texts: Log Cabin - Would i have  moisture issues if i attach a breathable membrane to the outside studded wall leaving a 20mm gap for moisture then attach treated 44mm tongue and groove on the outside. I intend to fill the studded wall with rockwool then a plastic vapor membrane then plasterboard internally.


texts: Can a cheater vent be installed in a vanity drain that maybe running into a roof vented drain?

texts: Can a "cheater vent" be installed in a vanity drain that MAY be running into a roof vented drain? All p-trap , tail piece is new and drain line has been cleaned with a drum auger netting no major blockage. Vacuum does appear to be issue. Will drain, only very slowly with gurgling /burping.


texts: Good technique for squaring-up hardwood edges?

texts:
I'm building a small shelf for organising my desk, using sections of 42mm*19mm hardwood. I've cut the pieces to appropriate length using a hand saw, allowing some tolerance for the kerf. Now I'd like to ensure the cut ends are square.

Using a sanding block with some garnet paper, and a try square for checking, I'm trying to shape the cut edges. However, I'm finding it difficult to get a good perpendicular line with the sanding; it seems that I'm rounding the end off too much, rather than sanding perfectly perpendicular to the piece.

Back in high school woodwork class, we'd do this with a disc sander mounted into a solid table, ensuring that the sanding is done in a flat plane. Unfortunately, having left high school some 13 years ago, I no longer have access to one of these.

So, does anyone have a good technique for sanding the edges square? Or should I give up on sanding and use some other method? Or bite the bullet and buy a small disc sander?


texts: What size wire do I need to run to the fireplace junction box? The box was mounted but no wires running to it to make it hot.


texts: Installed a dimmer and now it's controlling everything

texts:
I have a bathroom switch that contains 4 sets of wires. From L to R it's: Exhaust fan, Power in, Hall lights, Bathroom light.
I tried installing a dimmer just to control the bathroom light, but because there's only one hot in, I can't figure out how to control the light with a dimmer without controlling everything else with it. Either I join all the fixtures with the hot, or there's no way to give power to the fan and hall.


texts: What kind of bottom for a fire pit on a paver patio?

texts: I have a manufactured "stone" patio with poly-sand to fill the grout lines between the blocks. I want to add a fire pit to this patio. I envision a ring of blocks several courses tall to contain the wood. What kind of bottom do I need for this fire pit? I would expect the fire to discolor the patio. My main concern is how to deal with the ashes in the bottom of the pit. I don't want rain water to wash the ash out and across the patio, leaving a mess for me to clean up.


texts:
I have a 60 amp 208 single phase circuit using 4 AGW Aluminum wire 75-100 feet away from panel.
I need a 30 amp 208 single phase circuit for an expresso machine demo.
Can I just change out the 60 amp breaker with a 30 and use for the day or will the larger wire size not be safe.


texts: Changing a Regular Outlet with Two Neutrals and One Hot to a GFCI Outlet (no ground existing)

texts: So I bought a GFCI outlet to changeout a regular outlet and when I pulled the regular, it had white wires/neutrals on both left side screw connections and one black on the top right connection.  I do not know what I should do for the GFCI outlet as the top two connections are line and bottom two are load, so I cannot hook up three wires (not even sure why a regular outlet would have two neutrals and one hot).  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Also next to the outlet is an existing switch in the same larger outlet box.  I do not know if that would have anything to do with it, not sure why, but that is the situation.


texts: I live in an old house with crown moldings in each room.  We took them down to replace a ceiling.  When it's time to put them back, are there any tips that would help us so we don't damage the moldings?  They are painted.


texts: How can I accommodate high washing machine drain flow rates with older plumbing?

texts:
Newer machines have a drain flow rate which overwhelms older drains, and there's no adjustment. The only answer I ever hear is tear up your floor and put in new bigger drain pipe. That is not an option in some cases.

Getting an older machine isn't feasible because it's starting to be hard if not impossible to find parts. Is there any way of cutting the pressure down so it doesn't back up and flood the floor in older homes?


texts: Furnace running.Shuting off for a few mins then starting again.Continued process

texts: Why would my furnace run it's cycle, shut down and then start up again a few minutes later. Continuing this cycle all night?? Thanks


texts:
I'm trying to figure out the safest way to hang a 100lb heavy bag from the ceiling in my garage.

The pictured part is under a bedroom, and the continuous line, if it's like the part that is under the attic has a 1.5inch wide piece of wood.  The other half of the garage does not have any of the perpendicular beams.

From what I've read, I can't just hang it with a single eye bolt, and I don't have access to the other side because of the room above.  I found this TuffRail system, but I'm not convinced that it would be structurally sound.  I also found this SpiderMount, but the spacing of the larger beams doesn't match.

Is it possible to safely hang the bag?

Attached is a picture


texts: What to call a store that sells end mills?

texts:
I need to pick up an end mill, today. Mail order isn't an option.

I've been googling for over an hour now, looking for a place in my area that sells end mills. Every search term I've tried leads back to either generic hardware stores or machine shops.

What do you call a store that sells end mills, such that google can find one for you?


texts: Can the sheath of nonmetallic cable be removed prior to entering electrical metallic tubing (EMT)?

texts: Can 2 romex cables be stripped before entering an EMT to allow more conductors in a 1/2" EMT? How would you transition from Romex to individual conductors going in or out of the EMT? Or is that allowed?


texts: Whole home humidifier suspected of causing water softener problems

texts:
We moved into our house last summer. The water in our area is pretty hard, so we have a water softener for the house. The water softener has an impeller attached to it to meter the water and regenerate after a certain amount of water is used. Our furnace also has a humidifier attached to it, which is fed by post-water-softener water.

After the weather started getting cold last year, we turned on the humidifier. We then started having problems with our water softener - it was being used up before it was time to regenerate. After a few weeks I realized the humidifier might be at fault and shut it off. The water softener problem went away.

I suspect that the trickle of water used by the softener was not enough to turn the impeller attached to the softener, and over the course of multiple days might have consumed numerous gallons of softened water (I'm not sure how much the humidifier actually uses).

So, the questions:

Could this indeed be the problem?
Is there a solution for this?
Could there possibly be another cause?

I could move the water source for the humidifier to be before the water softener, but then the humidifier may get gunked up over time. However, the softener water seemed to crust up the humidifier's insert with salt, so ...

I should also mention that about a month ago we had to have the stuff inside the softener changed and the valve overhauled - it hadn't had maintenance for probably 15 years. The impeller would be this old, too.


texts: What should I do with these old cleanouts?

texts:
Three years ago I had my house's septic tank replaced, and the guys put in new cleanouts because they couldn't find the original ones. Well, by chance I just found them: buried under about 6" of dirt and rocks about two feet away from the house.

What should I do with them? Abandon them because there are now new cleanouts? Or add some PVC risers to make them accessible at grade level? And if so, how should I make the connection between the old cast iron pipe to a new 3" PVC pipe? A no-hub coupler wouldn't work since the exposed cast iron pipe is flanged.


texts: How do I attach hinges to a media console?

texts:
I have an old media console with a door that used be attached via a sliding mechanism that I'd like to replace with hinges. I'd like for the door to open just like you'd open a cabinet.
I'm trying to think through which hinges to buy and where exactly to attach them to make sure everything is aligned.

I found some old Ikea cabinet hinges lying around, my guess is that I have a carve out a huge piece of the media console to install them, but perhaps I'm wrong. I don't mind at all buying new hinges for this project, but found these so figured I'd ask.

Many thanks for the tips / advice!


texts:
We were changing our bypass filter the other day, when the filter housing got stuck. Applied too much force without holding the surrounding plumbing, and bent the pipe that the filter is connected to. Woopsies.

The issue is, the pipe that's bent appears to be flanged at the bottom. See image below.

Is the removal process for this pipe going to be the same as any standard sweated joint?

If not, what do I do to remove this pipe?


texts: Toilet vent plumbed upstream of toilet inlet

texts: I ran a 2" toilet vent upstream of the toilet using a 3x2 combo. The toilet flange is in a 3" combo which is inline and within a foot of the 3x2 combo vent. will this fly with UPC. If not, can I leave it plumbed that way and install a vent downstream of the 3" toilet flange / 3" combo? Basically, upstream and downstream vented.


texts: Trying to replace a standard outlet with a GFCI, but found 1 white wire unused and a different white wire used in its place. What am I missing?

texts:
The current setup shows a switch that controls a ceiling fan. There is another switch (not pictured) that also controls the ceiling fan. Both switches also control power to the outlet shown in the picture. Don't love this setup, but I can deal with it.
Main concern:
The switch has a white wire on top (with the red knob) and black wire on bottom. Yellow wire goes from the opposite side of the switch to the hot side of the outlet. Everything appears to work, but the issue that causes my confusion is the seamingly random white wire that comes into the box through the round hole in the back (see picture towards the center of the box) and is connected to the neutral side of the outlet. The neutral that I would have expected to be connected is just left unconnected (hard to see but it is almost touching the left side of the box). What am I missing here?  Is this extra wire from the ceiling fan, the other switch, or somewhere else?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: What could cause a garage door opener trolley to only travel a few inches?

texts:
I have an older (circa year 2000) Chamberlain belt-drive opener. Today the trolley has started misbehaving. It opened the door fine this morning, but now will only travel a few inches down from the "door up" position, then reverses itself back to the starting (door up) position.

What I've done:

Disengaged the door from the opener/trolley, to verify it's not a binding or other kind of "sticking" problem. The door travels easily by hand. The trolley exhibits the same behavior with or without the door engaged.
Triple-checked the obstruction sensors. The green indicators are not flashing, but when I place something in front of them, they immediately flash to indicate the obstruction. I also confirmed that the opener recognizes when there is an obstruction: it flashes the lights and doesn't even travel the short distance.
Held the wall button controller pressed. Same behavior.
Adjusted the down travel distance and force. Setting either to the max value has no impact on this odd behavior.
Unplugged the opener for approximately 15 minutes. After plugging it back in, still exhibits the same behavior.
Visually inspected the belt and trolley. There does not seem to be anything wrong with them, at least visually.

I'm willing to accept that a nearly 20-year-old unit may have met its end, but I'd like to exhaust all DIY troubleshooting before either buying a new one or paying for a professional service call (which seems likely to result in a replacement anyway).


texts: Disclosure: I am not a plumber but I called a plumber and am unsure about his plan of action to fix my problem. I am hoping to bounce some thoughts from you all here. I have a dishwasher that I do not use but that gets periodic standing water on the bottom, which stinks to high heaven. I have a farm sink, a disposal, and a high loop under the sink (the line that connects from disposal to dishwasher). The disposal is attached to the pipe in the wall with an accordion pipe (put in by previous owners). The plumber has told me that he is very sure that the issue is that the disposal sits too low and that the pipe is too high, causing the standing water issues because it's fighting gravity. His solution is to cut into my cabinet on the bottom and move the pipe connection to the ground, so that the pipe is not fighting gravity. I asked several times how this translates to the water in my dishwasher, but he couldn't explain, just kept saying that the water was fighting gravity. So, does this sound likely? Again, the hose that goes from the disposal to the dishwasher is in a high loop. He went straight to what I feel is the priciest of all solutions, that is, moving the pipe in the wall.


texts: What lintel to use above bi-fold doors in man cave?

texts:
I'm building a man cave in the corner of my garden, the base is finished already, now I'm planning the build from the ground up

The structure will be 2.5 metres high and will have a flat roof (rubber). The images below show a very crude plan I did online just now

I will order some custom bi-fold doors to completely fill the area which shows patio doors, I have asked the makers of the doors if they can fit the doors using 45 degree brackets either side and they said they could - so these will be fitted to the brick work

The height of the doors will fill the area, meaning there won't be any brick work above it. Also, because the walls either side of the doors are at 45 degrees, what kind of support will I need above the doors - this will hold the roof up and will need to remain straight so as to not stress the doors which will be around 2.5 meters long

I presume that steel will be the best idea, but what shape will it need to be? Do I need to have a custom made lintel?


texts:
What I now know is that the problem is the power and not from ISP. The frequent almost hourly dropouts to the adsl started when I began using a Powerline Adapter.

The dropouts would affect the router modem as though someone yanked the modem phone cable from the wall and plugged it back. I have two adapters, plugged in an outlet near where the modem cable is and another in my bedroom. Removing it reduces the dropouts greatly. I can not do without i through, and the powerlines themselves work fine. I feel there is a preexisting power problem exacerbated by powerline adapters.

I'm planning on using shielded modem phone cables, would that help? Is there something else I could try?
A few more information about the house, its not grounded as its euro plug system and there are plenty of surges because it's third world and bad wiring. I've changed receptacles in the outlets I use, and multimeter gives me stable readings afterwards.


texts: Removing the handle from this type of faucet/tap

texts:
I have this type of washing machine faucet/tap in my apartment. Any idea how to remove the handle? There isnt any screw on top(after removal of the sticker), by the side, or back of the handle.

Is there special tool to unlock the valve handle?

Photo updated


texts:
I've got a few ceiling lighting 'boxes' that have one capacitor, two ballast, two starters, and two fluorescent lamps in each. Everything seems to be nicely wired up internally and I just need to connect the L and N wire to the corner of the box. I think that these are 'standard' boxes that people just stick onto a false ceiling in an office.

I'd like to check to see if it is okay for me to wire these light 'boxes' in parallel? They seem to be working fine at the moment but I sort of remember reading somewhere that fluorescent lighting wiring is a bit tricky.


texts: Can I get the thermostat with this configuration?


texts:
I have fan forced heater (Pelonis HF-1030TB) that recently starting giving off burning smells whenever I turned on the heat. I opened it and saw that one of the contacts was burnt. Can someone please help me suggest how to repair this, and if not, what parts are worth salvaging (or how to dispose off the heater properly so that it gets recycled/reused)?
The solution I have in mind is to just replaced the burnt contact (shown in picture below). If someone can tell me what type of contact this is, that would be great. If I repair female contact on the red wire, do I also need to do the same for the male contact (looks like it is glued to the white housing). Also, how do I prevent this from happening in the future?
Please let me know if clearer pictures would help
Any help is greatly appreciated!


texts: Can I Combine Two Lights from Separate Breakers Into One Switch?

texts: I have two outdoor lights that are separate switches.  I want to combine them under one switch, but Light A is on Breaker #3 and Light B is on Breaker #2.  Can I put these lights on the same switch or do I have to keep them separate since they are on different Breakers?  If I can combine them, what type of switch do I need?


texts: Why do some power tools work in an outlet and others won’t?

texts:
I was using a compressor plugged into an exterior 15 amp circuit when it stopped working.  The outlet is still hot because a smaller power tool works when plugged into the same outlet. A table saw that had been working on the same circuit no longer works as well but the outlets are still hot.
These outlets are down stream from a GFCI outlet that is not tripped and trips when tested. Thoughts?


texts: Fixing prefinished MDF baseboards and trim

texts:
We, somewhat recently, purchased and had someone install baseboard and trim throughout our house, roughly 240 linear feet of each.  We bought the prefinished stuff because we didn't want to have to do much to it after putting it up.  Note, we did not get primed, we bought specifically prefinished which the manufacturer said does not need to be painted.  The person who installed it only put up the trim and baseboards and didn't sink the nails or cover the nail holes or gaps between the miter cuts.
We'd like to fix this issue.  We set the nails, filled the nail holes, and the gaps on the first floor, however you can see the difference in color, white trim and white wood filler.  Is there anything we can do to fix this?  Potentially a specific type of paint?  Thanks in advance.  Below is a link to the type of baseboard and trim we bought.
Mastercraft® 9/16 x 3-1/4 x 7'2" White Finish MDF Craftsman Casing E2E


texts: What hardware was used for this handrail? What would you use?

texts:
My plan is to use a 2x4 instead of what you see there

here is where it will go

Update: here is how I plan to shape the 2x4


texts: Completely waterproof top of deck/shed (would TigerPaw work?)

texts:
I have a deck at my front door. I have made it so that below the deck is a shed. I am having trouble water proofing the top of the deck. I have seen many things on the internet to have something under the deck boards to move water to the outside of the shed. The deck isn't high enough for me to do that. I also cannot put plywood on top of the deck because it would then be higher than the metal at the bottom of the front door and would trap water there.

I was thinking of filling in the space between the 2 x 6's with a caulk, then placing Tiger Paw on the deck. Then after that use Deck Over to paint over the top of it.

I have a few concerns with this and was wondering what others thought. The TigerPaw is $80 and each gallon of deck over is $30. Being on a tight budget I want to make sure its a sound idea before I spend that money.

Would the Tiger Paw get ripped easily? I'll have the caulk in between the boards and the screw holes filled so that there will not be any weak points.
Will the Deck Over paint be slippery when it snows? Should I get some sort of texture spray or something just to be safe? (I have a dog, so it can't be that rough)
Is this solution going to last a while or will I have to replace it every couple years?

This is my first home, and I am not too experienced with roofing. It's not that big of a deck (4'x 10') so it's not something I want to hire someone for. More importantly, I am on a tight budget. I already have the walls and everything else built, this is the last step. My original idea failed.

Is this a acceptable solution? Or are there any better suggestions out there?


texts: Can a plumbing vent start in the horizontal where it connects to drain line?

texts:
I'm laying out my shower drain and it initially was going to look like this:

Fairly straightforward. Shower into p-trap, vent coming out of top of drain line over to wall to be vented, all connected into the main. This is the TOP drawing below.

The catch is that the total height from the top of the vent elbow to the bottom of the p-trap is much taller than the height I have to work with in the joist bay.

Can I do what the BOTTOM drawing is showing? Instead of the vent coming off the drain line vertically, it's horizontal over to the wall, where it then goes vertical. This would shorten the total height allowing me to raise the whole shower drain assembly up. I can then connect that to the main run with a 45 degree connection.

In researching this, I've seen some informal mentions that this is OK as long as that vent branch is also sloped the requisite 1/4" per foot like any drain line. And I don't see a physical reason why this wouldn't work. But I can't seem to find a definitive "yes, this is OK" from a code perspective. Is this OK code-wise?


texts: 170 year old home with sagging 2nd floors

texts: This house has had the remedial work necessary to secure the crawlspace foundation by a licensed foundation specialist. The crawlspace foundation and 1st floors of this home are rock solid. My question is in regards to the 2nd floor joists. Throughout the house the ceilings of the 1st floor sag any where from 1-3 inches from the wall to the center of the room. This same sag is evident in the floors of the 2nd floor. The deflection is evident with a hammock like effect toward the center of the room which causes a pronounced bounce or trampoline like effect when walking across the room. Currently the home has (170 year old) true 2x8 joists on 2 foot centers spanning 19'x19' rooms. My question is this: will running a tripled 2x8 LVL girder perpendicular to the existing joists be adequate to stabilize and re-level the floors? The existing joists would be cut and hung on the new LVL girder and then sister-ed with new 2x8 lumber. My concern is the Tripled 2x8 LVL girder spanning 19 feet, will it be strong enough to maintain level with live weight? would it be advisable to use flitch plates between the LVL's to further strengthen them.


texts: I have an old house (100 yrs) up off the ground and in the past year the wood floors have began to sag where the boards meet

texts: I think my house is about 1oo years old, I have lived in it for 15 years and just in the last year the wood floor has started to sag or bouncy where the boards meet. I thought it was in the traffic area, but it's in other areas too.


texts: Can I double-feed a low voltage DC system?

texts:
I am trying to make some lighting resilient to breaker trips.  (I.e. You trip the breaker and the lights don't go out.)

Naturally it's all LED, and I am favorable toward low voltage DC lighting.

I want to have a DC always-positive and return bus (e.g. Red and black) then lighting wired in the usual way with a switch interrupting a switched-positive  line to the light.

My question is -- can I use multiple DC power supplies to feed this DC bus off multiple mains AC circuits?  Idea being if an overload or GFCI trip knocks out a circuit, the other one keeps the lights on.   Supplies would be oversized with that in mind.


texts: While vacationing, is it worth augmenting AC with a dehumifier?

texts:
Per Does running a dehumidifier with an AC unit save money?, I understand that while a house is occupied, it doesn't make sense to run both an AC unit at normalish temperatures (maybe 75), and a dehumidifier.

Elsewhere, I have read that if you are going on vacation, you should run your AC unit full blast for a couple hours and then bump it to something like 85 for the rest of the day. The couple of on hours help to dehumidify, while you save money for the other hours of the day. For example.

I am wondering if it makes sense to have a dehumidifier running all the time while I just leave my AC at 85, say.


texts: Why would my shower only have hot water?

texts:
I bought a house a couple years ago and the previous owners added a small bathroom in the basement. The shower only has hot water and I don't know why. The toilet and sink next to it both have cold water but the shower isn't getting any. I took the cover off the shower handle but it looks like every thing is hooked up properly with a hot and cold line. Could this be an issue with the faucet that I could check for?

UPDATE: It looks like the cartridge is faulty. Cold water is present but not coming through it.


texts: What is this texture called and how do I replicate it

texts: I extended a ceiling about 13 inches and need to continue the same or similar pattern, only about 4 inches of it will be visible because I will be mounting wall cabinets below the new ceiling.


texts: After 6mil vapor barrier in crawl space, moister gathering between insulation and flooring

texts:
Living in the Charlotte, NC area, and have had problems with moisture under the house.

Last year, I lined the floor of the crawl space (ranges from 4.5' to 2' high) with 6mil plastic.  I'd say 90% of the area is covered, with some edges near some of the concrete walls exposed.  Plastic is secured with metal clips shoved into the ground, and it is overlapped but not taped (the moisture problem wasn't bad, so I was primarily concerned with covering the majority of the ground).

NOTE:  The crawl space ranges under a front/back porch, so the inner center of the ceiling joists are insulated, and the joists under the porches are exposed (and sometimes receive moisture from driving rain).

This year, our hardwood flooring has started to cup in some areas, and we also saw one section of linoleum in the laundry room bulge.  Upon inspecting the crawlspace, I found the following:

Insulation installed 10+ years ago was installed with the paper side facing the flooring
In pulling down the insulation under the affected areas, I've found moisture gathering between the insulation and the floor (so between the paper side and subfloor)
There is a great deal of condensation on the outside of the primary feed from the air conditioner (the 2' duct work feeding the whole house).  During the heat of the summer (about 2w ago), the condensation was sufficient to cause standing water on the plastic underneath the vent (though that water has now evaporated).  This dampness started about 10' from the A/C (where the primary feed duct splits to feed the rest of the house)

I think I should I replace the existing insulation with faceless insulation, but I'm looking for advice.

I'm also curious if installing the vapor barrier on the ground might be causing increased moisture potentially gathering between the floor and the insulation.


texts: I want to clean inside the hole of the bathroom sink that is used to control overflow.  I can stick my finger in there, and rub off a small circle's worth of stuff, but I'd like to clean it more than that.  Any ideas?


texts: What economical ways exist to dampen floor vibration on top floor apartment?

texts:
I live in a top floor apartment which is above the garage (open air, really just a lot). The unit is at the end of the building; the apartment is held up by columns. The building was built around the 1970s. During the last major earthquake in the area (Los Angeles, California), the building only sustained minor damage (a broken window).

The thing is, before I moved in, the landlord installed hardwood floors instead of the carpet that was there before (not a good idea). This has the effect of amplifying all kinds of sound waves and causing vibrations and thumps. There are moments when it's still, but when my next door neighbor (his apartment is also above the garage and has no unit below it) walks around close to my room (his bathroom is adjacent to my bathroom), his footsteps cause minor tremors to ripple through the floor. It's really annoying and it feels like I'm on a boat or in a car that's stopping and braking frequently. It happens in the kitchen and main room too (I live in a one-bedroom apartment).

I got an area rug and put some cut up carpet under the bed legs, and that seems to help a little bit as well as moving the bed away from the wall bordering the neighbor's apartment to the other side of the room. But I still feel the little ripples and shakes from time to time. Will soundproof foam pads under the carpet help?

It can't be that much of a structural deficiency; as I said before, the last major earthquake did not cause major damage to the building.

What can I do to soundproof my bedroom floor outside of stripping the hardwood and installing all the necessary things (can't afford that, landlord won't do it)? I'm pretty sure 99% of the vibrations are caused by my neighbor's footsteps. Perhaps some of it is caused by something else in the building, but this is hard to figure out due to having no unit below me.

My bed frame is also really cheap and flimsy and will shake and sway if you move around on it, so that's not helping. Should I take the headboard and mattress off the frame and just put it on the carpet? The couch in the main room also seems to ripple from time to time, but it feels more pronounced in the bedroom.

Other information: Since there is nothing directly below my apartment there are pipes immediately running underneath the floor and are visible in the garage. Could the pipes be causing the vibrations?


texts: Drilling: what's underneath my subfloor?

texts:
I have a squeaky floor and I'm trying to use a kit to screw the subfloor to the joists.  However, while drilling to find the joists I can go down less than an inch before the drill stops going down and instead makes a noise like I'm drilling into concrete.  The room I'm in is at ground level but there is basement below it.  Would there be any reason for a cement-like level under the subfloor?  How can I know if it's safe to fix the squeaks?

Update: I'm fairly new to home repair.  I just bought my first house a few months ago.  Anyway I pulled out a vent and didn't see anything too out of the ordinary.  It looks like there might be two subfloor layers, one particle board and one plywood.  It's possible I easily went through the particle board and I'm not used to how hard the plywood is.


texts: Is cleaning the tub with bleach bad for the plumbing?

texts:
My wife had a brainstorm and we tried cleaning the tub with a dilute bleach solution, letting it soak overnight, and it worked very well. The tub still needs a cleaning, but the bleach loosened the worst of the dirt.

I'm viewing this is a pre-step to a proper scrubbing, but one that will make the actual cleaning easier.

If we were to do this regularly, say every few weeks, could this be bad for the pipes?


texts: Toilet tank draining near fill valve gasket

texts:
My toilet's tank is draining and I have an idea as to why.

(I should clarify - this is a dual flush!)

I opened it up and dropped a bit of food colouring in – the colouring made it's way to the base of the fill valve.

I drained the tank and got up close to take a picture of the area I suspected to be the cause of the tank draining out.

Towards the left edge you can see that the gasket isn't quite as sealed as it is around the rest of it.

What is the best way to address this? Chewing gum? Some sort of toilet-tank specific caulking? Any advice is appreciated.


texts: How can I prevent water from seeping through grout joints of porcelain tiles on exterior deck?

texts:
A deck above living space was repaired last summer after discovering water damage below.  After installing a waterproof pvc membrane manufactured by Duradeck, porcelain tiles were set.  I recently noticed several locations  where water is seeping up through the grout joints.  Water must be penetrating through the grout on rainy days and after the sun has warmed the tiles the water will evaporate, leaving a stickiness and an efflorescence on some of the tiles and grout joints!

The thinset and grout used are latex based, so wondering if the white substance is actually due to "latex migration" instead of efflorescence.  In any case, I have only tried to clean by scrubbing with concentrated Simple Green using a 1 to 5 dilution.  Although I was able to eliminate the stickiness on the tiles after scrubbing, it did not remove the white substance.  It's like it's baked onto the porcelain and I've only been able to scratch some of it off the tiles using a sharp putty knife! I purchased some sulfamic acid crystals, but not sure if this will solve the white residue issue if it's "latex leaching" vs efflorescence!

The grout joints are only 1/16" wide so I'm wondering if the water is seeping through because I didn't get enough grout in all of the joints.  I sealed the grout joints last summer using Miracle 511 Impregnator Sealer. Is there a more effective sealer that I should be using?  If I do nothing, is there a chance that the thinset could become compromised?  I'm not concerned about any water damage into living space areas below the deck as the pvc waterproof membrane should be adequate.


texts: Would I have to use a new paint tray liner after only one day of I left it out overnight?

texts: I painted a wall yesterday (blue) with a new roller, pan, and liner. I wrapped the roller in a plastic bag and there was minimal residual paint in the tray. I left it out over night. I put paint in the same pan this morning and noticed as I rolled it onto a portion of the wall that it was a bit whiter than the old coat. I don't remember if it was quite that white when it went on originally. Could this be just because I'm applying the paint onto the new color and not a white wall or is it more that I should have cleaned the liner, or even that I should have replaced the roller? I tried a fresh roller and seemed to get the same response. Heck, maybe I just need to put some more elbow grease into stirring the paint. Any tips? Thanks


texts: Front yard flooding, drainage help needed

texts: [Front yardThe front of my yard faces the main road, which is on a higher grade than my driveway. My driveway dips for the first approx. 5 feet, then dips back up towards my garage, this causes water to pool all along the front of my yard and driveway. Here with TS Colin going on, it made it quite apparent that a good hurricane and I will have some flooding issues. Does anyone have any idea as to what I could do to channel or get rid of the water? My thought was placing two dry wells, one for each side of the yard. On the side where the fire hydrant is "which is the largest part of the lawn" , I was thinking about running two drains to a dry well, as well as having a emergency overflow pipe running to the other side of my house which will allow the water to run downhill from my house.


texts:
I have two white wires and one black wire in a metal ceiling box.

When I hook up new fixture  I connect whites together and blacks together and bare ground from new fixture to the box but light doesn't work.

The light does work however if I UN-hook the black wires and take black wire from fixture and touch it to the bare ground wire I have connected to the box.

What do I do to make this right?


texts:
I removed the trim around my back door and was left with the monstrosity pictured.
The new trim I want to install is about 1/2" skinnier so I was wondering if there is a easy(ish)
way to patch this?
If it's too much of a hassle I can just find wider trim that will cover but I was hoping to match it to the same stuff in the rest of my house.


texts: What PVC pipe can withstand hot water, sunlight and be used for drinking water?

texts: What type of PVC pipe would be able to do that?


texts: Lights flickering, outlets randomly stop working

texts:
We bought a house built in 1990 in CA and have been having issues w/ lights flickering when other appliances/fixtures are run. When I turn the powder room fan OFF, a lamp connected to a receptacle 20 feet away in my kitchen flickers. Today, I had a fan connected to the same receptacle with the lamp, and when I shut that fan off it flickered again. Upstairs, when an A/C cycles on in one of the bedrooms, the lights in a completely separate bathroom flicker.
On top of this, single outlets in 2-outlet receptacles randomly stop and start working. One day I'll go to plug something in and one of the outlets don't work. We had an electrician over from the home insurance the sellers left, who used some device on the flickering receptacles and said nothing was wrong and it was "normal."
When I was flipping circuit breakers to match them to my kitchen outlets, I found that ALL the kitchen receptacles (6) were attached to one breaker -- titled "Kitchen." But when I tried to trip that by running 6000+ watts of appliances across receptacles, it didn't trip.


texts: what size wire is a float switch for a HVAC unit

texts: I need to cut out the existing wire and splice on new wire since the insulation is torn up beyond repair (shorted out the 5A fuse) , obviously a Temp repair until the part can be ordered


texts: Adding a circuit breaker to stop a constant tripping breaker

texts:
I have a panel in this two story house that has a weird wiring setup. The outlets around the house have been divided into 4 breakers of 15AMP each, which normally work however there is a single one of the four that takes a majority of them (living room, dining room, master bedroom, and a second bedroom). This is causing that breaker to be tripped at least 1-2 a week. The panel does have 5 or so spots left on it where no breakers are installed. I'm wondering if it's possible to take that one breaker that's constantly tripping and divide it into a newly installed 15AMP breaker?

If anyone has the answer or maybe a different solution for how to fix this that would be great as I'm worried about wearing out the existing breaker.


texts: No voltage from breaker even though breaker is good

texts:
I’ve searched the forums quite a bit and can’t find any other question like this one. I recently moved into a new house and needed to remove a light fixture from a wall in a bathroom. So I needed to turn off the breaker to the fixture, but the previous owners didn’t mark any of the breakers in the panel or sub-panel (which is right next to the main panel). I didn’t have a circuit breaker finder tool, so I had to resort to turning off (and back on) each breaker sequentially while someone waited at the light and told me when it went off. After going through almost all of  the breakers, I eventually found the right one and turned it off. This turned off that fixture as well as a number of other lights in the bathroom. Then I removed the fixture, capped the wire, put it in the wall, and turned the breaker back on. All of the other lights that had been turned off (because of the off circuit) all came back on as expected. Everything seemed normal until I noticed that the lights and plugs in two other rooms in a different part of the house didn’t work. Note that the other lights on the circuit with the light I removed were all working, so I know the non-working lights/plugs are on a different circuit. I suspected that one (or more) of the other breakers that I had turned off and on must not have switched completely back on (I didn’t know which one, since they aren’t labeled). So I went through all of them and made sure they were all in the on position (they were). But still the other lights/plugs didn’t work. So I went through all of them again and turned them off and back on, but still no luck.

Next I thought it might be possible that a GFCI had tripped (or gone bad), although it would be strange to have two entire rooms wired after a GFCI. But despite extensive searching I couldn’t find any GFCIs that weren’t working. It’s possible that there is a GFCI hiding somewhere I haven’t found, but I don’t think that’s the problem.

At this point I suspected that one of my breakers had gone bad (triggered by my initially switching it off and back on). So I took off the covers to my panel and sub panel and used my multimeter to check the voltage between each breaker load screw and the neutral. I went though all 48 breakers and found two 15A breakers in the sub-panel that weren’t showing any voltage (the others were all 120V as expected). So I thought that those two must have both died, so I went to the store and bout two new ones and replaced the bad ones. But still no voltage coming from those breakers, and no lights/plugs. I did a continuity check on the “bad” breakers that I had taken out and found that they were actually both still good.

So that’s the situation I’m in. Also, in the course of doing this diagnosis I bought a circuit breaker finder tool and was able to label just about all of the other breakers, however I can’t use the tool on the dead plugs/lights since the tool requires the circuit to be energized. None the less I’m pretty confident the breakers for the dead lights/plugs are the two that I’ve identified as not having any voltage. My question is, what can cause a breaker to show no voltage between the breaker and the neutral, assuming the breaker is good and properly installed? Is there something in the house wiring that can cause this? Is there other testing that I can do to diagnosis where the problem is? Thanks in advance for any help.


texts: Can I put a sub panel in a garage 100 feet away from house. I only have 100 amp service in home. What size wire and breaker should I need?


texts:
I used Mapei's aqua defense to waterproof my shower curb, floor and walls after gutting the shower, and redoing the curb, shower floor mud bed and hanging new durock.
So far I've only installed the pebble floor tile (no grout or wall tile). Due to a mistake, I may have to remove the floor tile. If I do I will damage the waterproofing over the mud bed.
Can I paint another coat or 2 of aqua defense over the top of the existing waterproofing after I remove the floor tile?
I posted yesterday about letting the tile sealant drop on the sides and edges of the pebble tile while pre-sealing before grouting.
I think it'll be very difficult (if not impossible) to clean off the sealant from all the nooks and crannies and get good grout adhesion now. It's a bone headed mistake. What to go from here?!?
Thanks in advance.


texts: Would a normal ethernet cable survive the conditions in an air conditioning vent?

texts:
I am currently renting a flat, which prevents me from making modification to the walls. However, I still would like to run ethernet cables between rooms. Between all the rooms, there are AC vents connecting them together. Assuming that the ducts are simple air ducts without any moving parts inside (need to check), would a normal ethernet cable "survive" the conditions? I think the maximum air temperature would not exceed 60 degrees celsius.

Lastly, the the building is located in Spain.


texts: Should I refinish Spanish stucco in winter or wait until Spring?

texts:
The outside if my house is Spanish stucco, painted over with what appears to be an oil-based paint. In certain areas the paint chipped off or looks loose (rain probably infiltrated) I live in NYC and it is winter time: is it better to remove the chipped paint and leave the stucco unpainted (bc the paint won't cure well when it is cold) or wait until spring to start the repairs? The damage is not great, there are a few areas and a few cracks.
Thanks for the help!


texts: Extension cords flexible in cold weather

texts: 25+ year old 14/3 extension cord.  Blue jacket.  Still nice and flexible.  Jacket stamped "-50C".  Surprisingly, it is also stamped "SJTW-A".   I thought flexible-in-cold carried the E, not the T designation.  What is it that makes some extension cords flexible in cold weather?


texts: How can I have a light turn on when a pocket door is opened?

texts: I'm building a new home with quite a few pocket doors and would like to know if there is a way for the pantry and utility room lights to come on when the pocket door slides open.


texts: Cutting smaller rectangular holes in ABS

texts: What tool(s) are best utilized for cutting relatively precise rectangular holes in ABS plastic?


texts: Can I install a new pressure-reducing valve inline with another one?

texts: I can't find my pressure reducing valve and am not sure if my house even has one. I checked for several feet around the water meter and for several feet before my main water lines enters my house. The rest of my main water line runs underneath my driveway. So I want to know, if putting one just after the water meter box would still be able to fix my water pressure problem?


texts: GFCI outlet in cabinet above under-cabinet range hood

texts:
Is it code-compliant to install a GFCI receptacle inside a kitchen cabinet above the range hood, and if so, does the outlet require any sort of special enclosure, and can the appliance power cord just sit there, bare, at the back of the cabinet, plugged into the GFCI outlet?

We bought an undercabinet range hood online; it was advertised as "must be hard wired".  We were replacing one that was hard-wired. However, when it arrived, instead of 12ga braided wire connectors that could be connected to the 12/2 supply line with wire nuts, it had a cord terminated with three-prong plug. The cord has fairly thin gauge insulated wire inside the sheathing, two conductors and a ground.

Turns out the model now comes with a cord, and the company no longer has models that require hard-wiring.  The wiring terminals inside the range hood are inaccessible to the customer, at least not without nearly complete disassembly of the unit. So I cannot simply remove the cord and attach thicker gauge braided wire.

I have the option of

a) returning it for a refund
or
b) running the cord up into the cabinet above through a 1" hole drilled through the cabinet base above the range hood's punchout hole, and plugging it into a GFCI outlet that would be installed in the cabinet directly above. The 12/2 supply line would enter the cabinet through a hole drilled into the back panel of the cabinet.


texts: Best location for an electrical pedestal

texts:
What are the variables I should be considering in this situation? What i'm trying to decide is the best location for the pedestal.
Pictured is my build site and house orientation with the attached garage at the north east square adjacent to a utility room in the garage. Obviously that pole which provides service to the lot, has to go. It is my service pole (end pole) and has a 200Amp, 240v transformer on it. Power company said they will either just move it to one of the other poles (marked on east side) or upgrade an existing transformer already on one of those poles to provide both me and the neighboring lot service. But, where I want the pedestal is up to me.
What's the best spot for the pedestal? While i'm tempted to have them put it at the pole on the fence line (and run my own wiring to the house), I'm not sure what's going to be more cost effective. Part of me thinks having it that close to the neighbors / basically in their yard is bad for security reasons? Having the pedestal where I marked it is kinda unsightly I guess but maybe best. And I'm wondering if it's cheaper for me to run my wiring from one of the poles or have the power company do it and have the pedestal near the house. What typically makes the most sense and why?


texts:
If the source of drywood termites is a second floor sliding glass door (swarming from an external unknown outdoor source), is there a good method / process to repel drywood termite?
I would like to apply a repellent to the aluminum tracks of a sliding glass door.
Two professionals have come by and only offered tenting.


texts:
I bought this ceiling lamp on Amazon and I am trying to fit it. Usually the wires coming from the ceiling are connected to the base of the bulb through some sort of connecting block, where each wire is pinched by a small screw so it can't get away.

But incredibly in this lamp there is nothing like that, just holes and nothing to block the wires!

Does anybody have any clue about how to properly attach electric wires to this thing?

Pictures available below. Full-screen picture of the relevant part here: picture


texts: How to determine tankless water heater requirements?

texts:
I'm considering replacing my insufficient 30 gallon gas water heater with a tankless water heater equivalent to 50 gallon gas heater.

I know a 50 gallon heater would serve my needs.

Questions

How do I determine the tankless heater equivalent?
What are units of measurement for tankless heaters?

House is in USA with 2 showers, 2 bathroom sinks, and a kitchen sink.


texts: Easy to spread caulking - window weather proofing

texts: I want to go around the exterior of my windows, etc with some caulking.  I have some now that I used in the bathroom but it doesn't spread that easy or lay a decent bead.  I know when I was growing up and helping my dad build houses we had stuff that would lay a good bead and I could push it into the joints without making a giant mess.  Well I want to make doing the exterior as easy as possible so;  Do you know of any good exterior caulking that is easy to put on and spread?


texts:
Looking to build a DIY conveyor belt powered by a furnace blower motor that I have kicking around using a series of pulleys to significantly step down the speed.

My 3 speed Century DL1076 has an rpm of 1075 but I'm wondering if someone can

A. Confirm that 1075 RPM is its speed on the High setting.

B. Let me know if there's a general rule of thumb for calculating the speeds for Low and Medium in terms of percentages?

Dave


texts: How to reduce maximum power rating of dishwasher for use with photovoltaics inverter?

texts:
I have a photovoltaic power system and an inverter with an overall power rating of 1500 Watts. I want to connect a dishwasher which consumes 2200 Watts when heating the water.

Question: What is the best way to reduce this maximum power rating of the dishwasher? Is it possible to somehow (how?) use a voltage divider or a simple resistor in series with the heating coil?

I assume the only drawback of this idea would be that the washing takes longer, as the water needs more time to heat up.


texts: How do you repair weep hole flashing in a brick veneer?

texts:
I have a 1950's home with a brick veneer and a crawlspace.  The flashing that routes water from behind the veneer to the weep holes has broken in spots over time due to the weight of the trash mortar that cured on top of it.  The breaks allow moisture to enter the crawlspace around the foundation.  It also allows rodents to access the wall cavity and gain access to the attic.  The flashing appears to be made of a black felt-like band. How can I repair this? I was considering expanding foam but I'm afraid that may defeat the weep hole system.

Video demonstration of original construction


texts: How can I protect my fingers while using a band saw?

texts:
I intend on using a band saw to cut out large meeples (the wooden pieces from the board game Carcassonne) from a 2x4 board.  I'm worried about cutting my fingers.

What tool can I use to help keep my fingers out of harm's way?  I've noticed push sticks, but the only ones I can find are push sticks that help you re-saw boards with a band saw.  Is there a similar tool to help protect your fingers as you guide the board to cut out shapes?


texts:
I have a set of dining room chairs and a table. Some of the chairs have their stretchers come loose. They were just held in with glue. Two years ago, I re-glued them and applied pressure with clamps until they set. Now they've come loose and one side comes out every now and again. It's hazardous to sit on these chairs because they could collapse at any moment.

My first thought was to glue them up again. But, what do you woodworkers think about reinforcing the stretcher by installing a screw from the opposite side of the joint into the backside of the mortise and into the tenon? I'm sure it would require a pilot hole and a proper sizing of wood screw as to not split the wood.


texts: What is a 3-pole fan isolater and why would I need one?

texts:
In this answer a part was identified as a "3-pole fan isolater". It appears to me that this is like a "regular" switch that disconnects 3 lines instead of just one.

Is my understanding correct?
What is the advantage of this over a single-pole switch?
Why would it be specifically a "fan isolater" and not a "{device} isolater"? i.e. are they used for fans only?


texts: Thinking about replacing old fuse box. Looking for advice

texts:
In my detached workshop/garage, I have an old fuse panel servicing that building only.  I am thinking about switching it out with a new small breaker panel.  I have been reading everything I can find on properly making this switch, and for a while was referring to this as a sub panel, with the larger breaker panel in my house being the main.  I made note of everything I read saying to make sure the sub panel's neutral and ground were not bonded/connected and the dangers that creates.  However, upon further inspecting my setup it occurs to me that my situation is different.
The meter hookup is on the side of my log cabin

Years back when I had electric turned on, the power company explained that my 1930s cabin had a really old service hookup:  The rightmost meter services just my hot water heater.  The left meter goes to my main breaker panel inside the cabin.  On the left of that meter is a Square D panel, with a single switch inside that sends a buried line to my detached workshop.
Once inside the workshop, it runs through the pictured rightmost panel with an on/off switch in it (panel is opened up in this photo -- revealing there are 2 black hots and a bare wire neutral).

That switch panel (switch says 100 AMP on it) is then fed into the fuse panel.  In the fuse box, the main pull out switch, when pulled out, shows that 60 amp fuses are installed.  As you can see from this photo of the inside of the fuse panel, it is a bit of a mess, hence why I'd like to clean things up with a 6-8 breaker panel.

So am I right that this is not a 'sub panel' hookup, since it is coming right off the meter?  It is essentially its own main panel in a different structure.  I'm thinking I would get a new breaker panel and hook it up to the 3 service wires (2 hot, 1 neutral) present in the adjacent Square D box pictured above?
My comfort level with DIY electrical work is simple swap outs or replacements.  If this is more involved I will wait to get an electrician to do it, but where I live up in the mountains, electricians aren't plentiful and you usually have to wait 6 months or more before one can squeeze you in for non-emergency service.

[![enter image description here][5]][5]
[5]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/7bXQ4.jpg![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/diL5I.png)


texts: Can I Move Interior Load-Bearing Walls Without Changes/Additions to Beams/Piers/Foundation?

texts:
I'm trying to determine if I can make some changes to my house's interior walls without making changes or additions to the underlying beam/pier/foundation structure.  I have attached a drawing of the existing beam/pier/wall layout and I have marked the changes I want to make as A-E on the drawing (note that the description of the specifics of A-E is on the lower right of the drawing).

To summarize the house in text (also noted on drawing):

Built 1924
Single story with steep gable roof
4x4 beams on 4x4 posts to piers
Continuous footings under exterior walls (raised foundation)
2x6 floor joists
2x4 exterior and interior walls (stucco exterior)
2x4 ceiling joists (for the most part; deviations mentioned on drawing) with 1x4 "cross" braces in the attic above (I'm sure there's a name for these, but I don't know what they're called)
2x4 rafters
Lath and plaster walls and ceilings

Changes I'm looking to make (also noted on drawing):

Item A: open the wall from the current 30" doorway to a 7' opening. This wall is not load bearing (it is parallel to ceiling joists and roof rafters), is not directly on top of a beam and is not connected to the roof except where it meets the adjacent walls.  My concern is that this is a shear wall since it's lath and plaster.

Item B: move the wall 2 feet. There is no overlap of ceiling joists atop this wall though I'm guessing it helps ease the span of the kitchen ceiling since the existing 2x4's are not to code across the existing 11-foot span.  Will likely have to upgrade these joists to 2x6's or maybe even 2x8's based on what I'm seeing in the span table for ceiling joists if I move the wall.

Item C: load-bearing wall with ceiling joists overlapping on top. Wall is currently roughly atop the beam/piers below.  I want to move it 2 feet away from the beam below. Guessing this is not possible without potentially putting a new beam and piers below the new location of the wall, but maybe it's possible to cantilever (if that's even the right word)?

Item D: want to add a new wall here to create a hallway.  It would not be directly above a beam, though the intent is not to have this be load bearing

Item E: similar to C with ceiling joists overlapping on top.  However, this wall is currently not above a beam/piers. It would actually be moved 2 feet closer to a beam with the change I want to make.

Any feedback on items A-E would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
I currently have a simple circuit.  Three ceiling lights, and one switch.  I would like to break it into two lights on that switch and the other light on another switch.  Will I have to run all the way back to the fuse box, or how can just run the switch to the light?  Diagram please.

THANKS!


texts:
My swamp cooler fan won't turn on. I measured voltage to the motor and if connected it just clicks in the small electrical panel and only sends voltage for a brief second,  the thermostat indicator light turns on only for a brief second.
If I disconnect the motor and measure the high low to ground I get 110 volts  So I assumed  it was the motor.  I purchased a new 1hp dial cooler motor and connected it and  got the same results. I tested the pump and it works fine but the fan motor won't turn.
Any ideas?


texts: One light switch controlling multiple lights

texts: So my husband and I bought an older house (1956). After we moved in, we noticed that if we turn off a certain switch in the kitchen, we can't turn on the lights in the hall, bathroom, or bedrooms. This is very annoying because we have to either leave that switch on (which means one set of kitchen lights are on 24/7), or turn it off and not have lights in the above mentioned rooms. Any ideas how to fix this?


texts:
I have two devices that started to work constantly. That is I can't turn them off. They just run all the time. The switches don't do anything.

The two devices are the the ventilator and air-exchanger in the bathroom:

And there are two twiches that control them (respectively):

Now to the amazing part.

When you switch off the circuit break for the ventilator in the ceiling (the circuit break for the on/off switch), then the ventilator stop running but the air-exchanger still continues to run.

When you turn off the circuit break for the air-exchanger, the air exchanger stops running and the ventilator in the bathroom is now controllable with the on/off switch.

So my conclusion is that the controller for the air-exchanger is broken. And that the air-exchanger is hooked up to the bathroom-fan to control it too.

What bothers me is that why the fan stops when I turn off the break for the on/off switch? I mean if we agree that the air-exchanger has control over the fan too, why disconnecting the on/off switch stops the ventilator?

When the circuit-break for the air-exchanger is off, the ventilator is controller by the simple on/off switch.

| CB air-ex | CB vent | Swch Vent  || Vent  | Air-ex |
| ON        | ON      | ON         || ON    | ON     |
| ON        | ON      | OFF        || ON    | ON     |

That's ^ obvious. As I said the devices run constantly. The "switch" for the air-ex never does anything at all. It's not even included in the table.

| CB air-ex | CB vent | Swch Vent  || Vent  | Air-ex |
| OFF       | ON      | ON         || ON    | OFF    |
| OFF       | ON      | OFF        || OFF   | OFF    |

When the CB air-ex is off, the control comes back to the on/off switch. So now you think that the "priority" controls is the air-exchange. Okay. See this:

| CB air-ex | CB vent | Swch Vent  || Vent  | Air-ex |
| ON        | OFF     | ON         || OFF   | ON     |
| ON        | OFF     | OFF        || OFF   | ON     |

If you turn off the CB to the ON/OFF switch, the ventilator is off.

So why, when the CB vent is off the vent is off, but when the on/off switch is off, the vent is on?

Thanks kindly in advance for your thoughts and comments.

P.S. This started after the house got hit by lightening.


texts:
My furnace is a gmp075-3
There is an existing unused Blue wire coming from the thermostat to the furnace area but not attached to anything. (upper blue wire in 2nd image)
Can I just connect the upper blue wire on the outside of the furnace to the lower blue wire going to the screw on the top left of the furnace panel?
The transformer is grounded to the screw on the right of the transformer, do I need to ground my C wire from the Thermostat to the same spot as the transformer or can I just connect the existing blue/c wires as is? (ie grounding the thermostat C wire by just pigtail the two blue wires outside furnace)


texts:
I have an older house and want to change a light switch to a switch/outlet combo. The current switch has two wires only in the box. The new combo has a ground (green), and two lines on one side. The other side has a load and neutral (white).
My question is, if this combo can be hooked up with the existing setup, how can it be done?


texts:
I was trying to hang a shelf on the wall in my living room and was drilling holes to plug fishers in it.
Accidentally I found myself drilling into part of the flue of the fireplace
(people living in the apartment below me have one).
The hole dapth is less than one inch and I immediatly changed the position of the shelf.

The drill didn't actually pierce all the way through the flue wall as I can clearly see the bottom of it.

Is this condition dangerous? Should I warn the people living below me?
I want to fill that hole, what material should I use? I don't think I actually went all through the flue fall, but would this cause the part around the hole to overheat?

Thanks for the help.


texts: Tread boards in external stairs for houses

texts:
I am about to build a small (3-riser) entrance stairway for my house guided by this how-to:

This question is about the treads which appear to be consisting of three separate boards each. The text even specifies a gap between them:

  Treads spanning 900–1000 mm between strings should be nominal 50 mm
  thick minimum and grooved or have a slip-resistant finish. Boards
  should have 5 mm gaps between them.

Am I understanding it right that the treads are indeed to be of three
separate boards each? Or are they just grooves in a single-piece tread?
Why so? Is it so that water could drain in the 5-mm gaps? Or is it for better slip resistance? Or both?


texts: What size breaker should I use to feed an electrical panel for our addition?

texts:
We recently put an addition on our home. I am looking to run a subpanel from our 200 amp service panel out in the yard at the meter (mounted to a pole), 75' to subpanel location.

In the addition we have 2 bedrooms, walk in closet, laundry room and bathroom. We also added on to our living room 10x15. All these rooms will have receptacles, lights and a 240 volt hook up for the dryer in the laundry room and baseboard electric heaters. (1 per room except laundry and living room) Total of 4 heaters. I currently picked up a 125 amp homeline 20 space 40 circuit panel box without main breaker. Is a 100 amp breaker from main panel more than enough? Can I use a 60 amp breaker to feed the subpanel? This is going to be inspected per NEC code.


texts: What type cable and size should I use for my shop?

texts:
My existing overhead wire is triplex 1/0,  2 insulated  and one bare. The power company is out of the picture because they do not provide service to a customer supplied pole.

My existing wire is at a 20 ' pole , 5 feet from the weatherhead at the shop. The mast is 10' ,  2 inch galv. pipe with a lbr going into the shop behind the load center.

Questions are:  Can I just splice in an 18' section of 1/0 triplex and be done with it?

Should I splice in a 4/0 triplex using a mechanical reducer splice? 4/0 is because of the weatherhead and mast. Not sure if required because it is not a residence.

Should I even use a triplex wire with a bare neutral in a metal conduit?

Items on the service are :

deep well pump 20a
Welder 50a
Compressor 30a
Lift 30a
Lights 15a
Outlet 20a
Outlet 20a


texts: Are EMT connectors (couplers, etc.) prone to disconnecting?

texts: I had an e-mail exchange with an electrician at the local permit office.  I told him I am planning on running EMT through my workshop and planned on using the EMT as the grounding wire.  He said that is allowed by code, but he "strongly recommended against it" because one bad screw will break the path to ground.  Are these connectors that prone to failure?


texts: When hanging a double layer of drywall, do both layers need to be fully screwed to the resilient channel?

texts:
When adding a second layer of drywall to a ceiling, do I need to screw the first layer to the surface with the appropriate number of fasteners ( type S screws into resilient channel ) as code dictates or will the fasteners from the second layer puncturing the first layer suffice?

Full info

Two layers of 5/8" type-x drywall w/ green glue attached to 1/2" double-leg resilient channel. The first layer uses 1" Type-S screws while the second layer uses 1 5/8" Type-S screws.


texts: Why does this paint (or stain, or whatever) not want to stick to my fence?

texts:
I've spent an hour or so painting this fence (more unpictured), but the paint I'm using seems to be really pathetic at actually colouring the fence. Is this even the right paint for the job?

The fence:

The paint:


texts: What can be used to fill holes on top of a lamp fixture?

texts:
I'm trying to provide a solution for a restaurant I frequent. They always seem to get flies inside their light fixtures. We discovered after examining the fixture that there are 3 or 4 small holes on top which gives the flies direct access to the inside of the fixture.
What can be used to prevent this by filling in the holes on top next to where the hang cord is?


texts: How do I best build up concrete driveway where it meets the basement foundation of house?

texts: Our driveway slightly slopes into our basement foundation wall, causing water to stand in that area.  We don't want to simply add cement to this area to elevate it one or two inches because of our concern that the thin layer will eventually crack up, and that the new layer won't bond properly to the old layer.  What is the proper method to correct this problem?


texts:
I tried to install an LED light in our pantry to replace an incandescent bulb. It is not hooked to a normal light switch but to a push button on/off with the door open and closing! The breaker remains tripped.
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!


texts: Why shouldn't different types of bulbs be used in the same fixture?

texts:
Why shouldn't different types of light bulbs(i.e. incandescent, LED, cfl) be used in the same fixture?

I read this under the CAUTIONS & WARNINGS section of the LED bulb packaging.

  ...Do not use in multi-bulb enclosed fixtures together with other bulb technologies (e.g. incandescent, halogen, CFL, etc.)...

I have followed this warning, but I would like to understand the reasoning behind it.


texts: What size feeder do I need for an RV shore power panel?

texts:
I'm looking to install a shore power panel for an RV, which will have a 50-ampere, 30-ampere, and 20-ampere receptacle in it. Each receptacle is protected by an appropriately sized circuit breaker, that is built right into the panel. The panel will be similar to this one.

I have a 50 ampere GFCI breaker in my main service panel, as well as a length of 6/3 with ground cable (decommissioned Hot Tub circuit). Can I re-purpose this circuit to feed the RV panel, or do I need a larger feeder?
Reading through the National Electrical Code section 551, it seems to me that I should be fine.

National Electrical Code 2017
Chapter 5 Special Occupancies
Article 551 Recreational Vehicles and Recreational Vehicle Parks
551.73 Calculated Load.
(A) Basis of Calculations. Electrical services and feeders shall be calculated on the basis of not less than 12,000 volt-amperes per site equipped with 50-ampere, 208Y/120 or 120/240-volt supply facilities; 3600 volt-amperes per site equipped with both 20-ampere and 30-ampere supply facilities; 2400 volt-amperes per site equipped with 20-ampere supply facilities; and 600 volt-amperes per site equipped with 20-ampere supply facilities dedicated to tent sites. The demand factors set forth in Table 551.73(A) shall be the minimum allowable demand factors that shall be permitted in calculating load for service and feeders. Where the electrical supply for a recreational vehicle site has more than one receptacle, the calculated load shall be calculated only for the highest rated receptacle.

According to this, it seems as though the calculated load for the panel would be 50 amperes (based on the highest rated receptacle), and the feeder should be based on 12,000 VA (12,000VA / 240V = 50A). So I should be fine with a 50-ampere breaker and 6 AWG conductors, right?


texts: How to separate the two parts linked by these hinges?

texts:
I have a mirror (left) attached to a little cabinet (right) via two hinges in the following picture. The combination is supposed to be fixed above the sink in my bathroom.

But now I would like to detach the mirror from the little cabinet. There are no screws for the hinges, so I wonder how to do that and with what tools?

(Click for larger view)

Closer look at a hinge (Click for larger view):


texts: Can I use Appliance oil as a substitute for pneumatic oil in my nail guns? I've heard different opinions and would like to know what the difference in the two oils are. Of all the different oils I have on hand,  I think it might be the best substitution to finish a job when getting pneumatic oil isn't an option for me right now. Am I wrong?


texts: Will increasing the size of six shower head branches improve flow?

texts: I have currently 1/2 inch branches running into 6 shower jets. However, the upper jets don't get enough water deployment. Would changing the branches 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch pipe make difference?


texts:
I have a wall that I have soundproofed by adding a few layers of soft caulk (to create small air gaps), foam paneling, and extra layers of drywall. It is now fairly quiet. However, the bottom 1-2 inches were not made thicker because the wall is ~98" tall, I worked from the ceiling down, and I used 8' (96") plywood and foam sheets. I also don't want to put drywall in contact with the floor because of a) thermal expansion and b) possible spills.

Now most of the sound comes through the bottom of the wall which is 1) trim (on the other side), 2) small air gap under the drywall on the other side 3) 4" of a 2x4 that is the bottom of the framing and now 4) A few inches of air underneath my new thicker sound-proof wall.

What is the best material to use to fill this gap before I put the new trim on my side of the wall? I was thinking of small custom-made sand-bags? Or spray foam? Something else?


texts:
I have an exposed conduit switch box on my front porch that controls a spotlight.  I would like to add a gfci outlet to the switch box (swapping the switch box for a double box thst is weatherproof)
The switch seems to be a 3 way switch but the wiring does not match what I have read for either a single pole or a three way shared switch circuit.  And as far as I can tell there is only one switch for this light (inconveniently located on the front porch).  I do not know if the power goes to the light or switch first.
Switch has one side with a dark screw and a gold screw, then the other side has a second gold screw opposite the first, and a blank space opposite the dark screw.  There is also a ground screw.
In the switch box is one run with black white and bare wires.   Black goes to the dark screw "top" of the switch, white goes to gold screw on the opposite side and bottom of the switch from black. Bare is attached to the ground screw.
In one position all the black, white and empty gold screw are not hot, in the other switch position the black and empty (same side as each other) are hot but the white is not (using a noncontact voltage sniffer).
In the light box there is also one lead (pigtailed to two spotlights)
Is it possible to add the gfci?


texts: How to identify if wood-framed wall is load-bearing?

texts: I'm removing a wall in my bedroom/bathroom to open it up for more closet space. Now I've been hesitant on knocking it down until I'm 110% sure it's not load bearing. To my understanding a load bearing wall carries the load all the way down the studs to the foundation of the structure correct? So in my case being located on the 2nd floor a load bearing wall would have to have studs/wall directly beneath it on the 1st floor to carry the load to the foundation of the house right. If nothing beneath it and closest wall on the 1st floor is 5 feet or so away than the wall is non load bearing correct? Can someone tell me if my thinking on this is correct or if I'm missing anything crucial.


texts: Can I replace a tiled shower with a fiberglass shower pan?

texts:
I have a standing tiled shower (tiled floor and walls). Is it possible to have someone rip out the tiled floor and replace it with a fiberglass/plastic shower base pan?

I'm told this isn't possible without ripping out the entire thing and changing the plumbing... is this true?

I just want to replace the floor with a fiberglass shower base pan, as it's much easier to maintain and clean.


texts: Alternatives to knobs for kitchen cabinets?

texts: I have very old oak kitchen cabinets that I just can’t see replacing because they are in beautiful condition yet we never had any kind of knobs or hardware to open and close them with. Now that we are older and arthritis is setting in we need the extra help that the knobs would provide but the doors and drawers are just too thick and we suspect that is why the builder never even bothered with the hardware to begin with. Any ideas on maybe some kind of over the door pull system etc that may help us? Thanks


texts: Ceiling fan mounting, old home, worried I did it wrong

texts:
This weekend, I replaced a non-functioning ceiling fan in our home with a new one. The home is over 100 years old. When I replaced the fan, I found what is pictured in the attached image. It seems to be an old style pancake box with a center stud mounted to a ceiling joist. The mounting bracket and nut over the center stud used to hold the previous fan, which had been there for several years. (The old fan was there when I moved in.) I showed these pictures to the employee at a big box home improvement store, and he said "yeah, you can totally attach a new fan to that center stud and bracket! I live in an old house too and I've done that for lots of fans."

So I did, and I covered and sealed up the hole as well, because there's some old insulation in the attic I don't want leaking down into the room. Now I'm reading about fan-rated boxes, and I'm worried I did something bad. (Do your research first, kids!) I'm terrified this old box isn't strong enough and the fan is going to fall on someone. Here's what I'm trying to figure out:

1) Am I in danger? That old box and pipe seem pretty beefy, but I know fans are heavy and motion can wear things down over time. I also have no idea what I'm looking at. I should add this is over a bed, so someone will be under it for several hours at a stretch, and not alert.

2) Is there some way I can brace or reinforce this from above, up in the attic, so I don't have to open (unseal) everything up again?

3) If I don't want to mess with that old box and all the other electrical in there - because I have no idea what it is - would I be better off returning the fan and just installing a light, which wouldn't put stress on the box?

EDIT: I noticed the packaging says to use a box rated for a 35lb or less fan, so this is not a very heavy fan.

EDIT #2: I was able to get into the attic and look at the mounting from the top. The threaded pipe with the fan bracket seen in the "from below" appears to go all the way through the mount, loops over a crossbeam, under another joist, and runs all the way across the attic floor. (Not the conduit, the darker pipe next to the conduit) Due to the light oxidation, I think it is steel. It could be iron, but I didn't think iron pipes could have smooth bends like this one does? In any case, I know it isn't up to any modern code, but it seems very strong. The only risks I see now are 1) the fan bracket failing, which seems unlikely since it is designed to be a fan bracket, or 2) The threads in the nut or pipe somehow strip, which also seems unlikely given they are steel.


texts:
Hurricane Sandy is starting to hit us, and we have come to realize our basement door is leaky, and it's starting to soak our basement.  I found where the water is coming in, the bottom corner of the door is not snug against the doorframe, and I can see a little daylight coming through.

Now I'm a stereotypical suburbanite, I have no weatherstripping in the house, or much else.  But my basement is leaking right now, at the start of the hurricane, and we're not supposed to leave our houses, so I need a quick fix.

Does anyone know quick fix using standard household items?  Is there something I can cram in there that will at least slow down the leaking?

Thanks


texts: Unclogging faucet aerator: can I do anything more?

texts:
I have a faucet that has low flow. When I remove the aerator the flow seems to be good, so I think the aerator is clogged. Following many videos online which discuss how to clean an aerator, I removed the aerator and took it apart into four pieces. I do not seem able to take it apart into more pieces. I cleaned out some gunk from the holes, reassembled the aerator and reattached. The faucet still has low flow with the cleaned aerator in place.

Is there anything else I can do to unclog or fix the aerator? I would rather not buy another one if I don't need to.

Should I be able to take the aerator apart into more pieces? Perhaps there is gunk in an area I can not reach.

Thanks!


texts: Will my breaker accept #10 wire even though the chart lists #14?

texts: I am hooking up a disconnect for heating air unit. The instructions state use a 25 amp 2 pole breaker with 10-2 wire. The breaker says wire size 14-2. It is an Eaton BR225 beaker. Will it work with 10-2?


texts: Installing fixture with no junction box and off-center stud

texts:
I asked a question earlier today here because I took down an old wall-mounted light fixture in my bathroom above the vanity, and was going to replace it with a new fixture.  Unfortunately there's no junction box, and the answers from my question above told me I need one.
I bought a pancake box that I can attach to a stud, but the problem I'm facing now is that the stud is 1.5" off center.  So if I mount the box to the stud, my fixture is going to be off center...  Picture of the situation below, the stud is about 1.5" left of the center of the hole.  If it helps, the light fixture has a circular base.
Any ideas what I can do?
Here's a picture of the fixture aligned to the stud (where I would be putting in a pancake box). But as it is, for the fixture to be centered, it would need to move 1.5" to the right.


texts: Dual Grounding Electrodes In Parallel versus series

texts:
I've installed two 8' copper rods each with a beefy copper wire tying them back to the panel ground.  It is the entrance panel, so neutral is also on that ground and the service pole is ~15' away with its own ground rod I'd assume.  I've seen most everyone else put their rods in series, but I ran two wires for mine.  I'm not sure it matters but it did allow me to answer this question:
"what is the impedance between two 8' copper grounding rods installed 10' apart for my soil".
While this will give insight into the soil path resistance, it is not equivalent to the NEC required measurement of <25ohms for a single ground rod to earth.  Taking this measurement requires special equipment to emulate the earth connection.


texts: Should inline undersink water filter be put before cold water input to undersink recirculating pump?

texts: I have an older Laing hot water recirculating pump under the sink. I want to install a simple undercounter water filter for cold water at the sink. Should I install the filter before the pump or after the pump?


texts: Options for a 0-10V dimmer on a 3-way, in a basement

texts:
I'm putting utility lights in a basement (3-way SW).  After running all the wire and switches I picked up the only lights that my electrical supply house carried, RAB LED utility lights.
Not cheap, but crazy bright, so I figured I could get by with less.  I get back to the house and realize that these have an extra set of wires for a 0-10V dimmer.
What are my options here? this is a basement.  I'm guessing I could just connect the two and get full brightness, but I would like to be able to tweak the brightness because they might be too bright.  What I don't want to do is pay $70 ea for 3-way dimmer's which is what home depot is charging.  Other than these overpriced switches, nothing says 0-10V.  Does anyone know if any low cost, off the shelf dimmers that happen to be 0-10.  I would probably mount it discretely above one of the lights to make adjustments.
Also, is there any reason an electrical inspector would have a problem with this?


texts:
I'm interested in installing a bath fan and am currently planning ou the project.

The fan specs (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-Breez-GreenBuilder-Series-100-CFM-Wall-or-Ceiling-Bathroom-Exhaust-Fan-ENERGY-STAR-GBR100/204347760) say that the port should be 4".

This leads me to believe that the tube entrance should be larger than 4", but I'm not entirely certain. I was thinking of insulated ducting similar to  (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-4-in-x-12-ft-Insulated-Flexible-Duct-R6-Silver-Jacket-F6IFD4X144/203420974) for the attic.

Does 4" ducting connect to the 4" fan or does the ducting need to be larger (Such as 6" ducting)?


texts: Breaker sending power to lights but 3 outlets wont work

texts: Our breaker flips often, and today the power shut our tv and window a/c off. I went to go flip the breaker but only the lights came on. I checked it again and again and still nothing. Only power to our lights. 3 out of 4 outlets in our living room are not working.


texts: How much should over-the-range microwave stick out?

texts:
I moved into an apartment and want to install an over-the-range microwave. The space above the stove measures 30 in. wide, 11 in. deep, 15 in height. But how far outside of that should a microwave typically stick?
I gather I don't need to vent the microwave to the outside (which is good), but wonder if there's anything else I should think about. I've not done a lot of DIY work in the past.


texts: Tightening clamp that holds the sandpaper on the Makita palm sander bo4552

texts:
How do I adjust/tighten the lever clamp that holds the sandpaper on the Makita palm sander bo4552
The claw clamp is not tight down on the sandpaper and it is tatally unusable as the paper comes off.


texts: How to prepare poured concrete wall for adhesion

texts:
I am considering the application of an artificial stone wall veneer onto a poured concrete wall. The wall is flat with no protrusions or other which might aid in adhesion. I do not know if any release agents were added to the forms when the wall was poured. Age of the wall is less than 15 years.

What is the best method to prep the surface to get the best adhesion and is there a best mortar for use in this manner? I have done a lot of drywall and other concrete work, but nothing to do with block or mortar so this is somewhat of a new area for me. The wall is about 9 feet high and 15 feet long and flat with no corners with a concrete floor - all bare an never painted.

How should I prepare this surface and what should I use for mortar here? I want it to look as natural as possible so do not want to use any caulk like adhesives etc. if possible.  Any other tips I might find of use?

EDIT: This is an interior wall, thus no weathering and has never been painted or otherwise surface treated.


texts: Glowing neutral bar connection. Double breaker


texts: New install of toilet and it slightly rocks front to back, not sideways

texts: installed new toilet and flange in concrete basement floor but on top of tile. Toilet rocks slightly back and forth, not sideways but front to back. Did I maybe not get flange tight against tile ? What might I check for? no problem removing as It has not been used yet. Thanks


texts: water pressure regulator releasing a tiny bit of water

texts:
About a month ago i installed new water lines and a water pressure regulator.  The supply pressure is ~95psi and the regulator drops it to ~50psi before it continues to the house and workshop in 1.5" PVC.
The area around the valve and regulator look wetted, either a tiny leak on the fittings, or the regulator releases water during its operation.  Does anyone know if its normal for these water pressure regulators to release outboard a bit of water under normal operation?  I cant immediately find a leak source, but will continue to investigate if these things don't release water during operation.


texts: Whole House Humidifiers for Ductless Furnaces?

texts: Is there a whole house humidifier that I can attach on my furnace that requires no ductwork? All we have for ductwork, is a galvanized pipe that sits on top of my furnace. There's a blower that blows the air up that one n only pipe,through a floor register. Our house is a 3,000 sq ft. home.


texts: Can you rewire a remote controlled ceiling fan to not be remote controlled?

texts: I have a 9 year old $750 ceiling fan (that is now $1600 to purchase new) that used to work with an in wall remote control that communicated to a chip inside the fan to control the light and speeds.  American Home Shield contracted electrician said they no longer could communicate with each other (remote & chip) so they replaced it with a cheap one which is all AHS would cover and the wall remote was lost in the process.  Because that original fan matches all my other light fixtures, I'd like to know if that ceiling fan can be rewired to just turn on and off from a wall switch - I don't even care about speeds or the lighting feature.


texts: What is the expense and difficulty of moving an exterior kitchen wall?

texts:
I'm considering a kitchen remodel, that is in the front-right corner of a house, and surrounded by a covered deck on both sides. The deck extends out 8ft in the front and 9ft on the right.

I'd like to find out if it's possible to move the front kitchen wall into the deck area, that is basically a small alcove. The deck is original to the house, and roof line already extends to the end of the deck. So assume you don't have to move the roof line.

The length of the front wall is 13ft, and contains counter w/ sink and dishwasher. I'd like to move it out at least 3 feet, maybe the full 8ft.

How hard would this remodel be? Moving the drainage and water, electrical. Framing the new wall, building up a new subfloor, etc. Do you think this is feasible, or am I past what a contractor could pull off? What kind of cost would this be just for the extension.


texts:
I've read through hardibacker instructions but I'm still unclear on how to install in my bathroom.

I live in a townhouse and my shower is against one of the firewalls.  The firewall, it turns out, is just two pieces of drywall put together with no other spacing between them.  I presume, based on when I was tearing out the old tile, that there is a stud.  However, I'm not as sure of this since I see no screws or nails on the now exposed firewall.

My initial plan was to screw the hardibacker into the same area where there are existing nail holes.  But as I think about how heavy the hardibacker board is, I'm guessing the board will just fall off in a manner of months.

How should I proceed? What was there before was just another piece of drywall.

Here's a picture: https://i.imgur.com/RGNcqTR.jpg


texts: Flooring Subfloor Condition How smooth it has to be

texts:
Just tore out 800 sf of ceramic tile for installation of laminate flooring.  I've spent 2 days on a hammer drill trying to wear down the 30 year old thinset, but there are still quite a few spots remaining. They are eventually worn down and pretty smooth, but still there.  Most of them are less than 0.5 mm.  How clean does the floor need to be for a floating system?
There are some depots from carpet tack strips.   Does it has to be filled?


texts: How long do batteries typically last in electronic deadbolts?

texts:
I'm considering getting a Schlage Plymouth Keypad for our front-door but was curious how long the 9V battery typically lasts. The web site says "3 year battery life" but I'm... skeptical. =)

Has anyone used these types of locks before and if so, do the batteries need to be replaced often?

-M


texts:
Portions of my basement wall are darker and appear to be wet, but to the touch they are just slightly cooler. I took a few pictures to show. The pattern of the darker areas is strange in some places where it appears.  The 2x4's running along the top where it looks quite wet are dry.

Is this water coming through the walls?


texts: Possible leak from upstairs window into downstairs window

texts:
I have a leak in the wall facing outside.  There is damage in the cieling directly above the window.  Note that this issue only happens about once every 6 months to 1 year.  I think when the wind is just right during rain storms.

Snake camera inside of hole

I'm guessing the water comes from the second story window directly above.  Is this metal something that can be caulked?  Or should I replace it?

The window itself was recently replaced as part of this issue.  However, the issue is still there.  I'm thinking the metal housing the window is also a problem.


texts: outdoor light post rusted out at the ground. How to I prevent it the next time?

texts:
I have an outdoor free standing light in my subdivision yard.

It is on a 5" diameter metal pole. This pole was driven into the ground and has rusted at the ground level and broken.

I need to fix it and want to prevent this from happening again. I prefer not to go to concrete since there are electrical wires in the ground.

How do I prevent this from rusting out again?


texts: How to replace carpet with tile in entryway

texts:
We have an 18 year old cat who unrinates on or near doors that lead outside. I'm looking for solutions to make it easier to clean up/eliminate the odor. We do eventually plan on replacing the carpeting the room he's targeting right now, but not until he crosses the rainbow bridge. One thought I had was to install tile in front of the door, to provide an impermeable surface we can easily clean (especially if we put a rug right there that's machine washable, much easier to wash a rug than carpet).
Below are pictures of the space, including a paint outline of where the tile would go.

My questions are as follows:

Is this a good idea?
Is there a specific phrase to describe what we're trying to do that I can Google for information?
Assuming the floor beneath is level (and there isn't wood under the carpet), my plan was to cut the carpet away from where we intend to install the tile, then treat the subfloor directly with cleaners before sealing the area with stain-blocking primer. Would you recommend installing or treating with anything else prior to following instructions for installing tile? Removing the tainted subfloor would probably be better, right?
Is there a better idea for how to turn this pee zone into something I can clean up after?
What would be the best way to handle the curved transition zone?

My husband and I are moderately experienced DIY'ers but we haven't done tile before.
And as is required on the Internet, cat tax. The jerk in question. His face isn't blurred for his protection, it's because he was mid-meow asking why I was taking pictures.


texts: Can I put my pressure tank over 200’ from the well head?

texts: I want to winterize my system which means me moving the pressure tank 200’ to a heated structure. Will this cause any problems I should be aware or plan for?


texts: How to fix Samet SmartSlide desk drawer slider?

texts:
Long story short, I yanked on a drawer too hard and it got displaced on the sliders, I ended up getting it off them completely, in the process some parts fell out and I believe the right slider is missing them now. Question is, how do I reassemble them back. I haven't been able to find any schematics online for those specific parts, only on how to install the sliders.

Pics of the sliders (right one is the damaged one) and the parts that I need to put back in:


texts: What are the options for moisture-proofing foundation from the interior

texts:
I'm trying to prevent moisture from turning into mold and growing on concrete exterior walls and getting into the fiberglass insulation.

I see polystyrene, foil, chemical-based concrete sealing, and spray foam.

What is the suggested way for doing it reliably on the cheap side?

I should mention more detail. The area is fairly dry, but ranges quite a bit in temperatures (Plant zone 3). Grading does not cause a lot of water to pool. The issue is more with condensation. The city code requires "damp proofing" and I'm trying to see what options there are.


texts: Why is woodwork relatively meager in modern homes?

texts:
I notice that older houses tend to have much more massive and finely wrought woodwork than new homes. For example, here is a railing from an early 20th century house:

Notice the elaborate paneling on the floor siding. We can compare this to a typical railing found in a modern McMansion:

Is it simply too expensive to have turned balusters and massive hardwood railings, or is it because the craftsmanship and knowledge to build such railings has been lost? I looked at some contemporary manuals used by carpenters to build staircases before 1930 and they are amazingly complicated with complex mathematical equations and drawings. Here is an extract of two plates:

I got the impression that a carpenter would have to spend years studying this stuff before they could do it. Has this knowledge been lost, or are there still carpenters who can do it?


texts: Stuck, leaking water shutoff valve to toilet

texts:
The problem...

I recently replaced the fill valve and the flapper in one of the toilets in my house.  When I turned the water back on using the shutoff valve below the toilet, a slow drip had developed.   The water seems to be coming from the valve itself, as there is no water on the supply line or the toilet itself.

What I have tried so far...

I tried to tighten the packing nut, but the nut won't budge.  I'm a little worried about trying to force the nut to move.  I don't want a little drip to become a raging torrent of water from the pipe and money from my bank account.

What should I try next?

Should I use WD-40 or some other solvent to try and loosen/tighten the nut?
Is there some kind of "goop" I can put on the valve to stop the leak?
Should I just call my handyman or a plumber to come and "make the leaking stop?"


texts: Two hot wires feeding a gfci installed ten years ago just started popping? Replaced gfi figured out a bigger issue

texts:
I have two hot wires both supplying power to a single Gfci located in a bathroom.  It is only two white two black and two neutral.

Only after investigating through a shock did I learn that it was powered by two separate breakers. I have found people speak about a red wire, but I do not have that. I thought it would be a simple 20 amp gfci to another new 20 amp Gfci.

Now it either trips one way immediately or other way does nothing by swapping load and line back and forth. I have to see what I lose by leaving off one set but did not know if there was something I'm missing that was ok 10 years ago and not now.

It is a trailer built in 1978 but gfci was installed 10 years ago after electrical fire in kitchen. All help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Replaced my water heater and now I have very low water pressure both hot and cold

texts: I replaced my water heater and now there hardly any water pressure in both hot and cold. Any ideas?


texts: I removed the flange, cleaned the surfaces and used fresh plumbers putty. It still leaked. I did it all again. It still leaks. What am I doing wrong?