What are the main options for fastening MDF to MDF? I am interested in building boxes and cabinets from 3/4" MDF (I know, I could buy plywood. Bear with me.) What are the main types of screws and fasteners I can use to do this?

I am aware of

glue
serrated screws
drywall screws
confirmat screws
pocket holes
biscuit joints
dowels

Please explain the pros and cons of each technique.

It sounds like you are trying to build something in one place, pack it up and re-build it in another.  If this is the case then screws are the way to go for dry fit, and then glue and screws for the final instal. I generally use Course thread dry-wall screws - because I feel they bite and pull MDF the best.

The only thing here is that there is a limited number of times that you can use the same holes with MDF, the Fiber-board looses a little meterial every time you screw into and out of it. So if you are building in a shop and then transporting onto site and reassembling once you are fine, if you are going to build and then rebuild this many times it will get less stable each time you do it.

As a side note, I also like to use pocket-hole jointery a lot because I like that it hides the screws from view.

Also, whenever I build boxes to be re-built I always make sure that I have some small square blocks with me.  I use these blocks to make sure the inside of the box is square, just screw them in and it helps to keep the box from racking side to side.


Manual methods to compact base for concrete? I'm planning to pour a reinforced concrete pad and am looking for advice for how to compact the material underneath.

A plate compactor would work - but can I get by without one? For instance, if I tamp down the soil and later gravel with a 12' sledgehammer head, 4x4 post, or concrete block (etc.) would the results be acceptable?

Notes:

We have rocky clay soil, over which will be a base layer of gravel, and then the reinforced concrete.
The soil is quite dry since this has been within the interior of the house for ~45 years.
The pad will be about 4x6 feet - not very large.

(I don't mind renting a compactor if that really is the best option but for a small project it seems worth considering alternates.)

EDIT: Clearly I was assuming that a plate compactor was like the gold standard and other choices might be acceptable but inferior. But one answer has questioned that and it may be an erroneous assumption.

When I was younger and worked in foundation construction we made our own effective manual soil compactors. They consisted of two parts, a pipe handle and a round base. The handle was a five or six foot long piece of 1" galvanized pipe. The base was a cast iron wheel hub from junk yard similar to that pictured below. The hubs were about six or seven inches in diameter and weighed enough that they easily absorbed the shock when tamped to the ground.

The pipe handle was threaded into a pipe fitting that was welded into the center hole of the hub. (Obviously the grease cover of the hub was discarded). If I recall there was no issue of the bottom side of the hub having a small diameter center hole. Use of the compactor was a good amount of exercise and always seemed to be assigned to us young folks at the time by my father who was the foreman.


What are the differences between Single Stage, Dual Stage and Reverse Osmosis Under Sink Water Filters? I'm looking to buy and install an under sink water filter - How do Single Stage, Dual Stage and Reverse Osmosis types compare?

Comparing:

Taste/Odor
Contaminants Removed
Filter Maintenance/Replacement
Price
Ease of installation

Single versus dual stage is easy; dual stage is essentially two single-stage filters in succession. Bulkier, more expensive. Better removal of contaminants. Installation is the same.

Reverse osmosis is an entirely different technology. It generally has a prefilter because RO doesn't deal with particulates, only dissolved chemicals. It does handle those very well. It works by using pressure and a semipermiable membrane to achieve the purification. The membrane lasts a long time, but the system uses additional water to concentrate the impurities and flush them away so there's some ongoing cost there. Installation is a bit more complicated as well.


What are reasonable expectations for LVP floor installation? TLDR; What should a quality LVP floor installation feel like? Is it reasonable to have few barely noticeable soft spots? or should entire floor feel consistently solid through the entire area?

I had a CoreTec Plus LVP installed (7" x 48" vinyl planks) over a concrete subfloor. It is an interlocking floating floor. It was installed in place of glued down carpet.

Installer did remove the carpet and did scrape the floor. They did put thinset in one place. However there are few spots (including one where thinset was used) that feel soft, and I can see floor flexing as I step on it. Sound also changes as I walk on it. Most of the area feels rock solid though.

Installer claims that floating floor will always have soft spots, and that he has done a quality job per manufacturer's instructions and specifications.

My question is, before I go ahead and hire a certified floor inspector, how can I determine whether installation hasn't been done properly, or if I am being too picky about it?

All floating floors are inevitably going to move a little when walked on, however any remaining thinset or glue residue or sheetrock mud clumps etc. should be scraped/ removed to an acceptable standard ( Coretec requires no "hump" exceeding 3/16" in a 10 foot radius)  failure to do so will result in excessive movement of the floor in the soft areas surrounding the hump.


Is gun oil worth the cost for oiling an axe compared to alternatives? I've done some research on axe maintenance and it seems gun oil is the best lubricant for axes. However at approximately $10 for a 4oz. bottle cost becomes an issue if you get a lot of use out of your axe and oil it after ever day of use. Is a cheaper alternative like 5w-30 motor oil adequate?

I will note that if its ok to spraypaint my axe head, then the cost of using gunoil becomes cheaper since I don't need to oil the entire surface.

I'd say almost any synthetic oil would work. I know people that use Mobile 1 Synthetic on their rifles.


How to install remote switch for ceiling fan? I had an electrician come out to look at the in-wall remote switch for my ceiling fan that wasn't working. He took it out and recommended buying a new switch. Problem is, I don't know how it was originally wired and I'm annoyed at having to pay him a second time when he did nothing except tell me what I already knew. Normally I would have just taken a picture but it's too late for that now. Any advice for how to deal with those segments of red wire would be much appreciated.

This is how he left my wall:

And this is what the remote switch looks like:

While the picture is not quite clear, it looks as if the red wire on the left is connected with a wire nut to two black wires. The red wire on the right appears to go elsewhere (probably to the fan).

If so, the left wire is hot. This  can be confirmed by carefully turning the power to the fan on. Using a non-contact tester, the left red wire should show power, and the right should not.

If that tests out, turn off the power, connect the left red to the switch wire with the yellow label. Connect the right red wire to the switch wire with the blue label. Cover each connection with a wire nut.

Connect the green switch wire to the bare copper or green wire(s) that should be deeper in the box (ground). If there is no ground wire, attach the green wire to the box itself using a screw or grounding clip.

Remount the switch. Turn the power back on. Check the switch.

This is a fairly simple connection. However, it sounds like you have very little experience working with electricity. Be very careful! Make sure all connections are tight, and no bare wire is exposed (other than the ground). It is often a good idea to watch someone with some experience before trying projects out on your own.


can I put 3 new light fixtures and switches on the same breaker I have a person that wants to wire in four actually  light boxes for ceiling fans with switches and I need to know if I can run all four of them safely from one breaker and if so what kind of breaker? This question may be absurd but I just don't know the answer to it. I do home improvement work for a living at least I have the good sense ask a question before I even attempt something I don't know about.  needless to say I have not done a lot of expensive wiring I have put up plenty of ceiling fans and even ran one circuit very short distance in a garage from a breaker panel and I knew to have the proper testing equipment and to take my time and to ask questions if necessary and also most importantly to have the proper tools and some basic knowledge of how to use them.

There should be no problem running 3 ceiling fans on a single 15 ampere circuit, though it will depend on what else is on the circuit.

Say a 52" fan is 90-100 watts (at high speed), plus three 60 watt bulbs. That puts each fixture at 280 watts or so. Which means three of them, would be 840 watts.

A 120 volt 15 ampere circuit, can supply 1880 watts (120 volts x 15 amperes = 1880 watts). Some folks will argue that you should only load the circuit to 80%, so that would be 1440 watts for a 120 volt 15 ampere circuit. Which even so, is still enough to supply the fixtures.

Note: the values used in the answer are an estimate, for example purposes only.  Check the listed wattage for the devices you'll actually be using.


about the saying "neutral does not carry current" It came across to me quite frequently online that people state "neutral wire does not carry current." I thin this is a false statement. My reason is the following.

For the electrical panel in my home, I only saw three cables coming: red, black and white. I think the white is neutral. Red and black carry 120 V signal with opposite phase. For most breakers on my panel, only two wires are connected, either red and white or black and white.

Let's take red and white for example. The red and white wires will go from the breaker to appliance, say a toaster. When toaster is working, a current flows in the circuit, and I think there is equal amount of current in the red and white wires. Thus the neutral white does carry current.

Why the current on neutral won't hurt people? My understanding is that although it carries current, the potential difference from neutral wire and ground (e.g. home subfloor or true electrical ground) is very small (less than 1 V according to my measurement). Therefore, even if you touch the neutral with bare hands, the current (could be large!) on the neutral wire won't enter your body, because the neutral wire is so much more conductive than human body that effectively all the current flows only on the neutral wire, bypassing the human body.

Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks!

That saying is wrong.  It's dead wrong.  The people saying it are idiots. Or you misunderstood.

Imagine if you found an SE post that started out "People often say 'humans do not contain blood'. I think that's a false statement."  It's like that.

Neutral certainly does carry current.  In a single-phase, 2-wire circuit with neutral, neutral carries exactly the same amount of current as the hot.   Neutral is the normal current return.

Now in split-phase or 3-phase where 2+ hots and neutral are brought along, it's likely most of the load will be phase to phase, with neutral carrying only imbalance current.  In multi-wire branch circuits, all loads are phase-neutral and neutral acts as a broker to try to return current via another load rather than bringing it back to the panel itself. But neutral is still a normal and legitimate carrier of current, and it counts.

A great deal of work is done to assure that Equipment Safety Ground is at roughly the same voltage as the dirt surrounding your house.  That way if you are touching a grounded receptacle while standing on your wet grass in your bare feet, nothing happens.

We also make very strong effort to make neutral reasonably close to ground potential.  Nobody cares if neutral is 7.3 volts away from the dirt in your lawn. We just want it to be close enough to be safe.

It's true if you are standing barefoot on your lawn and you touch neutral, you shouldn't be shocked. But that's not the main reason to do it.  The main reason is to assure that your "hot" wires are only 120V from the dirt in your lawn.  Consider the alternative.  Imagine some leakage in the transformer caused your supply to float 2400V above where it should be: Hot 1 would be 2160V from earth, neutral would be 2400V from earth and hot 2 would be 2640V from earth.  Now suddenly, touching any wire with your bare feet would be instantly lethal.

By providing a firm neutral-ground bond, in one place, we assure that neutral will be near 0V from earth, and the hots won't be terribly far away either.

Picking any supply wire and bonding it to earth in this way defines that wire as neutral.  Neutral need not be "in the middle".


Ethernet above drop ceiling — plenum cable “just in case”? I’ve been reading about the right way to install Ethernet cable at home (1) (2) (3) (4) and my requirements are:

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

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

Question 1: Plenum Fail

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

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

Question 2: Unfinished Portion Basement

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

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

The purpose of plenum rating is that if the wire is overheated (e.g. from fire), it won't emit chemicals which will blind, stupefy, poison, or incapacitate people trying to escape from aforementioned fire.  This matters in spaces where air is handled.

Maybe a drop ceiling won't be air handling space unless a duct is damaged, but consider the probability of the duct damage and the overheating of the wire being caused by the same event.


Adding a C/Common wire to HVAC system So I'm looking for some help in identifying where I can attach a C/Common Wire to my HVAC system, but unfortunately my system doesn't have a control board that I can easily attach a powerkit to. For reference I'm planning to install an Echobee3.

I've uploaded some photos here: http://imgur.com/gallery/LPzoq/

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, probably adding some circle/arrows so I know what you're talking about ;)

After looking at Tester101's answer, here's an annotated picture.
Notice how they're two free wires(red and black)

Based on the new information... It looks like the blue wire from the secondary side of the transformer is the R, which would make the yellow secondary wire C.

I should have read the transformer label, that clearly says BL (Blue) is common, and yellow is 24V.


My dryer vent was setup to go thru the wall, up 2 stories, to my roof My dryer vent was setup to go thru the wall, up 2 stories, to my roof.....
I have a major problem with this type of setup, as every couple of months, my dryer starts taking forever to dry. When I open the dryer door, I see lots of moisture on it. We then have to take off the duct from the wall connection and we find lots of wet lint that needs to be taken out. We run a blower thru the vent, from the bottom, hoping it will dry/clear out whatever is in the vent between the bottom floor and the roof. I'm thinking that with heavy rain, water must be getting in somehow from the roof vent. I can only imagine what's in there... I don't have access to the roof, as it is 2 stories up (I live in a townhouse). My question here is.. does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this problem? I have lived here over 20 years and am so fed up with this... I'm getting ready to just leave the duct behind the dryer with a panty hose on it, but have read this is not recommended. I live in Florida and already have lots of humidity.
I appreciate any suggestions!

As a general rule, dryer vents should be cleaned out with a brush (attached to a long chain or rope or flexible rod so they can be run through the duct) every 6 months or so. If the arrangement of the vents in your townhouse community is such that you cannot easily do this yourself, you should take it up with whatever owners association or management company there is overseeing the site, since lint clogged dryer vents can be a source of fires, which should be a concern far beyond the impact on your dryer's performance.

If you applied something like a leaf blower to the bottom of the duct, you may have blown the cap on the top right off it, which would add to your problems.


Is a Rust-Oleum painted item safe for infants? I’m considering purchasing a custom made item for an infant that’s been painted with Rust-Oleum. Considering children like to put things in their mouth, could this paint be hazardous? I’ve read about VOCs but it seems those arise during painting, and the child would only receive the item once the paint is dried.

Any paint recently manufactured in the US should be safe, with the exception of expensive specialty paints that you can't purchase in the home center. (i.e., antifouling paints) That being said, the rule of thumb for any finish is that it will take a month to cure even if it dries faster. After thirty days all of the resins should be converted to a stable, solid form.

You should still apply some common sense and supervision. Being generally safe is not the same as safe in every conceivable situation.


How should I add 120V service to an outbuilding? I need to wire a small building off of my main service.  I will be running a few lights, a small TV, and a small fridge.  I want to run two 120V lines to it.  My question is can I run 10/2 using the ground as neutral/ground or do I need to run 10/3 2 hots neutral and ground.  I know that neutral and ground are essentially the same electrical connection inside the main panel.  And I really don't need to have the small building inspected.  Any help is appreciated.

No, you cannot use the ground as neutral. If you want two circuits, you'll have to use four conductors (hot, hot, neutral, ground).

If the run is short enough, you can use 12 AWG copper conductors instead of 10 AWG.  Depending on the loads, 12 AWG should be good for between 50-100 feet. If the run is longer than that, or you'll have larger loads in the garage. Then you might want to go up to 10 AWG copper, to reduce voltage drop.

You'll want to install a 20 ampere double pole GFCI circuit breaker, to protect the multiwire branch-circuit.  Even if you end up using larger conductors due to voltage drop, you'll still only install a 20 ampere breaker.

Other Points:

You'll have to install a disconnect at the outbuilding.
If you install a feeder rather than a branch-circuit, you'll have to install a grounding electrode system at the building, and bond it to the grounding conductor of the feeder.
The feeder/branch-circuit will have to be wires/cable rated for outdoor/wet locations.
If you think you might need more capacity in the future, you may want to install larger conductors and a secondary panel to accommodate future needs.


How to remove a bed slat holder (without breaking it) Is there a trick to remove those plastic slat holders without breaking them?

Ps: There is only a few milimeters gap (5 mm maybe), not enough for a small screw driver to play with the pin. (No way either to access the pin through the inside of the bed frame)!
!

These slats curve upwards just a little bit. Pull upward in the center of the slat, pushing one of the ends into its socket at the same time. The slat has enough flexibility to curve just a little more and clear the other socket.

Start in the center of the bed, this is where the frame has more flex and it is easier to work out how to do it.

HTH


Our door won't close, is it a sagging door or a misplaced strike plate? We moved into a house with a custom wooden door and surrounding frame, the door is very heavy and has four hinges.
The door won't close properly unless I lift it up and on hot days this doesn't work.
Observations:

The hinge side gap is symmetrical top to bottom
The top gap is ~3/16th lower on the lock side
The door does not rub on the floor or the frame
None of the hinges seem sunken or loose from the frame
Both strike plates are ~2/16-3/16th higher than the lock

Things I've tried:

Hand tightening all of the hinge screws
Replacing a screw with a 3" in the top hinge
Bending the leaves on the top two hinges

What should I try next?

Moving the strike plates down
Adding shims to the two bottom hinges

#1 seems easier but the door will still sag and it will leave a visible cut out in the frame
Any other ideas?

How old is the house? If a newer home, uneven shrinkage in the floor framing may be the culprit. It seem rather than rehanging the door it may be best just to grind the hole in the strike lower rather than having a notch show where the strike is lowered. If you  don't like the gap at the top, then resetting the jamb is the way to go, other than raising the door on the hinges and trimming the top.


Should cracks and water in the crawl space concern me when buying a house? I am looking at a house that with a crawl space (see image). The crawl space has the full height of a basement, windows and a door leading outside in the back. It has French Drains along the downhill base of the house and plastic lining covering a rock floor. I saw water on top of the plastic in a few places. The foundation walls are footing and stem walls (I think). They appear nice but have some vertical cracks in several places upon closer inspection. The house was built in 2002.
Is the water concerning given the French drains installed? Are the wall cracks normal for the crawl space foundation... should they concern me?

The simple answer is I would never buy a house without a proper inspection by a licensed inspector. In some areas, you can find engineering firms that will do both structural and mechanical inspections and could tell you if those cracks are a problem. I suspect they're not, given that concrete is expected to crack at some point and part of the point of the metal reinforcement is to mitigate the effects of cracks. But if the cracks are prevalent across the foundation walls, I might be concerned. Get a professional opinion. The few hundred dollars you spend on an inspection could save you from financial ruin.


How to address the issue of a vertical window that was installed horizontally I assigned a contractor to install a new window at basement.
I bought the window 33x40 and material with the contractor in Home Depot. The contractor cut the wall and installed well.

Two days later I showed it to friends and found a lot water when i opened it and it was difficult to close. When e checked the window label i found "install vertically only".

In advance of starting, I said to position it horizontal since the Home Depot window associate said that the window can be horizontal or vertical.

Now, the contractor said that this is my responsibility, and he could come back to drill holes for drainage.

I am wondering if it's enough as a repair, and if it's a problem when to sell the house.

Any contractor worth his hammer would've noticed that and brought it to your attention. The window needs to be replaced or installed vertically as intended. Whether he's liable is a contractual issue and off-topic here.

Drainage holes are not an adequate solution. The window will not continue to operate well over time. The hardware isn't designed for sideways loading. Nor are the weather seals, as you've discovered. For these reasons it may well be an issue at sale time in addition to being an operational and weather issue.

Best of luck.


Should I use concrete, or some other method to fix this entry area? I have an entry walkway that's 9ft x 4ft by my front door that I need to fix so it is solid ground. I was thinking of putting concrete down and then laying tile on top of the concrete. I have some reservation about using concrete because the floor is currently just uneven sand/dirt. Would this cause a problem where the cement would crack?

Is there another more efficient solution for a project like this instead of concrete?

Edit: The old flooring in this area was just loose bricks that were placed into the sand, some of the bricks were very uneven and I was worried it might be due to settlement. There is evidence of settlement in other areas of the house such as the basement.

Click on images for full size

Since you are inside, if you properly compact the sand prior to pouring (rent a compactor) there's no reason you can't just pour the concrete right onto the sand as far as I know.

If you were outside, it'd be a different story.


Precautions to take using half completed bathroom What sort of precautions should be taken when using a half completed bathroom that is mid-refurbishment, to avoid damage or extra time/money having to be spent.

Specifically, when using the shower (which is over a bath) and the toilet, if old tiles and sealant have been removed but new not yet put in.

Duct tape (very sticky, possible removal of more than just the tape) or Electrical tape (just sticky enough, easy removal) over open seams. Otherwise, just tape cheap plastic painting tarps from above the shower right down into the tub's walls, tight will keep blowing movement to a minimum. If it's a shower & not a tub you'll need tarps down to the drain & all overlapping seams taped with duct tape, just lay loose 2x4's around the floor perimeter to keep the shower's shape.


How do I design a home air filtration system? I live in a city with bad air pollution and no central HVAC system. I have two air purifiers and an air quality monitor. Both air purifiers are effective in reducing the particulate matter count. But unless they are run at full speed 24 hours a day the indoor air quality doesn't stay within a safe range. If they are run at less than full speed then a safe particle count is only reached after many hours. When a window or exterior door is opened the particle count shoots up quickly.

I want to be able to freely open doors and have a bearable amount of noise. It's possible that other air purifiers run quieter but it seems noise level and effectiveness are directly correlated. Are there any other measures to increase the effectiveness of an air filtration system? Should I seal doors and windows with weather strips? Our home has fans in both the kitchen and bathroom. When running these fans the air quality gets worse. If the bathroom/kitchen doors are kept well-sealed and closed would it help?

A filtered fresh air supply(intake) would work for this.
You can filter the air in your living space all you want, but any leak or opening could allow dirty air to leak in.

If you filter outside air and blow the filtered air inside, your living space will be very slightly pressurized. Then any leaks would just be your clean air blowing outside, not the other way around.

An air filter with inlet and outlet ducts would be optimal for this setup, and set up the filter inlet to the outside.


What is the purpose of prohibiting union coupler in concealed area? I was reading about natural gas union coupler and left-right coupling vis a vis concealed locations.   Setting aside the seemingly mixed regs around the country regarding usage/prohibition of them, in general, it seems that the preferred (regulation-wise) union in concealed locations is the LR coupler.

As I understand it, having worked with neither (yet), LR couplers are tricky to install/seal.  As such, I'm puzzled as to why they are preferred in conceal areas.

Is union couplers even more tricky, or is it just the shear largeness/complexity of union couplers that make them undesirable in concealed locations?

Can't use bushings either (or street elbows, afaik). Presumably because of the existence of exterior threads on a fitting which makes it more subject to corrosion, each thread of which is an inherent shear plane.

"Caution: installing a bushing in a gas piping system in a concealed location can create a potentially explosive situation." – Residential Construction Academy: Plumbing, By Michael A. Joyce, Michael D. Joyce, Google Books


Old mobile home wiring, outlets stopped working Yesterday 3 of my outlets stopped working.

Earlier this winter 2 got burnt and I haven't replaced them yet, but they're on the other side of the house.

The 3 that stopped working are all around each other.

One showed hot/ground reverse and had nothing plugged into it (near the kitchen).

One showed open neutral but has 1 extension cord and a surge protector to my saltwater tank, but nothing got wet or anything and it didn't do anything open neutral (by the front door).

The other had my computer and printer plugged into it and also showed open neutral (in-between the other two).

Nothing is plugged into them and I know digital plug in meters suck. I'm not sure what do and I'm kind of panicing because I don't have the money to call an electrician.

please help, my mobile home was done in 94 its a double wide.

Hire an electrician.
If your outlets are catching fire, there’s a significant safety problem present since your house clearly isn’t wired to code. Electricity is dangerous in ways that aren’t obvious to a layperson, but a trained professional should be able to safely solve your problem for you.
It’ll cost you some money, but it’ll cost you less money than buying a new house would if your house burns down due to dodgy wiring - especially since it’s possible your insurance might refuse to pay for it due to a pre-existing flaw of the property that you knew of and failed to take steps to correct.


Replacing rotted out window sill in basement block wall Long story short - the previous owner hired a crackhead to pave over the dirt driveway. The guy ended up raising the grade beyond the basement window sills on one corner of the house, and here's what it looks like now:

The bottom casings, and sills appear to be completely rotted out at this point:

Rot #1:
Rot #2:
Rot #3:

The basement is finished, and there does not appear to be any water damage inside... yet. I would certainly like to keep it that way.

From inside #1:
From inside #2:

Obviously the first issue that needs to be addressed is drainage around the windows - I have a pretty good plan in place for this which I will be posting separately for critique. What I'm looking for is the best way to replace just the sills without tearing out the whole window.

This is what I was thinking to do:

Cutting the sill on the inside, flush with the window using a toe kick saw / osciliating tool.
Dig/cut/remove any trace of the cut off sill piece from outside.
Rip a 2*2? (not sure the windows frame thickness) and liquid nail it into place.
Attach new casing.
Caulk inside and out.

-Is this the correct approach?

-What about flashing - what is the correct way to use flashing and which flashing to use in this situation?

-Should the replacement sill piece be from pressure treated wood?

Think about replacing the sill and the casing with some of the PVC or composition boards that are available in the home stores. Any wood you put down there will be rotten again in 5 years.


How do I remove cat spray smell from the exterior of the house? My in-laws have a cat problem.  The neighborhood cat is spraying the outside of their house and evidently it really stinks.  How can they get rid of the smell?

Short of industrial cleaners and Kilz Primer, I've not found a better product for dealing with organic compounds deposited by pets.


How to protect outdoor transformer plugging into in-use outlet? I have an outdoor DC transformer for lighting system that must connect to an outdoor outlet. It's not hardwired. So if I plug this transformer to an in-use outlet permanently, how do I ensure that this transformer is protected from rain and weather challenges? Or do the transform OK to be just "strapped" to somewhere on top of the ground (meaning it's weatherproof)?

I am not sure if all outdoor transformers coming with the lighting kit are weatherproof itself. Just to be specific, I am talking about the "Kerr Lighting (Model # KDEC04-14-088K) Deck/Dock-Mount 14-Light Outdoor Light Kit."

I was reading this post http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/how-to/a8906/how-to-put-in-low-voltage-landscape-lighting-15326645/ and they said "Next, drive a pressure-treated 2 x 6 stake into the ground next to an outdoor electrical outlet. Attach the transformer to the stake with galvanized or stainless-steel screws. Secure the cable to the stake with insulated cable staples." which is pretty much simple. However, I don't know if this is correct.

The transformer in that kit is designed for outdoor use, the cord plug should be protected with an "in-use" type receptacle cover.


Need advice on air compressor for home use I'm in the market for a cheap air compressor. I need it for the occasional spray painting of furniture, inflating and switching of tires.

I've been looking at this air compressor:

The specs of the compressor are as follows:

2hp (1500 Watts)
~6 gallons in the tank (24 litres)
~7.8 CFM (222 litres per minute)
~116 PSI (8 bar)
Oil lubricated

Is this device going to fulfill my needs (based on the specs)? I've read that oil can leak into the air causing problems with spray painting. Is that something which can be prevented?

If you are planning to purchase an air compressor to use for painting it may cost more than if you purchase a dedicated airless paint sprayer. Both tools are priced about the same (for mid priced tools). But you will also need a sprayer for the compressor and a desiccator and contaminate filter which will increase the cost for painting with a compressor. Air compressors, even the smaller models, weigh a lot and are awkward to carry. Airless sprayers are straight forward: easy to clean, no extra accessories to begin painting, light weight, and do a fast and excellent job. Here is a link for the one I bought 7 years ago and still use: http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=295433-48690-LTS+17&catalogId=10051&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=4745131  Here is the compressor I compared it against:http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=155839-70-D55146&catalogId=10051&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=1036715


Any way to mount this diffuser without screws? I needed to unmount a drywall ceiling diffuser to do a small fix. The diffuser is a "traditional" stainless still box mounted using two screws driven straight into the sheetrock. Unfortunately the builder did a pretty sloppy job and the opening was too large so the screws barely held. Unmounting them effectively cause the holes to crumble so now there is no easy way to screw them back in. Here's a photo of the opening (note how the screwholes have zero clearance from the opening sides):

I've tried to rotate the diffuser 90 deg. but it doesn't help as the opening is still large.

Question: can anyone suggest a trick (or a mounting kit, or a different kind of a diffuser) to put it back on the ceiling?

Nothing should ever be mounted just to the drywall. Whenever possible, everything should be mounted directly to the substructure (studs,blocking, etc.) When framing is not available hollow wall anchors should be used, but only in light duty applications. In the case of your vent I would suspect that two sides abut the rafters or joists. Locate them and try to run the mounting screws for your diffuser through the drywall into the structure. If this is not possible, mount some 1x material to the inside of your duct with sheet metal screws and secure the diffuser to that.


What is this stuff in my faucet? About every week I notice a decline in water pressure at my kitchen sink. When I notice it i unscrew the faucet head and the screen is completely clogged with this gritty sand stuff.

Is this calcium? Is this dirt?

What do I need to do to fix this?

This issue is only a problem in the kitchen...there is some sediment in the other faucets and showers but i get this amount after a year or so.

Looks like mineral deposits. I'D just leave the aerator off for a few weeks, until the local builders stop messing with water pressure.


New oven to old junction box I am connecting a new oven with 4 wires, black, white, red & copper to an existing junction box with 3 wires, white, black & copper.  What goes where??  Any help is appreciated

If the current wires are individual wires in conduit, you could pull a new wire or wires to give four wires of the correct size.

But if the wires are in a cable then unless the instructions with the oven explicitly state how you are to connect this oven to the type of electric supply you have described, it seems to me that you cannot connect this new oven to the old wires.

The old cable with B, W and bare copper is for an appliance requiring only 240 V carried by two hots--B and W. The bare copper is to protect against a fault and does not carry current in normal operation.

The presence of the four wires in the new oven suggests that it requires 240 V and 120 V. The 240 V is between the B and the R, as the two hots. The 120 V is between the W (neutral) and one of the two hots. The W neutral is not "hot" but it will carry current in normal operation.

You will have to remove the old cable and replace it with a 4-wire cable of the correct size.

EDIT

If the current wires are individual wires in conduit, then you can pull another insulated wire (you'd use red) of the correct size for this new oven.

And if the current wiring were in a cable but with three insulated wires in one cable (B, W, R), then you could use the existing cable and add a bare copper wire as a ground for a fault condition, but with only two insulated wires you would need to add another insulated wire which would carry current in normal operation. All the wires which carry current in normal operation must be in the same cable or in the same conduit.


Running wire to sub panel in shop 80 feet away My original plans have changed and I now am stuck with having direct burial cable 4/0-4/0-2/0-with 1/0 ground. My new plan is now to run sub panel from my home 200 amp main breaker panel to the shop. My problem is I am using a 100 amp breaker and the larger cable wires will not fit into the 100 amp breaker. Can I use the larger cable for burial and use connectors inside a junction box to splice in the last few feet of wire to fit the breaker ?

Make the splice in the panelboard itself

I'd use a two-pole aluminum rated power distribution block of suitable size listed to UL 1953 and rated to IP20 (such as a pair of Eaton/Cooper PDBFS303s, dovetailed together) to make the splice inside the panelboard cabinet instead of in a separate junction box.  Then you can run a pair of 2/0 jumpers from the distribution blocks to the panelboard terminals.

This takes up a bit more panelboard cabinet space, but is neater and cleaner than having splice lugs hanging loose in the panelboard or having a separate box just to splice wires.  Check with your AHJ first though, as there is the off chance that they're not OK with mounting things to a panelboard cabinet that the manufacturer did not originally intend to go there.

(Making the splice in a separate box is also possible, just slightly silly as you'd need more wire and parts to do that vs. doing the splicing in the panelboard cabinet.)


How to handle the Stainless Steel cable? First, I would like to what is the best tools to cut a Stainless Steel cable?
Second, I would like to know how to install this kind of lock in the stainless stell cable? Thanks.

Good wire cutters. I have also used a chisel and anvil. Then you need the correct size of crimp or swage fitting. Depending on the size , there are also regular cable clamps. Carbon steel or stainless steel are similar high strength so that makes no difference to the cutting.  I have assumed a small size like 1/8 in.


Why are there so many 220v circuits/breakers in my house's electrical panel? We noticed during our home inspection the main panel has only six general lighting circuits and seven 220v circuits/breakers.There were only two areas where 220 outlets would be used. Why would they have so many 220v breakers? Is this normal or cause any problems/safety issues?

By "220 breakers", I'm going to assume you mean double pole breakers.  It's also difficult to speculate without actually seeing the panel, or being on site. But here are some thoughts.

Just because a double pole breaker is used, doesn't necessarily mean it's feeding a 240 volt circuit.  In some areas, it's common to use double pole breaker to feed multiwire branch circuits. Which means the double pole breakers could be feeding two 120 volt circuits, instead of a single 240 volt circuit. This is likely the case if you see a bunch of 15, and/or 20 ampere double pole breakers.

It could also be that electricity, is the common fuel source in your area. For example you might have electric dryer, electric range, electric heat, electric hot water, electric A/C, water treatment equipment, secondary panel(s), etc.  Having all electric appliances, can make the double pole breaker total jump quite a bit.


light switch conversion 3 gang to 1 gang I have a three gang box, dimmable, switch, switch.  I want to use a wifi capable switch, but it comes with all three switches in a single gang switch.  How do you use the existing 3 gang box with only one gang switch now?

The simplest way is to install blanks into the unneeded openings, they are commercially available:


Relocating a single household service panel I'm moving my electrical service panel to a better location in my basement. When I install the new panel it will, of course, be too far from the existing lines coming into the old panel to reach the new panel.

What would the best, the safest and proper method to
connect longer wiring to the  present wires?
I will get supplies from an electrical supply company.
Not the big box stores.
I can use the old panel as a junction box and it would
remain acceptable.
The new panel will be 2 to 3 feet from old panel.
Don't want to do a sub panel using the old panel.
I will contact the city and get required permit. I just want
to be better informed, by asking my question here, to
communicate my job to them.
It is 100 amp service. (Not upgrading, yet)
I have done many electrical job for myself for decades,
but this one kinda stumps me but I know my still level
can do it. I just need some good advice to get started in
the right direction.

I had something this done at my old house. If I understand what you're saying you want what we would call the electrical meters to be moved which requires the electrical mains for the whole house to moved and made longer.

Our electrician simply put in a large junction box and added extra cable.  This is something I would think that a home handyman would not be permitted to do by himself.  Dealing with live mains wires that cannot be disconnected with a switch is dangerous when you're not trained.  Call in an expert and get them to advice and do the work.


How should I connect wiring for this ceiling light? Firstly, for context,  I should say that this is British wiring and in a fairly new home. I have a ceiling light that I have to replace. Annoyingly I couldn't get a clear view of the wiring in the previous fitting because it was all mashed up and I had to remove all wires to get at it. Now im left with a fitting with wiring that doesn't make much sense to me and all the power off the the lights in my house :(
I've got, what appears to be, two lives, one neutral and an earth. Looking at the switch it looks like one of the lives (the slim brown one) is coming from the switch so that's a switched-live, which leaves me with a live and neutral (the ones in the sleeves).
What's going on here? and how do I get this wired back up to a "normal" light fitting (with Live, Neutral, Earth connections)?
Thanks

Thanks for all your help folks. With a little help from a multimeter I was able to confirm that the smaller brown was indeed switched-live, and the two with the sleeves indeed neutral and live. I've just terminated the live and wired the switched-live and neutral to my new fitting. I guess the intention with the live is, as some people have suggested, for ceiling fan, or might also come in handy for smart home stuff like Philips Hue lightbulbs that always need power.
I've selected Ed Beal's answer because it contains the solution I found.

If only 1 switch cap 1 of the hots and see if the other is hot with the power on swap hots as needed with only 1 switch and cap or cover the other for safety


How to repair Garden gate latch 'spring clip'? Google for "garden gate latch" and you'll see the gate latch we have. It's sold by the hundreds of thousands worldwide under different brands. I bought mine in the UK through B&Q (Blooma brand) and it rusted the same year we put it in.  On the outside of the gate the ring falls off frequently. I've unscrewed it, and here's what I see:

The clip can be pushed back over the larger ring assembly to hold it into the collar, but it barely holds it. Any decent pull of the gate to close it would pull the ring off the square shaft again, with the clip being the thing that didn't hold.
Can I replace that clip with an e-clip? The minimum pack of e-clips I can buy is the same cost as buying the whole latch again?
Or can I do some secondary fixing to hold the clip in place (in the wee groove in the ring assembly)? Like a spot weld. Or a nylon zip-tie? The clip feels thin - a weld might even deform it.
What about drilling the spindle and putting some form of split-clip through? I have old spindles so have room to experiment.
I don't want to replace everything with the galvanized edition cos that's 3x the price and I've no guarantee that the same ineffective clip isn't part of the assembly.
Advice?

If there is a groove in the collar, you could use a snap ring or an e-clip. You could also use a push-on retaining ring, sometimes called an knob spring or an internal tooth retainer.


Using a off-the-shelf pressure gauge to measure water pressure I want to measure water pressure around my house, I can't find any pressure gauges made for that, so I will make do.

I've found some that are for Acetylene in the right range, but they have "use no oil" written on it. Now, I don't know if that is telling me to not use oil (glicerin) in the gauge, or if that is telling me that the pressure gauge can't be used with liquids, or something else.

Any thoughts?

The "Use No Oil" is a warning placed on the gauge that may have application in a pressurized gas setup. The most common example being on an oxygen / acetylene gas welding rig. Any of the fittings including the manifold, meters, pressure regulators and connection hoses in such application are always used with clean non-oiled threaded fittings. The reason is that high pressure compressed gas (oxygen) can explode in the presence of oil and any possible spark that may occur when assembling the components of the welding outfit onto the compressed gas bottles.


Two switchboxes, power through light - how is this wired? I have a setup where I have two switchboxes, and three total lights.

Switchbox #1 has two switches in it. A dipole and a three way switch. One switch controls Light Number 1, One switch controls Light number 2.

Switchbox #2 is across the room, and also contains two switches, a dipole and a three-way. One switch controls Light Number 2 (same as the other box), and another controls a separate single-switched light number 3.

Light #1 has the power from the box coming into it, and is obviously connected to Switchbox #1. However, when I disconnect the power to it, but disconnecting the two black wires, all of the lights AND the swithboxes are all dead with no power on any wires.

Light #2 has 3 wrapped wires coming into it. One of these wires has a hot black wire all the time, when all switches area in the off position. Light #2 is controlled by both switchboxes.

Light #3 - Is only controlled by Switchbox #2.

The diagram below shows the hook up. Sorry for the crude drawing. Blue Wire represents the white wire, black the black wire, and green the ground wires. The Orange circles represent HOT wires when all switches are in the OFF position, and no lights are on.

All of these things are connected through the walls - can someone tell me how this should be set up? I would like to add additional lights to the set up - where the ones hooked up to the original light #1 come on when light #1 comes on, and ones hooked up to the Light #2 come on when light #2 comes on.

Switchbox 1

Switchbox 2

LightBox 1

Lightbox2

Here's how your circuit is connected.

I've changed blue to white, I've labeled the screws on your 3-ways, and I've put red, black and yellow tape on a few wires to designate their function.  Red is switched-hot for lamps.

Now, we have 3 separate circuits here in close proximity.  I added "Chinese Walls" to separate them. No wire can cross those, except ground.

Now when you want to add additional lamps to a circuit that already switches one lamp, the best place to extend it is from the lamp.  But that's not what you're asking, is it?  You can extend anywhere you can get switched-hot for that light and the neutral for that light! Neutral from another circuit will not do!

For instance lamp 1, you can see the left side of switch box 1 has the actually-red wire and the actually-white wire on the left side of the box.  That's an acceptable place to tap for more lamps with lamp 1.
Lamp 2, the only place genuine neutral (not white-wire-used-for-another-purpose) and switched-hot (black marked red) coexist is in the light 2 box.  That is the only place. You cannot tap switch box 2 because there is no neutral whatsoever in switch box 2.  Even if switch 3 brought down neutral, you couldn't use it because it's from a different circuit.


Should baseboard trim be in contact with the flooring? In some of my rooms the baseboard touches the tile (you can see a slight gap at times).  Even the door casing is on top of tile.
In this bathroom (after removing the tile) it looks like they put the sub-floor down, then 1/4" underlayment then the baseboard and then the tile.
My photo is of sub-floor & under lament with removed tile and exposed baseboard.
Which method is "best practice"?

EDIT 1:
Here is a wider view

Best practice is that something at the lower edge of the wall should come down on top of the finished floor surface. If you install baseboard alone then that should be installed last over the finished floor. On the other hand if the plan is to install a base board plus base shoe then you could choose to install the baseboard first and then run the finished flooring material up to the baseboard and cover the final installation with the base shoe.
Since many modern choices of flooring used these days are typically installed with a 1/4" to 3/8" gap of the finished flooring from the walls this can be difficult to cover adequately with just a base shoe as the material is fairly thin. In these cases it would be strongly recommended to install both the baseboard (and baseshoe if desired) after the finished floor surface is installed.


GE Spacemaker XL1400 Microwave - Very loud pop GE Spacemaker XL1400 (JVM1451BA) Microwave manufactured Dec. 1998

In the span of a month, there were two times that while cooking (popcorn and just re-heating), there was an extremely loud crack or pop. The microwave continued to function normally... nothing seemed wrong. It definitely was not the food or containers inside that made the noise.

Any ideas what is happening?

Electric Arcing inside the microwave where its power is converted to a very high voltage is the most likely culprit. Based on its age, I would recommend replacing it. Microwaves are dirt cheap these days.


Adding a 120v branch to a 4 wire 240v? First post and question:
I have a spa serviced by a 240v 4 wire subpanel with GFI breaker. I would like to add a 120v branch with a GFI outlet for light duty (light, music etc.)
Can I pull the power from one leg?
I realize that I will have to ground the new line and use the one leg of 240v and white neutral.
Since it would have the existing GFI 240v beaker, how would I setup the new 120v GFI breaker?
The spa is 40' away from main panel, I would like to avoid burying another line and conduit.
Any ideas or concerns?

Most 240v spas have a 4 wire feed, so it is physically possible. The process for doing it would depend on the configuration of the spa disconnect, a picture of the disconnect would be good.
To legally do it where I live the breaker and wire in your panel that feeds the hot tub disconnect would need have capacity of 15A greater than the ampacity shown on the spa label.


Tool for tightening an anchor bolt After my first encounter with sleeve anchor, I think I need a good tool to tighten the nut.

May I know what is best tool?

I bought a standalone M10 ratchet wrench but is there a tool that add more power? :D

Is there a torque wrench for small scale usage? Do I really need a torque wrench?

Use a deep well socket and ratcheting set.  Given that this is a 10mm nut, you don't want too much torque.  Assuming you don't crush the surface you are tightening to and have a sufficient washer, you need to be concerned with torquing the bolt off.  In certain cases, I've taken a 1inch diameter by 1.5ft lead pipe and put it on the end to get extra torque, but I advise against this if you don't have a feel for how much torque you are applying.  You can find small scale torque wrenches, but if you are going to do so, I suggest you look up the recommended torques to apply to the bolt you are using (you need to know what type of bolt it is).


How to transition between 2rooms when gap is wider than standard 2" " t molding strip laminate How can I transition between 2 rooms if gap is wider than standard 2"t molding strip for laminate floor? Looked for wider strip but could not find one.

If you did the flooring & have excess pieces you can cut the flooring to fit in there. If not, then really anything of the same thickness will do with a staining polyurethane combo. If you want an actual & obvious transition because it's a doorway separation sort of thing, then a Door Threshold might be the best option.


Is 100-year old armored (BX) cable a safety hazard and should it be replaced? Our house was built in 1905 and while a lot of the electric has been replaced throughout the its 115 year life, a lot of the old BX cable (likely original or close to it) is still in use; mostly for lamps, lights, general use outlets (non-heavy duty).
The panel has been upgraded with modern breakers but I am still concerned about the longterm safety and risks of this old wiring.
I am wondering if there is anything (short of replacing all the wiring) to help alleviate concerns.
Specifically, would replacing all the breakers on this old wiring with arc fault breakers be something that would significantly (or totally) avoid any problems?
Or, am I overreacting?

I think you are over reacting With what you have provided original would be knob and tube it is still legal. BX is much safer If there is an issue it is inside the flexible conduit and that metal conduit is quite a bit of protection.
Replacing breakers may or may not be possible with your existing panel and again your wiring is in conduit so I would not be concerned.
Depending when and Or the type of panel You have we may suggest getting it updated (especially if FPE™, StabLock™, Federal Pacific™ & Zinsco™ are the leading panels that have problems). Some obsolete panels do not have arc fault breakers available but are still good panels.
Note I have seen more problems with skinned NMB than with BX, MC or AC.


12vac Landscape Lighting Transformer - 12vdc? I have a dead outdoor lighting transformer.  Not realizing it was VAC I looked on Amazon for a replacement.  The bulbs are what I thought to be 12vdc.  I received the new outdoor lighting transformer and it didn't appear to work, nothing lit up.  Thinking it was a 12vdc supply that died, I hooked up my battery charger to the various view feeds and voila, the lights came on.  So I continued to think DC.  So my conclusion was that the unit I purchased was DOA.  Digging a little deeper I found that outdoor lighting power supplies are 120vac to 12vac, not 12vdc.  I get the advantage of AC over DC for range.  So now I'm confused, why are the lights working with a 12vdc power supply?  Perhaps the new unit I purchased was DOA.  Lastly, dumb question, is it possible to power 12vdc bulbs with a 12vac power supply?  Thanks

Are they incandescent bulbs? (IE: Not LED).   Incandescent bulbs don't care about A/C or D/C. So yes, you can power the bulbs with a DC power supply.
Regarding A/C being better than D/C for range:  again, doesn't matter.  Wire size, distance and power draw determine voltage drop.   A/C and D/C voltage drop would be about the same, all else being equal.


How can I feather the edge between still stuck paint and the layer below? (Latex did not stick to gloss oil paint) Someone painted this door with latex paint over oil based glossy paint, without proper surface preparation (*). Thus I'm left with some original oil gloss, and a edge to some still-stuck latex paint.  Here it is after peeling, scraping, sanding and priming:

I sanded everything using EPA Lead Safe Practices, but the edge is still starkly visible, especially after the primer went on.

What are various methods and tradeoffs for making this edge disappear?  This is a high touch area on the door, so it needs to be durable.  Do I prime first?  Spackle first?  What product and steps should I use?

(*) Someone was Mom.

Ever do bondo work on a car?  That's pretty much it.  West System epoxy and various sanding fillers, interspersed with 24-48 hours to wait for the epoxy to cure enough to sand, and an exhausting amount of sanding, rinse wash repeat until it looks right.   It takes a really long time.

The upside is this will also remove the wood damage, which is not inconsiderable. The downside is, it's really easy to mess up and damage trim with a power sander.


If mold is pushing cracking through paint, does it mean its inside the wall? Image is not real but a rough idea of whats happening.  As you can see the paint is cracking because mold is growing behind it and pushing out.  If the mold was coming from the room I imagine it would be on the surface.
Since it is developing as a lump and pushing the paint out does it mean the mold is growing from inside the wall?
Thanks.
I have added an image where the mold was.  Mold was here and pushed/cracked the paint out.  It has now occurred to me the wall seems to have paint, followed by paper(as you can see) and the wall underneath isnt hard- its quite soft and knocky.  The mold has been cleaned off. from the pic are you able to tell if this is just a surface issue?  There is another crack further down but it was making me so sick I couldn't get close enough to take a pic.

Really hard to say for sure; the only way to be certain is to do some slightly invasive investigating. Peel back the paint and see what is going on with the drywall underneath. Is it moldy? Wet? Water damaged? If you still can't tell, drill a 1/2" hole and look at the swarf that gets pulled out by the drill bit. If you can get your hands on a borescope, try poking it in there. Then you'll know for sure.
There is one thing that is certain though: if there is mold behind the paint, it means the conditions under the paint are favorable to support its growth. Clean, sealed and dry sheetrock is not very mold-friendly.
Don't worry too much about saving the paint. At this point it's already failing, so it will come off soon enough even without help. Likewise, drilling shouldn't be a concern; if you're going to end up painting anyway, patching over a few small holes is no big deal.


How to clean a very textured patio with deep mud and rust stains? I would like to clean a very textured patio that has deep mud and rust stains so I have tried using washing up liquid but that hasn't removed it.

Any suggestions on how to would be grateful.

OK, you've got two problems: rust and deep mud. I would bet the deep mud is mildew.

First the rust stains. Pour some white vinegar on the rust stains and let it soak in for 10 to 20 minutes. Then scrub with a hard bristled brush, then rinse with cold water.
For the deep mud, mildew, you're going to need a power washer. You can buy or rent one at your home stores. Get one that's about 2000 PSI. In most cases, plain water is all you'll need. If not, get a stone prewash. Good luck


Should I install GFCI outlets or run new grounded cabling in my older home? I am renovating an old home(90 years) that my wife and I just purchased. The electrical system in the house is outdated - some of the outlets appear to be knob and tube but most are the brass and silver; forgive me if this is incorrect info, I honestly know very little.
To the point - We do not have grounded outlets and I started replacing the 2 prong outlets with 3 prong outlets (without installing the ground). I realized this is a bad idea and decided to start researching. I am a little confused because I hear opposing arguments on whether or not the GFCI outlets are able to compensate, to some degree, for the inability to short circuit on demand.
I have read that the GFCI are good for nothing more than water running into the outlet whereas the actual ground would short circuit if there was a problem with too much electric output or metal coming into contact.
My question is: Could I replace the 2 prong outlets with GFCI and call it good, or should I be installing a ground? I prefer not to overhaul and install a ground but please tell me if this is a terrible idea or not.
Thanks in advance
-- UPDATE --
I see that some of the outlets are encased with a metal rectangular box and was wondering if I could ground the outlet(s) by running a bare copper wire to the metal rectangle box back to the ground screw on the outlet?
Pictures requested:
The Older Looking Outlet

The Newer Looking Outlet

On "The Newer Looking Outlet" above, you are not able to see it in the photograph but there is a green screw for grounding; it is on the bottom left hand side

Replace the outlets with GFCIs -- the operation of a GFCI in no way depends on the presence of the equipment grounding wire. You'll have to use the "No Equipment Ground" sticker that comes with them, by the way.

P.S. on the metal boxes -- since it sounds like your house is a mix of K&T and other wiring techniques (perhaps NM additions), you cannot ground to the boxes -- that technique only works if your house was wired with BX/AC, MC, or metallic conduit (RMC/IMC/EMT).

(Confirming that you have K&T and NM mixed in your house, based on your photos, by the way -- I also do not see a ground wire on the NM, but the angle of the photo makes it hard to tell.)


Extending drywall past finished corner I am turning an open nook where a makeup counter was into small linen closet.  There will be a partition wall with an opening for folding doors and a small bit of drywall on the outside of the opening. As seen in the pictures, there is a short finished inside wall and a finished outside corner that I want to extend drywall past.

What is the best way to do extend the drywall and build this partition wall?  Should I remove the corner metal piece and attach the new studs, set back about 5/8", with screws through the existing drywall and re-mud?

What's the best way to make the new and old look seamless?

I think you might have answered your question. Ideally, you want drywall to be supported and secured. You don't want a someone to lean (or even brush) against it, and then you have a torn strip of drywall. Put some wood behind it, make sure that it doesn't move.

For better stability, I would even consider taking an inch or two of drywall off of the corner on the outside, and with a single new piece of drywall, extend as far as you need into the closet space, with new studs behind what overhands the corner.

Refer to the doodle below. Black being the existing drywall. Red being new drywall. Blue being the frame of the closet doors (usually wood). Brown being the new stud.


What is the technical name for this flexible metal hose? I wanted to buy this type of flexible metal hose connected to the spray gun of my kitchen sink tap. As I do not know its specific name, specifically the type of connection used at the two ends, my Google search ends up with irrelevant result. The hardware stores in my country don't seem to have it. The outer diameter of the thin end connecting to the tap is 13mm, the fat end connecting to the spray gun is typical type used in shower hose.

The tap in question looks like this.

The tap I bought from China, taobao. I'm from Singapore.

It's just a "sprayer hose". Each faucet manufacturer has its own proprietary design. You won't find generic parts. All it has to fit is the other parts they make. There's no motivation to use standard fittings. In fact, the design can change mid-stream during a model's production run.

Contact the manufacturer or an aftermarket vendor for exact replacement parts.


Tongue groove wood flooring - oops, I cut them both off I am installing strand-woven bamboo flooring. One end is grooved, the other has a tongue.

Typically, I cut the tongue side to width and use that at the start of my row. Then I add a full-length board, and then finally the groove side of the board I cut.

My problem is: I've got a few boards where I mistakenly cut off the wrong end, leaving me a board with no tongue or groove on either end.

My question: what is the risk of using these tongueless or grooveless boards to start a row? (meaning I have two boards that abut and are not connected with tongue and groove).

Thanks

The risk is that the boards will become unflush during seasonal expansion and contraction. Even if they look fine going in; tripping hazards will appear at these seams once everything settles (and then unsettles... and back again).

I use a table saw with three blades sandwiched together to cut grooves back into my useless cut-offs. Tongues aren't fun to make, so just use tongueless ones against the wall, cut again to fit.

You can start each row from either side, so long as the cut end goes (spaced, for expansion) against the wall, and you have at least one tongue or one grove.


How to wire multi-control rocker switch What's the correct way to wire a multi-control rocker switch (e.g. Leviton 1755) that has three switches on one yoke with a common supply?  What wire(s) do I run from the switches to each of the loads?  Electricians must use something other than hard-to-find 14/4 NM-B, yes?

I'm installing a bathroom fan/light combo into a circuit with an existing vanity light.  My plan is to bring power to the switch first (14/2 NM-B), then to the existing vanity, then to the fan.  I can modify this arrangement if there's a compelling reason.

Typically you'd run 14/2 to the vanity, and 14/3 to the fan/light combo.

In the switch box,

Connect all the grounded (neutral) conductors.
Connect all the grounding conductors.
Connect the ungrounded (hot) conductor from the vanity to the switch.
Connect one of the ungrounded (hot) conductors from the light/fan to the switch.
Connect the other ungrounded (hot) conductors from the light/fan to the switch.

If you're dead set on running a single cable, you should be able to find 14/4 or 14/2/2 at your local electrical supply shop.  The big boxes might actually carry 14/2/2, but I haven't specifically looked for it lately.   Just remember if you use 14/2/2, you'll have to mark the repurposed neutral so future electricians know it's used as an ungrounded conductor.

As more and more locations adopt the 2011 version of National Electrical Code, you should start seeing 4 wire cable becoming more common and more widely available.


Stale air in house with windows Here's a rough diagram of the apartment:

There's absolutely no air flow in the apartment, probably because of the directions (up = south)

The worst area of the apartment is the left section, as it contains heat-generating appliances (refrigerator, cold water bar, etc)

What would be the best way to ventilate the apartment? Will putting a fan on the window do the trick? What should be the direction of the fan - to insert fresh air from outside, or to exhaust hot air from the inside?

Usually all doors and windows are open except for the small window on the bottom-right side of the diagram.

Fans move air. If you need to move air in this apartment then fans will be your friend. Putting fans in windows will be the most sure way to get air to flow in or out without it just circulating around inside.

There are downsides of using portable fans:

Fans make noise.
Fans in windows project some of the noise outside which may annoy neighbors.
You will have to deal with cords strung over to an outlet to power the fan(s).
Fans consume electrical power so will have some impact on your utility bill.
Some types of fans may represent a safety hazard unless they are equipped with proper grills and screens to keep body parts away from spinning fan blades.
Fans in windows may obscure views or light coming in.

Some advantages:

Portable fans are for the most part are relatively cheap.
You can position the fans experimentally to achieve the result you need.
Moving air will feel cooler than stagnant air.
There may be seasons where the fans are not needed and it is easy to store a portable fan away till needed again.


Taking power from an electric range I need 20A 250V for an espresso Machine.
I have 50A 250V going to my electric Range.
Can hook the espresso machine on the same line as the Electric Range ?

What bother me is that the 20A 250V espresso will be "protected" by the 50A breaker .

Nope! You need a new dedicated circuit & dedicated outlet for that, essentially you must treat it as another Range or Dishwasher type of Appliance.


Can i leave existing drywall alone when adding two small walls to a finished basement? I am building two small walls in a finished basement to create a enclosed landing at the bottom of the stairs.

The new walls will meet at 90 degrees, both will be coming off studs in the existing walls.

The new walls are each about 4' long, one has a doorway.

Thing is i'd rather not cut the finished drywall on the existing basement walls and ceiling.
I can locate studs and joists for where the new walls will attach,and i'm anchoring the walls solidly to the cement floor.
I will use long deck screws to anchor the top plates and end studs to existing framing (to get through 1/2 inch drywall) Neither new wall is load bearing, but one will have a door in it so its important that the structure is solid.

My Question: Does leaving the drywall on the ceiling and existing walls significantly weaken the integrity of the new structure?

Follow up:

Thanks for the answers everybody!

i think the threshold will be fine im going to put 2 pre-drilled concrete anchors through the bottom plate on either side of the base plate.

After serious consideration, I think I'm gonna leave the drywall on. I understand all the reasons for taking it off, but I'm confident that between the shearing strength of all my heavy screws and the very solidly attached bottom, the walls will be sturdy enough for my purposes. Even the force of a seriously slammed door is dissipated over the entire two wall system.....hopefully:)

You could but why would you?

You are going to have to mud/tape your corners whether you take the drywall out or not.  It will take you no more than 10 mins to dremel or knife out those two tiny sections of drywall.

Why you should:

You can see things easier.
You aren't relying on drywall for wall structure.  I know this wall shouldn't be supporting anything but any weight at all will crush drywall.
Your nails or screws will not be binding to anything for 1/2-3/4 of an inch.
You will not be able to frame really tight unless you crush the drywall.

Points 3&4 could lead to a wobbly wall.  Think of taking a big couch down in this basement.  Corner of couch hit door frame hard.  You don't want the top moving.


shower diverter handle leaks water into tub sayco 3 handle I've got a "sayco" 3 handle tub faucet system.  Middle handle directs water to the tub or the shower.  When I turn on the shower, it leaks a significant amount of water down into the tub still.  What gives?  I tried replacing the stem, same issue.

As best as I can tell, what was happening is that my shower head was getting clogged.
So this was causing a lot of pressure to build up within the diverter and the shower head.
After awhile, it would blow.  So replacing the stem didn't fix the problem.
What would happen is that it would push the little free inner part (with the holes for water to pass through) off of its small hidden retaining washer.  It's supposed to always stay on there(?) After that point the stem is "compromised" and will leak until you push it back onto the washer.  But if you do that without fixing the pressure problem, it will just happen again.

But the real fix is to also clear the clog in the shower head.  In my case I unscrewed it, checked for any debris in the entrance to the shower head (there was a piece of rubber), and also ran a pin through all the little exit holes to clear them of hard water deposits.  Then fixed the diverter so it was over its o-ring.  Reinstalled it.  Seems to work like it should now.
Other things that might happen: it might be missing an O-ring (a different one): https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/sayco-diverter-problem.30813/ https://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/mechanical-trades/ask-the-plumbing-experts/30397-three-handle-shower-diverter-questions


What's the best way to reduce odor in my well water? Updating 60+yr old house, which has a 300 ft well , it has bad smelling water. How to fix cheapest & best way. This house was built by my stepfather, he said they dug til he say white sand . I don't know where to start. Test water before pipes and after.  There's got to be bacteria, fungus , somewhere. It stops smelling if ran about 10 minutes or so. Its so strong tho, it makes me scared to drink much less using it period is iffy to me! Thinking new pipes were the reason, put in New & still smells just as bad. Bathroom Also has stone shower that wasn't sealed or anything to keep mold or mildew at bay. Do I need to replace it all or is there a way to save it? Its the newest of the updated things but could be 5- 10 years since its been exposed to the same water from well. Nothing major there tho I removed silicone around edge of tub & scrubbed majorily, but am asking before I tear it out to be safe. Also can the water have any harmful reactions to humans or animals if they've used this water for prolonged years? ~ Tonya

You said the water smells bad unless run for 10 minutes this points to air in your pressure tank. With a failed bladder in an old tank air contacts the water in the tank and it develops a bad taste/smell. If I wanted to sanitize a well that deep I would pour several gallons of bleach into the well and let it sit for at least several hours then pump the well until the bleach smell is gone. As far as the stone shower I would not be concerned as much, if you want to sanitize that I would use a 3% hydrogen peroxide and water, spray the stone work then rince. Since your smell disipears after several minutes check your pressure tank as it may be the source of the bad smell.


How do I fill a recurring sinkhole in the rainforest of Hawai'i? Aloha!

My 12x20' outdoor bedroom has a sinkhole below it. The land is lava rock and here, the lava rock was bulldozed, so it was all broken up and indeed, there are lava tubes around these parts. The one below the bedroom has opened up several times and has been filled as much as possible with rocks of varying sizes and cinder.

I am thinking about using that expandable foam now. Any thoughts out there on that?

Foam sounds like a bad idea to me for a sinkhole. I've seen them cover old wells with large quantities of foam followed by earth, but your situation is a never ending geological process caused by water flow. Have you read this about the Guatemala sink hole? The article suggests the right way would be to layer rocks. Very large at the bottom and smaller as you go up so that the water can flow through that area but doesn't take the soil with it causing another sink hole. I'd go that route if it was me.


Adjustable steel column is raised too high - can I lower it? Refer to image: The red beam you see overhead in the picture (which runs perpendicular to the other beam) is directly underneath a hump which runs from the bathroom, into the hallway, and into the hallway closet.  It is a fairly large hump at nearly 1/2" above the floor.

Question I have is, can I simply lower the support using the lug at the top of the threads or do I need to enlist the help of a professional?  This is under 3 levels of condo units. Thanks!

Jacking buildings looks simple, but can be complex. I've done quite bit of it for a non-professional, but I happen to be related to a Licensed Professional Civil Engineer who directed the work I've done. As a brash youngster I often could not quite see why we had to take it so slowly - as a somewhat more experienced adult I grasp the fact that you can break a building by jacking it incorrectly.

With "3 levels of condo on top" you'd be well past "fool" and into "darned fool" territory not to have any such work guided by a Licensed Professional Engineer. It only looks simple.

There's also the pesky possibility that the column is right where it should be and other parts of the foundation are sinking.


What can I do about a missing row of tiles when preparing a floor for vinyl planks? I'm planning on putting vinyl plank flooring in my basement.  Right now I've  got the old asbestos tiles and want to leave them where they are at.  As you can see from the picture, one row was previously removed.

So I have to level this out.  Should I just put thinset down along the row?

I would not pour anything there.  The chances are it will not be exactly level and may get on our under existing tiles.

I suggest you glue down some pure vinyl tiles right next to it with the same height.  Then when you lay your floor the pattern should be crossing the current pattern.  I would also suggest a good underlayment for you vinyl planks that should hide inconsistencies but the ability to use underlayment vary by manufacturer - but you can call them and even if it is outside their specs.


How do I replace a 3-way switch that is connected directly to the house wiring? I am trying to install a dimmer switch on my three way circuit in the kitchen.  When I removed the existing switch, the traveler wires look to be hooked directly into the wiring of the house from the switch.  There are no wires nuts indicating a splice and both wires seem to run directly into the wall. Do I need to clip the wires on the switch and then attach the new dimmer using wire nuts and electrical tape?

I presume your new 3-way dimmer switch has 4 braided wires coming out of it. Green (ground), a couple of red wires (travelers) and a black one (common/hot).

Yes, just cut the wires from the old switch (leave them as long as you can) and connect them to the wires on the dimmer switch using small wire nuts (no bigger than the standard yellow ones; the dimmer switch probably came with some wire nuts). Make sure you can't pull any of the wires out of the wire nuts, and make sure the stripped ends of the wires aren't so long that you have bare wire outside the wire nuts. You can wrap the wire nuts with electrical tape for good measure.

I presume you know that of the three conductors (plus the ground wire, if there is one) connected to the three way switch, only 2 are travelers and the other one is the "common." The common, depending on which switch you're looking at, is either supplying power into the 3-way switches, or feeding power out of the switches into your light fixture.

The travelers can be hooked up in any order, but the common must be connected to the common terminal/wire on the switch, or it won't work.


How to finish wood in the winter? If you want to stain and varnish indoor wood furniture during the winter, how do you do it?

It's below freezing outdoors, but I don't want fumes to accumulate in the house.

In the past what I have done is to isolate 1 room, generally in the basement, increase the heat to that room and open the window while running a fan.  In general, once I've closed the can and am only waiting for the piece to dry the fumes tend to get much less noticeable and I can start closing the window.

This method doesn't prevent fumes from reaching other rooms, since they can travel through the ducts or even under the door, and so on, but you can reduce those fumes by closing the house ducts to that room, putting a towel over registers/returns/bottom of door.

With this method you'll want a heater for the room.  I've used electric oil filled heaters but you'll just want to keep in mind that the fumes can be flammable, so keep your venting method running.


How to deal with abandoned wire? There is a 240V/30A circuit in a room of my house that used to be a patio.  I think it was used for a baseboard/electric heater system.  It had a surface mounted outlet that I have removed, but now I have the cable sticking out of the wall.  I also disconnected the wires completely from the breaker panel, so they're hanging by it.  How much of this wire should I remove to be safe?

If the wire is completely disconnected from the panel, and you've confirmed with appropriate testers that there is no voltage running through it, the line is safe.  You can cut it back as much or as little as you like.

I'd suggest that you cut it back on both ends - so that it cannot reach the panel and be hooked up again in the future by someone else who doesn't know better.


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

Well, i don't really see an issue with this since the condensate water is basically distilled water with neutral PH. The legal issue with it may be due to furnace condensate water which contains carbonic acid. Using a neutralizer will take away almost all the acidity, however some municipalities still don't allow either condensate water to be piped to the sump to account for idiocy.

One possible solution, you can get a condensate pump, and have it pump the water though a tube to any sink, or drain you can run the tube to. The only downside is the sound of the pump turning on ever now and then.


Remove LDR (TL116) toilet fill valve part under cap to flush I'm trying to flush the top of the toilet fill valve. I've installed and it works great, levels correct, but after it stops flushing, the part under the cap leaks for a few minutes. I tried removing it like normal where you push down and turn counterclockwise, but it won't move. I took the cap off and pushed down and pulled up, won't move. I'm afraid of breaking it, so does anyone know "the easy way" to remove it? I couldn't find any info on this part.

Not sure why you need to flush out the new valve. Sounds like the valve is not getting enough pressure from the float to shut off completely, until it gets a little more water in the tank. Try lowering the float so that the water shuts off half an inch lower than you have it currently set.


Mounting a small mirror on frosted glass? I have a small IKEA mirror with a battery powered lamp I'd like to mount above my washbasin. My washbasin is in front of a textured glass window facing the street. I tried the suction cup and sticky pads that came with the mirror, but the suction cup won't suck and the sticky pads last 1-2 minutes before it drops.

What's the best way to solve this? Would taping/painting over the glass work? superglue? a bigger suction cup?

I would use a few dabs of silicone bathroom sealer at the corners and hold it in place until it sets.

It wouldn’t take much to hold and if you want to remove it later dental floss slid behind acts like a chainsaw on the silicone. I glue plastic name plates to equipment at work, sometimes the instructions change so a new plate is needed, a minute and a couple feet of dental floss removes the old nameplate, your mirror would work the same.


What is the best way to join toe kick boards? We got out cabinets installed and the only thing missing are the toe kicks.
Sounds like something “simple” however, both of our runs are longer then a single toe kick board.
The board they provided is really thin, about 1/4".
I'm wondering how people join these together.
Since they are too thin it doesn’t look like a 45% cut - for overlapping - is an option.
Just having them side by side will leave a very noticeable line in between them specially because they are white.
Is there a magic to make it (almost) seamless?
Or... maybe the "very noticeable" joint was always there before in the old cabinets and I just never noticed it?
My other concern:
Is 1/4" too thin? Should this be used more like a skin for a thicker unfinished toe kick such as a 1/2 plywood board?

Don't join Them
Well the best option is to only have one kickboard.   Looking at yours I would just throw them away.   For kickboards I use 1x and I use either pine or Azek.   That is the area of the kitchen that has the most chance for water damage so don't use plywood or something like that.   MDF would be your worst choice (isn't it the worst choice for almost anything).
If you do... do it with style
The other option and just used this for the toekick on a rather big island is a rosette.  If you center this it becomes a design element not a stop-gap solution.   I used something very similar to this - link.   Note that rosettes are often thick... So you may have to plane the back.   I usually put the toekicks next to the rosette.   You will not be able to do that if the boards you have are as thin as you described.
Also my suggestions are based on the other materials being used...  Your cabinets look really nice.   Throw those toe kicks away and go with a long piece of pine or azek (any pvc 1x6).  If you need to rip the 1x6 put the ripped edge on the top - no one will ever see it.


New door knob strike screw holes don't line up with old ones I purchased some new door knobs for inside my house to replace my dated looking ones. The previous screw holes for my strike don't quite line up with the new ones. Is it OK to try and screw in or will I have problems? If there will be problems what would be my plan of attack to get these installed?

picture

Thanks!

If you try to use the existing holes, the screws won't sit flush with the strike. Shove a few toothpicks into the existing holes along with some wood glue. After the glue dries, position the strike, drill two small pilot holes and screw in the screws. Good luck.


Outlet with power won't supply power to anything plugged in Today we came back from church and our bedroom outlet did not supply power to the tv or cable box.  Breakers were fine but reset.  Power tester (stick like unit that sticks into the slot and buzzes) shows power on both leads of outlet.  When breaker is off no power.

What could be causing anything plugged into it not to work?  I'm guessing the tester is only testing HOT and not full circuit? (flow of electricity).

PS: Tried portable heater that works in another outlet and it too does not work, so it's not a failed cable box and TV from power surge or something.

1: You should really use a meter instead of those plug in devices - they do not tell you much.

A cheap analog meter might cost $5 and make sure it is analog - a gauge with a physical needle. I know the clerk at a store will tell you the goods on the digital but skip that the analog meter will measure correctly with no phantom voltages, the digital unless it has Lo-Z will not measure accurately.

Is it just this one outlet or all the outlets on that circuit breaker circuit ?
If all outlets behave the same way - Replace the Circuit Breaker - it is defective. If only one outlet is defective read on.

Test Method 1:
Using that meter you can measure for 120VAC between the hot and neutral connections and also test hot to ground. Anything less than 110 VAC means you have a problem with that circuit.

Test Method 2:
Place an LED night light in the socket and see if it lights or even better a cell phone charger that has a little power light indicator to show that it is 'working' (don't plug the other end into your cell phone!) , if the charger indicator light is on or the LED night light is on - it does mean you have power there but does not tell you how much. Since you never said if one or all outlets on this circuit breaker circuit are affected, this test merely declares the possibility of a misbehaving breaker - Led charging light lit (lo current draw - probably a bad breaker).

If Test Method 1 Showed less than 110VAC or Test Method 2 the light on a cell phone charger lit up or even did not light - you have one of Five possible things going on.

A Bad Outlet.
A Bad Connection at the outlet.
A Bad Connection up stream from this outlet.
A Bad Connection in the Circuit Breaker Panel.
A Bad Circuit Breaker.

For items 4 and 5 I would check the other outlets controlled by that circuit breaker to see if they behave the same way. If they do 4 or 5 is your problem. If not 1 through 3 is your answer.


What would cause a slight thumping noise in water pipes on toilet and washer? Everyone once in a while, some of the pipes in our house make some noise, mainly only when you flush a the one toilet, or use the washer. When using the sinks, hoses, or shower, the noise is not heard.

Its a rhythmic, light 'thumping' noise. It could almost be considered a clicking noise.

It only lasts while the water is on, and only on the washer and flushing a toilet. Im assuming (since it happens while the water is on and not after its off) that this wouldn't be 'Water Hamer'.

What could be causing this noise, and what should one do to correct it?

Update: if it helps, the noise is at a rhythm of almost one per second, maybe a little quicker, but not really less than half a second.

Update 2: To be more accurate, the noise is actually probably a little faster than once every half a second. Here is a link to a M4A file (recorded from iPhone). This was recorded on the wall opposite of the bathroom, where the pipes should be.

Can you locate the noise (tricky because I am sure it is also traveling along the length of the pipe)?  Is it coming from a particular wall?  It could be a loose pipe that is moving a little (only when water is running through it) and hitting something.


floor joists splitting at non-beam end I'm looking for a good way to correct and arrest horizontal splitting of some floor joists where they rest on the top-plate below.

The joists are 2"x8" (nominal), spaced 12" OC, and the ends away from the central beam rest on the top-plates of the basement's exterior walls. The joists are each about 14' long, but I don't see any signs of trouble in the middle, for example sagging. AFAICT, each joist-end is held in place by a single toe nail into the top-plate below, and whatever nails come in form the subflooring above.

Many of the joists have cracks, either hairline or larger, starting at the end of the joist resting on the top plate, and extending several inches towards the far end of the joist.  I suspect this was caused by (a) the toe-nailing and (b) 50 years of load.

Edit: some examples:

Note: The first picture is getting rotated against my will. In reality the window is below the joist.

The worst splitting seems to happen with joists that were bottom-notched to support plumbing:

Just another example. The existence of the hole in the center seems to result in a longitudinal crack, but it doesn't appear problematic (yet).

My ultimate goal is to ensure the structural integrity of the framing. Ideally without sistering the joists, because that would cause various additional hassles.

So I'm thinking to reinforce the problematic joists ends using steel L-brackets, so as to resist the horizontal spreading of the joist wood where it's resting on the top-plate. By adding a bracket on both sides of each joist, I hope to fully prevent any horizontal splitting of the joist.

Edit: a rough sketch of one such bracket installation:

Any thoughts on the viability of this approach?

None of what you're describing is particularly concerning, and is fairly typical of old, dry wood. Those cracks have probably been there almost as long as the joists have. The brackets you propose will not provide any useful benefit, as any movement would be due to compression of the joist, and brackets won't stop that. You'd need to sister the joists fully or in part, bonding the two members together adequately with construction adhesive and screws. I don't think that's necessary, though.

However, the water damage as indicated by the staining on multiple members raises flags. Softening of wood as it decays results in settling and structural damage. That should be your primary concern. If the cause hasn't been resolved, do some investigating. My guess is that there's an entry above that area with inadequate drainage.