be replaced. Does anyone know what the name is for this part? It's in an old Kenmore gas oven, model 911.7313191. It's at the bottom of the oven, a large grey flat part with slots cut into it. It lifts out easily. See picture. I have the owner's manual but this part doesn't seem to be included in the schematic.


texts: Rusted tapcons on an aluminum screen patio cage

texts: What replacement screw is best to replace rusted tapcons on an aluminum screen patio cage?


texts: How to stop outside rainwater from coming in under the wall and through the concrete floor of my garage conversion?

texts:
I have got a problem with an attached garage converted den in a 1978 built brick home.

The heavy spring rains are redirected to the two year old perforated drain system on the side of the house approximately 10-15 feet away and slopes down into the swail on top of the drain system.

However when it rains for days and days the water is not running fast enough and sits in puddles on top of the drain system and takes days some times to disperse. I also have another drain next to the driveway that begins at the outside wall where the door used to be and runs down the edge of the driveway and it works well.

So here are the two problems:

The floor of the garage conversion den, which is lower than the house, is seeping water to the surface and cracking the floor and popping bits of concrete up and making holes that seep water.
Under the wall where the door used to be is letting water through. The spot the water leaks through is where the driveway butts up against the wall; and the edges of the driveway in the corners where the outside brick wall begins. The walk way to the front door is also cracking and it leads right to the edge of the driveway in the corner where the siding and brick meet. I don't know if you can get the picture. This allows water to get under the concrete and under the wall. I put another layer of concrete up against the wall on the outside and sloped it but the corners again are the problem and I suspect the end of the slope down that meets the old driveway is letting water get through. I need a new driveway but can't afford one right now.

Is there a product I can put on the outside siding/driveway and corners to seal it up. And is there a product I can put on the floor to keep the pressure of the water from breaking through?


texts: How do I wire this 30A 250V straight blade pass and seymour receptacle?

texts: This is the receptacle I'm trying to wire. The ground says green next to it, but the other two wire inputs don't say anything. I need to know which is positive and negative. there is no + or - the screws are not different colors. No indicators at all. I would appreciate any help.


texts: Small gap underneath garage's concrete slab on one side that needs to be filled

texts:
Previous owner dug a trench right behind the garage to install some pipes as a landscaping drainage solution, but never filled the trench back in after the job was completed.  As a result, the bottom of the concrete slab under the garage has been exposed on that side and between regular rain/snow/erosion the gap has presumably grown over time and I just became aware of it recently. There are a couple small cracks that have formed and each extend a few inches into the slab from the top.

The gap between the bottom of the concrete slab and the soil below it is a couple inches tall, but not very deep, going back only 3-4 inches in some areas, and probably 6-8 inches in the worst parts.  This isn't to say it's a 2 inch gap going all the way back, just that tall at the very edge of the slab.

I'm thinking I need to fill that gap with something and then after that is done shovel the dirt back into this trench so that it's back to the level it was at before the trench was dug.

I can't seem to find this sort of case discussed elsewhere, but what I am finding is a discussion of much larger voids under concrete where expanding polyurethane form is recommended.  Should I still be leaning towards expanding foam as a solution, given the small area to be filled (prior to replacing the dirt to build the ground back up to the level it should be at) I question if just squirting it in around the edges like this would even provide significantly more structural support than packing in cement or any other filler material?  Or am I overthinking this whole thing and should just use dirt?


texts: How can I close off crawl space vents for the winter?

texts: My exterior air vents are still letting air into the crawl space, even after being closed for the winter. I've seen the suggestions for wedging plywood over the air vents to further block the air, but is there a product such as a solid metal cover that goes over the closed air vent (from the outside) to more successfully insulate the crawl space? I've searched online and can't find anything. I'm wondering if it's because I don't know the specific name for such a thing. Suggestions?


texts: Which tile cutter to use for commercial flooring tiles?

texts:
I am putting (vinyl?) commercial flooring tiles in one of my hallways.  The product I've seen one guy (pro) use at a supermarket once was this:

Now, that baby is $200+.  I was wondering whether the following, much cheaper variant that to me (non-flooring-pro) seems like it does a similar job:

The tiles are relatively soft and I have cut them with a utility knife before (for under my washer where precision was not important) but I want a more precise tool for my hallway as they will be more exposed.

Is paying $170 extra worth it?  The speed is not an issue as I have time and will not  be doing this very much in the future.


texts: underlayment for laminate flooring: anything to substitute with?

texts: Are the any substitutes for underlayment? The reason I'm asking is I have about 1 sq. meter of plywood to cover with underlayment, but I don't want to buy the whole roll. May be there's a way to cut the corners and substitute the underlayment with some vinyl or similar?


texts:
I am looking into buying some 5W LED 3000k GU10 spotlights with a rating of 450 lumens, for my gypsum soffits.  The only part which is confusing me is what viewing angle I should get. I have found a lot for sale with a viewing angle of 60 degrees, 90 degrees or 120 degrees.  However I am not sure which to opt for.  At the moment, the best deal which I found is on a viewing angle of 120 degrees.  Would it be a good choice?

Below is a plan of how my spotlights are laid out. The main bedroom already has 4 spotlights which are not shown on the plan.

Would 120 degrees work for these rooms? Or else, should I get different viewing angles for different rooms?


texts: How deep can you sand into pine flooring?

texts:
I hired a guy to refinish hardwood floors. I am not happy with his work so far because he didn't sand into the wood at all. He basically just sanded off the old floor finish and then started applying polyurethane on top. The sanded floor doesn't look that different from before the project started, except now it's a little shinier because of the new polyurethane.

When I asked him why he didn't sand deeper, he claimed that because the flooring is pine (it looks like oak to me, but he says pine -- whatever), sanding into it would create blotches and discoloration. Is that true at all? It's also an old floor (about 100 years), if that matters, but it is in good shape overall -- very few nail heads are showing, and the boards are at least a half-inch thick (I pulled one up to check).

I was under the impression that when you refinish a floor of any type of wood, unless it is really thin, you sand it down to the bare wood. I realize you might not be able to sand deep enough to get out every stain or dent, but I thought that you at least have raw wood before you apply new finish.

Is this guy taking me for a ride, or is it true that you can't sand into pine without having problems?


texts:
Read the whole story before responding.  Refrigerator started tripping the circuit after being in our new house for 5 years now.  Nothing new has been added to the outlets on that circuit breaker(20 amp).  Ran an extension cord to another set of outlets on another circuit breaker(also an 20 amp) and had the same problem.  Then decided to try a 3rd outlet on a 3rd circuit breaker(this one a 15 amp which also runs the TV/Box) and have had no issues.
The trip seems to happen after multiple opening and closing of the fridge in a short period of time.
I am not an electrician but this seems wrong to me?


texts: We have damaged the interior side of our master bedroom door. The door got jammed and when we forced it open, it got damaged; the molding of the door is damaged. I have attached the photo. Need some tips for fixing the damaged door at home which is inexpensive.


texts: Need help painting a desk top made out of MDF

texts: I recently put together a quick desktop that I want to attach to a treadmill desk I am working on. I made it out of MDF. I want to paint it Matte Black! My question is how can I paint it in a way that it will be as resistant as possible to rubbing and scratching from desktop items like a laptop computer and other items that might be getting pushed around?


texts: Should we reinforce our laundry floor to prevent our washer from walking?

texts:
We have an LG front loading washer that vibrates violently and walks when it goes into the spin cycle.  Our house is wood framed, built in 1991, and our laundry room floor is vinyl.

We've had multiple service calls and while the inner drum was replaced, the last call verified there was nothing wrong with the washer itself.  I've confirmed it's level and we've also tried turning on LG's SPINSENSE mode (recommended for use on wood floors or flooring with less support) and rubber feet - neither of which remedied the issue.  We're basically down to low spin speed for everything and even still there is walking.

We're now at the point where we're exploring different options to reinforce the laundry room floor:

Re-adhere the sub-floor from above with additional screws then replacing vinyl with ceramic tile
Reinforce the floor from below with 4x6 beams going perpendicular to the main support joists

Before going any further with hiring a contractor, we were wondering if either (or both) of these options would resolve our issues.  We've heard similar stories of front loaders walking in cement basements, so not sure if a stronger foundation is the solution, or if we should just go with a top loader.

Thoughts?


texts: Can I plug my 40 ampere stove into a 30 ampere receptacle?

texts:
The new stove requires at least 40 amps, our breaker is 40 amp. The outlet says 30 amps on it, and the holes are shaped a little different then the plug, but the plug still fits into the outlet and the stove comes on.

A man looked at it and told us it was a universal plug. Do they make those? Sears said it was a dryer outlet and they would not plug it in. Our last stove we had brand new. It lasted 3 years and it was plugged in there, then it went poof and stopped working. I don't want this to happen again, so I wondered if it was the 30 amp outlet.


texts: Is it OK to shut off the A/C at the breaker?

texts: My A/C continues to run even after the thermostat says it should shut off. Can I shut off the A/C by tripping the circuit breaker until it can be looked at?  Is there any safety issue with doing this?


texts: Circuit rewired to accept 5th receptacle

texts: I rewired a simple circuit to accept a 5th receptacle. All five receptacles worked fine until I used an appliance and had difficulty removing the plug. Now two of the receptacles do not work, but the other three do work. What could be the reason why two receptacles do not work and three do work in a closed circuit. Shouldn't it be all or nothing?


texts: How to install a flush ceiling light with a poorly placed hole

texts:
I just removed a very old and broken florescent lighting fixture and was hoping to replace it with a flush LED fixture. This is what I found after I removed the old lighting:

As you can see, the hole landed right on a floor joist at an intersection. I am fairly new to electrical work and have not encountered a fixture without an electrical box. What is the recommend way of handling this? Should I put a box on the side of the joist and then find an alternate way of mounting the light?

EDIT:

Just wanted to share the solution I used given below as the correct answer. A shallow pan box. Not sure if this is ceiling fan safe or not, but I am just putting up a light, so I think this will work good. 4 holes were provided, but I believe just to make it easier to hit the joist. I would have used all 4 for extra weight, but hit a nail.


texts: Why my hot water goes out in less than 2 mins?

texts: All the water outlets in my condo can only supply hot water for at most 2 mins and then I am left with cold water. I changed my gas water heater 2 days ago, but the problem continues. I was desperate when I thought the problem was finally resolved but was left with cold water again during a shower. Do anybody happen to know what is going on here ? Thank you a lot.


texts: Filling gap between wooden window frame and glass

texts:
We recently bought a house from 1973 which has been very much neglected.
The windows got wood rot and now we are dealing with this big gap where the caulk (and foam insulation?) came loose.

I need some help and ideas on how to fill this.
Fill it with caulk? Foam strip? The gap is at its largest 7 mm, and smallest 1 mm and still got some foam looking stuff.


texts:
I am installing a security system (Honeywell/Ademco Vista 15p), and trying to figure out an installation of a 4-wire smoke detector.

According to the installation manual (http://www.nationwidesecuritycorp.com/wp-content/uploads/FA160C-Install-Manual.pdf, section 2-6, diagram in paragraph 3). It is necessary to install an end-of-line power supervision relay. My question is what's the purpose of that relay?

Does control panel uses that relay to verify the presence of power supplied to the 4-wire smoke detector? Or is it used to verify that power to the smoke detector is removed when smoke detector is being reset?

Also, I am little confused as to how do I connect multiple smoke detectors? Do I connect them in series or in parallel?

And one more - whit's the "heat detector", and do I connect it just like other 2-wire smoke detectors?


texts: Why isn't my window film insulation kit causing water damage?

texts: My understanding is that insulating inside of a window can lead to condensation problems on the outside (see answer to this question). I have been using insulating window film kits for a few years and have not noticed any damage like this? What are possible reasons for this? (Maybe I have simply not applied the film very well?)


texts:
I am putting up some wall rails for my mum, she is not local so I need to go in and do the job in a day so need to get the correct fittings etc in advance.

The problem is I am not sure what material the wall is, therefore not sure which type of fitting to buy.

The wall seems quite soft and hollow when knocked with my knuckle.  My mum said it is plasterboard but I don't trust her opinion as she knows less about DIY than I do.

The other side of the wall is a staircase.
There are identical wall rails already attached further along the wall out of shot, on the other side of the cooker.
The house is about 100 year old, victorian.

1) Would these self-drive plasterboard fittings be a good choice?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hafele-Plastplu-Rawlplug-Self-Drill-Plasterboard/dp/B00E1LR5JS/

2) Do you think it is safe to screw into the wall in the spots indicated? (as it is close to power socket)

The wail rails are Ikea Grundtal.


texts: macerating toilet installation with 4x90 degrees

texts:
I have a saniflo compact elite "temporary" or macerating toilet, and it was installed with 4x90 degree connectors on the way to the wall drain where a laundry machine once was used.
Is this ok or not ok?


texts: How to fill gap between brick and drywall?

texts:
Where my ceiling drywall meets a brick wall there is a gap.
This is smaller at the brick itself (maybe 3/16") and then larger where the mortar is struck.

This seems too large to fill with caulking... what about using drywall compound?

EDIT: I should clarify that I have access to both sides of this gap, from the attic. In case that makes a difference.


texts: How can I solder a wire onto a piece of metal?

texts:
I am replacing the antenna on my radio.  I removed the old antenna to find that a wire had been soldered directly onto the bottom of the antenna.  I attempted to solder the wire onto the new antenna but could not get the solder to stick to the wire or the antenna.

Just bought a soldering iron just to do this and have no experience so any tips would be appreciated.  I think that one issue I may have is that I am using solder that is too thick.  Going to try picking up some thinner solder later this week to try with.


texts: Connecting band/rim joist to floor joists on a cantilevered deck

texts:
I'm building a deck. Joists are sitting on top of the beam and cantilever over the end of the beam a bit.

What is the appropriate way to connect the rim (end of the deck that is perpendicular to the joists) to the joists?   I've seen people toenail it to the joists, but my understanding is you shouldn't nail into the end grain of the joists.  Is there a connector built for this purpose (I'm thinking there is probably a 90 degree plate)?


texts:
I have a cottage in Connecticut that is gutted and being re-built. It is on a slab. There are 2" x 4" studs (stringers) lying flat over plastic on the cement floor. I wanted to install conduit now, along a stringer, that will be under the not yet installed  plywood and oak flooring. This would be for future installation of an LP line, for a propane fireplace. There is a 1 1/2 inch clearance between the cement and the flooring. If I put a 1 1/2" sleeve, will that be large enough to run a LP line through, and what is the best type of material to use
?
Thank you


texts: How can I strip our newly-refinished hardwood floor?

texts: We bought a house and decided to refinish hardwood floors ourselves.  Mistake!  We used Minwax Complete one step.  It is water based and has stain and poly together.  The floors look awful and we want to remove it.  What is the best way to get this gook off the floor?  We are supposed to move in and 5 days!!


texts: How should I frame around a basement window to allow for drywall finishing?

texts:
I am working to finish my basement and starting to frame around the windows. The windows in my basement just have some vinyl returns on them and are installed flush with the concrete foundation walls. I would like to box (wrap?) these when we get to drywall without any trim.

When I do my framing—do I frame right up flush to the window so that the drywall can be installed on top of the vinyl returns with an L bead and be completely seamless with the drywall

or...

Do do I leave 1/2 inch gap round for the thickness of the drywall and try to but it up to the existing vinyl return somehow?


texts: Is there any such thing as a rectangular tripod mount or something like that?

texts:
So I bought this 20€ foldable laptop table:

But I work with at least 2 external HDDs at a time, so I needed to find a way of having them "attached" to the table, too. The best, cheapest, most elegant way of going about that I found this after a lot of pondering and looking around the web was this:

Which is basically just a tablet and phone holder, which holds both things at once, thereby allowing me to hold my 2 HDDs at the same time.

Now, this is when things got a little more complicated than I expected. First I thought of attaching the holder to the top shelf itself. But after putting the HHDs onto the apparatus, I realised I'd be adding a lot of unnecessary weight onto the shelf when I could use one of the legs instead, and it will be much more stable and perhaps even more out of the way.

The holder has 2 tripod mounts (that is 1/4-20 screw holes), one —the one that's visible in the image— around the middle and another on the base. I have some GoPro sports-attaching-accessories lying around which I really don't need, so I thought I might give them I try. Right now I've managed to fit a bike handlebar mount onto the leg and it works fine in terms of holding everything in place but it really gets in the way of my wrists, as the mount is much wider than it really needs to be.

I've been looking all ove the place for a square mount or rectangular mount, as a pose to a round mount (which is that is used for the handlebar, with is round), but my searches are coming out empty. So I want to know if anyone out there knows of a rectangular mount or even what that kind of clamp or mount or bracket would be called, so that I may be able to search for something more adequate? Or perhaps you guys might have a better idea as to how I might attach it. Right now this is basically what I need:

I know it's really specific... The chances that I might find something like it with a tripod mount screw attached are very improbable—to say the least. But perhaps someone out there has seen something similar that I might adapt into something more adequate for my specific needs.

The measurements of the leg are 15mm on the thin side and 40.50mm on the thicker side.

I've also found this mount on Aliexpress which, though a little bit pricy for what it is, it is made of aluminum, like the table's legs, which is cool and is almost the same width which would allow it to be almost flush with the leg. The issue is I need to drill a hole into the leg and somehow attach a 1/4 female tripod screw mount... or drill a hole on both sides and somehow get a 1/4-20 screw that'll go all the way through in order to attach this mount—so it'd have to be at least 16mm long, and it doesn't seem to exist.

As you can see, any option I find has it's pros and cons. Any ideas? Please!


texts: What is the purpose of this inverted Philips head screwdriver bit?

texts:
I have a set of jewel screwdriver bits, for torx, Phillips, etc. However, there's one bit that looks like a Phillips head that's inverted or backwards, and I can't figure out its function.

The bit is a female Phillips head, and the label in the kit just says "PH 2", which I imagine means Phillips head, size 2.

What do you use this for? Getting another screwdriver out of something?

Edit: Here's most of the set, in case it helps. The top left bit (not in the handle) is the one I'm talking about. The set is filled with various bits that you would use on small screws.

Here's the web archive for the amazon product. I bought it in the U.S., whose page has been removed, but the same product is on the U.K. page. According to the product details, the screw bit is a Cross size: PH2. Maybe it was simply a miscommunication with the manufacturer when the bits were milled?


texts:
I installed a new ceiling fan that has a remote switch box. Everything worked fine. I couldn’t tell what colors the wires were in the ceiling, but followed the wiring that was already there. Now, the only thing that works in the circuit is the fan. I just found out another switch controls the fan now on its own, but not the light it’s supposed to... Why would the circuit change with the added remote fan and how can I fix it?

reference: sw1 and sw2 are connected to the fan, sw3 is an exterior light wired in the same box as sw2, sw4 and sw5 are in two other rooms.

Troubleshooting:

Only the fan works; the other three lights do not work.
all sw off (fan off) - 1 white pwr, 2 no pwr, 3 top black pwr
Sw2 on (fan off) - same as all off
Sw1 on (fan off) - 1 w/b pwr, 2 travel black pwr, 3 top black pwr
Sw1 on/sw2 on (fan on)- 1 w/b/r pwr, 2 tb/b/r pwr, 3 b/b pwr
Sw1 on/sw3 on (fan on) - Same as 1/2 on
Sw3 on (fan on) - same as 1/2 and 1/3

Fan box
Fan remote assembly instructions
Sw5 light


texts: Indoor sliding doors getting harder to open/close

texts:
We renovated our house ~2 years ago and had some big full-height indoor sliding doors installed. Hardware for doors is:

A track recessed into ceiling, from which door is hanging (see photo, top half)
A track recessed into top of door (see photo, bottom half)
A track recessed into bottom of door
Peg in floor + plastic sheathing, fit into bottom track of door.

Problem: The door moves smoothly through most of its path, but as it gets close (~3 inches) to being closed, it is exceedingly difficult to move. I am concerned about someone getting stuck in a room. Seems like an obvious fire hazard, in addition to be annoying. The exact same problem has happened to two of the doors.

I've tried my best to figure out what's going on, but I'm stuck (just like the doors). Notes:

I was able to see that, even while at the very tight area, the wheel in the upper track is still turning when the door is moving.
Because these are big, full-height doors, I'm not comfortable removing them from their tracks. I guess if it comes to that, I'll have to get someone to come help.
I was considering using some WD40 or similar, but I fear that it would attract dirt and make the problem worse. Since I can't take the door of the track to clean things, I assume that this would be a bad idea?

Here is what the upper tracks/wheel look like:

Thank you!


texts: New LED tube lights will only switch on if another light on the circuit is turned on

texts:
I have replaced the 48" T8 fluorescent tube lights in four separate single-tube ceiling fixtures in one room with direct-wire LED tubes, removing the ballasts in each one.  An adjacent room also has a ceiling fixture on the same circuit with a couple of screw-in LED bulbs.  Both rooms are controlled by wall switches, and the first room uses a pair of three-way switches.
As long as the light in the second room is turned on, the lights in the first room will also turn on and off correctly with either of its switches.  However, if the second room light is off, the lights in the first room will not turn on until the second room light is also turned on, and they will stay on when that light is turned off!  With the second room lights off, toggling the first room lights off and back on will not turn them on again until the second room lights are on as well.
The lights worked correctly prior to swapping the bulbs and removing the ballasts in the first room fixtures, and I did not touch any wiring outside the fixtures.  I'm stumped, thanks for any ideas!


texts:
I'm in the middle of a home addition and am thinking about adding a whole house fan.  The finished size of the house will be about 2000 square feet - approx 1500 on the main level, and 500 on a lower level.  I'm currently looking at the Quiet Cool Line of fans.

My question: How do I size the fan?  Is the relevant number to use the total square (really cubic footage, but the marketing material usually uses square) footage of the house, or just the upstairs square footage?  Seemingly it would just be the upstairs square footage, since the downstairs warm air would be rising anyway.  Or is there some other criteria I should be using?


texts: Adding Refrigerator to Garage Door circuit

texts: I recently had a transfer switch installed for my generator. I'd like to add a basement refrigerator to the same breaker (in my service panel) as the garage door circuit.  This would allow the refrigerator to be include in the generator aided power in the event of a failure. Can this be done? Thanks


texts: What do you call this old pipe to bath tap join and how do I remove it?

texts:
I'm trying to replace the bath taps. I'm at the point where i've removed one, but can't get the 2nd one off. They are connected differently (go figure).

See attached image:

As i'm new to plumbing i don't know what type of join this is, and haven't been able to work it out, hence can't find out whether i should be able to just unscrew it.

I've tried using a wrench (and WD-40) but all i end up doing is twisting the pipe, which is curved. If i hold the pipe to stop it twisting i end up tilting the tap tail. It really seems like this join doesn't want to come off.

I've felt under the nut, and it seems like its a single piece from what i can tell, not sure if the extra thick piping below is part of it too??

My question is:

What type of joint is this? How can i undo it?


texts: Can I just add air to an air-over-water pressure tank?

texts:
We have an older well system in a house that we purchased this summer.  The information that I have found on the web assumes that there are some valves in the system that I don't have, for instance allowing me to drain the tank or bypass the water softener.

There are a couple of other valves I left out, but they are not helpful, they just allow you to shut things off before or after a component so I left them off the diagram.

The pressure switch is set at 40/80 psi and the pressure tank is probably 75% full of water based on the line of condensation on the outside of the tank.

The directions I have found talk about draining the system, then pressurizing it to 25psi, then turning on the pump and flushing the system at a point before the water softener.  I cannot do that since I don't have any points to drain from and I cannot get any water out to the system before it hits the house or an outside irrigation hose bib.

My plan is to turn off the pump, attach air compressor and open a faucet, so that I can basically replace water in the tank with air and stop when the tank is 30% full at 40psi.   Then I would turn the pump back on and hopefully be good to go.

This is the way it feel like the system is intended to work, is that the case?   Or is there a better technique that I should be using?

Edit #1: In response to the comments I don't think that I have an X-Y problem here, clearly I have a waterlogged pressure tank and I am trying to fix that in order to reduce the rate my well pump is cycling at.  I know the what, I am uncertain of the how in the case of my older system.

@jsotola I don't want to sound pedantic, but I'll explain it for anyone else who might have similar questions.  The purpose of the pressure tank is to smooth out the operation of the well pump, so pump will compress the air in the tank up to 80 psi and then when you open the tap the air pressure is what actually pushed the water out or the pipe.  Then when the pressure drops to 40psi the pump will turn back on to repressurize the tank back up to 80 psi.  If we have 1 gallon of air at 40 psi, then at 80 psi that same air will only take up .57 gallons, so in the case of my 40 gallon tank having 25% air at 40psi means that the tank will only store 5-6 gallons of water.  If I start at 70% air then the tank would store 16 gallons of water and the pump would cycle significantly less.

The reason I was suggesting 70% was that I did not know if the pressure switch had to stay submerged.

Edit #2:  Here is a picture of the tank in question.  It is one of the old ones with no membrane.

Edit #3:  I’ll start with the embarrassing news, when I got into this process I realized that there was a hose bib mounted right next to the ball valve. It was covered in black goo and blended in with the permanganate container, but this made flushing the tank more practical.

Before that I had been filling the tank via the Schrader valve and it was making progress. But then I noticed the valve I had missed before.  So I, just drained the whole tank at that point.

I pressurized it to 37psi then turned the pump back on, everything filled up nicely. I then opened up the valve and flushed the system for a while.

This is a graph of the pump activity before and after the process:

The pump is cycling much more infrequently. I guesstimate that I am losing about 20 gallons of water an hour, so that is my next issue to resolve.


texts:
Im installing an intex pool 24ft by 52inches. Im reading pools over 42 inches need to be bonded. Also people are saying because of that intex pools need to be bonded.
Two things, 1) the original filter is double insulated. And the second one i just purchased is an intex sand filter with gfci built in and doesn't have a bonding port nor says anything about bonding.
The intex pool frame has plastic on each tube where it inserts into the other, and a plastic pin to hold in place. So the frame to my knowledge is not a complete conductor of electricity, so in my perspective, bonding the frame at 4 points seems improper. Does the frame still need to be bonded given the setup?
Also if the frame doesn't need it, does the water and ladder need to be? If so, do i still need to create a halo of copper wire around the pool?
Pictures:


texts: I have a non-standard opening where I need to install an interior door, and want to avoid having a custom door made.  The closest off-the-shelf door that I can find at my box store would need about 1 inch shaved off the top and 1 inch off the bottom to fit the opening.  (The horizontal width wouldn't need to be changed.)  Can I take that much off an MDF door?


texts:
Here in the U.S., pretty much all the houses, even those that are made of brick, have framed floors, meaning there are 2 x (usually 10) joists from one side of the house to the other and then OSB subfloor on top that, then finish flooring.

I understand that it is different in big buildings where they actually have concrete floors between stories.

Now, I am contemplating a house design. I would like to run PVC pipe through the floor in the finished basement so that I can have solar heated floor that water runs through. The basement floor would have to be concrete anyway. But I would also like to have the same pipes heating the second story and, with joists going across, it will be difficult to run the pipe in a spiral pattern. So I was thinking, why not make the basement basically a concrete bunker with a concrete slab on top, as opposed to just having beams and plywood separate it from the second story, and have pipes run through that platform. I understand the slab form would have to be supported by posts from the basement and have elaborate reinforcement. The basement walls would be concrete blocks.

Since I really don't know anybody who built a single family residence this way in the U.S. (even though in the rest of the world EVERYBODY pretty much does), I was wondering about the pros and cons of this design. From there on upstairs, the house would be regular stick framing construction [2x6 (cold climate, more insulation), OSB sheathing, cedar siding etc).


texts: Water pressure drops in well water home, stops completely for 5-10 minutes, then comes back full pressure

texts:
I have read through other similar posts and it doesn't quite match my problem, so bear with me lol.

We had a massive leak under the house and our landlord called a plumber out to fix it.  He turned off the main, fixed the leak (we have old copper pipes that poop out constantly), and the guy forgot to do something before leaving because he left us with no water for 24 hours.  He came back out and said he forgot to turn a valve somewhere. This was about 2 or 3 weeks ago.  Ever since then, whenever we run showers or the sink, we almost always lose water pressure, usually completely until there is no water running. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes for what I'm guessing is the pump to come on or cycle because the lights dim for a split second and then the water comes back to full pressure within a few  seconds.  It has gotten to the point where we prestart our showers to let it lose pressure, stop, then come back before we actually take the shower.

The other posts similar to mine all suggested that the pump was failing, or the pressure bladder.  Our pump was just replaced last year, and considering this guy was sort of well...incompetent, I'm kinda guessing that the pump or bladder isn't failing. I would like to try to fix this problem ourselves if possible because our landlord is a nice lady, but going through a lot of problems and we would like to spare her the stress of yet another problem in this house. What are some simple things we as non-plumbers can check or try that this idiot plumber might have screwed up or left undone when he fixed the leaks under the house?


texts: LED bulbs in my old house are dying prematurely

texts:
I installed about 20 LED bulbs in my house when I moved in two years ago. Since then at leave 5 of them have died.

None of the bulbs are on dimmer switches. However, my house is more than 100 years old. Could old wiring decrease the life of LEDs? All of my circuits are on modern breakers, and none of the wiring that I can see is knob-and-tube, but it's possible there is some of that left behind the walls.

Another theory as to why the LEDs die early is that most of the lights, and many of the outlets, in my house are on a single circuit (there are lots of other circuits, but for whatever reason they put most of the lights on just one circuit), and so that circuit can sometimes be under heavy load. I do see the lights flicker now and then when an appliance is turned on.

Could either of these issues be killing my LEDs? If so, what can I do about it?


texts:
I'm making a set of drawers that will be used to store food. I'm using plywood and to seal it and make it easier to clean I'd like to use either varnish or if that's not possible, paint. Is there a food safe option for either that I can look for at my local hardware shop?

Apart from anything else I'm after something that won't make all my food smell and taste like paint.


texts: Unknown LED fixture replacement identification

texts:
After several months of trying (without really trying), I finally managed to remove my faulty ceiling LED fixture. I was expecting a standard LED bulb once the beast dismantled, alas not.
I am unable to identify the piece. The LED is encased in some sort of a radiator, and the connection looks like a circular plug used in some laptop charger (with little stoppers to fix it in place). I don't think the ceiling fixation should be included in the product, I just forgot to remove it before taking the photos.
Any advice?
Additional info: I live in France. The cable is chinese (I read "52(RVV)" on it), and I can barely read on the white plastic around the semiconductor; something like DEC2508-135135 or DEO2508-135135. Outer size (diameter) of the plug is 5mm. I can take more photos if needed.

Edit: I don't think I can replace a smaller part than the whole piece. See third photo.

Edit 2: following Harper answer, which I agree with, I forgot to say that I don't think the LED per se is at fault, because the light sometimes lights up when moving the whole when plugged-in. But, my question still stands; if I cannot repair it, how can I identify the whole device and where can I buy a replacement?
Follow up: I pulled the cable from the ceiling, I found a LED power supply (Model KEDH008S0200NR05, converting from 230 V to about 24 V) that emit a very faint alarm when the switch is on. It might be the source of the problem. I am no professional, and my landlord has no idea where to buy this.


texts:
I recently purchased a Whirlpool WOS51ES4ES electric oven from Home Depot with the intention of installing it myself.  Our old oven is gas, so I need to run a new 240 circuit.  The oven draws 20A.

I am currently at a loss regarding how to attach the pigtail connection that came with the oven to the 240 V wiring that I am going to run to the breaker box.  I initially presumed that I need a junction box, and I'm not sure if the twist-on style are appropriate for these current levels.  Additionally, I understand that there is an NEC requirement to be able to disconnect the oven from power locally (i.e. via unplugging it, or turning off a switch).

Is wiring up a 240 V junction box for this situation any different than a 120 V circuit?

Home Depot has been no help.  Initially they told me to purchase four of these, connect like colors inside a junction box, and then just "wrap them up like hell with electrical tape".  This sounded rather dangerous to me, so I came back during another shift to ask someone else.  This time they said that my oven should have arrived with a plug (not a pigtail), and that I have to install a 240 V outlet to plug the oven into.  I then also have to replace the pigtail with a corded plug by opening the oven, removing the pigtail from its attachment points (which they presumed were screw ring terminals) and install the corded plug by replacing like colors.  Unfortunately, when I opened the oven, I found that the pigtail feeds into a wiring harness that runs to multiple places in the oven and there are no screw terminals in sight.

So I'm at a loss of what to do next.  Surely there must be a way to install the oven without re-engineering it.


texts: Lack of soffit vents with the use of ridge vents on a 1941 home

texts:
[Home is in Georgia]
I made the mistake of installing ridge vents on my home last year without any soffit vents. I have since learned that doing so will actually cause the air to be drawn from all accessible places, including a leaky 1941 ceiling.
I realize what I should have done was to install drip edge venting but am unable to do so retroactively (I think). Since I have learned of this mistake, I have air sealed the ceiling. The attic currently has 4 gable vents located on all 4 walls of the house but they are located at the peaks which to my understanding, limits the air flow across the bottom of the decking and thus preventing proper cooling.
My question is this; I have an enclosed porch which has a ceiling that is a part of the attic. It has no insulation over it and I was wondering about the benefits of installing a large vent in the ceiling to allow for more air flow to the ridge vents. I realize that this will still not provide the same benefits as soffit vents and baffles in cooling but I figured it may reduce the amount of air being drawn from inside the house and also allow for less heat buildup in the attic.
Your insights are greatly appreciated.


texts: Should a metal inline junction box on an extension cord be grounded?

texts: I have a 12 gauge stranded wire extension cord, but I could not find a switch that I needed to connect in the middle. So, I used a regular wall switch and box.  My question is, should I simply connect the ground wires back together and not connect them to the box, or should I connect them to the box too?  What is the safest option?


texts: How to improve the acoustics in my living room?

texts:
I've just gotten a brand new TV and put it in my living room.  The room is, however, extremely echoey.  It has a linoleum floor and bare walls, a couch, two chairs, a glass coffee table, and a glass TV stand.  The TV itself is mounted on a swivel mount that comes up from the back of the TV stand.  It sits about 8 inches away from the wall, and the built-in speakers are on the edge of the television's bezel.  It sounds absolutely horrendous and tinny as a result of this room having such poor acoustics.

What can I do to this room to reduce the echo and give the room a warmer sound?  I want to avoid putting things on the walls, as the walls are old plaster and that can end up being a mess and would be difficult to negotiate with my landlord.  If that's the only choice though, I'll take it.


texts: permanently closing off a crawl space under a house

texts: I have a old small house that that was built in the 60s above ground with a dirt  crawl space underneath. There are two  access openings on each side of the house 28 x 18. There is no need to crawl underneath the house,Under the wood floor are Abs drain lines & a few copper water pipes. I would like to re-stucco the  whole house and close off the openings with the new foam board and stucco to make it more attractive looking. Any reason I shouldn't stucco over the openings?? The house is located in the Phoenix Arizona. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciate it....


texts:
I am in an older warehouse space and have three panels in a high leg delta configuration.

Only one of the panels has a ground that comes in through the service opening. The other two do not. All three are separate service runs and do not feed the other.

I have purchased several 30 amp 3 pole breakers and will be using the lugs for phases A & C to get a line voltage of 240v and am a little confused about how I'm supposed to wire an L6-30R with no ground. Am I supposed to use the neutral here?


texts: Air coming out of electrical outlets when bathroom exhaust fan is running?

texts:
I purchased a brand new apartment 6 months ago.

I have noticed this as soon as I moved in, there is cold air blowing out of two electrical outlets whenever my bathroom exhaust fan is on.

These two electrical outlets are located in my bedroom which is right next to the bathroom.

Does anyone have any ideas why it's happening?

Thanks


texts: Why does the main circuit breaker trip but not the smaller branch circuit breakers?

texts:
We have one circuit breaker (40 A) where our electrical service enters our house, then it is divided into a 32A line for level one and a 25A for level two.The main circuit breaker (40A) trips every several hours, but the other two circuit breakers (the 32A and the 25A) don't trip.  I am thinking the problem is that the 32A breaker and the 25A breaker makes 57A, which is bigger than the 40A main breaker.

Am I right?  Should the total rating of the different circuit breakers in one system be less than the rating of the main circuit breaker?


texts:
We have an interior brick wall that we want for seal to stop brick dust.

What is the best way to do this or what product do I need to use?


texts: bulbs keep burning out, tripping circuit breaker

texts: I am an American living in Hungary for six months. In our living room, we have a five-bulb chandelier whose bulbs burn out too frequently. We tend to keep only 3-4 out of 5 going at a time for that reason. One week ago, my wife turned on the switch, saw a bright flash, heard a loud pop, and then experienced power outage. Two breakers had tripped; the main, as well as the one for the particular circuit. Three of the bulbs in the chandelier had burnt out simultaneously, leaving just one bulb lit. We replaced no bulbs for a week, until I had time today to replace three of the burned out bulbs, bringing the number of burning bulbs up to four. A few hours later, I turned the light on, and immediately 2/4 (brand new!) bulbs blew, and the breaker for the circuit tripped again (though thankfully not the main).  What would cause this and how dangerous is it? After last week's incident, several Hungarians have told us that this is "normal" here. But the pattern of bulbs repeatedly blowing does not seem to be, and has not been addressed on these forums.


texts: Installing an insignia connect smart switch to three black wires and a bundle of three white wires

texts:
I have the configuration coming to my new smart switch. The smart switch requires a line wire, load wire, and neutral wire. I originally connected my manual light switch as seen in the picture, but when I tried this set up with my smart switch, nothing happens. First question: what is the group of three white wires capped together? Second: would the group of two black (mind the white stuff) wires capped together coming from my wall be the neutral and the single black wire the line wire?

On the smart switch the black is the line, blue is the load, white is the neutral, and green is the ground (which i do not have).


texts: 3 white wires and 3 black wires. Only need 2 of each

texts: What should I do with the extra black and white wire? The new light fixture has two lights, a black wire and a white wire for each. Should I assume just to pick any two and cover the extras with wire nuts?


texts: Can I use acrylic caulk around the bath?

texts: used acrylic caulk in my kitchen on backsplash and love, love it.  you just can't stain it.  want to use it around the bath instead of this rubbery stuff I had.  am i being wrong headed..?


texts: Flitch plate vs LVL for sistering an engineered beam

texts:
here's the quick skinny: I'm looking to reduce the deflection on a 13' beam before doing tile work on the above floor. It's a 5" wide parallam and it's deflecting at least 1/4". it's bearing on triple 2x6 on each end.

Option 1: sister LVL glue and screw. either a single ply LVL to one side, or one ply on either side. I can get a bit of bearing on each end, they're lighter and easy to source. From what i'm reading, many have a wax coating which could make glue pretty useless

Option 2: 1/4-3/8" flitch plate. the advantage here is that there's about 1/2" available on one side of the current bearing for this to bear at least 3" on both ends. downside: heavy and maybe harder to source. I wouldn't want to through bolt, but i see there's some lag type screws rated for this type of application.

I've got some current opinions which lean towards LVL, but i'm feeling like a bit of overkill.


texts: I need some advice on attaching a stainless steel t-joint transition strip to my trap door which is in my laundry room.  I want to use a strip that is wide enough to cover the cut in my tile.  I want a 45-degree cut at the corners, so the strip must be at least an inch wide.  Please help!


texts: Best motor or mechanism to convert recliner chair arm to electric actuation

texts:
I have a recliner chair that has a manual arm, I was wondering if there is a way to place a motor on the shaft the arm spins to make it 'electrically actuated'.

What I'd like is for it to freewheel in both directions when it isn't being electrically driven, but yet have massive torque (can be slow) when actuated. The resistance is only over the first small amount of the turn of the arm, the rest sort of carries itself from the weight of the seated person.

Does such a thing exist? What is something I could look at for ideas?

I'd think something like a small motorcycle starter would be enough torque and could disengage with the solenoid to freewheel, but I don't think they can be driven both directions, while also requiring a LARGE amount of current DC rectified. Maybe a washing machine motor?

I do not want to use a long linear motor retrofit into the chair if I can get away from it, as that would not freewheel and would be very slow to go in and out. I would also like to keep the part cost under $100.

The areas in the bright red arrows are the only parts that require any motor input (though very high torque), and I'd want it to be able to freewheel (or be used with the arm as regularly) when the motor isn't being driven.


texts: Simpson A-35 (framing angle) suitable for this application?

texts: Would an A-35 be suitable for the rafter>top-plate connection shown here? Would I need one on both sides of a rafter, or just on one side? Existing structure (grey) is 12'x 18', 6" CMU block w/rebar, located in Central California (seismic zone). Essentially putting a new "hat" on the building which will be a small sleeping loft, want to make sure everything is to code, particularly hardware connections. General advice as to fastener/connection details is also greatly appreciated. (i.e. Would simply toe-nailing into the top plate be suitable? Are framing-angles even necessary for transferring horizontal loads/preventing shear in this instance?) Thanks All!


texts: Sewer smell after installing garbage disposal

texts:
I installed a new garbage disposal today. Here is a photo of the plumbing:

It seems like there is some sewage/sewer smell coming from the garbage disposal, as though the P-trap were missing (which it is not).

Is the plumbing suitable?

I did notice that the dishwasher drain hose smelled pretty bad when I took it off the old garbage disposal. I do think the foul smell could be coming from that, so I plan on changing the hose tomorrow. But, I wanted to ask the pros here if the other plumbing was okay. (And yes, I do have a stopper on top of the garbage disposal strainer for the time being.)

Edit: My sink has an air gap, and the hoses are connected to it properly (one from dishwasher to air gap, and another from air gap to garbage disposal).

Edit: So, I did three things: (1) slowly ran water faucet to fill the P-trap, as perhaps the P-trap was not absolutely full for some reason (I ran the water a lot since replacing garbage disposal, so not sure why it would not have been full); (2) poured some bleach down air gap; I made sure it went to the hole that goes to the garbage disposal; and (3) ran dishwasher on sani clean cycle.

Smell seems to have gone away now.


texts: Outlet/Switch screw terminals seem designed to prevent wire J-hook from being attached

texts:
When attaching wires to the side screw terminals of an outlet or switch (i.e. device) I had learned to form a J-hook and slip it under the screw head with the hook orientation following the clockwise direction of the screw when tightened.

However I've noticed a lot of wiring devices now seem to be designed to prevent the J-hook from being looped over the screw. On the left side of the screw there is sufficient space to slip the correct wire gauge down under the screw head, but on the right side where the end of the J-hook would land is much narrower, this prevents the hook from being slipped over the screw head. It looks like this is by design.

O.K. so back the screw out enough to gain enough space on both sides of the screw head in order to slip the hook under. But when trying to back the screw out at some point turning the screw becomes extremely difficult, almost like it hit a limit by design. The amount of force needed to back out the screw to open enough space to slip the hook under the screw head on both sides of the screw head seems excessive.

Why do these devices have different wire clearances on either side of the screw head and why does backing the screw out seem to hit a limit?

Do I have a misunderstanding of how to attach a wire the side terminals of a device?


texts: Convert Single Gang to Dual Gang for Ceiling Light/Fan Fixture

texts:
I’m resurrecting a question I asked a couple months back, but now I have pictures that should hopefully help illustrate what I’m asking. Thank you for the preliminary responses, hopefully now this will make more sense.
This is to control a bedroom ceiling fan/light fixture. This was originally a single gang box with one switch that controlled both the fan and light. I'm trying to convert this into a dual gang box with one switch for the light and one switch for the fan. I believe (although I am not 100% sure) that the original single gang set up had all three neutrals nutted together and all three hots nutted together with a pigtail that went to the switch.
There are three sets of wires in the box. The hot from the bottom is the feed, and I'm assuming the top two sets of wires go to the fixture. Any ideas how I can accomplish this? I tried pigtailing two new pieces of cable to the hot feed to create two "hots", one to each switch, but all I end up with is one switch that still controls both light and fan and then a second switch that does nothing.
And yes, I know I didn't do a great job fitting the box into the little opening I had in the wall. The wall plate I have will cover this so I'm not freaking out!


texts: How can I remove a portion of a hardwood floor board?

texts:
I am adding a small pantry with door to the kitchen area and want to continue the hardwood floors from the kitchen area into the pantry.  After removing the baseboard moldings I see that the last hardwood board against the wall was roughly ripped to fit.  I want to cut out a portion of this board where the door opening will be, so that I can continue the flooring into the pantry.  Can I cross-cut this board without having to remove the entire board first?  There is not enough room to plunge cut with a circular saw - would it be better to just use a chisel?

Added drawing to show what I'm trying to do.  The boards against the wall have been ripped down to only about 1" wide, so there's not much to cut...


texts: Identifying an unknown and intermittent source of electric power usage

texts:
I have noticed a problem with my power usage today.  I'm watching the meter often and making a record of each reading for the last three days.

So far, nothing to note as far as unusual usage until this morning after being out.

I was gone for 2.5 hours and upon my arrival, I record the meter's display.  To my surprise there was 13 kWh usage during the time I was out.

Over the last three days, myself and one other person have been using all appliances as normal (range, washer and dryer, air), bathing normal etc, and have only been using approximately 1.5 kWh (per average).

This morning the temperature was 19 degrees Celsius.  The thermostat was set to cool at 21 deg/C.  Beside the thermostat being set above the range of the ambient air temperature, I have no reason to believe the usage should be higher than the previous ten hour span, sleeping with air on.

In what way can I begin to troubleshoot this erratic power consumption?

Edit://

By the process of elimination, I have found that the hot water heater is cycling excessively.  However, it is not an issue with the tank maintaining the set temperature.  It is an issue with water being circulated in the plumbing somehow.

If I disconnect the power to the tank, any excessive power consumption goes away, but I quickly (2 hrs?) loose the heated water in the tank.  If I disconnect the water at the street, my power usage returns to normal and I can let the tank sit all day long and then still have hot water when I reconnect everything.

It seems likely to me that on the particular day that I asked this question - there was simply an inordinate amount of cycling while I was away.  FWIW, this is a 120V water heater, so it seems possible for that usage to have occurred in that small time period.


texts: How is the phase of 120V AC established in a North American home?

texts:
I am in the early stages of reading about converting 120V AC to 240V AC to power an electric dryer.

One way to create 240V AC is to "find" two out of phase 120V outlets.

My question is HOW does an electrician establish which outlets will have what phase relationship?  Can I measure these phase relationships at the level of the circuit breaker box, rather than searching the house for pairs that create 0v versus 240v?


texts:
TL;DR - Is it possible to replace the rotted sheathing from the inside behind the brick fireplace and behind the header above the mantle

So, my wife and I purchase a house about a month an a half ago and it had wood paneling all over the place. Before furnishing the family room I figure I would take the paneling down so that we could finish the drywall behind it. Not the smartest thing to do right before the holidays, but I'm a little past that point right now :-) Anyhow, while tearing the paneling out I noticed a hole in the drywall near the floor on the left side of the fireplace. Upon closer inspection I see that the wall stud is completely rotted out at the bottom and not even connected to anything. The rim joist and sill plate in this section are also completely gone in a roughly 8" section.The drywall right over the fireplace was bulging out a little and I figured it was probably from the second floor sagging since there was nothing supporting that stud. Luckily the surrounding areas look good. I've got a pretty good idea where the water is coming in. The gutter on the outside is hanging because the fascia board is rotted out. I'm pretty sure the gutters have clogged causing water to over flow. When it rains water is hitting the chimney where the brick begins to step. I'm going to seal this off with some Vulkem polyurethane sealant and try to get someone out here ASAP to fix the gutter. As I start tearing out the drywall I see the sheathing completely rotted. The attached pic is what it looks like after scraping away the rotted wood. I poked my pry-bar, then the end of a fly swatter behind the header and it seem that the sheathing is rotted all the way down the brick. The three cripple studs don't seem to be connected to the brick at all. Two of them were seated only halfway on the header. Since this is a load bearing wall I know I can't just rip out the header and studs. Does anyone know if there is a way for me to replace this sheathing from the inside. I'm not sure how to even clean out the rotted crap behind the header. I really don't want to have to tear the fireplace down. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance


texts: How can I reduce outside noise inside my apartment?

texts:
I would like to reduce the outside noise from inside my apartment. Outside, of my apartment is the hallway, and it can get noisy.

I was thinking about placing felt pads on my door to reduce the noise. My thinking is the sound vibrations from outside travel underneath the door and reach my room. My strategy is to place felt pads on the sides of my door, so the distance between the floor, the door ceiling and the door edges is minimal, meaning sound vibrations can't penetrate that place.

If you have other answers, lets hear them.


texts: Holding plywood between bars for shelves?

texts:
I have a small balcony that has wrought iron bars on either side. The width between the bars is about 5ft. I wanted to place several 1"x6" plywood pieces between the bars for some small plants.
In other words, the iron bars on either side would act as the columns for the shelves. The problem is I'm not sure how to hold the shelves to the columns.
My question: without welding or damaging the iron bars, what's an inexpensive way to place the plywood between the iron bars?
The keyword here is "inexpensive" because if it's too much, then I might as well buy a shelf set.
Here's what I was thinking of:


texts: What to call a fitting that helps quickly release two PVC pipes?

texts: I have a hose that I need to attach to some PVC, but needs to be removable for maintenance. I found some threaded PVC ring, which I can glue to either side, that allows for it to be separated, the problem is there are so many threads, it requires 20-30 rotations, which means the hose needs to be twisted many times, and there isn't much space available for that. What is the name for a kind of fitting that allows for much quicker disconnect of PVC and PVC-sized plastic piping?


texts: Cleaning dried up hand-disinfectant from lacquered wood floor

texts:
There was some hand-disinfectant dropped on a lacquered wooden floor. Tried to remove as much as possible with a wet tissue but the stains shown in the picture remained...
Anyone knows what could be used to remove these effectively?


texts: How do I fix slow water flow in my refrigerator door dispenser?

texts:
It's an 11 year old Frigidaire FRS26ZPH side-by-side, and this year the water flow started slowing down. It has gotten slower and slower over time, to the point where it's taking over a minute to fill an 8oz cup. (The ice maker is working normally.)

Good pressure comes out of the copper pipe when disconnected from the back of the unit.
I have changed the water filter.
I have defrosted the reservoir tank.

What else can effect the flow? My assumption is that this works solely off the house water pressure, or is there an interal pump involved?


texts: Where can I buy a long bit for lag bolt pilot?

texts:
I'm trying to drill pilot holes for 5/16" x 3.5" lag bolts. Based on charts like this one I need a 9/64" hole that is 3.5" deep. Looking around the Internet (always a mistake), the best I can find is a 9/64" x 6" "aircraft extension" bit. Home Depot can get them in two weeks. My local hardware store doesn't have it all. So:

Am I looking for the right bit (9/64 x 3.5)?
What is an "aircraft extension"?
Should this bit be hard to find?
I need to drill 6 holes into redwood. Should I expect to break a bit or two?

Thank you!


texts: How to replace wire next to another wire?

texts:
Currently I have, courtesy of the last owner, 3 wires running to the "socket" behind my TV. It's a coax and 2 audio cables (image below), and they go to the fuse box/meter box in the hallway. . I'm not sure how they run, but at least: in the wall they go up, through the ceiling (probably some turns there), and then back down into said box. The yellow PVC tube they run trough is about 1.5cm in diameter (also see below).

Now I don't need an audio cable there at the moment, but I DO need network. I have a "wire pulling spring" (not sure that's the correct term). I figured my options are:

Attach the spring to one or all wires, pull everything out, pull everything I need back with the spring
Attach new wire to audio wires and pull the audio out and the network in with one action
Attach the spring to the audio wire, pull the spring in and the audio out in one go, then pull the network in with the wire pulling spring.

Option 2 and 3 mean that if I do get stuck, I won't be in a worse situation: the coax is still there. On the other hand, I imagine failure is easier if you don't pull out all the wires.

My question is of course: is there a dead-give-away best method, or are there options/considerations I didn't account for that might provide a 4th way or at least pick a certain winner of these three?

(As an added bonus I wouldn't mind some help or links to the best way to attach springs/wires to other wires for these purposes, but that's kinda a seperate thing.)


texts: Why is one switch hot wire black and another white?

texts:
I have two lights currently controlled by two switches (on the same wall plate), which I wanted to combine into a single switch. However, the wiring on the inside isn't what I was expecting, and wanted to check to make sure I understand what's going on.

The wires look like this:

The wire labeled "north" is for the light receptical on the north side of the room, and south for south. However, what I wasn't expecting was for the white wire on the south side to be hot. Is this simply a case of the wires being mistakenly reversed, or is this something that was likely intentional? If the later, what's going on, and which wires would I need to combine in order to use one single pole switch instead of the previous two?

Edit:

Here is the original switch, labeled with how the wires were before I removed the switch


texts: How well do metal inside corner beads work?

texts:
I'm currently doing some drywalling in my basement, and the biggest PITA for me is always finishing the inside corners.

Recently I saw at Home Depot they have these metal inside corner bead pieces.  They pretty much look just like an outside corner bead, but smooth and with paper tape around the edges.

They certainly look like they would make things a lot easier, but does anyone have any experience with using those?


texts:
I've been trying to mount a TV on my wall, and have encoutnered a problem locating and drilling into studs.

I used a stud detector to look for studs in my wall, and proceeded to drill.

Instead, I have just hit a metal plate. I did some searching and reading, and it does not appear that the metal is a metal stud. I say this, because I can drill above or below where I hit the metal, and hit nothing. If I drill to the side I also hit nothing. The metal objects seem to be 16" apart.

Whatever the material is, is very tough. I was reasonably certain it was not a protective plate, so so applied some pressure to drill through, but was unable to even get close. I can see where I drilled on to the metal, and it barely left a scratch.

I don't have the experience to cut open and replace a section of my drywall, and so would prefer to avoid that if possible.

I've attached a photo of my wall. I tried to get FiOS installed which was a problem because of the metal I have in my walls, although the technician was not more specific.

What would this metal be that I can drill above, below and to either side of it?

edit: not sure if relevant, but the entire door frame and door are metal also.

edit2: the metal does not go in a straight line from top to bottom, but is rather on a diagonal slant. There is no wood to be found anywhere surrounding the metal.

edit3: I managed to take a picture inside the wall, by putting a phone through the hole to feed speakerwire. It looks like something is bolted in..not sure if this helps to identify what is there though.


texts: Why does my light switch have 2 wires on the top?

texts: I went to change my light switch to a new touch light switch I ordered and for some reason it has 2 wires on top. I googled this and searched for awhile but nothing came up about this topic and all I saw was people having 2 wires on bottom instead.


texts: Can I use a threaded rod for a rafter tie?

texts:
Long story short: I am working on a 1960's house with no rafter ties. The rafters themselves are now attached with screws and strong-ties (previously just double nailed!) but I don't have faith in the tensile strength of this arrangement.

I want to add rafter ties.  I could just bolt on timbers (as this will be sufficient to offset the rafter thrust) but this approach will not prevent the walls from shifting while the timber settles/dries.

I want to use threaded rod instead so that I can manually adjust the tension as needed.

I can figure the actual rafter thrust, but the cost difference between smaller rods and larger ones isn't that much (though the entire arrangement is a bit expensive).

As I know that douglas fir is acceptable for rafter ties here, I looked up the longitudinal tensile strength of the wood (~1400 psi). I intend to use 5/8 threaded rod because the tensile strength of the turnbuckle in that size is 2200 psi. I could even save money and go with 1/2" rod (1500 psi) and still be ahead.

My rod strength will be higher than the failure point of timber, which is otherwise acceptable for this task.

Is there something wrong in my reasoning here? Is there a reason I can't / shouldn't use threaded rod for rafter ties?


texts: Should I proactively replace my Federal Pacific service disconnect boxes? (not a breaker panel)

texts:
House was built in 1985. On one of the exterior walls, there are two Federal Pacific service disconnects for my outside HVAC units. The label on the first one indicates it's an FPE model R160, which is the service disconnect for a 40A furnace/compressor. The label on the second one says FPE model R130, as the service disconnect for a 25A A/C compressor. There is a pair of fuses inside each pullout, one pair are Bussmann and the other pair is unreadable due to weathering. Both circuits are protected upstream by appropriately sized breakers in a GE panel.

I know Federal Pacific has a well-deserved bad reputation for the flaws with their Stab-Lok panels and breakers, but I'm unsure if that tainted the other product lines they were manufacturing in the mid 80s. Seeing as how neither of these is giving me any trouble, is there anything about having FPE gear on my house that I should be concerned about?

Even if there are no immediate concerns, when the day comes that I want to sell, should I expect an overzealous home inspector to (incorrectly?) call them out as needing replacement?


texts: Do I need to replace soaking wet insulation resulting from a plugged A/C drain?

texts:
I had a company install an A/C evaporator unit on my existing heating system.  A plugged drain caused the plastic pan inside the evaporator to overflow with water, which then ran out through the metal housing into the safety catch pan underneath. But the insulation inside the evaporator underneath the catch tray is soaking wet now.

There is no drain hole in the bottom panel, so water trapped with the insulation can only leave via evaporation. I am worried that the insulation will become moldy before it dries out, causing health issues. Currently there is no smell or any other problems.

In order to inspect/replace the insulation, the entire evaporator unit needs to be removed, which would take a considerable amount of time and effort.

Does the insulation need to be replaced or will it evaporate dry before it becomes moldy?

I would appreciate any help.


texts: What size gas line do I need to run to my garage

texts:
I am looking to run about 50 feet of black steel gas line through a basement room, underground and out to my garage for a radiant heater. I'd like to put an underground junction in it so that I can hook up an outdoor LP grill.

is a 3/8" line large enough?
I have read that I can not have any joints covered up by a finished ceiling. Does that seem correct? (I'd have to get one long solid pipe to run the length of the room)
How deep would it have to be buried?
Where can I get an underground junction that I could turn off without digging up the line? Or does that seem unnecessary? I live in Minneapolis/Richfield MN.

I'm also open to better/simpler solutions.


texts: issue with closed loop hot water heating

texts:
So I have an 1880s Victorian in Boston that is proving to be quite the adventure. I'm new to this, so hopefully I am using the right words.
I have a four zone hot water heating system with radiators and baseboards. One of the zones (my problem zone) covers most of my second floor and features three standing radiators -- big old Niagras.
For each of the radiators, the hot water travels up from the basement, through the radiator, and then back down to the basement. The pipe then crosses the basement ceiling and goes back up again to the next radiator. After the third and final radiator, the pipe returns to the boiler area where there's a pump to pull the water.
The first radiator in the loop is HOT. The second is lukewarm. The third is room temperature.
We replaced the old pump with a new Taco - the old one was on its last legs. We also replaced the expansion tank.
The next identified culprit is the flowcheck valve (green in photo attached).
Could it be that the flow valve is slowing the flow of water through the system? Is it more likely that the first radiator is gobbling up the heat somehow?
I've attached photos of the first radiator, the up/down pipes (just to give you an idea), and the flow valve we may replace next.
Any help/ideas for what could be wrong would be much appreciated.
J


texts: DIY Installing a sliding patio door -not sure about the clearance I need around the door

texts:
It seems that my existing vinyl patio door is near standard but not quite there
Here are the dimensions:
H 81"
W 69 3/8"
D 5 3/8"

On the lateral sides I have room as follows
-left side 1.5" (the long stripes of plywood 1" and 0.5" sandwich-ed)
-right side 1" of plywood
These were used to fill in the gap
I am not sure if there is any more wood on the perimeter of the door opening

I am planning to buy one of these doors. Is it a good replacement?
Do I have enough clearance to install it ?
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/stanley-doors-72-inch-x-80-inch-clear-lowe-argon-prefinished-white-left-hand-vinyl-sliding-patio-door-energy-star-/1000846301

As you can see it is 72x80 (70.75 x 79.50")
The depth is 4.63"

Here is a picture of the top left corner


texts: What would cause a musty smell from my portable A/C unit?

texts: Even when the compressor is not running in cooling mode and just the fan is spinning it is producing a musty smell. Where could the smell be coming from and how can I clean it? This unit does not have a tank, it re-distributes the water in cooling mode.


texts: I had my roof repaired and they had to lift my AC unit. Now I have condensation leaking from a register. What caused this?


texts: Removing the fixture to change light bulb...do I pull, twist

texts:
I do not know what to do to remove this cover to install new bulbs.I assume you have to pull it down or twist but being afraid to put much force in to it for fear of breaking i dont know what to do. Somebody help me!
Thanks


texts: Would I use a reverse thread lag screw swage stud for tensioning cable?

texts:
I was watching several videos showing an installation of wire rope for a fence, and the lag screw swage stud on one end would be driven clockwise while the other goes in counterclockwise. That way it can be tightened correctly, which makes sense.

In the video, both terminal ends are the same, the only exception being that one has regular threading and the other one has reverse threading.

My question: how can I drive a lag screw swage stud counterclockwise? Would I need to buy one with this type of threading?

The reason for the question is that I want to buy something like this, but it doesn't include anything about reverse threading or going in counterclockwise. None of the items in this page mention anything like this.

Thanks.


texts: What options are available to align door's knob and lock to door frame

texts:
A  rarely used exterior door mortise and tenon does not align.  Although the door closes, the doorknob's tenon does not enter its mortise. The same is true for the deadbolt. The tenons shown in the photo is low relative to the mortise.
What options are there to enable the door to lock?
I am considering a new slab door, however, I am hoping for a quicker, cost effective solution.


texts:
My whirlpool electric range has three ceramic Anchor-Tip counterweights on the back. Looks like the fourth is missing as there is a place for it. Does it need the fourth?
Thanks


texts:
I need a toilet for the bathroom off a master bedroom that's being built in my house.

Once when my Mother had a plumber in to fix something else, he told her to hang on to her old fashioned toilet as long as she could - plumbers have far more problems and calls about the new high efficiency toilets.

I see that Home Depot and Lowes primarily have 1.23 Gallons per Flush (GPF) toilets in stock, but you can also get 1.6 GPF toilets.

According to Consumer's Reports, more water sometimes (but not always) means better flushing.  And all of their best rated toilets use 1.6 GPF.

Should I go for the 1.6 GPF toilet to avoid problems and having to clean the toilet as often?  Or have the 1.28 GPF toilets improved enough to use one of those instead?

I live in Minnesota where water usage isn't as big of an issue as it is in California.


texts:
In an indoor setting, a wood burner is far, far more efficient than an open fire.
What about outdoors in a patio or courtyard? I have a large amount of low grade firewood and I'd like an outdoor fire of some sort.
How should I decide what's the best option?


texts:
I have this LED solar security light. Now I want to put this in the back of a shipping container and I want to have a switch all the way in the front of the shipping container.
I have no previous knowledge on electrical wiring so if anyone could tell me what to do, I would greatly appreciate it. The current switch has an on mode, an off mode and a motion detection mode (which is not working by the way).
See pictures below
https://imgur.com/a/NGVmlSs
Thank you :)


texts: Does a broken TPR valve disable the water heater?

texts: Would the pressure release valve going bad on a water heater cause the water heater to quit working?


texts: Controling of bathroom light by using Magnetic Switch (Sensor)

texts:
I want to control bathroom light by using Magnetic Reed Switch (Sensor).
When enters inside light should be ON & after coming out light should be OFF.


texts:
Our graywater drywell, which handles our washing machine and sinks, has come to the end of its life and no longer drains. Our options as presented to us are: dig and install a new drywell (~$5k); run a overflow pipe from the existing drywell over the hill behind our house (~$3k); tie the drywell into our existing septic system (no estimate). The last option is likely the cheapest, but I'm worried about the long term effects on the septic system and leach field if this is done.

Any input or advice would be helpful.


texts: How can I extend the rough-in drain away from the wall?

texts:
I installed a new bathroom vanity and sink, and the sink is a slightly different size than the old one. As such, the tailpiece for the new sink doesn't line up with the existing drain line coming out of the wall (I have to move the sink back another half inch or so in the picture below).

I've got to move the drain away from the wall by about an inch. Normally, I'd just cut off whatever is there and redo it, but there is not much pipe left behind the p-trap to glue things to.

How can i reposition the drain so that the tailpiece from the sink fits?


texts: Can I use more sand topping mortar to level the slope of a shower pan?

texts:
I'm building a shower pan the traditional way using a pre-slope, then waterproof membrane, then a mortar bed using sand topping mix.  I laid my mortar bed and curb and it has dried but I've noticed that I neglected to create a level surface along the back wall (about 4 feet), and it has a slight dip in the middle, about .75" or so.
My two options as I see it are,
1. add more sand topping mortar to level it out, or
2. use thinset to do the same.
My questions are,
1. is adding mortar going to work? is there a problem with it cracking or not sticking to cured mortar?
2. if I use thinset to level it out, do I need to set tile on that immediately or can I let it dry and add more thinset when its time to set tile later on down the road?

thanks in advance


texts: Can I use a 3-wire+ground to serve a 240v and a 120v circuit?

texts: When I remodeled my home, in anticipation of replacing an old gas water heater with a new electric heater, I had a 10/3 cable run to the basement utility room. Now the heater has been delivered I discover it only needs 10/2 (black, red & ground), 30 amp. A side problem is that there's no light or outlet in the room. Could I use the redundant wire to supply lights and an outlet on another breaker? As I see it, it would involve using the ground wire as the neutral for both circuits.


texts: Kenmore microwave heating when off with door closed

texts:
My kenmore microwave continues making the "heating" sound and actually heating even even if it's not being used.

Let's say it's unplugged. As soon as I plug the microwave to the electricity, it will make the "heating" sound usually made when it's cooking something, and it's actually heating. But the light's not on and the glass plate's not revolving.

What can the issue be?

I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself, so here's another way of describing the situation: if I had a blindfold on and then I plugged in the microwave, I would assume it's heating something because of the sound it makes.

Once I take the blindfold off, I'll notice there's something wrong because the inner light's off and it's not revolving. Not only that, the cold cup of water that I put inside the microwave before plugging it in is now hot. All this happened once I plugged it in.

Any help is appreciated. The microwave's about two years old.

Wanted to point out that the microwave doesn't heat (or make the "heating" noise) when the door is open. In other words, as soon as I plug it in (with door closed), it starts heating even though the light's off and the glass plated doesn't revolve. Once I open the door, the light turns on and it stops making the noise. The issue is when the door's closed.


texts:
I need air conditioning (no heat; I've got hot water radiators) for the main floor of my house (around 1000 ft2).  I was offered the following models (mostly Carrier) (ordered by price, descending):

http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/acheatpumps/ac/performance.shtml
and
http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/coils/fan/infinity.shtml

http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/acheatpumps/ac/comfort.shtml
and
http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/coils/fan/performance.shtml

http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/acheatpumps/ac/comfort.shtml
and http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/coils/fan/comfortdeluxe.shtml

http://payne.com/16seer_pa16na.html
and
http://www.docs.hvacpartners.com/idc/groups/public/documents/techlit/ss-pf4m-02.pdf

Do people here have an opinion on these models?  Since the info is scarse I'm mostly trying to guess what the differences are.  The model pairs seem to be roughly separated by $1K in price.  Are the more expensive ones simply more efficient or do they have other qualities I might need?  Is the efficiency going to really pay off quickly enough for the price difference?  Your opinions and other comments please.