Securing French cleats to drywall over lath and plaster with structural screws I'd like to build a French cleat storage system on an exterior wall in my basement shop, but am concerned about whether the cleats will have sufficient support given the construction of the wall. The wall is constructed of 3/4" drywall over lath and plaster (~1/2" of plaster over 3/8" laths), with additional 1/4" and 3/4" boards between the laths and the studs.

My current plan is to use 5/16" x 5 1/8" structural screws (rated as equivalent to a 1/2" lag bolt) to attach the cleats, two per cleat per stud, as shown in the diagram below. (I have not shown the screw details because my Sketchup skills aren't quite there yet.) The structural screws will be countersunk 3/16" since they have a washer head.

A photo showing the actual materials (minus the stud, which is covered by insulation, and the drywall, which is not visible in the area where I have this cross-sectional access):

I have questions on a couple aspects of this:

1) Will the 1 13/16" depth of the screw in the stud provide sufficient withdrawal resistance?

2) Can I rely on any of the intervening material to provide any support as far as shear resistance, or do I effectively have about 2 1/2" of unsupported screw? And if the latter, can this possibly hold any significant weight? If not, do I have any options other than a) not doing the project or b) completely ripping out the drywall and lath and plaster to secure the cleats more directly to the studs?

3) Would using a toggle bolt into the lath-and-plaster between the studs be wise in addition to (or instead of) the structural screws into the studs with such a long unsupported length?

Thanks!

EDIT: Additional information requested by commenters:

I have had some (modest) success using a small metal detector to locate the nails in the laths. I have first located the drywall screws and then used those as a guide to locate the lath nails; they register faintly but some do register. My plan was to mark these and then drill small test holes to ensure I hit a stud at the expected depth rather than a cavity (I expect I might need to do 2-3 per stud to ensure I can find the center).
The studs are spaced approximately 16" o.c. in other parts of the basement where the lath and plaster has been cut away sufficiently for me to visually inspect them. I say approximately because there seems to be some variance of up to 1/2", and in at least one case the distance is 22". The nails/screws I have been able to locate in this wall are also approximately 16" o.c.
The studs themselves are 2x6; they are slightly larger than today's 2x6s as I believe they date from the original construction of the house in 1900. Most of the house has been remodeled or added on to, but this side of the basement is mostly original except for the addition of the drywall, which obviously is much newer.
I plan to use the cleats for hanging various power tools, accessories, clamps, etc. I would expect the total weight per cleat per stud will not exceed 100lbs. But more accuracy here is probably desirable.
Lastly, sadly, yes, Seattle is definitely in a seismic zone. My plan was to follow a suggestion I saw from someone who built French cleats in California who used some short cut-off nails inserted in an angled hole in the back of the shelves such that they protruded just below the cleat to prevent upward movement that would cause the cleat to "jump off", but could be easily removed to reposition it.

My guess is that the screws you want to use won't work well if the shelves are heavy.  The embedment in the stud is too shallow and the screw will flex quite a bit.  I think the shaft of the screw is too small for the drywall and plaster to provide much support in shear.

I'd simply strip off the drywall and screw 3/4" plywood on top of the plaster.  I'd nail on a pressure treated 2x4 like a base molding so the plywood isn't in contact with the floor, and rest the 4' edge of the plywood on the 2x4 before attaching.  This way the weight is carried by the plywood rather than the nails.

With that in place mounting your cleats will be very easy.  The plywood will also hold up better than drywall behind the shelves.  It's a bit of extra expense and effort but you'll have a very strong and durable and nice looking finished product.


What the heck is/was this keypad for? I recently noticed this keypad on our front porch.  As far as I can tell, it's not connected to anything.  Does anyone know what it was for?  A security system perhaps? Garage door?

Looks like a wireless garage door keypad.


My yard is eroding away and taking my house with it: what's the cheapest way to build a retaining wall to stop it? We can't get grass to grow in spots in our backyard due to a combination of dogs, trees, and shade.
Behind the house is a hill.  A third of it has a retaining wall built with rail road ties.  It has been there since before I moved into the house as a 5 year old which was 25 years ago.
The other 2/3rds of that hill right behind the house have been eroding massively over the last 3 years to the point that you can see the foundation of the house, walls in the house are cracking and a ball on the floor will roll toward the hill every time (i.e., the house is falling downhill).

Now here is the big key:  We are planning on moving, and we are on a shoestring budget.

Is my best bet to build a retaining wall that matches the other one?  Should I do concrete blocks instead?  Stone?

What is the cheapest way to do this that won't look horrible?

I've recently purchased used railroad ties from home depot for my own landscaping needs.  They were the cheapest by volume that I could find about, $15 for an 8"x10"x8' (nominal), and if you want something that's going to match the worn look of an existing railroad tie retaining wall, well that's as good as it gets.

Concrete blocks will be more expensive and probably will stand out.  If you're not going to cement and rebar them in, I also find blocks harder to get set in so they look professional.


What's the best way to remove a wrought iron fence? I have a simple wrought iron fence that I would like to remove. It has posts in concrete with the panels welded to them.

I was just going to cut the horizontal bars from the posts and then pull out the posts.

Is this the best way to remove the fence? What tools do I need to cut and dig most efficiently and effectively?

Use a reciprocating saw with a high quality metal cutting blade to remove the horizontal bars. If you or a neighbor don't have one, you could use a regular hacksaw and save $$.

Do not cut the posts as these can be used for leverage to rock the buried ball of concrete, loosening it up and making it easier to get out of the ground.

You will need work gloves, safety glasses, a round point shovel (D-handle version shown), a pinch bar or digging bar, and some elbow grease and beer.


Heil gas Furnace -- water in the pressure switch vacuum hose Every few days I have to remove and drain the the rubber tube from the pressure switch to the furnace or it won't ignite.  Why is water condensing in that tube?  It's not a hard thing to fix-- but I ought not to have to drain that tube at all. Seems to happen more often in colder weather.  I'd hate to be out of town for a few days, have the furnace not light and end up with frozen pipes!

My American Standard has a drain trap that has to be flushed every so often or it will fill up the tubing and I can hear that it is affecting the ID fan. You may have a similar problem


Plumber told me it's unsafe to drain my water heater -- what should I do? We are new homeowners.  Our 11-year-old 2nd-floor water heater was leaking and the first plumber who came told us he would need to come back with a partner to take it away.  I asked if I could drain it in the meantime and he said that doing so could disturb the sediment at the bottom of the tank causing a much worse leak and likely water damage.  He said he usually removes leaking water heaters without draining the water till they're outside the house.

This sounded like a recipe for disaster, and it probably would have been.  As commenters and the correct answer below say, if you're ever told this, at the very least:

GET A SECOND OPINION!!!

The plumber who came today said that in 20 years he has never had problems draining a water heater, and he drained ours without incident.  It was then easy to remove and replace.

Ranch experience says, shut off the power and the cold water inlet valve, drain the thing and leave it sit empty.

Get out your biggest Dutch Oven, fill it with water, heat it and take sponge baths. If you're out of clothing, go to the nearest laundromat and process your smalls and whatever else you're running out of.

Whatever this "Home Warranty" thing is, as "The Evil Greebo" points out, you probably have other coverage that will be more useful in a timely manner.

And find a plumber that isn't going to hand truck a full tank of water down stairs when you could run a hosepipe out the nearest window and water the lawn.

Make sure he's licensed, bonded and insured in case you decide that "50 Gallon Air Drop" is a viable way of removing this water heater.


What could cause a gas fireplace to come on by itself? My natural gas fireplace has a mind of it's own.

It has been working properly until today--it decided to come on by itself

It has been cold (15 degrees) here in SC--could this be the problem??

The pilot remains on and seems to be find.

My service man came and disconnected the control valve from it's electrical source and the fireplace remained on--strange at best.

Finally disconnected all wires to control valve and fireplace went off.

Some gas fireplaces with electric start have a thermopile that generates enough electricity to keep the valve open, even if you disconnect the mains electricity. So if the fireplace was on already and you disconnect the main power, I would expect the fire to stay on.

However, starting by itself is not a good thing. I would look at two components: the control board the the thermopile and solenoid connect to, or the remote control receiver. If you do have a remote control receiver, it's easy to eliminate that as the problem because you can just disconnect it. Otherwise, just replace the control board.


What brand is this door latch bolt? I am trying to find out what the brand of this drive-in locking door latch is. It is circa 1975. I am planning to replace four of them.

That is a classic style mobile home latch. It's probably a generic model. You can still get an exact replacement from many sources. There is probably a local mobile home supply near you that deals with Blevins.


Refurbishing the space underneath stairs I'd like to refurbish the space underneath my stairs, unfortunately I neither recognise the materials that are currently there, nor know if I should replace them with something similar.

So, as shown in the photos:

Should i look to take all of the wood and the plaster board (?) down, and replace it or can i just strip the boarding and replace that, leaving the wood in place?

Secondly, what is the best material for using in this type of space?

This is just standard lath & plaster, which was the classy, professional way to finish walls until after WWII. Prior to that, gypsum board (sheetrock) was considered to be substandard and "cheap." I wouldn't necessarily bother taking this all down, although you certainly can gut it down to the studs.

If you can identify where the studs are, and use screws, not nails, you could fasten sheetrock straight down on top of this and you'd be fine.

On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with a lath and plaster wall. In fact it's thicker and stronger than a sheetrock-finished wall. So if you could just repair the plaster, that might be another good way to go.


How to repair rotted sill plate on foundation concrete pony wall and adding height to concrete wall I have an end unit townhouse built in 1986. It's three stories including the garage level, and it's built on a slope. The garage level opens to the street in the back, but that level is below grade on the opposite side (front) of the house.

To accommodate the grade change, there is a vertical jog in the foundation wall on the side of the townhouse, so the foundation wall becomes a pony wall.

The problem is that the foundation wall jogs down too low too soon, and it is now below grade in one area, leading to a rotting sill plate and sheathing:

Note that the Great Stuff is my doing - a temporary fix to seal things up. There hasn't been meaningful water infiltration in this area, but it does appear that at some point mice got in there (they definitely haven't been there in at least a year).

The landscaping is in the control of the condo association. Although I could go to them and ask them to have the landscapers regrade, there's no guarantee in continuity in the landscaper, or any kind of institutional memory even if we retain the same one, so this problem could just reoccur the next time they add mulch.

So, since I need to replace the rotted sill plate anyway, I'd rather just try to come up with a solution that avoids the possibility of reocurrence by cutting away the rotted studs and sill and adding 6-12 inches of height in concrete along the ~2-3 feet of foundation pony wall. This would also require adjustments to the exterior siding, but that seems easy enough.

The questions are:

1) Does this make sense, or is there a better alternative?

2) Does the wall need to be supported while I do this, and if so, how? Can I just screw some 2x4s to the studs above where I'm going to cut them, and have those run down to the floor at an angle?

If it's relevant, this is a gable wall. Also, you can see the trusses running perpendicular to this wall that support the floor above  - the light is attached to one, and the other is right above the wall on the right.

Appreciate any suggestions!

Since the soil should be 6" below (in my area code) I would verify building code and have association regrade the area as it is causing the rot from the violation. In a 3 story I would not want to try patch work on cement foundation without an engineering stamp of approval.


How can I build a custom stair case in a small space? In my continuing pursuit of gutting this house and trying to better it; the snow has finally broken and its time to get back to work.

We really, REALLY, want to use the attic space as storage / den / office space.

We've finally come to the conclusion to use the spare room's closet as the space for a staircase to the attic. its an insignificant space (

I just took a rough measurement of the closet - total run: 4 feet 4 inches (inside stud to inside stud) and a total rise: 7 feet 6 inches (floor to finished ceiling)

Is it possible to put a staircase in this space? there is 1 other space i can use to put the staircase, but i'd rather not - it would put the staircase in the middle of the attic, in our opinion, cutting the space up there too much.

I've tried online calculators - i haven't found one (or dont understand how to) enter in the total run. i know the space is small compared to how big the main staircase is in the house. It must be possible.

And I'd rather not use a ceiling ladder.

First of all, since it sounds like this could be considered "occupied space", you better check your local building codes and/or with your local inspector to see what is allowed. Most codes have specific requirements for stairs, and in some jurisdictions strange things like spiral stair cases may not be allowed or may require specific approval because of their narrow treads.

I'd definitely look to see if there is any way to get more space at all. For example, what is behind the closet? If you can lose a bit of ceiling height there, you could get a bit more room for the staircase. Likewise, is it acceptable to have the stairs coming out into the room at all? This too, will provide a bit more space. Using this calculator, if you can do 10 rises of 8" (this may be steep though), you need 6'8" of total run space.

Depending on the adjoining space, you might also be able to make use of the room under the stairs.

If you can't get any extra space, you might consider a "ladder staircase" (kind of a hybrid of ladders and stairs):

There are some interesting designs for these, including alternating treads:

And some really funky variations if you want to be really creative:


How should I frame a small void in my floor system to support subfloor? After tearing out the old subfloor in my half bathroom (due to water damage) I am replacing it with 3/4 in (2 cm) plywood.  One side overhangs from the last joist about 9 in (22 cm) to the wall, and 11.5 in (29 cm) to the next joist.  I plan to tile the floor with ceramics, so I need to brace that side somehow.

My plan was to attach three or four 11.5-inch 2x4s perpendicular to the joists and screw the plywood into those via 3-inch deck screws.  My father also had a couple ideas:

Cut a couple 4x4s and set them on the concrete below pillar-wise (unfastened), and screw the plywood into them
Set a 2x10 on the concrete parallel to the joists, then screw the plywood into it -- this would require more of that black stuff underneath to raise it up to the other joists' level

If it's not obvious, neither of us are carpenters.  I already have the 2x4s cut, but is my method unsatisfactory?

EDIT: Here are the three ideas in picture form (my idea, then my father's ideas):

None of the ideas that you outlined are really ideal. Probably the best approach would be to cut some pieces of joist sized material (2 x 10s if I read your question properly) to be used as blocking between the open joist and the one down under that wall. These would be cut to match the spacing between those two joists. You can use metal joist hangers to secure them in place. I would space these equivalent to your normal joist spacing.

This picture shows the idea where you would place these.

Another alternative is to use some joist sized material cut to length and just lay it up against the outer joist that is under that wall and simply screw it through the face into that covered joist. It may take several iterations of this to being out the top of these sistered joists so that the top extends beyond the wall surface. This alternative may be easier so as to avoid difficulty with the electrical wire running through that area unless the wire is already below the bottom of the existing joists.


Electric baseboards draw electricity, but produce no heat I recently purchased a house that has been vacant for about 6 months.  I have 4 electric baseboards. When I turn on the circuit breakers for the baseboards, they draw a lot of power (roughly 6kw from checking the meter) but produce no heat.  They don't even get slightly warm to the touch.

How would I go about diagnosing this?

If 6 kW of electricity's being drawn, then a little over 20,000 BTUs of heat are being produced somewhere (6000 watts * 3.41 BTUs per watt). If they're not being produced at your baseboard heater, then they're being produced somewhere else between the breaker and the heater. You could have a mis-wired system that is dumping heat into a wall or something, causing a fire hazard. I would turn off the heat and call a licensed electrician if I were you.


Dumb insulation question I need to install an attic floor in my workshop - currently the rafters are exposed.  I plan to use 3/4 plywood, then run faced insulation, then install a ceiling at a later date as time permits.  As I will tackle this project alone and the insulation will be exposed for an undetermined period of time, I was wondering if faced insulation can be glued to the underside of the attic floor as well as stapling to the 2x4 beams to keep insulation in place. (Roof trusses are engineered to accommodate attic floor, but had to eliminate that piece of the project for cost reasons.   Need to tackle it now as climate control in the winter is problematic).   Advice is welcome, eye rolls not so much.  :-)

Sure, but glueing would be difficult. Most just lap the tabs on the FACED insulation and staple to the bottom of the 2x4’s...or staple to the sides of the 2x4’s.

The goal is to get all the insulation in straight (no puckering) and all edges and ends pushed together with no voids.

The blanket of insulation will expand slowly over time (4-6 hours) and help fill in all the voids. Make sure it doesn’t block the soffit vents.

BTW, wear a breather mask.


What could go wrong if I use my claw hammer as a cross peen hammer? I'm trying to sharpen a scythe blade. I'm supposed to strike the edge to flatten it. I'm supposed to strike it with a cross peen hammer. But I don't have one. Can I use my claw hammer instead with no adverse effect?

If there is a downside, what is it? Is it more likely to damage the scythe blade I'm striking or the hammer? Or will it work just about the same?

Well, first off, because the hammer is utterly the wrong shape, it won't work very well - and you can substitute "at all" for "very well" without being very off the mark, especially since you are evidently new to this and don't understand it much at all.

Peening a scythe properly is a process that takes some tools and some skill. With certain tools, more skill is required - with others, the tool design helps to reduce the level of skill needed. For a novice user with limited hammer skills, a special peening tool which uses a pair of caps that run on a central stake over a small anvil to do the actual peening is a common choice (yes, they do cost money, such are tools.) That reduces the skills you need to have to hitting the cap with a hammer (hard enough but not too hard) while holding the blade flat to the anvil and moving it along as you hammer.

Hammering freehand you need the cross peen hammer to concentrate the force of the blow into a small area so it will actually move metal (that's what "peening" is.) But now you not only have to hold the blade flat on the anvil (do you have one?) but you also need to place those hammer blows accurately at the correct distance from the edge (which the fixture above does for you by design.) A claw hammer's broadly rounded, mostly flat face will not hit the precise area needed (only) and it will move very little metal as the force of the blow will be spread out over the wide face.

And you will need a scythe stone and a holder to keep it wet for getting the blade truly sharp after peening, and keeping it that way as you work. I stone about every 5 minutes (takes 20-30 seconds) while working, and peen daily if working a lot, or when I feel like the scythe has done a days worth of work over several days, or when it's had a few too many run-ins with rocks or the like and/or just seems to need it.


Where to find wallpaper samples online? I want to put a wallpaper in my home office and my kid room, Are there famous websites to see samples online and take some ideas from there? also is it possible to buy them online?

Two major retailers in the US are Home Depot and Lowe's, both of whom carry a wide selection of wallpapers.

Another good place to look would be amazon.com.


What could be causing an orange flame on all appliances? I have an orange flame in all my gas appliances (gas furnace, gas water heater, and gas stove) and cannot seem to determine the cause.

Background

So far, I have had the gas company come out. I had an appliance tech look at our stove, and tomorrow, I am having a guy check it out on the furnace.

When the gas company (XCel energy) checked it out yesterday, they measured the pressure on with appliances running and without. In both situations things measured fine. Our meter was making some noise, so the gas company put in a new one. They also measured Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels and found nothing wrong throughout the house.

Today, I had an appliance tech come check it out. He checked our stove and he said everything checks out fine. He also checked CO levels throughout the house. In any case, his tests revealed no cause for the issue.

Tomorrow, I am having a furnace guy come in, this is the big one, because the orange flame seems to be causing the furnace to short cycle.

My hypothesis

My hunch is that something must be entering the line elsewhere. No gas inside the house makes me think the natural gas lines coming into the house have the problem. However, the gas company says everything is fine.

What I am looking for

Anyway, I am seeking direction on the course of action to take here. From my perspective, I cannot see how all three appliances would have issues that cause an orange flame at the same time. This seems very clear that something is going on with the gas lines, but I am at a loss of who to call to actually fix the core issue.

It is (very) surprising that the gas company (Xcel) says "everything's fine." This document from a different gas company certainly calls out non-blue flames as an issue that needs to be resolved. As does this site. And Xcel themselves.

Happening on all appliances does seem a bit less likely to be "and suddenly the air adjustments on all three went whacky" than a contamination issue - possibly water in the gas line?

I wonder how your furnace tech visit went, and what your neighbor's flames look like.

Editing post-comments: Ultrasonic humidifiers make small water droplets (without evaporating the water first) and then those small droplets evaporate while floating around - if the water contains salts or minerals, any salts or minerals in the water will end up floating around the house as tiny specks when the water evaporates from the tiny droplets. Those, evidently, are what is contaminating your gas flames as they are sucked in along with the air required to burn the gas. Old-style "sponge" dehumdifiers (should) only result in water vapor in the air, as they actually evaporate the water (and this eventually leads to a build-up of scale and salts in the humidifier and its sponge element, as those do not evaporate.)


Suggestions for properly mounting 4' shop light Suggestions for installing two 4 ft LED flush mount shop lights in unfinished basement ceiling perpendicular to floor joists (see pictures)? Specifically, what ceiling box to use and would you mount LED light directly to joists or install something over joists then LED light.

The pictures show the two areas that I will install LED lights. There used to be a hanging fluorescent shop light in first picture. In 2nd picture I am replacing the single chain light. I'll feed both LED lights from a single pole switch I'll install.

Replace that goofy Edison socket with a coverplate for a receptacle.  Now you have a dual receptacle that is switched by the garage light switch.

Hang the lamps by chains.  And then plug their plugs into the receptacle.

It gives you the versatility to move the lights around to suit, and allows easy swap or addition of a fixture.

Flexible cordage, as a replacement for fixed wiring, is only allowed in certain cases -- luminaires are one of them.  It is legal to use plug and socket when the plug is accessible (e.g. not behind a drop ceiling, unless your AHJ authorizes that).


What could be causing my lawn mower to surge? My lawn mower was giving me the worst time tonight. The only way I could keep it running was to pull the choke back and the engine would start again. Finally, after 30 minutes of messing with it, the lawn mower kept on. I just put new gas in it. The gas might have been left outside for awhile.

Any troubleshooting tips appreciated.

http://youtu.be/Iv85hX_4ZLw

Many lawnmowers use a plastic vane under the engine shroud that interacts with air moving off fins on the flywheel to work as a speed control mechanism to open and close the carburetor throttle valve in response to the engine speed changing because of loading changes. Lawnmowers often operate in very dusty environments and the linkages associated with the vane assembly can get all gummed up or even stuffed up with dirt. This can lead to the surging type behavior that you are seeing.

The fix for this is to carefully disassemble part of the engine covering and give the vane mechanism and its linkages a good cleaning and re-lube.

Surging can also be caused by dirt particles entering the innards of the carburetor. Virtually all carburetors are equipped with some type of air filter to keep dirt out but sometimes dirt can get in anyway - especially when removing a dirty filter for replacement/cleaning.

The typical fix for that is a complete carburetor removal, dis-assembly, cleaning and reassembly. It is also necessary to fully clean the area where the carburetor mounts and connects to the engine. Any dirt left there can easily find its way into a nicely cleaned unit and set you back to square one. Note that these small engine carburetors can have many small parts that are easily lost so it is necessary to work in a clean area where parts can be found if they try to get away. It is also possible to take a carburetor to a small engine repair shop for servicing if you are leeiry about tackling it yourself.


How to replace an odd-size (2 1/4" x 1 7/8") downspout elbow? An elbow in one of my downspouts is broken and I want to replace it. But the downspout's measurements are 2 1/4" x 1 7/8" which is different from the standard sizes in USA which are 2" x 3" inches or 3" x 4".

Are there replacement parts available for 2 1/4" x 1 7/8" downspouts, and if so where? I couldn't find anything useful on Google, Home Depot, Amazon, etc. but might not be looking for the correct keywords.  Is there a name for this size that isn't the actual dimensions, like how a wood "2x4" isn't really 2 inches by 4 inches?

If replacement parts aren't available, then how should I replace this odd-size downspout elbow without having to replace the entire downspout?  (The downspout goes up 3 stories so would be a pain to replace-- and only the detachable elbow at the bottom has a problem.) This downspout is in an out-of-the-way corner of our back yard so I don't care about appearance. In other words, it's OK if the fix is kinda ugly as long as it won't leak.

Here's what it looks like now:

The good news is that your down spout is a simple, plain rectangle tube -- no fancy profile rolled into it as is common with most down spouts.

That's good news because it means you can easily have a new part made. If you want to bang it out yourself you can find rolls of pre-painted "aluminum trim coil" in a range of colors at home centers. First find a large sheet of paper or thin cardboard such as a breakfast cereal box. Work out how to make a series of cuts and folds to form the part you need. You'll have to find edges you can bend the sheet around. The jaw of a vise, the corner or edge of a table, a cut piece of wood -- be creative as you search for objects to help with the forming. You may be able to form the aluminum with your hands, but will probably need to strike it with a hard rubber or urethane hammer to get the bends sharp enough.

Or, if you don't want to earn the Down Spout Making merit badge, find a local contractor who does siding, trim, fascia, gutters, etc. They'll have material in stock as well as tools and machinery for forming custom parts like this. They do it all the time. You could bring them the broken elbow, and maybe a section of the down spout, so that they can custom-make a replacement that fits just right.


How to remove scratches on varnished wooden door? Is there any easy way to make scratches disappear from wooden, varnished doors? Doesn't have to be perfect, I just need to make them hard to spot for someone who doesn't know they're there.

There are several finish repair products on the market.  You can get most of them from the usual getting spots.
I've had very positive results with "restor a finish", they sell it in multiple colors so you just need to find the one that most closely matches the wood you are working with.   There are also "fill sticks" that are probably better suited to deeper scratches.  Also "Feed-N-Wax" will make a lot of scratches less visible.


What future-proofing should I include when refurbishing an apartment? I will soon be renovating my apartment, going to the bare bricks (removing the floor, electricity, plumbing). Would you have some advice on what not to miss, from the perspective of cabling and domotics (home automation)?

I may not be able to immediately have a science-fiction-like automated home but I want to make reasonably sure that I will not have to do major works afterwards to be able to.

Things which come to mind are:

Ethernet cabling
power cables to less obvious places like the cupboard where the systems will be stored
home cinema cables
maybe something with the entrance door to install an NFC card reader

Any other ideas?

Although all those things are good, and in fact I always do the first three on your list, the important thing is not actually installing them, but ensuring you run cable ducts.

If you have ducting, then you future proof the apartment - need another cable? just run it through.

So plan as follows:

Decide where you will need Ethernet, power and audio wall plates
Plan your server closet
Identify ducting size to cope with the planned cables plus more as yet unknown ones
Ensure ducts for power cabling are as far away from signal/low voltage cabling ducts as possible
Install cable ducts to all those points
Also install cable ducts to useful positions on walls in other rooms

I typically also leave a pull-wire in each duct just to make life easier if I do need to add something.


Would this entire wall need re-skimming or just where the wardrobe has been removed? I have removed a fitted wardrobe and damaged the plasterboard underneath slightly. The wall next to where the wardrobe was is already skimmed and painted. I'm not going to attempt to skim where the wardrobe was myself, but would like to reduce the cost of a plasterer where possible. Therefore I would like to know the following:

As part of the wall has already been skimmed, would it all need taking down and re-plasterboarding / skimming, or can you skim up to the edge of the existing skim on the wall and get a nice smooth finish? (see image 1)
IF you can, would it save me money to fill in the holes with drywall patches / polyfiller (prob cost about £35) or would a plasterer charge a similar amount to fix the holes? (see image 2)

...can you skim up to the edge of the existing skim on the wall and get a nice smooth finish?

YES- an experienced plasterer, decorator, or painter could make it look nice by repairing just that area.

  ...would it save me money to fill in the holes...?

MAYBE- if you do it correctly you might be able to save the professional some time and materials cost; conversely, if you do it incorrectly he/she might have to tear it out and redo it correctly.

My feeling is that if you were skilled/experienced enough to correctly patch those holes (especially the large area of damage near the floor) then you would be capable of doing the whole job yourself. Since that doesn't seem to be your intent, I think you should let the pro do it all. The additional time and materials needed to repair the holes won't make a huge difference in the total cost of the job.


Are there different tiers (good/better/best) of door hardware? We have a new house (3 yrs old), and have been having problems with the door knobs all coming loose and sliding around. I thought it was something we were doing, but talked to a couple of neighbors, and they are all having similar problems. I figured this was another issue with “builder grade” hardware, but looking at the different manufacturers, I don’t see any sort of tiers. It looks like they mostly differentiate based on style.

Sine I’ve never seen this in any other house I’ve lived in, I assume there are better sets out there, but I’m not sure what to look for.

Any ideas for better hardware?

Yes, there are tiers of lock product.

They are called Grades.  They are denoted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), most famous for defining standard thread sizes, and computer languages such as COBOL and C.

However, in my experience, there are tiers within tiers.

For instance Home Depot will sell you a $60 Kwikset Class II deadbolt with a smile.  I've paid $200 for a Medeco Class II lockset.  These products are not equivalent.  That Medeco has an unbelievably solid feel to it. It's tough.  Honestly I'm surprised there's a tier above that.

(mind you this Medeco accepts "figure 8" exchangeable cores; since we're all up into Primus type "cannot duplicate" keys, and we need that feature.)

One difference is the Kwikset is sold by Home Depot, whereas I got the Medeco at a "Security Solutions" shop.  I'm evading the word "locksmith" because most people think of a locksmith as someone you call in a panic, who shows up in a van, and $150 of the total bill is just for rolling the van. No no, I'm talking about a "trade" retail store (in an industrial park, with a counter you talk to a clerk who gets what you want from the back room). When you walk up, you get locksmith services at perfectly sane prices, including custom keying and all that bench work. This describes a small minority of locksmiths.

The simple fact is, Home Depot will never sell the $200 Medeco, because it won't move.  Random consumers are hypnotized by Home Depot's own low prices, but also by nifty trinkets like the Nest, Ring etc.  The only way they'd pay $200 for a lock-set is if you could unlock it with your phone.


How to determine range of wires that can safety fit into wire nut? I have the following pack of wire nuts:

On the back of the package is information on the types of wire combinations it can be used with:

The range is also specified at https://ecat.eleknet.com/PIM_Docs/Docs/STEP_ASSETS_PDF/13049461.pdf:

How do I interpret these ranges? I can understand if it says min. (2) x #16, max (4) x #16. This means I can have 2 to 4  16 AWG wires in the nut. But when different wire gauges and types are mixed into the range, I'm not sure what to make of it.

You are not wrong.  While Ideal makes great wire nuts, I have to agree those graphs are just junk.  It's not really information that lends itself to a bar graph.
This document is available for US models and gives you the exact info you need:
https://www.idealind.com/content/dam/electrical/assets/WireTermination/WireConnectors/TwistOn/WireNut/UL%20ListedWireCombinations.pdf
Other brands have similar reference materials.  Here is the section for the US equivalent, model 76B:

That's more like it, right?  But it's a lot to put on a label.
The picture in the question is a Canadian version of the wire nut (or would that be a marrette?) and I can't find an equivalent document for their Canadian product numbers.  Ideal's web site was updated a while ago and is half useless.


Sink Tailpiece Doesn't Line Up With New Trap - Need Help Making Connection I am in the process of replacing the bar sink in my office. While I had the sink removed, I decided that it would be a good idea to replace the trap. It was very old. I thought that I would be able to run the tailpiece directly to the trap, but it is off slightly. It seems to be shorter than the old one. I bought 2 traps from Lowe's but neither aligns properly - one has a threaded end, the other does not. I thought that if I used the one with the threaded end, I could connect it directly to the tail piece. What is the best way to get these to align. Should I use 2 90 fittings or something else? I apologize in advance for the questions. I am very new to plumbing, but I feel like it's a skill that I need to learn.

Here are 2 pictures (the pictures show the trap without the threaded end)

You should not have used that type of trap. You should have used an adjustable P-Trap, which gives a whole bunch of horizontal adjustability:

It's probably not too late, you could cut that trap off and glue the 1 1/2" male adapter (included in the trap kit) to your drain pipe stub-out.

Each and every suggestion and direction given by the salesperson at the "big box" hardware store should be met with outward courtesy but inward scepticism. A good plumbing shop would have never sent you home with all those glue fittings.


lights in kitchen have no power my kitchen has 3 lights that are not working. One dining table light a over the sink light and the main kitchen light which were 6 T12 lights replaced with 6 LEDs (t8's)that required no rewiring.  all the wall receptacles have power and are working. Here is what I did so far:
-checked the gfci outlets and none of them were tripped but I pushed reset anyways.
-went outside to my breaker box and none of those were tripped but I also reset them all anyways.
-took all the switch covers off the light switches and tested that they all have no power.
-checked the wire nuts behind the light switch and they're all very secure.
-took the breaker panel off and tested each breaker. all had 123V.

What should I do next?
Im thinking replace all the light switches?

or check all the wall receptacles... I assume all kitchen lights and wall outlets are separate.

any other options out there, please help.
i havnt checked the light bulbs themselves because like all the lights are LED...I slowly upgraded them over a period of like a year. with the last ones being about 4 months ago.

location: Sacramento, California

All the light switches should have power at all times on one screw.  The other screw ahould have power when switched on.   According to your description, they don't.

That means whatever is feeding the light switches is not doing so.  If you have receptacles which are also broken, keep following the chain toward source.  You may be a broken GFCI or the GFCI itself may not be getting power.

It may be a problem with the neutral.

It is almost assuredly one single problem.   Double failures are very unusual.

If necessary, undo wire nuts and measure voltage on each wire.


How can I unscrew this protected screw? I think this was used to secure a weapon in the property I bought. It is like a flat drive, but only clockwise. One of four fixing was with a normal screw, which I removed.

These are security screws and are designed to not be removed.

Common methods are:

Drill the screw head out
Cut a new slot
Use extractor tools (these are of questionable utility)
Grasp the sides of the head (hard, it was designed to resist this kind of removal)
Get behind the screw and cut it off. This is a good option if you're going to tear out the wood on the wall anyway.

In your case, could you consider leaving it in place? Even if you do not have the small arms it was originally designed to secure, having a solid, secure mounting point can secure things like valuables, bikes, strongboxes, or safes.


What is the best way to remove hair from carpets? We do have a vacuum cleaner, but unfortunately that does not do a good job.

I do not mind purchasing a new one, but I am going to be here only for the next 3 - 6 months and I would rather not buy one unless absolutely necessary.

I found the following while searching if someone had already answered

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/removing-hair-carpet-48919.html

It does a partially better job than the vacuum, but does not remove most of them.

Any suggestions?

For problem areas, I tape together a square of masking tape about a foot (0.3 meters) on a side, and press that onto the carpet after a stiff brushing. The sticky will pull the hair right out. It'd be a lot of work for large areas though.


Will a furnace drawing combustion air from my basement improve circulation throughout the house? We need to replace our propane furnace.  One contractor said he needs to replace our existing 2 inch external PVC pipe with a new 3 inch one (requiring drywall work).  Another says they can use a non-direct vent setup using inside air.  I've read other posts about pros and cons but one thing that wasn't mentioned is whether the non-direct will suck all the warm air from upstairs down into the basement.  My house is a mix of 100+ year old and modern and the heating is very uneven from room to room.  Will non-direct make that better or worse?

While obviously some amount of air will be sucked up for combustion, it is not significant in terms of effecting the conditioned space temperature.  Although, I must point out that it seems irrelevant because you only have two choices for obtaining combustion supply air, direct or non-direct.


Can I exchange a chimney flue for a larger diameter flue? Thank you for the advice in advance.
I have a 1 1/2 story home with a central chimney that has two flues installed.  The main level has a gas log fireplace and the other flue runs to the basement where there are concrete footings from floor to ceiling underneath the main level fireplace to support the weight of the stone and hearth above.  The flue that runs to the basement is a 5" inner diameter with an air-cooled outer diameter of 7".  I am assuming this runs to the top of the chimney 35' up.  I was hoping to install a wood-burning fireplace in the basement; however, it looks like this will require an 8" insulated flue at the least and more likely a 10" ID insulated flue with the size of fireplace we would like to use.

My question is - how hard is it to exchange the 5" ID for a 10" ID insulated flue?  It appears that the opening in the chimney is at least 12" for this flue.  Who would be best to do the job if I need help?  thanks again

first thing to understand is gas appliances use different materials and protocols than wood burning appliances.  they are not interchangeable.

if you have a preexisting ceramic flue or stone flue thats large enough for the new liner, then it should be pretty simple.  if its going into a ceramic or stone flue, it doesnt need to be double walled in the chimney, just if it passes out into the room (as a lateral or vertical connector).  its pretty common here in ontario to use 8in or 10in flexible stainless flue liner pipe to do these type of retrofits. however, it could be smaller for a smaller unit.  some zero clearance units have exhausts of 6in.

if you have to install a new larger flue, it will be very costly and invasive as it will essentially mean replacing the entire chimney column from the basement flue port up to the roof.

i would start with calling a licensed fireplace installer to come have a look.


Can epoxy artistically fill gaps in old wood floors? I have a small room with a 90-year-old hardwood floor.  I love the way that the old wood looks, but the large gaps between the boards are inconvenient.  Since it's a small area, I can go with a labor-intensive method of restoration, so I'm thinking of going for a kintsugi look with the gaps filled in but not hidden.  Would epoxy (dyed black) work as a filler material?  (As described here.)  Or is the wear and expansion/contraction of the floor too much for it?

Edit: What I have in mind is something like this.

In a previous life around 1976 we moved an 80 year old chapel with hardwood floors to a new site.  Between the age, inexpensive initial hardwood, and the move there were many wide cracks in the floor.

The contractor (who built Fort Edmonton) had us mix fine sawdust (from sanding the floor -- so the sawdust was already part varnish) with varnish and stuff the cracks.  Gave it a week to dry.  I don't think the water based varnishes were around yet.  A second coat on the really wide cracks where shrinkage showed, another week.  Then the finish sanding on the floor and several coats of varnish everywhere.  The results are quite attractive, and still look good today.

Given what I've heard about working with epoxy grout, I'd be reluctant to use it without first watching someone do a project with it.  Your situation isn't grout, but the overall purpose is the same, and you have variable width cracks.


Bedrooms aren't being heated as well after new furnace When my bedroom doors are closed the room is cold. We replaced our furnace about 5-10 years ago and the repair person said we didn't need as big a unit as we had before and every since then it feels cold in the bedrooms and sometimes in the living room.  It's a small 900 sq foot rancher. What should I do?

All of the air that blows out of your vents to heat or cool a room has to go somewhere.  That somewhere is the large air return vent.  When you close the door to a room, and there's not much of a gap under the door, the air blowing from the vents doesn't have any where to go (you just sealed the air's access to the return vent which is probably in a hallway or large common room), so the result is more air coming out of vents in other, non-closed-up rooms, and very little air coming out in the closed room.

The easiest solution is to not close the door all the way.  If you really need the door closed, you can trim the bottom of the door to give a larger gap, or put a vent in the door itself.


Removing Outdoor Lights I have three outdoor lights (2 porch and 1 sodium bulb) that are controlled by one switch inside.

The sodium bulb light fixture (it is large and boxy) has been removed and there are currently two wires sticking out of the junction box.

The two other lights still function from the switch.

How do I deal with the exposed wires / junction box? Do I just cap the wire ends, shove them back in the box and stucco over?

Tx.

Do I just cap the wire ends, shove them back in the box ...

Yes

Before doing any work, check the light turns on OK, then go to the main panel and turn off that circuit. Go to the light and verify power is off by toggling the switch and checking the light remains off. After removing the light fixture, check the wiring is not live, use a non-contact tester if you have one but double check with a Cat-II voltmeter/tester. If in doubt wear electricians gloves and stand on an electricians fibreglass stepladder.

Before undoing any wire connections, write down which wires are connected where. Taking a photo can be useful. If necessary, mark multiple wires which are connected together at the same connection point - with tape a marker or something similar.

Keep the wires separate and use wirenuts (or similar approved insulating arrangement) to prevent the metal of the wires touching other wires or any nearby metal parts (box, coverplate etc)

You should only tie wires together if you are certain they were tied together before in connections for the working light.

Generally you don't see black connected to white (which would normally blow a fuse or trip a breaker) though there are exceptions.

It is always safe to completely isolate all unused wires. If you have only two wires (excluding any obvious ground wires) keep them separate regardless of color.

  and stucco over?

No, the wiring needs to remain accessible in most jurisdictions. You could screw on a coverplate.

  Bell blank covers are designed to provide weatherproof protection when a box is being used for junction. Blank covers have a flat face profile. Cover includes a gasket, mounting hardware and installation instruction.

These things seem to be well standardised, based on diameter (e.g. 4") but it may be prudent to measure the distance between screwholes in the box (hole centre to hole centre) before buying a coverplate.


How do I install a GFCI receptacle to replace an old non-GFCI receptacle in a switch controlled outlet? I wish to replace an old non-GFCI receptacle with the new GFCI receptacle in a switch controlled outlet in my bedroom. The photo shows the bare ground wire connected to the ground screw, the two white neutral wires "backstabbed" into the neutral wire slots, and with the two black hot wires pigtailed together. Also there is a red wire which only occurs on a switch controlled outlet, which is backstabbed into one of the hot wire slots. So which wire goes where on the GFCI? The Leviton instructions that came with the new GFCI receptacle declare that if there are more than two wires inside each of the two  Romex cables (four total, excluding the ground wires), to consult an electrician instead.

If the box is being fed by a three wire cable (black, red, white, ground), and a two wire cable is going from the box to other outlets.  Here's what you have to do...

Leave the black wires alone.
Connect the white wires together with a short bit of scrap wire, in a twist-on wire connector.
Connect the other end of the short bit of scrap wire (pigtail) to the neutral LINE terminal on the GFCI.
Connect the red wire to the hot LINE terminal on the GFCI.
Connect all the ground wires and create a pigtail to the GFCI and the box if it's metal.

NOTES:

This will not provide GFCI protection to any down stream devices (since there are none).
Make sure the GFCI you have, does not require you to reset it whenever it loses power (some do, and that will be a pain in the butt).


How can I wire this replacement ceiling fan? I'm trying to install a new ceiling fan with a remote. The old ceiling fan had this for wiring:

black to green,
red to white
white to black & blue.

The new fan has black, white and green. The combinations I've tried have not produced any function at all. How should I connect the wires?

Is there a switch in the room, and does the current ceiling fan have both a light and a fan?

The easiest way I've found to do this is to get a multimeter($5) and use it to determine which wire is hot (in the US, this is usually the black one).  The next challenge is to determine which wire (if any) is switched), and you do that by checking each wire with the switch on and off.

Chances are, your new ceiling fan has hot (black), neutral (white), and ground (green).
Typically, you would hook it up black -> black, white ->white, and green to either green or to a green grounding screw in the junction box, and you would cap (i.e. put a wire nut on) the switched wire.


What is the best insulation keep a garage with a metal roof cool? I have a wooden garage with a metal roof.  I want to make it as cool as possible on the inside. I will have the windows and door open most of the time. I don't really want to use fiberglass bats. I've been considering spray in foam insulation. Which would be the better choice, open or closed cell? I've heard one of these types attracts a lot of dirt. Are there other drawbacks, or options available? I just want to insulate under the metal roof, and I don't intend to insulate the walls. I live in deep, east Texas forest, where it is hot and humid in the summer and not that cold in the winter.

If it is a matter of keeping  cool and not heat in.  I  would suggest  ventilation in an area above a ceiling.  Install a ceiling that has a cavity  that you can blow air into and out of on each end.  This will circulate the hot air out and cooler air in being heat rising and cool air naturally sinks.


Replacing a dimmer switch with regular Replacing a dimmer switch that is 1.)  broken 2.) not only dims the lights but also the fan speed. There are two switches. One I do not know what it operates but has a jumper wire from the dimmer to the bottom screw, a black wire on the top screw (same side), a red wire on the left side and nothing connected to the green screw. The dimmer has three wires coming out of it. Black #1.) is spliced into the red and black wire coming from the wall; Black #2.) is spliced into the jumper wire to the mystery switch; Green spliced into bare from the wall. I purchased a three screw switch: 2 golden screws on the right and then a green screw on the left. Where do I put each wire? Black on the top screw with a jumper running to the other switch, red on the bottom, and bare to green screw?

The same two wires that connect to the dimmer connect to the new switch. Ground is extra, but for switching purposes, the two wires connected to the dimmer connect to the switch. Polarity, or which is which don't matter.


I need help regarding 3 way wiring and receptacle testers I am wiring 2 3 way switches with 2 separate receptacle in the middle of the switches. Everything is working correctly but my receptacle tester says open neutral. Does a receptacle tester get thrown off by 3 way switches somehow? I've attached a diagram that I'm following (I'm using receptacles not lights)

Update:

In this image, I have made some editing highlighted by the yellow circles, can anyone tell me if this would be correct following @Harper 's suggestions??

Your receptacle tester definitely should work normally. Nothing about a 3-way makes it weird, unless you mess up, which is very easy to do with 3-ways.

Why don't your receptacles work?  Red black and white spaghetti - who can tell anything in all that schtuff?

They did the minimum legally required: they taped the white wires to indicate not neutral.  Why on earth stop there? Let's get some blue and orange tape, and tape-wrap those wires for what they actually do. And let's see if it doesn't make a lot more sense.

Pretty straightforward. Any wires still black are definitely always-hot.
Any wire still white is neutral.
Blues are messengers - they both do exactly the same thing, and you're free to swap them anywhere along here, so, no need to distinguish one from the other.
Orange is switched hot intended for the bulbs (or you say receptacles? hmm.)

My guess is, you got the black red white spaghetti all mixed up and grabbed the wrong wire.  Label the wires properly and I bet it falls into place.

By the way, using two cables like that, C3 and C4, is illegal because you have imbalanced currents on the wires. The power goes out on C3, but comes back on C4. This will induce eddy current heating on any part, box entry, staple or nail between them.  The right thing is to use /4 or /2/2 cable, which gives you 4 in one cable.  ----- Or run /3 and /2: the /2 would connect the two lamps to each other, connecting switched-hot and neutral.  C3 would be both messengers and switched hot - out on the messengers, back on the switched-hot, balanced. C4 would be simply a "spur line" to the other lamp, out on orange back on white, again balanced.   C4 could even be a "tee" to another location.


What is the maximum weight loading from a drywall screw stud? what sort of weight can I hang off a drywall screw stud?

First there is no easy way to answer the question.  It is a physics question that requires:

length of area of screw inserted into framing
the ability of framing to hold screw (this would involve a very complex set of equations)
angle of the screw
materials and manufacturing process of the screw (even with drywall screws there is a spectrum of quality)
temperature (not a huge factor but still)
the verticality of the load
time (the ability to hold an object will dissipate as screw becomes loose when loads get to more than 1/3 to 1/2 of its capacity)

Here are some numbers for wood screws into 2x4 framing.

Just to give a round number I would be comfortable saying 100lbs for a drywall screw drilled 1.5 inches into a premium southern pine 2x4.  Just into drywall... 2lbs.


Is this mold or some other substance? My bath tub side panel was not sealed and it seems water has been splashing in causing some damage.
I always thought mold would have to smell musky however the damage doesnt smell musky.  I previously had a can of drink turn into an algae like substance(see can drink in pic).  The damage smells more like that.  Incidentally could it be that it was spores from the bathroom panel that went into the drink can and rapidly turned it into the subtance.
Anyways its the substance is different colours and look like the result of water damage.  Is this mold or is it something else? What are the black, green and other bits?

The damage to the panel does indeed look like mold and mildew damage. It may not always smell musty, especially if it is thoroughly dry right now, so you can't always go by that.
The mold in your drink can is most likely not related. Mold spores are around us all the time, looking for food. Sugary drinks are good food for them...


What can cause a never-frozen indoor copper drain pipe to crack? The 1-1/2" copper waste pipe than runs from our kitchen just up and cracked two days ago along its length, and for no apparent reason.

The crack is in a section of pipe that runs vertically through the kitchen floor down into the basement, where it connects to an angled length of pipe (two 45-degree elbows) and then a section of pipe that connects to cast iron sewer pipe (lead and oakum seal).

I would venture to say that this cracked pipe is from the 1970s (when former owners remodeled the kitchen) and that the section of copper pipe (which didn't crack) going into the cast iron hub dates from around 1948-49, when the house was built.

Could the crack have been  the result of twisting forces when the pipe connection was made to the garbage disposal beneath the sink? Or does copper waste pipe just eventually give out, perhaps because of corrosion over a period of 50 years?

I would inspect the entire property for more such pipe and replace any that was found.  That's almost certainly a manufacturing defect and likely to be pending failure wherever that batch of pipe was used.

That is not a natural crack, nor a corrosion crack, it's too straight and uniform.

Typical "natural" cracks look like:

Possible ways it could have formed:

There was a defect/contamination in the extrusion die for that batch of pipe, propagating weakness down the length of pipe as it was extruded.
The pipe was rolled rather than extruded and then poorly joined (trying to make it look seamless).
Something/someone else uniformly scored the length of the pipe before it was installed.

Then after some years of thermal cycles and possibly mild corrosion, a crack formed and rapidly propagated along the rest of the weak line.


Hormann garage door opener automation with Loxone I own a Hörmann Supramatic 3 garage door opener and in my house I've also set up Loxone home automation system, so I decided to connect the opener to the automation system, so I can control the garage door remotely.

For that to work I needed to buy a UAP (universal adapter, meant for uses like these) and connect it to my Loxone miniserver.

I found this guide, which made the setup easier and I've setup everything accordingly.

The status (fully closed, fully open, mid drive) works perfectly fine, however I am having issues with the motion commands (move up, move down, stop), as they only work sometimes and in some directions - which is most likely due to me wiring it up incorrectly (however the guide linked above is not very specific about the wiring etc).

Currently I use the Loxone Relay Extension (basically classic relays) through which I wired a cable on which I run 24V DC if the relay is on.

On the UAP it connects to input 10, 17, 15 and 23 where 10 + 17 is wired to one relay and 15 + 23 to another. I am an electronics amateur and can't figure out based on the schematic below if that is correct?

Currently I send a 0.5 impulse through when you press open/close in the home automation system - as that's similar to how the garage door remote control works, but not sure this is correct.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

According to the Guide you posted

The UAP enables you to

control the light of the supramatic
open the garage door
close the garage door
stop the garage door
check whether the door is totally closed or totally open, light status?

That tells me that it appears your UAP will not allow for the individual movements that you are looking to achieve.
The only things I get from what is stated is that if you press to open - you press the button again to stop it (not a true move up move down motion).

That being said you might be able to program a button to activate open when pressed and to also activate the same function on release.

Looking at the other link for the Hormann website using translation - it looks like they indicate it can do a partial open : "for controlling the partial opening and the drive lighting"

I do not see any manual on their site for this unit.

I see one for your supramatic (seems a bit over complicated for a Garage Door) - however reading the instructions for the ventilation position You might find what you need here. http://www.hormann.co.uk/fileadmin/_country/hoermann.uk/dok/SupraMatic_Series_3.pdf

6.1.13
Menu 43: Changing the
ventilation position
▶
See Figure
28
The partial opening position (ventilation
position) depends on the door type and
is pre-set at the factory.
Sectional door:
Approx. 260 mm slide
travel before the
Close
end-of-travel position.
Minimum
height
Approx. 120 mm slide
travel before each
end-of-travel position.
The partial opening position is triggered
using the 3rd radio channel (menu 13),
an external receiver, the additional print
UAP 1 or an impulse at terminals 20 / 23.
To change the partial opening
position:
1.
Move the door into the desired
position with the buttons
 and
,
via the taught-in radio code
impulse
or an external control element with
impulse function.
2.
Select menu
43
.
3.
Press the
PRG
 button until the
decimal point next to the menu
number is illuminated.
The changed partial opening position
is saved.
If the selected height is too low, a 2-digit
number starting with
1
 will appear with
a flashing decimal point (see section 17)


LED ceiling fixture certain diodes blinking My ceiling fixture has all of a sudden stopped working properly. Half the diodes are dark and the others are blinking. Oddly, the same exact ones on each strip work and don't work. I have included a picture to show which ones are blinking and which ones don't work. I am wondering if it is something that I can fix? Maybe replace that driver? And if so, is there a good guide online to walk me through that process? Thanks in advance.

I am wondering if it is something that I can fix?

See fixing a strobing LED driver ;-)

  Maybe replace that driver?

That will be easier. The main characteristics are a close match to the the constant-current rating - 500 mA and a voltage range that wholly encompasses the voltage range - 42 to 48 volts.

Before doing that, you can carefully measure the voltage across each of the LEDs or disconnect the LED panels from the fixture and test the LEDs individually in situ.


Zoned thermostat in every bedroom I am getting a new AC and coils new use old one died

This is for second floor where we have 4 bedrooms

Question

Is it possible to have thermostat in every bedroom
Is it allowed under code ?
What components are required to make it happen
My contractor is also researching as he hasn't done but I would also like to understand the process too

This is easily achieved with a mini-split unit for each room - that is also usually the most energy-efficent approach.

There are split systems with a single outside unit feeding up to 4 separate inside units (perhaps more, but that's the most I've noticed) but they have worse efficiency numbers than the one-head, one outside unit systems.

And, of course, a window unit in each room also achieves the same end, but less efficiently and with a somewhat cruder look (and without heating, normally.)

While you can set up zones via dampers in ducts from a central unit, the central unit will be operating inefficiently most of the time since it has to be sized for the entire house load, but would often be cooling a much smaller load.


Is it OK to strip a wire in the middle for attaching a fixture? When swapping out a closet light fixture this morning, I found that they had attached it by stripping a small section of each of the black and white wires and bending them around the appropriate screw. The wires then continued another 2-3 inches to the wire nut for connecting to other circuits.

Now, I've removed this mostly because the way the screws were on my new fixture made it a serious PITA to do it again, but I'm wondering if it was ever OK or not.

I removed it by cutting the wire at the strip point, adding that to the bundle in the wire nut, and adding a 2-inch piece of wire appropriately stripped from the wire nut to the fixture. And I did twist the wire bundle before screwing on the wire nut.

The house was built around 1967 or so, if that helps, and wire is copper.

I believe at one time this was an accepted practice. I found it in my house which was built in 1960. I know I have been in the elctrical field for 25 years and have never seen anyone do it, so I would say its not being used anymore. I don't think it is a hazard, but if you come across it while performing upgrades I would replace it with a standard wire nut connection like you did.


How do I wire multiple switches for my bathroom lights and fan? I am redoing a bathroom and onto my wiring. I am installing (4) recessed lights, (1) fan, and three switches.

I want one switch to control (2) recessed lights, the next switch to control the other (2) recessed lights, and the third switch to control the fan.

I currently have one wire coming up from the main breaker box (hot,common, ground) and would ideally hit the switch first before I went into the attic.

What is the best way to wire this type of setup? I have only done basic wiring (one fixture/one switch) and wanted to get some advice.

** Side note (4" and 5" recessed lights, IC rated, normal line voltage, and the fan draws 12 watts).*

[Update from OP]

A diagram would be absolutely great! Unfortunately I really need this broken down to me dummy style.

I am definitely never going to be an artist, but here is a quick drawing. Just note one thing, I can put the fan outlet on the same side as the light 2 gang box.

If I understand your layout, you could wire it like this:

Chaining to all four lights like this requires the use of 12/3 cable for the first two sections, but if you want to follow Tester101's suggestion and add the extra conductor to the fan circuit for possible future use, you're going to buy some 12/3 anyway.

EDIT: Carl Witthoft is correct, the bathroom should be protected by a GFCI. I have altered my diagram to show a GFCI outlet with downstream protection.


Minimizing risk of structual damage when hanging heavy bag from ceiling using commercially-available mounting system I would like to mount a 100 lb heavy bag using a system detailed in the attached picture (FirstLaw Fitness Shock Mount). The system is designed to be mounted between and directly to 2 joists that are 16" on center with included lag bolts. My garage ceiling is covered with drywall with a bedroom above. I assume (hope) that the gas strut on the mounting plate will somewhat help with noise and vibration (no impact on load path), but my largest concern is mitigating unsafe loading conditions on the ceiling. I saw an earlier post where a structural engineer suggested not attaching the mount directly to the joist. Was this to provide mitigation for vibration/noise?

Can anyone provide a "safer" installation idea or are the instructions adequate? Based on an earlier answer, could I further distribute the load if I attached a 2x6 or 2x4 on the ceiling so that it runs under the floor joist for a couple of feet, do the same to the next joist over and then attach the mount perpendicular to and on the 2x6's? If this is acceptable, what size and length of lag bolts would be required since they would need to go through the 2x6 and into the joist? When attaching the mount to the 2x6's, would the lag bolts also need to go into the joist? And finally, if this idea provides for better load distribution/safer install, is there concern that it does require more holes being drilled into the joist?

If anyone has a better/easier/safer idea, I would be most interested. A diagram with dimensions would be great.

I wouldn't worry about doing structural damage to your joists with this mounting hardware.  Realistically the 100 pound heavy bag won't generate any more wear and tear on the joists than a 100 pound kid upstairs jumping rope would.  The shock absorber will even out some of the peaks and valleys of the dynamic loads.

If you really want to spread the load to more joists, sure you could attach boards to spread the load to more joists.  I don't think it's necessary.

I would probably use 2-1/2" x 1/4" lag screws with full depth 1/8" pilot holes to mount this - nothing larger, possibly something smaller.  That won't appreciably weaken the joists.

The most important thing is to locate the joists accurately and hit them as close to dead center as possible.


How to replace existing ethernet wiring in the house? My house was built in 2007 with ethernet wiring in all the rooms upstairs and downstairs connected to a central fiber optic switch. It looks like they used low grade wiring and I get constant disconnects. How do I replace all the wiring with high grade copper Cat 6 wiring? Will I run into issues if I use the higher quality but thicker Cat 6 wiring?

Rip the walls open. Unless someone had the sense (they almost certainly did not) to run the network cables in conduit, that's generally the only practical method to replace wires thoughout a house. It's messy and tedious and involves a lot of cleanup.

Might be a lot less hassle to check for connector issues first - a 2007 house would almost certainly be using Cat5e (you can check the writing on the outside of the cable jacket if you have a few feet exposed anywhere), and Cat5e is gigabit cable - Cat6 has no practical advantage over it for Gigabit ethernet, which was designed to run on Cat5e cabling. Sure, it's higher frequency rated - but actual Gigabit equipment does not run at those higher frequencies, so that's pointless. Pure sales gimmick.

[You'll naturally find many websites trying to convince you that Cat 6 is a magical secret sauce - Cat 6 is an orphan - it was supposed to run 10 Gig, but it does not - Cat6A does over short distances - so the cable companies were left with this cable they had gotten set up to make, and they whipped their sales forces to sell it. I personally have over 1/2 mile of Cat5e running gigabit on switches that report error rates, and I see NO application for Cat 6 - period.]

Disconnects are almost always bad connectors. Bad wiring either never connects (it's broken, or mice chewed through it) or it connects at a lower-than-rated speed (it was installed poorly and became derated.) Low-quality and/or poorly installed jacks and plugs are a far more common cause of most problems, and especially intermittent connections.

Treating it like a new install, rather than "replacing the wires" you could abandon them in place and run wire though the basement, then drill up into the first floor walls, aiming for the service boxes,  make one run to the attic (either by ripping open walls that are easily repaired or scheduled for a repaint anyway (or in desperate cases go outside the house - or look for a space to run with the plumbing stack) and down through the tops of walls aiming for service boxes on the second floor. Slightly less mess.

But I'd suggest concentrating on the connectors first, and possibly renting a network cable analyzer or hiring someone who owns one and knows how to run it, as being a lot more likely to solve your problem without making a mess of your house. Depending on exactly what your switch is, you might find that it has a built-in cable test function and/or error reporting - fiber optic switches circa 2007 were not the bottom of the line, in most cases.


What is this tool with a notch at the end of a shaft? It’s made of a single piece of steel or a steel alloy, has a handle and shaft with a notch at the end of the shaft. I tried a google search and even a google image search using the photo below but couldn’t find it.
It is 5.5 inches (14cm) long.
What is this tool called and what is it used for?

It could be used for any of the following, depending on size:

A Schrader valve core tool, used for automotive tires (see examples)
A wing-nut tool, useful in tight places or to apply more force
A wire-wrap tool, if there is a recess at the end of the shaft
A tool for hand-bending metal contacts or light wire


Can I use a siphon as a manual pump? I am looking for an easy way to pump water uphill out of a barrel. Feel free to suggest other methods, but in particular I am wondering about the following:
Can I use a siphon like this as a manual water pump?
The product description at this link says I can use it or air; would it be practical to use for water?

You cannot siphon water uphill. If two reservoirs A and B are connected by a siphon hose, water will flow from the reservoir whose surface is higher to the one whose surface is lower.


Is gravel necessary for post hole drainage in sandy Florida soil? I am installing 6’ vinyl privacy fence in FLORIDA.
I would like to think the sandy soil would drain well enough. The labor and cost of digging deeper holes and buying and delivering gravel doesn’t seem worth it.
Do I really need to add 6” of gravel to the bottom of the post holes for drainage?

You may not need to concern yourself with the gravel if sand is present at the bottom of the hole. It will drain. I imagine the reason for drainage is that if water got into the hollow post and froze, would ruin the post. You may not have a freezing problem there in Florida.

What I would recommend is adding a brick or something else like that so the post bears on that instead of sand. The sand may give way and allow the posts to settle more than you want over time.

Do give consideration for the high winds mentioned in an earlier comment.


Is there anything that forbids an Article 409 industrial control panel within a dwelling unit? Can an "industrial control panel", complying with NEC Article 409 and constructed with UL 508 listed devices, be used to control loads in a dwelling unit/residential occupancy? It would rely on the fault protection of the upstream circuit instead of having breakers inside it (this is allowed for an Article 409 panel) and be located indoors, within a NEMA 1 enclosure with a dead front.

In my reading of Article 409 and the scope of UL 508 I don't see anything that actually requires or prohibits a control panel's installation by occupancy.
The word "Industrial" is a misnomer in my opinion since many commercial spaces (and probably more than a few residences) have devices that would fit the definition of an "Industrial Control Panel". (This may be a good place for a suggested change to the Code.)
Here is the definition from Article 409.2:

Industrial Control Panel. An assembly of two or more components consisting of one of the following:
(1) Power circuit components only, such as motor controllers, overload relays, fused disconnect switches, and circuit breakers
(2) Control circuit components only, such as pushbuttons, pilot lights, selector switches, timers, switches, control relays
(3) A combination of power and control circuit components
These components, with associated wiring and terminals, are mounted on or contained within an enclosure or mounted on a subpanel. The industrial control panel does not include the controlled equipment.

So, if I were to install a box with a timer and a relay to control a recirculation pump for my water heater I have just installed an "Industrial Control Panel".
The informational note in Article 409 that refers to UL 508 is not enforceable code so the panel does not have to be listed by UL or anyone else. The Code just suggests this as a source of information when considering the installation of such a panel. The industry practice of field building these panels with separate components is decades old and will continue for years to come.
If someone wants to take one of these prebuilt panels home and re-purpose it for some other task then there is nothing in the Code that prohibits that.


How would you repair this copper drain pipe, and how much pipe would you replace? There is a small  crack in this drain pipe, and it's so thin there that I can bend it with my finger.  The section that's palpably weak is no more than an inch long.  The crack is exactly where the drop of water is in the top picture (just left of the Y, on the bottom of the pipe).

This section is hidden behind a finished wall in the basement.  It runs into an unfinished area soon after and is visible from there too.  There's about 30 feet of pipe in the unfinished area that is all fine on visual inspection and nowhere that I pushed on moves like the little bit where the crack is.

There is roughly 8 more feet behind the wall before it exits the basement to the street.  I'm obviously not thrilled about taking out the entire wall to the room to replace pipe if it's in good shape like the sections in the unfinished area.  Is there a chance the section that's leaking has seen increased wear because of the Y junction just before it?  If so, it seems reasonable to repair it and leave the rest as is.  Is that a good call or should I replace more than that?

What is a good way to patch this section given that I don't have much space for access without ripping out studs in the wall in front of it?  The piece of wood above the pipe is a support for the stud that drywall is attached to in the room.

That's a bad spot to have a leak. That could have been caused by too much heat from a torch or excess acid flux. You might be able to cut the 1 1/4" pipe on the other side of the support and heat the joint going into the "y" and remove the piece of pipe. Then clean out all the old solder by heating up the pipe and wiping out solder. Use emery paper to clean the surface down to the copper. Get a new piece of pipe and a repair coupling. Slide the repair coupling on the old pipe after fluxing and then slide the pipe into the "Y" after applying the flux. Flux the new pipe and slide the repair coupling into place. Now sweat the "Y" and the repair coupling. You should be good to go.


How can I touch up a marred furniture paint job? I recently repainted some night stands using benjamin moore advanced paint. They look great, except that I noticed some debris on the top and removed it with tweezers. I attempted to smooth over it with a brush, but the paint had already started to dry. So, there's a slight mar to my finish in a few places. Can I lightly sand that area, and just put a very light coat on top? Or, am I stuck with a light sand and repainting the entire top?

You didn't say how large the entire top was. Over brush snagging looks terrible, unfortunately. If you really want a smooth consistant finish, don't attempt to just touch up the flaw areas. I would sand the top again, making sure the snags are very smooth, then put a thin coat on the entire top. Dust control is the key to doing furniture. If there is minor dust on the finish, leave it alone until the piece is cured completely. You can then buff if with a polish compound or ultra fine automotive finishing paper that won't scratch the gloss, but will remove minor dust flaws.


Kitchen Outlet Series Not Working In my kitchen there are several outlets that are not working, including a GFCI outlet which is not able to be reset. I have checked the breaker and it had not been flipped, I reset the kitchen outlet breaker regardless and there was no change.

I contacted an electrician and after a great deal of search, including checking all the outlets in the series, he pulled the individual breaker out and discovered that there had been a loose wire, when it was reseated the outlets worked again. About a day later they stopped working and he returned. Unfortunately I was not able to be there for the second attempt so I have second hand knowledge of what he did, which was look at and adjust the wiring on the wall that the GFCI outlet sits. The outlets worked and he left. About an hour later they went out again.

Neither time had any sort of load outside of a few appliances plugged in. Does anyone have an explanation as to what may cause this and if so what to do.

Thank you.

As I understand your description:

The GFCI protection device is in one location in the kitchen
The circuit breaker in the main panel does NOT have GFCI protection built in (if it does then things are a bit more complicated having double-protection)

Three possibilities:

Bad Appliance

Before doing anything else, disconnect EVERYTHING from all of the affected kitchen outlets. If you can then reset the GFCI and the outlets function then you have a faulty appliance - plug each appliance back in until you find the problem. It is quite possible that there is an intermittent ground fault so that things could work for a while and then stop working. But in the end, if you have a faulty appliance then either fix it or throw it away.

Replacing the GFCI and troubleshooting other outlets should be done with the circuit breaker turned off for safety:

Bad wiring or outlet on "load" of GFCI outlet

All the other affected outlets should be connected to the load side of the GFCI outlet. To determine whether the problem is in the GFCI device or one of the other outlets, disconnect the wires from the load screws. If the GFCI can be reset and the outlet works then you know the problem is on the load side. If that is the case then you need to reconnect the load wires and check the wires to each outlet one at a time until you find the culprit. One thing to watch for is back-stab connections - if you find any then switch to using the screw terminals as they are more reliable. Loop connections are OK if installed properly - tightened well, correct amount of insulation removed, but pigtail connections (which require a little more work) are better.

If a new GFCI does not work - or if you feel like checking before installing a new GFCI: Check the wiring going in to the line side of the GFCI to see if it is live. The safest way to do this is with a non-contact tester. If the wiring is not live and the breaker in the main panel has not tripped then you have a wiring problem somewhere in between the breaker and the GFCI.

Bad GFCI device

The outlet with the GFCI device may simply be going bad. That can happen. It is fairly straightforward to replace one, and that is often the simplest way to diagnose the problem. If the problem goes away with a new GFCI outlet then either the old one was bad or the wiring into the old one (which should have been checked by the electrician) was bad.


How to Deactivate Baseboard Heaters on Active Circuit My home has a circuit for several electric baseboard heaters.

I removed two of the baseboard heaters because I got a new gas stove for heating. I also removed the thermostat connected to these baseboard heaters. All of the resulting exposed hot and neutral wire ends were trimmed and tightly capped with twist-on wire caps as shown:

I have the circuit turned off at the breaker panel but in the bathroom, a separate small heater with its own thermostat is on the same circuit. I would like to keep that one working.

My question is: what is the best way to deal with the existing wires so ultimately the bathroom heater can stay working also?

There doesn't appear to be an electrical junction box in there so no, it's not safe. You will need to add junction boxes and use appropriate connectors for the cables into the boxes and then cover with cover plates. The boxes will have to remain accessible.

Or You can work backwards from here and find the connection points for these cables and disconnect the ones not being used. Hopefully the bathroom is the first heater on the circuit and at that point, you can disconnect the rest of the wires. If not, then you'll need to add junction boxes like above.


How can I extend a circuit so I can plug in my under cabinet lighting? I am replacing halogen under cabinet puck lighting to LED.  The old system was hardwired right into a switch with a power source that was starting to make noise so I thought I would replace the whole system with LED lights. The switch is at the counter level (on its own breaker) and the wire runs up the back to the top of the cabinets (there is about 1 foot of space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling).

What I have done so far is disconnect the old power driver and put an outlet there sitting on top of the cabinets in a metal box because the new LED system is plug in.  However, only 3 of the new LED lights will reach that outlet, I need to get an outlet on the other side of my U shaped kitchen.

Is it as simple as daisy-chaining another outlet? I can run 12/2 from the first outlet on top of the cabinets to the other side of the kitchen.

This way I can plug in the other 3 LED's to the new outlet and the switch will control both outlets.

Would this work and are there any potential code violations?

There should be no problems with extending the circuit as you suggest. Install another box where you need it, run the cable between the boxes, and hook everything up.  I'd contact the local building department, and ask them if they would consider cable run on top of cabinets to be "subject to physical damage".  I wouldn't think so, but not all jurisdictions are the same. If they say it is, then you'll simply have to use conduit to run the wiring between the boxes.

You'll also want to ask if they consider the cable "supported", by running it along the top of the cabinets.  They may tell you that you'll still have to secure the cable/conduit with staples/clamps.

Aside from those minor possible issues mentioned, I don't see any problems with extending the circuit.


Noise insulation of apartment right above noisy pub How good can you isolate an apartment that's right above a very noisy rocker's pub? Could we install a thicker floor, or would the noise go through the walls anyway?

What material would work best here? I am willing to replace the existing floor (which needs replacement anyway).

While it's possible to improve the situation by doing things to the floor and walls, it's never going to be great. From your comment it looks like you're looking at this apartment as a potential place to live, not as a place you live in already, so my advice is to go someplace else unless you find the current noise level acceptable, and just want advice to improve it.


How do I wire a receptacle and a light switch? I saw one of your posts with diagrams and I figured that is exactly what I need.   I have a GFCI outlet and light switch in the same box.   There are 2 sets of wires coming from the wall(Blk, wht, grnd).  The first set is live and feeds the outlet (LINE)   The 2nd set comes from the lamp on the wall and into the box where the light switch will go.  How do I do the wiring so the light switch will have power??

Use a wire nut to connect together:

The live black wire
The hot LINE terminal on the outlet
One terminal on the switch

Use a wire nut to connect together:

The live white wire
The neutral LINE terminal on the outlet
The white wire coming from the lamp on the wall

Connect the other terminal on the switch to the black wire coming from the lamp on the wall.

Lastly, use a wire nut to connect together:

The ground wire from the live cable
The ground wire from the lamp cable
The ground terminals on the outlet and switch
The ground nut in the box, if this is a metal box.

Bad diagram follows:


Water-Damaged Faced Insulatiion - but before install. Can I use it? I'm working on framing a portion of my garage into a laundry room. I had an unopened package of R-13 faced insulation standing upright on the garage floor, when the garage flooded due to heavy rains.

The way the insulation is packed in, every single piece is folded in half, and it was standing upright on the end where all the folds are. I've taken all the pieces out and laid them out to dry as best I could, but there is a 6" wide strip in the center of every piece where the insulation is compacted instead of fluffy.

I'd prefer not to just throw all this out and get new insulation, but I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to use this now. I was thinking maybe I could cut away the compacted insulation in the center, leaving the face intact, and replace it with scrap fluffs I may have laying around. Would this work?

Climate-wise, I'm in central Texas. I'm told the hot-cold side of walls is inconsistent enough that it doesn't really matter which side the face is on. My house is old enough that it doesn't have one of those air-tight/water-tight home wrap seals all over it.

Here's a makeshift illustration I threw together to demonstrate.

I would just cut out the bad part and tape the two pieces together  that would give you much more even insulation than trying to patch and keep the existing kraft face. If the bat is not long enough for the wall cavity the kraft face should be taped to prevent excessive air movement anyway. The kraft face should almost always go towards the interior. If right along the coast there may be a few exceptions. Make sure there is no mold still in the insulation before installing.


How do I clear this cement pipe underground drainage system? I recently found that the drainage system for the gutter runoff is completely clogged. It has roots running through it. I dug up the drain 15 feet (5 yards) away from the house and it is still clogged in both directions. I tried clearing it with a hand held plumber's snake and a pressure washer but I did not have much luck. How do I clean this out?

You could try hiring an electric eel

or get a plumber with a jetter

But either of these options may still not work it the pipe is broken or snapped and the two sections of pipe are now ofset from one another.
Even if these options do work to clear the pipe you still have to remember that the cause of the root problem is still there, cracked or broken joints or pipe, which will require ongoing treatment eg. running the eel through once a year or similar chemical treatment.

The other option is to get the shovel out or hire a mini digger and replace the pipe with a pvc drain


How can I remove the cartridge from my kitchen tap? I have a monobloc kitchen mixer tap and need to get the cartridge out. Have got the handle and cover off, and can see the cartridge - it is recessed.
There is no nut to twist it seems (all the YouTube videos seem to have a nut). Just 4 little metal clip looking things - I'm not sure if these are holding it in or not.
It is possible its just stuck in there with limescale also..
Wondering if I should just be pulling outwards, or trying to twist. Or going to buy some WD40. Any advice/help would be amazing!

Right, so I sorted it. Will post solution here for anyone else who comes across this weird fitting!
Basically the threaded part is actually kind of a nut. So use a wrench to twist this anticlockwise, whilst trying not to ruin the thread!The cartridge then just pulls out.


Can a grounding rod be connected to service neutral only? My grounding rod is connected to the service neutral at the weatherhead where it enters the house. Should it not be connected to the ground bar in the 200A breaker panel?

The grounding electrode can be connected at the service drop. It's kind of unconventional, but it is fine.

Here is an excellent graphic from Mike Holt. Keep in mind, most areas now disallow connection inside a meter can.

©Mike Holt


Safety of "Safe" Solvents I put off stripping the paint of my interior trim until the winter, since there were so many more pleasant outdoor tasks during the warmer months. Now that it's time to fish or cut bait, I'm thinking about ventilation.
The paint I am trying to remove seems to be latex, just a coat or two, and not terribly ancient. (I'm very confident it's not lead-based). I started out (over the summer) using denatured alcohol as a stripper, but it was pretty slow going, lots of scraping, so I recently picked up some multi strip, which has dibasic esters, ethoxyproprionate, and benzyl alcohol as active ingredients. Not as dangerous as methylene chloride, but not exactly non-toxic either.
If I don't want to open my windows in January in Chicago, should I just put this project off until spring? Or will I be fine with the natural ventilation of my forced air system? The effected area will be in just two rooms--living room and dining room.

If you're trying to just remove latex paint, it might be better to try something more targeted at latex paint.  That usually means less chemicals in the cocktail involved.
There's a product called Krud Kutter, Latex Pain Remover that contains Acetone, and something called Dipropylene Glycol n-Propyl Ether.  Googling the latter indicates there's some decent evidence from valid sources like NIH that this stuff is relatively low toxicity.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15705495/
In general, I'd choose a more targeted stripper with the least toxic substances you can find than a general one that'll take off everything.
It seems strippers are getting quite a bit less toxic than "the bad old days" of methylene chloride.  I'd still be cautious of this stuff, since stripppers are still likely the nastiest chemicals most consumers experience.
There's other alternatives out their, like infra-red heaters (different from a heat gun).  Since you say there's no lead, this may present a completely non-toxic way to strip the latex.  I haven't used them myself, but I do recall a friend having good luck with them.


Can heat pumps condensation line be run in wall? We're adding an addition (garage with master suite) and we currently have a couple of drain lines installed on that side of the house but they need to be moved to install the addition. Typically, they don't want to install these on the front of the house becausethe drain lines coming down are ugly but I was thinking that since we're having the entire house sided at the same time it might be possible to install the drain lines in the wall instead to avoid the ugly lines on the outside of the house? Is this an alternative solution I'm not seeing?

Yes you can run them in the wall. Most mini splits installed today have the drains and the high and low pressure refrigerant lines run on the exterior of the home so this is very normal and has been industry standard for decades to run the condensate out an exterior wall or into a drain.
I would want to make sure the run was straight and you have the ability to clean it incase green gunkies grow in the line and creates plugs.


Sewage pump sounds like running dry We have a sewage pump in our basement. We didn’t install it but inherited it with the purchase of the house. I believe the basement was updated in 2014 with a bathroom, hence the sewage pump. The last few weeks it’s been making a noise when no water has been flushed/drained at all in the house. It’s not constant and only lasts about 4-6 seconds but I don’t understand why it would be doing this. Any ideas?
I don’t have a lot of knowledge on sewage pumps, so any insight is helpful!
Thanks.

Check the sump where the pump is located.  It's likely getting a trickle of water from somewhere, filling very slowly until it trips the float switch and pumps the water out.  You may have a leaky stool, water seepage from under the floor, a dripping faucet, a de/humidifier, or condensing furnace draining into it.  Your next steps, if any, depend on where the water is coming from.