texts: How should a section of cast iron piping be replaced?

texts:
I just discovered a leaking section of cast iron pipe in my basement. There is moisture around the joints, but I guess there could be pinhole-sized spots or a crack on the bit I can't easily see. I'm not sure how long it's been like this but I want to get it dealt with ASAP. I'm looking for some information about the overall process and some ideas about the severity so I can deal with the plumber. Should this be replaced with new cast iron or something else? Will they need to dig up the floor?

The house is 67 years old. This waste pipe appears to be for the upstairs master bathroom based on it's location towards the front of the house.

The only action I've taken is making the bathroom off limits and I have setup a dehumidifier in the basement.

Here are photos


texts: Prevent Dirt Movement Down Slope Through Gap Under Fence

texts:
I have a fence that separates my land from my neighbors and I'd like to figure out how to prevent dirt from washing onto my land from the 2" gap under the fence. It's a painted wood fence with horizontal wood.

There is a slight slope to my neighbor's yard and my side of the fence has a wide brick walkway that is about 6-10 inches away from the fence. The opposite side of the walkway features a short concrete hip wall with french drains running along the edge. Those drains get clogged by the dirt that comes from my neighbors yard when we get a good amount of rainfall and therefor it can create a small lake that is not fun to walk through.

This fence is a very sensitive issue with my neighbor since the previous owner on our house installed it to replace a much shorter fence. The taller fence cut off much of my neighbor's view of a pond that is nearby. We love the fence since it makes it so we don't see much of the neighbors ugly yard and gives us privacy. So, I'm looking for a solution that might allow water to flow, but dramatically limit the amount of soil moving while at the same time not creating too much notice on my neighbor's part.

A contractor wanted to remove the fence, install a retaining wall with filter fabric behind it and then re-install the fence. That would a) be too expensive and b) cause way too much disruption with my neighbor. Is there something I can install either on my side of the fence in the 6-10" gap between it and brick walkway, or something I can slip onto the neighbor's side that would not be overly noticeable.

Below are the original architectural plans where I added color: Black=Fence, Red=Brick Walkway, Yellow=hip wall

View from my side of the fence.


texts: How can I run wire rope around the corner of my railing with a turnbuckle?

texts:
I have a rooftop that looks like the following. I'll be using turnbuckles to connect each tube to the wire rope.

The issue is: what do I do with the corner tubes? If I use the turnbuckles for the corner, I'll have a loophole that won't be used. Also, how do I connect the corner tube to the tube next to it?

Thanks.


texts:
When using a circular saw to cut through panels or dimensional lumber or whatever, the DIY folk on YouTube always set the cut depth to “a hair beyond what you’re cutting”. I’ve been blindly doing the same, but realized the other day I have no idea why.

Sure, obviously you need to make sure you cut through the whole thing you’re cutting. But short of protecting your workbench, why not just sink the blade as deep as possible as a default and only lift it up when there is an actual underlying surface.

Odd question perhaps, just wondering!


texts: Can I insulate my soffit vents in the garage for the winter?

texts:
So I recently had a new 30x24 detached garage built and intend to leave it mostly unfinished. I live in Iowa and we have pretty cold winters here, which will be coming soon, and I'm looking for a low-cost way to provide enough insulation to allow me to heat my garage when I want to do some work in it during the winter. I have a 5,000 W electric garage heater installed, but it has no chance in keeping up with the winter as the garage is now. The garage was installed with no roof vents, but all of the soffits are vented.

I've already installed fiberglass insulation on all of the walls and my concern is now the ceiling. I may drywall the ceiling at some point in the future, but definitely not this year. My questions is the best low-cost and fast way to provide at least a reasonable amount of insulation in the ceiling area. Can I insulate the soffits to try to reduce the amount of air/draft that comes in through the soffits, at least for the cold months? I figure this would be a cheap and easy solution, but I'm not sure if it would solve the problem or is a good idea. Alternatively, would it provide much of a benefit to install vapor barrier on the ceiling and then leave the soffit vents open (so the roof area would be vented).

Again, I'm not looking for a super insulated garage, I just need something that I can work in and heat on occasion. Right now every time the wind blows half of my heat is lost from the air coming in through the soffit vents.


texts: What factors influence the security of a front door lock?

texts:
Due to misplaced keys, we are going to either rekey or replace an old lock on our front door.

The manufacturer was Barrows, which seems to be somewhat rare since our local hardware doesn't carry blanks for new keys.

We would replace it only if it is feasible replace only the approx 1" diameter cylinder on the deadbolt with common brand such as Schlage or Baldwin or ...

What security factors come into play?  For example, does the rarity of Barrows locksets make them more secure, or is Barrows know for poor or good security?


texts:
The windows in my basement are close to 12 inches tall, not going below ground level. There is a shallow window well made from old 2x4s framing a depression adjacent to the window. We have been getting heavy rain and I noticed that this window well is pooling with water. I am also experiencing regular flooding in the basement close to the same window well which seems it must be connected.

Do I need the window well if the window does not go below ground level? How do I avoid the water pooling in the window well?

I saw a video on YouTube where they put a drain in the bottom of the window well which drained into the sump pump. This is not an option as the sump pump and window well are on opposite sides of the house.


texts: How do I replace a porch light that’s mounted to a surface-mounted junction box?

texts: I recently bought a house that has a porch light that doesn’t work. The porch light is mounted to a junction box that is installed surface-mounted to a vinyl mounting box. The junction box is loaded with silicone but I’m sure it’s still not weathertight and probably the reason for the light not working. My question is how to replace the light and ensure it’s weathertight. Do I need to drill a hole to recess the junction box within the wall, or can I still surface mount a weatherproof box with weather gaskets and silicone between the light fixture and the junction box?


texts: What size cable do I need for a replacement sub-panel?

texts:
I'm doing a kitchen remodel and while tearing down the walls I found quite a mess of wires from a sub-panel that exists in a small closet off the kitchen. It was so bad that I decided it needs to be replaced.

While replacing this sub-panel the main feed wires from the main panel down in the basement started to crack along the insulation, they are very old maybe from the 1950's and brittle. I've enclosed some pics of my new sub panel box and the 70amp breaker down in my main panel that feeds the sub-panel. I want to pull this wire because I don't think there's any way this will pass inspection with how brittle the coating is on the wire. I've got electrical tape on the wires now, but that isn't gonna make it pass either.

My question is, what size wire can I replace this with? It's a 70amp breaker down in the basement, and the wire that's there now is quite large, maybe a 2 gauge. I believe this might have been a main box back in the day and this wire used to be a main into the house and not a sub, instead of rewiring, they kept it? Just my opinion.

My sub panel will be used to power electric stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher & sink disposal along with lights, outlets and other lights in other rooms in the house.  Thank you for any and all help/advice!  P.S. This is in New Jersey.


texts: My Smart Bulb is randomly flashing, is it dying?

texts:
Here's the thing. I've had this cheap Smart Wi-Fi LED light bulb for over a year and I have to say that it worked pretty good until now. I recently changed my ISP and they gave me a new router, so I obviously had to reconfigure my Smart Bulb function on the new network and then the weird stuff started. When turned OFF from any device (and for device I mean my phone/google assistant, not the wall switch), the light starts throwing a periodic flash every 3 minutes give or take, and it's not a weak flash, I'm talking about a 1/4 second full brightness flash, powerful enough so that you can see it with your eyes closed when trying to sleep. When turned on it has like the opposite behavior, one solid flicker every 3 min. I thought I could get used to it or that it was a temporary issue with the new router but it's been over a week and it's kinda driving me nuts. I've seen a lot of people online complain about their LED bulbs flickering when off but they describe a soft, nearly perceptible flicker, nothing like what I described above.
Sorry if this has already been answered but I searched for quite a while and couldn't find anything.

Do any of you guys have any idea about what might be going on? Thanks in advance.


texts: How do you attach this fence panel to a 4x4 post?

texts:
For less elaborated fence panels you use hangers to support the horizontal 2x4 boards but with this desing that is not possible. These are pre made panels

Should I use this type of hangers at the bottom and screws at the top? Screws seems a little bit like patch work


texts: What is the purpose of power going into a Phone Receptacle?

texts:
It is my understanding that the following photo contains a phone jack (old style 4 prong) to the left and a standard nema-15r outlet to the right.

Well, we had found some mold in our basement under some old wood paneling and when I removed the old Sheetrock I noticed Romex (that is live) going into the box. My question is, what would be the purpose of this? Obviously, i'm going to cut power at the breaker and remove this... but why would someone do this in the first place? Is this not a phone jack as I'd assumed?


texts:
3 main questions. I am trying to replace a light fixture with a ceiling fan/light combo. I've read that some boxes are not rated for ceiling fans.

How do I find out and/or can you tell from my pic?

The fan bracket would not fit my box, so I picked up a universal one. Is it installed correctly?

Wiring. 2 whites together, 1 brown and 1 yellow (not used with previous fixture). How am I to connect the black, blue, white, green? I saw something about grounding occurring through metal conduit and I "think" that may be what I have, but still don't know what it means for the install.


texts: Dishwasher malfunctions with blinking lights

texts:
My Frigidaire dishwasher (model FFBD2411NS) stopped working today in the middle of a cycle, lights blinking (heavy load light, hot water light, heat dry light, sanitize light, and one phase light (wash): lights corresponding to the options I picked). It is an old model, without fancy displays or even a place for error codes.

I tried to restart the machine. It drained residual water and restarted a cycle, only to break down again a few minutes later. Most of the time, I can't even get the machine to restart, as the lights come blinking as soon as I hit the start button. I have tried different option combinations, but nothing seems to work. It seems sheer luck to get the thing to start. If I try again after 10 minutes, I might be lucky enough to get it to run a short while, but eventually it breaks down. It has been running fine for a year. Just yesterday it was working perfectly fine.

What could be the possible issue here? Any possibility this could be fixed without having to change parts?


texts: I'm looking at purchasing some prefinished baseboard to save me some time. My plan is just to paint it white. Am I correct in my thinking that since it is prefinished, I should just be able to paint it and go?


texts: Need to stop sound of rain hitting top of window AC

texts:
I want to silence the sound of rain drops falling on my window air conditioners by putting some kind of pad on top of them. (The sound is keeping me awake.) I also need to be very frugal right now so I'm looking into using what I have around the house. I have a roll of polyester fiberfill that I've used for quilting and crafts. It is thermally bonded spun polyester fibers. (I got this idea from someone else who said they used an air filter pad, which I think can be either spun polyester or spun fiberglass.)

I've seen a couple of "drip pads" for this purpose for sale online. But, for a couple of reasons, they won't work for me.

In considering how to make these pads, I've had a few questions for which I can't find answers on the internet. Maybe someone one on this site has the answers.

1)I had to place one AC in the direct afternoon sunlight - no choice. I know the metal housing must get very hot with the summer sun beating down on it. Does anyone know how hot the metal housing on the AC would get in, let's say, 100 F weather with the sun directly on it?

2) Does anyone know the melting or burning point (F) for spun polyester?

3) Does anyone have any opinion about a low cost material that would work better than spun polyester? (It would need to be breathable, not hold water, not break down quickly in the sun, and certainly not burn or melt and run into the AC unit.)

Thank you.


texts:
What's the simplest path for me to fix this?  Is it possible for me to order a new "cap" somehow or do I need to replace the whole switch plate?

Thanks in advance!


texts: How does one find studs in double drywall

texts: I have a lot of kitchens to install on walls with double drywall over metal studs. My Franklin Sensors stud finder is great for single drywall but is failing on double, I have been having to search for them with a screw and things aren’t really OC. What strategies are recommended for finding studs in such a situation?


texts: What is the maximum span for a beam made of two 2x10s screwed together?

texts:
This is for a deck. If I make a beam out of two 2x10s, what would the maximum span be? The beams will be 8 feet apart (joist span). They will be resting on posts. The number of posts depends on how far the beams can span. This will be standard pressure treated lumber. I was going to use screws to hold the beams together.  Maybe construction adhesive, too.
I have a book that says 8 feet, but want to double check that I'm reading the tables right. this is under a deck, no crazy loads like a hot tub.
Thanks!


texts: How to remove interior stone wall facade

texts:
What is the best way to remove the rock wall facade around the fireplace and on the whole wall?
The floor in the room is currently old vinyl that we are going to rip out and replace.


texts: Ethernet above drop ceiling — plenum cable “just in case”?

texts:
I’ve been reading about the right way to install Ethernet cable at home (1) (2) (3) (4) and my requirements are:

Category 6A cable for future-proofing (as of 2019, this seems better than Cat 6).
Shielded F/UTP cable for robustness to EMI/Radio Frequency Interference. (5)

I have a run in the basement that would be above a drop ceiling, but the drop ceiling is not currently used as a plenum space— as far as I know. There are returns and supplies that are ducted to the finished basement, but they appear to be sealed.  This home is located in the USA.

Question 1: Plenum Fail

Some of the articles here and on Wikipedia make it sound as though you need to plan for space above dropped ceiling to be Plenum in the event of a ducting failure or if something gets disconnected in the future.

This would push me to 6A-FUTP-CMP which is pretty expensive cable (let’s say $4-600 per roll) and hard to find besides.  Is this warranted: do you need to treat above-the-dropped-ceiling space as potential plenum space, or only if you know it is a plenum?

Question 2: Unfinished Portion Basement

If I run cabling in the unfinished portion of the basement, do I need to use CMP grade cable just in case a future renovation adds a ceiling that would invalidate the cable?

Or do I expect that a future renovator (me) would locate all the cable that’s about to be covered up and rip it out and replace it?  Or is this moot because single-family home basements typically don’t use drop ceilings as plenums and you don’t have to treat them that way?


texts: How can I remove a musty smell from the basement?

texts:
We're currently setting up a basement to be used as an apartment, and are trying to see how we could get rid of a musty smell that seems to exist in that area. While we're thinking it might be due to air flow (there's no direct airflow, but windows exist in all rooms), we're wondering if there's any options short of tearing out walls and what not.

To elbaroate on the "smell", it's the kind of smell that would exist in an area that is a bit damp, cool, and with little air movement. No mildew or other molds currently exist.


texts: Why would anyone get a 6-1/2" over a 7-1/4" circular saw? Is there something a 6-1/2" can do that a 7-1/4" cannot?


texts: What do I need to do to ensure the longevity of my Welsh dresser?

texts: Around 2008 my Mum gifted us her Welsh dresser which I believe is pine, or possibly a slightly harder wood with a similar colour/tone. We occasionally (who am I kidding; maybe twice a year) polish it with Mr Sheen/Pledge, but nothing more. And even that is only on the top of the sideboard and maybe the doors. Do I need to be performing any sort of ir/regular maintenance to ensure the longevity of the piece? Should I apply some form of wax annually?


texts: Tiling over latex paint that has water proofing membrane

texts:
So I am wanting to turn my tub only area into a tub and shower and because of this I am wanting to tile the entire surrounding area with tile.

The big question I have is if the wall has latex paint, slightly glossy, and I put water-proof membrane over it, is that strong enough to hold in the wet area? I have coated a small area and the hold it strong, it takes a sharp edge to break the membrane, can't just pick at it with my nails, and it doesn't peel off the entire area after breaking it.

The water proofing Mapei Mapelastic™ AquaDefense.

The wall underneath is solid, I can't say it is a CBU but it is some mix of hard materals, very corase, as it ruined my metal saw blades fast when I have to move and outlet over.


texts: Motion detector switch affected by heater?

texts:
We have a 35X50 shop that was recently built and it is lit with LED lights in the ceiling controlled by a motion sensor switch on the wall by one of the man doors. The switch is not close to the heater, which is hung off the 20 ft ceiling.
The shop is fully insulated and is heated by a Calcana infrared natural gas heater (love that heater). During extremely cold weather, we will notice that the lights are on in the shop when there is absolutely nothing in the shop that would be creating motion of any kind. My assumption has always been that the sensor is somehow being impacted by the heater when it cycles on during cold weather. Can motion switches be impacted by temperature changes created by the heater? Maybe just an adjustment to the sensitivity needed?


texts:
My friend gave me a MIG welder that has normal wire with the Gas attachment.
I was trying to get argon gas cylinder but had more trouble then expected.
Now I'm thinking of just buying flux core wire and not connecting argon gas at all.

Can I use flux core wire in a MIG welder that was designed to use argon gas?


texts: How can I fill the gap between layers of a stair tread?

texts:
I had to add tread height, to make an old stair come out even when adding an insulated floor below (see How can I deal with a short bottom step on a stairwell? ).   Now I've got a gap on the top tread's sill nosing.  What type of product might work?  "Bondo" is often used for such things, but it may be too stiff and crack over time:

What might be both structural, and form a neat enough edge?  The stairs will be painted, then have carpet runners.  Note that each stair from here down was raised by 1/4" more than the prior one, averaging out the short bottom step.


texts: What is the proper way to sand live edge piece of wood in preparation for a polyurethane finish?

texts: I have debarked a live edge walnut slab. Since the edge is rough and not flat, how would one properly sand that live edge without killing all of the subtle contours of that live edge. All of the sanding is being done to prepare for a polyurethane finish.


texts: Can I attach a chandelier light fixture to a ceiling fan?

texts: I would like to attach my mother's small, vintage chandelier to a small fan that is light kit adaptable. My son is a licensed electrician. Is it impractical to ask him to attach the chandelier to the fan? It's for our granddaughters' bedroom.


texts:
This is a relatively new opener, we've only lived in this new build house a year and of course the opener is out of warranty. First it kept trying to drive itself when it was already down and wouldn't auto-reverse, instead it just tripped the breaker. Now it hums and won't move in any direction. I've detached the door and it rolls up and down fine. The slider part is so far down the track that you can't reattach the door.

I currently have it open and see no visual issues, no fried components on the logic board, capacitor looks okay, no broken gears, and when it's activated there is 0 movement. What should I try next? I'm off work for a surgery in 2 days, needless to say cash is tight.

Opener is a Chamberlain 8335W.

EDIT:
I phoned Chamberlain today and they were more helpful than I thought! Over the phone they couldn't narrow it down so have sent me replacement parts for almost everything. Now the only thing is should I replace them all at once or try to narrow it down to whatever failed?


texts: Crack in floor tile. Replacement possible? Or prevent further damage?

texts:
My kitchen floor has been down 4 years and suddenly one of the tiles has cracked. Either it happened by itself (movement between extension and old house? Or someone dropped something very heavy and didn't own up to it (I have dropped a number of heavy duty IKEA glasses and they lose every time!)

So could could get someone to replace the tile (i have spare) but worried the grout won't look the same (colour and spacing//alignment) . Thoughts? Worth it? Should I attempt it myself?

Is there a repair I can do to minimise the visibility of the crack? And prevent it getting worse? (Which I think it has) Filler?

Thanks for your help!!


texts:
My house has a loft with a wooden railing.  The railing is only 30" high - apparently allowed because builder called it "unfinished storage space", or not "habitable" space, which means it could sidestep code.

I would like to modify the rail to be 36" high, and wonder how best to do it.

My dream would be to find hardware pieces of some kind that I could screw into the top edge of the 2x6 and then use those to support a dowel; so there would be a gap of 4" or so above the 2x6 and then the dowel.   It'd look cool.  Maybe a hanger bolt, except I don't think they come that large.  Or a lag eye bolt, but again, I don't think they come that big.

Simply replacing the 2x6 vertical stiles would be simple, but a PITA as there are maybe 60 or so of them.

Or something completely wood-based.  Not as cool as the dowel idea, but fairly straightforward.   But I can't quite figure how to make it look reasonably nice.


texts: Gas Fireplace: Is mesh screen panel in front of the glass necessary?

texts: Our 10 year old gas fireplace looks so much nicer without the wire mesh screen,  just the glass front. The glass seals to the face with 4 spring loaded clamps on the corners, and rope 'caulk'.  Is the mesh screen panel in front of the glass necessary? or is it just to give it the look of a spark screen ?


texts: Tiles or Hardwood: which one better handles movement across a subfloor joint?

texts:
I bought a 2400 sqf house. It now has carpet everywhere. Below the carpet I have concrete slab in the new part (built in 2009, ~800 sqft) and the old house has a wood subfloor with on top a solid hardwood flooring (old house, built in 1959, ~1600 sqft). As you see from the pictures, the solid wood (old house) is about 3-4 mm below the level of the concrete slab (new house). Sanding the old ugly (thin planks)solid wood is not an option.
If possible, I want the same flooring everywhere. I am considering 2 options: Engineered wood and wood-looking porcelain tiles. Ruled out Luxury Vinyl for aesthetic reasons.
I would like to have continuous flooring between the 2 areas without transition areas, for open floor effect (9 foot opening, see picture). However, I am afraid that differential settlings between the old and new house might crack the floor.  I am willing to take the risk of no transition but I would like to estimate the cost of a repair caused by differential settling in the 2 cases.
Summarizing, the questions are: which of the two options tiles, and engineered hardwood, would better handle movement across a subfloor joint with no transition?


texts: Do I need soffit vents for my knee wall attic?

texts:
I purchased a 55 year old home that has no soffit vents.  The attic space consists of a knee wall attic space and peak attic space.  The peak attic space has vents at each end and a ridge vent at the top.  I checked for signs of moisture and mold and found none.  I live in the Fort Worth, Texas area.   I always hear Mike Holmes talk about the necessity of soffit vents, but I know his show is in Canada which is a very different climate from mine.  It seems to me that if the house was OK for 55 years without soffits, then I don't need to do anything and that it's OK.

What do you guys think?


texts:
This is something that I have always wondered about. In ICI you often and almost exclusively see receptacles ground up. As the story goes it's to stop objects from sliding down an contacting the live prong of a poorly inserted plug.

The Canadian Electrical Code makes no reference to the "correct" orientation but shows the image of a receptacle ground pin up. But hot wires are supposed to be on the right bottom terminal first(I've been told). Why the discrepancy between industrial and institutional vs residential? Commercial goes either way, but if it's inherently safer ground up why are receptacles manufactured to be ground down and why is residential ground down? Over the years I've discussed this with many electricians of various backgrounds and have got a lot of different answers. Hoping to get something concrete here.


texts: Should my pool pump be hard-wired or plugged into an oulet?

texts:
I have pool heat pump plugged to 30A outlet, with 10#
my questions :

following instructions on the plate, is it ok to leave this pump plugged to this 30A outlet (connected to 30A breaker) I mean is it safe or I must use 20A circuit, breaker 20A + 12# wire till the pump ( disctance 37' )
I don't have enoug space on my panel, so can I remove this 30A breaker and replace it with 20A ? (wiring as well )

I heard that if the heater is hard wired is better than outlet because of wattage loss, is it the only reason or is it safer also ?

Thanks


texts: Why would an air conditioning unit specify a maximum breaker size?

texts:
A ductless mini split unit I am interested in specifies a maximum breaker size of 15 amps. Why would this be the case?
The unit is going to be installed on the opposite side of the house from where the breaker is, so for a 220v system that runs at about 5 amps, a 70 foot run of electrical wire calls for 8 gauge wire.
I was going to throw a 20 amp circuit breaker for this run until I came across the spec sheet for the unit. I found a similar post where the top answer states that you can always use bigger wire which only reassures me that 8 gauge wire is fine in a 15 amp breaker, but I can't seem to find why the AC unit would call for no bigger than a 15 amp breaker.
In other words, why would a device on a circuit be sensitive to the potential max amperage of its circuit


texts:
I am installing a new vanity light fixture, but after installation it did not turn on. I reinstalled the old one and now that one doesn't turn on either at that fixture. So I used a multi-meter on the wires and it does not detect any AC voltage - I've checked the breaker and it has not tripped. I am out of ideas of where else or what else to check.
Any ideas?


texts:
I have had a kitchen spray gun in the past and now I am trying to install one again but am having difficulty. I stopped for sometime and used a soap dispenser in its place. I also replaced the kitchen faucet itself some time ago and left the house/country for a few years.

At any rate, now I don't see the push and plug to push the end of the spray gun nozzle into. Do I need to purchase a push and plug piece (if that exists) or will I have to get an entire new faucet in order to use the spray gun attachment?

Thanks.
Fee


texts: What should I do with this bare spot on the step?

texts: The bare spot you see below used to be covered by a gnarly patch of carpet, but I removed it when I laid that tile down.  My intent was to put the same tile design over that spot, but I never got around to it.  I am still considering it, but I am wondering what you guys recommend as far as overall aesthetics are concerned.  I am mainly interested in hiding that ugly wood that has been exposed for over two years, but am not sure of the best way to do it.


texts: How can I protect a wall from flames of a gas hob?

texts: The flames of our gas hob scorches the wall behind it and the chipboard panel next to it. Is there any material I can affix to those sides to stop this potential fire hazard from happening?


texts: Cap off hot water from bath with two pipes

texts:
I'm removing a bath and capping off the waste, cold and hot pipes.
 The cold has a single pipe but the hot has two pipes with a temperature 'limiter'.

Can I just cap off both of the hot pipes or will that affect supply to rest of the house?

Update
The 'limiter' is an Instinct TMV2/TMV3 30-50C. I guess that means one pipe must be hot and the other cold, so it can regulate the output temperature.

I guess that means I can safely cap both pipes off happily, without affecting the flow across the rest of the house...?


texts: Found 2 wires hanging below shingles against foundation

texts: I found 2 wires hanging below the shingles against the foundation outside my house under my bedroom window. One is white, the other black. Are they electrical? No idea how long they've been there and now I'm scared. I accidentally touched them when pushing leaves away with my hand and I didn't get electrocuted. They were hidden by the leaves. Please answer asap; it's going to rain tomorrow!


texts: How can I fit a board to another that isn't straight?

texts:
When I created this end cap I knew the floor was not level, but I only have the straight cut of my table saw.

See the gap at the lower left?

For future projects....

How could I have cut this so I compensated for the uneven floor?


texts: How install single Insteon switch with only line, load, and ground?

texts: I have a single on/off switch controlling a single light. I’ve checked carefully, and have ONLY one 3-wire Romex with black, white, and bare copper ground. (No white neutral wire hidden in box.) Am I correct (as the box says) that I CANNOT install an Insteon 2477S? Is there a different Insteon switch that would work? (Calif. house built in 1988.)


texts: How do I get a cam lock out of a really deep hole?

texts:
I bought a 54" desk from a local Walmart, more specifically a BH&G cube organizer desk. While I was putting it together and following the instructions, I realized that the cam locks weren't joining with the screws no matter how far anti-clockwise I turned the screwdriver. This was strange since in a previous step, I managed to screw the cam locks and screws in place without any trouble. However, on further inspection, I realized that I had accidentally placed the problem cam locks further into their holes than I should have, where they normally only go in as far as the thread.

I tried to remove them with a screwdriver, but they don't seem to make any noticeable progress out of the hole. I tried lightly tapping the other end of the desk piece with a hammer, but that doesn't seem to work either. They seem to be really stuck in there. I'm just wondering how I would be able to fix this, any help is appreciated. Pictured below is a cam lock I managed to pop out with a screwdriver, a spare nail and luck, and a cam lock that's still burrowed in one of the holes.


texts:
What is this coating? Do I remove it before installing?

EDIT
The one on the forceps is taken from the same batch of new, old stock of Danco cross reference 4L-2H replacement parts.


texts:
I have an un-shielded Cat5E cable that I'm pulling down a wall along a stud.  Near the bottom of said wall there is a 120v line running parallel to the floor.

1) Is it OK to terminate the ethernet in a single-gang junction box, nearly on-top of if the power line?

2) Would it be better to use a metal box?


texts: Correcting Electrical Subpanel With Two Unsheathed Hots Going Back To Main Panel

texts:
I have a small subpanel fed from my main panel.  The subpanel has two (unsheathed) hots (from separate breakers) exiting the top, going back into a wall cavity and  then back to the main panel where they are spliced (wire nuts) to two circuits going off to other areas of the house.  I suspect that there were some double tapped breakers in the main panel and this was the 'solution'. I'm prepping the house for sale and I assume this will not fly with a home inspector.  What are my options for correcting this?

Here's the subpanel:

Here's the back of the main panel:


texts:
I have a Lenox system that is AC only (my heat is separate). On occasions, maybe 10-20% of time, it doesn't cool and the fat refrigerant pipe coming out of the air handler going to the condenser outside is warm, whereas it's cold when it does cool. I think there is no refrigerant flow between the inside unit and the compressor when it's not cooling, there is also no water draining out, I took the hose out of the pipe and put it in a bucket to test
I had a technician come over and he confirned the system is properly charged with refrigerant. When he was here was the other 80-90% of the time when it works so I wasn't able to reproduce the issue. It was $150 for his visit to basically tell me everything is fine. To reproduce the issue, I would have to have him stay here until it shows again.
I am trying to get some ideas of what MIGHT be the cause of this happening before I spend another couple hundred dollars to be tdld the same thing.


texts:
I am unhappy with the job my tiler did recently. It's for a kitchen backsplash using mosaic tile.

He mentioned that it's the tile which was uneven on the mesh, however I would argue that if you are a professional tiler, you would either know enough to flag the issue before finishing it, or know enough how to adjust the tiles so they are even.

He's fixed some of the issues so I think it's looking better (was really bad before), but just wondering opinions if I shouldn't worry about the odd uneven tile here and there. To be honest the edges look sloppy, it just doesn't feel very professional. But I don't want to be melodramatic, if this is what I am to expect then fine. But I don't think it's great. It's the first time I've had tile work done so I don't know what to expect. The tile company said of course some will be uneven a professional tiler will know what they're doing and won't let that show.

Any opinions is appreciated. Thanks!


texts: Tankless sub-panel water heater use = buzzing?

texts:
So I have a main panel (3 phase power), and a 100 amp sub-panel off of that. The sub-panel includes an ~55 amp draw tankless water heater. When it's not used everything is normal. However, when the tankless water heater is engaged, various electronics around the house show side effects:

The power bar for the TV / entertainment center buzzes loudly
Many dimmable LED lights on different circuits flicker / fade
LED lights in the master bathroom buzz loudly

All affected devices are on separate circuits and not tied to the sub-panel or the tankless circuit.

This only happens when the sub-panel tankless heater is active. What's going on? Is it dangerous?


texts: What could cause the ground wire on my baseboard heater to burn?

texts:
On the photo below, you can see that the ground wire as burned.

Description of what i know:

the wire is connected on a 240V line to my baseboard heater
the wire seems to be a AWG 14/2
I don't know about the AMP of the wire. I cannot see it.
the breaker in the panel is a 20A that use 2 slots
The baseboard heater is a little 500W

I've just bought this house so i cannot tell if something wrong happened in the pass. Is it possible to test the wires with a tool to find reasons why it have burned? Maybe some data numbers will help me to find it out. Is it dangerous to put the baseboard heater back on this wire or should i open my wall and change the wire completely?


texts: Low water pressure anytime we run 2 things at once

texts: We are on well water and if we run  any 2 things at once we have almost no pressure. Problem is getting worse as time goes on.


texts: Thin flat cabinet door pull that mounts on the edge of the door rather than the face

texts:
I vaguely recall long ago seeing flat plastic or metal door pulls that mount to the edge of the door rather than the front face of the door. The long front protruding edge of the pull is rounded for better grasp.
These are meant for cabinet doors that mount flush to the edge of the cabinet rather than closing on the outside of the cabinet. They lend a sleek modern minimalist look.
Am I crazy or do these exist?
If they exist, where/how might I get some? What are they called?
I searched HomeDepot.com web site, and asked two human staffers, but no luck.


texts: Why does one phase of my buildings mains line show a significant amount of voltage (~60V) when it goes down?

texts:
The other day one of the phases of our power faulted and the fuse tripped on the power company side. I measured the voltage at 60-65V. Lights were flickering, and some devices kept running (like a dell computer, it was perfectly happy at 60V).

How does the power back feed from one phase to a 'tripped' line that should read 0V?

Both lines are regular 120V AC mains lines in northern America.


texts: What, if anything can you attach to a beam?

texts:
I'm flipping a row home.  I had two rotting beams that had to be replaced.  Because of the way they align with the existing joists, they will extend below the height of the sheetrock.
The two ideas I heard were to box it off with sheetrock or box it off with premium wood for aesthetic reasons.  I always thought you weren't supposed to attach anything to beams (other than joists).  I don't even put wire staples in beams.  Is there a correct way of handling this?


texts:
One side of the bed has totally come off. See pictures for the broken side plus the screws that are attached to it .

My question is that is there any scope of repairing this bed so that in the future it can still be dismantled and reassembled. I can send more pictures if needed.

The screw nuts look like they had been put in wood that was hollowed out for this purpose. So I am skeptical about how I can attach these components. But wanted feedback,

To update. Two pieces that fell out of the broken wood are shown in the additional image. My hunch is that this is composite wood.


texts: Load bearing wall & shelving suggestions

texts:
As you can see by photo, I’ve wttached these “uprights” to a load bearing wall, hoping to have room for work bench and cabinet and tv underneath when done. Focusing on just the shelf right now- the top of this shelf where I will store kids clothes, yard tools and, some furniture parts. Ignore the clutter under the shelf as thats all temporary.

I got excited and attached to wall but am now questioning whether whether it’s safe to have this much pull on a load bearing wall. Therefore, looking for suggestions to secure so it stands on its own, and is just attached to wall.

Can’t tie into ceiling because ceiling/roofing system is butt joints with steel gussets - not meant to be pulled on.

Will take uprights down if there’s no other way- hate to waste as I spent a lot of time getting the joinery right and they were expensive.


texts: Can you glue backerboard to concrete then tile over?

texts:
Want to know if you can glue backerboard to interior concrete wall for kitchen backsplash. Can’t drill as it’s a condo concrete wall. Concerned that tiles will shift as concrete wall shifts.
Thanks


texts: Will 3.5" polyiso keep my electrical cables from melting?

texts:
I am converting a room into a sauna that will frequently be very hot (100+C).  It has some wiring -- a few outlets and a light, from its previous use.  The insulation for electrical cables is rated up to 95C, and it isn't wise to approach this temperature.

I will put 3.5" polyiso on all the walls, but if I leave the outlets I they will obviously poke through the polyiso to the exterior.  Will this be sufficient to keep the cables' insulation from melting, keeping in mind that at least a small part of the cable will be nearly outside the insulation?

Edit:  Looking at the boxes, it appears that if they face into the hot room the wiring is at the back of the box, putting it behind all the insulation.  If I face them away from the hot room into the adjoining room, the back of the box will be closer to the heat.  Thoughts?


texts: Hoping to install an HRV in our house to improve winter air quality.  One floor ranch with a full basement located in Vermont, so cold winters.  The upstairs in entirely finished and there is no current duct work.  I would plan to install the unit in the basement in an unfinished area with access to a place for a condensate drain.  What are the best and least disruptive ways to install the necessary duct work upstairs?  Are there flexible ducts I could feed up through the 2x4 framed walls using minimal holes or would need to install the rigid 3 1/4 by 10" ducting?


texts: How can I repair a damaged seam on leather sofa

texts: See the attached image below, any idea how I can repair this problem myself?


texts: How can I cut a floorboard while it's still nailed down?

texts:
I have a 130 year old house with original floorboards made of 1+1/4 inch thick pitch pine (much, much tougher than today's cheap pine - it's like steel).

There's a section of floorboard that's been cut out to make an inspection hatch it to run cables, and it has been done badly - the cut (with a circular saw, I presume) almost missed the joist underneath, so the 'hatch' looks pretty precarious.

The cut is across 3 boards, and in an effort not to cut beyond the 3, they've stopped short, and just pulled up the boards, breaking the last one so that it's left a spur of wood sticking out (which you can't see when the hatch is in place).

Anyway, I'd like to extend the hole by another inch, and replace the 'hatch' boards with some slightly-longer boards take from somewhere else. I don't want to lift the boards that I'm cutting, because they've never been taken up, and I know from experience that lifting floorboards is bad for them. So, I want to cut them in-situ.

What I can't figure out is how to cut an inch off those boards, given that they're on top of the joist, and hemmed in by boards that I don't want to touch. I could probably use a circular saw for the middle part, but how to get the edges? I've had mixed results in the past with a floorboard saw, but it's really really difficult with boards as hard as these. Likewise chipping away with a chisel doesn't seem viable.

Any ideas?


texts: How would you put up/frame a wall where the 2x4 studs are turned flat to make the wall 2" thick? One especially tricky thing is that (it seems that) all nails must be toenailed since a 3.5" long 16d nail isn't long enough to attach the 3.5" tall plates to the studs. Are there any suggestions on how to avoid toenailing or how to toenail effectively with a nail gun so that they go in at the right angle to grip well, not split the 1.5" thick wood and not stick out the other side?


texts: Re-installing slate tile in an entry hall

texts:
We moved into this home about 25 years ago.  It is a "Mid-century modern" with green, gray, and red slate tiles in the entry.  When we moved in, some of the tile were loose and we had a tile-guy take them up and put them back down.  In about 5 years, the same thing...take up and re-install.  We have had this done 4 times and need to do it again.  These are reputable tile-guys -- premier floor covering/tile people in the area.  One thing...they always use mortar to set the tiles.  I asked about using mastic instead of mortar, but they always say "no."  I have installed lots of ceramic tile over the years and used mastic & grout.  None have ever come up.

What are my guys doing wrong?


texts: I have a company working with us in fitting a new kitchen. When they removed the old tiles, the plasterboard was damaged. They fitted new plasterboard. Should they have done anything to the new plasterboard to finish it before hanging cabinets? Also I am getting the backsplash tiled and in a couple of areas (as shown in picture with my hand) there is a considerable gap between worktop and plasterboard. How on earth does that get tiled without having to try fill the gaps with sealant/ silicone?


texts: Is clorox outdoor + jomax safe on vinyl decking?

texts: I used the recipe suggested in this question to successfully clean my vinyl siding. Its a combination of Jomax, Clorox outdoor, and water. I'm wondering if this solution will work fine on my vinyl decking that I'm looking to clean?


texts: Why is the polyurethane finish I applied a month ago still tacky?

texts:
I recently decided to embed my niece's picture into a serving tray style tabletop. I printed the picture, had it laminated, bought polyurethane, followed the directions to a "T". It's now one month and a day later and the surface is still tacky (I can leave a fingerprint in it). Otherwise, it looks GREAT!

How do I remove the "tacky to the touch" from the surface?


texts: Why does turning on one light turn off a different light?

texts:
I have a ceiling fan with a light and another light with switches on opposite sides of the wall. One side has a double switch which goes to the fan with a light and the other a single three way switch which goes to a light in the pantry. They both run off the same power. When I turn on one switch to run the light on the fan the light on the other side of the wall goes off and vice versa.

How do I fix this problem?


texts: Why is water profusely coming out of my shower head when the water is boiling in my water heater?

texts:
I just got my water heater fixed as previously it wasn't heating up water. When I turned on the water heater later on, at first there was nothing wrong since it takes time for heating element to heat up the water to a hot temp. But once the water started to really get hot in the tank, then water started spurting out profusely, almost as if someone turned the knob to let some water out but not to the full shower 'strength'. It just kept spurting out really hot water until I decided it would be safe to turn off the heater until I figure out whats wrong. I'm guessing theres something wrong with the pressure seal on the shower head? Might it be that the pressure in the water tank is forcing out the hot water as the water begins to get very hot? Also, is it safe for my family to take a shower while its like this?
Update: I realize the problem might actually be with the shower head. After inspecting it more closely I noticed its a bit busted up and its not spraying water well. One of my family members must've dropped it on the floor this morning. But I'll get a new shower head soon and we'll see if that fixes the problem.


texts: Outside sub panel between meter and breaker box

texts: On the front of the house I have a meter and below it is a sub panel. I open the cover and there is a single switch in the middle of the panel (looks like a giant light switch) and it is spring loaded. You cannot turn it off. Can you tell me what is the purpose and how to turn off?


texts: Can a KNX smart house installation be reasonably maintained by an end user?

texts:
I am looking into transforming the light switches, curtains, and ACs in my house to a KNX based system. If I understand correctly, KNX is an open standard that allows anyone to configure their devices. I am planning to get a contractor to do the installation for me, and he will select the actuators, install the wiring, and perform the initial configuration.

Many people around me are advising me not to do home automation in general because you end up with a black box that a contractor would give you that you don't understand, would be dependent on that contractor to make the simplest changes to configurations, and they would charge a lot and have a high running cost over time. However, I consider myself very tech minded (I am a computer engineer by trade), and I work with control systems for a living, so I think I can handle this stuff myself.

Is it possible, or practical, for me to maintain my own KNX system, or is this something that is best left to the professionals? What tools do I need to do this? What sort of effort is required?

(I hope I am posting this in the right place. Can't find a home automation stackexchange so this is the closest thing)


texts: Temporarily using 240v electric hot water heater with 120v from generator

texts:
I live in South Florida. Hurricanes happen, and knock the power out for weeks at a time when they do.

I don't need water that's steaming hot, but I really want to be able to take showers that are at LEAST "tolerably tepid" when running from generator power for days or weeks at a time (when connected, the water heater could be the generator's ONLY load if necessary).

The devil, of course, is in the details... specifically, I'm strugging to figure out how many amperes my water heater will draw when powered by 120 volts instead of 240 volts, so I can size the wire and plug appropriately.

Based on my understanding of Ohm's Law, when fed 120v (pin mapping below), the water heater will draw 9.375 amperes, and its heating coils will output 1,125 watts of heat. As far as I know, it's a straightforward pure resistive load, and only one heating element at a time is ever in use (top heats until water reaches set point, then bottom heats until either bottom reaches set point or top falls below set point). This seems to imply that when running, the water heater would draw slightly more power than a toaster (9A), but less power than my laser printer (11A when preheating the fuser or actively printing).

Is this correct? Would it REALLY draw only 1,125 watts (9.375 amperes) from the generator? Do I have the connections right, or are there additional things to consider with regard to neutral and ground?

Details:

I live alone, so I don't have to supply hot (or at least tepid) water to anyone besides myself.

My hot water heater (unlikely to be replaced anytime soon) is a standard 40-gallon electric water heater (US/Craftmaster Water Heater Company, model E1F40RD045V). It's 10+ years old, and has no "smart" features or electronics whatsoever.

The sticker on the side lists the following specs:

Phase           1      1
Volts AC       208    240
Upper Element 3380   4500
Lower Element 3380   4500
Total
Connected
Watts         3380   4500

The water heater has a standard NEMA 10-30 plug. The two hot leads from its power cord are connected to something inside the water heater, and the middle (neutral) lead from the power cord is connected to a screw on the water heater's chassis.

Wiring Plan:

Build a custom extension cord with receptacle suitable for the water heater at one end, and plug suitable for the generator at the other. When connected to the generator, the water heater would be its ONLY load.

120v generator hot to water heater's "240v" hot #1
120v generator neutral to water heater's "240v" hot #2
120v generator ground to water heater's "240v" neutral (which is actually bolted to the water heater's chassis).


texts: Drag marks from piano wheels, how to fix?

texts:
Recently we tried to move our piano across our floor by rolling it but to our chagrin the weight of the piano left indented rolling marks on our lovely wooden floor. They are all over about 1/6th of our living floor. Some are drag marks, i.e. the markings are NOT smooth. Most of them are smooth indented rolling marks about 1/16 - 1/7 in depth by my estimates.

Is there an easy fix for this or do I have to sand down the entire floor by that much? Ir can I just sand down that area...but then we would be left with I leveled floors.

I’m really frustrated because I have to see these marks everyday. :(


texts: Our tiler put Grout Boost on after laying grout, thinking it was grout sealer. What should we do?

texts:
Our tiler made an error and put Grout Boost on after laying the grout, thinking it was grout sealer.  What should we do?

Will Grout Boost act as sealer when applied after grout is put down and dry?

Or should we put sealer over the grout and Grout Boost?

Or wash the Grout Boost off then put down grout sealer?

Or tear up the tile and start over... hope not!!


texts: As a DIYer how do you test your plumbing when you added pipes to existing plumbing?

texts:
As far as I can understand you can do a pressure test when you just installed things
How do you do it when you are adding new lines (ex I am adding PEX lines to existing copper lines)
How do you test your drain for leaks ? I am adding or rerouting drains to an existing drain pipe in the basement. That will go under the slab. Is there any way to test this considering that the other end of the pipe is open -connected to the soil stack ?
Here is my situation. I will be adding the blue segments
4-new sink
1-old sink, piping still in place
3- new shower drain
2- connectionbetween existing drain and new drain for the new sink
6 -soil stack


texts: Typical requirements for electrical final inspection?

texts:
I am doing the electrical work for an addition to our house. I am at a point where all receptacles are installed, and all rooms have lights, but we do not have all light fixtures picked out / bought yet. This may be a little bit down the road in order to make sure the design department (my wife) will be pleased with everything.
Rough in inspection was done before the sheetrock went up. I am located in Minnesota, USA, and this is under the 2017 NEC.

In order to be able to open up the wall into our existing house, I would like to get the final electrical inspection done before all the remaining lights are picked out. I don't think it would be OK to open up the wall until I get the final, as that would make the new space "occupied", right? Is it typically acceptable to have some boxes covered with blank covers or temporary lights (just plain lampholders), as long as all other requirements are generally fulfilled (i. e. receptacle spacing, lights in every room, etc).

I know this will probably vary a little depending on the inspector, but was just looking for a general guideline.


texts: Can I use a dimmer with the light in my ceiling fan

texts:
I almost never use the fan, and I don't care about using a dimmer for the fan speed.  I just want to be able to dim the light.

There are three wires.  One is black going to the bottom of the switch, one white going to the top, and a second white wire at the top of the switch wrapped around a screw but not plugged into it.


texts: Do I need a nailing edge around the perimeter of my room for my new AdvanTech subfloor?

texts:
I have torn out the original flooring from by 1910 Victorian so that I can level the joists and install new sound subfloor. I'm using 3/4" AdvanTech T&G subfloor, glued and screwed to the new sisters.
What I'd like to know is if I need to install blocking to provide a nailing edge around the perimeter of the room where the joists deadhead into the brick walls. The original floor had no nailing edge. Installing blocking will be pretty easy in some places, but there are mechanicals that make installing it a challenge in others. There are places where I can't fit a nailing edge within 6" of the exterior wall.

Some things I'd like opinions on are:

If I don't install a nailing edge, is it likely I will have a noticeable bounce?
If I should install a nailing edge, but can't fit a full height joist in place, will a 2x4 add enough rigidity to be worth the energy to install?
If I should install a nailing edge, but can't get one within a few inches of the exterior wall, do I just install one as close as possible or is that just a waste?
What would your typical contractor do in this scenario?

For you old house lovers who want to yell at me for chucking the old growth pine planks, please know that I did everything I could to try to salvage the original floor. For a wide variety of reasons, it just wasn't in the cards.
Update: Just as an FYI I did not install blocking around the perimeter. 5 months later and there is no noticeable difference between the rigidity of the floor system between the middle of the room and the perimeter. Thanks for you help!


texts:
My garage has some water damage, which needs addressing (see photos below). I have a good attitude but no experience with this sort of repair. Does it make sense to try to do this myself? And if not, who do I call? A mason? A GC?

Update
Here are photos of the wall material.


texts: What size ledger do I need to hang joists in garage. I'm using 2x10x20'8 inch joist #1 or # 2 lumber. 12 inches on center. Do I need to double up on the ledger as well. I will be attaching ledger to top plate and studs in garage with lag bolts. The space above joists will be used for limited storage.


texts:
I'm in the process of gutting a bedroom. I had to remove a pocket door, move the light switch, add a couple of receptacles, and deal with some rot/mold/insects on the exterior wall. I found that whoever put up the drywall in that room used glue on every stud with only a handful of drywall nails per board (to hold it in place while the glue dried, I suppose).

My problem/question is now that I've removed all of the drywall, little bits at a time, I have studs with up to an 1/8 inch of hard construction glue up and down them. Should I leave the glue and put the new drywall over it if it seems even, or it is worth the time to chip off all of the glue and then install drywall right on the studs? It's a LOT of work and I'd like to avoid it unless there's some problem I can't think of.


texts:
I have to remove these rivets (see pics).

What tool can I use for that?


texts: Electrical: Lighting Fixture Switch Wiring Predicament

texts:
I'm looking for help with a peculiar (at least to me) wiring situation involving my dining room ceiling fixture.  I've managed to replace most of the fixtures in the house, but this one is giving me trouble, and unfortunately I don't have notes on how the previous fixture was wired to the switch (but i know it somehow worked with this configuration).  I've done quite a bit of searching on this and other forums and haven't been able to find a setup quite like mine.  Here's how it looks:

There are 3 pairs of wires coming through the mount in different places (the black and white pair at the top of the frame belong to the new fixture being installed).  In the upper left corner, we have a black and a yellowish wire (which i'd expect based on convention to be a ground lead) coming through. Beneath that in the lower left corner is a set of one black and one white wire.  To the right of that in the lower right corner is another set of one black and one white wire.  The black wire in this lower right set is hot, regardless of the position of the switch.  All other wires appear to be neutral, again regardless of the position of the switch.  Of note, the whites and blacks from these lower pairs are joined together (I did not remove the previous fixture, but I suspect they were this way in the wiring of the previous working fixture).  Here's the switch:

Not much going on here.  I have no ideas where these wires lead to in the fixture above.

Due to the setup and the presence of an always-hot wire in the ceiling fixture, my hunch is that this is some kind of switch loop.  But I can't seem to figure out a way to properly wire the fixture to the switch with this setup.  I'm of course able to connect the fixture to the hot wire so that the fixture's bulb is always on, but I'm having no luck integrating that with the switch.  Any advice/tips/suggestions/further questions are much appreciated.


texts: How do i run electrical cord or extension across my sidewalk

texts:
Would like to add christmas lights to two trees that are across my sidewalk into the front most part of my lawn. I dont want to use tape!

Can anyone provide images or simple steps to do this?


texts: Are there any advantages to using s-clips for attaching a table top instead of a right angle bracket?

texts:
I'm looking to build the "Simple, Sturdy Workbench" from Getting Started in Woodworking, Season 2 - http://www.startwoodworking.com/getting-started. The design attaches the bench top to the frame using s-clips, drilled to the bench top and slotted into the frame (with appropriately routed slots in the frame).

My question is: Is there any particular advantage for this method of attachment over using right angle brackets attached into both the bench top and the bench frame?

Unfortunately where I'm currently located, such s-clips may not be as easy to procure as right angle brackets. And I would have thought that right angle brackets would provide a more solid attachment given the multiple potential attachment points on both the bench top and frame. Also s-clips don't really aid in removing the bench top - if so desired - as one would still have to crawl underneath the workbench to unscrew the s-clip to remove the top. Or have I misunderstood something?


texts: Water dripping into foundation where geolock wall anchor rod enters basement

texts:
I've recently purchased my first home (raised ranch) and had 8 geolock wall anchors installed all along the back wall of the house.  This was done in hopes of correcting a slight inward bow in the garage wall.  The one on the corner of the other side of the house has been causing me some grief.  Recently, I noticed a dripping sound coming from behind one of the plates right after it rains. Also, a little bit of water has wicked through the cinder block directly below the plate. The dripping becomes infrequent a few hours after the rain has stopped.
I have a hunch about what it could be, but would appreciate some advice about how to handle this issue.  Note that none of the other 7 wall anchors have this problem or any other problem that I've noticed.  I'll explain about some of my findings:
-The gutter that runs along the backside of the house has a flat spot in the middle and holds water.  One week ago, I added a second downspout on the other end, discharging water some 20ft away from my foundation.  The gutter does not hold water anymore.  I think this may have been a contributing factor, however since it's addition, the dripping did not stop.
-The 14ft x 20ft paver patio; 3 of the anchor rods sit below it, including the anchor giving me the dripping problem. Looking at it from several angles, something just seems off about the grading.  Yesterday, I pounded some stakes in the ground and leveled up a string and found that the patio does slope away from the house, but its a 1 inch change in elevation over the 14ft length. 1" over 14ft is not enough?  Measuring width wise, there is a 1 inch bulge in the middle of the patio, with each end being 1 inch lower than the middle.
Could the grading of the patio not be adequate to drain water away from the house?  Could water be puddling up underneath the patio and finding its way down to the rod and into the the cinder block?  Could there be another explanation?  Thank you.


texts: South Florida roof softit roof ventilation and of insulation batts

texts:
I live in south Florida and am insulating the roof by placing batts between the rafters. I'm not sure if placing the batts up against the edge where the beams and walls meet is ok or not.

The rafters that correspond to the ventilation grills in the softit will have plenty of space for air flow.

Should I back the batts off from the edge? If so how much, 6" alright?


texts: Insulate the frame of a door to stop odor outside while closed

texts:
This is an old wooden door and I am trying to keep the smell outside of it, I share the house with other people who fry very often.

I am thinking to get some foam strips for the frame and something to cover the bottom. This is the part I am more concerned about, I looked on the web but most hints I found are just to stop the cold outside.

Suggestions?


texts: Can I safely remove this unused blocking from a load-bearing wall?

texts: In opening up an exterior (load-bearing wall) to re-insulate it and replace wood paneling with drywall, I found a weird piece of blocking towards the top. It doesn't look like it's supporting anything, and there's nothing nailed to either side of it. I'd like to remove it, as its presence reduces the amount of insulation I can put there.


texts: Using buck/step up inverters for in-wall ovens

texts:
Trying to install an American oven in Japan and I could use some help on the electrical side.

I have 200v single phase as well as 200v 3-phase in open-delta configuration, both in 60 hz

The oven specs say I need either 208v three phase or 240v.

The oven draws 4000w and the microwave 1600w.

I’m trying to decide what would be more appropriate.

A) hook it up to 3-phase 200v as-is. If I’m not mistaken appliances are permitted a 10% variance in either direction. 208v to 200v is less than 3%. Am I right or when using three phase does the 10% variance rule not apply?

B) Buy two of these: https://www.larsonelectronics.com/product/265090/1-phase-buck-boost-step-up-transformer-100v-primary-120v-secondary-31-25-amps-50-60hz

If I use these buck transformers, however, do I have to worry about this: “buck transformers do NOT generate even legs of voltage on the secondary side.” I’m no expert but this seems more important for electronics than it would for heating elements, although I might be wrong.

Any and all help/advice is sincerely appreciated.

Best,

Jay

Edit: So, I just brought my multimeter outside and took so pictures for extra clarification. This junction box has a puny 10amp breaker because it only for my well pump. So my plan would be to have a dedicated line run by an electrician solely for the oven.


texts: What can (and cannot) be put down drains that are connected to septic systems?

texts:
This might be more appropriate as a community wiki...

We have a septic system and I'm extremely paranoid about what can (and cannot) be put down our sink drains.  I know the general answer is "nothing but water" but I'm particularly curious about:

Toothpaste
Hand soap (not labeled as anti-bacterial)
Rinsing paint brushes
Facial hair from shaving
Left over coffee

How careful should I be?

-M


texts: Can I clean my under-the-floor dryer vent?

texts:
Our laundry nook is smack in the middle of our house. The dryer vent goes into an interior wall, turns 90° downward, soon turns 90° back the way it came, and goes straight for four or five meters until exiting a tube near the ground on an exterior wall.

I'm a new homeowner and knew nothing about this stuff until just recently, when our dryer has started drying clothes very very very slowly. We unhooked the dryer and used a shop vac to get several big chunks of lint out of the vent. Then we got several big soaking wet chunks of lint out of the vent. And we weren't done getting lint out it when we ran into the maximum length of our shop vac hose.

Further reading and investigation has turned up several interesting pieces of information:

There hasn't been a vent cover on the outlet of the dryer vent the whole time we've lived here.
There's really supposed to be a vent cover on any dryer vent.
There's really, really not supposed to be any water infiltration in your dryer vent.
This has apparently been a really, really, really big fire hazard for who knows how long.

So given that we don't have the tools necessary to clean the thing properly, we're planning on calling a repairman tomorrow. Money's very very tight, though, so first I thought I'd ask:

Is there any way of satisfactorily cleaning our dryer vent ourselves? Or is it going to end up being cheaper to call in an expert to fix it for us?


texts: AEG “micromat_combi 635” halts with error E14. What to do?

texts:
My AEG MICROMAT_COMBI 635 often halts with a beep and an error E14. I then need to temporarily unplug it from the mains power. I remember this annoying error occurring since years (it first made me stop programming its preference keys, and later I even gave up setting the clock), but recently it even started to occur after plugging in the machine, making it useless.

Searches on the web indicate it might have something to do with a cooling flap which opens when using the appliance as a microwave. Someone even wrote that AEG claimed that the main circuit board needed replacement, but that spares are no longer available. Some say it's a broken stepper motor.

The English aeg-electrolux.com website doesn't seem to mention this product, but the German and Dutch versions actually offer a self-care, which indicates:

  Problem with air-valve motor or switch. These should be replaced by technicians.

Can I fix it myself?


texts: How do I fix seams that open up at the corners of walls during the winter?

texts:
Every winter, we get cracks like this where the walls meet the ceiling in certain rooms.  We just got our bathroom redone, so it's most bothersome here.  When springtime comes, they "seal" back up.  Why does this happen and what's the best way to fix this?  Or should I just hire someone?  How much would this run minus painting?

Update: thanks everyone for your answers! ultimately, I think the best answer is the "cover it up with crown moulding" since that will look prettiest, add some value, and fixes the issue for the long term.  But is that what I did?  Of course not!!  I went the "caulk it and hope no one notices" route, and, honestly, it looks pretty OK now.  I used Lowes White Lightning Latex Caulk and filled in the gaps, then painted.  I think there is still a question of how it will look in the spring when it closes up, and if it will "bead" when it compresses.  I guess we will see.  (FYI there's more info on why this happens in this article I found -- he also endorses the caulk solution:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/sns-201401131900--tms--askbildrctnab-a20140124-20140124-story.html)


texts:
I had to replace my mortice latch as it cracked inside. It's happened to another door couple of years ago and replaced with no issues but this time on a different door the latch gets stuck when handle gets pulled down. I've pulled it off and tried again but same issue, even loosened the screws but nothing. Anyone got any info what would help?
Cheers.


texts: 3 white wires and 3 black wires from ceiling fixture

texts: There are 2 switches on the wall.  One controls the fan and the other is for the lights.  Ground wires are connected.  How do I connect the 6 wires to the 3 from the fan?


texts: Why does my pressure tank cycle so frequently?

texts:
I have a 40 gallon (bladdered) pressure tank in the basement which keeps pressure to my office building, and a 2-inch 2 horsepower submersible pump in a dug well 450 feet away.

The pump is cycling waaay too fast, and the tank will hold pressure at 41 pounds to 43 pounds but not at 60 pounds at shut-off pressure. (The pump comes on at 40 and shuts off at 60). It only takes 6 seconds for the pump to come on and shut off and I fear I will cook the pump if this keeps up.

I have recently tested the pressure in the tank and it is 50 pounds. Does this mean the bladder leaked and caused pressure to increase in the tank? I know the tank pressure should be set at around 39, or a little below the 'turn-on' pressure. Could this be the cause of the short cycle?


texts: How do I connect to a ground wire with no ends?

texts:
Story time:

I'm trying to put a new fan in my bedroom where previously there was only a light-fixture. When I take off the light fixture, the light is connected to a brown wire (instead of black) and two white wires twisted together. There is no evident ground wire.

As I start looking closer, I see a bit of electrical tape. So I take the tape off. It appears to be 3 thick copper wires (I assume my missing ground wires) crimped together and cutoff just below the crimp. The electrical tape was covering the 'nub' that this crimping created.

My question is, how can I attach the fan's grounding wire to this setup? Can I just wrap the wire around one of the copper wires and wrap the thing in electrical tape?

Edit: Added Image:


texts: How can I prevent mold from growing on my bathroom walls?

texts: The humidity in my bathroom is causing mold to grow on the walls.  In addition there was a leak in the roof, that stained the ceiling, and now the ceiling is discolored as well even though the leak was fixed.


texts: I got my pilot started in my gas fireplace, and now the flame won’t stay lit. I have a light switch as an on/off switch. Originally, I couldn’t get the flame to light at all. Toggled the switch a few times and the flame went on. Shut the bottom compartment of the fireplace and boom, flame gone! And now it won’t restart. Pilot is lit. Can anyone recommend anything?


texts:
I bought a second-hand fridge two months ago.

The fridge was not cold enough, getting more and more ice in the freezer, and started making noise last night.

I unscrewed the freezer section and found the fan and coil were frozen.

Its looked pretty bad.

I managed to clean up some ice but still leave some at the right as it's stuck at the coil.

I have no knowledge at all in fridge.

Could someone give me a brief on how the thing on the picture works?
What's the function of the 'brown tube' at the right of the picture?
Anything I can do to prevent it from happening again?


texts: Can we use both caulk and Durabond to fill in hairline cracks in old plaster walls?

texts:
Our end goal is to mud over the existing plaster walls/texture to create a smooth finish. Before this we want to repair several hairline cracks to prevent them from recurring.  After scraping open the hairline crack we plan to add caulk inside the new, wider crack, but not fill the space all the way to the surface, leaving room for a sandable Durabond to bring it flush to the surface.  Our thinking is that the caulk would allow for flexibility at the back of the crack and the Durabond would allow for better control of the surface sanding process.
We would appreciate any insight into this process.


texts: How can I install a waste disposer if I have a high drain fitting?

texts:
I want to install a waster disposer under my kitchen sink. My problem is that the drain fitting coming into the kitchen under the sink comes out quite high, and the food disposer will effectively have to drain upwards, before it can drain down.

I can put in a trap, but, I'm not sure the how well the disposer will take being that full of water.

Any ideas on how to plumb it in?


texts:
I have an older home with a cement floor crawl space. It is a cold air space and I would like to insulate and heat the area going forward. The cement floor is in good condition and is mostly covered with repurposed underlay and carpet (mostly to make the crawling bearable). The are no signs of moisture on the floor on on the walls neither. Can I seal off the vent to the outside and insulate the walls with rigid foam board without a vapor barrier? Should I also look at insulating the floor and are there other considerations I am missing?
Regards,
Brian


texts: Replacement Ignitor in Gas Oven burned out on first run

texts:
I've got a GE CGS990 gas oven that's been working well for the past year.

On sunday (of course) the bottom oven stopped getting hot; I took it apart and found the ignitor was clearly broken (small crack).  The broken part is probably a generic part -- it had ceramic wire nuts attaching it to the oven's wiring.

Today I replaced the ignitor with a generic unit from the repair shop down the street.  Both are flat looking ignitor elements.  The cranky old man at the shop assured me they were all the same (ignitors, and possibly cranky old men who run appliance repair shops).

I replaced it and (foolishly) put the oven back together.

When I turned the oven on, I could see the glow of the ignitor, then the gas valve opened and the burners came on; after about 45 - 60 seconds, the glow got brighter and brighter and turned from orange to white, then there was a popping sound and the oven turned off the gas flow.  The new ignitor was broken in two places; nothing else looked amiss so I don't think there were any shorts or other issues with the replacement.

At this point, I'm not sure if I should throw another ignitor at the problem or call in a professional.  I'm not sure if the different ignitors are actually the same or if there are differences beyond the mounting bracket and connectors.

Thoughts?


texts: How to assess the damage to the lawn mower after hitting an iron pipe?

texts:
I have a Ariens self propelled lawnmower that I happend to hit a iron marker(pipe) with. When the blade hit the pipe, the lawnmower jolted and the engine stopped and I have not been able to start the engine since then.

I took a look and the blade still intact except for a nick on the edge; still has a balanced spin ( meaning it doesn't hit the walls of the mowing case ) when I spin it by hand. It has fresh gas and oil. There are no spills anywhere.

I don't what else to do  or where else to check. Is there anything else i should check before taking it to be repaired? Thanks!


texts: Converted 3 way switch to single pole. Disconnected traveler wire hot when fixture turned on

texts:
I converted a three way switch in my dining room to a single pole smart switch and plan to put a blank wall plate where the old switch resided. I identified the common wire and the two travelers (one red, one black). At the switch that is being removed, I connected the black traveler wire to the other black wire that goes to the fixture.

The red traveler wire is now disconnected in both boxes, but when I turn the switch to on, my non-contact voltage tester shows that the disconnected red wire is hot in both boxes. How is this possible? Isn't it disconnected from all power sources?

Admittedly, I am an amateur and this is my first time doing this, but I understand (at least I thought I did) the concept here.


texts: how to know if my home is under negative pressure?

texts:
I see dust under the baseboard but not much. And also, sometime I can smell "crawlspace" like smell but I am not very sure.

How to technically test the air pressure in home?  Even more, how to technically test the air flow in home?


texts: How to get spa pump to quit leaking around new plug with o-ring

texts: I have an XP2 Spa pump that I can’t get the plug to seat and seal. The plastic plug is difficult to start. Once I get it started and turning, right about the time it starts to tighten, the plug acts like it is stripped, as it turns loosely and will not tighten. Tried two new plugs and same thing happens. I would hate to have to pull the pump (one of two and of course it is the one in the back).  Looks like the plate threads are also plastic. Any suggestions? Will Teflon tape work? I’m at a loss and at maximum frustration.


texts: how many ring or radial socket makes a circuit

texts: like how many sockets can one have on a either ring or radial circuit planned to be protected by 20A breaker


texts:
I have mastered many things in life, but carpentry is not one. I need to replace some flooring, and floor joist, that rotted from water damage, and it does not look like how i have seen others.

The joist seems to be notched, sitting on the sill plate, in fact the whole flooring looks odd. I have the main beam, and the joists are nailed to each other, and rest above the beam. Normally what i see are hangers, attached to the support beam, and then attached to a ledger board (i think that is what it is called), but mine seems to be notched and no hangers.

Is this normal? The house was built in 1985, not sure if that matters.

Thanks,

Dave


texts: Can I convert a 240v hot tub outlet to 120v?

texts: We have a 240 outlet on our patio that was used for a hot tub we no longer have. I'd like to convert it to 120, have an outlet there on the house then also run a line to install an outlet on our new pergola. Can this be done?


texts: How can I tell what electrical service I have?

texts:
I hired an electrician to do some work on my house and he said that they did a check with the city and there was no permit for 100amp service issued so I must be on 60amp.
I think this may be a load of hooey as I have a main breaker box that is relatively new which has the old 60amp box on a sub.

Is there a way I can tell visually if I have 100amp service or if I am on 60 amp? Will my power provider know this?


texts:
Why do I have two overflow lines plumbed from my hot water heater. I know what the one is for the pressure relief valve, but I have another one plumber directly after the shutoff valve on the cold water inlet. This one drains all the time outside and I am not sure why. It is not necessarily hot water coming from it as it is backing up in the cold water inlet. I have not been able to find any information on why the second overflow line would be plumbed and why it runs continuously.

Thank you for your feedback


texts: How can I completely shut off / inert my home alarm system?

texts:
I am asking more-or-less the same question as in this post: How can I disconnect power to an ADT alarm system?

The house has an ADT alarm installed by its previous owner. I am not paying for monitoring, so I see no real value in it. It has become a nuisance lately because there are battery-powered smoke detectors which signal back to the system, as I've recently discovered, do so on low battery.

I've attached some pictures to help with specifics. As it appears to me, the unit normally draws power from an A/C adapter next to the box, but also has a backup battery. My question: can I simply disconnect both, or would there be other power sources to feed the system's noise makers?

I'm wondering about the control panels... I assume they are hard-wired, but would they have their own internal back-up power or operate solely from their connection to the main unit?

This is one of two control panels (both are identical in appearance):

Manual cover page to identify the specific model:


texts: Walls dont appear to be bolted to foundation - any retrofix?

texts:
After quick inspection of the walls in my house I dont think they are bolted to the foundation.
At least I couldnt find the bolts - I think there mightbe several concrete nails holding it in place but thats about it.

It's 2x4 walls on top of the 2x6 sill plate.

Will something like this hurricane ties be sufficient enough or do I really  need to properly bolt it down?

https://www.strongtie.com/foundationanchors_concreteconnectorsandanchors/ufp_plate/p/ufp


texts: Is there something I can do after not putting a moisture barrier between grade and concrete of a garage?

texts:
I built a 3 car garage 7 years ago.  I didn't know at the time that I needed a vapor barrier between grade and concrete;  Is there something I can do to keep the floor from being wet on a regular basis?  I am now getting older and plan to retire here (I will not ask my husband>>>>) and am beginning to worry about sliding.

Any help appreciated.


texts: Two circuit breakers, how to determine which one jumps

texts:
In my home I have two sets of circuit breakers. One is upstairs in my home, and another is downstairs in a shared area of the residence I live in. When too many appliances are connected one of the two circuit breakers goes off (the switches pop down).

My question is, what determines whether it is the one upstairs that goes off or the one upstairs?

Does it depend on the circuit? Both circuit breakers service my apartment alone.

Thanks.!

Upstairs circuit breaker:

Downstairs circuit breaker:


texts: Identifying wood type of broken stair treads and installing new risers

texts:
We have wooden basement stairs that are probably 20+ years old and several of the treads are starting to split down the middle (underneath) lengthwise.
I'm debating replacing the cracked ones or just replacing all of them, but I'm having a tough time figuring out what would the treads are made of:

In case I decide to replace the cracked ones, I'd like the replacements to be the same type of wood as the others, so it looks more or less consistent (I understand new boards will not be as faded as older ones, but they'll still be the same type of wood, have the same grains, patterns, etc.). Any ideas what wood those treads are made from?
In case I decide the to replace all of them, I'm interested in what type of wood (and dimension) is generally recommended for basement stairs. The existing treads measure 1 1/2" x 9 1/4" so I'm guessing they're all 2x10s.
If you notice in the photo there are also no risers and I'd like to add some. Any recommendation for type of wood (and dimension) that are recommended for risers?
Thanks in advance!


texts:
I need a new grill, and I'm going to try to get this in-ground grill up and running.  This is a natural gas line that's run from the house.  It's been unused in the seven years that we've been in the house.  Does anyone know which parts I can use to replace this broken down valve so I can connect to a new grill(not yet purchased)?

I would like for it to continue to have a shutoff, and also be secure to the base which is still very sturdy despite the surface rust.  The current "valve", i.e. second parts from the top has a nut holding it to the base.

Do you think the second part can be reused and just replace the top part?  That would make my search for the needed parts easier but obviously need it to be safe.


texts: How to do surface preparation of walls before painting them?

texts: I am planning to paint my house but i don't know how to prepare a good surface before painting the walls. Please give me some ideas and suggestions?


texts: What types of chemical products stick to masonite in flooring context?

texts:
I'm installing VCT tile in a new apartment, but after I ripped up the 100 year old carpet I'm finding masonite. The problem is the leveling compound and primer are picking off the masonite. The primer is note the worst case, but the leveling compound picks up way too easy.

To relay the floor with ply is $400. I'd like to weigh this decision against the possibility of using another leveling product that will actually bond to this underlayment.


texts: Where to connect a c-wire on a furnace with existing two wire mercury thermostat

texts:
My existing thermostat is an old mercury two wire device, heat only.  Looking to upgrade to a better model, but I need to run a c-wire.  I don't know where to connect the wire at at the furnace, any help would be appreciated.  The valve is a Honeywell VR8200A2132, at the top there is an unused Th and Tr (3rd picture down)  Last image looks to be the transformer with no open spots.

Thanks for the assistance

enter image description here


texts: How can I prevent cold air from dropping down my bath fan duct?

texts:
In my new home, on the second floor, the bathroom fans goes outside and under the roof, so the output is upside down.
They installed the type of vent with a flap that, normally with gravity and perpendicular to the ground, stays shut  but since they are installed upside down  they stay open all the time.
I thought about a vent like we have in the kitchen's fan, a valve that opens only when air is pushed one way, but not sure if there are any off-the-shelf for bathroom fans.
We hit -20C the past few days and the cold air was pretty apparent.
Anything I can do here?


texts: Changing fluorescent tube: how many degrees to turn?

texts:
I have a broken fluorescent tube (housing is intact, but it flickers instead of lighting up properly) that I have to change (bottommost type in the image).

I can turn it about 20 degrees, but it does not come off easily. Is there a rule (of thumb) on how many degrees one has to rotate such lamps? In other words: do I have to rotate further or apply more downwards force to remove the lamp from the brackets? I don't want to break the glass...


texts: Shower Water Handle central plastic core is stripped out - how to replace?

texts:
After 15 years of use, the handle popped off my shower and the attaching screw (not pictured) will no longer thread in the central plastic part you see below.
The assembly does not leak, so can I replace just the plastic threaded part without pulling the whole cartridge?
Do I need a special tubular wrench type tool? The flat edge in the picture below (about 10 o'clock) makes me think that I'm seeing a special nut that can be taken off.
Also, does the house water need to be shut off for this particular procedure?
There are no brand names anywhere. The Delta & Moen videos on youtube aren't giving me any clues either.
Thanks!


texts: What caused a burn mark near my hot water pipes?

texts:
I was doing some household cleanup in the storage room where my heat tank is located when I  noticed a burn mark on the wall frame near the pipe that goes from the heat tank to the shower next room.

I'm of course not thinking that this is due to the hot water itself, so I can only believe that this happened during an electric short to the ground.

I have some questions about this:

How can I know if this is a recent burn mark or not?
Is this a sign that something is not grounded properly somewhere and that during a thunderstorm, similar burn mark may appear again?
How can I prevent that from happening again?
Should I call a plumber or an electrician?


texts: Can I have GFCI receptacles on the same circuit as normal receptacles?

texts:
I am looking at a few books and they all show samples of circuits, but never tell or show if you can mix receptacle types.

I have a circuit running to 2 bedrooms for my power outlets. The are on 12/2 and a total of 6 outlets. I wanted to add 2 GFCI outlets for the deck outside and wanted to know if it was ok to add those outlets to this circuit since I can still add 4 more outlets?

Can't seem to find sample diagrams.


texts: How do I wire LED lights directly from the panel?

texts:
I am finishing my basement and would like to do 2 sets of LED strip lights. One will go in a small 4x8 room under my stairs, another a large theater room 13' x 15'. I am a beginner when it comes to electrical wiring, but usually not afraid to tackle something and learn something new.

I have been reading a lot online trying to figure out how to put this together and wanted to run my thoughts by the exchange and see if i'm on track, and ask for a few recommendations.

I'm looking at using some lights like this:

From my research, If I want to wire directly from my circuit breaker box, I need to buy one of these, but I'm not sure how many watt to buy? My plan is to just stick this in my utility room right by my circuit box.

Here is a rough sketch of what I think I'm going to do.  I just want someone to tell me if this is right?

Just to outline my questions:

What watt power transformer should I be using?
Can I run 14 gauge wire directly from a circuit 15 amp breaker to the transformer?
Can I plug in all 5 circuits of LED strips on top of each other to the output of the transformer?
Is this the recommended way of doing what I'm trying to accomplish?
I would also like to add a on/off switch, do they make a wall switch for 12v?
Can low volt wires come right out of the wall, or do they need a junction box before being connected to the LED strip lights?

*New Question
 7. After some additional reading last night I saw that the cheap LED strips on Amazon can get very hot?  I plan to light a children's room under my stairs with a very low ceiling. I also read that more expensive lights should not get as hot?  My main reason for choosing LED lights was for low heat in a confined area.  Dose anyone have any experience with the heat output of these lights?


texts: I have an above ground pool which was grounded for safety. I had to buy a new pump (motor) and unfortunately the ground wire was too short to reach the pump. I had to move the filter and pump to reach the electrical plug. Can I just add an extension so it will reach the motor or pump? I look forward to your reply.


texts: Running air handler condensate drain into sump?

texts: The condensate drain from our air handler now runs across the wall and into the laundry sink. This is stopping us from attaching shelving to the wall. I noticed that the sump pump pit is right next to the air handler. Can I just route the pvc so it empties out directly into the sump?  There is a metal cover on it now with a little gap for the power cord so I would need to make another little hole for the pvc pipe and just run it down the wall then along the wall for a foot or so with a little bit of a downslope.


texts:
I have an outdoor sump pit in front of my basement door to prevent water coming in during strong rain storms.  In the pit is a 5 gallon bucket with a 1/4 hp automatic pump.

Here's more information on my setup and problems.

The sump pump just can't keep up during flash flood level storms.  So, any recommendations for sump pumps?  Brands you can trust?  Specific models that have worked well for you?


texts: Flame retartdant nonconductive panel cover

texts:
Note the service entrance has only two hot wires and no ground.

Update: Some suggest metal cover but the reason I can't use metal is the grills or all the iron and enclosure are not grounded. We only use the United States two hot wires and don't use any neutral or ground. None of our appliances have any EGC. This is the reason I prefer flame retardant nonconductive panel cover. Is there any non flame retardant plastic?

In our compound we have 5 townhouses with each meter serving a house.

The panel is rusted and the cover gone. It would take us 3 weeks of power interruption to replace the whole thing because we have to apply for permit and it involves costs too and neighbors not willing. I initially thought of use cardboard to cover the breakers, but I suddenly thought what if someone would lit it with a match consindering it's outside in the street. Please suggest what kind of flame retardant nonconductive material to cover the open panel housing the breakers. Thank you.


texts: J-Channel material selection: Plastic vs Aluminum

texts:
An existing building is to have the soffits corrected:

The correction is to remove the laterally installed soffits and replace them with radially installed soffits.  Radial soffits are the first 75% from the left,  laterals are the remaining 25%.
The middle of the photo (above right-side of ladder) shows a break between plastic and aluminum J-channel.  It would be nice to use a single piece of J-channel.
QUESTION
When is it appropriate to use the plastic J-channel?  Aluminum J-Channel?

A decision must be made and I would like to understand the pros and cons each material in this application.  Lesson-learned / landmines to avoid are appreciated.  Thank you


texts: How can I locate a mysterious leak in a 3 story rental unit?

texts:
I have a 3 story rental unit with 4 apartments. The apartment on the middle floor reported that the closet wall was wet. When I checked it the wall had mold and a moist/wet feel to it. The ceiling and other walls seemed to be dry. This is an outside wall so I thought there was some type of leak behind the wall. I pulled the sheetrock to to find that there were no pipes. The outside of the house is cinder block and I discovered that the sheetock was screwed to furring strips, no insulation.

I checked the outside, no obvious cracks in the paint or holes in the wall. The nearby old window was a bit wet but there didn't seem to be any moisture on the wall under the window or to the side wall. I thought perhaps the water was somehow penetrating the block so I used drylock to seal the wall, 2 coats, added some foam insulation and sheetrocked with greenboard.

The tenant just called, 5 weeks later to say the closet was very wet and moldy. Apparently they do not use the closet very often. Above the closet are stairs heading up to the 3rd floor. There did not seem to be any moisture on the stairs when I checked.

So how do I find the source of this moisture? Especially when I don't live there myself so I can check it daily. Any advice or ideas are greatly appreciated.


texts: Fridge water dispenser line keeps freezing and not dispense water unless I dump the ice bucket

texts:
I have a Whirlpool side-by-side which has the ice bucket on the freezer door, right above the ice and water dispenser. Until recently, there was a person in my house who used a lot of ice, and the water dispenser never had a problem. This person decided not to like ice anymore (?!), so the ice bucket was always full, and the water dispenser would randomly stop working.

After some detective work, I figured out the water line was frozen, and the only way to get it to unfreeze was to dump all the ice, so that the ice maker would try to pump water again, which helps defrost the water line. So now every night I have to go dump the ice bucket. Whenever I forget to do that, the water dispenser would stop working the day after.

Any advice on how to fix this permanently?