texts: 80 Gallon Ingersoll Rand fell over, is it safe to use?

texts: I have a new Ingersoll Rand 80 gallon tank compressor that fell over while we were unloading it off the fork lift. It’s really unfortunate but luckily it was still on the pallet so when it fell it fell flat to where the only parts damaged were the electric motor fan cover and the pump filter housing and tank. The tank took the brunt of the fall on concrete. We got it stood back up and now the tank has a light flat spot where the cylinder is welded to the end cap. It’s definitely dented now at the weld near the top of the tank. My question is is it ok to have a dent like that or should I trash the entire tank and buy a new one? I spent a bunch of money on this darn thing. We definitely underestimated the weight of this thing. Are dented air tanks safe to use? I can’t really find much information out there about dents in air tanks. Most dangers of air tanks that I can find is from rust and some of them eventually exploding.


texts: Grout and/or thinset flushed in septic system

texts:
All.

My contractor is awful. If we weren't almost done with the project, I would kick him off my property and sue him.

Anyway, it appears that he dumped excess thinset or grout into my basement toilet. It caused a backup in my basement tub, toilet, and sink. It looks like someone hastily cleaned it up, but only a little. I have now cleaned it from the room and everything is flushing and draining normally.

However, we have a septic system. Will we need to have the septic tank pumped?

Thank you!


texts: Are these breakers suitable for a GE panel?

texts:
I have three types of non-GE breakers on my GE panel. They are from the previous owner and possibly many many years old. I think they are Murray and Square D. Are these breakers that need to be replaced or are they UL-Classified to work on other panels?

The panel is a GE TLM1612C, I think.

Thanks!


texts: Can we remove this wiring - just one wire tied together?

texts:
I just removed my kitchen soffit and found suspect wiring inside. It's a 100-year-old house with mostly knob and tube, but the kitchen was redone in the early 90s. Going through the house flipping on all the breakers and trying every switch we could find, nothing seemed to make current flow through this wire. We undid a massive amount of electrical tape to find that the junction looked like this:

So, it looks like the red and black are just.. hanging out, and the white goes to the knob and tube.

My questions are:
*Is there ever a reason to do this? (This was clearly done intentionally, just trying to figure out why...)
*If we wanted to cut these wires and cap them off inside the wall, is there any reason that would be dangerous?

We've never been able to make current flow through it, which makes sense now that we see that only one wire has been joined. Thanks for your help.


texts: What wireless temperature monitoring systems should I look into?

texts:
I'd like to monitor and log temperature on few locations in my home. Wireless monitoring with normal consumer batteries etc would be preferable for the sensors. I have an Mac OSX server running at my home where I could log the temperatures and browse the data. I live in Finland, so something that's too specific for the US will not work.

Do you have any good suggestions or experiences on what wireless temperature sensors and system to use? I'd prefer something cheap but not too DIY as this thing is just a novelty for me.


texts: How serious is mildew on the ceiling of the top floor of a house?

texts:
If a house had mildew (I'm assuming it's mildew, it's black and slowly spreading) on the ceiling of the top floor of my house, what could cause this and how serious could it potentially be?

The building is a 3 story (minus the roof space) house in the UK. It was built in 1997, and the same family lives there today that moved in 16 years ago. If you want pictures or have questions, leave a comment and I will update the question. I don't know a lot about DIY/home improvement which is why I am asking here.


texts:
UPDATE: this may be R and V, not R and Y, although I'm still not sure how it was set up.

I am replacing an old thermostat in my house (the house is from the 60s, I'm not sure how old the thermostat is). When I took the faceplate off, there are two wires. One, which is white, is hooked to a connection marked R. The other, which is red, is hooked to a Y connection.

Based on what I've read, Y is for central air. So I should be running connecting R and W wires for a two-wire connection. Is that right? Or should I connect these wires to the R and Y connection in the new thermostat.

Here's a picture-I marked the two connections as they're faded.


texts: Properly installing a grounded subpanel for lightning protection

texts:
I'm installing a large antenna on the side of my house opposite the electrical service entrance. The antenna must be grounded, by nature of its design. For lightning protection, it's important that the radios connected to the antenna have a single point ground.

Where the antenna feedline enters the house, it does so though a copper bulkhead, attached to a system of three ground rods by 2.5" copper strap.

If I naively plug the radio into the wall, I have this situation:

The problem here is with a nearby strike there will be a large voltage gradient between the two grounds. That voltage appears across the radio, and things go boom.

In professional installations the building is designed so the electrical service and the antenna feedline enter at the same point. Unfortunately that's not really an option for me: the electrical service enters at the opposite side of the house.

What I'd like to do is install an outdoor subpanel at that single point ground such that every wire going to the radio is grounded at just one point. This way there can exist no voltage across the radio.

I've ordered a QO2175SB Surgebreaker surge protective device along with an outdoor box for it to go in. The radio equipment isn't anything huge, and so doesn't require an additional circuit besides the wall outlet that's already there.

I'm a bit unclear how to install the subpanel in a way which both protects the radio and is safe and code compliant. I've read ground and neutral should not be connected at a subpanel. However, if neutral is not connected to ground at the subpanel, what's limiting the surge voltage on neutral relative to ground? Sure there's the wire bonding the two grounds, but with a fast current pulse like lightning the inductance of that connection renders it ineffective.


texts: Sistered roof beams in garage pulling away from house

texts:
About 3 months ago we had some basement repairs done that included correcting a dip in the center of the house with 3 support columns that raised the house back to level (jacked up by 1.5 inches).
Last week we heard a loud crack from the garage and discovered that 3 sistered ceiling joists that are between the house and garage have gone from being tightly screwed together to being separated by about an inch.  The one nearest the house is pulling towards the house and the other two remain mostly straight. Also the joist hanger that connects the house joists to these sistered beams has fully pulled out on one side.  I'm trying to determine if this is just a minor part of the house readjusting or a an issue that needs addressing quickly.  A structural engineer who we originally consulted declined to visit the house as he said it didn't sound like a major issue, but I remain concerned and would welcome suggestions from others who have had their houses raised.
House on left, so joist hanger that popped is connected to the joist skewed towards the house.

House on left, garage right.

Reverse angle (house on right), the other end of the joists are not moving apart as much

House on left closer to the wall where there's minor cracking at the wall.


texts: What tool do I need to remove a round nut with slots in its face?

texts:
The crank shaft and axle are a single unit, so the whole thing needs to be removed.
Diameter is approx. 50 mm and a spanner/wrench/screwdriver needs to be able to grip both notches and twist without being blocked by the crank arm.
Any suggestions?


texts: Trying to connect a Nest thermostat in a dual zone house and I need to add a C common wire. There is an extra wire at the thermostat but there is no voltage on it. My current thermostat does not use a C wire.


texts: How do I install this type of door-bottom weatherstrip?

texts:
I had a local shop (now closed since the owners retired) hang some door slabs for me and they included a weatherstrip with each door that looks like this:

They left them off presumably because the doors were unfinished, but now that they're finished and installed I'd like to seal up the bottom of the doors.

What's the preferred way of installing these? Adhesive? Screws? Staples? And if I do use fasteners, where should they be? Note that the little flaps appear to be too close together to fit up the sides of an exterior door.

Or should I purchase a different kind of weatherstrip from somewhere else? The thresholds on the door frames are adjustable in height so I have some wiggle room.


texts: Can I use a sub-panel to supply a tankless water heater that requires three breakers?

texts: I plan on installing a Echo 27 Tankless Water system but it requires 3 40 amp breakers. Can I install a sub panel to accommodate this and if so what size?


texts: How do I add grounding to my old electrical wiring?

texts: This old house is (50's) is wired with cloth covered 12/2 Romex with no ground and all metal boxes. Can I just run a 12 ga or 14 ga solid wire between boxes and then to the ground bus of my service panel or do I have to replace all the wiring with new Romex?


texts: Laundry Room outlet and light not working

texts: My overhead light and outlet in my laundry room are not working, all of the sudden. They are on the same breaker and nothing else in the house is on that breaker. I just replaced the light switch and the outlet, and replaced the breaker that controls the light/outlet. It still is not working. I have an inexpensive volt meter that lights up 110 in the 110 outlet when the light switch is off. Weirdly, the volt meter lights up 220 in the 110 outlet when the light switch is on (but the overhead light does not go on). Only other fact to mention is that there is a 220 outlet right next to the 110 outlet. The 220 outlet has not been used for many years (it was installed and used by a prior owner who were from Europe and had European appliances). This outlet shows 220 on the volt meter both when the light switch is off and when the light switch is on. Any help of what my issue is would be much appreciated.


texts:
I just disassembled my wired security system to hook my sensors to a konnected board to self manage through Smartthings. Inside the panel box cover is a listing of the zones.

Basement Door
Basement Motion
Back Motion
Front Motion

Amongst others that I am not concerned about. However there is no wire labled 'Back Motion'. There are wires for the other three. I presume that the back and front motion zones were merged somewhere in the house and they didn't fit the panel list. How WOD I check to confirm this? My best guess would be to apply power to the wire and then have someone trip each sensor and check the signal wires with a multimeter. Am I on the right track?


texts: GFCI breaker with GFCI outlets trip with no load

texts:
This is my first time posting here. I hope someone can give me some help.

The issue I have is new construction wiring for a driveway light and outdoor outlets at the head of the driveway. The contractor wired a sub-panel and buried the wire (8 awg 3 + gnd). I would like to have two 20 amp GFCI circuits, one for the lamps and one for two outlets. The contractor had left a single pole 20 amp GFCI breaker in the sub-panel for me to use.

I initially wired this up to the two GCFI outlets (overkill) and everything was OK. So since I have another 8 awg wire buried I thought I would just replace the single pole GFCI with a 2 pole (expensive) and have two circuits. The problem is the 2 pole GFCI breaker trips with no load. The single pole GFCI breaker worked fine when wired to just the outlets.

I did see that the 2 pole breaker stated that wire lengths should be less than 250' and I am at 350'. Could this be my problem? If so what can I do? Do I need to use GFCI breakers? Attached is a crude drawing of how it is currently wired.

Thanks in advance]1


texts:
I need to drain my bathroom sink because it is clogged.
I checked a couple of videos and I am confused on the following:
1)I see that to "unscrew" the tube underneath they turn it to the right instead of the left. I mean as you open the cabinet underneath the sink and face the vertical tube that the water goes, they turn it to the right to remove it.
I thought that we should turn it to the left. Why is this?
2) Should the popup lever behind the vertical tube be removed before or after we removed the tube? Or it doesn't matter?


texts: Why does my light switch have one hot wire in and two feeds to the same light?

texts:
I'm swapping out my light switch.  It has three black wires and I originally thought it was one hot, one to the light and one to the other switches (where-ever they may be).  This is how my 1st floor switches works.
However on further testing and much frustration I found the following (at least 2 switches and on 2nd floor)...

one hot black wire into the top of the switch.
two black wires on the bottom of the switch BOTH feeding to the same light fixture.
I've replaced the light fixture before and don't recall two black wires.

Any thoughts as to why there are two black wires from the switch feeding the light fixture?
Also this light fixture is part of a bunch that are controlled by two 15 amp breakers (e.g. I have to shut down both breakers to cut the power to this circuit).  Can anyone explain why it was done this way?
Thanks
on-ca


texts: Only one Honeywell Home thermostat visible in Google home integration

texts: We recently installed a split system with 4 indoor units, and added 4 honeywell wifi thermostats for remote temperature control.  I then wanted to connect the thermostats to Google Home app.  but I found out that no matter what I don, only one of the 4 thermostats is visible to Google Home app.  Is there something I can do to make all 4 thermostats visible in the Google Home app?


texts: Running PEX exposed along garage ceiling for spigot

texts:
I was planning on running PEX-A from my basement, through my garage to the exterior cement brick wall (20-30 ft) and down where I'd like to put a small spigot (maybe will a small run of copper along the wall for stability).  Unfortunately my joists run perpendicular to where I want to run the pipe and I have a finished ceiling.
I'm aware of the environmental concerns with PEX - if I run the tube along anchored to the finished ceiling, and not exposed to any direct sunlight (maybe what would get reflected back up from the garage floor) - is this still a concern?
I am in a cold weather environment (NorthEast) but I'm running it from a shutoff valve in the basement.


texts: How do I clean mold from a leaky ICF foundation?

texts:
I have an ICF foundation on my home that water is penetrating.  I don't have a sump, and I don't know what kind of drainage is installed.  My main concern is my west wall, since it is in the finished half of the basement.  The sheet rock has become damaged and moldy, and I know it is a problem because my allergies will kick in if I spend an hour down there in the summer.  I know I need to remove the sheet rock and kill the mold, and I need to fix the drainage on the outside of the house.

What about the ICF on the inside of the house?  Would it be enough to just spray it with a bleach solution?  Or do I need to remove the ICF and reinsulate to eliminate my mold problem?


texts: How to convert 2 3-way switches to one single pole switch with dimmer?

texts:
In the past I've purchased Kasa's smart switches (HS200). I have two wired right now, and working properly. These were single pole switched that replaced single pole switches. So, pretty straight forward.

I now have a new Kasa single pole smart switch (HS220) with a dimmer. I want to install it in my bedroom, but not sure how to wire it.

The current setup:

4 PHILIPS flood bulbs 39w/120v controlled by 2 switches
2 PHILIPS flood bulbs 39w/120v controlled by another 2 switches

Plus I have a ceiling fan on it's own switch, which I don't think it will matter.

I would like to end up with only 1 switch that controls all 6 bulbs instead of 4 switches controlling separate sets of bulbs.

So what will the wiring look like?

I also read that I need to make sure that the new Kasa Switch with Dimmer can handle all bulbs. The Kasa switch is rated 300W for incandescent light bulbs. How can I calculate the necessary wattage? Is it as simple as 6 (bulbs) * 39w?

UPDATE:

So after much reading... here's what i've done so far:

On one wall:

I removed both switches (won't need them at all).
For each switch I connected the hot wire to one of the traveler wires and capped the second traveler wire. I also bought ground wire clips to clip it to the metal box.

I turned the power back on and the remainder 2 switches on the other wall were still functioning properly.

Now I need to convert those 2 remainder switches in to one single pole switch. From what I've read I only need to use one hot wire, but need to pigtail the traveler. I am not 100% sure though. So I took a picture hoping someone can help me out.

On each side there are: 1 hot (black with white tag), 2 travelers (one black one red), set of neutral (white with nut), 1 ground


texts:
We have this in the washer dryer area of our Mother-In-Law. When we moved in no washer dryer was present. I sort of suspect it's some sort of drain hookup because there is no drain. Does anyone know?

Can't make out text clearly

Drain on water hookup is sealed.


texts: My bathroom light switch is a switch loop. It only works light over medicine cabinet. Can I replace present single pole switch with combo switch. My box only has 1 black wire, 1 white wire, and ground. If so how.


texts: How can I attach things to the inside of a shipping container without compromising the water tightness?

texts:
I just got a shipping container for use as storage/workshop and need to figure out how to attach things to the container walls and ceiling, without causing it to leak.

I'd like to hang a garden tool rack on the inside of the doors, and a florescent light fixture from the ceiling. Does anyone know how to accomplish that without causing leaks?

My thoughts so far:

I don't think I can simply screw things into the metal walls as they are fairly thin, and the screws would stick out on the outside.

Welding on the inside would probably work, but I don't have the tools for that, or much metal working experience. I have plenty of woodworking tools and carpentry experience though.

I've also considered drilling holes for bolts and running them through from the outside to attach 2x4's to then screw into- so the head is on the outside and the nut goes on the inside. I'm not sure what that would do for water tightness through, especially on the ceiling where I would want to mount a piece of wood to screw an electrical fixture into. I don't want to cause a leak in the middle of my "wind and water tight" box. So I would need some way to seal around the bolt holes. Caulk or roofing tar?


texts: How can I reconnect the pull chain to my fan?

texts: I made the biggest mistake I just took the old switch out and wasn't paying attention to how the wires were hooked to the old pull chain, the pull chain I have has 2 black wires and in the fan there is red,blue and white. Can you help me out please? No I have no idea the name of the fan (OLD)


texts: xmas lights bulbs provide continuity but do not illuminate

texts:
Four 3-wire strings of Christmas mini lights. Incandescent. Likely identical and purchased same year. Bulbs physically interchangeable.

Each string has three circuits. The first and last bulbs in each circuit have larger bases that fit in to larger sockets.

Its bveen several years since they were last used as none of the 12 circuits light.  All sockets are full, no broken bulbs. The male/female ends pass electricity, and the female distal ends passes electricity. So fuses are all good and cords are basically good.

I removed all bulbs and chose one proximal circuit as the test circuit.  Starting at the proximal end of the test circuit, I added bulbs one by one, checking for continuity in the series wire between the male/female plug and the next (empty) socket using a free multimeter from Harbor Freight.  If a bulb did not provide continuity, I set it aside.  If it did, I left it in and proceeded to the next empty socket. Eventually the entire socket was full and it lit.

But some of the installed bulbs did not light. I then replaced those bulbs with ones that did light.

I then removed one of lit bulbs, which caused the circuit to un-light.  One by one I went through all the bulbs, 100+++, using the empty socket as a testing rig. A few bulbs did not cause the circuit to re-light. These few were set aside as duds. Quite a few caused re-light and themselves lite up. These were set aside as good'uns. However, the vast majority caused the circuit to re-light, but did not themselves light. These were set aside as anomalies.

I filled the other two ciruits with the good'uns.  The entire string lit.  Jiggling the string to test for bad connections did not reveal any.

What's the deal with the anomalies? shorted out? higher voltage requirements? How can they and the other three strings be salvaged?


texts:
I have a Harbor Breeze ceiling fan with 4 lights in my kitchen that dims after I turn it on.
The house is over 100 years old and has been through multiple remodels.  It appears as though that the kitchen light was originally a 3 way, as when I tried to replace what I thought was a faulty light switch, I was greeted with a 3 way switch.  I have no idea where the other 3 way switch is located.  I have manipulated all of the switches in the house and this 3 way switch has no sibling.
When I moved in, the kitchen light came to full brightness.  I replaced the 40w incandescent bulbs with LEDs (one of the original bulbs was missing). The first day after the replacement, the lights came to full brightness.  Over time, they are dimmer and dimmer when I turn the light on.  If I smash the switch on, they come to full illumination, only to dim.
What am I doing wrong?


texts: How can I make my home internet router work with a battery?

texts:
I have an ZTE zxhn h108n router, which needs an 12 V input.

I want to make it work when the electricity goes off.


texts: Braided stainless water line to boiler expansion tank?

texts:
My boiler expansion tank (Amtrol EX-30) hangs on a 1/2” type L copper pipe suspended from a 1/2" copper tee. The bottom of the tank (the air valve) is within an inch of the floor, which makes it impossible to check the bladder pressure without dismounting the tank. The tank can’t be raised a useful amount because of other nearby pipes. The best solution would be to relocate the tank, but I’m thinking that if I shorten the pipe and then connect to the tank through a braided stainless water line such as the kind used to connect dishwashers, I can make a ring-shaped cradle for the tank and let it sit on the floor. Then to check air pressure, or to check for excess weight from a bladder failure, just pick up the tank while still attached to the braided water line.
There’s no foot traffic in the boiler room and nothing would disturb the tank in its cradle. Heating system pressure is 12-15 PSI and the tank doesn’t get hot. There’s no glycol or any additives in the boiler water. The line would not support the tank's weight at all.
Is there any good reason not to use a braided stainless water line about 2 feet long?


texts: How to find this particular hot water heat pump?

texts:
I have this pump pictured attached to my furnace. I actually have two of them. This one, however, is on a circuit that has been empty for a few years and is now rusted shut and needs replacing. I have a plumber coming to replace it and just took their word at the cost, but then I got to thinking that I should maybe do a quick web search for comparison.

It seems that Grudfos makes a whole lot of these types of pumps. Pexsupply sells quite a few of them:

http://www.pexsupply.com/Grundfos-Pumps-1838000?gclid=COT0xt2Fg6wCFacEQAodSBGHNw

Alas, I really have no idea how to determine which (if any) is a match to the one I have. Can anyone tell if the pump I have matches any on that site? If not, anyone know if the pump I have is still being manufactured and, if so, what it might cost?


texts:
Can anyone tell me if there are any small junction boxes available out there ? I just want it for the Romex splice in the ceiling , that is it. I don't need that for any fixture.
One I found is 4 inch round, Carlon old work box 18 cu. Inch. Although it will be covered with plate, aesthetically , it looks too big.
Wires are 14/2 NM cable, just need to extend existing wire with another cable. So junction box will have only 2 NM cables inside it. I prefer round but rectangle should work too.  I need old work box.
I am open to suggestions/ideas.


texts: Wiring multispeed PSC motor from ceiling fan

texts: I disassembled a ceiling fan to replace seized bearings. Unfortunately the pics I took to aid re-assembly are no longer accessible and the fan is an '80s era no-brand which I can't find any info for online. I have determined this is a PSC motor with a 3-wire speed control (L-->off / L-->A / L-->B / L-->A+B), a DPDT reverse switch and a single non-polarized capacitor. The motor has 5 colored leads (red, black, grey, green, brown) and I measured resistance as follows: Black-Red=30Red-Grey=60Black-Grey=90 I'm doing my best to understand it but I'm still a little confused about how to re-connect it all. I made a diagram and took the liberty of numbering all the leads in order to aid discussion. Any help would be much appreciated - thanks!


texts: Strange behaviour with 4 zone central heating timer (John Guest TM4 / Heatmiser TM4)

texts:
I have a 4 zone heating timer (HW, Underfloor Heating, Towel Rail and the 4th zone is unused).

I moved into a new build a few years ago. After 3 years my heating timer unit (John Guest TM4) started making weird noises and then the touch display shutdown (no backlight to it or evidence of power to it). I replaced the John Guest TM4 unit with a like for like replacement myself, wired it up and it worked fine until last week. It started making the same weird noises again and once again the touch display shut down (again no backlight)

John Guest don’t make the TM4 anymore but Heatmiser now make the TM4-TS which looks the same and is meant to be a like for like replacement.

I ordered the Heatmiser TM4 last week and wired it up the same way but it didn’t work - no power to the display. I used a potentiometer and checked there was current to the unit through the live and neutral and there was. I assumed the Heatmiser unit was broken from the outset so I ordered another Heatmiser TM4-TS.

This time I just wired up the live and neutral (leaving the wires for the 4 switch zones unconnected). I then checked the unit turned on, which it did, lighting up.

I then wired up the 4 switch zone wires (4 the 4 heating zones) but this time no backlight or evidence of power to it when I turned it on. I then disconnected the 4 switch zone wires so just the live and neutral were connected but now no backlight.

I’m assuming connecting the unit to the 4 switch zones is somehow breaking the unit?

I have no idea why this could suddenly start happening. Any ideas anyone please?

J


texts: Can you splice a #10 bare copper ground with a irreversible crmp?

texts: Can you extend a #10 bare copper ground with a irreversible crimp? and could you run it through 1" PVC conduit? What codes will back up either way. I know you cant have a splice in a location that you can not access but what if its a irreversible crimp?


texts: Install backsplash before upgrading countertops

texts:
The granite countertops I'm considering for future kitchen plans are 3cm in thickness, it is my understanding they are mounted flat onto the tops of the cabinets, as I presume my existing laminate ones are.

My current backsplash area is prepped and ready for tile.

Can I go ahead and tile the backsplash accounting for enough room for the future countertops/caulking so that my newly installed drywall is protected from grease/water/stains?

The countertop installers acted like this isn't as uncommon as I thought it'd be. They said occasionally they can use 2cm countertops or cut a bit of the tiling off if need-be.


texts: Is sealing a leak from the inside of my roof a bad idea?

texts:
I currently own a two-story row home that is probably close to 100 years old and was last renovated 15-20 years ago.

My big problem right now is a leak that is coming in through the roof in the back corner of my house, dripping through the wall, and into a closet that is below the leak on the first floor.  In the 8 months since I have moved in, this very small leak has caused the ceiling in the closet to cave in, the dry-wall beneath the leak to get wet and disintegrate, and various water stains all around the leak.

Now, it has taken some time and crafty problem-solving but I have located the exact spot of the leak from inside the house.  I have done my best to extrapolate where it would be coming in from the outside and done my best to patch up that part of the roof.  Well after countless rubber coats and roof sealant in the general area of the leak (I've covered about a 3 foot by 3 foot area in the back corner of the roof above the leak with roof patches), the water is still coming in.  After more inspection here is what I think is happening. Whenever the roof was last redone, instead of removing the old roof and completely redoing it, they just put the new roofing on top of the old roof (I can see from the inside of the house when I lift up the drop ceiling panels that the old roofing material is still there).  What has started to happen is that the two layers of roof have separated  from each other in some spots, specifically directly above where the leak is.

So here is my theory:  The roof is old and water is seeping through the top layer in different places throughout the roof (not necessarily directly above the leak and probably very small micro-cracks or holes). The water then seeps through the gap between the roof layers and gravity takes it down to the back corner where it eventually goes through the leak into the house.

My questions:

1) does this sound like a reasonable theory? I don't know the most about roofing but after racking my brain for months this is my best idea of what is happening and the only explanation for why my gratuitous roof patches have done nothing.

2) I know where the water is coming from the inside.  If I seal up the leak from the inside, this will stop water from coming into the house but it doesn't stop the actual cause of the problem (water seeping through roof).  Is this a bad idea? Will sealing the leak from the inside cause me more problems down the line?

To clarify, I don't need a permanent, professional fix.  I need something that will get me by for the next 1-2 years as I intend to move within that time frame and this is what I think is the most reasonable fix given the situation.  Please, if there is a better way to do this, I would love the input.


texts: Pulling up fiber board to install new tile flooring

texts:
My wife decided we've had enough of the cheep vinyl tile in our kitchen... She started to pull up the tiles and I came in and started to cut and pull up the 1/4 ply and 1/2 particle board underneath.
The plan is to lay large format ceramic tile (18x24) so we would want to replace the fiber board with 1/2 cement backer so the tile matches the level of the existing laminate wood flooring in the living room. We did not plan on removing the kitchen cabinets for this.
My question is: should I cut the fiberboard up to the cabinets as close as possible and butt the new cement board up to the cut and tile over it (will that cause issue with the tile over the seam?) Or what are my best options without removing the cabinets?
View from the kitchen towards the living room

Same view marked up with proposed cuts in fiberboard

Original Subfloor -> Fiberboard -> glue -> 1/4 ply -> vinyl tile cross section


texts: I'm setting up a mineralization unit for my pool. The unit came with a 12V1A power adapter which says Indoor Use Only on it. At the same time, the instructions say that the unit should be powered using an outlet that's wired directly into the timer for the pool pump, so that it only operates when the pump is cycling the water. I'm having an electrician add an outlet with a weatherproof cover. My question is, is having the power supply protected by a weatherproof box the same as using it indoors? I imagine the box protects against moisture. But what about heat and humidity? I cant seem to find a similar power adapter that would be rated for outdoors.


texts: Circuit Breakers: Do they degrade over time and start tripping?

texts:
Sorry for the newbie question but I have a circuit breaker (Hager Series MP-E – Magnetic Switch Bipolar 30 A Curve) in my house that absolutely never tripped. This is the main CB in my house.  Usage patterns of electric appliances has not changed and this thing started tripping for no obvious reason. Also when it trips it remains in the "on" position, you have to manually set it to "off" and then back to on again.

My question is, if I replace it will it change anything or I need to look somewhere else for the cause?

Thank you!


texts:
while experiencing a electrical phase issue (loose/failing service connection causing brief outages on one phase), what dangers is there to things plugged in?  Any actions to take to either eliminate or reduce them?

I have already taken the time to unplug the major electronic items, and I'm sure other things will take the brief outages well enough, but what about 240v appliances and things like the fridge and freezer?

[Ohio, United States]


texts: Proper way to apply plumber's grease to a two-handle bathroom sink faucet?

texts:
I have the Plumb4orce Two Handle 4" Lavatory Faucet P4B-400CL installed in my bathroom sink. You can see the exact specifications for how it is put together at this link. Only a few weeks after installation, the hot water knob started getting harder to turn. It is now months later, and the knob now requires a lot of force to turn. I was told that I needed to apply plumber's grease, so I bought some (the lithium variety, to be precise). The problem is that I am confused by the currently available information regarding how to properly apply it.

There are some tutorials (albeit shockingly few for two-handled faucets made similarly to mine) available on Youtube, such as the one linked to here, which shows the rubber ring and the bottom of the cartridge being greased. But I invariably see comments below such videos stating that the videos are all wrong and that the rubber ring and/or bottom of the cartridge are stationary and that greasing them thus doesn't help. This confuses me, as I don't know what to believe.

I have also found written tutorials, but they don't include photographs and use terms that I do not understand in the particular context of greasing a faucet handle (I recall some saying to grease the "threads", for example, and I don't understand what that means in this context, as I see no "threads" anywhere on the cartridge).

In short, what I need is an accurate, clear, precise description of what I need to do in order to grease this faucet handle. I would especially like pictures and/or video included, but even a clear enough description in layman's terms would probably be enough.


texts: Looking at buying a house that is on Sepctic and a private Well.  Got the well inspection back, and failed for Total Coliform (Ecoli and Nitrate Level are fine).  The septic is on the other side of the home, and has a ~20 foot elevation difference, so that isn't the major concern in my mind...How concerned would this failed inspection make you?  Their plan is to shock chlorinate it and retest after a period of time.


texts: Deck post cut too short - possible solutions?

texts:
I have a new deck going in the back of my house, about 6' off the ground. Made a HUGE mistake and made cuts on the posts 4.5" too short. Short of removing the posts and concrete, digging new holes and starting over, do any of these sound like good solutions?

Bolt a 4.5" shim to the top of the post to raise it
Remove post, add 5" of wet concrete to hole, re-use post
Place beams in notch and bolt to post. Add three 2x4s on top of each beam, attach these to the joists

Feeling pretty low right now, any guidance is much appreciated! Thanks!

Update #1: Responding to questions below:

Posts are 6x6
Top has been cut off posts and notch made for beams
Cement was added around posts in the post holes per code requirements
Primary goal = safety/code compliance. Cost is the major consideration in not starting over with new posts

I'm leaning towards option #3 below (clarified above). Any concerns about this? I discussed it with the city code inspector who thought it would be fine.


texts:
I recently moved into a new house and am trying to replace a couple of dimmer switches but it's proving more complicated than I'd expected.

I have a fairly long living room which is sort of divided into into 2 sides, let's call them A and B.
Each side has 4 recessed pot lights (so 8 lights in total), and each side has a 2 gang box.
Each box has a 3-way switch on the left hand side, (can turn on/off all 8 lights), and a dimmer switch on the right hand side (can dim only the 4 lights on that side of the room)

My goal is to remove all existing switches and install a smart dimmer (Leviton DH6HD-1BZ) on one side of the room, and the matching remote (Leviton DD00R-DLZ) on the other side, and then finish each box with a 2-gang 1-hole plate.

Here are the wiring instructions for the smart dimmer:
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/3e/3e474cd2-a567-4471-a400-3e21fd978b0b.pdf
(see step 4b for wiring with the matching remote)

My problem is that there are so many black wires in each box that I'm having trouble identifying which ones need connecting to the new dimmers, or which ones need connecting to each other in order to complete the circuit!

Here’s a crude diagram of how everything was wired up initially:

Am I right in thinking that I can just remove everything, then install the matching dimmer where the 3-way currently is on side ‘B’ of the room (using connections A1, B2, C3 in my diagram), and then install the smart dimmer where the 3-way is on side ‘A’ (using connections 10H, 12F, 13G) and then the fourth connection (traveler?) into the smart dimmer should be 16? and leave 14 and 18 together, right?

Any help/advise would be very appreciated! Thanks!


texts: What's the difference between a pilot hole and no pilot hole

texts: I'm wanting to drill a piece of wood onto the ceiling as a cover for an old vent. Do I need to pre-drill a pilot hole first?


texts: Is the diameter of drain snake cable the bigger the better?

texts:
Is the diameter of drain snake cable on the drain snake machine the bigger the better?

If it is for the same price, what is the advantage or disadvantage to have the bigger-diameter cable machine?


texts: Fire blocking basement, regarding unfinished closet

texts:
Currently framing a completely unfinished basement, I would like to leave the closets unfinished, for space primarily and to have access to ceiling above.  I have 3 closets, one leading to under the stairs which also connects to my utility room (furnace and hot water heater), one enclosing my sump pump and another storage closet.  I would like to leave them unfinished, no studs along the concrete wall and no ceiling (open web joists above).

My township does require fire blocking however their code seems very loose in description and code inspectors are impossible to get to answer questions unfortunately.

Is it necessary I finish the inside of my closets?  I've never seen a closet enclosing a sump pump be finished, but I'd like to make sure.

Appreciate the responses!!!


texts: Thermostat wiring: heat and fan of but AC not cooling & 2 disconnected wires!

texts:
I moved to a new home last winter. I have a PTAC unit. Fan is working well, same with the heat over the winter. The building has changed the building's system to cooling for the summer but unfortunately I'm not getting any cold air out of the unit, only the fan blowing ambient air through the unit.
I removed the thermostat and I'm seeing two wires that are not connected but I can't seem to be able to find if that can be the issue. It seems orange and yellow wire can be related to cooling, but when researching it seems the wiring color is not standard (e.g. blue for Y1?).
Does the picture make sense to anyone? I'm thinking those two wires are probably the culprits!
Thank you for your help!


texts:
I have boulder stone foundation and would like to drill a hole through it for a gas line. How can I do this?

The rocks in the foundation tend to be about 12 to 20 inches and diameter and they are mortared together.


texts: How do I stop the mantel over my gas fireplace from getting way too hot?

texts: Can anybody tell me how to redirect the heat from going up to coming out the front? The wall and mantel gets so hot that we can't touch it, so we can't use our fireplace.


texts: Help identify these items attached to mains water just after the stopcock

texts:
my brother has asked if I can help sort out some plumbing issues, he has a stopcock where the mains water enters the house, conveniently easy access directly under the sink, he has sent me a photo of the setup.

The trouble is that the stopcock wont shut off properly, very hard to turn and when it wont go any further there is still water coming through to the taps, so I am planning on replacing the stopcock (I know this should be in another question but if anyone knows a way of fixing it then that would be helpful).

As I am planning on replacing it I would like to know what the two items are? that are circled in the photo. If they are not required I'm planing on removing them and tidying up some of the pipe work unless they are required.

I may ask a post another question unless it can be answered here, but there does not seem to be much room at the bottom if the stopcock where it connects to the blue plastic water mains pipe, what would be the best method for making the connection to the stopcock


texts: Can I remove the doors before installing a sliding patio doors frame?

texts:
Due to bad timing I won't have anybody to help me with this other than my wife. In order to make it easier I would like to remove the doors before putting the frame in position, then put back either one door or both and make sure everything is square level and plumb at which point I am going to put a couple of screws in in order to keep the door in place till foaming complete shimming and all the other things are completed
Are there any inconveniences for this method ?


texts: How should I handle grounding & neutral bonding when replacing my sub-panel?

texts:
Current subpanel was installed in the early 70s. We think we need to replace it as lights are not working (very dim, flickering/fading in/out) - we suspect an open neutral.
How do we wire in a new panel? We have a 3-wire feeder. Ground/neutral is the same bus on the subpanel currently. Do we need grounding rods? Bonded ground & neutral?
Subpanel is probably 200 feet away, separate building (barn), no other metallic items connecting it to main building.
Other results from here/around the web are confusing me.
Edit: It is a 3-wire feeder with a bare stranded neutral. There is no ground, but we plan to place a grounding rod. I know, or think I know, that not to bond if it was a 4-wire feeder. We will measure voltage when we get a chance, sorry.


texts: Is this wall load bearing and if so what are options to eliminate?

texts: Trying to determine if wall between kitchen and family room can be removed.


texts: California building code design requirements for bathrooms

texts:
My grandparents have a two bedroom, two bathroom house in El Dorado County that was built in ~1974. One day I noticed something peculiar: while the two bathrooms were connected by a sliding door, you had to go through a bedroom to get to a bathroom.

Years later (around 2010) I was telling a friend about the aforementioned bedroom bathroom linkage and they said that's not allowed in today's building code so you could not get a permit to build a new house with that type of design. The person who told me this was not a contractor or anything related (and neither am I) so I never knew if that was/is actually true.

I just spent some time searching for this information out of curiosity and while it may exist on a page somewhere, I couldn't figure what to tell google to get me there.

I'm interested if anyone knows the correct answer here but I'm also wondering why such a requirement/restriction was added to the building code. And does the same rule(s) apply for a remodel, ie. could you change whatever design you currently have to one where you could only go through a bedroom to get to a bathroom? Not that you'd necessarily want to do that, but since we're on the topic... (~:


texts:
Is there a base, similar to this simpson 4" 12-gauge ez base, that can be used to anchor a 2" steel tube/pipe?

It would be exactly the same thing, but instead of a 4" square, it would be a 2" round tube.


texts: how to insulate attic bathroom vent to prevent condensation

texts:
i bought a house in june and the bathroom fan start dripping water a few weeks ago (november). I looked at the inspection report and the picture shows that the vent duct through the roof isn't insulated.
Do I need to replace the metal pipe all together or can i just wrap insulation around it?

Another thing is that the pipe isn't long enough to reach to the outside of the roof, so it is venting inside the attic. i am guessing i will have to get a new duct or pipe?

thanks


texts: I notice some powder substance on roof rafters in the attic. Its only at few places. Does anyone know what exactly it can be?


texts: Two 20 amp circuit breakers installed with copper wire bridge

texts:
We hired an electrician to Power a steam humidifier and when I opened the electrical panel I was surprised to see two 20 amp circuit breakers next to each other with a copper wire through the on/off switch connecting both breakers and ensuring both were moved on and off together. I have only seen dual switches with a common "bridge" to both that come that way from the manufacturer.

Why would the electrician install it this way and is this a safe feature in the panel...?


texts: I want to paint over a Ralph Lauren Metallic Silver paint. When we applied it we rolled it on and then took a wide wallpaper brush to create an "industrial sheet metal" look for our son's motorcycle room. Now he has moved out and we want to lighten the room up but now I have this texture and metallic paint. Any suggestions on best way to cover? Thanks


texts: When cutting granite does a diamond blade need to be wet?

texts:
I have to make an 1/8 inch cut on a 6" strip of granite with an angle grinder and diamond blade. I am not worried about dust for such a small cut, but I do not want to break or chip the granite.

Is there a benefit to getting the blade wet?

I have used a diamond blade in an angle grinder to make detailed cuts in ceramic tile without getting the blade wet. Everything worked fine.


texts: Safety of clamping two solid core wires in a ring circuit socket

texts:
I just bought a house in the UK for the first time and have discovered the joys of ring circuits. One of the
double sockets in the house was faulty (switch would always stay on). I took it off the wall
making sure not to touch any of the live wires (ha just joking). Inside I found the live wires
had badly corroded (but not the neutral - some galvanic effect I assume) and one of them had
totally melted.

I'll ignore the obvious safety issue with ring circuits that this may have broken the ring
and I had no way of knowing (without tedious manual checking). My real surprise was that
apparently the official way to continue to ring is to screw both incoming parts of the ring
into the same screw terminal in the socket.

These are solid core wires. This can't possibly be safe can it? In my experience it's extremely
difficult to securely screw two solid core wires into the same screw terminal so that they are both
securely clamped - far too often the screw is stopped by one of the wires and the other one is loose,
possibly leading to a high resistance connection.

Why is this considered safe? Why don't sockets just have two pairs of screw terminals that are
connected internally?


texts: How can I stain dark Sapele wood to reduce red tone?

texts:
I have installed stair treads in Sapele (dark wood with definite reddish tinge) but now realize this clashes badly with the coffee coloured bamboo floor and the oak doors of the hallway where the stairs are.
The floors are pre-finished so I don't have an option to change their colour. The oak is paler than the floor but doesn't clash with it, as both woods are a warm brown without the red tinge. So I would like to change the stairs colour to something close to the floor... mostly it needs to be yellow-er and no darker than it now is ...but how?

The Sapele has been oiled (Colron Jacobean dark oak Dye and then a top coat of linseed oil) and I think the wood would absorb more, but the red still shows through. Can I just apply a paler oil-based dye (say a golden oak colour)? Should I try removing the previous layers of oil with turpentine first? Or somehow 'bleach' the wood?
If that wouldn't work, would a wood stain hide the dark red undertone?... Can stain go over oil and will stained wood treads withstand the wear and tear?
I don't have Sapele wood scraps, so I can work by trial and error only if the errors can be undone... or should I go buy some Sapele before I start?
Any suggestions welcome. Many thanks in advance.


texts: Parallel circuit between switches for bathroom fan outlet wiring

texts:
While upgrading a fan switch to a timed switch I came across the wiring as pictured below. What purpose does the line daisy chaining these separate light and fan switches serve? Should I remove or what should I reconnect to?

Update: After testing the lines with a multi-meter (w/ multi-meter red node to test line, black nod to neutral) there is only one hot line (the u-shaped wire in the middle of the img.


texts: Would a transformer protect a 24V digital flow meter if it received 48V?

texts: I purchased a new water softener for the house. It has a digital flow metering device. It worked great for a few days and then stopped working. Long story short, I finally figured out that the outlet I plugged it into was for 240V instead of 120V (bought the house about a year ago so the previous owner obviously didn’t know what he was doing).  The power supply for the water softener has a 120V to 24v stepdown transformer to power the digital meter.  I’m assuming the water softener was getting 48V for a few days until either the transformer or digital meter gave out. I’ve corrected the electrical problem so now it’s time to get the water softener working again. Will replacing the transformer be enough or should I just order a new digital meter?  $30 vs $300 so I’m hoping for the best case scenario.


texts: Since moving into a new house we are constantly ill including both my dogs. Is this house the cause?

texts:
We moved into a brand new council house just under 2 years ago in the UK and since then we have had nothing but problems with our health. I am disabled so already had health issues but they have gotten worse. We had gas leaks but when council checked they said it was fine even though I could smell gas so after 3 days of checks I called the emergency gas out who had to condemn my boiler and meter as yes we had 6 major leaks. This house is all plaster board so there are holes in the walls where I have gotten stuck and punctured the walls with my power chair because I do not have enough room to maneuver around. We have constant headaches stomachs pains runny poo the list goes on. Both my dogs are ill 1 is fitting all the time and the other one has constant stomach problems and can't eat. He just lies there shaking and has the runs. The vets are stumped and it's costing me a fortune in bills. We have since found out our house was the one where all the machinery was kept for month's while the built them all so diesel was split everywhere. Our yard where my dogs go floods when it rains so they are constantly walking in it. We are all stressed and I suffer from mental health issues and anxiety which are all been made worse by this. Could our house be making us all more ill or am I just crazy. Please help with advice. Thank you

Thank you for your replies yes we have a carbon monoxide detector it is an electric one which is,wired into the house the same as our fire alarms. Tested it today and that works.
These houses were built on what used to be garages that they knocked down. The council did not put any vents in the houses and the window are very small. I have a wetroom which I cannot use because it floods all downstairs out so for nearly 2 years i haven't been able to run it.  We have has the council out because i vould smell sewerage in the house but all they did was lift the drain flush the toilet and said it's running fine and they couldn't smell anything.  Under our garden is the septic tank for 20 houses. My neighbour washes her yard down and sweeps all the water under the fence and onto out yard
We have wooden floors down not carpet because of my powerchair.
I swear this house in some way is killing us.


texts:
At the end of the season last September the highlighted joint in the roof solar heater was gushing a fair bit of water whenever the pump was turned on.

The joint is now still dry. Is it reasonable to add some kind of cement or sealer on the outside? The connection is quite firm, and there does not seem to be any cracks. The plastic still looks quite young; it's not chalky. And so I'm not sure how to open it to apply the sealer/cement on the inside, short of sawing off.

That alternative, sawing off the connection and reconnecting, is a much more difficult process, and one that, I'm guessing, would risk a lot of damage. Care to comment?


texts: Central Air condensate is pumped into a hole in the basement floor?

texts:
I’ve tried to do some research on this topic but am a little confused and would like to know if I’ve got a problem here that I need to remedy.
I think I want to install a self-draining dehumidifier in my basement. My only reason for doing this is the presence of efflorescence. Not sure if this helps that issue at all or if it will be a non-issue after I seal all the concrete, but I digress. Because I want a self-draining dehumidifier with no sink in the basement, I figured I could see where the AC condensate is being pumped and have the dehumidifier do the same, so I followed that line and found that it just empties the condensate into a hole in the floor. (Picture attached)
Some googling lead me to reading up on slumps but I’m really confused. This hole currently has water in it and I’m not sure how deep it goes. There’s no pump to pump it out of the house if it gets too high
Is this normal? Do I need to do something about it? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated


texts: My 15 amp circuit breaker for 2 bedrooms trips whenever either of the overhead lights are turned on but also if more than a couple of low amperage things are used in any of the receptacles (radio, low voltage light). I assumed the circuit breaker was the problem so I traded circuit breaker locations. The new circuit breaker had the same problem. The home is about 1 year old, it was professionally wired and it is not a GFI circuit.


texts: Best/good way to remove linoleum squares on pine flooring

texts:
I have pine wood floors I want to refinish - but on top of the floor are square linoleum tiles.  The adhesive is really strong.  I tried pulling some up but it seems like a laborious task.  I am also wary of marring the soft wood underneath too much.  I am fine with some damage to the floor underneath, but not excessive wear.

anyone have suggestions on making this chore easier?


texts:
I have a Panasonic fridge whose model number is NR-B591G.  The cooling element is icing up and hence the fridge compartment is not being kept cold.  I have changed the timer and also the thermostat in the freezer.  The blower fan is working fine.  The heating element looks fine, i.e., the coiled element is not cut, and hence assume that it is doing its job.  But if it were, the cooling element would not get iced up, i.e., defrost cycle working OK.

If the fridge is switched off and the freezer door kept open to melt the ice in the cooling element, and is later turned on, everything works fine for a few days before the problem surfaces again.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

[The authorized service people did a terrible job of identifying the problem, keep suggesting to change one part after the other, and broke a few parts in the bargain. Have stopped calling them.]


texts: Shade in front of second floor condo window

texts:
I live in the second floor (one over ground level) in a condo building in Germany. It is rented, so I cannot do major modifications. Minor modifications must be arranged with the owner. The living room has a huge window to the south-east. Now in the summer there is a lot of sunshine through that window, the living room gets quite warm and sticky this way.

This summer some plant that has grown wildly in front of the building has made its way in front of my window:

I quite liked it, it looks like I am living in a tree house. Also this plant absorbed the sunlight and made the living room way more enjoyable over the day.

Sadly the facility management had to take it down as this tree-like plant scraped against the facade. Soon they want to paint the facade as well, the tree would be in their way.

Now we have a clear view on the other buildings and a lot of sun in the living room again:

Only the first floor (ground level) flats have outside roller shutters, the higher ones do not have them. We only have curtains but that absorb the sunlight within the room and do not cause much improvement. Also the tree was nice to look at, closed curtains look somewhat sad.

I have thought about sticking some sort of tint foil onto the lower part of the window or covering it completely. Also there is mirror foil available on the internet which will reflect some of the sunlight directly. However, I fear that on rainy days, the living room will be quite dark, then.

What could I do to reduce the amount of heat in the living room on sunny days without obstructing the view to the outside permanently?


texts: Are two circuits allowed to have a common neutral?

texts: Don't know if the title makes sense so I'll explain what I'm doing. I'm trying to wire two adjacent fridges that each require a dedicated 15A circuit. I'm just wondering instead of running two wires if I can run a single 14/3 wire with the black wire powering one fridge, the red wire powering the other but both using white wire as neutral. My instinct says it's not up to code but I thought if ask. Thanks!


texts: Why is the furnace heating the house far past the thermostat setting

texts:
Problem: Furnace came on as usual in the morning but failed to shut off after the set temp on the thermostat was reached. The house temp (as measured on the thermostat) reached about 10 degrees higher than the set temp and hot air was still blowing out of the registers.

Thermostat: Inexpensive (Honeywell), programmable thermostat

Heating system: Hydronic Air Handler? In case I'm getting the name wrong, the basic setup is that the Hot Water heater (same as for hot tap water) sends hot water to the 'furnace' where a fan blows over a heat exchanger thus blowing hot air out through the ducts. (Sorry I don't have the brand and model/info of the furnace unit handy right now - it is about 17 years old.)

Trouble-shooting/Notes:
Switching the thermostat switch to System-Off (vs Heat or Cool) did not turn off the hot air coming out of the registers (i.e. 'burner' and blower still On).

Fan switch on Thermostat was correctly set on Auto. Switching fan from Auto to On, waiting, and then setting back to Auto DID turn the furnace and blower Off. Like it 'alerted' the furnace to the fact that the temp had been reached/exceeded and it could now turn off. (This is the weirdest part, I haven't seen this same symptom listed elsewhere online.)

I replaced the Thermostat with a similar one and the problem still recurred - after switching the system off during the thermostat replacement and it being off as expected until the 'wake-up' program time, the system failed to shut off (even when exceeding the set temperature by 10-degrees). The system did shut off with the same 'trick' of switching the fan from Auto to On, and back to Auto.

The posts I've found so far online mention Limit Switch (which seems to be relevant only if Cold air were coming out) and the Furnace Relay Switch. It's not clear to me if the problem IS the Furnace Relay Switch if fixing it is something I'd be able to handle as a novice DIYer.

I'd appreciate any feedback on what might be causing this problem, on further trouble-shooting or testing that I should do, and of course on any beginner-level user-serviceable types of solutions.

Thank you,
Andrew


texts: Need help with understanding this 3-way wiring setup

texts:
I have gone through multiple diagrams on the internet but not able to understand my dining room 3-way switch wiring setup. Any insight or next steps would be helpful.
What do I want to achieve?
I would like to install a 3-way smart dimmer switch that requires a neutral wire. Can I still do that by doing making some adjustments to existing wiring?
What I have?

Light Fixture
Switch Box 1
Switch Box 2

Switch Box 1 has two wire bundles and a 3-way standard switch

Wire bundle 1 has 2 wires - Black and White
Wire bundle 2 has 3 wires - Black, Red and White
White wire of Wire bundle 1 which seems hot connected to the Black wire of Wire Bundle 2 with a wire nut
Black wire of Wire bundle 1 is connected to the Common screw of Switch 1
Other two wires of Wire bundle 2 are connected to the Switch 1 (travelers)

Switch Box 2 has 1 wire bundle and a 3-way dimmer switch

Wire bundle has 3 wires - Black, Red and White
All three wires are connected to three parts of the 3-way dimmer switch

It goes without saying that there is a ground wire in both switch boxes.
What do I know so far?

I think Power seems to be getting to the fixture first
Do not see any neutral wire

What do I not know so far?

Not sure why the white wire of Wire Bundle 1 in Switch Box 1 is hot?
Not opened the fixture to see what is in there.

Thank you for your time.
Himanshu


texts: Can I replace this light switch with a switch/outlet combination?

texts:
I live in Minnesota, in a house that was gutted and rewired within the past 5 years. There's a big closet I'm converting into a reading room. It doesn't have a wall outlet, but does have a light switch. I was hoping I could replace the light switch with a switch/outlet combination.

The existing switch has two hot black wires going to it. The box also contains a pigtail of white wires and a pigtail of grounding wires. (Pictures below)

Does this seem like a possibility? If so, how would I wire the switch/outlet combination?

The existing switch:

The switch/outlet combination:


texts: Dishwasher not filling after replacing sink faucet

texts:
Yesterday I replaced my kitchen sink faucet because the old one started leaking. In the process I turned off the dishwasher line. Today when I turned that line back on and tried to run the dishwasher, the dishwasher isn't getting any water, even though the faucet is open.

I can verify that hot water is coming up the faucet (into the sink), but none is passing through to the dishwasher by feeling the pipes warm up when the kitchen faucet is on and the dishwasher is also trying to run.

My best guess is that there might be debris in the line, so that the faucet isn't opening properly. Perhaps I could turn off the main water supply and unscrew the faucet to clear the line. But, I'm a bit hesitant to do this without confirmation that there isn't another better approach.

Edit:

Here is the view under the sink with each of the lines labeled.

Edit 2:

Here is the view inside the shutoff valve. The metal ring inside is somewhat loose.


texts: Should I add outlets inside my cabinets for LED lighting?

texts:
I'm replacing my kitchen cabinets.
I'm planning on having two independent runs of LED strips: under the wall cabinets and toe kicks.
I'm also considering lights inside some cabinets such as the lazy susan and drawers.
LED strips under wall cabinets and toe kicks will have separated ZigBee controllers (basically a remote control) so no switch is needed, only power (12v) at the beginning of the strip.
For the cabinets with interior light I will have to leave a low voltage (12V) wire in there somewhere so I can later install a small LED strip and a door switch.
I was wondering how people wire these lights while keeping everything hidden, up to code and maintainable.
Is it done by adding outlets inside the cabinets? If yes, is it code compliant (I'm in Florida) and are there restrictions regarding the position of the outlet within the cabinet?
This is what the kitchen looks like and I marked the place where I believe is my starting point (whether with high or low voltage).

EDITED 12/02/2020
Based on feedback, looks like it is against code to power the new outlets from the appliance ones, so here is a new idea.
There are 4 light switches on that wall for all lights in the kitchen and family room, I have neutral and hot from two different circuits (kitchen lights and family room lights). Maybe I can power this outlet from the kitchen lights circuit?
Also, if I have the power supplies and controllers in the cabinet above the fridge (which is dead space anyway - too high) and can run the 12V wires exposed behind the fridge, that can end up being really easy to maintain.
The updated plan.

Thoughts?


texts: Garage foundation and leakage in the floor

texts: I found out that there was leak in my garage. And the wood is Rotten around that area and mold is growing. I started looking for any reason removed soil from outside and found out that break is broken and foundation is broken from some of the areas even plant roots was deep inside the wall. Tried to fill the gap using expanding foam but still can see the water seeping. I don’t know what to do my friend said it’s foundation issue. But I can’t afford to fix. What can I do now can I use hydraulic cement from outside? Or What can be used to stop the leak from outside ?


texts:
My garage gets really cold in the winter and I'd like to insulate my ceiling and/or roof.

Here is my ceiling

I store quite a bit of things in the ceiling, so the idea is to insulate the inside of the roof and then build out the "ceiling" - put in a ceiling and ceiling door with drywall.
If I have insulation in the inside of the roof, would I need to insulate the ceiling also, or would this be redundant..?

I have also seen aluminum sheets and foam insulation - are these used in combination or separately? What is the purpose of each and what should I use for my application?


texts: How many vent stacks should a house have?

texts:
I just purchased a 1948 pier-and-beam in Austin. The pest control guy came to deal with rats, and asked me to locate my vent stacks. We seem to have one for the washing machine, but none is visible for either the bathroom sink or the kitchen sink.

Is this normal? Should I be looking for a vent stack terminating in the attic, perhaps under the ceiling insulation? There's definitely an unpleasant smell in the house from time to time.

Both the bathroom and the kitchen are original (though the bathroom has been updated).

It may also be worth noting that there's a guesthouse, which I believe utilizes a sump pump to deal with its sewage. The guesthouse has its own stack pipe.


texts:
I have water seeping from the grout where the wall of my shower meets the floor. (The tile is travertine, in case that's relevant).  In the picture below, the shower hasn't been used in over 24 hours, and the rest is completely dry, except for two other similar spots on the grout.

I first noticed this about a year ago.  I removed a large section of the old grout, and discovered a surprising (to me) amount of water, maybe 1/4" in the gap behind the grout.  I let that completely dry, then re-grouted and applied sealer.

A few months later it re-appeared.  Since then I've just been letting it dry and applying more sealer, but it is reappearing more and more frequently.  I can also see hairline cracks in the new grout already - I'm assuming this is where most of the water is getting in.

My thought is to tear out the grout in the floor-wall joint and replace it with caulk.  But I'm a bit concerned that if water still gets back there somehow, the caulk will seal it in and prevent me from noticing until it starts coming out somewhere worse.

Any advice on how I should deal with this?


texts: Dealing with squeaking screws in chipboard flooring?

texts:
I've had a problem with squeaking floor since moving in, and after pulling up the carpet and taking a look I've discovered it's down to the screws which have been put into the chip board flooring between a join.  The join run's down the entire length of my hallway to the end of my apartment, and unlike any other chipboard flooring in the apartment it has no tongue and groove. It appears that there was a substance between them but this just chips away now, the apartment block was built about 12 years ago.  I've attached two photos, one of the join which runs down the apartment, and a close up of the screws still in the flooring, and one of the screws which I've removed.

My question is, will it be fine to remove the screws which are causing the problem, or is there any other way I should look to fixing this problem?


texts: The agitator barrel is not snapping into the agitator base. Hence it is not turning. How do I get the agitator barrel to snap into the agitator base. Whirlpool Washer LSQ8000LQ1


texts: Alternative designs for a load bearing wall

texts:
Please bear with me - I am not very skilled in the area of house renovations and building structures.

We had a business come in and draw up plans for a new kitchen.  It involved knocking out the 'fridge' wall that has cupboards and fridge against it so-as to have the kitchen also take up some of the playroom you can see behind the 'fridge' wall.

They were going to charge AU$10,000 (Australian), about US$7,000, to remove the 'fridge' wall since they claimed it is load bearing and I guess they were going to put a steel beam above it and attached to the truss.  I don't know enough to doubt them.  What I want to know is, could we reduce the cost with an alternative design?

Let us say that directly ahead is North (approx correct - this photo is in the Southern Hemisphere so our sun is to the North).

In the basement below this is a 5 x 4.8m (16.4 x 16 feet) brick room that runs from the back of the sink (South) that is just to the left outside this photo across to half-way across that hallway you see with coats in it - one way (North to South).  And from an external wall at the very left of the photo (West) through to a wall that is just to the right of the photo (East) - the other way (East to West).  Huge beams (huge for me at least - 31cm (12.2 inches) wide and 5cm (2 inches) thick) run North to South under the floor sitting on top of the brick room, and are about 60cm (24 inches) apart.

There is a truss that runs East to West above the 'fridge' wall.  And another that ultimately sits on-top of the North side of the brick room.

Can anyone suggest the cheapest (and still effective) way to remove the 'fridge' wall?  The small hallway to the right along with its door would remain.  I was thinking a vertical support beam from floor to ceiling under the truss. The idea is to make one big kitchen that extends in to the play room behind the fridge.  The vertical column wouldn't be ideal though I'm sure if this reduces the cost we can blend it in to a design easily.


texts:
My garage floor is cracked & heaving near the asphalt apron. I will need to cut out the apron and get it properly replaced, but my immediate concern is the cement with the cold weather coming.

Can I simply remove the heaving cement, clean, se something like Sika bonding agent, and pour new concrete? I've seen backer rods and don't know if they're appropriate for this job... I pulled out a chunk and can see the broken peices will be quite deep. Also, what should I use to create the new joint at the asphalt?


texts: Do UL-listed product specifications or NEC rules take precedence?

texts:
An interesting question arose elsewhere.  Suppose you break out a "New, Old Stock" item.  It is UL-approved and has UL-approved instructions.
The instructions say to do X.
However, since the item was UL-approved, NEC has changed.  Doing X is now explicitly forbidden, and you must do Y.
Which one controls?  Are you obliged to follow the instructions?
Are you obliged to follow current NEC?
Are you obliged to throw the item in the trash and get a modern one whose UL-approved instructions are consistent with NEC?


texts: We just bought a house and the top of the driveway has sand which we figured is where a french drain pipe is underground.  As of now, moving the french drain pipe is not in our budget but in a year or so, we hope to move it.  It is about 5 feet from our side door and we get sand in the house.  We would like to put pebbles or stone down on top of the sand but we are afraid of crushing the pipe.  What is recommended?  Thanks!


texts: What are the requirements for fire doors in homes?

texts:
A family member is having some major remodeling planned on an end-terraced house. The builder's plans apparently are calling for fire doors on essentially every interior doorway - bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, any other partition between rooms, etc.

I've seen the type of door and it feels quite solid, has a sealing strip around it, and and auto-close mechanism (spring?). They certainly seem fit for purpose but are also: expensive, somewhat difficult to operate, noisy, and sometimes seem almost hazardous because of the auto-close. Aside from annoyances a concern is how well elderly people will be able to handle them.

Are fire doors actually required for ALL interior doorways? I can see the logic for specific areas like the kitchen, but on small bathrooms (for instance) its hard to see the rationale.

I'd like to understand what are the actual legal requirements / building regulations so that we can understand what areas have some design flexibility and which do not. No one is looking to undermine safety, just understand the available options.

Thanks


texts: The previous owner did a bad patch job all over the house. The patching is a lot higher than the rest of my wall. How do I go about fixing this?


texts: Non-throbbing, silent-compressor window air conditioner?

texts:
Is there such a thing as a window air conditioner that does not make an annoying low-frequency throbbing while the compressor is running?

I do understand how this works, we have a high-power 60 Hz motor running a high-pressure pump, and you can hear the 60 Hz line frequency as everything inside the pump vibrates in sync with it.

I understand electronics and I know that we could have compressor motors that don't run on 60 Hz AC.

We could have a DC-motor compressor with an electronic AC to DC voltage converter.
We could have a three or more phase compressor motor driven by an equally tiny variable speed drive (also known as variable frequency drive), with a carrier frequency of 16kHz or more so it's not audible.

By eliminating the 60 Hz driving frequency we could make the compressor, and the "window shaker" in general, essentially silent except for the noise from the blower, and refrigerant gurgling through the tubing.

But the question is, does such a thing exist? So far my Google searches are not turning up anything.


texts: Replacing Bathroom vent, heat light combo and wiring is weird

texts:
I am replacing a bathroom vent, light, heater combo.
The wiring from the house has three switches, but has only two lines with three wires (black, white and ground). The new vent, light and heater has 2 wires (colored and white) each function and ground.

How do you wire this configuration?


texts: Indoor ant control: Caulk up baseboard and counter/wall junction?

texts:
Background

I rent a 1-bedroom apartment on the 9th floor of a highrise.  I've
been trying to solve an ant problem over the past two months,
including three bouts of commercial bait that is suppose to eradicate
the colony.  The problem only abates for a few days.  The landlord has
already brought in a pest control expert a week ago, who merely dabbed
some gel at two spots (kitchen and bathroom).  The problem remains
unchanged, despite hieghtened vigilance in cleaning (I'm was already a
clean freak beforehand).  I may have to ask for fumigation.  I believe
that the landlord would be justified in inspecting neighbouring
apartments, but that's not within my control.

From what I've researched online, an ant problem might be an ongoing
management problem.

The question

As a means of mitigating the problem, prior to actually getting it
under control, would it be advisable to:

(1) Caulk up the junction between the baseboards and the wall,
   between the  shoe moulding and the baseboard, and between the shoe
   moulding and the floor?

(2) Caulk up or re-caulk the junction between the kitchen
   counter and the wall, and between the washroom vanity and the wall?

My thinking is that restricting their mobility makes their life and
survival more difficult, but I am also concerned that it may reduce
the effectivenes of other measures.  For example, it may interfere
with their bringing bait back to the colony, or make satellite
colonies more likely.  Or it may impede fumigation, if that happens.


texts: Filling up toilet bowl after flush to save water

texts:
My toilet fill valve was starting to act funny so I thought I would replace both the fill valve and the flapper since they are relatively inexpensive.  I bought these two:

Fluidmaster 400ARHR High Performance Toilet Fill Valve
Fluidmaster 502P21 Universal Flapper

They each have an adjustment to conserve water.

The fill valve has a roller clamp on the refill tube that goes down the overflow pipe:

When this was all the way open, there was a high pressure jet of water going down the overflow pipe, which seems like a waste of water.  I cranked this down so that it is now weak stream of water.

The flapper has this thing you can rotate to adjust the volume of the flush. It seems to basically adjust the amount of time the flapper is open:

I'm probably overthinking this, but how should adjust these two things together to get good flushing performance and not waste water?


texts: My GE front load washer not starting, all tests are good. No error code

texts:
My GE washer model GCVH6800JOMS is not starting. It's door lock and unlock and sits there when you press start. I checked, there is no error code. Almost all tests done, good.
Don't know what to do now.


texts: What is purpose of the slot at the base of my drill's handle?

texts:
The photo below shows a drill I own; there is a slot at the base of the handle.  Is this simply to hang things from, or does it serve another purpose?

Drill is a DeWalt model DWD210G.


texts:
How would you go about bending stair rails in order to get something like what is pictured below?

I'm asking out of curiosity, not because I plan to try this myself. My house, built circa 1900, has rails similar to this, as well as some other fancy curved woodwork, and I'm wondering how they made the wood curvy. The only information I can find about bending wood involves doing it with laminate strips and glue, but there is no sign that my house's woodwork was done that way.


texts:
I am working on installing wall-mounted shelves in my garage. To keep the shelves high enough that I don’t bang my head on them, I am finding I have to anchor the mounting plate up high on the wall, near the ceiling.
After installing one, I realized I am anchoring the top lag screw into the wall top plate.
The bottom lag screw in each mounting is low enough to be secured into a wall stud.
My head is screaming at me that it’s not OK to mount into the top plate but wanted to post to find out for certain. This is an exterior wall so I’d imagine load bearing?
Additional info that may be helpful:
This appears to be a double 2x4 top plate (see pic, the bottom 2x4 is seen in its entirety, with the 1.5” side facing the camera).
There are engineered joists above, running perpendicular to the top plate into which the shelf mounting plates are secured.
I’ve added a picture of the loading limit from the installation instructions. Circled in purple is the configuration I intend to use.
Thanks.


texts: How to use network patch panel in new house

texts:
I just moved in to a townhouse built in 2007 with a seemingly nice CAT5 and coaxial cabling. In fact, I found a patch panel in the closet! I opened it and found this:

I also noticed some of the rooms have ethernet ports and/or coaxial cables/outlets sticking out.

I guess I have 2 questions:
1. Where should I connect the router so that I can get connectivity from any of the ethernet ports in the house.
2. Where should I connect the (comcast) cable modem?

Any other tips are greatly appreciated.


texts: electrical - Basement stairs 3 way switch with 2 lights

texts:
Can anyone help with a solution?

I have a 3 wire coming from a smoke detector in the basement into a switch at top of stairs (3wire providing the hot) and from that switch it feeds two light fixtures with 2 wire.
How do I install another 3way switch at bottom of stairs to control those two lights without affecting the smokes because it's clearly on the same circuit.

Thanks, much appreciated
James


texts:
I am planning to install recessed light in ceiling of my 2nd floor condominium. Here are some facts.

There is truss framing (picture attached) in the ceiling, between my ceiling and the upstairs unit's floor.

There is fiberglass insulation in ceiling.

I live in New Jersey and I don't think there is local code in addition to NEC.

I am planning to cut holes in ceiling for can lights and pull the power source from existing switch which currently controls receptacle. I am thinking to change wiring inside the receptacle to make it always hot and then I will connect my recessed lights to existing switch.
I have some questions.

Given truss type of framing in ceiling, can I just run the cables from one can to other can in straight line or I have to run the cable only parallel or perpendicular to framing ?

Is it OK to run Romex cables through fiberglass insulation ?

NEC requires that Romex cable has to be supported to framing members, within ceiling or walls, every 8 inches (I don't remember exact distance) with staples. -  How can  support it when I don't have access to the ceiling or walls ? I would have to tear apart lot of ceiling and wall to satisfy NEC requirement.


texts: I'm replacing a motion sensor light switch.There are two switches to contol this light. I swapped wire for wire

texts: The motion sensor became defective after 10 years or more.  There are two switches to contol this light.  I swapped wire for wire - red to red, black to black, green to ground, and white to white.  Light works when on.  Doesn't work when set to auto. Sensor indicator doesn't light, except when the distant switch is turned off, but then the ceiling light doesn't come on. Should have been a two minute job.  I've been playing with this for an hour.  lol


texts: Can I connect a 100A subpanel to a 100A main panel?

texts:
I currently have a 100amp main service box but it is all full and some are even doubled up.I'm wondering if i can hook up a 100amp subpanel off of it? If so what size wire to go with?

It would be on same wall next to it within 12 inches. Do I have to use conduit between the two, or does it have to exit the bottom of main to top if subpanel?

Also all I'm seeing at local store is 100 amp main boxes. Is that allowable by code to use as a sub? I know sub can't have neutral bonded by that screw either way.

My local town in Illinois uses the 2011 NEC handbook. Sorry for so many questions, but i just want to do it right. Thanks.


texts:
I have 8 wall sconce lights installed on a circuit, controlled by a dimmer switch. These are the only items on this circuit (20amp). The lights had been working fine until they stopped turning on this weekend. There is power to the dimmer switch, but not to the lights. I've checked the connections at each of the light sconces, and they appear to be fine.

How do I troubleshoot this further?


texts: Garage door sometimes doesn't open all the way: belt or opener?

texts:
One of our Craftsman garage door opener has recently started not always opening the whole way. It will come up to about five feet and stop. If we put it down and reverse it a few times, eventually it will go all the way up. This doesn't happen with every open, but it's frequent enough to be frustrating - probably 20% of lifts.

I adjusted the up force control to increase force, and that seemed to help but hasn't eliminated the problem. While I was up there, though, I noticed two things:

The belt for this opener seems to be significantly looser than the one on the other door bay. However, before a lift which fails, one side of the belt will be quite taut and the other slack.
The LED by the "learn" button is blinking: six blinks, then a pause (during which it flickers a bit), then six blinks, etc.. The manual says this probably indicates a logic board failure, because the status is meant to indicate a motor failure, and the logic board fails more often than the motor.

I'm relatively handy but I'm inexperienced with garage door openers. I'm relatively confident replacing the logic board (based on instructions I've read) but much less so troubleshooting the belt; I don't know where to start there. On the other hand, if the issue is the belt, replacing the logic board is unlikely to solve the problem (even if it's actually necessary).

How can I figure out if the problem is the belt or the logic board (or both)? (Subtext: should I keep at it myself or call a professional?)


texts:
My Christmas lights keep tripping my GFI in the rain.

I've got one of those Light Show boxes with 6 different sections of lights plugged into it.  When I have all 6 sections plugged in, the GFI trips immediately.  However, if I try them one at a time, the GFI doesn't trip.

If there was a ground fault in any of the sections, wouldn't it always trip the GFI?  What am I missing?  How do I debug this problem?

Can "high instantaneous current" also trip the GFI?


texts: Duplicate/extend outdoor GFCI outlet with above ground PVC conduit?

texts:
So I am in the final stages of a deck rebuild, and at the last minute thought about a slight change.

To the right of this photo you can see an power outlet on the wall, currently has a yellow extension cord plugged in.

Behind the photographer, the deck runs for another 20 feet to the end of the yard. I'm thinking it might be useful to have power at both ends of the deck (for a bug zapper or fan) so need to run some wire for this.

My plan is to run some PVC conduit that goes to the gang box pictured, under the deck and then 'pop up' at the other end of the deck (where a second GFCI outlet would be installed in a outdoor box). The conduit will NOT be buried, but rather fixed to the underside of the deck.

Any thoughts on this approach?  I'm concerned with the following:

Having a junction box outside (i.e. using the gang box with the outlet as a junction)
Not having the cable buried. Everything I could find online suggests outdoor cable should be buried.
Bridging two GFCI outlets


texts: Nest thermostat wiring to First Co air handler

texts:
I am replacing the existing thermostat with a nest thermostat E, and it gives me e195 error on the nest device. Looks like I am missing a C wire, so I checked the air handler in the attic (made by First Co, model number 18HBXB-HW), I see the brown and blue wire is not connected to anywhere on the unit, I am thinking I can just connect them to the unit to get the 24v AC, but the question now is which wires on the unite provides 24v? the manual of the air handler doesn't seem to be very clear to me. here is the link: https://www.firstco.com/documents/ProductDocuments/hbxb-hw1117.pdf
Below is the picture of the wires coming out(or in) from/to the air handler, from the manual above it is not clear which wire is for what, or I am mis-reading it?

the wiring diagram from its manual:


texts: Should fence post height be adjusted to accommodate panel height when on a slope?

texts:
We are building a vinyl fence on a slight slope and want to know how to handle the difference in post / fence heights.
The next fence post is sunk 24" is an inch shorter than the first. Do we adjust the brackets higher to make the panel level or adjust the fence post?  We can't do a step down because it is the same panel.


texts: How can I remove material from this wood beam?

texts:
I am trying to mount a roller shade in between two wood beams on my porch. The problem is that the beams are a hair too close together to accommodate mounting the shade.

I am trying to remove a small amount of material (~1/4") from the side of each wood beam, about 3 inches deep. I've illustrated the problem on this picture.

I'm unsure which tool or approach would be best to complete this job. I've considered a few ideas:

A straight router cut with a guide on the outside could do it, but the depth of cut I need extends past the capacity of most routers. I suppose I could hammer it out with a chisel but it would take a lot of effort. Another idea I considered was using a power planer to shave off material in large passes, but that approach poses problems considering I'm trying to remove material to a specific depth.

Anyone have suggestions?


texts: Mounting mirrored bathroom cabinet to plasterboard wall without usable stud

texts:
I have a bathroom cabinet which weighs in at 14.5kg (empty).

The cabinet says that the screws should be "into material, not plaster board".

The problem is that the horizontal spacing between the screw holes in the cabinet is around 55cm, which is never going to match the space between the two uprights in a plasterboard wall.

I have considered using things like this which would easily take the weight (as they are rated for 100+kgs, and there will be four of them). Will I get away with this, or is there some bigger reason I'm missing why the cabinet says "not into plaster board"?

I have looked on all the information I can find on their website, and tried their Q&A, but no luck so far.

UPDATE: I have heard back from the company which makes the cabinet, and they usefully say (paraphrased) "We say don't mount on plasterboard because it's weak. But it'll probably be fine, all our publicity photographs are done on plasterboard".


texts: How to cover a window well seamlessly so I can project TV onto that wall?

texts:
Problem: I would like the projected image to cover the whole wall, but when I turn the projector on, the window is in the way.

I bought a small screen (see the photographs) to try and cover that up, but it doesn't blend in perfectly and you can clearly see some shadows (depending on the angle you're looking at it from) and outlines in the screen, so this solution won't work.

The WHOLE wall is actually pretty much covered by the projection, but the wall plugs are not a problem.

I thought of maybe using some foam, but I am afraid it might not have the flattest surface, but I think I'll give it a try.

What do you think?

Here are pictures:


texts: How do I determine why all outlets on a breaker stopped working, but the hot-grounds are still 120V?

texts:
Edit: Is there a way to find an open neutral between the working breaker and the first nonworking outlet without cutting open the wall. It is a pretty straight shot between the 2 with no junction boxes or known splices between.
3 outlets on 1 breaker,  all hot-ground = 120V, neutral-hot and neutral-ground register nothing using a Sperry voltage tester ET6204. Using Ideal circuit tester 61-035, all 3 lights light up in all 3 outlets (top and bottom).
I identified which outlet is first. Breaker hot-neutral is 120V.
A window was recently replaced near the first outlet in the line. Electrical line runs barely under window in wall. Window attachment screws are in wall very near outlet.
What am I looking for and could a window screw have caused the issue?


texts: How do I connect my refrigerator water line to the house line?

texts: My GE fridge has a 1/4 in OD line, but the connection on the house is larger, and I'm not sure what exact size it is.  What is the standard sized connection for the wall valve water supply line?


texts: How to map out downstream outlets for GFCI install

texts:
I live in an older home with 2 prong plugs. I want to update these with 3 prong. My plan is to put a GFCI at the first outlet in the circuit and then regular 3 prong outlets downstream from there.

I can figure out which outlets are on the same circuit by flipping the circuit at the breaker and noting which turn off. My question is, how do I figure out which outlet is "first" in the circuit?


texts: How exactly do heat pumps work in a cold climate?

texts:
I don't really get how heat pumps work in a cold climate. In New England where I live, most energy is spent heating the house in the winter.

During the winter the outside is ALWAYS colder than the house. So, normally the outside temperature will vary between -15F and 50F. The house on the other hand (at least my house) is kept at 68F to 72F constantly. So, the house is ALWAYS much warmer than outside during the winter.

So, if this is the case, how is a heat pump of any benefit?


texts: How can I reduce flex/sway in my pergola?

texts:
I'm starting my backyard renovation project.  I've put in a large concrete slab (18'x26').  Now I'm building a Pergola over the slab.
My pergola construction is as follows:
6  - 6x6x10 posts (Grade 1)
12 - 2x12x20 beams (Grade 1)
Posts are held to slab using Simpson Bases anchored into slab
Beams are held to posts using notches and double through-bolted on each post
Rafters are 2x8x16 that overlap each other 24" and are through-bolted diagonally at the seams.
The posts,beams, and rafters are built level (no slope)
Above the rafters I have some 2x4x8 runners (sloped)
Above the 2x4x8 I plan to add 2x2 runners
This is my basic construction.  I'm experiencing a little flex/sway in the structure but I'm not finished tying it all together yet.  I'm using Simpson H2.5 Hurricane straps placed diagonally on every intersecting rafter/beam/runner.
Will adding all of the hurricane straps help tie it all together, or, should I consider some cable tensioning "X" braces on my structure?  I was thinking of adding (2) "X" braces if it doesn't stabilize after I'm done adding all my Hurricane ties.
Anyways, any advice (good or bad) you can offer is highly appreciated.  This is my first pergola project and I'm not an engineer/carpenter.  I'm trying to do it as right as I can realistically do within my budget and skillset, so, be gentle.  :-)
Notes:
The 2x12 Beams Span 13' Between the posts
The 2x8 Rafters Span 11' Between the posts
The 2x8 Rafters are spaced 18 inches on center
The 2x4 Runners are spaced 16 inches on center
The 2x2 Runners will be spaced 12 inches on center


texts: How do I interpret the type of steel used in a tool?

texts:
The description states: Material: 400CC Steel. Googling 400CC Steel shows only shopping offers, not the articles or tables about steels.

How do I look up materials? Is it a good tool steel or some cheap powder one? Is there any comprehensive material ID database around?


texts: I'm putting 12x24 tiles for a shower + glass enclosure; is it typical to paint the entire wall with Redgard or just joints that haven't been mortared yet?


texts: Type of tool used to fasten wood to brick

texts:
The brick foundation under my porch has latticework that is mounted on wood.  A number of these wood pieces have rotted and I would like to replace them.  They have been mounted to the brick with a tool that I am unfamiliar with - can anyone tell me what I can use to accomplish this?  See picture below:

Thanks!


texts: Does live turf need insulation from roof heat?

texts:
I'm installing grass turf on a rooftop in Jersey City.
It's a flat roof with a lot of sun exposure and occasional strong, swirling winds. I really feel like I need to pad beneath the turf to protect from the heat of the roof, am I correct here? If so, how do I do it?
As well as needing to adhere it i would  also need to be able to remove it when I move.


texts: What can I use as an alternative for an underwriter's knot?

texts:
I want to hang a vertical pendant, but what do I do to prevent the wire from pulling through?  The vertical cord is a hard nylon that can carry the vertical load of the pendant, and the hole in the pendant is small enough for only the wire to pass through. If I make an underwriter's knot, the wire will not slip through and the pendant will hold.

But what is an alternative for this knot, as making it from the hard cord is rather difficult?