texts:
I just removed a fiberglass tub/shower alcove and with to create a walk in shower.
I need to relocate the drain, to the center of the alcove. I also need to get rid of the "periscope" part of the pipe. Should i cut it really close to the bend and try to cap it ? I have no idea. This is a condo unit - 2nd floor. What you see is what you get. It's a 2 inch copper pipe.

What is the best way to modify this pipe and relocate it to the center ? I think i'll use a plastic extension to get to the center of the space, but what should i do with the periscope ? I don't think i can remove the entire structure / assembly because i don't have access anywhere lower into the floor (i don't think i do). Is there an easy way to take the pipes apart ? "break" all the connections ?

Any and all suggestions are very much appreciated. Also, anyone user Schluter KERDI products to create their walk in shower ? I'd like to use that (over hot mopping)

Thank you for your time.


texts: Start-up current of amp triggers circuit breaker

texts:
I have added a new amp + subwoofer to my system, everything (together with multiple other stuff like my pc, monitors,...) is connected to a single multi socket (switchable). Now whenever I turn it on it triggers my circuit breaker.

When switched on, the amp does stuff(?) before entering stand-by I guess this + the fact that I live in an old house using 1 circuit breaker for 4 rooms, causes it to trigger. If I use the amps power switch and turn it off before turning on the multi socket, switch on multi socket, wait for a few seconds, then tun on the amp on its own everything is fine, so it seems the initial current is to high with my new devices. (Sadly every 2 days I forget to do so...)

Is there anything I can do to solve this (circuit breaker = default B16)?
Might a start-up current limiter (as used for e.g. saws and other big machines) work?
Or do you know any ready-made solutions that fit in a socket. Cause start-up current limiter are expensive and most timed relais are made for turn off delay, I also thought about using a latching relay (this would basically solve my problem by preventing the amp from switching on, when switching on the multi socket => but I would favor somthing without me needing to press an extra button)


texts: Can I use 8" flex duct on a 7 inch rigid duct connection?

texts:
I am moving ducting three studs down, so I need to extend an insulated 7” flex pipe run that bridges a 7” elbow with a 7” floor register duct.
7” flex is hard to find locally but I have plenty of 8” insulated ducting left over from another project. Would it be okay to bridge that run between the elbow and the register with a 8” flexible duct?


texts:
Is there any difference in cost between floor lamps and ceiling lamps?
If I would prefer the lowest consumption of the 2 which is more suitable?


texts: Flush a gas powered water heater, not sure if it's ever been done in 15 years. Will it survive a flush?

texts:
I'm concerned that there might be seals that are bad, or corrosion keeping things waterproof.  It looks great on the outside, But I don't know how efficiently it is working - I've never owned a home before.

Should I go ahead and flush it?
What should I have handy in case something goes wrong?


texts: We have just bought a 1930's house and it has already varnished floorboards but we want to darken the colour. Will we have to sand back and start from scratch or can we varnish on varnish?


texts: No C terminal on furnace to connect a wifi thermostat

texts: I have an new Emerson thermostat and would like to connect a c wire so it always has power. I have an extra wire that's not being used, but I don't have a C wire terminal on my furnace. I'm wondering if I can use any of the unused terminals or if I can tap into one of the wires coming off of the 24v transformer.


texts:
So this is my first winter in my new house and I noticed the skylight on the second floor has a lot of condensation on the inside now that the weather is getting colder. It's an old single pane and looks and probably is plastic not glass. It for sure needs to be replaced but I was hoping to wait it out until the spring. The good news is that it doesn't leak when it rains. Its sealed very well and I actually got on the roof recently and added more roof seal for the winter.

The problem is there is a lot of steam buildup on the glass and it drips onto the floor. Any ideas on a temporary fix for a few months? It had a clear film on the frame when I moved in that I took off and I just realized it was probably shrink wrap for this exact reason. I'm going to put it back on and see if it helps. There is plenty of room between the ceiling and the actual glass so do you guys think it would be a good idea put two or three layers of shrink wrap or bubble wrap? I'm not so much concerned with letting light in or letting heat out. I just want to stop the dripping.


texts: What type of foam to fill this pipe hole?

texts:
There is a strong smell that comes from underneath my kitchen sink. All the wood is brand new so I guess it's coming from the hole in the ground in the picture.

I have seen different types of spray foams that can be used to fill holes. Is there any specific brand or type I should use? That will get in that deep hole good to seal it up... where the pipe is coming out of the ground.


texts: How do I install baseboards behind bifold closet doors?

texts:
I'm remodeling a house and I pulled out the old baseboard and carpet and replaced with hardwood and now I'm putting on the baseboards.  I have several closet openings with bifold doors (I haven't installed them yet) and I'm wondering how I should approach baseboard between the bifold door and the closet opening to hide the flooring's expansion gap.

How do I install baseboard between the edge of the bifold door and the closet opening?


texts:
This past winter a heavy snow fall ripped two sets of gutters off our house, and I haven't had a chance to re-hang them yet.  One is over our back door and it's really annoying having the running off hit you when you step out the back door, so they will be replaced as soon as I can.

The other set was over top of a flower bed at an inset corner (so there is a steady stream of water during a heavy rain formed where the two sections of the roof come together).  The only place the water seems to go is into the bed, about a foot from the base of the house. If I can avoid replacing them, I'd like to, but I don't want to risk a bigger issue down the road.

Do I need to replace this second set? Am I risking long-term damage to the foundation or some other issue I'm not thinking of?


texts: How long can a fireplace go without cleaning/inspection if it's never used?

texts: I have a gas fireplace that I have never used, nor planned to use.  Then we lost power on the coldest day I've ever seen here (gas furnace - check, electric blower - oops) and I'm kicking myself for not getting it swept and inspected.  So if I get it swept out but never start a fire, what would the maintenance interval be?


texts: What type of plumbing fitting is this? (Fridge)

texts:
This picture is the fitting that comes off the back of my fridge for water into the fridge. Fridge manual says it is 1/4" but doesn't mention fitting type. Is it compression?

And if it is compression, then this fitting should work to connect to a 6 ft hose to ice maker outlet box which are both 1/4" compression fittings?

Connection Fitting


texts: Can you convert a stackable dryer 220 to a 110, and how?

texts: Can you convert a stackable dryer 220v to 110v? I don't have 4 prong outlet. Need to be 3 prong regular plug for regular outlet.


texts:
I have a 50amp gillette generator 9000 watts. My question is if i put a adapter to go from NEMA 14-50P to L14-30R with a nema 30r back feeding through my dryer plug would that be safe running a 50 amp generator.

Yes i know back feedings laws and everything just hypothetically asking if using a 50 amp generator through a 30 amp wire and circuit


texts: Ceiling fan where the fan works but the light goes off on its own

texts:
The problem started after we had construction on our house and the general contractor switched the light switches (he did this to ne nice so the whole house matched). Makes me think the issue is on the switch itself, but I'm not an electrician. :-)
Some photos of the switch and ceiling fan wiring... it's a mess. The yellow lines are not being used at all.


texts: Any ideas for reattaching these baseboard heaters to the wall?

texts:
This baseboard heater (Hunter Heatmaster Convection Baseboard Heater - Model 35514) has come away from the wall. Its twin is having a similar problem.

It seems neither was installed using a drywall anchor or into a stud, so the screws slip out of the drywall rather easily.

I can't find a manual online (I think they're pretty old), and am trying to figure out how to get access to the installation screws in the back. I've tried some gentle nudging and pulling of various covers and panels, but nothing gives easy enough to be an obvious way in.

Any ideas? Is this a self-contained unit that I'm not supposed to be able to get into? If so, I guess I just access the installation screws through openings in the front of the unit?


texts: Leak into bowl and no water flow to overflow tube

texts: The toilet had a leak from under the front of the bowl rim and all the parts were replaced. The leak is still there. Now, after the flush valve was removed and reset, no water comes out of the hose from the fill valve into the overflow tube. Any thoughts?


texts:
I am planning to run both coaxial and cat5e cables from my basement to my (finished) attic, along the outside of the house. I'm trying to figure out the best practice.

If it were a single cable, I think I would just drill a hole through the wall, feed the cable through (taking care to leave a 3" turning radius on the cable run), protect the cable from the aluminum siding with a "mushroom" bushing, and seal it up with silicone.

But I'm reluctant to do the same thing for another cable right next to it.  I thought maybe a slightly larger hole with a slightly larger bushing could accommodate both cables, but I don't know if such bushings exist.

Another option I've seen is to drill a 1" hole, run PVC conduit through the wall, and attach an LB box on the outside.  Sounds good, but what seals the opening on the inlet side where I'll be inserting the cables?  Or does this commit me to using conduit for the whole run?


texts: How should I restore this painted sandstone bay window?

texts:
I have a bay window that needs some love.

I think its sandstone and has had several coats of paint over the years. I've scraped all the paint off. Here's where I'm at:

As you can see, it has a few cracks here and there, and the surface isn't particularly smooth after removing the paint.

A property on the same street looks like its had a similar issue, and there they've skimmed the stone with what looks like regular cement.

I was thinking that I'd need to do something similar, but cement doesn't seem like too great an idea as it wouldn't allow the stone to breath.

I'll be painting the stonework again so that it ties in with neighbouring properties. What's the best process for this after I've tidied up the surface?


texts: I used sour smelling paint on my walls in my spare bedroom about 2 months ago and the smell is still there even after I used fresh paint and put two more coats of the fresh paint. What should I do.? Is it safe to be in that room.? It isn't as bad as it was but you can still smell it.


texts: Kitchen faucet has low water pressure but can't identify the faucet

texts:
I am having trouble with low water pressure in my kitchen faucet.  It started happening gradually over timeIt is a single-handle, with a sprayer nozzle.  From reading other posts here I'm pretty sure its a diverter valve...bear with me as I've never done any sort of work on my sink.  The house was built in 1993 so I'm assuming it was installed somewhere around then.

Since I thought it might be a diverter valve and I don't know what I'm doing I set out to find a manual for the faucet on what parts I might be looking for and instructions on fixing it.  There's a "Kohler" stamp on the side of the sink itself so I assumed that it was from them.  I contacted their support and uploaded pictures of the sink through the Kohler contact page who in turn said that it was not a Kohler faucet.

Side question: Can you have one brand of sink and another brand of faucet?

So I have some pictures of my setup and am hoping someone might be able to either help me identify what I have and/or help me with what I might need to replace or do to fix this.  Or suggest that I just call a plumber.

Kohler logo stamped on corner of the sink:

Full view of the sink:

I think this is the diverter valve?

This is the water line; it's split between the the main kitchen faucet and the dishwasher.

I've created a full album of the handful of pics for this on Flicker if interested.  There's also a video of how the water pressure is working here: video of low water pressure


texts: Is it possible to use a single wire smoke alarm with an alarm system?

texts:
I'm in the process of installing an alarm system that supports 2 or 4 wire low voltage fire alarms.

The house is wired with high voltage single wire smoke alarms.

As I understand it, there are relays that can wire into the circuit and either act as the sender or receiver for low or high voltage accessory devices like pull switches or lighting. An example device is referenced here.

As I also understand it, these relays cannot be used to wire into alarm panels.

So my question: What is the reasoning behind not allowing this? Is it just because multi-wire detectors support zoning, or is it actually dangerous to do this?

Are there devices that exist that do allow me to do this, or do I need to switch detectors?


texts: Finishing Basement, Help with Plumbing Pipes

texts:
I am finishing my basement and am starting to plan the bathroom, but I do not have plumbing experience. The house was built in the 1980’s and completely torn down to the studs and rebuilt in 2013. There are a few pipes in the basement that I need help identifying. Pictures are attached and any help is very much appreciated.
Basement Drawing:

Bathroom Space:

Pipe 1 on the opposite side of from the twin pipes:

Floor Hole 1:

Twin Pipes, Pipes 2 and 3:


texts: Will high wattage LED bulb work with this light fixture?

texts:
I am looking to replace the LED light bulbs in my ceiling downlights with some stronger ones.

Specification of existing lightbulb: LED, GU10, 5W, 240V

Specification of light fixture: KR (KangRong), 250V, 100W, K512GU, 2/250

The attached pictures show the existing light bulb and fixture.

I would like to replace the light bulb with a GU10 LED bulb with around 10W and 950 lumen. Was wondering if switching to such a higher wattage light bulb will be safe. My main worry is risk of fire due to overheating.

Thanks for your advice.


texts: What Support/Legs would i need for a 2m Solid Oak Computer Desk?

texts:
I am currently decorating a room which is going to be my office and there is a 2m space for a computer desk. I am thinking of ordering a solid oak worktop to use as the desk (2M X 720 X 40mm ~46kg) and was wondering what sort of legs/support this would need to prevent any sagging? Currently I have two IKEA Alex Desk Drawers for my current desk, would it be possible to use these?
Would there need to be anything in the middle? My monitors are going to be mounted on the wall so there shouldn't be much weight directly in the middle, just my PC on the right hand side.
I   used a sag calculator (does this mean two legs/support either side should be acceptable) :

Edit : picture updated using floating method


texts: Can I use a magnetic air seal on an exterior door?

texts:
It occurred to me it may be a good idea to air seal an outdoor door using a similar magnetic seal as refrigerator doors. I can't find this product available today. Maybe because it would make opening the door a challenge.

But any idea if this would work to prevent air leaks? Or is anyone aware of such products?

I have come across "magnetic strips for doors" but the magnet only attaches to a metal door and no magnet for the door frame, just a rubber sweeper. These can still leak air.


texts: Replacing 3/8 inch hardwood with 3/4 inch hardwood

texts: We are working to replace our existing first floor which has a section of 3/8 hardwood by the front door.  We want to use 3/4 inch hardwood.  My question is the door frame comes right down to the wood now, I am assuming I need to cut out the bottom of the frame to allow room for the wider new floor?  Or should we reconsider using 3/8 hardwood again?


texts: How can I turn off the power to an outlet if a water alarm is triggered?

texts:
I'm installing a dishwasher on a second floor, and after having 3x dishwashers leak during their run cycle during my life, I'm understandably hesitant.

I will definitely be installing a water alarm. However, what I'd really like to do is install a water alarm that can shut off power to the dishwasher in case of a leak.

Does such a device exists without me rigging up my own setup using a relay and water alarm combination?


texts: How do I remove stuck-on stains from laminate flooring?

texts: I recently bought a fixer-upper house that has light-colored laminate plank flooring. It would be really nice, if I could get it clean. It has stuck-on stains, like someone left melted ice cream on the floor until it dried (don't know if that's what it actually is.) I've tried the Hoover hard floor scrubber, I've tried a steam cleaner; nothing will loosen this gunk. What else can I try?


texts:
This particular door has 3 problems:

Door sticks to the stops, due to layers of paint, this post provides couple options.
Top door corner rubs against the head on the latch side when closed
Neither jamb is plumb, which results in the bottom width being 1/4" wider than the top. Unsurprisingly, there's a gap along the bottom half the door when it is closed.

I'm tempted to drop the hinges 1/4" (there's a 1.5" gap between the door and floor), as it'd allow me to fix both #1 (per linked post) & #2 (and since the strike is already too low, I don't need to do anything to it). This leaves me with #3, and I'm wondering if I could just bend the bottom hinge knuckles to close the 1/4" gap although that seems like a lot.

I'm a bit wary of trying to move the door jamb, especially with the hardwood floor there (see picture below). This seems like the better way to fix #3, but doesn't address #2 and seems like a bigger project than I'd like.

Looking for advice, thanks!


texts: How can I control a circuit breaker remotely?

texts:
We have a house in the country that largely sits abandoned. We have a large family, and we like to go visit for the weekends. When we leave the house, we turn off the circuit breakers to prevent high electrical bills. But lately, some family members have decided to "live" at the house.
    The problem: they do not take responsibility for the electrical bill. Legally we have no right to prevent the family members from staying at the house, but we want a way to limit electricity usage to those who have pay for the electricity.

What I would like is a way to have remote control of the circuit breakers. I would like to be able to have a "remote kill switch" for the electricity and the circuit breakers seem like the right place to do it. But another method to turn off the electricity, and ensure that it cannot be turned on, would work too.

Is there a way to install a "meter after the meter" or something like this?

What should we be asking our electrician to install and where?


texts: Nails coming through the visible underside of roof sheathing

texts:
I have a rental unit that has a large single slope roof. There is exposed roof decking all around the outside of the house. It is an older place and has been shingled and re-shingled previously.

This has just been re-shingled again, and the nails come through the decking all around the house about 3/4". I have carefully looked at this and it is clear to me that no previous nails have come through in this manner, only the current job.

Nails used were "the shortest nails possible," but in future such jobs should I insist that 1" hand nailing be done over such areas?


texts:
We've been having air condoning problems where our unit would freeze up / leak water. We brought out a tech to have a look, the indoor and outdoor unit was completely forzen. Once thawed, he said the unit was low on refrigerant and he wanted to look for a leak. After 3-4 hours of searching and no leak found, his 'manager' came out to double check and found the 'leak' in 5 minutes and decided he wanted to replace a coil and a 'blower board' just incase to 'to not take any chances' (our blower works completely fine). A few things to note, the tech said there was little to no refrigerant in the system. He also said he put nitrogen in the system to find the leak.

In an effort to double check, I took a look at the outside unit, turned off the power to our unit, lifted the fan and I noticed one of the wires going to the compressor is disconnected (the wire connecting to the bottom circle-like opening in the picture below). Additionally, all but one of the screws holding down the fan to the outdoor unit are missing, so running the fan, causes strong vibrations.

The exact model/brand of our compressor (different than shown below) is a Copeland CR42K6-PFV.

What I am trying to do now before shelling out hundreds of dollars for a fix that may not be required, is check if the the issue is much more simple than what we're told (my gut tells me it is).

My question is, what are some things I can check/try in order to troubleshoot the icing of the unit? Would plugging in the wire described and adding screws to the unit and turning on the outdoor fan be a smart thing to try? are there any risks to doing so, other than the unit icing?

I appreciate any advice


texts: How do I connect the wires inside a conduit junction box?

texts:
I have some wiring in my garage (done by a sparky believe it or not...) where the wire is quite loose, just tacked to the wall with clips, and there are a few junction boxes as well as the usual switches etc.

I'd like to enclose the wiring in plastic conduit to make it neater and more protected, but I can't for the life of me see how the junctions would work!  All the conduit junction boxes are just empty boxes, e.g. this one from Screwfix

Am I supposed to put a "normal" junction box inside of that?  Or do conduit junction boxes exist somewhere that already have wiring blocks in?

Seems a stupid question but I can't found the answer anywhere!


texts:
I'm installing a flueless gas fire to an old chimney breast in a ground-floor living room and the fireplace in that chimney is being completely sealed off as a result.

I'll be capping the chimney pots off with a spigot that allows ventilation from above and will stop water ingress from rain. However, I'm concerned about having a column of stagnant air and the possibility of damp.

I know (I think!) I need to ventilate the sealed-up chimney (and it has to be to the outside, for reasons I'll cover below), but this is well outside my limited experience and it's hard to get a straight answer from anyone as to what exactly needs to be done.

My questions are:

How much air flow in do I need to allow for? Or, more practically, how big a vent do I need to put in?

Will a 100 mm diameter vent be large enough? What am I best off doing?

What height should I place the vent at?

I'd presume that nearer the ground is better for proper air circulation and that venting into the old fireplace rather than the chimney flue would be best. However, rats and mice are a big concern locally (I live near a rocky shore), and I don't want to put it too close the ground. Slightly higher would be better, maybe 0.8m or off the ground so would keep the vent going into the old fireplace. Is this an issue?

(The flueless gas fire itself requires a vent to be put into the room and I considered killing two birds with one stone and venting the room into the chimney but the fire manufacturer says that's a no-go and the vent it requires must go outside, and that's what Building Control will go by. Similarly, ventilating the chimney into the room won't work as the gas fire has to be a certain distance from sources of air flow, and I can't make that work, even going under the floorboards.)

Please do put me right on anything that seems wrong. And thanks in advance!

Background on the house

My house was built in the late 1930s, in the north of Ireland and it has cavity walls, which are not insulated. The chimneys are unlined brick flues. The house itself is in a very exposed, very windy and rainy area and is a couple of hundred meters from the sea (hence no cavity wall insulation).

The chimney itself is internal - it protrudes into the room rather than outside the walls of the house. It's around ten meters from the hearth on the ground floor to the top of the chimney stack, and the flue is straight up, with no bends. The room in question is 2.7 meters high, give or take, and the flue is approximately 500mm x 300mm internally; the flue proper begins about a meter above the hearth.


texts: Does this Dewalt corded drill have multi-speeds?

texts: I can't tell if this Dewalt drill has multiple speeds.


texts: Help me identify my halogen recessed lighting

texts:
I just moved into an apartment with recessed halogen lighting. I was considering replacing them with LEDs (both for energy and color reasons). I know this may not be as easy as swapping a bulb, but to figure out my options, I need to know what I'm dealing with, and based on searches alone I have not been able to figure out what I have; there are just too many possibilities.

I figured if I could get the bulb out, that would be a big help.. but they're deep in the fixture, with barely any room around the bulb, and I have no idea what type of connection they have. If I knew what they were, I could search for removal instructions.. but of course then I wouldn't need to take them out yet.

So I'm hoping some of you with more experience can help identify these based on a few photos, or at least give me a starting point to removing the bulb safely.

The fixtures (or the rim) is about 3.5" in diameter. The bulb is about 2" in diameter.

Using my camera I was able to see a tiny piece of the can (the hole in the ceiling is exposed a bit) to find that it is a Jesco TM301 Step Baffle, though that's not terribly helpful in identifying which bulbs / fixture are inside (at least not to me).

Here are some photos:


texts: What tool for easily cutting cardboard is child-safe?

texts:
What is a child-safe (for a 10 year old) tool to cut cardboard (~1/4" thick, from a typical cardboard box)?

EDIT:
I'd like the child (who is fairly responsible) to be able to use this independently for a lot of cutting.  I don't feel comfortable with leaving her with a box cutter (also her 8 yo sister might then get access to it). Also I don't find box cutters to be terribly easy to use when making precise cuts.

I found three:

Klever Cutter (cost is about $3 ea. but I suspect they don't last long. Can't replace the blade.
Skil powered cutter (downside: expensive and a bit more dangerous)
Powered scissors  - (Downside: I think they'd be pretty slow)


texts:
Expanding my music set-up, I'm planning to mount a tablet in my kitchen mostly as remote-control (for music playing on the server), but as it can also show websites and movies, it might get -sporadically- used as a 'real' screen too.

I've done all the things I'm comfortable with (server, networking, audio, etc), but now it's on hold because the current card-board "stand" on the kitchen top just won't do and I'm at a loss on how to mount this on the wall.

The possible locations are limited:

On a tiled-wall right next to the stove (at eye-height)
Behind the stove on a wall, between some racks: there's not enough space for it to be mounted there 'against' the wall, so some sort of arm has to be used I think

The tablet's specs are:

No mount points/VESA/Screw-points available
Weighs about 550 grams
Size hxb 21+cm x 16+cm  (a couple of mm wider on each side), about 1.5cm thick

Some specs I'm thinking of (do DIY-ers also talk "MoSCoW"? :)  )

Must-have:

Holds the tablet safely

Should-have

Wires can run from tablet (at least power, maybe audio later)
Landscape orientation

Could-have

Rotation to Portrait
Turning (viewing angle)
Movement (from/towards you, maybe left/right/up/down etc)

I wasn't really sure if this was too hobby-like to be ontopic, but meta seems not to mind, so here we are.


texts: Can I extend attic vents so they don't get blocked by snow?

texts: I have 2 square low profile attic vents on the detached garage but I'm pretty sure they are blocked with snow during the winter. If I should alter them, are there extensions available to raise these without replacing the vents themselves?


texts: Should we install carpet before the baseboard and door casings?

texts:
We just had a carpet layer come in for measurements and a quote. We've not put in the baseboard or door casings yet, but the carpet layer has suggested that this will make things easier.

Is this true / good advice? Are there any pitfalls to watch for when we go to install the door casings / baseboard?


texts:
I’m installing a W16x26 steel beam, 20’ clear span underneath floor I-joists, 12” deep and 16”OC.  The beam is plenty stout in terms of sheer and deflection but needs lateral bracing to account for bending.
Usually folks have joists butting into these beams so they don’t need to worry about it.
My question is, how is this generally done?  Based on my calcs, I need to make the bracing 48” OC along the beam.
How is this generally done in a situation like this?  My plan was to bolt or weld brackets into the bottom 1/3 of the beam every 48”, and have a 2x4 or steel going at 45 degrees up and securing to the floor joists above, maybe 2 or 3’ from the beam.
Would this be acceptable?  Respectfully, I Don’t need advice to hire an engineer, the beam is almost in place, just looking for your thoughts on the bracing.
Thanks!


texts: Should I put a basement dehumidifier on a timer, or trust the hygrometer?

texts:
Dehumidifiers draw a LOT of power (as you might expect of something which is basically a modified air conditioner or refrigerator). I do want the humidity in my basement kept at a comfortable level, but I don't usually need it controlled very precisely.

So I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to set the hygrometer and let it run, or to run it in alternating six-hours-on/six-hours-off cycles. One of my previous units had that option built in; I'd have to put this one on an external timer...

Has anyone seen a trustworthy statement regarding whether cycling the beast that way would be more, or less, power-efficient?


texts: Running NM and BX Cables – Stackable Staples – Rim Joists - NEC2017/2020

texts:
I mocked up some cable runs and was hoping someone could confirm that they don’t break any NEC2017/2020 rules.  The wires are run along the rim joists on the upper edge of the wall right under the basement ceiling joists. The staples will be used every 3 ft.  The wall itself sticks out perhaps 1” inch past the rim joist wood.  This is the main reason I am looking for guidance.
On the very top I have a 6/3 and an 8/3 wire going supported by appropriate size staples to the ceiling joists.  I believe these are OK to run without any support boards due to their size.
Question 1: In the middle I will have 8 NM cables run the same way the sample one is, filling every slot of the staple (the staple is rated for 8 12/2 cables).  As you can see, part of the staple is sticking out past the wall by about 1 inch.  It doesn’t touch the nearby heating pipe, but overall, is it OK to stick out like that or will that fall into “physical damage” category of the code?
Question 2: On the bottom you see two BX cables which are secured by special stack-able staples.  The staples are rated to be stacked, however the outer staple also sticking out past the wall by 0.5-3/4” inches.  Same concern – is that OK as far as the “prone to physical damage” NEC portion is concerned?
Many thanks in advance.


texts: Drywall patching using 3M Patch Plus Primer

texts:
Whenever I patch a drywall using 3M Patch Plus Primer, it ends up looking bumpy and unnatural. I can't get it to spread evenly and perfectly flat. So I do try sanding after it hardens, but it's really hard to sand and it doesn't come out flat.

I was able to smooth out the top edge shown on the photo, yet after painting, you can still see the boundary between the 3M patch and the normal drywall.

I'd appreciate any tips. Thanks!


texts: How to power 12V LEDs from a 12V AC power supply

texts: I have a 12V power supply that I am using to power some lights in my garden. I want to also power (in parallel) a set of 12V LED lights which (of course) require a 12V DC supply. Is there a simple method of AC->DC conversion that I can use? I am pretty handy at electonics so I could make a simple converter given the correct guidance.


texts: I have a NEST thermostat. My heating and cooling system is in the attic.I need to add a "C" wire to the control board, but I can't find out where I need to open the unit in the attic to see where the existing thermostat wires run from my hallway thermostat to the attic?


texts: How can I repair a wall with cracked paint?

texts: My tenant for my single family house, built in 1947 in Northern California, is complaining about cracks in the paint in various places throughout the house. They aren't huge cracks, and the paint isn't falling off, but he finds them unsightly. I'm thinking of simply sanding, using joint compound, sanding again, primer, and paint. Anybody have any other thoughts? Here are a few photos:


texts: I'd like to create a small storage space in my attic.  The beam in Red is low and just gets in the way.  Can I remove one of the Red beams without causing structural problems?  I am willing to put in supports on the sides like the white post I have pictured. I'm also willing to move the Red beam up, but it would have to be all the way up at the ridge to be out of the way.


texts: Can I plug an IEC rated for 10A into the wall?

texts: What I'm trying to do is have this embedded into a hollow table, then I can use it to feed into a couple outlets elsewhere in the table to power a few things, like a low power computer and a printer.


texts: How to turn an outdoors tree stump into a table?

texts:
A large tree at our summer house became dangerous and had to be cut down last week. This left us with a sizable (about 1m in diameter) stump, still rooted to the ground. My idea (and wife tends to agree) is that it would make a nice table. The woodcutters already made the surface pretty flat and level with their chainsaws, I'm not even sure if it needs any more polishing with sandpaper (though that's a matter of preference and I'll think about it later).

Anyways, I'm worried about longevity of the stump. If left to it's own devices, will it not start to rot or have annoying amounts of sap continuously seeping to the surface? Any other potential problems? Should I treat it somehow (and how and with what)? Does anyone have any experience with this?


texts: I have a depression in my OSB floor caused by a layer of rot

texts:
I am tiling over OSB board using hardiboard and thinset. I have some water damage from a leaking toilet. The rotted area is about 3 inches square. Once I scraped about a half inch of rot off the top, the floor is still very solid. I don't feel it is necessary to remove the flooring. However, I need to fill it in now so the floor is level before I apply the hardiboard.

What is the best way to do this? Can I just build up the thinset in that spot before I lay the backerboard?  The depression is 1/4"-1/2" deep at most.


texts: Building a New Wall with Projector Niche

texts:
I’m hoping to transform my basement into a home theater space.
While there’s a lot involved in the project, the primary scope involves (see pictures below):

Close the opening on the front wall
Create 100” projector screen niche (recessed rectangle) on front wall
Demo and dispose of popcorn ceiling, install new ceiling drywall

To create the projector niche, I can’t go “backwards” (behind the existing drywall) because there’s foundation right behind the wall studs. I need to create a new wall that is 6” forward (from existing) in order to have the space to frame the niche. I say 6” because I’ll have a soundbar that is 4.5” deep that will sit on the bottom of the niche, so I’m planning using 2x6 framing lumber.
So, with that in mind, my primary questions are as follows:

Should I remove the existing drywall before creating the new wall that’s extended forward? Or just build “on top” of the existing wall? What implications does either choice have for closing the current wall opening? Note that there’s two electrical outlets in the wall opening that I’ll want to bring forward.
What’s the best way to secure the new beams to the old beams? And the wall framing into the ceramic tile below?Construction adhesive?

As an aside (as it may impact answers to questions above), while I’m doing this work, I figure I might as well remove the popcorn ceiling. While I’d normally wet and scrape, I can see seams showing that would probably appear as cracks without the “popcorn”. So I’m planning on taking the ceiling out and installing new drywall reinforced with liquid nail.
I’m also on the fence about extending the existing ceiling “bulkheads” to create a coffered ceiling (or ceiling soffit?), as it may add to the home theater aesthetic...
Finally, what’s a versatile saw for accomplishing the tasks above? Miter? Circular? Table saw?
Thanks!


texts: What's involved in moving a hot water tank to the garage

texts:
After a recent electric hot water tank leak on the second floor - I've decided to relocate the tank to the garage.

On the other side of the block wall in the garage - I have the laundry room - so we can tap into the h/c lines.
The electrical panel is inside the house right near the entrance from the garage.

Lots of questions...

What should I be aware of while doing this - is this even a good idea?
Should I keep the tank on the concrete floor or should I use some kind of barrier (over even a drain pan)
Should I use expansion tank?
Can I just connect to the h/c water line currently feeding the laundry room?

Appreciate your feedback and guidance/suggestions.

Thanks


texts: Single pole breaker in Transfer Switch trips on transfer to GEN position every time but only on Master Bedroom circuit, 5 others OK

texts: How can I use a single pole breaker in Transfer Switch to replace a Double Pole GFI breaker in box for bedroom lights and GFI Master Bathroom outlets? It trips every time I turn it on through transfer switch on gen power, both are 15 Amp Breakers (std breaker in transfer switch, GFI breaker in Panel). I only need to power the bedroom lights but looks like they are not isolated since it keeps tripping the breaker?


texts: How can I stop Lego bricks from falling in to a register?

texts:
My kids like to play with Lego bricks on the floor, and sometimes a small piece will fall in to a heating register. Sometimes I can pull them out, but usually they fall too far, and there are sharp edges that like to draw blood.

Is there something I can do to block bricks from falling in, without interfering with air flow?


texts: Dripping sound emanating from interior wall space

texts:
I've seen some other questions about dripping sounds but wasn't sure if my situation fills the same circumstances or not.

I have a 2-story home and only a partial understanding of where the mechanisms of HVAC and plumbing are run.

In a wall that is nowhere near the exterior walls of the home, we're hearing a intermittent dripping sound and yet not seeing any damage (yet) nor would we prefer to wait for visible damage before addressing it.

The wall/ceiling where we hear the sound is near the upstairs shower/tub combo. There is an access panel into the back of the tub and yet when we listen there the drip sound is not audible nor is there anything obviously/ominously wrong to my eyes -- despite being roughly in the same location.

I've heard and read on this site that warming/cooling hvac or plumbing runs can produce this "drip-like" sounds so am hopeful for this outcome but don't know how to confirm.

We've lived here for 5 months (starting in the heat of summer) and only noticed this sound in the past 3 days in the beginning of Winter -- but our heat has been running off/on for a month or so.

Before we heard (noticed?) the sound, we turned off the water to install a new valve fixture on the first floor. Did something shake loose with the sudden change in the status-quo of the normal, pressured environment?

What contractor can tell the difference between normal water dripping inside a pipe versus outside versus condensation versus rubbing sounds of metal on wood? Who would you call first? A plumber or HVAC or "handyman"?

I've tried to isolate by closing drains on sinks and shutting off water to toilets but still haven't figured out what could stop the sound / behavior.

Thanks for your thoughts and perspective!

Update

It still isn't clear to me the right kind of contractor to confirm what I found, but during periods of inactive furnace activity, the sound seems to die down. Also, when I place my ear next to the cavity (firmly against the wall) the sound transforms from dripping to ductwork creaking / popping and I can hear the sound of air being moved.

I'm hopeful that there is nothing to it and that I can come to peace with the red herring sound. My ambition will be to present this as the answer to my question if an HVAC person can confirm it unless someone else can recommend something better. Thank you.


texts: Defiant security light installed..Motion senser flashes red But no lights

texts: I just purchased a new Defiant model# DFI 5852 BK security light to replace an older one. After installation..the motion sensor flashes red but lights do not come on..Tried adjusting sensitivity, & Test modes, No change..


texts: Can I use a camp fuel butane bottle with a brazing torch?

texts:
I have a large blue butane bottle with regular attached that connects to my camping stove.

Could I, safely and practically, use this gas with a propane brazing torch?

I want to bond steel with a brazing rod, not solder.


texts: What would a calculation be for the weight bearing capacity of 6 x 2 studwork?

texts:
I'm building a campus board (a training aid for rock climbing) and my landlord wants to know how someone can be sure a person's body weight can be supported from it.

I'm at a loss on how to give him a calculation for this, I've been very impressed with some of the calculations offered here on other subjects. Can any of you help?

The construction details are -
Studwork: Structural 6 x 2 CL 25 grade timber. Glued and fixed with 4" 12's with PZ3 head screws.
Left side stud fixed with silicone and 12 no fixings into plasterboard reveal. Right side siliconed, fixed at 3 points into 8mm thick steel column, not compromising structural integrity. Cladded with 12mm WPB hardwood ply.
Campus board: Formed of 4 x 2 CL 25 grade timber. Studwork; cheeks, bottom & face formed of 2 no 12mm WPB hardwood ply. Glued and screwed with 3" 12 PZ3 head screws @ 150 centres.
Mounting: Fixed directly to 6 x 2 studwork with 4" 12's with 18 no PZ3 head screws into back rails, 6 no 8" 12 timberlock decking screws.


texts: WRB (water resistant barrier) detail at eave/rake/peak of shed roofline

texts:
This question pertains to the proper detailing of WRB at the roofline of wood-frame, shed-roofed, new construction, without rafter-tail overhang.

I've found little by way of Google. I've found an eave detail that helps, but nothing for the peak and rake sides.

The plan currently is to cut rafters close to the top-plate, set unvented blocks and both pseudo-fascia and fascia boards.

My current thinking is that the drip edge will flash over the fascia boards and that the WRB should tuck behind the fascia board(s).

I keep feeling that a peel-and-stick membrane would be a good idea at this interface, but can't puzzle out how or find a relevant drawing detail.


texts:
At the moment I'm considering my next power tool purchase. I'm a home improvement beginner and have been enjoying the journey, and I'm now ready to get serious about investing into a proper saw. I would like to get views of the community on what would make a better investment for me at this point.

My situation: I live in a 1400 sq ft apartment and I don't have a "shop" to speak of, outside of a small 2' x 4' workbench in our storage room. I set up a Workmate in our kitchen if I am doing anything serious, and to further expand work space I use the kitchen table (and a special top I made for it, to prevent damage). Sometimes I set up the Workmate out on our 3' x 15' balcony.

What I do: typical home improvement stuff. Cabinets, shelves, racks, improvements to existing furniture, etc.

Limitations: I live in Bangkok, and as there is no significant DIY movement here, the big stores here don't provide the same kinds of services as they do elsewhere. Therefore, I must buy my sheet material in full sheets only. They won't cut it down, at all.

I am now considering the purchase of either a circular saw or a table saw.

A circular saw of course makes it easy for me to cut a big sheet down to the right sizes. I can do that pretty much anywhere. I probably would rip the big sheets down outside of my condo, in for example the parking levels of my building. A table saw is significantly less movable. Although possible, I don't think I would take such a thing out into the parking area to cut sheets.
A table saw seems ideal for most purposes of smaller stuff, up to 24' perhaps. But then there have been so many videos that show how to create a home-made table top for an inverted circular saw that would probably suit my needs just fine. And using that approach perhaps perhaps gets me an "ok for now" solution, until I can justify the next investment into a proper table saw.
Although not huge, a table saw is a chunky piece of gear that in order to store it I would need to do some serious thinking for. A circular saw is of course much smaller.

Curious about the other considerations, or comments re the above. I won't buy both, I will only buy one of these for now. Probably an entry level DeWALT in either category.


texts: Ceiling fan wired to gfi. Light kit wired to separate light power

texts: Adding ceiling fan to garage. Power for fan is coming from gfi through door opener outlet. So fan can stay on without lights on. How to wire light kit though existing light circuit?


texts: How should I repair rotten load-bearing porch posts?

texts:
I have a backyard porch that has 2 load bearing posts (the other side are attached on the house). The wood base trims around the bottoms of the posts looked rotten so I wanted to replace these trims. After opening the trims, I found the posts themselves were rotten by moisture from the bottom as they touch ground and there are working irrigation heads nearby. Now I wonder if these posts are repairable, and if not, how to replace them.

These posts are ~12 years old. Each post is 7 1/2 inch (width) by 7 1/2 inch (thickness) by 12 1/2 feet (height). They were secured on the ground with Simpson Strong-Tie CB88 column bases in concrete. Each post has 2 bolts on the top to the railings and 2 bolts on the column bases.

Each CB88 column base has 2 bolts. The external rotten area starts at the post bottom and goes up close to around the column base's bottom bolt height. I think inside these posts, the rot may progress even higher. I dug some holes on a post with a screwdriver; it was soft internally, and blackened by fungus infestation.

If these posts must be replaced, is it a DIY project?

Attach a few images showing the porch and posts' rot.

How to tell if these posts are still repairable? For instance, if I dry the wood, and apply lay up & laminating resin, then fill-it epoxy filler, perhaps add fungicide (Bora care or TimBor), will this buy me a few more years before replacing these posts?


texts: Can I install a subpanel for an electric water heater next to the main panel?

texts:
I am replacing my A.O. Smith electric water heater with a Stiebel Eltron tankless water heater. This water heater needs 3 inputs of 40amp 125v. My existing A.O. Smith water heater is next to a gas furnace. The house circuit breaker panel is about 30 feet away on a different wall. This panel is already maxed out.
I know I have to install a sub panel but my question is can I place this next to the existing panel and run 3 x 8awg cables to the new water heater which is going into where the A.O. Smith water heater is? Also do the new wires need to be in a conduit? I have a removable tiled drop ceiling.


texts: What size breaker and wire do I need to run 2 GFCI receptacles and a flood light on exterior of my house?

texts:
Is it OK to use a 15amp breaker and a 14ga wire (14/2 copper) to run 2 GFCI receptacles and a flood light on the exterior of my home? The voltage is 120.

The 2 receptacles are rated at 15amps and won't be carrying a continuous load very often. Might plug a George foreman grill into it every now and then, maybe some party lights. And an occasional power tool (hedge trimmers, weed eater, etc.). I believe the flood lights are 75w a piece.

Should I go with a 20amp/12ga wire instead?

Update**

It is a new circuit so I think I will go with the 20A/12ga just to be safe and I will check the code requirements for having receptacles on the same circuits as lights!

Lets just it is OK to have both receptacles and lights on the same circuit. Is this an acceptable way to wire it? Using a junction box to divert wire towards the outlets and a separate wire to control the flood light with a switch on the same circuit? Pardon my drawing!


texts: Sink Tailpiece Doesn't Line Up With New Trap - Need Help Making Connection

texts:
I am in the process of replacing the bar sink in my office. While I had the sink removed, I decided that it would be a good idea to replace the trap. It was very old. I thought that I would be able to run the tailpiece directly to the trap, but it is off slightly. It seems to be shorter than the old one. I bought 2 traps from Lowe's but neither aligns properly - one has a threaded end, the other does not. I thought that if I used the one with the threaded end, I could connect it directly to the tail piece. What is the best way to get these to align. Should I use 2 90 fittings or something else? I apologize in advance for the questions. I am very new to plumbing, but I feel like it's a skill that I need to learn.

Here are 2 pictures (the pictures show the trap without the threaded end)


texts: Preparing for laying ceramic tile - clean up after removing vinyl tile

texts:
My bathroom had 12" square vinyl tile squares which I chipped off.  There is some residue of adhesive left on the concrete.  Do I need to try to remove it?  The floor scraper I have is not working.  Will a solvent help?  I am laying large ceramic tile with thinset.

Here is a photo with a bit of the tile on the left under the commode, showing the floor.


texts: How do I install an air conditioner on a horizontal sliding window?

texts: There isn't a great amount of literature on this subject it seems. I have an air conditioner, the manual assumes that you have a vertical sliding window, but I have one that slides horizontal, so how do I install the unit?


texts: Help Identifying toilet tank make and model

texts:
I am trying to identify the make and model number of this toilet tank so I can replace the insides which is old and disintegrating and causing flushing and leaking issues.
Based on the fill valve inside the tank it might be a Mansfield but I am not sure about that since I can't find a matching image on https://www.plumbingsupply.com/mansfield-toilets.html or anywhere else online.
Can anyone definitively identify this toilet tank? any images or online sources would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Outdoor GFCI shorted and caught fire, how to check if wiring is safe?

texts:
Earlier today I was spraying down the exterior of my house in the general vicinity of the outdoor GFCI. It turns out the weatherproofing around the box was...less than good and water got in which appears to have caused a rather nasty short.
I killed the power to the house while investigating the burning smell and after finding this I immediately pulled it out and capped the wiring. After closer examination, the circuit breaker did in fact trip, but I have no way of knowing when. Power is back on, and when resetting the breaker for that circuit it didn't immediately trip, though I have turned the breaker back off in the mean time.
The wiring is obviously burnt up to a certain point and I recognize that needs to be cut out, but how far up does one need to go?
I'm looking for an electrician to come take a look at it, but in the mean time my question:
How do I know if this circuit is safe to turn back on? Unfortunately it's not dedicated, and appears to have the interior hallway lighting and outlets on it.


texts: How often should I run a bleach and water solution through condensate lines?

texts:
How often do you need to run a bleach and water solution through the condensate drain lines (of a heat pump) to keep the bacteria away?

What are the recommended parts (e.g. 1 part bleach, 10 part water)?


texts: troubleshooting why tempstar PHF042 LV control fuse would intermittent every 7 days

texts:
I'm a commercial Electrician
I'm at a job and they have trouble with their heat pump.
Seemed simple enough, they had swapped out stats hot and presumably shorted the LV leads - I found an open 24vac 5a fuse at Tempstar PHF042.
Job complete so I thought.

Got a callback a week later, no AC

Ok, well, I thought maybe its something different since nobody messed with the stat.

5amp fuse is open again.
I don't see any other trouble.
Wires look Ok, I didn't megger them but its been a week.
Secondary TX doesn't look like over voltage.
Primary seems steady.
Amp draw is 0.9a

another 5a fuse in and it worked, got to go.

Wondering if I will hear back
don't know how to check if the control board is damaged

3rd week, 3rd call.  On my way over there now
here's some photos of the unit
In the photos you can see there is a 1.5 kohm resistor looks like it gets warm, but it was not warm to the touch when I was there.  I'm going to check resistance and voltage drop across that.  And IR the whole board

I need help troubleshooting why would the LV control fuse open given that  the line voltage components all seem to be ok.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JbbCmQYeLJM4xXUT7


texts:
I'm building an outdoor bbq and have a 20A circuit with 2 runs - 1 for outlets and 1 for lights. The outlets are done with 20A receptacles and 12 ga wire inside 1/2" emc.

The lights will be hanging pull lights (16 ga wire in the cord) and because it's a little cheaper and easier, I wanted to get power to the fixtures by 14 ga wire, also in 1/2" emc.

Is this a no-no? The only thing on this run would be 5 lights, so very low load.


texts: Is it a problem if the frame of my house extends 1 - 2" from the slab?

texts: Is this a huge problem?  The house frame is about 2" off the slab along the north side.  On the other sides of the home it varies by 1", but not in as many places.


texts: Why does my fluoresent light power line show 15 volts with switch on and off?

texts:
I have a double circline light fixture in the kitchen.  I replaced the ballast resistor 3 years ago.  The lights went out again a day ago, so I replaced the bulbs.  Still no light.

I figured that left the ballast resistor, though it seems strange it went so fast when apparently the original from the seventies lasted until 3 years ago.  Suspecting something was up, after I took out the ballast resister I measured the power line with a digital multimeter.  It showed 15 volts with the switch on and off.

If one of the readings is stray voltage, how do I correct for that with a digital voltmeter.  I think the light is on a 30 amp line, and my digital voltmeter only measures AC current up to 10 amps.


texts: Is it okay to flush water heater onto the drip pan with drain hole?

texts: Our water heater is on the second floor and we need to have it flushed.  It has a drip pan with a hole that has a tube attached to it.  Common sense tells me that I can flush the water heater directly onto the drip pan since it has a pipe attached to it where the water will drain, but I haven't seen anywhere on line that this is okay to do.  I've read only that it is there just in case there's a leak.  Can I drain our water heater onto the pan or should I attach a hose to the it to drain?


texts: Ceiling fan blades "click" and experience resistance 4x per revolution

texts:
My Hunter ceiling fan worked ok a few days ago. Today, when I turned it on the blades begin to spin only a few cm until they hit a point of high resistance and get "stuck".
So I turned off the fan and tried spinning the blades manually by hand. They spin ok for the first few cm but experience gradual increase in resistance to spinning as they approach 1/4 rotation. At 1/4 of a rotation, the resistance is so great that the blades stop and even begin to rotate the other way for a few cm as if being driven by a release in tension.
However, I can manually push the blade a bit harder (not very hard but more than a light push) and it will overcome the resistance at the 1/4 rotation mark with a "clicking" sound paired with a slight shaking of the motor housing. After surpassing this point of resistance with a click, the process (i.e., increasing resistance as it spins) repeats until it reaches the next 1/4 turn (at which point it either stops and rebounds backwards or clicks as before depending on speed of the manual push).
My question: what's going on here?
Doesn't seem like it's a bearing issue because I read that a bad bearing would prevent any spinning.
Any ideas?


texts: I'm trying to figure out how to fix the drain under the bathtub

texts:
My house was built 1974. I recently started a bathroom remodel. I have been fighting with getting the bathtub level and the problem was the drain and overflow assembly was keeping the tub from going down any further. So I'm just going to change it.

Well the long extension below the tee on the old brass one has been soldered in the drain hole. So the new one can not be installed. Even if i get it out i think it will still be too high. I've looked everywhere online and can't find any info on this type of plumbing. I'm stuck. Well can't seem to figure out how to add a picture. But the pipe has joints with a big rubber ring around it in front of each joint. This is in a concrete slab in South Louisiana. Also one of the joints is loose.


texts: Can i use non-tiled cement board -floor & shower shower stall?

texts: Ground up bathroom build on (composite board) deck. I want an industrial look/not using tile. Some leakage is OK as it will be going through deck onto soil but would like to avoid mold. If I can keep the wonderboard raw could I/should I seal it? Or a coat of diy venetian plaster? What to seal exposed seams with?


texts: Wood stove flue leaking water at wall penetration

texts:
I fitted a wood burner to my new build taking the flue out the gable wall on a 45 and up the outside. I put on stainless plates around the pipe coming out the wall and sealed it all with silicone.
I have had water running down the outside of the flue which has came in somehow and caused damp on the plasterboard behind the fire. I am not sure how I can seal it.
I was thinking of changing the 45 for a 90 out the back of the stove and making a new hole in the gable.


texts: Gutter installation on fascia with or without 1x2 wood drip edge

texts:
I have a similar situation to this post (What is this small strip of wood in front of fascia?) with a 1x2" presumably serving as a drip edge along the fascia. In some areas along the eaves this 1x2 was omitted. I have some drainage issues around the house and would like to install gutters. Any recommendation on the best way to do this would be very helpful. In the linked post, it appears some advice was to remove the 1x2. Is this bad practice? It is in pretty bad shape and I may need to replace it along with the fascia board (and prime/paint).

More information: The house is in the mountains and receives winter weather with moderate-to-heavy snow. I am planning to install heat rope along with the gutters.


texts: What should I do with a large gap in a concrete floor

texts:
The grout in the tile has cracked or separated all the way across the house from one side to the other. I figured it was normal due to settling. In the kitchen it has become really bad, to the point the tiles are cracking and there is approximately a 1/4in difference in height. I decided to replace the cracked tiles and discovered a large gap in the floor real close to 1/2in wide.

Should I worry about this or should I just replace the tiles and let it go. The house is 7 years old.


texts: Monolithic frost proof shallow foundation, advice on the smaller details?

texts:
I'm building a 16x24 shed/garage. I have done most of the site work and I have a concrete guy starting tomorrow on the forms in preparation for a pour on Friday. He's done insulated slabs, he has 30 years experience, I trust him, but I don't quite know if he's up to date on the exact designs of FPSF slabs. I just read a PDF, I'm not an expert, so I could use some help too.

Below I have questions on vapor barriers, rebar, compaction, an extra footing "rib" or two, and pipes.

We're doing a monolithic FPSF because the ground underneath is moist in the spring. One of my concerns is moisture coming through and causing rust on whatever is inside the shed. The location of the vapor barrier came up - he suggests under the insulation. I'm worried about water seeping from the sides, but he has assured me that all I need is a french drain around the perimeter and it'll be the best thing ever for wet ground. I don't disagree, I'd just like to verify. I am worried about the french drain negating the insulation value of the ground on top of the foam insulation. I have space to add another 2 inches of topsoil around the perimeter if that drain means less ground insulation. Do I even need to worry about moisture leeching through the sides?

My next concern is rebar and mesh. He says to use fiber concrete and I don't need mesh on a slab so thin. He agreed to four #4 rebars around the perimeter though. I think it'll cost only an extra hundred or three if I lessen up the fill, make the slab 5 or 6 inches thick, and use mesh. I've been forewarned that all concrete cracks anyways, but I'd prefer my slab not breaking in half and continuing to separate.

Then I thought about weight bearing on top the insulation. To properly bear the weight of the slab, do I need to compact the fill on top of the foam? Won't this damage the foam? Should I start with sand and stones on top the foam since it's self-compacting?

We're going to need entry for electrical, an exit for electrical, an entry for data lines (likely optical) an entry for irrigation well water, and an one exit for well water. Is there anything I should know about pipes through FPSF foundations? I'm assuming I want the pipes under the insulation to keep them stable. I don't know if a pipe through the insulation is a "cold bridge," I considered making insulation sleeves for the pipes with layers of hole sawed insulation. The electrician says I need a fitting between the slab and the ground to allow movement, but I don't know how that would work.

There's a structural need for a post next to the stairs to bear the weight of the second floor. It's sort of a loft setup I'm going for. I assume that I want a bit of a "divot," where the concrete under the post goes all the way down to the same depths of the footings, but how should I attach the post? Just put a bolt there perhaps and then some sort of a mechanical fastener? Or can the post just rest on that spot, with some shear support from being attached to the stairs?

While I was thinking of that, I thought about rigidity of the slab. I don't know what it's called, but some photos I've seen have "ribs" under the concrete, kind of like footer type things throughout the slab. Instead of pouring the concrete floor on a level surface, there's a coarse grid pattern to keep it rigid. Should I do things like that here? Instead of doing just the perimeter being over a foot thick, there would be the perimeter and a plus sign shaped grid of thick concrete inside the shed.


texts: Steel welding options for a remote property?

texts:
I have a remote property where the previous owner welded a steel sliding lock (see pic) onto the metal door of an outbuilding. The part that sticks out (handle) broke off.

the nearest/only electricity source is 120v and probably 5-10 amps max (15a circuit, but several hundred feet of underground cable that I suspect isn't sized properly for such a long run)
Welding the pin back on inside the narrow groove has to be done fairly precisely to avoid welding the sliding pin to the chamber (or door). I love the ASMR Tig pulse welding videos on youtube, but my best understanding is that a portable Tig rig (tig welder and large enough generator to run it) could be thousands of dollars - that's a lot for me, especially if I only need 2-4 pulses total for this project. Also, I've done a very small amount of (bad) stick welding, but never have had the opportunity to Tig.

It may be that the best option is to pay hundreds of dollars to a professional welder to drive out, set up, and tack the pin back in place... but before I do that, is there any DIY option that would be under ~$500 total that would allow me to DIY?

I did try JB weld (the part that sticks out is actually a pin that fits in a hole in the sliding rod) but that only lasted a few uses, so I think that a real weld is the only long-term solution.

I've considered a cheap wire welder from my favorite import store (~$100, works off 120v), but this is a large sliding bolt and I'm not sure the wire welder has the power to melt enough of the steel to be a permanent fix (I'm under the impression those cheap wire welders are for much thinner metal)

Thank you for your suggestions! If there isn't an option within my skills and price range, then I'll go with the mobile welder option.


texts: Is it a problem to have gaps and holes in the subfloor of a hardwood floor?

texts:
I've been pulling moulding and trim off and on for a few days for an upcoming custom closet install. The community was great in helping me to figure out ways to get the trim off the wall. I've discovered some oddities with the subfloor and wanted your opinions.
Is it normal for these types of gaps and holes to appear on the subfloor of a hardwood floor? The closet is on the second floor but there seems to be considerable gaps between the drywall and edges of the plywood. The wall that this sits on is an exterior garage wall. I'm concerned that this is a sign of a problem with the subfloor that should be fixed. Are these holes and gaps anything to worry about, aside from vermin and pests? Can I seal them with expanding foam, do I need a flooring contractor to come fix this, or is this relatively normal?
Thanks again for your help.


texts: A telephone extension cable has been pulled from its socket. How do you rewire such a socket?


texts: Do you run a conduit under or over concrete wrap in the basement?

texts:
My basement concrete wall is covered with a concrete wrap and is anchored to the wall. The walls are unfinished.

If you want to add an outlet down the wall to a workbench, do you run the conduit under or over the wrap?


texts: How to (re)attach this baby gate to the wall?

texts:
I have been fighting with this gate for several years (and three toddlers), and right now I'm losing...
At the top of the stairs where the gate needs to be, there is only about 1.5 inches of overlap between the walls on both sides, as shown in this top-down view (the gate must go inside the circle):

While there is a wooden baseboard at the bottom for the lower hinge, the upper hinge needs to be mounted directly on the wall right at the corner.
Originally, I simply followed the directions that came with the gate and installed the hinges using the drywall anchors that came with the gate. With the strain of swinging open and closed, it fairly quickly worked the anchors loose from the wall, and also chipped off the paint, leading to the discovery that there isn't much drywall around and behind that metal corner for the anchors to bite into. (Ignore the blue anchors at this point.)

I decided to spread the load across a larger portion of the wall and try to get some anchors in more stable wall-board by mounting a piece of wood to the wall and mounting the gate to that:

This has worked well for a year or so, and now it has worked itself loose from the wall again. All four anchor holes are so loose that I can pull the anchors out of them by hand.
I have tried looking for a stud, but there does not seem to be one anywhere near the corner. Shining a flashlight through one of the holes in the metal corner piece reveals a few splinters of wood, enough to guess that there's a thin board in there that the top of the railing is screwed to. However, there isn't very much there and some exploration with a long thin nail into some of the existing holes reveals that I cannot reach that wood.

Short of opening up the wall and adding some kind of internal bracing, is there anything I can do here?
If I do end up having to open up the wall, is there anything specific I should try to do?
I am not very experienced with drywall work. Given that the other side of this wall is inside a closet, should I try to open the wall there and put in something from the back so that my first major drywall job isn't right where every visitor to the house will see it immediately when they walk in?
If I don't need to open up the outside of the wall, what is the best way to repair this cracked edge where the metal corner piece is visible?


texts: Can I use an 8" dado blade set in a 10" table saw?

texts: I have a 10" table saw... this is probably a stupid question, but can I use an 8" dado blade set in this saw?  Is one only supposed to use 10" blades in a 10-inch saw?  I read on some contractor's blog that one should only use saw blades that are within the range of blade sizes acceptable for a particular table saw (per that saw's documentation)... but for the life of me I wasn't able to find mention of the range of allowable blade sizes for this saw last night in reading the manual.


texts: Why is there no water from the cold water tap on the bath?

texts: The cold tap in my bathroom sink has been behaving erratically over a week or 2 - slow, trickle, etc. then right off. It's now ok, but the bath cold tap stopped completely - it was ok whilst the sink tap was erratic, but since that righted itself. The bath went from ok to a trickle to nothing at all!


texts: Awning materials for deck under dirty trees

texts:
Our second-story deck is underneath some weeping Cherry trees and Birch trees, which drop cherries, pollen, twigs and junk 3/4 of the year it seems. I want to put an awning over the deck (there is already a frame) to keep the junk off the deck and reduce cleaning. My wife thought of aluminum door/window screen, but I know that will become caked with junk and require scrubbing with a brush. I think that standard canvas will become stained with black cherry juice, which has already stained our newly repainted deck after just 1 season.

What kind of material is available in order to:

-be easy to wash debris off with a hose

-not become stained from cherries

-allow some ambient light (ie white?)

Is there some kind of tyvek-like awning material available?


texts: Can you identify the brand of this window?

texts:
Six months ago I moved to this house built in 2007 and now I notice some issues with a window. I suspect the window is still under warranty but I don't have the name of the manufacturer. The construction company doesn't exist anymore so there's no way of contacting them. Someone mentioned that it was likely to be Milgard but I called them and they had no records of any window in this address. I took some photos in hopes that someone might be able to recognize the brand.

Click any photo for full size


texts: Open Compute Server needs 220v to run. Can I use voltage convertor to run it?

texts:
So I bought an open compute kind of server  and it runs on 220 volts and 700 watts power supply. So I decided to purchase a voltage converter(Transformer)  My question is is this stable and will I have problems in the future? Please excuse me I am kinda new to this thing.

I also forgot to mention that I hooked up a UPS which gives 865 watts between the power source and the converter which is connected to my server.

Until now, I am afraid to turn it on, I am afraid of fire. So please I need your help Thank you

This is the transformer I bought

this is the server


texts: Wall outlet in house are burnt in wall. How do I fix it?


texts: Replacing doorknob and my current hole is bigger than the new doorknob

texts: We are replacing our old doorknob with a new Schlage that is keyless.  The current hole in the door is bigger than the new doorknob.  Any suggestions on what we should do to cover the old hole?


texts: How should my light be connected to this old wiring layout?

texts:
I live in a really old house and still have old wiring red (live) black and neutral. I've come to change my kitchen strip light and have an abundance of wires to  connect to my new 2 wire brown blue light. The problem is at some stage there were two switches for the light so in total I have 4 black wires and 4 red and some neutral.

Am I right in thinking that all the red wires can bundle together and hook up to the brown? There so many black wires that the light won't sit flush so I'm trying to just hook up 2 but can't figure out which 2 as some combinations blow fuses and some leave the light permanently on.

Should I be doing something with the neutral or even splitting the 4 red wires up?


texts: Single-lever shower faucet - no warm water; just hot/cold

texts:
Built my house in 2005.  We have a tankless hot water heater.  It appears to be working fine.  Plenty of hot water from other faucets.

Guest bathroom shower is all from original contractor install.  Single-lever ball handle, American Standard - lift to start water flow, turn handle to adjust temperature.

About three weeks ago, I noticed that the water in the shower is either totally cold or too hot.  I can't get a "warm" temperature.  If it's too hot, for example, and I "nudge" the lever to the right, the water becomes completely cold.  And vice versa.

The water pressure, regardless of temperature, seems fine.  I do not notice a drop in pressure whether the temp is all cold or all hot.

So, before I call a plumber, I am wondering if this is possibly the sign of a bad cartridge, which I think I can replace on my own and skip the repair bill.  However, I really don't want to waste my time disassembling the faucet if a bad cartridge could not be causing this problem.

Would appreciate your thoughts.  Thank you!


texts: Are these structural issues or just common settling cracks? Older home built in 1972

texts: See pics above. Small but just want to make sure these are normal.


texts: Which electrical box to use for old-work outdoor light fixture and vinyl siding mounting block?

texts:
I have a garage which already has vinyl siding on it but the inside is unfinished and accessible. I would like to add an exterior wall lantern.

The vinyl mounting block I purchased looks like this and it is entirely hollow inside (does not contain any sort of structure behind what you see).

The light fixture I've purchased is just a standard wall lantern with a round base similar to this:

I would like help understanding which electrical junction box is needed behind this and how it should be installed. In order for the light to have any structure holding it up, I believe the junction box will need to be extend past the siding to the front surface of the mounting block. Is this correct? How do I approach this setup?


texts: How can I replace a tilt up garage door, with near zero clearance, low overhead?

texts:
I have a 'tilt up' garage door with an past-end-of-life track.  I'm told by several local garage door companies that tilt up hardware is not made any more.

Yet even the low clearance roll-up overhead doors can't match the headroom of the old tilt up.  The garage ceiling is just 82", and the present door gives a 75 1/2" clearance above.  Modern low overhead tracks give us an entry low spot of 72" or less: "duck when entering".

What might be a suitable replacement?
Note we want automatic opening, so we can slide right in with bikes (we do all shopping and much travel by bike).

Note: There's a hole in the floor that implies the original 1938 door swung out, but now the driveway slope appears to preclude swing out, at least without grinding away some material.  There's a small triangular space above the ceiling, but only a few inches at the front.  The current door appears 1950's.

See also What are Automatic Garage Door Options for a Garage with a Low Ceiling Clearance?

Update: the ceiling is lathe and plaster directly on the joists, which run parallel to the door opening.  You could hide a spiral spring up there, but not much else.


texts: Is it legal to piggyback an existing indoor outlet to a new outdoor outlet?

texts:
I just had a deck installed and wanted to install an outdoor outlet from the inside outlet. It is just on the other side of the interior wall where it would be installed.

Is this legal?


texts: What is a reveal cleat (and why do I need it)?

texts:
I am DIY installing a wall oven.

Schematic calls out 3/4" reveal cleats.

I already have 3/4" lip in the cabinet.

Why would I use a reveal cleat?

EDIT: Update, I installed the oven (without the reveal cleats) with the dimensions given in the manual and it worked great.


texts: What is this device I found in my HVAC duct?

texts: I was looking through my HVAC ducts with a camera and found this device attached to the side of a floor joist. It is about 2-3 feet from the air return vent. What is it?


texts: Refinishing wood: Should I use wood conditioner after light sanding before staining an old desk?

texts:
I bought an old desk at a garage sale, and I want to restain it.  I've already sanded the whole desk and am ready to clean it up with tack cloth and restain.  Should I use wood conditioner on it?

It is unclear to me as to whether wood conditioner is only for totally unfinished wood or if it is good to use on old finished wood that has been sanded and is ready to restain.


texts: Is AFCI required for detached workshop subpanel?

texts: As I read the 2014 NEC 210.12 AFCI protection is only required for a "dwelling unit", which would not include a detached workshop.  Is that interpretation correct?


texts: Does water in the water heater drip pan mean my heater is bad?

texts:
I recently noticed my drip pan had about a half-inch of water in it. I could find no water leaks around the fittings or valves.

The water is slowly evaporating--very dry climate area--and the water in the pan is almost gone.

The heater works well and we have plenty of hot water, could there be an intermittent leak?


texts:
If I wanted to build a detached garage/workshop, where can I find complete, detailed plans?  I'd like to be able to estimate building cost from a materials list.

I'm not certain what style I'd want, so I'm open to suggestions.  For sake of discussion, let's assume the main house structure is colonial or similar.


texts: How to fill in large paint chips on a wood door?

texts:
We have a very old house. The interior doors have been painted probably a dozen times.
One of my kids got interested in picking at a small crack in the paint on one of the doors and couldn't stop. :). The gap is around 2" wide and 3" tall.
I want to repaint the whole door, but first fill in the gap because it currently has so many layers of paint.
Is spackle the wrong tool?
I do NOT want to strip / sand the whole door.


texts: How should I weather strip a door in an outside building?

texts:
I have an office in the garage that is a standard room with insulation and an AC unit (8500 BTU AC in a 9' 3" tall room, 5" 4' wide). The room gets rather hot and I found the issue to be with the door and the hot air coming in from it. What is the best method to stop the heat from entering through the door but still leaving the opening and closing of the door functional?

facts:

1. Wood door (32 inches)
2. Clearance on bottom between ground and door, ~ 3/4"
3. slight space between top of door and door framing, ~ 1/8"

update: I found a fantastic tutorial that helps to solve this issue at

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Saving-Money/Energy-Efficiency/weatherstripping-doors/Step-By-Step


texts: Can you use a chain for an old sharp chainsaw on an echo chainsaw?

texts: Can you use a chain for a sharp chainsaw on a echo chainsaw?


texts: How to make a small piece of wood smaller with limited tools

texts: I have a piece of pine that's 1/2" x 3/4". I want 1/2" x 1/2" and I can't seem to find that at the big box stores. For tools I have a jigsaw, circular saw but that's it. I don't really have money to invest in a bandsaw. What else can I use to make this smaller? Hand planer? I'm using this for an extension jamb on a window


texts: How to automatically open a regular window?

texts:
In the winter I always face an issue where I occasionally need to ventilate the room whenever the air feels "stiff". I cannot leave the window open since the air is too cold and doing it manually is a bit annoying.

Is there a system I can install on my window to automatically open it remotely? My windows are standard European plastic ones and look approximate like this:


texts: Why would a light switch be wired with the neutral wire?

texts: I'm having trouble installing a WEMO wall switch. The light I want to use it on is a single on/off switch, not a 3 way switch. When I remove the face plate, the neutral wire is wired to the light switch on its own. It's not connected to the other neutral wires that fit in the multiple light switch housing. I have tried connecting but it does not function. What does it mean when the neutral wire is connected to the light switch itself and not bundled with the other neutral wires?


texts:
I have a 25 y.o. ceiling that had popcorn, which has been removed and smoothed. I would like to apply knockdown mud so that it looks like this:

Is it necessary to prep the ceiling?  Is it enough to broom clean the ceiling?


texts: Removing washing paint stains from clothes

texts:
As house windows and doors was being painted by enamyl paint got paint stains on clothes how  can we remove wash or remove paint stains

The paint stain has been dried

tried white vinegar baking soda detergent hot water  tarpine oil kerosine oil thinner

There are many favorate clothes of family members and many places drops stains where many places drops stains  I want some solution chemical oil which I can soak the clothes in so that the paint stain can dissolve without harming clothes

Advice and helpful suggestions are thanful


texts: How do i properly use conduit across roof shingles?

texts:
I am grounding an antenna and I have two 10 gauge copper wires from the antenna and coax ground block to the ground rod and I am going to put the wires in some 3/8" flexible conduit. Is there a proper way to do this across shingles? I can't find anything online.  The way my roof is set up the highest peak is in the middle of the roof away from the side of the house so there is about 8 feet of wire running across the shingles on a side roof area. Do I need to have this raised off the roof or can I just lay it on there?

Here is a picture of how I have it temporarily, the edge of the photo is where the roof ends and it goes down to the ground rod.


texts: I recently had a recirculating pump installed in the far end of my system. (The master bathroom is at the far end of the house away from the water heater.) There are two outside faucets that are apparently tied into the cold water line. When I now turn the water on outside to water grass or plants, hot water comes out of the cold water tap as well as the hot water tap in the master bath without the recirculating pump coming on.


texts: Does FlexiSpan for foundation repair require an outside sealant?

texts:
I'm looking at foundation repair and Flexispan has been suggested.
My driveway runs along the side of one crack and drains away from the house. Not much water gets into that soil. The other crack is in the front yard which is graded away from the house. Neither really leak much.
I was told that any kind of injection and outside sealant will leak as the foundation shifts during the freeze/thaw cycle (I live in a winter climate). With this in mind, I was told that there is no need to dig up the outside foundation and apply a sealant or do an injection. Flexispan will catch the minimal amount of water that gets in and it will drain into a dry well created at the bottom of the crack.
I cannot find any home owner reviews of this system to answer my questions.

I was told it is a permanent solution and comes with something like a 30 or 35 year warranty. How well does this hold up in practice?

Is there a risk of water getting into the crack during winter, freezing and expanding the crack further if we don't apply an outside sealant?


texts:
I have an older mobile home, 80's model. the light switch in a bedroom busted out of the wall so I went to replace it only I am confused about the wiring.

Normally I am fine with this when replacing new lights and stuff but I think this was done wrong. There are two sets of wire bundles in the wall, each with a copper black and white. The switch had a black one the bottom side screw then a copper on the screw above it both from the same line. Then the two whites are put together. Then on the top screw is a wire with black on it and and not positive cause it got pulled out but the copper wire might have been on that same screw and if it wasn't then it was just there in the open.

What is going on? Does that mean two things were hooked up to the switch? But then what?


texts: What does code say about powered semi-permanent furniture?

texts:
I like to build things, and I've been drafting up plans for a headboard for quite a while now.  One of the things I want my headboard to have is a number of outlets, since laying on my bed is where I often realize I need to plug a device (charger for my laptop, etc) in.  I'm going to be moving around a fair amount (military), so I need this to be compliant with the most up-to-date codes.

I've worked with mains voltage before - and I'm very comfortable with electricity in general; I'm a computer engineer (so I normally work with much lower voltages).  I am not an electrician, and trying to read through the 2020 edition of the fire code to see what's even relevant to my situation is leaving me with a bit of a headache - not even sure where to look.

Here's the tentative plan: a heavy-duty appliance cord (3-prong) will be plugged into the wall in the bedroom, as the main source of power.  The other end will be wired to provide the power for an outlet on the headboard.  The connection from that outlet will be daisy-chained to a couple more outlets with some fairly robust romex, all hidden/built into the headboard.  Essentially it's a very physically large power strip.

I also plan on having some other electronics in the headboard - LED lights and such - but I'm not sure how the code relates to this.  Will keeping any separate-voltage wiring in a conduit be sufficient?

What things should I be aware of when building this to keep it up with code?  Do I need grounded boxes around the outlets, or will the blue plastic ones be sufficient?


texts:
My house is on a private road which is tarmaced. Immediately outside the house is a surface water drain. The drain appears to be silted up and im concerned a heavy storm could cause flooding around the house. As the drain is on a private road I can't ask the council to attend to it.

From the picture is it possible to identify what sort of drain this is - is it a soak away or does it drain into a sewer?

Most importantly, can anyone suggest a good way to unblock this drain, is it just a case of scooping out as much silt as I can? If I employed a company do tackle it, does anyone know how they would approach the problem?

Many thanks in advance.

EDIT: Just to say a local company quoted me £140 +VAT to use a 'jetvac' lorry. As the name suggests they use high water pressure to clear the drain and suck the silt away.


texts:
We live in an area with very hard water, and so the usual problems this creates.

One particular thing is that we get a lot of flakes of a chalky material building up in the shower head (We've got an "anti-limescale" shower head that you can dismantle to clean it). The shape and nature of these flakes suggests to me that they're the result of limescale building up inside a pipe somewhere in the system, then flaking off and travelling down the pipes until they get caught up in the shower head.

Is there any way I can work out where this buildup is happening, and stop it? Why does it only happen in the shower, and not in the normal taps?

If it makes a difference, it's an electric shower, wheras the other taps (bath, sink etc) are fed off the gas boiler.


texts: What should I consider regarding recessed lighting above kitchen sink?

texts: I'm planning to replace the million year old florescent light (I think it was the first one ever made) above my kitchen sink with a couple recessed lights.  Is there anything specific I should be thinking about when selecting the type of fixture / bulbs?


texts: tub overfowed, didn't realize floor and pad are wet. pulled up thought was dry. when i cover with pad and carpet gets wet

texts: I have been drying with space heater and dehumidifier,. however if i put carpet back it gets saturated. I am drying for several days, then cover with carpet, after 5 days carpet is dripping wet again.It is a corner about 3x4. I covered with foil and tape it wasn't wet just with pad and carpet. Stays dry if not covered


texts: When to use electrical tape rather than wire nuts?

texts: I was always under the impression that wire nuts created a better electrical connection than using electrical tape. I'm still under this impression and I think it is correct. However, I was taking apart a junction box in my basement last night and found a connection that piqued my interest. This is older wiring, so I was a little bit worried that maybe it was aluminum wiring, but it looks like it is copper. However I am unsure why there would be the coating /solvent / solder on here. The whole thing was then wrapped up in electrical tape. Is there a reason that this wasn't connected using a wire nut? It's not aluminum wiring, right?


texts: How can I extract more heat from my enclosed wood stove?

texts:
I recently moved into a house that has a working wood burner/multi fuel. It's the first time I've had a wood burner/stove/multi fuel and I'm unsure how to use it efficiently.

It's unlike conventional stoves that I see (it's all metal with no glass doors).
The heat output has so far been uninspiring and I was hoping it would be better.

So far we've been burning coal and some wood.

I'm looking for some pointers on how to maximise the heat output; should I run it with the doors open or shut? I have 2 vents on the bottom of the doors and something on the flue that turns (which I imagine shuts off the flue/chimney), do I run the top flue/vent wide open?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks :-)


texts: Installing floor threshold/transition - should I remove existing grout between wood laminate and ceramic tile?

texts:
I want to install a wood transition board where wood laminate meets ceramic tile at a basement bathroom doorway.

The previous homeowner grouted the joint between the ceramic and the wood laminate flooring - from what I am reading here, they should have instead either left it open or caulked it, as different materials expand differently, tending to cause any grout between them to crack.  The grout is a mess - a huge chunk apparently popped out at some point, and it is either cracked or not bonded to the laminate along its entire length, so it is essentially a glorified spacer that seals nothing.

Should I grind out the crummy grout seam and replace it with caulk (or leave the gap empty) before putting the transition down?  (I intend to use Liquid Nails(R) construction adhesive to bond the transition to the floor surface on both sides of the grout seam).


texts: Why does this toilet valve have corrosion on it?

texts:
I had a question about some corrosion on my toilet water supply line. I've provided a picture below.

What I was wondering are a few things.

1) What is the reason for this? Why would a valve start building up corrosion while my other bathrooms do not.

2) Is it something I need to worry about and replace or can I just wash it with some solution to remove the corrosion or if I don't replace it will it cause a bigger issue down the line.


texts: Why would our front door have opened by itself? It was locked. It has an entrance set - a latched, not deadbolt, knob handled, keyed on the outside and turnsnib on the inside style lock. We have had a 40 degree Celsius day and the aircon had been on all evening and there is a bit of wind outside. The door opens inwards.


texts: Low water pressure in one part of the house

texts:
The house that we are renting has decent water pressure inside and out the house, except for the en-suite bathroom to the main bedroom.

From what it looks to me, I think that the en-suite was an add on at a later stage to the house.

The water pressure is very low from all taps/shower/toilet in the en-suite.

Any idea as to how I can resolve this?


texts:
I am planning to install a high power dish washer. This dishwasher runs hot and the water is heated to 180 degrees during the wash cycle. One potential problem with this is that I have a septic system, so if I send such hot water into the septic tank, it will kill the helpful bacteria there.

How can I cool down the water before it reaches the septic tank?


texts: Relocating a toilet without weaking floor joists

texts: Can I drill a 4" hole in 2" x 10" floor joists 3' 6" from end of wall? I'm located in Ontario Canada if this is relevant.


texts: How to repair a closed-stringer staircase?

texts:
I need to replace the treads on my closed-stringer staircase. They are 100-year-old softwood with unsightly, disintegrating rubber covers glued on. One stringer is against the outer wall of the house, the other faces inwards, but removing it and getting it back on is well beyond my abilities at this time. They appear to be dadoed into the stringer. Is there a way to remove the old treads without taking the stringer off first? I suppose I could saw it off at the groove but I don't think that would be stable.

Update: Pictures


texts: How do I open this flush mounted light fixture?

texts:
Having trouble opening this light fixture to replace bulbs.  The blue/white glass appear to be one piece.  No visible screws or on base.  I tried twisting it open, but whoever installed the box behind it did a poor job (old work box) and now one of the butterfly wings is collapsed and it’s half-falling out of the wall.  I need to take it apart to re-deploy the old box wing, but right now I can’t open it at all.  It’s probably 20 years old.

Any suggestions?


texts: What should I check after my kitchen cabinets are resurfaced?

texts: I will be getting my kitchen cabinets resurfaced soon and was wondering when the job is done, what I should check to ensure that the job was well done?


texts: How do I soundproof a room behind an open doorway with little room for a proper door?

texts:
I've got a laundry room immediately behind a kitchen that will soon be doing double duty as a server room of sorts - a rack with a decent amount of computer gear is going into it.

If you know anything about rackmount equipment, you should know that it's generally loud. Imagine a few really good dust busters all running at the same time - that's what it sounds like.

I have two things working against me here:

Laminate flooring across 75% of the home that is an excellent sound reflector
The entrance to the room opens immediately into the kitchen, via an open doorway, which is centrally located in an open floor plan.

Result: The whole damn house can hear when this equipment is turned on.

And it's not just my computer equipment that's the problem here. A washer/dryer in the same room has the same problem in that it echoes out everywhere. To the point where you need to raise the volume on the living room TV when there's a load on.

With that in mind, I want to do some kind of sound isolation between this room and the kitchen. I don't care much about the sound through the walls, (thank god for good insulation) just that open doorway.

Putting an actual swinging or sliding door there probably wouldn't work. There's very little room on either side of the doorway for both rooms. That leads me towards a heavy sound-dampening curtain on both sides, but I question how effective that would be.

What should I be looking at, here?