Lost one phase in main panel It seems I lost a power from one of phases feeding the panel. The pen tester proofs that. It's interesting if I reset the main switch, the power comes back. If I put any appliance (be it a small light bulb) the power disappears on the same phase until main switch is turned -> off -> on.

I was wondering someone has any theories what could be the issue?

Most likely scenario: your main has a connection to the bus inside of the panel that distributes the power to all of the other feeder breakers. That connection is likely bad / corroded / burned, something that is creating high resistance. With no lod, your tick tracer picks up that there is voltage present, but as soon as you apply a load to it, the resistance causes the voltage to drop to effectively zero. Resetting the main breaker wiggles it a little to make just enough of a connection to satisfy that tick tracer, but that's it.

This is your life and safety involved here, the next phase of development of this problem may be a fire. you need to call an electrician.


Woodworking Plans for an Office Desk I am looking to build a desk for my office (L-shaped), but I am rather new at woodworking.  I have the tools, and this would be a long project, but have no idea where to start.

Are there any good places to buy plans from?  Where should I even start?

Plansnow.com is a great place to look.  The plans are in color, have cutlists and step-by-step instructions.  That's where I started when I built my first shop furniture.  They are plans from the Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines.


Is a crack in my home's floor slab a concern? Hose outlet pipe burst because we failed to winterize. This is our first floor/ground floor.Tore out carpeting to dry. Found this big crack in our concrete slab. Question: is this an issue? And if so, what should I do?

Slab cracks like this are common and usually not a problem. If there is rebar or steel mesh in the slab it will usually just crack over time but the rebar or mesh provides the strength to stay in place. If the slab starts settling or shifting then there is a problem and the cause needs to be identified like a leaking pipe or drain taking the soil away that would need to be fixed first then the slab repaired. If it was an original failure to prepare the site grout can be pumped through the slab to correct any settling but your crack looks normal and like it has not shifted so I would not worry about it.


How can I improve the sensitivity of a motion detector light? I bought a motion detector light a few weeks ago. It worked great out of the box, but now its sensitivity has lowered a lot. You need to be really close to it for it to detect motion.

I tried cleaning dust, but it was not dirty.

Is there way to make it more sensitive? If I remove that white plastic that covers the light sensor, will the sensitivity improve?

I know it might make inside electronics dirty, but I don't care about that I can just clean sensor every week.

Removing the white plastic that covers the light sensor will make the PIR/motion sensor less sensitive/effective. The cover is actually a Fresnel lens, it has a pattern that scatters light in different directions, increasing sensitivity dramatically (e.g. when light passes through a part of the cover that is 0.5mm away from where it was before, it is sent into a different direction, making it appear as if it has moved more than it has).

I would suggest cleaning or replacing the cover (especially if it is old and has become damaged/dull/dirty). Some PIR sensors also have a dial to turn up or down sensitivity.

I know this is an old question, but it may help others.


Condensate pipe touching basement floor ok? I recently replaced my leaking condensate pipe that was crusty and rusted. I've replaced it with a 1" copper pipe in the same position the old galvanized pipe was. Please see the picture I've attached.

My question and concern that I have is that, the previous pipe that was on the floor of the basement was extrememly rusted. Much more than the vertical standing pipes made from the same material. Since I put the pipe in the same place, near the ground of the basement, would the pipe corrode faster from being so close to the basement floor?

Yes, the floor was the downfall of the old pipe, the copper will do much better. While everything looks dry, the floor & bottom of the wall concrete is moist from microscopic condensation, since they're always colder than the air.

Starting the condensate pipe as high as possible will minimize pipe problems & more importantly draining problems. You want the pipe pitched downward for as far as possible to the sump.

Preferably the pipe should never be flat or level & it should have a close by trap, like under your sink. The pipe should also have a clean-out, this is actually a bleach pour-in. Condensate is quite nasty & stinks if the pipe's not bleached once a year or as needed.


Strange light switch wiring... why would neutral and hot be connected? I'm having trouble figuring out why my light switch box is wired the way it is. The place I'm living in is quite old (guessing built in the 80s?). Originally, I opened open the panel with the hope of installing a switch-outlet combo... which I can't do until I figure out why it's currently wired the way it is.

I've made a diagram (below). The large rectangles on the edges of the box are the ROMEX cables, while the smaller squares are wire nuts. W = white wire (neutral), B = black wire (hot), Gnd = bare copper (ground). The switch is on the far right of the diagram.

As you can see, the wiring is quite strange. Two of the neutrals are connected to ground, with another neutral connected to a couple of the hot wires. If I had to guess, it looks like they wanted to make another power line without having to run separate cabling.

Can anyone tell what's going on here?

Thanks for the help!

You have some pretty weird wiring to the light fitting. It looks like at the light fitting (fed from top-right romex at box) you would find

the "ground" wire (green or bare copper in the US?) is being used as a neutral return from the light bulb.
the "hot" (black) is a switched hot to the light bulb.
the "neutral wire (white) is being used as a permanent hot for some other purpose.

So I'd expect an ordinary light fitting to be using the false "ground" and switched hot wires only.

The permanent hot (false neutral, white) might have been used (now or previously) to power some kind of device that needs live power. For example a remote light control or a ceiling fan that is operated by a pull-cord independently of the light bulb itself.

I would check the wiring in the light fitting controlled by that switch. Then I'd label the wires at each end to make clear what each wire is really used for. Alternatively, you could rewire it properly - that would be best if the light fitting is a normal conventional simple light only. I'd double check that something else (an extra outlet?) isn't already wired from the light fitting end - disconnect the white wire from the three black and see if an outlet or something stops working.

If you can't figure it out it might be best to call an electrician.


how much clearance does a US Stove Company model 1269E need to have from cement board walls and floor I am installing a Model 1269E United States Stove Company wood burning stove in my worksho

The installation manual requires 14” clear behind the stove to a combustible wall and 23” on each side. (It can be less if it’s non-combustible.)

Here’s the installation instructions with installation details:

https://www.usstove.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/10/1269e-use-and-care-manual-1.pdf

Also, they indicate you should check with local codes and it should not be installed in a trailer.


Is it safe to have two circuits passing through one junction box? So I found the following circuit diagram in my home. After receiving a fun little shock, I found that someone was using 14/3 cabling to carry 2 different circuits to this 1 gang box (line on left, load on right). Since the load for Circuit 2 doesn't have a matching neutral, it's connected to Circuit 1's neutral line.

And before you ask, Circuit 1 and 2 are not MWBC circuits. Each one can be turned on/off independently. I'm presuming that this only works because the hot wires are on different phases, but this level of electrical work is a little over my head.

This doesn't seem to be very safe, though it hasn't caused a fire for (presumably) a number of years.
How do I go about fixing this so that it is safe?

I realize this can be and maybe should be fixed using a double pole breaker, which is certainly possible given they are neighbors in the breaker box, however I would like to keep them separate so I don't need to shut off power to half the house to work on an outlet (e.g. the circuits in the house are already on the large side of what I'd like).

That's what's known as a Multi-wire Branch Circuit, and it's perfectly acceptable if done properly.   Though it sounds like yours is not.

First, the ungrounded  (hot) conductors must be on separate legs of the service.  Secondly, the breaker(s) protecting the circuit must have the handles tied together, or a double pole breaker should be used.

To fix the problem, install an appropriately sized double pole breaker. The red wire will connect to one pole, and the black to the other.  That way both circuits will always be turned on/off at the same time.


How long do expansion anchors last? I have a wall sconce in my room, which is attached to the wall with two expansion anchors (dowels). They look well-fixed, but, AFAIK, they are about 20 years old. Do you know, how long dowels last, and whether I should replace them because of their age?

I found the Wood kind of my Grandfather in my House. They are just fine. The plastic once should last even longer. Don't fix them if they don't need fixing!


What makes good deck footing substrate on clay soil? We are building a raised deck on clay type soil. The deck will surround the entirety of the house with the intention it will still be standing 20-30 years. The deck will be raised about 5 ft to meet the house.
We used EZ-tubes on the house for footing that were dug about 2 feet deep. For the deck we were thinking about using 6x6 pressure treated piers for simplicity.
I am wondering what type of recommended substrate would be most effective in a intensive clay soil. I was thinking either heavy gravel or poured concrete.
Any recommendations or positive experiences with longevity in this type of decking/substrate would be very helpful.

Alaska Man is right in that any deck attached to your structure must have the same type of frost footings that the structure does, otherwise it's likely to put strain on the building that it shouldn't.
Wooden deck posts are almost always set on concrete footings themselves--either poured or pre-cast. Only non-bearing fence posts should be on washed rock or gravel alone. For your purposes I'd probably put a few inches of washed rock down, then pour or place concrete pads on that to support the footing.
Your local inspection office will have specifics for you, even if you ask about it hypothetically. They'd know what works reliably in your area, and at what depth.


Installing LED compatible dimmer switch (wiring question) I bought some new Lutron dimmer switches which are compatible with the LED bulbs I have and am trying to figure out the wiring.

Here's a diagram of the existing wiring (its a 2 gang box and these are the only switches controlling the lights):

And here's my attempt at diagramming the new switches, which have 4 wires... as you can see, I'm not sure what to do with the neutrals.

I have a feeling I may need to track where the romex is coming from to see how its wired in another box, but wanted to make sure that was necessary before going through all the effort.

You bought the wrong dimmer -- time to return it and get something that's compatible with your application instead

Your dimmers are designed for ELV (Electronic Low Voltage) lighting transformer loads, which means they use something called reverse-phase dimming. In other words, they start the waveform at the zero-crossing then turn off in the middle of the half-cycle to control the power to the load, unlike regular dimmers, which control the turn-on point within the half-cycle and then turn off at the zero crossing point.

However, this means that your ELV dimmers need a reference to the mains neutral to work, which is something your box lacks.  Whoops!  So, you'll want to take these dimmers back and swap them for something else instead: a DVSCCL-253P should make an acceptable enough substitute given the constraints placed upon you (namely, the lack of a neutral), provided you're working with LED bulbs and not integrated fixtures.

Or, if you really need an ELV/reverse phase dimmer...

If you really need to use the existing dimmers, you can pull a /4 cable instead of the /3 (match the wire gauge of the existing cable) and use black for the always-hot, white for the neutral, and red and blue for the two dimmed hot legs.  That will put you in a good place for any future smartening you wish to do to these switches as well, too.


How should I connect GFCI outlets where the wires loop over the existing outlet? Hopefully this picture explains it all. However I'm confused what to do with my hot and neutral wires in a loop like this. Obviously these lines are connected to outlets down the line, but I'm not sure if I can just keep my hot and neutral in a loop like this, or if I need to cut them and connect to both line and load on the gfci. There will be 4 of these for my kitchen. Thanks]1

Option 1, which has the merit of being easy:  Put them both on LINE, just like that. Leave the warning tape on the LOAD terminals.

This will only provide GFCI protection at this receptacle location, and you would need to buy GFCIs for each socket.

Now if you want one GFCI device to protect every receptacle on the circuit, you have several options.

Option 2: Fit a GFCI+breaker

These critters are more expensive than a GFCI+receptacle device, and you need to open up your service panel to do it. But voila, your entire circuit is protected and done.  You could protect 5 circuits in about 10 minutes' work, instead of all the chasing and troubleshooting I'll next describe:

Option 3: Reverse-engineer the circuit to place the GFCI correctly

Every GFCI has a pair of LOAD terminals, which protect loads downstream from the GFCI device itself. That is simple on breakers and plain GFCI (deadfronts). But on GFCI+receptacles, their dual function makes it very easy to misapply the LOAD terminals, and cause big problems.  Hence the warning tape. Heed it.

You will need to get some testing equipment (dollar-store night lights are great) to detect power on each receptacle socket.   First, turn off the breaker to that circuit, and check absolutely everything to figure out which loads are on that circuit, and which are not.  You don't want to miss a load.  If the breaker is a 2-pole breaker, you have a MWBC and you'll need a lot more skill to do this; instead just punt back to the "Fit a GFCI+Breaker" option using a 2-pole GFCI breaker.

Take a guess at which receptacle load is the first one reached by the cable from the panel.  Regrettably, you'll need to cut that nifty loop there.  If this turns out to be the wrong one, darn.  Strip a little more insulation back so the wires can go into a wire-nut or around a screw terminal, and either sit there making 4 shepherd's hooks and putting them on 4 screw terminals, or just get a 6" length of black and white wire and pigtail the receptacle using wire-nuts.  My knees prefer the latter.

If you found the right location, when you sever those wires (cap them off temporarily with wire-nuts), the entire rest of the circuit will be dead when you turn the breaker back on.  That is the best place to put the GFCI+receptacle device.  Now you need to figure out which black/white pair is the supply.  Trial and error will suffice.  Attach that to the LINE terminals as I describe here:

Best way to use LOAD terminals without it going badly

STEP 0: Grounds go everywhere.

The GFCI engine doesn't use ground.  But they are often packaged in  or combined with things which do need ground.  (e.g. a GFCI+receptacle combo device, whose sockets need ground).  So if able, ground it. Grounds are always pigtailed so you can remove the device without severing the ground.

STEP 1: Attach only 2 conductors to the LINE terminals.

Over the course of mapping the circuit, you will find 1 cable/wire pair (black, white) that you think may be your supply hots.

Connect only that pair only to the LINE terminals of the GFCI.  (obviously also connect ground).

Give the GFCI a full shakedown cruise.  Make sure it powers up, make sure a big load like a toaster works on it, try its test/reset buttons, try a 3-lamp tester/external GFCI tester (ground needs to be hooked up for an external GFCI tester to work) etc.  Until you do this, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

STEP 2: Hook up anything else to the LOAD terminals

Without disturbing work so far, only now tear the warning label off the LOAD terminals, and to them, hook up any additional (downline) loads.  If you need to land 2 on there, use a pigtail.

If you get any GFCI trips that you aren't intentionally causing via testing, then separate all your loads and apply one load at a time until you find the load that is tripping.  That load has a problem. The problem is probably not a defective GFCI device, it's a defective load that needs cleaning, repair or replacement.  Do that.

Then label each downline receptacle "GFCI Equipped" and if applicable, "No Equipment Ground".


Need help figuring out X11 3-way switch connections (6 wires from one box) So I recently bought a house, it was built in the 80s and the previous owner had installed X10 switches (before X10 was a thing, when it was called DHC or Decora Home Controls). Anyway, the garage has a circuit which controls two fluorescent light ballasts; one switch by the interior-to-garage door and one switch by the exterior-to-garage door. The interior-to-garage door switch box has six wires coming out of it!

I pulled the switch out away from the wall and unplugged all the wires. I used a touchless probe to determine which one was the HOT, and I used my DMM in continuity mode to determine which ones were the Travelers based on continuity checks with the switch box wires across the garage.

I have two standard 3-way switches that I want to hook up to these boxes but I cannot figure it out. I'm not sure what the 'A', 'B', and 'C' lines are nor what to do with them.

Can someone help me determine how to hook up the 3-way so both switches can control both garage light ballasts?

Because I need to use the light in my garage, I currently have a standard 2-way switch installed in the interior-to-door switchbox with the 'B' wire tied to the neutral bundle and the switch connects/disconnects the wires labeled Hot and 'A'. However, this doesn't work perfectly because it only illuminates one of the two ballasts.

Trying to understand more about it, I tried flipping the 'A' and 'B' in my standard 2-way switch hookup but it still only lights up one ballast and it's the same one. I'm really confused at how to get this working again.

My guess is (and this is only a guess pending more information):

The 3 wire cable containing 'A' goes to the light(s).
'A's associated black wire is unused and its white wire 'B' provides neutral for the light(s).
The travelers' associated black wire is wirenuted to the feed wire and connects to the other 3-way sw (you labeled it 'C') on its common screw.
The travelers and 'A' connect to the 3-way sw with 'A' on the common screw.
The wires 'B' and Neutral wirenut together to provide neutral to the light(s).
And finally because a conventional sw doesn't need power, get rid of the pigtail you labeled as 'Hot', while keeping the 2 black wires wirenuted together.

The more information I mentioned is this:
It looks like there're 2 3-wire cables coming into the top of the box and 1 2-wire cable coming into the bottom of the box. label the wires, including that black wire that looks like it is shoved into the box unused, as to which cable they're associated with, e.g. cable #1, cable #2 and cable #3. Because cables and wires have two ends, knowing where the other end of a wire is can tell you more than what a tester or meter can.


replaced recessed light w/ceiling fan, it seems I have to turn on at least one light to complete circuit I replaced recessed can light w/ceiling fan, works great, if I want a recessed light on while ceiling fan is on. I do not. I need at least one working bulb in a socket it appears to complete circuit. Is there an easy way to complete circuit w/out having to use a bulb?  there are 6 recessed lights on the circuit, I replaced one w/ceiling fan. All work off of one switch, w/a dimmer.

If the recessed light you replaced turned on/off with the switch, then the ceiling fan is also going to turn on/off with the switch. If removing a bulb from the socket causes the fan to turn off, you've done something seriously wrong.

You should contact an Electrician to install the fan properly.


Wiring a ceiling light with conductive tape? I'm wondering what's the downside to running conductive tape up the wall and across the ceiling to install a light fixture in the middle of my ceiling?

I feel like it's going to be less efficient, electricity wise, but I don't have a ceiling light right now and I saw a cafe in Berlin do this and I thought the copper up the wall effect was cool.

I'd probably just link up the end to a normal plug put that into a smart plug to control it from my phone.

Thanks!

The only way that's going to work (and all these are true there in Germany) is if

the tape is fairly thick, because
the circuit is low voltage
the circuit has careful overcurrent protection on it
the circuit has arc-fault protection on it (which isn't terribly hard on DC and static DC loads like resistor limited LED lighting)
The copper tape is only installed where out of reach of poking fingers or damage from normal activity.

Have you checked each of the electrical sockets in your room?  It is common (especially in the US) for 1/2 of one receptacle (i.e. one socket of the two) to be swiched by the room's light switch.  This is done because it's about $30 cheaper in labor, x 3-4 rooms per house, x 2000 houses per development.  It is despicable and useless.  We usually go off to IKEA and get a simple $15 corner lamp to plug into that.

Another option is to use a product like Legrand Wiremold (tm) to run surface conduit from that switched receptacle up the side of the wall.  Then you can either extend it to a room light, or to around-the-edge cove lighting, or to that copper system you propose.


Toilet is running but the flapper is clean and intact I have a toilet that is running, probably once every ten to fifteen minutes.  I hear a quiet dripping sound within the tank.  I understand that the most common problem associated with these events is a flapper that needs cleaning or replacement.  Mine is pretty new and looks clean.  I've now just cleaned it again.  I've shut off the water to the tank.  After I flushed, only a small amount of water remains at the base of the tank, and I'm still hear the dripping sound.

I'm not sure what the piece is called, but should I perhaps be caulking around the piece that the flapper inserts into?  Or maybe I'll just replace the flapper again?

I appreciate any help anyone can offer,

Alex

There are a few places where the flap valve/overflow tube assembly could be leaking. Check for loose parts, but don't over-tighten or you'll crack plastic parts or, worse, the porcelain!

There are bolts holding the tank to the bowl, with rubber washers to prevent leakage. Make sure the bolts and nuts are tight -- sometimes, the tank will shift, loosening the bolts.
The flap valve seat (often part of the overflow tube assembly) also has a rubber washer underneath, and a foam rubber collar. If the valve seat is loose, the tank must be removed to tighten the large-diameter nut.
Check that the overflow tube is not cracked.
Check that the flap valve and seat are clean and have no splits or cracks.

See the City of Denver's tips on fixing leaks.


Why is my 12VDC LED flood light flashing when powered by a LED magnetic driver? I just bought a new outdoor LED Flood lights which i plan to use on a field. However, when connected to a power source, the lights keep flashing and has a humming noise.
The flood lights are 12vdc @ 13A and In order to power the flood lights, i bought an LED magnetic driver (200watts, 12v).
what can i do to prevent the flashing and be able to utilize the flood lights?

If it's a good quality power supply, the pulsing means the power supply is possibly overloaded. It's the power supply's, method of telling you that, which is called "hiccuping." A load of 156W may be too close to 200W. You should allow for load + 20% when choosing a power supply.


How do I prevent older paint peeling off drywall when applying new paint? We have moved into a house where the drywall walls were painted about 15 years ago.

When I paint over these walls, the existing paint develops patches of bubbles and peeling.

So, I don't know whether the cause is walls that were poorly primed in the first place, but I guess it doesn't matter so much as what I need to do now to repaint. Clearly I can patch the specific areas which have peeled but I would like to avoid this as much as possible.

Is the best thing to do to re-prime before painting? If so, should I use diluted PVA or is there a better alternative?

Many thanks!

Ooh. this problem is one not easily answered without more info:

Heat Blisters:

Paint bubbles can show up pretty quickly, from within a few hours to a few days after application. The blisters are only in the top coat of paint and appear most often in oil-based paint. A quick rise in temperature, like sunlight shining directly on the newly painted wood, causes a thin skin to form on the outer surface of the paint. The skin traps inner wet paint that produces vapor when it heats up. The vapor expands and causes the paint to blister from underneath.
To repair blisters, scrape them off, smooth the edges, and repaint, being sure to avoid direct sunlight while the coat dries. Experts suggest establishing a painting order that follows the sun around the project. Thick coats and dark colors are more likely to blister than light colors and thinner paint.

Water Blisters:

Moisture causes problems for paint. Rain, dew, ice, and snow on the outside or vapor and moisture buildup from the inside can cause problems with exterior paint. When moisture penetrates the paint, blisters can form and paint can peel. Moisture blisters, unlike temperature blisters, go through all coats of paint down to the wood. To stop moisture blisters, you must locate the source of the moisture and repair it. Improper construction techniques and lack of flashing can cause outside water to pool at joints, on window sills, frames, or on the end grain of the wood.

Intercoat Peeling

Another type of peeling occurs when a newer coat of paint separates
from the coat underneath. An inadequately prepared or dirty surface
is one cause for a weak bond. Another is that the two paint layers
are incompatible. For example, an oil-based paint may have been
applied over a latex-based paint. They are incompatible and can peel
away from one another.

Peeling can also occur when too much time has elapsed between
applications of the primer coat and the top coat. If more than two
weeks separates the primer application and the paint coat, the
primer’s surface can begin to break down and prevent proper bonding
with the paint. To correct the problem, you must remove the paint and
properly clean the surface.

Cross-Grain Cracking or Crazing

Too many layers of paint or one layer that is too thick can result in
an interconnected, uneven pattern of cracks. The thick paint is
unable to expand and contract with the wood, so breaks result,
starting in the outer layers. If the problem is not corrected,
moisture enters the paint layers, causing deeper cracking and
deterioration.

Surface cracking may require sanding and repainting. Deeper cracks
will require a complete removal of the old paint. Once the wood is
bare, clean it and treat it with a paintable, water-repellant
preservative. Once the preservative has dried, apply a primer and top
coat at the recommended spread rates.

Chalking

Some exterior paint has a powdery coating. Chalking comes from the
disintegration of the paint resin due to exposure to the sun’s
ultraviolet rays. This gradual deterioration is how paint is supposed
to age. Too much, however, can cause discoloration of other painted
areas below as rain washes off the chalk. It also signals that the
paint is rapidly deteriorating.

Chalking was more of a problem with older paints that contained
excessive pigment for the amount of binder, but other triggers
include the failure to properly prime and seal exterior wood,
spreading the paint too thinly, or thinning the paint too much. To
correct excessive chalking, the surface must be cleaned and
repainted.

Staining

A stain is typically caused by moisture. The most common source is
rusting metal nails or anchoring devices in the wood. The second
cause is a chemical reaction between moisture and wood, such as red
cedar, which results in color buildup on the surface.

Rusty nails can be hand sanded and coated with a rust inhibitor and
finish coat. Unless the wood is too fragile or the exposure of the
nail head is related to the original construction system, it’s best
for nail heads to be countersunk, primed, and filled before painting.
Stains from wood extracts need to be cleaned, rinsed, dried, and
primed with a stain-blocking primer before applying the finish coat.
Check with a knowledgeable local paint retailer for the best cleaning
mixture.

Incompatible Paints

If you are using two incompatible paints.  Generally, paint
manufacturers like to match primers with top-coats This is more
applicable when painting metal surfaces (enamel paints). The reason
for this is that there are a few acidic or highly alkaline or soluble
salts primers, which could be water based, oil based or acrylic some
combinations don't play well!. generally sticking with a certain type
is ok i.e water based primer with water based top coat.

source: Dictionary of causes of paint blisters


Applied stain to deck and still not dry after a week, what can I do? I decided to restain my deck last week since it was looking pretty worn after a New England winter. The deck is only 1 year old since we bought new construction. I contacted the builder and purchased a can of the same stain they used: Cabot's Mahogany Flame oil based stain. The week before had been sunny and dry. For prep I powerwashed the deck and then waited 24 hours to apply the stain. It's been a week, with warm and dry weather and parts of the deck still look wet and are tacky and sticky to the touch. How can I fix this? Also, what is the proper way to prep a deck before staining?

When ever I prep a deck for restaining, I clean it with a mixture of TSP, bleach and water. I apply the mixture, scrub it with a stiff broom and rinse it well with water or a power washer. Let it dry well, then apply stain. The cleaning solution helps remove the dirt, grime, spills, etc. Pretty basic stuff, I admit.

As far as why your stain doesn't want to dry.  There may be several reasons for this. First thing that comes to mind is that the stain may have not been mixed well before application. The solvents and drying agents can separate from the oils and pigments in stain. The oil tends to stay at the top of the can, and the oil won't dry well without the solvents mixed in.

Another reason may be other sealers, grease or spills that have sealed the skin of the wood, not allowing the stain to penetrate.

Sometimes, one can get a little carried away and apply way too much product. This will saturate the wood and the access will sit on the top of the surface.

If after a couple weeks of good drying weather, you still have sticky or tacky spots, I'd be tempted to remove this excess with a cloth wetted with mineral spirits. This should thin the sticky stain, remove some and distribute it to help it dry.


How to repair shower p-trap The P-trap in our master shower has apparently broken. We were getting a sewer gas smell coming out of it when we used the guest shower so we had a plumber come out and have a look. He did a "smoke test" where they pump some smokey gas in through cleanout and see which P-traps it makes it through. Here is what the master shower looked like:

Kind of cool.

The house is almost 60 years old so it could be due to normal wear and tear. We've also had foundation problems which were corrected but I suppose that could have also contributed.

The plumber told me that fixing the broken P-trap involves removing the shower tiles (at least on the bottom, but I doubt we'd find matching tile so we'd probably have to replace it all), chipping up the foundation to expose the P-trap, replacing it, repouring the foundation, and retiling the shower. All that and more can be mine for the high high price of somewhere between $7,500 and $10,000.

Soooo that's kind of a lot of money. I guess my question is do I have any other cheaper options here? To be clear I'm not questioning whether or not that's a fair price. He's been a good plumber and I'm sure it's a reasonable price for the work. I'm mainly looking for other, inherently less expensive, means of addressing the issue.

The procedure described is accurate.

My advice:

Hire your plumber (or a different plumber, if yours doesn't have the equipment) to inspect the drain with a camera to confirm that the trap is the only part of the drain that is damaged. You don't want to dig up the trap only to find later that there are additional issues and you don't want to do "exploratory surgery".

If you wanted custom candlesticks you would not hire a butcher or baker, you would hire a candlestick maker. Have a tile professional give you a bid on the job, for re-tiling and repairing (or replacing) the shower pan and tile, explain the reason and have him/her include excavation and replacement of the trap and drain assembly in the bid.

Done correctly you can just replace the floor and lower wall tiles (the "pan"); most folks choose a contrasting or complementary color and tile style and it looks ok. Be advised that this involves some waterproofing steps and it is not a simple job. Tile pros  are usually very competent with the plumbing associated with the shower; they know best how to set the trap and drain assembly to ensure that it is at the correct height for the finished tile surface. Have them include everything in the bid.

Alternatively, have your plumber give a bid on just repairing/replacing the trap with it already chipped out for him/her by the tile contractor. The plumber should work with the tile contractor to ensure the drain and stuff will be correct.

Note: prices for services are off topic here. Always hire through personal references, always hire reputable licensed contractors, always get multiple bids (it's ok to be honest and tell potential service providers that you are getting multiple bids).

P.S.- I live in So Cal and had my entire sewer main dug up and replaced (6' deep X 50' long) for $6,000...


How do I remove sticky glue from a surface using baking soda after removing peel and stick tiles? I'm removing "peel and stick" tile from ceramic tile and need to know how your reader used baking soda to remove the sticky glue from the surface after the tile was removed.

The tiles I removed left very little "glue", meaning I didn't see rows of it on the floor. It was however very tacky. I used a sifter and sprinkled baking soda over the entire area, immediately the tackiness was gone. It was about a 10x12 area. It worked great for me but I do think it would depend on the amount of glue left on the floor.


How is standard washing machine "water usage" calculated? I'm trying to calculate exactly how much water is spent per washing machine use (medium water-level with a soak-wash-rinse-spin cycle).

On the last page of the manual of my washing machine (Samsung - WA6550B9), it states that the "water usage" is 164 litres. However, a tub of water at its "high water level" is only 56 litres:

Why is the "water usage" stated to be 164 litres?

Even if it's a soak-wash-rinse-spin cycle, wouldn't it use approximately two tubs of water? Yet 56 litres × 2 is far from 164 litres.

How do the numbers add up? What exactly is the 164 litres of water usage referring to?

[It's very probably measured on high] edit - nope there's an average of sorts - if you'd like a very tedious read, the (US) government procedure is here, at least for some point in time. Beware, it's govenmentese...CFR-2011-title10-vol3-part430-subpartB-appJ1

It takes considerably more than two tubs of water to wash and rinse. Rinses may be multiple, and there may be water sprayed into the spin portion of the cycle for additional rinsing. In many cases the "clean" clothes will still make suds and or dark water if you run another wash cycle with no new detergent, so even that much water may not really rinse things "clean" other than the sense that we normally accept that when the machine is done, we call the clothes clean...

This is a good quick read about washing machine test standards, but does not really address "what size load do they test on" from what I can see.

My dishwasher actually told use per cycle options, and that made me suspect that there the "normal" option is the one in that standard, as every other cycle used more water.


Voltage between Red and Copper; and Black an Copper, but not white I have some 14/3 Romex coming out of the wall.  It used to power ceiling fans with a light on different switches (one turned on the light, another the fan).  I did some work down circuit and was looking to hook it all back up and am having trouble.

Coming out of the wall I measure 120v AC between the Red and bare copper wire and the black and bare copper wire.  I do not read any voltage between the Red and white; and the black and white.

Any ideas?

Update:
I did check for voltage between ground and white.  There was none.

The switch for the circuit in question shares location with two other switches.  All share a common black (hot) and white.  Both of the other two lights work perfect.

This switch was a combo dimmer/switch.  I disconnected it and hooked it up, each in turn of the red and black to the hot black.  I got no movement from my ceiling fans or lights that are further down the circuit.  I am 98% sure they are hooked up correctly at the junction box where I tested earlier.

This is leading me to believe that the wire between the switch box and junction box is bad.  While it may be possible that the white wire for this circuit worked its way out of the common tie in for all the whites, I just don't think that is feasible based upon a visual inspection.

Would you all tend to agree?

Sounds like white (neutral) isn't connected somewhere. Find it and fix it!


How to replace soldered valve with push in connect? Attached diagram is for my main water shut off valve in my 2nd floor condominium. Existing valve is gate valve which has stopped working. I am no longer able to shut off water supply.
Copper pipe is coming out of wall and going back inside, I want to replace valve with push in connect (shark bite) valve.
I will be shutting off water supply to my unit from valve pit (dedicated to my unit)outside the building before I replace it.
My plan is to cut out copper pipe near both end of valve to remove it. But I don't know how I can fit the push in connect between solid coper lines. For push in connect valve I have to push valve onto pipe and I have to do that on both ends. I have to cut both ends to leave enough room that I can fit new valve but same time, I have to push new valve onto both ends of pipe, I can't imagine if I will be able to push enough length of solid pipe ends inside the valve fitting.
Any thoughts ?

Well since you want to use a shark bite you may not like my solution.
I would cut both sides make a U shape. This is how I would sweat in a new valve on the left with a standard sleeve on right , you could do it with shark bites but this is how some plumbers would do it without kinking the copper.
Measure everything so when you push them together they both slip on.
Using copper sweat fittings they can be adjusted before sweating.


Cleaning black stains from redwood I am using redwood 4x4s for the posts on an exterior deck. EVERY 4x4 at the Home Depot is stained with black from the binding straps, etc. See pic. Obviously this is not going to work if we're going to use a transparent stain and want it to look good.
Is there an effective way to remove this type of staining from redwood without damaging the natural color of the wood?

Two suggestions:

Try finding a different supplier. Check out another big-box store, or even better try to find a local lumberyard/sawmill. The local place may well have sawn their own on site and they'll never have been banded, so there won't be an issue. The time saved in cleaning may be worth an extra buck or two that they may charge. It should go without saying that you'd return the marked up wood to its vendor.

Use a plane, jointer or sanding block to sand through the marks. They're not likely more than skin deep, so taking off 1/32" or so is probably all that would be necessary and wouldn't appreciably weaken the wood in any way.

And a third idea based on Graham's answer...

Pressure wash them. We did that with our deck prior to sealing it and all the lumber yard stamps washed right off. Warning: We found it difficult to get a nice, even surface coloration when pressure washing. No matter what I did, some of the surface grey seemed to remain, though most of the wood returned to the nicer, more golden color it started out at.


How do I loosen my bathroom stopper pivot nut I'm trying to remove my bathroom sink stopper so that I can clean out the drain.

I found these instructions for doing so but they talk about a pivot nut that can be loosened. Under my sink, in the place where a pivot nut is shown in the diagram on that link mine has this round fitting with grippy edges. I tried to use a needle nose pliers on it but it just slides and won't grip and I can't get leverage to turn it and loosen it.

What is the correct tool for loosening this fitting? Sorry I don't know much about hardware or plumbing so I don't know the proper term for the round fitting.

Don't bother with all that, just remove the U shaped pipe (The Trap) which should be a pressure fitting that can be easily unscrewed without any tools. Most of the crap will be in that U part of the pipe, the rest you can get out by sticking something like a toilet brush or pipe cleaner up the exposed pipe.

BTW: Be sure to put a bucket under the pipe before you unscrew it, some nasty water will likely leak out.

As for that pivot nut, if you really want to remove it, it USUALLY is easy enough to unscrew with your bare fingers, but if it is rusted you can use a pair of channel lock pliers. If it is just spinning however, it may be all the way off the threads and you just need to pull it back. It is attached to a rod that pivots in the middle of the pipe. You might need to shake it a little to get it loose, it will also probably help to detach the rod that goes from the sink stopper pull to that nut since it will get in the way.


Why multiple copper tubes joined together? I found this behind my vanity and shower. I'm sure there is a good reason for the multiple copper tubes joined together into one supply line, but I have no idea. Can someone enlighten me, please? I'm a newb, but I'll sure give the answerer credit.

Is it pressure related?

The joints are there in the wall as they can't occur within the slab. They split the main supply to the bathroom into branches for the sink, tub/shower, and toilet.


120/208V to single phase 120V I have a room with a NEMA 18-30R outlet, and I'm looking to install a 14A 120V air conditioner. I can trace this outlet back to the breaker, and I'm currently comparing two options:

Make a 18-30 to 5-15 adapter using a hot and neutral.
Rewire at the breaker and swap out the face plate.

I prefer option 1, but I'm concerned from both safety and code compliance standpoints. Is there an issue running an unbalanced load through a 30A 3-phase breaker? More informally, would this be considered shoddy compared to rewiring at the breaker?

There is no issue running an unbalanced load through the breaker.

I would probably make the adapter, since code inspectors have no business looking at what's plugged in to an outlet.  They should be concerned only with what is part of the fixed structure.  You can always unplug it when they come around.

But that kind of outlet makes me think it's a business with a compliance department and lawyers.  Even if the inspector doesn't have a right to complain about your bootleg adapter, your insurance company will if there's ever a fire, related or not.  And personally, I don't like shared neutral-ground conductors.

What's going to really get you though is putting a 20A outlet on a 30A breaker.  If your AC failed in a way that caused it to draw 30 amps, it could overheat that outlet and start a fire in the wall.

So.  You're going to want to change the breaker, and when you do, I would recommend you rewire as follows:

1) Use the existing combined neutral-ground conductor for ground

2) Pick one of the phase conductors, and clearly mark both ends with white tape.  Use that for neutral

3) Pick another of the phase conductors and cap it with wire-nuts on both ends
4) Take the last phase conductor and put it on a new, 20A single pole breaker.  Install a 20A outlet for the AC unit.

For extra credit, take advantage of the wiring in the wall to bring TWO 20A circuits to the box where the AC will plug in.  Steps 1&2 as above, then.

3) Buy a double-pole breaker.  Be advised.  In a 3 phase panel you need to particularly select a 120/208 double-pole breaker, as opposed to just a 208 double-pole breaker.

4) Wire the two remaining phase wires to the double pole breaker.

5) At the outlet box, install two seperate 20A outlets.  One on each phase, sharing neutral and ground between them.  If it's a single gang box, break the tab between the two hots.

This will let you dedicate one 20A circuit just for the AC and still have plenty of power on hand for other uses.


What's with the whole window thing? Why am I bothering with windows? I am looking at building an addition for a study and one issue is the need for windows. Frankly, I don't need to look out a window at a tree when I am working in my study and much of my work is at night, so the whole "natural light" thing is irrelevant.

Windows add a lot of expense and heat loss to the building, so why do people even build windows? So they can look at the ugly bushes or the blind alley or the siding of the house next to them? Let's face facts: most windows do not look out on beautiful ocean vistas, or the Grand Tetons, so why even bother with them?

Let's approach from a different direction: increase of value to your house.

Any realtor or homeowner will tell you that certain things add value to your home, and others do not.  Even for things that add value, you will only expect to recoup "most" of the cost (since you are doing it for yourself and will only sell to someone else eventually).  For evidence, google the phrase "recouping cost of home improvement", and note that a well-done kitchen remodel of 20k will add maybe 16k to the value of your home.  A well-done addition or remodel is one which 'improves mass appeal' of your house, because then it's easier to sell and more people bid on it.

With all that in mind, I say:
skipping the window does offer short-term savings of a few grand or so,
but adding the window is an investment that makes your whole house worth more.


How to cut a piece of 2x3 wood crossways perfectly? I'm planning to build a simple stool from pieces of 2x3 wood for the legs. It's my first foray  into woodworking as an adult so I'm trying to plan everything to aim for a decent result.

Bearing in mind I'm inexperienced with a saw and not gifted with my hands. How can I make the straightest cuts possible?

My current plan is to

Mark the lines to cut with a set square and sharp pencil.
Mount the wood to a Mitre box with a G clamp.
Clamp the Mitre box to an adjustable workbench.
Make the cuts on the 'waste side' with a tenon saw using long 'back strokes' to make each cut. Focus on elbow to make sure arm is not moving around wildly.
Sand down any excess with an electric sander.

One of the most important things about making a stool is getting the legs the same length.  I would suggest you modify the miter box something like this:

Keep everything square when building the stop piece.  Then when you actually go to cut the legs, butt a square end to the stop, clamp it down, and cut.  You will get three or four legs precisely the same length.

Keep the stop piece.  You can move the stop around easily, and you will use it again.

Time spent making a jig or a stop is never wasted.


Why does Lutron motion sensor light switch have low amp? I am replacing the old switches with occupancy/vacancy sensor light switches. However Lutron only has 2amp and 5amp while the ones I have are the standard 15 amp.

I don't know about the significant of amp value of a light switch. Could someone explain?

Will it be OK if I use 2amp switches here? Why doesn't Lutron have 15 amp motion sensor switches if it is the standard?

2 amp is really small for a 120V switch type replacement. The ones I use for a single fixture are rated at 6.Amps. you might want one that is larger switch this is 800W a little bigger. With that said the total draw needs to be less than the rated value to use them. I usually like to use 50-75% of the rated value so they will last longer. Power in watts / Volts = Amps, add up the wattage total you will be switching and that will give the minimum size of the switch to use.


Code requirement for depth of Counter Flashing and material sealant? Okay, I've got a recently-installed standing-seam metal roof. The roofers ground out the brick in my chimney to install counter-flashing. Recently there was a big leak around the area of the chimney. We had 2.1 inches of rain the night it leaked.

Now, the roofers came out to inspect the cricket, and they think it's the chimney. I've had two masons (one more scheduled) come out and look at it. Both said the old mortar is fine, but it would be a good idea to tuck-point and seal the chimney anyway, and the cap could use some work. Neither seemed to think the chimney was letting in that much water.

The second of the two masons was very concerned about how the roofers installed the counter flashing. To him it looked like they only got about 1/4" of the metal under the top brick, and filled it in with mud. He say's this needs to be much deeper, and using a high grade polyurethane instead.

My question is, is there anything in the International Building Code about installing counterflashing in masonry? I've done some looking, but haven't turned up anything official. Though every source I've seen recommends a minimum of 3/4".

Depending on how far I get with the roofers and masons, I may end up just re-doing the flashing myself.

The IRC covers roof assemblies briefly in Section R903 but it's not very specific.

It does say (and this is a common theme throughout the IRC and virtually all building codes):

  Roof assemblies shall be designed and installed in accordance with this code and the approved manufacturer’s installation instructions such that the roof assembly shall serve to protect the building or structure

So if you know what specific product was installed and can find installation instructions from the manufacturer (maybe call them?), then you would have something more specific to point to.

It may also be worth calling your local building inspector and find out whether there are any more specific local building code rules that may be applicable.


Where can I find information on slow blow breakers? In a previous question, the comments mentioned slow blow circuit breakers. I have done a web search and went to Square-D's website(the maker of my current breakers) and came up empty. There is a lot about curves and such but nothing that makes sense to this laymen. Can anybody help?

I don't know about "slow trip circuit breakers", but maybe I can help you understand trip curves (and circuit breakers) a bit better. Then you'll see that all circuit breakers are "slow trip".
Your basic, everyday, run of the mill circuit breaker offers two types of protection. Short-circuit protection is provided using a magnetic trip function, while overload (over-current) protection uses a thermal trip function.
Short-circuit Protection
To provide this type of protection, a circuit breaker relies on the fact that current traveling through a wire creates a magnetic field.  The breaker basically uses a solenoid to open the circuit, in the event that there's a large fault current flowing.  If there's enough current flowing, the magnetic field is large enough to pull open the circuit. This is often known as an instantaneous trip, because it can react in just a cycle or two (0 - 0.05 seconds).
Overcurrent Protection
This type of protection is provided using a thermal device, that works based on the fact that current traveling through a wire generates heat. As the current flowing through a wire increases, so too does the temperature of the wire.  A circuit breaker uses a bi-metal strip to trip the breaker, if the temperature (current) gets too high.  This is known as "long trip", or "slow trip", because it takes time for the breaker to react (0.5 - 1000 seconds).
Trip Curves
If you look at the trip curve of a breaker, you can see both types of protection in action. You'll notice a slow arcing motion leading down the chart, this is the "long time trip" portion of the chart.  As the current increases, the time required for the breaker to trip decreases. Eventually, the breaker hits the instantaneous trip threshold. At this point the breaker trips within a cycle or two. This can be seen at the bottom of the chart, where the curve levels off and goes straight across the bottom of the chart.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's take a look at an example.  Here's the trip curve for a 20 ampere Square-D QO circuit breaker.

Click for larger view
The vertical axis is time in seconds, and the horizontal axis is multiples of current.  I've highlighted in orange what two times the breakers rating looks like (40 amperes). As you can see, even at 40 amperes this breaker shouldn't trip for about 9 to 35 seconds. This is because it's relying on the thermal protection, and the bi-metal strip has to heat enough before it pulls the circuit open.
I've also highlighted in red what it would take to trip the breaker in one second, since an observer might consider a second "instantaneous". You'll notice that it should take between 4.5 and 8 times the breakers rating, before the breaker trips in under a second. That means your saw would be pulling 90-160 amperes, when the breaker tripped.
If your saw is pulling that much current, the problem is not the breaker, it's the saw. Increasing the size of the breaker is not the solution.
Check the saw for faults, including a short-circuit. You may also want to test/replace the breaker, as breakers can go bad.

After some more research, there do seem to be what are known as "High Magnetic (HM)" circuit breakers available. Schneider Electric describes them as

High magnetic trip circuit breakers are recommended for
applications where high initial inrush may occur and for
individual dimmer applications.

One such device would be the QO120HM Miniature Circuit Breaker. I couldn't find a trip curve for this device, but rumor has it the instantaneous trip function may not kick in until 20-30 times the rated current (400-600 amperes for a 20 ampere breaker). However, I don't think these are applicable to your situation, since there's no way the saw should draw 400 amperes when starting (or at any time for that matter, unless there's a short-circuit).


Iron in Hot Water Heater My water has a lot of iron in it so I have a water softener to take care of that. The problem is I forgot to check it and it ran out of salt.

The majority of my house is fine (I have to better clean my toilet tanks still), but my hot water heater appears to be giving out brown water now. I am in the middle of draining it now so that I can flush it, but I am wondering if there is anything else I should do to care of this? Is solving this problem something for a professional or do I just need to keep flushing it out until the problem is solved?

Flushing the water heater did the trick.


How to remove a stuck bayonet-mounted light bulb? The bulb looks like this.

It's been mildly broken from my earlier effort to remove the light. I've tried holding at the base, pushing it in a bit, twisting left/right and then trying to take it out, but this hasn't worked. I've had this fitting for many years but have never had a problem removing the bulb before using this procedure. I can still twist left/right but for some unknown reason the bulb will not come out when pulled.

The light fitting itself looks like this

I would disassemble the fixture so you can get to the socket and bulb itself.  Normally you push in, turn left and pull, but it sounds like something is wrong.   Go with a quality LED and you'll never have to replace it again.


Tankless point of use water heater that only heats when inlet is cold There are other questions such as this that ask about a point of use heater to provide quicker hot water, but they don't seem to fit what I want.

Our kitchen sink takes a while to get hot, and I would like this to be more immediate.  If I use a small tank water heater (2.5 gal) under the sink, and connect that to the hot water, it seems that I would get 2.5 gallons of hot water immediately, followed by 20 seconds of cool water (the time it normally takes to get hot water) that would then gradually warm back up, right?

What I would love to have is an inline tankless, plug in (120v) water heater that would immediately provide warm (ok if not super hot) water, and then automatically turn off once hot water from the tank arrives so that the water is not over heated.

It seems like such an obvious solution, but I haven't been able to find such a device.  Is there a reason why this does not exist?

TLDR: they all do that, it's a safety feature to avoid scalding.

It takes a lot of power to make heat.

You won't get much heat out of a 120V on-demand heater unless you really, really, really restrict water flow, like, you could get a cup of tea out of it if you're patient.    Don't even bother with on-demand unless you are willing to run 240V to the heater and at least 20A preferably 30.

An on-demand heater made to run alone on a 15A circuit, is 1440W.  It will only embarrass itself and its entire class of heaters.  You will be disappointed, swear them off for good, and that will be a shame because they are wonderful when you size them properly.

As others discuss, they have safety controls to prevent outputting scalding water.  You should not set your on-demand heater to scalding to avoid legionella, legionella can't grow in an on-demand.   You should set your tank heater to kill legionella.


Remove Popcorn Ceiling without Asbestos, what kind of specialist should I hire? I want to remove Popcorn ceiling from 300 sq foot living room. The Ceiling does Not have asbestos, (I confirmed), and was built 1985. It will also be repainted with basic White Paint.
Who should I hire to conduct this?
a) Drywall Person
b) or General Painter?
Both Industries personnel when calling claim they can remove it. So wondering who would be ideal person, or does it matter?

Painters are probably better at covering and protecting your furniture etc., they do that every time they work. Drywall people generally work when there is NO furniture etc. in the room yet.


Can a hot tub be installed in a utility room? We just bought a house with a large, unfinished utility room in the basement, about 15 ft x 20 ft. The previous owner just used it for storage. It has washer/dryer hookups and contains the furnace and water heater; otherwise, it's mostly empty, with concrete floors.

We were thinking about finishing it with moisture-resistant drywall and using the extra space to install a small indoor hot tub.

Would this be possible to do? Or is it a bad idea, because the humidity in the room could rust, damage, or short out the appliances like the washer, dryer, furnace, and water heater?

The room does have a window, so we could open that whenever the hot tub cover is off in order to vent the steamy air; however, I'm still worried if this would be sufficient.

Expensive homes have indoor pools all the time, however they also have rather sophisticated air ventilation systems.  Without it you would have uncontrolled mold accumulation. No matter how tight the lid is on the hot tub you are still going to introduce a lot of moisture into the house that other wise would not be there. I would recommend full exterior grade paint on in this newly and entirely finished utility room. Weatherproof exterior grade doors should be included in the room with no open air space shared by the main part of the house and this utility room. All adjoining spaces will need to be weatherproofed and caulked. No shared HVAC system components or duct work.  And last but not least you will want a fully controllable and robust air ventilation system that is sensitive to temperature and humidity levels.


Wiring up a light fitting made for the US market to a UK power supply I'd like to buy this light fitting from a US supplier.

I plan to get it shipped to the UK and wire it up. Is there anything I should look our for when wiring a light fitting made for the US market into a UK power supply?

I'm aware US mains is 110v and UK is 230-240v, but will this cause an issue in terms of the fitting ?

We are controlling all lighting in the project from a Lutron Homeworks QS control system (not sure if that makes a difference).

Start with the UL listing (UL is America's CE, our authority which tests and lists fixtures.)   Is the fixture listed for 240V?  We do have 240V in America, but it's not commonly used for luminaires.  277V is, but not for E26/E27 Edison bases.

Our trade agreements require we honor each other's listings, but that does not mean the fixture is listed for 240V.

It's possible. Insulation is the easy part, and most insulation in America is 250V if not 600V.  Higher current adds real cost, but since you are doubling voltage, you are halving current, so that's not a factor here. Besides, most of our stuff comes from China, and much of that is also sold in other 240V countries.

One option is to get a mega-ohmmeter and "meg out" the wires at 400-500V.  It's likely to pass.  That won't make it legal, but it would speak to safety.

Another option is rewire the lamp with UK-listed or 250V-listed sockets and wires, assuming they are physically-compatible, i.e. the apocryphal '3/8"' threaded rod used to tie most lamps together.

Also, tungsten bulbs? Really, check out LEDs - they have gotten quite good of late (if you disregard cheap junk, which is still junk.)


Nema 6-15 to nema 5-15 (hot hot ground) Let me preface this by saying i did my research, i got an electric car and the charger is limited to 12A draw internally, but it is designed to handle both nema 6-15 and nema 5-15 specs. If you run it at 110 12A it will charge in 9 hours, if you run it at 220 12a it will charge in 4.5.

The adapter already came with a nema 5-15 which i cannot change as it has a temperature sensor in it which i would like to keep, but if i send hot hot neutral through its nema 5-15 connector it would treat it as 6-15 and operate correctly.

I already have a 2phase panel outdoor for my hot tub rated for 50A where the hot tub has a 30A breaker. I will be adding a 2nd 20 amp breaker for this.

The question is as follows, should i run it into a nema 6-15 plug, then build a converter from 6-15 to 5-15, or simply use a 5-15 and wire it hot hot ground. I would be violating code, but adding in an adapter is pointless, the wiring is meant to handle 12 amps regardless of voltage, so i assume a 5-15 should handle 220v 12a without issues.

What are your thoughts?

Installed fixtures must be correct

Any receptacle which is installed as part of the building must be exactly what it says on the tin.  If you are provisioning 240V hot hot ground to the receptacle, and breakering it for 15A, it must be a NEMA 6-15.  Period.

The simple fact is, if you provision 240V to a NEMA 5, it will be a matter of time before someone plugs a 120V appliance into it. You know the feeling, you're trying to get something done, you have a 5-15 plug in your hands and you search for the nearest receptacle your cord will reach.  Everyone else does the same thing. And that's the problem. Your rush to an immediate goal is no excuse.    A reasonable person will foresee that a miswired NEMA 5 will find a victim, just a matter of time.  An exacerbating factor is that you're intentionally refusing to pull a permit and get inspected because you know you'll flunk.

Just don't do it.  Seriously.  Not meaning to be a nag here, just there's a better way to do that thing.

The cheater is the way to go

None of this is legal.  But since it's not part of the building, the AHJ (building inspector) doesn't have nearly as much to say about it.

A 6" long homemade extension cord will send signals that makes it far less likely for an innocent person to have an accident.  First, there's no logical reason for a 6" extension cord to exist.  Second, it's obvious that the plug is weird, *presuming that you use a NEMA L6-15 locking type.  Also, label it clearly, and attach it securely to the charger with a cord coupler.


Concrete slab for a hot tub I want to lay a 9 x 9 concrete slab for 125 psi hot tub how thick do I have to make it? And what kind of base should I use?

Just a gut feeling, but based on what I've seen that will hold a brick patio flat for a long time, two or three three inch lifts of packed crush under a 5" slab with 10mm rebar at 12-15" should be adequate.  If you want something set on dirt to stay flat and the way you set it a long time, multiple layers of tightly packed gravel give a flat, long lasting high strength base with good drainage for the brick or slab on top.  I don't know enough to be sure of slab thickness but 125 PSI seems like nothing.  It's about 0.86 MPa and Wikipedia says regular strength concrete is good for at least 10 MPa.  If you do a solid base, you can probably even get away with a 4" slab as a hot tub has fairly wide weight distribution and what usually breaks 4" concrete is a wheeled vehicle that concentrates its weight.
Fair warning I'm only aware of electrical codes for hot tubs and my solution might be overkill, but I try to build things to last.  Gravel is relatively cheap, digging, placing and packing are hard work, but you only have to do it once.


How do I make my gas oven produce less carbon monoxide? I had someone perform a combustion safety test on my oven today and he discovered that it's producing an elevated level of carbon monoxide compared to average: 80 PPM. He said the best ovens he's seen produce about 10 PPM. He said that I could get somebody out here to "adjust" it to improve the combustion but wasn't too sure what this would entail.

What does this entail? Is there like a user-serviceable knob on the oven to adjust the air mixture or something that I can do myself? If not, or if it's not safe for me to do this myself, who do I need to hire and what do I need to ask them to do? Or is the oven itself simply totally defective and in need of replacement? It's not a fancy high-end unit but it's fairly new...

Great questions can always be asked with only a few words.
But my answers never seem short.
The short answer is that the stove can not breathe. Give it more air. Problem Fixed.

What is happening, the chemistry answer:
Carbon Monoxide is made when too much natural gas is burning in too little oxygen.
Good ->  Natural Gas + Lots of Oxygen + Spark = Carbon DIOXIDE + Water + 100% Heat
Bad ->   Natural Gas + Not enough Oxygen + Spark = Carbon MONOXIDE + Water + 50% Heat

You now know how CO (carbon monoxide) is made, and that making it wastes energy.
It also stops blood from working. That is a different lesson.

An oven burner while it is working. Gas Valve, Gas line orifice,and Venturi Tube. Flame Manifold.

Short rant about poor quality testing:
Breathing air with 10 ppm of CO is better than breathing air with 80 ppm.
However
I hate that you were told this by someone you were hoping could improve your safety, it is a case of a little knowledge is dangerous.
I think it is great that you had a test conducted.
People that put any effort into testing are almost always better off than those who do not. Just because they are people who at least think about such things.
It annoys me that the guy that did the testing was so unknowledgeable. I am sure he intended to be helpful. Sadly he left more questions than answers.

Much longer rant about bad test procedures:
If I tell you my car gets 0 miles per gallon, you might think that is bad.
If I add that I got this measurement after I was trying to climb Mt Everest in my car, It then makes sense. Well, 0 miles a gallon makes sense. Conducting a test like that, it makes no sense.
You have to know what you are testing, and you have to be testing the same thing.
I tell you 80 ppm of CO is high, and I have seen 10 ppm, who knows what that means?
Was the oven running for 5 minutes or 30, was it preheated to 400 degrees, or 100, was he 1 foot away or 3, was he using an in date calibrated meter, was the air in the room moving or still, was the room 68 degrees or 78 ?
I am not asking you these questions, but they are valid questions, and I am wondering if he took all this information into account when he gave you the number of 80 ppm.
If he takes me to his 10 ppm oven, I can get his meter to read 200, or 0, without 'adjusting' the oven.


How do I tell if a light switch is live? I have a light switch that I want to get rid of. I don't know if it is active or not.  I want to wallpaper the wall.  How do I tell if the circuit is "live" and if so how to turn it off so it is safe to wallpaper over.

Head down to the local hardware store, and pick up a non-contact voltage tester (any brand will do).

Carefully remove the cover plate from the switch, and move the tester near each wire (you won't have to touch the wires, just get near them).  If you hear a beep and/or the light turns on, the circuit is hot.

If the circuit is dead
If the circuit is not hot, you still will not be able to cover the box completely. You'll either have to remove the box and all wires leading to it, or cover the box using a blank cover plate.

If you decide to use a blank plate, you can wallpaper the plate itself (while not attached to the wall). This will help it blend into the wall, and all but disappear.
If the circuit is live
If the circuit is still hot, you'll have to trace the circuit back to the point of origin and disconnect it.  In most cases a light will not be the only thing on a circuit, so it probably will not be as easy as removing a single circuit breaker. You'll likely want to contact an Electrician to disconnect the wires, and remove the circuit in this situation.


What is causing these water heater pipes to rust/corrode? This water heater was replaced by a plumber 4-5 years ago.  Within about a year, all the new connections were rusting/corroding.
Did the plumber not sufficiently tighten the fittings?
Is this perhaps an electrolysis problem?
Notes:

Water here is quite hard
Pipes in the house are a mix of copper, galvanized, and pex.

Looks like minor leaks, compounded by mixing galvanized pipe and copper/bronze valve without using dielectric couplings between dissimilar metals.
Honestly, any plumber installing NEW galvanized pipes (rather than just making repairs to existing) in the past 5 years is doubtful. If you really want threaded pipe, stainless is available and lead-free, which galvanized iron pipe is not.


Wiring a ceiling light I've just changed the light fixture in my living room, but I forgot to take a photo first.
I have two cables coming through, each with a red, a black, and a green wire in it. A wire had a red sleeve but it fell off the wire it was on. How do I put the wires back the way they were?

Pictures are really needed to answer, but here is my best guess based on the limited information...
It sounds like this light fixture was in the middle of a daisy chain with other lights. One set of 3 wires is probably the electrical supply to the light you were working on, and the the other set of 3 wires probably carries the electricity to the next light fixture in the chain. If there is another light fixture controlled by the same switch as this one, that is probably what is going on.
To test this safely, go get an 'electrical test pen'. They are inexpensive. With the light switch on, hold the end of the pen near each wire. It should light up next to one of the black wires. Then with the switch off, it should not light up at all, on any wire.
Before making connections, turn off the breaker, and hold your electrical test pen next to each wire, with the switch on, and with it off. The pen should not light up at all, on any wire. If the light turns on there is still electricity there, don't go any further. Find the correct breaker, or call a professional.
My guess is that the red wire is neutral, black is hot, and green is ground. If so, then the two black wires should be connected together and combined with the hot wire from your light fixture (probably also black). The red wires together, and with the neutral wire from your light fixture (probably white). The green wires should connect to each other and also to your junction box. If your light fixture has a ground wire, which may be green or may be a bare wire, it should be connected to the junction box as well, so that the two grounds, the light's ground, and the box are all connected together.
Good luck!


Is there a way to stop an external door being slammed I live in a block of flats and we have an errant social housing tenant who gets in in the middle of the night and slams the front door.

We have a hydrolic door closer on the door - although only one with a single closing speed. Beyond adjusting the speed the door closes is there anything we can do to stop the door from being slammable?

Happy to spend maybe £500-1000 to fix this if that's what it takes.

You are probably looking for a commercial grade door closer. One of those with a multi-stage closer mechanism can be adjusted so that the door closes gently but at the same time can keep it closed requiring some initial force to open the door. I am sure that there are many manufacturers of these closers. Here is an example picture of one.


How to tighten a swivel component on a shower head? So here's the situation. I got a shower head:

Problem is that the swivel part is loose, so the shower head just kinda flops down. Is there any way to tighten that part?

Any help/suggestions/links is appreciated.

On some models the rubber washer helps keep the swivel tight. Check if the grommet has been pushed into the pipe (when overtightened, sometimes they get squished inside the pipe).


How can I add ventilation to my basement office? I have a finished basement with an office, guest bedroom and bathroom. All about 700 sq ft.
I work 12+ hours in the office and really need to get some fresh air circulating by extracting stale air. I'm looking for a good method of doing this. I had considered running an air vent with a slow/continuations fan or a high volume fan that I can turn on a time for 15 minutes. The office is adjacent to a utility room and I'm concerned that too much of an exhaust could extinguish the water heater pilot light and cause other problem.
I do have an air-in vents (heat/cool), but nothing going back out (circulating).
The office is next to a window which opens to a window well.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV)  You may want to consider either spot ERV or whole house ERV.

These devices both exhaust and intake fresh air, doing some energy exchange to reduce the impact on your air when the temperature differences between inside and outside are great.

Some ERV discussions here

As a spot unit, you could just run the unit in your office.  The Panasonic unit I've read about has automatic controls, but I would supplement them with a countdown timer to limit use even further as necessary.

Leviton 12 Hour countdown timer

The divided wall cap means only 1 penetration is needed and it incorporates a pre filter for the incoming air.

Declaration:  No financial interest in Panasonic or Leviton.  I have used (personally) and installed (for customers) Panasonic fans and Leviton switches.


Water Hammer Arrester Replace I have water hammer arresters for my washing machine like in the image.
The pressure at my place is about 83 PSI (no pressure reducing valve, no expansion tank, no check valve in the main). These arresters were installed by the previous owner, probably 7 years ago.
The washing machine makes a very loud banging when in use. The only way that I have found to work around the issue is to open the valves just a little bit (it is like 90% closed).
I wonder if it is that the water arresters are damaged and need to be replaced. If so, how to replace them? Am I supposed to replace the whole plastic box, or can I replace individual arresters? There doesn't seem to be enough clearance in the box to unscrew the arresters and get new ones in.

A water-hammer arrester is an (initially) air-filled container that simply acts as a compressible "shock absorber". Over time, the air can dissolve in water and be lost, particularly on older models without pistons, leaving it filled with pretty-much incompressible water. They're easily fixed or replaced.
If the existing arrester has replaceable O-rings:

Close the main interior shutoff valve.
Turn on faucets in the lowest floors to help drain the system.
Get some buckets and towels to soak up water, and place below the arresters.
Unscrew the arresters, disassemble them to drain the water, and check for damaged O-rings.
The O-rings can be replaced at very low cost. If possible, find the right size O-rings in advance or get an inexpensive assortment to shorten the downtime.
Reassemble, turn on the main shutoff and test the system.

If the O-rings cannot be replaced, by design:

Replacement arresters are available for US$10 each and up. Follow steps 1-4, above, and at step 5, replace the old arresters.


Driving screws back into weathered deck I have a 20+ year old deck behind my home. It's in great shape, but I want to refinish it this summer. Problem is, a number of the Phillips screws have popped up over the years. I have a basic Hitachi cordless drill (1050 RPM) with which I have tried to drive the screws back down, but it tends to either strip the heads or strain uselessly.

I have tried removing a few of the screws completely and putting them back in, but they get stuck in the same place regardless. Now that I think of it, I suppose I could drill the holes out deeper before putting the screws back, but I honestly don't want to go through all that bother for all my screws.

What do I need to accomplish this smoothly and efficiently? A better drill bit? A corded, more powerful drill? A high-torque drill? I'd really prefer not to spend much money on this--hence why I'm doing all the refinishing myself--but these screws are really getting in my way.

From what you are describing you are using the wrong drill bit or not applying sufficient pressure.

Make sure you have the right # drill bit for the screws. The wrong bit will strip the heads making it difficult to extract or to drive the screws further in.

If you are using the right drill bit, stand directly over the screw and apply sufficient pressure when drilling.

I would find it hard to believe that all the heads are stripped, but if the majority are stripped, my advise would be to get a screw extractor and remove the troublesome screws.

Work with a friend or family member, 1 with a drill bit, the other with the extractor, systematically go down the deck and you'll be done in no time.


Relocating a fibre-optic router-modem within a home I've just gotten an FTTH fiber optic internet provider in Canada. The problem I'm having is that the technician would only install the router/modem by the back of my apartment where the fiber comes in. He said it was completely not possible to have it next to my desktop where I wanted it so that I could connect to my computer via ethernet rather than WiFi. In the end I had to let him install it in the back by the back deck.

The apartment is in a large mansion sectioned off into apartments and goes: back hallway with the modem on the wall with access to a back deck -- bedroom -- small kitchen -- living room. It'll be 20-30m to where the desktop will be from where the modem is right now.
So... questions:

Is this true that this modem really can't be moved to a more convenient place in my apartment? This makes no sense to me. What if you want your desktop hard wired to a modem? I upload videos to my website all the time that are several GB in size. I dont want to do that via WiFi on this 50mbps Fiber signal.
The fiber cable is a thin white cable (not ethernet) with a small green plug that comes out of a hole in the wall and goes into the Homehub3000 modem. Can I extend this cable with a coupler or a hub or something and run more of this same cable the length I need to get to my living room, about 20m?
If I run one Cat6 and split it in the living room with some hub device, can I run the fiber signal effectively to four devices at the same time the way I would with four SEPARATE ethernet ports and cables or are they essentially going to be sharing one port. And will that cause I conflicts on each device?
The four ethernet ports on the back of this thing are useless to me because I'm not gonna run FOUR Cat6 cables 20m each through my bedroom, through the kitchen, into the living room to where they need to go to connect to different devices. How do I effectively "put" the four ports in my living room if moving the modem isn't an option?

Thanks!

The basic problem with installing fiber is it's glass, and glass doesn't bend well. That thin white fiber cable has a minimum bend radius of somewhere around 10 cm, so if you pull it tight around a corner the glass inside it breaks. And splices are not easy.

The typical solution is install the fiber modem in the best place for the fiber, and then run a single ethernet line to your router. If it's an all-in-one box you can probably get it changed.

30m is hardly unreasonable for ethernet, but I would buy good cable and avoid running it parallel to electrical lines. By "good" I don't mean "says cat-6 on the bag", I mean good quality cable from a known manufacturer. Go to a supplier not in a shopping mall or main-street-front. You want the industrial-park places.


How do I install a washing maching in my condo? My condo has a closet design for a washing machine/dryer set up and I want to make sure everything is wired correctly

It has connections for hot and cold water on the wall.  It also has two other hookups that I'm trying to identify.

One hookup is beside the water valves but is larger around than most pipes I've seen(maybe 1.5"-2" across) and has a draft of cold air that smells of laundry.  Is this for the water drain from the washer or is the vent for the dryer?

Another connection is about 0.5" above the floor and has a more typical hose connection.  Is this the water drain or is for draining spilled water?

Photos here:
Water Connection

Fitted Pipe.  That connection has a screw fitting and would likely connect well to a garden hose.

The top hole is indeed used for the washer drain.

The lower pipe is used to drain a washing machine pan.

If the washer leaks this pipe allows the water to drain away safely, instead of flooding the laundry area.


How can I move a toilet sewer drain in a concrete floor? The toilet in one of my bathrooms is too close to the shower.  I have room and would like to move it about 2 feet.  It is also a 14" rough-in and it's hard to find toilets in that size, that are not ~$500 (Toto).  I'd like to make it a standard 12" rough-in.  The challenge I see is the bathoom is on concrete slab.  So, what's involved in moving the toilet drain about 2" closer to wall and 2 feet over? I'm not sure if the drain is plastic or iron but I imagine that would have an impact on the effort.

If its on a solid slab you're looking at a jackhammer and some new fittings. If your fittings are cast iron you'll need to be especially careful because its brittle and any concrete removing action around it could cause it to crack. Once exposed you'll be able to see your options depending on which direction the down elbow runs.


Running wire through ceiling, ceiling joists blocking access to the top of the frame So I was in my attic last night, about to drill some holes in the top of the wall to run CAT 6 ethernet cables down the wall. I found above the wall is two parallel ceiling joists that are completely blocking the wall that I'm trying to run cables to. I don't want to drill into the joists and risk structural integrity damage, so does anyone know of a way to workaround this without drilling into the joists?

A doubled joist is 3" wide.

A standard 2x4 is 3.5" wide.

You have a lip on one edge or the other.

Can you not start your hole on this lip taking perhaps a nibble out of the corner of the joist?

Joists support.  If this double joist has a wall under it, what is it supporting that the wall itself isn't sufficient.

In normal configuration the bottom of a joist is in tension, while the top is in compression.  This assumes that it's being supported at the ends.  Gets more complicated when it's supported at multiple points.

Taking a chunk out of the bottom, where it is already resting on the wall below isn't going to make the building collapse.  Because of that wall, there is no tension on the bottom of the joist.


Can I install junction box on a basement rim joint from inside I am pulling wire from my basement for an outside receptacle. I drilled a hole through the rim joist. To secure pvc pipe from inside, I wanted to install a junction box on inside, and use a metal box with middle 1/2 in opening that sits on the joist with the PVC male plug.

Is it OK to have a junction box on rim joist code wise?

You can place the box on the rim joist as long as it is not covered at a later time the box needs to be accessible.


Do I have to use armored (MC) cable to connect to a pot (recessed) light fixture? Most of the recessed lighting fixtures I see in stores have a metal junction box separate from the can.  There is an armored cable running from the junction box to the can already.  You connect your NMD90 wire to the junction box.  Makes sense.

However, I have two of these recessed lighting fixtures.  They have a junction box attached to the top of the can itself.

The junction box itself says I have to use wire rated to 90C, which NMD90 wire would be.  My question is, do I have to use metal clad (MC) wire from the power source to this light, or can I just use NMD90?

Edit

The back of the junction box says:

MAXIMUM OF 8 NO. 12 AWG
THROUGH BRANCH CIRCUIT
CONDUCTORS SUITABLE
FOR AT LEAST 90 C
PERMITTED IN A BOX (4 IN 4 OUT)
FOR FLEXIBLE CONDUIT ONLY

I'm not sure what that last line means: "for flexible conduit only".

You are required to use whatever type of wiring your local code permits for this type of connection.  If you are in a residential location then it is likely NMD90; if you are in a commercial location then it will likely require BX/AC. The shielding you are referring to between the can and the box isn't really BX/AC; its just flexible metal conduit. It looks similar to BX but it's not the same thing.

If you do use BX/AC, make sure to use plastic bushings at both ends of the cable so you don't nick the conductors with the sharp BX/AC.

Usually with cans, there is a friction cable clamp you just push the NMD90 through, however if you use BX/AC then you will need to use one of the punch-outs and a proper cable clamp to secure the cable.


ECM Blower Motor Not Working at Night So, I have had this problem going on for about a month and a half now with my A/C.  Throughout the day, the A/C will work fine.  However, there will come a time in the middle of the night when it stops working.  When this happens, the outside compressor does turn on, but the blower motor does not and the house temperature never cools to the desired setting.  I eventually turn the system off to prevent the coils from freezing.  This doesn’t happen every night, but does most.  It also doesn’t happen at a consistent time.
When the problem occurs, I have tried turning the A/C off and on, but it seldom matters.  I also tried testing the fan on the "non-auto" thermostat setting, but even that doesn’t turn the blower on.  I have already had two different HVAC technicians take a look, but they both say that they are unable to troubleshoot the problem unless it is happening when they arrive.  Since this only happens in the middle of the night, I am out of luck and starting to lose lots of sleep.
I have resorted to some troubleshooting on my own and here is what I find when the problem occurs in the middle of the night.  I go to the control board and verify that the thermostat is sending the low voltage signal on the “G” fan wire.  I have also verified that the low voltage signal is being sent from the control board to the ECM motor on the correct tap for the A/C.  I finally verified that the control board is sending the high voltage to the motor.  To me, it all seems that the motor is getting what it needs and should be running fine just like it does all day long.  Hmmmm…so why does this problem only happen at night?
There is one interesting thing that I noticed.  It might have nothing to do with anything, but perhaps it’s worth considering.  Throughout the day, the AC voltage that I measure from the outlets in my house is usually in the range of 120 – 122 volts.  It seems that at night, the voltage drifts a bit higher.  When the problem happens, I usually find it to be around 123 and change.  This certainly seems reasonable and should not cause a problem, but it is the only thing I see that appears to differ at night.  Perhaps the motor is going bad? Since this is an ECM type motor, there is no start capacitor to check.
So, my question is this.  I’m about to pull the string and buy a new motor, but before I do, I was wondering if all signs point to a failed motor.  Is there any other troubleshooting that I can do?  A new motor is pretty pricey and I would hate to spend the money and still have the same problem.  Thanks in advance for any help.
Model Numbers:
A/C: Carrier 59SP5A080E171216
Blower: HD46MQ134

Since all signs seemed to point to a bad motor, I took a chance and replaced it.  The new motor has been working fine for several days now.  Not exactly sure why it was only failing at night, but I still think it is related to the slightly higher voltage fluctuations I get at night.  I did power the old motor directly for high and low voltage inputs (removing the control board from the equation) and experienced the same problem when the voltage moved higher and then it was fine when the voltage came back down.  Not sure why.  Could a bad thermistor cause this?  Not sure.  Unfortunately the circuit board in the control module of the motor is potted and I don't see how I could fix it.  Too bad.  The motor was only 5 years old and it would be great to repair if possible.  Anyway, I hope this helps anyone else who may experience similar problems.  Thanks all.


Is this an abandoned wasp's nest? I found a small wasp nest this morning that's about 3" in diameter tucked into the railing of my deck stairs.  It's unfortunately facing the side of my house, which is about 6 or 7 feet away, so I'd have to spray it at an odd angle to get enough distance between it and me when doing so.

Upon closer look, however, I'm wondering if it's an abandoned nest?  It looks like there are a couple holes in places where the sides may have collapsed:

I haven't noticed any wasps entering or leaving it when I watched it closely for a few minutes in the middle of the day.  Is it safe to knock it down?  Should I get a spray for it regardless to be safe?  Thanks!

Wasps only use these nests for a year and then abandon them.  If you haven't seen any activity it should be safe to just knock it down.  By the looks of your picture and your description it does seem like an old, unused nest.  Have a fly swatter with you to be safe, but a nest that small isn't going to have wasps pouring out of it.  I'm sure you could just run around the corner to get away even if there was a stray wasp or two.


How to correctly level a raised floor built on an old garage floor? So, I've already tried and failed at this twice and if I'm going to rip up the floor again I want to make sure I do it right this time.
I made this room in my basement that used to be a garage and the floor (because it was a garage) it's pitched down about a decent amount (I forget but it's close to an inch). I read that the best way it so cut some 2by material and then shim it up until it's level but after doing this and it settling (winter maybe) my floor is really bouncy now as some spots are lower. It's very annoying as when anyone walks in the room everything shakes. When I installed heat (hot water) under the floor this winter I again tried to fix it by gluing shims this time and adding spray foam under the joists but within a couple of months, the floor is back to be bouncy again, this time maybe worse.
So, if I 'm going to take up the floor and furniture again what's the best approach to make sure I don't have to do this again? Here are some pictures of the initial build and the last time when I added insulation and spray foam.
To make things more complicated a wall and cabinets are built in that can not be removed. So, I can't remove the entire floor and have to just take up large sections of the plywood and work with that.

Get a bunch of 6" x 3/8" galvanized lag screws. Pilot though your joists at intervals with a 1/4" or 5/16" bit, then run screws in to lift and level the joists. Cut of the protruding portion flush with a hack saw.
With that room size, every joist needs at least two support points (plus the outer ends). Don't span more than about 4'.
I would pull a carpenter's line down the center of the room, spaced above the joists with blocks at each end. Match the space all the way across.


Should I drill through the concrete garage wall to install a generator inlet switch inside? I recently purchased a generator in the aftermath of the ice storms in the Northeast.  I'm quit handy with the electrical wiring in my house and have no issue installing the proper circuit for the 30-amp load.  My questions are more about running the cable to the inlet box.

My garage is connected to my basement (where the circuit breaker is), and my ideal inlet location is either right inside the garage door, or just outside.  The issue is that, in order for me to run the wires in there, it appears that I'll have to drill through concrete and install conduit (as the prior owner did with the existing garage wiring).  Thus brings about the two possibilities:

Do I spend the money, time and noise to rent a drill to bore a 1-inch conduit space through my concrete walls?
Do I install my inlet switch inside and run a longer 30-amp generator extension cord from outside to inside when the generator is running?

UPDATE

I'm reconsidering and thinking about renting a Hilti drill (or similar) from a local tool-rental shop or Lowes/Home Depot.  If I do that, I can run straight up from my breaker box to a conduit leading outside (next to the meters).  I can then either get a long-enough generator cord to reach from the garage up to the outlet, run conduit closer down to the garage, or move the generator up to the back porch in advance of pending issues.

Further opinions?

Thanks

Do the right thing not the easy thing. The question here is, how much longer will the feed line be? if its just a few feet then there is no problem. What you want to avoid is a long extension between the generator and the house.  Long line = voltage drop. And there is cosmetics. Think how a professional would do the install and act acordingly.