texts: Heating system problem that kept happening at the house part far away from the heat boiler

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Not enough heat at the front house part far away from the heat boiler. The front house part had baseboard install but with the heat pipe through back of the house first, I am guessing that the heat energy is losing to the atmosphere before reaching the front house part.

What are some possible major reasons aside from mine that making the problem persist? Is it just because that heating system power isn't enough. I am sure that heat pipes aren't leaking.

It is a water heat using gas.

Notes: 1) Hot water heating 2) steel finned tube 3) It is controlled by one thermostat throughout the first floor(one unit on first floor but as large as the two combine in the second floor); two units on the second floor had its own boiler and separate thermostats respectively (so three boiler and three thermostats total) 4) Three Separate boiler is used in different units and only one pump is being used for first floor


texts: I'm looking for some cheap way to renovate my basement and make it warmer and quiter,any ideas?


texts: Does a ceiling fan need to be wired to a switch?

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I'm looking to install ceiling fans and recessed lighting in the bedrooms of my house. My thought was to tie the fans into the existing outlet wiring and just have them be on constant power, controlled by remote and pull cords. The recessed lighting would use the existing lighting wiring and switch. This would mean no having to muck around with adding a separate wall switch for the fan and would simplify the job a bit, and since I don't plan to use a light kit on the fans I really see no benefit in being able to turn the fan off at a switch.

Is there anything I'm missing with this idea? I've tried searching but can't really find anything about problems with wiring a fan to a constant power source, all the instructions out there include using a switch. I feel like maybe I'm missing something...


texts: What is the purpose of this PCB next to air pressure switch? Do I need it?

texts:
I recently noticed the whole house humidifier (installed by the previous owner) stopped working (Honeywell 280A).  Filter dry, no flow, no click from the solonoid valve.

I did some investigation and figured I had a bad solonoid valve.

After installation, I noticed a bad smell (burning plastic / electric) that seemed to be coming from the board in the housing next to the air pressure switch.
After looking closely, one of the components looked toasty.

I did tons of searching to try and find this part but no joy.

After getting really frustrated, I finally wondered.. what the heck does this board do anyway?  And do I need it?  after all, the humidostat and air pressure switch are just a series of switches that need to be closed to start water flow.... (right?).

So I omitted the board, and simply put the humidostat and air pressure switch in series and... everything seems to work great.

My question is:
- What function does this board fulfill?
- Why can I not find it anywhere for sale?  (Every offering for an air pressure switch only includes the mechanical air pressure switch, and not this board).
- Am I a fool to run the system in the (simplistic) way I have it set up currently?

(Pic of PCB attached).  Thanks in advance!
--Dave


texts:
I have a summer house outside in the United Kingdom and yesterday I noticed that one of the internal lights had stopped working.

I assumed a blown bulb since the other lights still worked.

Today I've gone to change the bulb and removed the light fixture and found it as pictured.

These lights are probably nearly 15 years old. What's happened here?

To me it looks like a fire at some stage, however it was working up until around 2 weeks ago and I'm not sure how long it has been like this.

I will get an electrician either way since I have no idea however I'm just wondering what's happened?


texts: Reservoir tank continues to slowly fill and won't stop

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Sometime recently my toilet reservoir tank would not stop filling. It fill the tank to its normal capacity until the float is raised. Once that is done it continues to fill really slow. You probably wouldn't notice it unless it was really quiet and then you could hear the flow.

If left alone it would eventually reach the overflow. So it is no a case of the float level being above the overflow. If I was to pull the float up as high as it comfortably goes the flow persists.

The toilet is working normally. During this slow flow the water is not filling in the bowl so this issue should be limited to the resevoir. There are no leaks outside of the tank that I can find so I think the issue is with the ballcock?


texts:
I need to make my bolts flush - they're M2 with nuts on the other side. The  wood will have acrylic glued over the top so I need a flat surface.

I'm confused about how to select an appropriate countersink.


texts: What types of tubing can I use with Push-to-Connect fittings?

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I'm running a hydrogen gas system that's below 15 psi. All of my fittings are Push-to-Connect fittings of either 3/16", 1/4", or 5/16" OD from SMC. What sort of tubing can I use with this?

Would everyday hardware store vinyl tubing work fine? Nylon tubing? ATP Vinyl-Flex PVC? I can't find any literature about this on the SMC website.


texts: Integrate ceiling fixture into Hue system

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I have an antique chandelier that I've wired directly into the ceiling, and I'd like to integrate it into my hue system. Hue makes chandelier bulbs, but I really want to use filament bulbs, which Philips does not make in chandelier bulb size.
The only option I am aware of for controlling non-hue bulbs with the hue system is the smart wall plug, which is designed for a plug-in outlet. I have considered terminating the chandelier cable with a standard wall plug, and then wiring the Hue smart plug into the ceiling via the exposed wires. I have no idea how good or bad an idea this might be. Does this in any way sound like a reasonable approach? Are their other approaches to allow a ceiling fixture to be controlled by the Hue?
Thank you.


texts: Apartment boiler system. Very hot water coming out of cold water tap

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My family and I live in an apartment. There is very hot water coming out of the cold water taps, and the toilet. I know it's summer so I expect some. In order to get even mildly cool water we have to flush the toilet, or let the water run for at least 20 minutes. The issue is just getting worse. I've put work orders into the landlord. The plumber said that this is normal. It is not. We have lived here for 3 years almost 4. This just started a few months ago and has gotten progressively worse.

After my work out I take cold showers because my apartment does not have A/C. I let the water run to purge the hot water from the pipes. In the shower we only get luke warm water now. There is no cold water on a single hand mixer. That is even when it is supposed to be on the cold area completely. After 15 minutes in the shower the water was still luke warm, no cold water coming through. While rinsing off I was burned on my inner thighs and genital area, 1st degree. I double checked the temperature gauge. Completely in the blue area. I need help. Please. I think this plumber's experience is working against him.

If anyone in our apartment building uses the water at all we finally get a bit of somewhat cold water (approx 80-90 deg F). We shouldn't get hotter water coming through when it is on the cold. As far as I can tell the boiler is dieing but I'm not sure. What can I do to help my landlord?


texts:
I'm in need of a tool to tighten a nut such as shown below:

Because of the tight space (area below the basin faucet), I'm never had success with the many wrenches that I used. At last, I came to know about the basin wrench which (as shown in the pic above) seem to be just what I'm looking for.
The problem
I'm from India and I cannot find this wrench anywhere in the online market (Amazon shows a couple results but they are from global store and cost a lot). I also tried a couple of local shops but they didn't seem to recognize it.
So, is there an alternative to this tool that I can get it at my place?
Some more information
These are the wrenches that I've tried and failed owing to space constraints.


texts:
I have a laundry room attached to the back of the house (was done by previous owner). Recently I found a leak (due to some nail wrongly on the shingle exposed). But then when I "uncover" below the roof which is the ceiling, I saw this structure:

Just to help understand better, here is the framing NOW:

The "blue" is roof rafters of the existing home structure. I suspected the previous owner built out a patio roof section and then add the laundry room which is the "red" color rafters above. However, the laundry roof was "hang" on the "green" lumber w/ U-bracket and use it as a "ledger".

What are my options? I am thinking:

Option 1: Do nothing. It's just 4.5 feet so that 2x4 ledger might be good enough?

Option 2: Redo the entire roof of the laundry room by doing the below. Basically re-run the rafters higher so it's on top of the existing beam ( 2x 2x4 on top of the gray studs):

Please advise.


texts: Concealing led strip light power supplies in a porch ceiling

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I live in Ohio in a home built in the 50's. A very large back porch was added onto the home years later with a roof. It has the typical vinyl ceing. It has one light in the center of the ceiling controlled by a switch inside the home. I wish to remove the light and replace it with a non-lighted ceiling fan. I want to run power from the fans junction box to a separate one. My plan is to add 4 each of 12' LED tape light runs in metal channels that will be powered/switched from the switch in the house. The fan will have the pull chain to control it so when I turn the switch off in the house it will kill power to the fan and the tape lights.

Now for the meat of this post; I assume (I may be an idiot, not a complete one) I have to cut an access hole in the vinyl and add a nice looking access panel. Am I allowed, by code, to cut the plugs off of the two power supplies and hard wire them into a junction box? Do I have to screw a box in the ceiling to hide the two transformers (one for two runs) directly above the access panel or is this not allowed at all? Any and all help would be appreciated. I have to do this as cheaply and easily as possible while remaining in code. Thanks.


texts:
This is more general repair than home DIY, hopefully right place for it.

I tried getting something out of a snowboard bag and found it was sealed by corroded zippers. I'm not sure why this happened as I've stored it like I have for years: off the floor in a dry-ish garage. Here are photos:

The zippers barely budge, and I applied a decent amount of force to the zipper pulling the zipper and bag away from each other almost parallel to the zipper track. I'm considering using plyers and pulling much harder, and I wondered about first cleaning the corrosion with vinegar or using a lubricant. I figured I'd get some better informed opinions first.

How can I get this zipper back in working order? Less important, I wonder how this happened in the first place and how to prevent it from happening again.


texts: Can I vent a stove hood and bathroom fan through the same duct?

texts:
I'm adding a stove hood and a bathroom exhaust fan.  They will be about 3 feet apart in the attic.  Is it ok to connect them to the same duct via a Y?

Thanks!


texts: Can I plug a 120 volt generator into a 240 transfer switch with a modified cord/connector?

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The four terminal plug in the transfer switch I have has neutral, ground and two hot wires, labeled "X" and "Y" for the black and red wires in a four wire set up.  This is for a very low amp cabin set up.  I have a generator but it does not provide 220/240 volts.  It seems in theory that I should be able to run 1/2 of my breaker panel by modifying a cord and running just one hot wire to one of the hot terminals in the 240 V. plug at the transfer switch.  But I am mystified as to how this would actually be wired.

Any suggestions as to how this may be done or why it won't work?  Other than get a 120V transfer switch or a 240 generator?


texts: How do I remove THIN layer of carpet glue from concrete?

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The folks who owned this house before us were the cheapest people around. They glued carpet to our concrete floor with a very thin layer of glue. Now, I'm having a terrible time scraping it off. I tried using some adhesive remover we got from Lowe's, but it doesn't really seem to be having any effect other than making it wet :(

My local hardware stores include: Locke & Lowe's. There's also a local store that rents tools, but I'm not sure the extent of their selection, I was able to rent an auger there once for digging fence poles, just as an example.

Any suggestions on solvents? Tools?


texts: Can a 15 amp electrical switch be used to replace a push button switch for garage door opener?

texts: My garage door opener switch was run to a 3 gang box and just dangles through the opening in the switch cover plate. Can I use a 15 amp switch to open/close the garage door or do I need some other type toggle switch?


texts: What type of damage can power surges do?

texts:
I've lived in this apartment for a couple of years and electricity have always been bad (a demand in power from a device systematically causes others to fade off).

I know that a power surge can cause serious/fatal damage to appliances but I'm seeking about the nature and mechanism of those effects.

Specifically, I'd like to know if those events are correlated together and to the electrical variability of the apartment:

1) Micro-wave and fridge recently stopped working (same beaker) at about the same time (fridge compressor didn't die though).
2) Now the PSU of the desktop is making extreme noise and I'm getting pretty convinced that I should stop using it.

So is it possible for power surges to inflict partial damage on electrical devices and if yes, is it likely?


texts: Is there a simple way to convert from a pull switch to a toggle switched light fixture?

texts: I would like to replace a bathroom vanity light fixture in 100 year old house. It currently has a pull string on/off switch.  Is there a simple way to convert to a switched light fixture?  The switch can be located fixture.  How can I simply surface mount a switch for a new vanity light?


texts:
I have installed a 4" oatley vent flashing and drilled holes in roof and walls with a 4-1/8 bit.  Unfortunately the radon coupler out of the concrete is only 3".  This was a plumbing mistake and long past.  I am pretty sure I will just adapt from 3" to 4" so the roof flashing seals properly.

There is 3" pipe already ran to the attic from the basement.  Should I rerun 4 inch pipe all the way from the concrete 3" coupler, or just use the adapter in the attic before I go out the roof?


texts: How do I determine how my outlets and switches were wired after I removed them all?

texts: I have very little electrical knowledge. I now believe I have done one of the most ignorant things I've ever done. Updating my home to sell, figured I'd switch out the switch and outlets. And here we go. I removed all outlets and switches all at once. Just figured black, white, ground. Nope not at all that's not how it works. I am lost where to start, I've been searching for whatever type of wires are in the box, that doesn't work either. The only switch I've been able to properly change is the important on, the bathroom. I appreciate any guidance at all.


texts:
It's stuck now. So I am trying to remove it to clean or replace.

Searched videos on youtube and didn't get any insight yet.

Any tips about how to remove this knob is appreciated!


texts: What is the minimum size conduit/mast required for a 100 amp overhead service?

texts: What is the minimum size conduit/mast required for a 100 amp single phase 240 volt overhead electrical service?


texts: What adhesive to use when tiling the fireplace hearth?

texts:
I am tiling the wood burning fireplace hearth and it gets really hot especially in the top-middle.
I am wondering what kind of adhesive should I use for this purpose? I don’t want it fail due to high heat and would like to get some advise.

Thank you


texts: Is untreated aluminium suitable as an LED heat sink?

texts:
I'd like to have a 5m LED strip lighting directed upwards from around 1m height (would be behind a desk and other furniture). My idea was a simple U shaped aluminium profile (so it can be screwed to the wall and will provide cover preventing directly seeing the strip), but I'm not sure how to put up a profile with screws when you have only 30 mm space between the two parallel sides of the U profile. So now I'm thinking an L shaped aluminium profile like this

with the 'vertical' side 'outside' (so not on the wall) for covering, and holding in place with something like this

Is an untreated aluminum profile suitable for cooling LEDs? If so, should I get the 2 mm or the 3 mm thick one?

What treatments can they do with aluminium? Should I try to look for some with treatment?

Any ideas how to better solve the problem?

Thanks!


texts: I need to fix this slightly pushed in tile and get it looking normal again. Can anybody advise on what I should do, e.g. what to buy and general instructions/technique? I'm worried that it's going to fall through! ,  and . Thanks!


texts:
How to fix the blade ? Not sure I am missing a bolt or screw. Sun joe electric wired lawn mower
The picture shows the mower, the blade and a cap which fits. But if I just put the cap, it will come off


texts: How prevent water drainage from neighbor's yard?

texts:
Most of our back/side yard is 3'-5' lower than our neighbors'.During winter rainstorms water drains under the fence from their barely landscaped yard  and stands in low spots AND at our house slab. A newly installed 75 gal sump which we pump out doesn't solve the problem, especially  since we removed a large Monterey Pine on the fence line at their request.
Think there's now a CA law requiring residents to keep water originating on their property to on that property. I'll try again to talk to them, but I would prefer to hire a professional with drainage experience to write a report or talk to them about it? Sugggestions besides engineer? Rainy season won't go on forever! GThanks a million


texts: building house aprox 150000 pounds using 6x6 posts--what is recomended spacing from 3ft high to 12 ft high

texts: new home construction for home 36ft x 36ft with 8ft deck at high end. what should spacing 6x6 concreted in at 4ft deep with one end of house 3ft high and 12ft at high end with deck


texts: Is permeable concrete suitable for a houses foundations?

texts: I'm curious if using permeable or pervious concrete for all or part of a houses foundations would provide excellent flood protection? Would it be strong enough to support a house and if not could it be used in conjunction with other construction material or normal concrete to achieve this aim? Thank you!


texts:
I've noticed two holes forming in the ground, under and around my garage (so no basement or anything under that location. The house is about 3 years old.

The first is under driveway, just in front of the garage (there's a cavity under the asphalt there, maybe about 6" deep and 6" wide):

The second is immediately under the wall of the garage, on the other side of the (two-car) garage door from the driveway hole (note also the crumbling mortar to the left of the hole):

I have several questions about this:

Are these holes potentially related, or are they far enough apart that they're more likely separate issues?
Should I be concerned about any of these issues, and if it's hard to say from my pictures/descriptions, who would I call to investigate?
What is causing the driveway hole? Can it simply be filled in, or would it require a bigger fix?
What is causing the hole under the wall? Is it just settling or soil washing away? Can I simply fill it with more dirt?
What caused the mortar to crumble? Is that usually the sign of more crumbling, or is it sometimes just an isolated instance?


texts: Locating (and, more importantly, removing) mysterious foot smell?

texts:
I've just purchased (and moved into) a new house. (New to me; the house was built in 1994). I noticed when I did my initial viewing was that a single spot in the living room seemed to have the smell of stinky feet. I just wrote it off as an unfortunate personal problem with the previous owner, but even after having the carpets cleaned and moving my stuff in, the smell is still there.

Any ideas how I can go about finding the source of the smell and getting rid of it?


texts:
We recently got a nearly double electrical bill during the previous cycle.  I, wrongly, assumed it was just a fluke and my family had left some things on longer than they were supposed to.  This billing cycle we got a bill 320% of our normal bill!

While I was at work, I had my wife try to identify where the power draw was coming from by shutting off all the breakers and enabling them one at a time until one was identified.  She found a breaker (we'll call it 17/19 for the purpose of discussion) that was drawing a LOT of energy.  It spins about 4x times the speed of our kitchen breaker, which has a new 'fridge on it.  However, we have no idea what the 17/19 breaker even powers!  It doesn't seem to turn off any lights or heaters.  We have it off for now, but I'd really appreciate some suggestions of how to figure out where that circuit goes.  Also, how it could be drawing so much energy! Some sort of short?

The house was built in the mid-60s and we're the recent 2nd owners.  We lived in the house for about 6 months before this started happening.


texts: How would you fix an inflection point on engineered hardwood?

texts:
Looks like I didn't have a perfectly level subfloor and now, there's a slight inflection (peak) in the finished installation of the 1/2" inch engineered maple hardwood floor.

Other detail, my girlfriend thinks I'm insane with this. She's probably right.


texts: c wire on a multi taco zone valve boiler

texts:
looking for assurance on what I think is the right setup to add a c wire to a current 2 wire zone setup. See pic of transformer junction box.
Currently I have 3 zones using one transformer and 3 taco zones. All stats use 2 wires, Rh and w.
Looking at my transformer setup it looks like they took all the stat wires from the different apartments, zones, bundled them up and connected all the Rh wires pigtailed together to one of the leads on the transformer. ( see pics. Note I didn't remove junction cover yet )
I'm assuming they then pigtailed all the W wires from the stats along with all the wires from taco zone terminal 1 together and pigtailed together to the other transformer lead. Then took taco zone terminals 2/3 pigtailed out of the junction box (I saw the 2 wire cable go to relay box) to relay then boiler on the t terminals.
My doubt is if I introduce a new stat wire for c, where do I connect the c wire. Should that go on the bundle of wires that connect the stat W and zone valve terminal 1?? Or is there a better way.
Also the transformer terminalit doesn't seem to be marked with + or - so am assuming you can just connect the R/W to any terminal as long as it's consistent.[![enter image description here nhi][2]
Thanks very much for the forum and everyone that's been helping.
Paul
[2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/M7vrA.jpg![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bU3DV.jpg)


texts:
In one of the bedrooms in my house (1930s), there is a sunken alcove where an old window used to be, the internal sill is still there. Whoever bricked up the window used bricks much thinner than the rest of the wall, resulting in the 11cm deep internal alcove.

Because it's so thin, the wall here gets really cold resulting in condensation ruining the paintwork. I'm planning on blocking up the alcove with some stud work, but I was wondering what kind of insulation I should use? Should I be concerned about the condensation, or is that likely to go away once the insulation and stud work is done? Is there a better way to fill the alcove?


texts: Add a treadmill and refrigerator to the wall outlet in my garage without tripping any circuit breakers?

texts:
I rent a house in the US and recently have decided I’d like to add a refrigerator and exercise treadmill to my garage. The washer and dryer are already plugged into a receptacle in the garage  so I was hoping that the new additions could plug into a second receptacle.
I don’t want to trip any breakers with all these new appliances, especially if they were all to run at the same time  so I tried to figure out if the washer/dryer are on their own dedicated circuit, as well as which circuit powers the receptacle I’d like to use for the new additions.
I’m green when it comes to this sort of stuff. In my panel box there’s a circuit labeled “washer/dryer”  but flipping it off does not power off anything in the house. I’ve tried the other breakers  and combinations of them  but nothing seems to power off the washer/dryer or the other garage receptacle.
The ONLY thing that works is flipping off the 100amp double pole breaker, which shuts off everything in the house as well.
What’s going on here?
Can I safely assume that adding a treadmill and fridge to the garage won’t create excessive electrical load, since they are seemingly on a 100 amp breaker?
(I feel like I’m missing something here)


texts: 14ft Ceiling beam sagging 5/8" - what to do?

texts:
First some background:

Our home is a 2 story detached.  On the main floor it is entirely open concept, with a ~14' drywalled horizontal support beam separating the kitchen from the living room area.  This "beam" (i call it that because i don't know exactly what is behind the drywall yet) comes down from the ceiling about 1.5 feet and has trim on it etc...  The home is about 7 years old.  We were the 2nd owners of the home (it's a builder home).  We have 9' tall ceilings on the main floor.  Our master bedroom & bathroom are directly above this area. The bathroom has a soaker tub and a separate tile shower.  We have had no issues with windows or doors not opening/closing properly.

What's happening

When we purchased the house, we noticed in the upstairs master bedroom (which is directly above the kitchen) that the floor was pretty squeaky when walking on it.  We had the seller 'fix' it but whatever they did, didn't last very long as the squeaking returned shortly after we moved in.  That was about 5 years ago.

Over the years we had noticed a couple straight almost hairline vertical cracks in the drywall surrounding the support beam on the main floor.  Definitely seemed like tearing of the drywall tape.  Last month we had our basement finished and one of the contractors pointed out that there is a bit of a sag in support beam that we never noticed until now.  They got out a laser level & confirmed the beam is sagging about 5/8" in the middle of the 14 foot span it is supporting and there is some slight bowing in the ceiling near the beam.  There are no cracks in the actual ceiling yet, just the beam.   We have not noticed any water damage in the ceiling.

We just patched the cracks around the beam and have started measuring the distance from the middle of the beam to the floor on a monthly basis and are watching to see if the cracks come back.

Part of me wants to open the ceiling and get a home inspector in here to evaluate the cause but i don't want to open the drywall unnecessarily either.

We are kind of freaking out about it, now every little crack we find in the house makes us wonder if it's related...

We are not particularly handy people and are unsure how to approach this problem, so any advice would be most appreciated.


texts: Which floor should be done first when updating a multi-family residence?

texts:
I'd like to renovate a 3 family rental property but don't know which floor is best to start on.  The house was built in 1896.  The electrical was recently updated prior to purchasing it in 2008.  The kitchens and bathrooms are in dire need and this is the area where I am not sure if it is better to do the 3rd floor or the 1st floor first if I need to replace plumbing.

I also can't have all 3 apts vacant at the same time.  The 1st floor is leaving Jan 1st 2012 but paying until end feb due to breaking her lease 3 months early (may 2012) so I have 2 free months to start on the first floor.
Of course back then, they put all the bathrooms under neath stair wells.  The 2nd floor bathroom is the least attractive since it is so small and the sloped ceiling.  The 1st is then next worst and the 3rd floor bathroom is the most modern/attractive since it is not under a staircase.

What are some things to consider?  If I started on the first floor how do can I prepare so that when I am ready to refurbish the 2nd (and 3rd) floor bathroom(s) I can do it without ripping into the 1 st floor?  The 2nd floor is not vacant.


texts: The oven tripped the circuit breaker after replacing a heating element in the oven. Turned the circuit breaker back on and it worked for about a minute and then tripped again.


texts: hot water coming from cold faucets in one building only,

texts: We have 5 buildings roughly with 18 - 21 units each. (a-e). the apartments have 2 boilers that heat up the complex. they are located in the same room next to building A.. building A is getting warm to hot water from there cold side of there fixtures (kitchen, bathroom and shower). we have changed all cartridges from the showers in the building, we have replaced all single handle fixtures to double handles in kitchen and bathroom sinks. warn to hot water is still coming out the cold side of that building (A). as of now i'm stumped why this is happening. any suggestions would help. thank.


texts: Searching for replacement keys for specific window lock

texts:
I have this window lock on two of the windows in my flat:

The key required for this is hexagonal, and it has a pin hole in the centre.

Here is the lock in context:

Does anyone recognise the lock, and know where I could buy replacement keys from?

Thanks


texts: BX cable connection to vapor tight luminaire

texts: I have some vaportight luminaires that I plan to install in a garage. The garage has bare stud walls, so all wiring is run in 3/8" BX armored cable. The luminaires came with a cable gland connection and approximately 1 ft of SOOW wire stubbed out. I can open the fixture and remove the wiring, but the BX cable is much too large to fit through the gland. My understanding of the electrical Code (Salt Lake City) is that all exposed wiring in garages has to be protected from damage. I don't believe SOOW wiring is rated for permanent installation. How should I connect the BX cable to this light?


texts: Door sticking, frame no longer square, is this serious?

texts:
I'm a rookie home owner. My "mudroom" door (never heard that term before this house) has started to stick. The house was built in 1952. At the time it was just the house, and the garage and mudroom were both additions. There is no access under either the mudroom or the garage.

Checking it recently, I notice:

The gaps on the side and tops of the door are now inconsistent from side to side, top to bottom. Door is definitely askew in the frame.
The top of the door frame is no longer truly straight, but bowed slightly
In the wood that forms the area around the window to the right of the door, there is a hairline gap between the planks that appears to be bigger than any on the other side.
Above the door, there is a hairline gap between the vertical and horizontal joint.

It's hard to check level, since both the top and the bottom of the door frame are bowed slightly.

My questions, knowing I can only give a rough description:

Is this common, or should I be worried?
What's the ballpark cost (cost ranges) to set this right?
Who would be qualified to check this out? A home inspector? Is it serious enough for a structural engineer?

Pics, inside:
Top of Door, showing uneven gaps
Just to right of door, showing crack above and split betweeen panels
Bottom of door, showing uneven gaps

Pics, outside:
Base of door, showing crack in block
Left of door, showing minor crack
Right of door, showing bigger crack


texts: How to tell if a ceiling junction box is braced to hold the weight of a ceiling fan?

texts:
My new home is almost done being built, and one of the extras I asked for was for two of the rooms to have junction boxes in the ceiling suitable for hanging a ceiling fan in the future.

The light fixtures haven't been installed yet so I can see inside the junction boxes but can't really distinguish between the braced boxes and the regular boxes.  The attic is extremely limited access so I want to avoid crawling around up there to look for a brace.

Is there a quick or easy way to distinguish between a junction box that is able to carry the weight of a ceiling fan safely versus one that is not?  I could just take their word for it but they haven't had a very reliable track record so far when it comes to following through with my requests even when they tell me they will do it.


texts: getting home heat treated for bedbugs - what could be damaged?

texts:
So I was thinking about getting my home heat treated for bed bugs. That involves bringing the temperature up to 125 degrees per https://www.abchomeandcommercial.com/austin/pest-control/bed-bugs . My question is...  what can be damaged at that temperature?

Should I be worried about my electronic devices? What about stuff like protein powder or cereal or what not?


texts:
Our Whirlpool GJC3034R Cooktop needs to be replaced so while doing the research I realized that it is rated 40A (here is the excerpt from the manual):

  A 4-wire or 3-wire, single phase, 240 volt, 60 Hz., AC only electrical
  supply is required on a separate, 40-amp circuit, fused on both sides
  of the line.

but when I checked the panel I noticed it was installed on double 30A breaker and was operational for last 8 years like that.

I'm about to purchase a replacement but that one is also rated as 40A.

Anyway, is it okay to install a 40A appliance on a double 30A breaker and am I correct in thinking that the worst thing that can happen is a tripped breaker if we try using all four elements simultaneously?

EDIT

As suggested by someone in the comments section I checked the element wattage of the Maytag MEC7430BB which I intend to purchase and it was 8600 Watts combined. Converted to amps that is 35.83 so again, as long as we don't use all 4 elements simultaneously the strength of the current will be below 30A and all should be fine, other than the possibility of a tripped breaker,... or it also depends on the gauge of the wire?


texts:
I recently had a sewer line replaced, and part of the walkway to the house was dug up. I'll be getting a new walkway put in sometime in the summer, but until I do, and especially when the spring arrives, I'd like to have something to temporarily act as a walkway instead of the mud that currently exists.

The area to be covered (roughly) is marked in red in the photo below.  I don't care about aesthetics, but am looking for  suggestions of how to make a cheap temporary walk.


texts: How do I calculate the concrete needed for a fence post?

texts:
I'm trying to determine how much concrete I'll need to set fence posts for a 6ft tall privacy fence. From what I've read these are the parameters I'll be using for each post hole.

Post: 4in x 4in x 8ft

Hole Diameter: 12in

Hole depth: 30in (6in of gravel + 24in for post)

When I calculate the concrete needed, do I use the 30in depth or just the 24in for the part of the post in the ground? At the moment I plan on using 3-50lb bags of sakrete fast drying per hole. Is this too much, too little, or just enough?


texts: How to repair the caulking around basement walkout doors and what to use?

texts:
Another waterproofing question: our basement has a walkout door that is leaking from where the metal doors meet the concrete base. Three pictures from inside and one from outside are attached below. The metal doors extend beyond the small stop at the top of the stairs, so rain is draining (correctly) to the outside perimeter. However water is able to weep inside. There was old, probably latex-based caulk on both sides of the door stop, which apparently failed.
How do I repair this? Do I have to clean out the existing caulk and start fresh? Or is it possible to clean it and add a compatible latex-based caulk?
If I have to start from scratch, what should I use? I found several suggestions for caulking concrete (similar to this question plus hydraulic cement):

Hydraulic cement
Quikrete polyurethane sealant
Silicone caulk
Latex-based Drylok waterproofer

Walkout door inside 1

Walkout door inside 2

Walkout door inside 3

Walkout door outside 1

Walkout door outside 2

Walkout door outside 3


texts: I bought a mirror 9ft *4ft and image is alright till 10 ft away from the mirror after that it's distorting the image and thickening it.How can I solve this problem?


texts: Using Patch Panel for CAT6a wiring from attic to closet

texts:
We have run CAT6a cable throughout our house and will be placing the network switches in a closet.  The wiring will enter the closet from a wall backing to the attic space (we aren't coming down from the ceiling).  Currently the cable is running through conduit within the wall.
Should we run the cables to a patch panel in the network cabinet OR I was considering placing a patch panel on the wall so the front facing into the closet and the back is the attic space?
I like the idea of a patch panel in the wall as I can simply plug from there into the switches (seems convenient enough) but interested in validation if this is really prudent or not.  Another consideration would be the heat exchange from the attic space to the closet (via the patch panel).


texts: What is the use for this different threading near the head of a large screw?

texts:
I'm inquiring about the strange threading at the base of this screw:

These were used in somewhat heavy-duty outdoor construction. What is the purpose of that corkscrew, and is it safe to replace it with a similarly sized regular woodscrew?

I inquired about it in two stores, and neither could tell me the purpose.


texts: I am not that knowledgeable with mold. On my exterior front door by the head and the door stop I have mold growing. I checked the drywall and it doesn't seem to have any water damage. I was thinking to wipe away the mold but I thought it might comeback twice as worse so I wanted to check and see what the community had to say.


texts: How do I deal with a loose lightbulb socket on our ceiling fan?

texts:
When my wife and I bought our house, there were two ceiling fans with multiple light fixtures (4 inside a plastic enclosure and 4 "exposed" within glass lampshades. On one of the fans, one of the lampshaded fixtures seems to be "loose", moreso with the LED bulb we have in it. It typically won't turn on when we turn on the bulb. Tightening or loosening it often causes it to work for a time, but it will semi-randomly wink out after that, presumable because it moves out of place. Running the fan on it accelerates the process, probably through vibration. It's just the one fixture. We've tried rotating the other bulbs into it, but it's just that location.

Is there something I can do without replacing the entire fan, maybe some sort of putty to increase the grip of the fixture?


texts: Is it safe to turn on sprinklers in spring and just drain backflow preventer if freeze is pending?

texts:
I live in Colorado, it's quite dry here and can be quite warm in the middle of winter. If I blow out my sprinklers before the first freeze and don't water again until after the last freeze of the spring my lawn will be dead (edit: not really dead, but damaged, in much worse condition than neighbors). So I drag a hose and sprinkler out several times in late fall/early winter and also again in the spring.

In the spring, would it be safe to just turn the system on earlier and just drain the backflow preventer if a freeze is incoming, since the buried lines are less likely to freeze?

I'd love a system that didn't require winterization, but don't think that exists.


texts: Why did my mains trip when I used a multimeter on a disabled socket?

texts:
Here in the UK, I turned off a socket at the consumer unit. I confirmed the socket was dead with a socket tester. I confirmed the socket was dead via an appliance. I then unscrewed the socket and started testing all the live-neutral wires both ways with a multimeter set to 750 AC Voltage. Then, the consumer unit turned off electricity to the whole house and I was left thinking that I should never touch electrical circuits ever again.
But, for my curiosity, how did the consumer unit get to a state where it thought it should protect me from myself?
The box was double-socket and had two live, two neutral and two earth wires.


texts: Building a Mezzanine Office 2x10s or 2x122

texts: Working on building a mezzanine in my shop for a small office. I am currently trying to figure out the best way to build it. I am thinking 2x6 walls 24OC and 2x10s 12OC. 16 FT Span. Should I upgrade to 2x12s 16OC or will the 2x10s work?


texts:
I have some condensation issues inside a few bedrooms in my house, and I want to install trickle vents on the existing uPVC windows. They are old (20+ years), and I am hoping to get a few more years out of them before replacing. The frame is very narrow, at only 4cm wide. I know that trickle vents can be installed on wider frames, but I'm curious to know if there is a minimum size, is there any chance I'd hit the glass when drilling through?
Can I still install these vents on my windows?
Thanks in advance!
P.S. I'm installing a PIV, and need trickle vents to ensure that I'm getting proper ventilation in each of the rooms affected, not just the one room with an existing trickle vent.


texts: What are some cheap (and landlord friendly) ways to fix a drafty flat?

texts:
The worst affected seems to be my room. It is the end of the turret with a massive vent (now gaffa-tape sealed) I will be sitting by the wall and actually feel the freezing cold air against my neck from the wall. The radiator seems to do nothing to help matters.

I have put tin foil behind the radiator (not sure if it has helped yet because the weather is warmer than what it was before I did it), but the radiator is on a different (and much less breezy) wall.

I took some steps to solve the draft in the flat (still a way to go mind), but I am at a loss on how to fix the back wall in a cheap way. I thought about tin foil but then I very quickly realised I would not be happy to have tin foil on my wall.

The landlord said he was sympathetic about cold but that they don't like vents being closed because of worry about damp/black stuff growing on walls. I did notice that some wallpaper came away from the wall when I closed the vent but at the same time it is in a stupid place if ever there was one.

Would stapling a decorative material help matters? Or maybe I could get away with hiding tin foil behind some decorative wall cloth so it does the job but looks half decent too?

Note about rental: I think I can get away with a bit of stapling/nailing but I cannot do anything to permanently alter the wall.


texts: MDF (particle board) edge sealing for smooth painted finish

texts:
I am working with CNC routers and a lot of MDF, which is great UNLESS you need to paint the edges which are furry in some spots and all open and porus everywhere else.

I build plinths that need to be enamel smooth and show no seams or texture changes.

I have tried so far

  Watered PVA (does not capture the hairs, cannot be sanded back as it
  does not penetrate very far)

  Builders bog/Bondo (to sticky to apply easily, high build means
  sanding it back tends to eat away at the corners)

  Automotive Primer-Filler spray, a perfect finish.... in only 18 coats.

  Fine spackle filler (terrible texture)

Does anyone out there have the magic bullet?

I'm wondering of a lighter sealant or resin would wick into the wood deeper?
Run a torch over the hairy bits?


texts: What is the optimal duty cycle for a furnace?

texts:
A heat load calculation of my home says it requires ~36K BTU/hr of heat at a normal winter temperature (40°F), and ~52K BTU/hr at the design temperature (24°F).

An HVAC contractor has proposed installing a 95% efficiency two stage furnace that operates at either 60K BTU or 39K BTU. This makes me wonder what the optimal duty cycle is for a furnace. It seems that on a 24°F day, my furnace will be running 82% of the time. I'm unclear how a two stage furnace would split operation between high and low, so I don't know how much it would run on a 40°F outdoor temperature.

How much of an hour should be a furnace be running for optimal comfort or optimal efficiency, if they're different?


texts: how to control all shop lights from one motion sensor shop light

texts: So I recently replace a big 8 ft CCFL shop light with 3 smaller 4 ft shop lights.  1 has a motion sensor built in.  My thought when I bought them was to install the motion sensor might above the garage door, wire the hot and neutral coming from the switch to the motion sensor and then use the 2 prong outlet built into each light to connect the other two in series to each other.  Then I leave the switch on and all the lights come on when the motion sensor trips and turns off after the time out time.  In practice with the switch on the 2 normal shop lights stay on all the time and the motion sensor turns on and off as expected.   Here is the model shop light I'm using https://www.costco.com/Feit-4-ft.-Linkable-LED-Utility-Motion-Sensor-Shop-Lights,-2-pack.product.100415188.html


texts: Can undermount sinks be installed in a plywood countertop?

texts: Have existing plywood w/ laminate countertop sink & want to convert to undermount sink.   Considering the plywood edge that would be exposed to water, can this be done?


texts: Are there any side effects of using sodium hydroxide as a mold-cleaner in the shower?

texts:
I've tried using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to clean mold (mould) in the shower before on a patch test area, and it worked really well. This simply involves using drain cleaner (with gloves, open window etc.) liberally on a scourer, and just wiping it on the tiles, plastic shower pan etc. I waited for ~20min, then used the shower head to spray it down the drain.

I understand that NaOH is highly corrosive and would easily eat into the skin, however it is intended to be used as a drain cleaner. Thus presumably it's OK on plastics used in pipes such as ABS and polypropylene.

Qs: Are there any gotchas (unintended side-effects) that I should be aware of with this method? Is this OK to use on silicone and grout?


texts: Can a 290mm x 45mm lvl beam be used as a structural ridge beam?

texts:
Also are ridge beams only used for exposed ceilings, or can you install ceiling joists which are connected to the rafters, - i assume this would provide extra support.

This is for a single story house and the ridge beam would fall in the middle of a width of 8.2m, the length of this portion of the house is also 8.2m.

Thanks


texts: Order in size for fixture drains to enter the main stack

texts: I am adding drains for a first floor bath and have replaced the main stack and vent.  In what order should I connect the drains into the stack?  Should a 1.5" sink drain enter the stack above or below the 3" closet bend?


texts: what tool / technique would I use to take the fan blade off this fridge motor (and re-mount it to a new one?)

texts:
Not the best picture as it's straight on - here's another from http://www.fan-and-blower.com/axial-fan-ebmpapst-bg2012/

I believe the one in my Bosch fridge freezer is on its way out as it's sporadically making a loud grinding noise as if it's become unbalanced / started rubbing against something.

There is a spare motor available but I'm wondering, if I order it, how I detatch the fan and re-attach it to the new motor's shaft. The fan seems to be crimped on with a metal collar, but is in a recessed area in the centre of the plastic blade assembly that can't be easily reached. The collar isn't a continuous ring - it's a few mm gap short of a full circle.

I believe the plastic fan may no longer be available so I don't want to risk breaking it by jabbing around with bottle-nosed pliers. Is there a standard name for this kind of mounting? What do I use to do it neatly?

I appreciate that the answer may be "just pull it off, and push it on!"

EDIT: here's a (bad, but hopefully not too misleading) drawing:


texts: Where should the ground wire go at a light switch with no ground screw?

texts:
I am going through some basic electrical stuff in a house that had some pro and some amateur work done. Some of the things I've been working on (e.g. light switches) have been wired correctly (breaking the hot wire only) but the ground wire was simply cut short at the romex and remained unused. I assume this was done because the switch had no ground screw.
However, it seems to me that the ground should remain intact--maybe wire-nutted to the other ground wire(s). Your thoughts? Thank you.


texts:
I'd like to retrofit an existing lamp with a dimmer dial built in to support dimmable LEDS. It does not seem like I can easily remove the dimmer or, even if I could, find an LED dimmer that will fit the same location.

It seems like there must exist a small electronic device that can be added to the dimmer circuit such that the LED dimmer can be controlled directly from the old potentiometer. I'm lacking the vocabulary to find what I'm looking for on the internet. Can I connect an LED dimmer driver to the old dimmer? What else is there to look out for?


texts: Is it possible to build a balcony without scaffolding or street access?

texts:
I live in a building converted from an old red-brick school, which has double-height rooms which were classrooms, with large windows (1m wide x 3m high)   which go down to floor level.

I'm on the 2nd floor, so there is the 1st floor, and ground floor below. The ground floor flats have gardens which are not next to any street.

My immediate neighbour has suggested we have a 2m balcony built along the length of our apartments. Aside from getting planning permission, I'm concerned that we wouldn't be able to get access to build scaffolding (or move materials in) from the ground floor owners.

Would it possible for the building work to be conducted from our apartments, e.g. by opening up the windows and running a platform out? Is this a 'done thing'?


texts: I notice today that my new furnace will stop after about half hour and start again in a few minutes. The room temperature is 66 and I set it to 70. It took several stop and start before it reaches 70. What could be the reason, too heavy filter or not enough air coming back? The air filter is Honeywell Allergen Plus Pleated FPR 7 Air Filter.


texts: No C wire connection on old Goodman furnace

texts:
I have read for hours, and tried figure this out myself, but I need help. I'm trying to connect the Blue C wire from the tstat, without a C terminal at the furnace.

From what I have read, it seems to me that I would connect the C wire from the thermostat, to one of the 3 BL wires coming from the 24v transformer. If that is correct, I am still not sure which of the 3 BL wires to use.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!


texts: How to attach replacement beams to column when repairing pergola

texts: I'm planning to replace some rotten beams on a free-standing pergola.  What is the best way to attach them to the top of the existing columns? The columns are hollow squares made of 3/4" boards with a flat cap (made of a 1/2" board with flashing). The beams are 1 1/2" thick.  I can't tell how they're currently attached - maybe just toed in, which doesn't seem very sturdy to me.  I'm thinking of using Simpson Z-Max hurricane ties, but is there a better way that will look nicer?


texts: looking for what size wire do i need to put in a 100 amp sub panel with a 150'run off a 400 amp service. new panel will run 60 amp hot tub and sonme lights and ceiling dfans


texts: One rail of my three rail track lighting fixture isn't working

texts:
Problem
I have a 12V low-voltage track lighting fixture in my kitchen. One of the rails isn't working. If I move the bulb fixtures from the bad rail to the other rails, they light up
History
A few days ago, one of the bulbs on the (now broken) track burnt out. The other bulbs on the track continued working. I bought another 12V bulb, it was a different sized connector, but it fit into the fixture so I tried it out anyway just to see if it would work (it didn't). I didn't notice if the other two bulbs on the rail stopped working at that point, or it if it was later.
Question
Is it possible for a rail to burn out? I don't know much about track lighting, but I assume these rails are just conductors.
Is it possible that I shorted something to the transformer by putting in the wrong bulb?
Why would just one track stop working?

Update
Upon further inspection, I discovered that the light sockets themselves contain the transformers (inside the white box), the rail is just a 120V conductor.
Some of the lights will come back on if I put them on a different rail and knock on them with my hand. I have yet to take a volt meter to the bad rail to confirm that it's the problem.


texts: Is it OK to have the kitchen drain and roof vent on the same line?

texts:
Can the kitchen drain wet vent be on the same vertical pipe as the air vent going out the 2" roof? I also have a sanitary tee attached on the top that attaches the vent for the washing machine. Just wondering if this is okay to pass code?

Click photo for full size image


texts: Is it possible to add a water storage tank to fridge that doesn't have one?

texts: I have a Whirlpool fridge model WRS325FDAM. I'm told it does not come with a water storage tank inside of the firdge that will keep the water line cool when dispensing out of the fridge. Is it possible to add one and if so, what parts do I need?


texts: What are the advantages and disadvantages to timber framing vs. platform framing?

texts:
Within in the next 10-years, my wife and I would like to replace the old modular home on our property with a new house.  I've been having some discussions with a friend of mine who is a huge fan of timber frame construction.  Looking at examples of well-done timber frames, I have to agree with him when it comes to the aesthetic appeal of the exposed timbers.  He has touted some of the benefits of timber framing to be (not an extensive list):

Speed of construction.
Squareness of resulting frame (I suspect a well-done platform frame can be quite square as well)
Aesthetic (personal taste I guess)
Cost of materials
Cost of labor (takes more skilled labor, but goes up quickly)
Robustness

He touts it as an ideal framing method for non-developer building (i.e.- for building your home..  it wont scale well to a developer putting up hundreds of houses).  When I asked him what the drawbacks would be, the only things he could think of were:

finding a good crew to do the framing, and
sourcing the timbers can take some time.

Neither of these issues would be a deal breaker for me as I have plenty of time, and he is connected with some very good framers.  So, my question (perhaps too open ended) are: what advantages and disadvantages am I missing?


texts:
Trying to replace an old switch that controls a ceiling fan with light. The original switch had a knob that you would push in to turn the light on or off and use the knob to dim the light.

I purchased a new switch that looks to be a three-way switch but when I installed it the lights would flicker.

Do I need a 3 way or 2 way switch?

I’m thinking the new switch is too high tech as it controls multiple devices, remote, up to 10 items, etc.

On top of that the new device has four screws where my wall receptacle only has two black wires. So maybe I did something wrong when wiring? I connected black with black, but the additional black connected to white.


texts: I have a 1102 ic lightolier and the socket has gone bad

texts: It has a plug to the junction and a small bulb near  the socket. Cannot find replacement and want to know if the small bulb needs to be replaced? Or can it be eliminated? Will heat build up be a problem?


texts: Is it safe to run the oven without insulation around it?

texts: My oven had mice in it and made a nest. So I took all the insulation out of it too look for the mouse. This was because it smelled like a dead animal every time I turned on the oven so I cleaned it out. I do not know if that was the problem in the first place, but due to the smell I was wondering if I can just throw away the insulation without putting it back. The old insulation is completely ruined due to mouse poop and their nest.


texts:
I installed PPR pipes in my house for water supply and now after investing so much of money and time a person today told me that plastic pipes are not good enough as they burst in freezing temperatures( we live in freezing temperatures and normally it dips 5 degrees Celsius below zero in winters).  And also said that if hot water from a geyser(a water boiler) passes through them then the water stinks of the plastic!
From listening to this I'm very anxious and depressed. Has the money been wasted?
I've added a picture which has the details written on it, the right one is more detailed.
Any help is appreciated.
God bless you.


texts:
I'm looking for a reversible way to mount my acoustic foam on the wall.

My current plan: using Sanitary Silicone from a cartridge.

This is in the hope that it would both stick easily and is relatively simple to remove in the future.

Is this a mistake? are there less damaging ways to do this?


texts:
I have a York AC unit where the circuit board is shot, so I bought a replacement circuit board (same model). The model number for the board is 031-00251C.

Pictures of old circuit board: http://imgur.com/gallery/0efD1/new

I'm considering replacing this myself, but have no experience. Any tips? Yes, I'll make sure the power is off first. Is there anything I should know ahead of time or how I should get started?


texts: I am currently working on a kitchen remodel. When I opened up the wall, I discovered that most of the studs were uneven. The previous cabinets had been affixed to a 1x that ran the whole length of the wall, and it was shimmed to account for bow, then plastered over. The real concern was when I got to the part of the wall in the kitchen where there was a closet behind the wall. The studs on the closet are turned so the face is showing. It’s about .5” off from the rest of the wall. My question is, should I knock out the plaster and turn the studs, or can I just shim it out and drywall over it. My biggest concern is that the movement in the wall will result in lots of cracking.


texts: Taking power from double light switch to GFCI outlet

texts:
I am redoing some wiring in my bathroom. I have a vanity light on a single switch, a vent fan and ceiling light combo on a double switch and a GFCI outlet that are wired together in that order. It appears to me that these are all powered from one source coming from the panel, with 12/2 wires connecting them. Also at the end of the chain the GFCI is connected to two outdoor outlets.

I actually have managed to get everything working correctly except the GFCI outlet. I have power going to it but it keeps tripping. I got the power to the outlet by connecting the black wire leading to the GFCI to the top black screw on my light switch, that screw is hot whether or not the light or fan are turned on so it seemed to make sense. I took my common (white) wire and tied it in with the other white wires within the double switch box. I think that this is my problem as I am reading that you can't share common wires with GFCI. My question then would be what do I do with the common wire that will be powering the GFCI??? Or maybe that isn't my issue and my problem is something else?

Would love any help people can give. I am a newbie so be gentle. Everything in this series was previously working so I am hoping I can get it put back together without running new wires.


texts: Can I replace two 15 amp fuses with 10 and 20 amp fuses?

texts:
Currently I have 4 x 15 amps fuses. My question is: Can I change the left fuse shown in the image with a 10 amps fuse and make the other 20 amps? Would that work?

Edit:

There's another one behind the fridge that I can't take a picture of but I think they're identical. So 2 outlets in total.


texts: 100 amp sub-panel replacing old fuse box

texts: I have this old fuse box in the attic (pictured, basically acting as a junction box) and 6 wires total running into it, 4 are knob and tube, so two are hot, two neutral, they all go dead when one 15 A breaker is tripped in the basement, and the other two wires are more Romex-like wires with hot, neutral, ground all bundled together, they are run on a 15A breaker and a 20A breaker in the basement. I wanna connect the knob and tubes to the Arc-fault breaker I got in the new square D sub-panel which will go in he attic, the knob and tube aren't in the basement for me to put the arc fault breaker in down there and connect to them


texts: What causes this green residue on pipe going into hot water tank?

texts: I had a newly installed system 200 furnace with hot water heater around a year ago. I recently noticed that there is a green residue peeling off the pipe going into the hot water heater. I called the plumber who installed it but have not heard back. Is this something i should be concerned with and if so is there a fix without calling out another plumber?


texts: Renovating bathroom, do I need to add a moisture barrier over insulation

texts:
I'm renovating my bathroom, and I have to rip out the entire bathtub and surround, so I decided to add insulation to both the external wall and the internal long edge of the bathtub surround - see diagram:

.

My question is, do I need to add a moisture barrier inside the walls on either the external or internal walls? I am using Schluter Kerdi board for the tub surround, I read that because this is waterproof the moisture barrier is not required - however I would probably add it if in doubt just to be 100% safe, but I wouldn't want to introduce a new problem (for example, moisture being trapped between the two waterproof surfaces.

EDIT: My external walls are not currently insulated, and I would be adding insulation to the internal wall really just for soundproofing.


texts: How do I determine how efficient my furnace, A/C, and windows are?

texts:
I just bought an older home.

The furnace, A/C, and windows are functional, but I suspect there may be some efficiency gains to be made.

Is there any way to determine/estimate how efficient those are currently? I would like to see if it makes sense to spend the money to upgrade them based on ROI on my utility bills.


texts: What can I do about a house with internal concrete floor with no DPM?

texts:
My partner and I have just bought our first home.A 1950's bungalow which is need of refurbishment. So far it has thrown us a ton of surprises! The worst so far being the floor in one of the bedrooms. After pulling up the old floor boards we found a concrete poured floor underneath with broken bitumen on it. The concrete has gaps of about 4 inches between it. These concrete "slabs" are separated by very rotten wood.  On closer inspection the concrete is only about 3-4 inches thick with soil directly under that. No damp-proof membrane (DPM)!The depth of the gaps is roughly 10 inches. The damp-proof course (DPC) in the walls seems to be intact.

I think the floor used to be a suspended timber floor but the previous owner decided to pour concrete under the floor boards and between the joists maybe using them to level the concrete and just left them there to eventually sponge up any moisture and rot away.

However, as it stands the concrete feels and seems dry. Possibly because the house is in an elevated position.

I know the best solution would be to dig up existing concrete, dig further down maybe 30 inches then put down insulation board , followed by a DPM and then pour concrete. Unfortunately we don't have the budget to do this.

As a cheaper alternative I have thought about filling the gaps with concrete, then applying an epoxy solution all over the floor, then floating a wooden floor on top of this. However i'm not to sure how to do the concrete mix for this, how much aggregate is required etc.

Here are some images of the floor. I have dug out the rotten timbers.

Any thoughts or recommendations besides the expensive approach would be appreciated


texts: Is a push-fit end cap a temporary or permanent solution?

texts: I am about to cap my water copper pipe with a Sharkbite push fit end cap. Is it a permanent solution? Or will I have to go with a torch?


texts:
This might be a very basic question. But I just bought a new house and it has a valve on the wall outside my house:

I tried to turn the valve to match the hole, both clockwise and counter-clockwise but the water never got shut off inside the house.

I realized when I turned it, the back nuts are also moving (red circle):

Am I supposed to get a wrench to hold the nuts in place?

Please advise.


texts: Are soldered electrical connections code-compliant?

texts:
I was changing a switch in my house when I found a number of connections in the electrical box that were soldered rather than secured with a wire nut.  The solder joints look very well done, the conductors were twisted together nicely and the solder itself was nicely done.  It was not some oxidized amateur mess.  These joints were then wrapped in electrical tape.

Is that something that need to be concerned about?  Would it count as being up to code on an inspection?

I am in rural Minnesota, outside city limits, in an un-incorporated township.  I do see several inspection stickers on the breaker boxes in the house, so something was inspected at one point.

Update: Just to add a bit more context.   The house was constructed in 1961 and was a Gold Medallion home and as a result had lots of fancy electrical features for the day.  Much of that original wiring has been replaced with modern NM cable, however the switch I replaces was on an older circuit with wires that look similar to Romex but have a braided outer sheath and instead of a single ground there a several smaller grounds that are wound around the the other wires.

The solder joints in question were on both types of cables in the box.  So, they would have been done as part of later work.  One of the previous owners was big into Ham radio, this junction box was right outside his radio room.  In another conversation someone suggested that this was done to reduce interference, could that be a thing?


texts: Homeowners Electric Permit - Mongomery County, Maryland, USA

texts:
Our county allows homeowners to test to acquire permits for "rough wiring" and "heavy-ups" (https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/Process/combuild/homeowner-electrical.html).

I did electronics/electrics in school, so believe I have the basis for knowledge that would be required to take this test, and they provide the National Electrical code for reference during testing.

However was wondering if anyone else had undertaken this test, or similar in their area, and could advise some resources for passing this exam?


texts: Where can I find the AZ county building codes?

texts:
I need to look up the building codes for counties in Arizona, specifically Maricopa County and Pinal County.

I'm looking to build a custom home out of storage containers and I'd like to first read the building codes if applicable. All my contractors are lined up, I just need to know what is and isn't allowed. Or even if storage container homes are allowed in AZ.


texts: What framing do I need to build a garage with 13 ft walls to store a boat?

texts: The garage door has to be 12x12ft and I need at least 12in of space between the top of my door opening and the ceiling. What changes do I need to make to the traditional framing techniques to support this wall height? Do I need to jump up to 2x6 studs or will multiple rows of horizontal blocking suffice?


texts: How do I caulk where a caulk tube won't fit?

texts:
I've got some door moldings that are about 1 inch from the adjacent wall. A caulk gun won't begin to get in there, and pivoting the caulk tube up so it's nearly parallel to both walls still doesn't get the tip close enough to the gap.
How should I apply a caulk bead in this situation? Any good tricks, clever tools, or "this worked well enough for me"?
Rough illustration of the situation:

(source: CoSketch.com)


texts: Why does my vinyl siding make noise when it is windy?

texts:
Every time the wind starts to blow the siding on my house start to creak. The stronger the wind the louder the sound. It has woken me up on several occasions.

Is there a commonly known explanation for this, and if so if there a way to solve the problem?


texts: How can I reduce the size of a bore in steel to accommodate screw threads?

texts:
I want to somehow get an M5 insert into a 7.5mm diameter hole in solid steel. (The hole has already been drilled with 7.5mm DeWalt cobalt-tipped drill bit.)
Is there such a thing as a threaded insert that is suitably constructed to be able to go into solid steel? Some have external threads, some have that rough/raised diamond pattern on the exterior instead. I'm not sure what might work. How about something I could hammer in, if the insert's diameter is finely tuned to be just above 7.5mm?
Here are some threaded inserts "for metal and plastic". I have no idea if something like this may work, or how to insert it properly.
Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks


texts: Why are corded Drills so different from cordless drills?

texts:
Typically the difference between the wired and wireless tool should be the wire or lack there off. However the the corded and cordless drills are both quite different from each other in typical design and extra features.

Common traits

Keyless chuck
Clutch for screw driving
Light
Spirit level
2 speeds
Spirit level
Screw/Bit holder

Common traits -

Keyed chuck is more common (Newest models are often keyless though)
The hook on top for hanging on belt
Usually 1 speed Gear box
Usually has a dial on the trigger to adjust speed
Button next to trigger to lock trigger
Sidehandle and depth stop

Why do these 2 tools look so different?
My guess would be that when they were designed corded was for industrial use, and cordless started as hobbyist.. and the design has not evolved as fast as the userbase has..


texts: Can you replace just the lever of this deadbolt latch?

texts: Can you replace just the lever of this model?


texts: Replacing light switch with motion sensor switch

texts:
I am trying to replace a light switch with a neutral required motion sensor light. (occupancy sensor).
The motion switch has a black, red, white and green wire connected to it. Upon taking off the current switch, I have a blue and black wire connected.
In the box, I see two red wires connected by nut and what looks to be three white wires connected by nut. So no green ground but an extra color plus too many whites!
Any help will be appreciated.


texts:
I'm looking to replace a Push Button Wall Plate.  I can't seem to find one that only has spots for three buttons.  Most have six spots. (three sets of two buttons).  These are standard size push buttons (like you see for lights in a house) which I don't believe I could replace as they are push buttons that open garage doors.

I'm looking for a cheap wall plate (preferably under $10). The common tan color or white would also be preferred.  I've checked Lowe's and Home Depot and googled around a little, but can't seem to find a replacement. I've added a quick sketch of my situation.


texts: Why would my clothes drying machine's switch keep on getting fried?

texts:
Around a year ago, my parents got a new drying machine installed. The dryer didn't come with any cables, and the when my parents called the company, they told them that it was the customer's responsibility to supply wiring and connect the machine. I thought that was crazy, but my parents got an electrician to set up the machine.

Over the year, the machine's electric switch got fried over 5 times. Every couple of months, either the switch shorts, or the cables melt in the switch, and just yesterday, I woke up to find that the wall outlet's hot and neutral wire have turned into charcoal, even though the switch is perfectly fine.

We've tried a lot of switches, we changed the cables, we switched electricians, but nothing is working. What the hell is going on?

The dryer's hot and neutral wires are connected to the wall's through the switch. The dryer is rated at 25 amps. The tripper is rated at 30 amps. We have tried switches from 30 up to 45 amps. Nothing seems to work.

Any help is greatly appreciated.


texts: How to cut a perfect shape out of 4cm oak?

texts:
I need to mount an undermount copper sink to our new kitchen surface. The surface is 4cm oak, which will be varnished with 12 coats of marine lacquer to protect the oak from water.

What I want to achieve is to cut out a very precise hole for the sink (I should add the sink is rectangular with curved corners), such that the cut out wood can be reinserted as a lid over the sink for additional workspace.

Elsewhere I cut out some rougher holes for domino hobs with a jigsaw but found it nigh on impossible to maintain straight and vertical edges.

I guess a cut width of about 4 mm will be necessary.

What tool or technique can I use to achieve my goal?


texts: How do I fix my humidity problem in my home?

texts: I have an older home. Last year I didn't have this problem but this winter, to save money I keep my temperature a lot lower. I'm seeing a lot of condensation on the windows and now on my livingroom wall, water running down and mold forming. It also smells like mold in my home. Will purchasing a good dehumidifier help? I am also thinking of adjusting the humidifier on my furnace? Another issue may be that my bathroom doesn't have an exhaust fan but I can't afford to have one put in. I need the best, cheapest solution.


texts: Do I need to add a cardboard barrier around drain pipe before adding concrete

texts: When I removed the concrete to add an extension on the drain, there was cardboard wrapped around the drain pipe. Before I add new concrete, do I need to wrap the pipe with a barrier (or card) again - and what is the purpose of this?


texts: Building staircase from first floor to the attic with a Dorm window for headroom. Large 40 x 12 attic space.

texts:
I want to add a staircase by taking space from the living room for the staircase then adding a large dorm window space to give headroom (gable roof) at the top of the stairs so that I can enter the main area of the attic.

I have a 16ft x 19ft living room in a one story house with a basement. House build in 1929 and has a large attic. Not counting the 6 ft down slope space on each side of the gable roof, I have 40ft x 12ft down the center of a gable roofed attic.

The 16ft sidewall on the right side will be the support wall where the stair railing will be mounted. I am remodeling queen.

How to I build the staircase?

Also, The dorm window space will be built in the 6ft deep down slope. I am estimated that I need about a 5 to 6ft wide window space. Your thoughts here?

Thanks
Monica


texts:
On 15th December 2020 we became aware of a burst pipe on the side of our house.  The source of the leak was the cold water pipe leading into the hot water system on the side of the house (brick veneer).  I believe that the pipe had been leaking for about 2 days, and the temperature during this period was approx. 30 degrees Celsius (we're in Australia).
My wife noticed the sound of running water late at night - I investigated and found the leak. We noticed the the plaster board wall in our bedroom (directly opposite the leaky pipe) was quite damp and had slightly leaked out on to the floor (but was fairly contained, and easy to mop up with a towel).
I immediately turned off the water supply, and a plumber came the next day to fix the source of the leak.  The plumber said there was a lot of dampness in the wall and he recommended I file an insurance claim to deal with the dampness and possible mould issue.
When I looked at the meter, it had registered 3 months of water usage since the last meter reading (which was 2 months ago).  So a 50% increase in water usage over the 2 month period.
The insurance company sent a company with a dehumidifier which ran for approximately 2 days straight (except when going to sleep) pointing at the wall.  Prior to the dehumidifier running, they used a moisture detector on the wall and it had an extremely high reading.  After the 2 days, they came to collect the dehumidifier and it was still measuring a high reading (but they took it away as it was Xmas and we were going on holidays).  They said at this point, the dehumidifier didn't appear to make a difference and recommended someone come to look inside the wall.
A few weeks later someone came and did another moisture test and the reading was close to "normal".  This was corroborated with a plumber you used a thermal moisture detector and couldn't detect any moisture in the plaster, but detected a very slight increase in moisture at the skirting board (pictured).
Yesterday, someone attended again and said that because there was no signs of mould on the outside of the skirting board, they don't believe there is any mould inside the wall cavity (as mould would likely show itself on the outside of the skirting board).  The said they could remove the skirting board to look inside the wall, but based on their observations they don't think it needs to be done.
The skirting board spans the entire length of the bedroom wall, and removing it is not a small job as it may damage the plaster.
Based on what I have outlined above, is the insurance company right when they say the probability of mould is low in this scenario?  My biggest concern is any potential health issues caused by the mould.  I'm not sure if this is a case of "I can't see anything, therefore it's probably not there" or if they are just cutting corners here.
Photos below of the skirting board in question, and the source of the leak.


texts: Rough-in Inspection of Existing/New Circuit Breaker

texts:
I have an existing Circuit in my unfinished basement for light fixture. I am rewiring currently.
After rewiring for light fixtures, I am putting switches for each wherever possible, to make sure everything is went right after I turned the power ON.  I am not installing receptible for now.
So I have questions

Is this Ok to leave the switches there for existing breaker when electric inspection comes ?
I'll have to take them out before drywall

For new Circuit breaker, All new breaker should be in placed/connected in Panel before inspection, and should be turned off, right ?

Thanks in Advance !!


texts: Light fixture mounting bracket too small to attach to junction box

texts: Installing a ceiling fixture. With the other fixtures I installed the bracket just screwed into the box. This one the bracket width is too small to screw in, the box is too big. What kind of adapter do I need, or should I just replace the whole box with a smaller one?


texts: Can I position speakers near ceiling, as opposed to ear height?

texts:
I've been told that the best position for attached-to-wall speakers is approximately the ear height of the listener in each corner of the room plus center for the center piece for 5+sub systems.

However, I am dealing with a simpler 2-speaker system for a bedroom and want to use them with the TV on the wall facing the bed.  My problem is that the room door makes it difficult to position one of the speakers at ear height and still keep them reasonably spread apart so I was thinking to position them near the ceiling in top corners of the wall facing the bed, so that it not be in the way of the door swinging.

Can anybody throw their two cents on how much difference in sound quality that will make?  E.g. if I angled the speakers to point downwards.  The ceilings are pretty high, cca. 100" but I was thinking to put them at about 90" (or 10" below the ceiling).


texts: Water coming through detached garage concrete floor

texts:
We have a detached 1954 garage on a concrete slab. The slab is cracked in many places and we get water in it during a heavy rain. Or, during this rainy spring, there's almost always water in it. As it slopes away from the driveway and there's no drain inside I either squeegee it out or wait for it to go back down the cracks naturally.

Is there anything I can use to prevent this? I believe it's just coming up through the cracks, mainly towards the rear of the garage. The yard is clay and holds water, after more thinking and watching I don't believe it gets high enough for the sill plate to let water in, it's coming through the garage cracks. hydraulic cement? Some type of epoxy?.

]3


texts: What type of 6ft fence should I get, that can take a lot of high winds?

texts: We need to replace our chain link fence with a 6ft fence because 2 of our dogs can jump over it.  We just don't know what type of fence can take a beating from the high winds we get due to the fact that our yard faces the west and there is a huge retention ditch behind us that they us as a field for sports when its not filled with water, so when it is a windy day, a bad thunderstorm, or a snow/ice storm we want our fence to be able to last a while.  We have lived in our house for 12 years and have seen my neighbor replace their wood fence 3 times and I notice that the wood starts to splinter fast. My other neighbor has the PVC fence for about 5 years and had to replace a couple of sections twice.  Also we have had to replace our storm screen door on the back door 3 times since we have lived here due to the winds blowing them off. Looking forward to hearing what you recommend.


texts: Is there a reason to avoid running (water) pipes in a shared townhouse wall?

texts:
In the process of renovating my master bath, I pulled out the vanity and discovered the water supply lines come up through the floor. The drain goes through the wall. The wall is a shared wall in a townhouse.

The vanity I bought has cutouts for the lines and drain in the back, not in the bottom. I'd this like to reroute the supply lines to come out of the wall rather than the floor. Is this a bad idea, given that it's a party wall?


texts: Bathtub drain not draining at all. New remodel

texts: I recently remodeled a bathroom in a doublewide home.  The old bathtub had a drain in the center with a 90 degree pipe right under that ran to the corner of the tub where the vent pipe was then under the floor.  I put a new tub in with the drain in the end.  I put a trap right under the pipe where the water leaves the tube and goes back under the floor.  The vent pipe is about 4 inches past the trap. the vent pipe is only 4 feet tall cause I haven't hooked it to the old pipe yet.  The drain is not stopped up down the line either.  The tub will not drain at all.  The old tub did not have a trap in the bathtub.  I am not experienced in this so any help would be appreciated.


texts: Grouting travertine tiles: grout bag or float?

texts:
I need to grout a travertine tile wall. Tiles are small, pattern of 2x2", 2x4" and 4x4" tiles.  The gap is approximately 1/8". Tiles are tumbled, and there are quite a few imperfections, pits, crevices, etc., on the face of the tile.

I cannot decide whether I should use a grout bag or a float to apply the grout.

With grout bag, it's obviously much more work, and I'm not sure I'll be able to tightly pack grout into 1/8" crevice with the bag. But hopefully I will be able to fill just the grout lines, and not fill the crevices on the face of the tile (it won't be possible to get grout out of them with sponging).

With a float, it's much easier (just float and sponge, same as ceramic tile) but I think tiles will look really bad with all these natural holes, crevices, etc. filled with grout.

So, which is the accepted way to deal with grouting natural stone (travertine) tiles?


texts: In which direction do I unscrew this utility sink faucet to replace the washers?

texts:
This utility sink has a slow drip from the end of the spout. This should be easily fixed by replacing the rubber washers in the levers, however the phillips screws, shown further below, seem very tight.
Would both screws loosen counter-clockwise, or would they be opposite? I was thinking of using a manual impact wrench (the kind you actually hit with a hammer) but I didn't want to break it in the wrong direction.

Update: I've removed the phillips screws, but now the part under the handle that I need to remove, indicated by the red arrow below (what's the name?) seems very stuck. Are these also both loosened counter-clockwise?

Bonus question: Sometimes the faucet leaks near the base of the spout (see red arrow below). Is that also fixed with a rubber seal replacement? Is that done by turning the hex ring near the arrow counter-clockwise? It's not easy to get a tool around it!


texts: Can forced central air be retrofitted with central humdifier?

texts:
Several homes I'm considering have central air conditioners, but radiators or baseboard heaters.  Is it possible to use the A/C ductwork to provide humidity to the home?  I assume most central humidifiers rely on the furnace to provide the heat to evaporate the air.

Do central humidifiers exist that provide their own heat source?


texts: Why do I need such thick wires in household electrical installation?

texts:
I am running electricity (for light and a couple of outlets) into my garden. I am trying to decide on which wire thickness I need to choose. FWIW, I am in Europe.

The whole house is wired with two types of wires: outlets with 2.5 mm2 (roughly 13 AWG) and ceiling lights and corresponding switches with 1.5 mm2 (roughly 15–16 AWG). All breakers are rated at 16 A, and there are two groups of them, each protected by a 20 A breaker with 30 mA RCD.

Since 2.5 mm2 wires are much stiffer and hence difficult to run through conduits (and it's not a common practice to use stranded wires for wall installations in Europe), I am inclined to run 1.5 mm2 wires into my garden.

However, as the existing installation and googling show, it is a common practice to use 2.5 mm2 or thicker wires for everything but lighting, and 1.5 mm2 for lighting. I wonder why? Aren't these standards outdated?

My logic is as follows. A 1.5 mm2 wire is rated for 16 A (I used this tool, and entered 30 °C, PVC insulation, 3 elements in confined bundle). At 230 V, this gives the maximum power capacity of 3680 W. The highest power device I was able to think of for a garden is Kärcher K7, which is rated at 2.8 kW. Thus, 1.5 mm2 wire should be more than adequate.

Obviously for modern LED lighting, even 1 mm2 is ridiculously thick, based on such calculation.

Another aspect to consider is the voltage drop. Copper's resistivity is 17 nΩ·m. Hence a 1.5 mm2 20 m cable has a return-path resistance of R = rho × L / A = 0.45 Ω. It will cause, at full current, a voltage drop of 7.2 V, which is probably perfectly fine for all modern devices. A connected LED bulb might be more picky, but it consumes only 10 W, so the voltage drop will be much less, 10 / 230 × 0.45 = 0.02 V.

Where am I wrong in my consideration?


texts: Sealing things under a furniture-style vanity

texts:
Back Story:

We are redoing our half-bath and are replacing a pedestal-style sink (the $75 ones you can find at Lowe's) with a much nicer furniture-style vanity (specifically this vanity). So we emptied the room, replaced electrical and plumbing (where appropriate), painted, and are now going to put the new vanity back in so we can finish the plumbing.

Our problem:

I had miscalculated the clearance needed for the "bear-claw feet" of the furniture-style vanity against the wall and the trim didn't let the vanity sit flush against the wall. So to fix this, I was able to cut away a couple pieces of quarter-round and drill some ~3/4" holes into the rest of the trim (to fit the contour of the bear-claw feet) and this now allows me to get the vanity to sit flush against the wall. However, in doing all of this, I have exposed some gaps from how the floor has been tiled. So my question is: How should I seal these gaps? Given that this is beneath the furniture-style vanity with an open bottom (please see pictures from the link above), this seems like a very important thing to do (our furnace is right below this bathroom so water leaking down would be very bad!).

Should I just slap down a bunch of caulk and call it a day? Given that I'll NEVER be able to re-caulk this in the future (while it is open, it's not open enough to access for maintenance), this seems like it would be a problem in the future.

More background on how our tile is laid:

So the bathroom's trim goes down to the baseboard on the drywall, then the bathroom was tiled with a ~0.25" gap between the edge of the tile and the trim. Next, a piece of quarter-round bridges that gap all around the room except where I had to cut the two pieces off. Again, right below this bathroom is our furnace so I really want to make sure we don't have a $10k problem if a sink overflows!


texts: Simple remote outdoor light switch that fits in a receptical box

texts:
Upfront warning - I am pretty sure I am lacking the nomenclature to ask this succinctly.

I am installing an outdoor lamp with a store bought motion detector on a post about 30ft from the house. In addition to the motion sensor, I would like to be able to turn the lamp on from the house remotely. Everything will be wired inside a standard outdoor receptacle box with just a faceplate and some weather sealing.

I am pretty sure I know how to wire it in concept, but what is the best 'thing' to use for something like this?

It would be something that would:

powered inline with standard home electricity wiring
Have a remote that can reach 30ft through a wall
Perform a simple open/closed circuit operation
Fit inside a single gang outdoor receptacle box

I have been fighting trying to google for this but I think I just don't have the correct language to find what I want.


texts: How to wire a ceiling fan to one switch with 2 cables

texts: If I have 2 cables, both with hot, neutral, and ground running from one box and a ceiling fan and light that will be on separate switches in one wall box, do I hook up blue to black, black to black, all 3 whites and all 3 grounds?


texts:
I have wooden storm windows circa 1943 that are still in good condition. I've had the panes re-puttied, and now need to do painting.  A few of the storms have some minor wood damage as shown in the pictures below:

The wood is not rotted, just missing.  Some have corners missing, (first picture) and there are some visible open joints (second picture).

Questions:

What is the best way to repair this sort of damage?
I will prime with an oil based primer. When I paint, do I slightly overlap the paint onto the glass (a painter once said this is what I should do) or tape the glass up to the putty when painting?


texts: Horizontal Drains Can Combine Through Wye Laying Flat, Or Can't They?

texts:
QUESTION Can horizontal drains combine through a wye in the horizontal position laying flat on its side and not upright at all, Or Can't They?  Then see my sketch: Am I doing this right? - Merry

IPC TABLE 706.3 "fittings for change of direction" says wye is okay for horizontal to horizontal.

Are my proposed wyes okay?  How about overall?  I don't want to go down too low with the drains or relocate much stuff.

BACKGROUND:  This is just a draft but in the interest of limited headroom and headache I want the plumbing improvements to not descend too low into the door/passageway below, and I dont want to change the lower level toilet system, an older wall mount model, except just to vent it, without moving the bracket, and to drain the upper level bathroom through a separate soil pipe and vent it.  And most obviously there is improper use of a sanitary tee and that needs to be rectified.

Note I used the term "vertical" incorrectly in my sketch, it should be horizontal but i mean the vent going upward there from the wye which is specifically horizontal but not laying on its side, like the other two in question.  thank you.

Is the vent on the "vertical" wye even necessary there at the end?  I don't know, I was just doodling and it felt right.

Don't you see flat horizontal wyes combining drains within a slab or floor usually?

Some special sanitary situations specifically call for wyes in the vertical position, so i have read, but here we should be good.  My state is IPC.


texts: How do I test the functionality of a sump pump?

texts:
There is a sump pump in the basement, in a basin, with a power cord going into it, and a pipe going out of it.  How can I test the various kinds of functionality of this setup?

I can put a bucket of water into the sump and see if the pump starts - I suppose that tests the float switch, etc.  How low should the water level in the sump be before it turns off?

But how do I actually test that it is doing its job of keeping water out of where it's "not supposed to be"?


texts: Mystery circuit breaker causing odd behavior in other circuits such as polarity switching and power on ground

texts:
There is one romex that runs from my box to the upstairs. This romex has 4 wires, black, red, white and green. The black wire goes to breaker 30, the red wire to breaker 32, the white wire to the neutral bar and GREEN TO BREAKER 22.
Breaker 22 is the mystery breaker, meaning I cannot find anything it directly powers.
Whilst 22 is on, outlets on 30 and 32 have reversed polarity, according to the plug-in tester.
If I then turn off either 30 or 32, it shows that ground and hot have been reversed on the one that was shut off.
My voltmeter shows 24V hot to neutral, hot to ground 90-100V and neutral to ground 120V.
If I turn 22 off,
30 and 32 show floating grounds. If I then turn off 32, 30's outlets go to "correct"
What I am thinking is that the green wire connected to breaker 22 was supposed to have been the ground.
It is very hard to get to the wiring, it does not go to the attic and down but rather up from the basement to the second floor. As such, I have not yet been able to find the other end of the romex to see exactly what was done with the green wire.
Is that what is going on here?


texts: Thermostat Upgrade, furnace C-wire reading low voltage

texts:
OK so here is the scenario.

Upgrading thermostat from dumb to smart (Ecobee). I've done 2 others in my house that required re-wiring so I have a good sense for what should be done but I'm stuck.

My furnace is a gas fired boiler with 2 zones (honeywell synchron) valve system that is connected to two separate thermostats. Upper level is Heat + AC so stat uses the common wire coming from the A/C unit. Lower level is heat only, so I need to run a C from furnace to thermostat to provide 24V continuity power. I've run all the wiring but so far can not get the ecobee to power up, tested the old dumb thermo and it works so my issue is C wire.

The wiring is: Board R, W -> split before zone valves -> R, W into zone valves and then back out -> into the 24v transformer where it ties into R,W out to the thermostat.

I opened the board for the furnace, located the C, tested the voltage at the board (read 27v between C and R), connected a spare 18 awg from the existing thermostat wiring to the C and ran up to the Stat. The Ecobee did not power on and the voltage between C and R at the stat is only ~10v.

I did a few voltage tests along the way and it looks like pre-syncron valves the voltage is 27v between C and R, after the white and red go into the valves and come back out the voltage measures ~10v between C and R.

Wondering if 1. anyone has experienced this before and 2. if anyone has any suggestions as how to proceed? Wondering if somewhere on the valves maybe I need to ground the C as right now i'm just bypassing the valves and taking the C straight from the board to the thermostat?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jack


texts: What is the purpose of floor concrete in this upstairs wooden condo?

texts:
I am doing a remodel of a 1970s built upstairs condo (WA state)

Once we took off the old carpeting and vinyl flooring, it turned out that the subfloor is made from concrete. Under the subfloor is wood (it's a wooden construction).

This is in all rooms including previously carpeted areas and including the bathroom. It's also cracked in many places given the age.

Can someone tell me what is the purpose of this concrete? It seems to me like it would add unnecessary weight to a wooden structure.


texts: How to minimize waste when installing the subfloor

texts:
I need to replace floor in a shed. Existing floor is a hodgepodge of pieces and materials (flat-edge OSB, particleboard), so I'd like to arrange floor from scratch using T&G OSB. What are the guidelines to orient the sheets so as to use minimal number of them, and produce off cuts that are more useful (e.g. half a sheet cut across vs. long narrow piece)?

I've looked for software solutions, but I could only find cut-sheet optimizing (nesting) software for sheet goods (such as MaxCut, CutList Plus etc.), but nothing obvious that would arrange full sheets in a given shape and dimensions. Whilst the question is about subfloor, same principles would apply to wall and roof sheathing as well.


texts: Is it better to vent a bathroom fan out the soffit, the side of the house, or the roof?

texts:
Working on a friend's house, we're installing a bathroom fan. He had planned to vent the fan out the closest soffit, which is only a few feet away. I'm trying to persuade him to vent it out the roof at best, or the side of the 2nd floor at worst, because I've always been told that you should go "up and out" with bathroom exhaust. What is the best method, and more importantly, why?

Related: Can I vent a bathroom fan through the eaves?


texts: The wood that is up against the glass on the double pane windows has rotted. How do we repair them without taking the glass out? We have to paint them every summer but with our Montana winters they seem to get worse every year.