240 volt Samsung dryer hookup The wiring for a 240 v dryer shocked me when I hooked it up.  Samsung dryer had a 240v three wire connection.  I wired neutral to the center and the two 110v on each side.  There was a white wire grounded to the chassis as well as a green wire. I plugged it in and touched the washer and dryer at the same time and got a shock.  I metered out the 240V connector and it seemed fine.
I have an electrical sniffer and plugged it in and the dryer cabinet was hot.  The washer was not.
I don't think that the white wire was supposed to be hooked to the cabinet.  It goes internal into the dryer, so I can't trace it inside of the dryer.

It is wired according to the instruction, but something is foul!  Any advice.

That's what happens when you use a 3-prong cord on a dryer or range!

3-prong cords are bad.  This is why.

The 3-prong plug is a throwback to the days when nothing was grounded. The dryer uses 240V for most things, and also uses 120V for the timer mechanism, motor or display, which is why it needs neutral.

When the NFPA started requiring grounds, the appliance industry pushed back. They were afraid they would lose appliance sales into millions of homes that only have 3-wire (NEMA 10) receptacles, because homeowners would not want to retrofit.  So they haggled with the NFPA to allow them to use neutral as ground, which would be bootlegging anywhere else.   Their logic was the plug is rarely disturbed and unlikely to fail.

Clearly that is not the case.

There's some sort of problem with the neutral wire somewhere, and it's not returning properly and is flowing current from a hot to a 120V device to neutral/ground to chassis to you to the washer.  The problem is probably in a wire termination.   You could fix it, but then you'd just be betting your life on the neutral wire again.   That's not exaggeration, this problem kills.

I recommend you retrofit a ground wire, and convert the receptacle to 4-wire, grounded NEMA 14.   The dryer is new enough that it's designed to be wired for either a 3-wire or 4-wire connection.  If you do the latter, it will be properly grounded and unable to shock you.  Just get a NEMA 14 cord and rejumper the dryer per its instructions.


Should a second layer of asphalt be placed over an older layer of asphalt? I have an asphalt driveway.  It has its fair share of cracks, etc. However, most troublesome is that "ruts" have formed from the weight of cars driving on it.  This means there is a high spot in the middle that is taking a fair amount of abuse when I plow the driveway in the winter.

It has been suggested that I should put another layer of asphalt on top. If current asphalt and whatever is under it is not hard enough to stand up to weight of car traffic, doesn't really seem like another layer of asphalt is what I need, but if I knew what I was talking about I wouldn't be here...

Should I have another layer of asphalt put down on top?  If not, what should be done?

Another layer of blacktop asphalt, usually a finer "grit", will fill the low spots and get you through another year -- but it sounds like your driveway is under-engineered for the weight you're regularly driving/parking on it. So, you've got a few choices:

Another layer of blacktop every year or two, and probably mopping tar on it every summer.
Tear it up and put in a new asphalt driveway, which will probably have the same problems. I would make sure you consult an engineer and have a few soil cores/studies done before you pursue this angle... you will want to have the substrate rebuilt from the soil on up, and you will want to have had some soil studies for expansion ratios and whatnot done and an appropriate base engineered before you pursue this angle. This will PROBABLY include digging up everything that is there -- the blacktop, crushed gravel, and all, re-tilling the soil with some additives to improve it's compressibility for your climate, and then re-laying everything... probably a bit thicker.
Tear it up and put in a concrete driveway with a high PSI load concrete, which will occasionally have problems due to the freeze/thaw cycle, but won't sag due to vehicle weight and where you can have any lippage that appears ground down and then can cover it with blacktop again when it does finally blow out or get too thin to grind. See notes above about soil+engineering study, plus tearing out all the base layers and digging deeper/re-packing them.

The last is the pattern that will last the longest, but is obviously going to cost most.


What is this protrusion of bricks in my wall? My house was built in 1904 in St. Louis, USA. It has a brick exterior. Currently, one of the side walls has a narrow stack of bricks near the back of the house. The stack starts in the basement and goes through the second floor. It's about 9" x 20". I don't see any thing coming into or going out of it anywhere. It takes up precious space in our (too small) bathroom and (too small) kitchen.

Any ideas what it is, why its there and if it can be removed?

Without a picture to confirm, it sounds like it may be a pilaster. If so, it is structural, and possibly helping carry a load (beam) above the ceiling


Three-way switch circuit between house and barn - how to wire I am in the process of wiring a new barn. We have an existing 4 conductor feed powering a sub-panel in the barn from the house.

I ran into a question while figuring out how to wire a three-way circuit between the buildings - a three way switch in the house, pulling power from an existing lighting circuit, connected to a second three way switch in the barn, which in turn feeds outdoor lights on the barn.

We have three individual 12GA conductors run along with the sub panel conductors. Ideally, I would like to use two of them for the two switched legs of the three-way circuit and use the third as an additional single pole switched circuit, also fed from the house.

Is it allowable to connect these circuits back to the neutral and ground buses in the sub panel, or do I need to use the third conductor to bring a separate neutral all the way from the house just for the three-way circuit?

If the later is the case, is it legal to have the barn three-way switch in a multi-gang box with other circuits fed from the sub panel? I realize I would need to keep the neutral for the three-way isolated from the others in the box to avoid paralleling the sub panel feed back to the house.

Big problem: no ground

NEC 2014 gives you broad latitude to share grounds among circuits.   The one thing it does not allow you to do is share grounds among panels.  Circuits served from the main house cannot use the grounding system from the subpanel, or vice versa.

Sharing neutral is out of the question

What has never been allowed is sharing a neutral among different circuits.  This causes a lot of problems.  It breaks GFCIs and AFCIs.   It causes potential overloads, since neutrals do not have overcurrent protection (breakers) and depend on being mated with only one single hot which does have appropriate overcurrent protection.

What's more, neutrals have to be white.   No tagging a colored wire.   So if your three 12AWG wires do not have a white among them, you'd need to pull one - and might as well pull a ground too.

Of course... If the circuit was 240V, none of the wires would be neutral, would they?

Relays?

Given 3 colored wires, no neutral or ground, here's what makes sense to me.  Power both circuits (the 3-way and the simple switched circuit) from the subpanel at the barn.   Use the 3 wires to control the coils of two relays.  I think if you put the relays immediately off the subpanel, e.g. in knockouts on the subpanel itself, you would effectively be inside the steel shielding of the subpanel and dodge the the grounding issue. It's a stretch, but it's all you got short of pulling more wires.

At the house, you bring 120 or 240V to your two switches.  Plain 1-way switches.  You send two switched wires and a common to the barn.  Each relay coil takes 1 switched wire and shares the common.

Then you feed power off a breaker in the barn subpanel, which goes to the relay contact marked common on each relay. The relay to control the simple load is a plain SPST relay (any other kind would also do) and is wired like a plain switch.  The common contact takes always-hot from the barn subpanel, the NO contact is switched-hot for that load.

The other relay is a SPDT type.   Note that this is exactly the same layout as a 3-way switch, and you do the standard 3-way switch layout.  You wire always-hot to the common relay contact.   Each of the NO and NC contacts go to the two messengers, which go to the barn 3-way switch.  The common of the barn 3-way switch goes to the light.   Standard 3-way switch layout, except one switch is a relay.

That's how I would do it with the wires present.


Is it possible to add a second switch to a light, without unearthing the wires to the existing switch I have a hall light with the only switch by the front door. The light fixture is ~3 meter from the door.
At the foot of the hall stair, about 2 meters away from the door in the other direction, is an existing switch panel for the landing light.
I want to add an additional switch to that panel, which will be a 2nd switch for the hall light.
Question 1:
Assuming that I want the "normal" version of a 2-switch light (i.e. flipping either switch will change the light's state, irrespective of the other switch's position) ... am I right in thinking this can't be achieved without digging out the all of the existing run from the front door to the light fixture. (which is in the wall/ceiling)?

Question 2:
Suppose I were willing to put up with "both switches have to be in the 'on' position for the light to work" (i.e. either switch can turn the hall light off on it's own, but you'd sometimes have to flip both switches to turn the light on). Now can this be done without digging out the existing run?

Question 3:
On the assumption that Q1 is "Yes, you have to dig it out" and Q2 is "Yes, you can install that without going back to the front door switch".
Would it be possible to install "Q2" in such a way that in the future, I can come back and convert to Q1, without having to redo this 2nd spur?
i.e. can I "Do Q2 with the extra run setup up to support 2 switches, and then see how palatable that set up is. And if it's too annoying then come back and fix the existing run to properly support both switches, without having to redo the new run"

All of this has to be standard electrical wiring. WiFi or "smart" switches are (alas) completely out of the question.

There are smart switches that can do this. The issue will be you have to purchase both quite expensive and they take full sized openings (larger box will be needed at the stairwell single gang box) I cannot remember if they made one without a neutral required but most balk at the price of ~70$ just for the electronic 3/4 way switch. master snd slave required or controller and remote for those offended by the first term. I believe the series is caseta  by lutron the current price 60$  Theee were others that did not require hubs same MFG that I have used.
You need to verify if a neutral is available or needed by the switch some require neutral some require ground to operate.


What can I do if my water cannot be turned off? I don't know what to do. While trying to install a new kitchen faucet, we found that the water shut off valve in the basement was frozen & wouldn't budge. The city said it would have to be shut off at the main, which was under the street. They went in & said it was so old & rusted that it could not budge. So, what can I do? The house is over 100 years old, & I bought it about 10 yrs. ago. My shower has stopped working correctly, & I can't have it fixed if I can't shut off the water!  I really need help. Thank you!

The main cause of valves becoming stuck is when they are opened fully and left there. The correct way is to open them fully and then close them half a turn or so.

This enables a little 'wiggle' room for the valve when it slowly becomes stuck again over the years. A valve stuck hard against the stops is very difficult to persuade to move again.

On stuck valves I always use a penetrating lube the day before, WD40 or such like. Try a little gentle tapping around the valve with a timber stick at the same time as trying to 'rock' the valve back and forth.

Some valve designs have a nut which can be slightly loosened to relieve pressure on the seal/washer etc. Be prepared for some small weeping/leaking when the valve finally moves.

Use extra leverage like wrenches at your peril, you might get away with it or it could go horribly wrong...


I am getting shocked on an outlet whose power is isolated at the breaker! I have added an extension to my home recently and wired everything onto the garage circuit with everything working properly as it should except for one outlet i keep getting a tingle from the ground wire while trying to put it in the wall. The weird part is there is no power supplied to this outlet. I have isolated the breaker. Through all of the remodel I have only used one circuit so no crossed from another breaker. everything is properly grounded. any inputs?

I got it figured out today. I had a warranty repair on my water heater recently and the guy got a couple of wires mixed up causing a neutral cross. After that no issues at all. Thanks guys! –


What is this architectural shingle condition called? Is it reparable? I have architectural shingles. I noticed on a few of them that the some of the lower portions of the top layer of the shingle are loose, as shown.

What is this condition called? If I search for delamination, I get results about the seal between two different shingles failing.

Should I just re-adhere with roofing tar/adhesive? You can see where the original adhesive was at the bottom and mid-points of the shingle. Any other thoughts?

It’s called “self sealing” shingles (or lack thereof).

Shingles are made to self seal to each other by having the sun heat them up (including the asphalt strip on the underside) and the weight of the shingle will cause the asphalt to press into the lower shingle.

When the shingle is hung at more than about 6:12 or in a cool environment, then the weight does not affect the shingle and it does not stick to the lower shingle.

Often “hand tabbing” is required. Hand tabbing is merely “hand applying” a glob of asphalt about the size of a quarter to the lower shingle about every 12” on center and then stepping on the upper shingle to squish it flat.

Without the shingles sticking together, they are susceptible to “blow off” in high wind areas.

In your case, use a single glob for the small shingle. Do not coat the entire area, because the shingle will heat up from the sun and need to move and expand.


Changing light fitting with red/black uk wiring I have attempted to replace my bathroom light fitting. It has 2 red wires and 2 black. In the original standard light fitting, it has one black in the live and one in neutral. Then the two red loop wires were in the middle fitting see photo:

Now see below photo of the new light fitting. It worked when one of each the black and red were in both the neutral and live. But when I turned the light off, the electric trips, and won't come back on. What am I doing wrong? Note the naked wires are earth.

It worked when one of each the black and red were in both the neutral and live. But when I turned the light off, the electric trips, and won't come back on. What am I doing wrong?

It sounds like you have wired the switch across the light. When you "turned off" the switch you were actually turning it on and creating a short circuit.
The two red wires need to connect to each other, but not to the light fitting. Traditional UK ceiling roses had a dedicated terminal for this, but sadly most fancy fittings don't, so you have to add your own connector. The tranditional option in the UK would have been a peice of terminal block, but push-in or lever connectors from the likes of wago are increasingly becoming a popular alternative. Personally i'm a fan of the wago lever terminals.
The black wire from the switch should be sleeved red or brown and connected to the live terminal on the light, while the black wire from the supply should be connected to the neutral terminal on the light.
There are various ways to determine which is the supply cable and which is the switch cable, but I suspect the easiest for you is to connect the cables to the light one at a time while capping off the other cable temporerally with terminal block or wagos. Then turn the power on and if the light comes on you have the supply cable.


Is there gutter around this sunroom? This sunroom is interesting because:

The long edge attached to the house is lower below the gutter.

Then it has multiple edges with a pointed top (cathedral?).

How does the water run off? Especially the edge at the attachment to the house?

I'd say it has guttering… but perhaps nowhere to go.
The moulding round the top edge certainly looks gutter-shaped, it has sealed corners, all very 'guttery'.
What it doesn't seem to have is a fall-pipe, so it will either just fill up if those gutter-ends are sealed, or pee down onto the paving if they're not. It also seems designed that the rear face is just going to slosh water against the 'porch' section of the house extension.
It could potentially go right the way round, but the only indication of that is that the interior of the soffit section remains uniform. That, unfortunately doesn't tell us whether or not the outside is uniform.  There is potential that it does if you look at the apparently larger gap back to the extension wall in the rear corner. There looks to be room enough for gutter. It would still have no apparent way to drain.
The porch itself seems to have correct guttering & fall-pipe (you can just see a bit of it at the far side & it looks like the same design as the neighbours', it runs to the side of the house. It could potentially be from the conservatory gutter, or the porch, or perhaps both at a push.
I don't see any part of the structure that could have cleverly-hidden integral fall-pipe. None of the uprights are big enough & none of them run down to the ground.
If that was an estate agent's or builder' photo I'd demand to see from more angles. I'd really also like to see one from the top of a ladder looking at that joint to the 'porch'.
One last observation. The door doesn't seem to open onto the paved area. There looks like an accidental half flag of overlap, but mainly it looks like that grass is going to take some footfall, come rain, come shine.
Couple of zoomed images of salient points…


How can I repair a leak in a PVC water line without bringing down the system for an extended period of time? I have a small leak in 1" PVC pipe at a connection to a shutoff valve. It looks like not enough PVC cement was used. Taking this apart to repair it will require the entire household water system to be shut off. I would like to replace the valve/pipe as quickly as possible. Is there a fast curing PVC cement that I can use on a potable water system? I would like the system to not be down more than a couple hours.

NOTE: The leak is actually at the connection of a PVC valve. It looks like there wasn't enough solvent/cement used.

UPDATE: There were a lot of great suggestions. I ended up following Ed Beal's answer for a permanent fix. The cure time chart on the cement said I only needed to wait 20 minutes before pressurizing the system again. Took me 30 minutes from start to finish (not including the wait time to turn the water back on). So far no leaks.

I would use Oatey “hot” glue it sets faster than regular but cost a bit more , only get a small can as it evaporates faster also. You can see the label most standard solvents require an hour or longer depending on the diameter , but hot glue is ready in as short as 10 minutes. Primers also help but hot glue doesn’t need primer or the orange stuff I use doesn’t. Also the air temp and working pressure make a difference, colder takes longer to set.

Added: most of the systems I have worked on are less than 80 psi I checked the lava glue I use (Oatey orange lava)  the sheet said 2 minutes assembly and cure but truthfully I think it is more like 15 seconds.  I have pressurized within 10 minutes , the chart shows an hour but that is for pipe up to 1-1/4” at up to 180 psi.
I have done many repairs on 1” and below with just hot glue and had the water back on within 10-15 minutes of the last joint with out failure. I always tighten the lid and store on the lid the cab tends to seal that way but I usually have a brand new can available also.


What to do with pushed in tile? I need to fix this slightly pushed in tile and get it looking normal again. Can anybody advise on what I should do, e.g. what to buy and general instructions/technique? I'm worried that it's going to fall through! ,  and . Thanks!

As Steven mentions in comments you could have rot in the wall.  I wouldn't say this is the case but it is definitely a possibility.

You need to take the tile out.  Get a putty knife or something comparable and chisel out the grout.  Try to pry it off.  If that doesn't work then get a wood block and tap the crap out of the block on top of the tile with a hammer.  Every 20 or so taps test tile to see if it is loose.  You should give pretty firm taps.  The tile will come loose this way or push into the wall if wall is wet.

From there you have to either fix the wall issue and reinstall or just reinstall with more material.  You might need a little thinset for it to be pushed out or layering mastic on mastic.


Can a NEMA 6-15 Device be connected to a NEMA 6-20 receptacle? I have a new -80 deep freezer that calls for NEMA 6-15R receptacle, but the old one it is replacing called for a NEMA 6-20.  I note that the plug actually seems to fit in the 6-20, but is there a reason that this would cause a problem?  The machine should only draw the lower amperage, so the fact that the outlet is overrated wouldn't be a problem?

Maybe I'm missing something.

tl;dr
15 Ampere cord-and-plug appliances can indeed, safely be connected to 20 Ampere receptacles.
A deeper understanding
NEMA 6 is a design standard for three wire grounded cord-and-plug devices and receptacles.  The number after the dash (-), is the current rating of the device. For example. A NEMA 6-20 device, would be a three wire grounded cord-and-plug device capable of withstanding 20 amperes of current. The "R" simply tells you that the device in question is a receptacle.  A NEMA 6-20 cord-and-plug device, would plug into a NEMA 6-20R device.
The NEMA design standard is a safe and convenient way to determine what can connect to what.  Basically, if it fits, it works.
If a 15 Ampere device is connected to a 20 Ampere rated receptacle, the device will still only draw a maximum of 15 Amperes.  Plugging the device into a higher rated receptacle, will not cause it to draw more current.


What type of wall sheathing is on my house? My house sheathing is not a plywood - but some dark brown material.

Click for larger view

Does anyone know what that is?

P.S. here's more higher quality images:
pic1
pic2
pic3

It was made by Celotex as well as some other companies. It comes under the nickname Buffalo board and Beaver board depending on where you're at. I don't know that it's manufactured anymore, however I viewed the link from the previous answer and it appears it could be the same thing.

If your house is older then it is probably the original buffalo board material. If it is newer it could very well be the exact same thing that is sold at Home Depot mentioned in the link that was provided in the first answer.


Can I hang 100lb boxing bag from wood ceiling beam? I'm looking to hang a 100lb combat sports banana heavy bag from my ceiling as shown in picture below.

Obviously the iron beam is the most stable point, but it's only 7ft high at the low point and the bag itself is 6ft (won't have much room for chain/swinging right?). The beam is also in the middle of the room and blocks a walking path so would prefer to put it on the wood joists beyond the beam if possible.

What would be the best method/bracket/hardware for handing the bag on the wood beams of this ceiling. These basement joists support the 1st floor of my house so would imagine can take a strong load. Can I bracked the bag directly to one beam or do is a cross beam needed? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Secondly, I'd like to hang an aqua bag outside under my deck shown here. Ignore the hook - that's just for plants

The deck joists actually are doubled up, so is there a bracket that could mount under both of these? Or could we drill right into the beams themselves (probably not great idea right)?

I've hung a few heavy items in cases like this by installing 4"x4" or 6"x6" joist hangers facing each other between two joists and installing the appropriate beam into them. Then drill through the beam, install an eye bolt with washer and nut on the back. Hang the item.

This is similar to what I did but I used a 6x6 and ran my eye bolt all the way through.


Tips for fitting garden hose on tight hose fitting/quick connector I recently purchased a 1/2" garden hose and two hose fittings (not native English speaker, this is what the English version of the store's website calls them - image attached) which according to the packaging are for 1/2".

The problem is that the hose is really difficult to connect to the fittings, it's a really tight fit, and I can only get the horse pushed about 5mm over the connector. This is barely enough for the locking mechanism to be able to press against the hose, but when the water is turned on one of the fittings eventually comes lose. I assume I need to push the hose further over the connector.

I've tried to use WD-40 to lubricate the hose and connector, but it didn't really seem to help. I also tried to expand the hose by using pilers, but that didn't really work.

Any ideas?

Here's an image of the hose fitting from the shop's website

This is possibly a daft question, but just to be sure - you are unscrewing the "nut" that is on the right side of that picture, sliding that over the hose, pushing the hose under the "fingers", and then doing the nut back up?

If so, and you're sure that that hose and fitting are the same size, then try putting the end of the hose in a bucket of hot water for 15 minutes. It should soften the hose enough to allow you to wiggle it all the way into the connector, and then do the nut up.

Edit: as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. This clearly shows what I'm trying to explain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR8OkhLhtYo


Why is my neutral wire connected to a breaker? I'm going to be running a new electrical line to a new shed. I opened up my breaker box and came across what's pictured below.
The top 20A breaker goes to our well pump, and the 15A goes to the shed.
If I follow the wires, the neutral wire from the well pump (which is the back connection) connects to the 15A shed's breaker. Is that normal?

That's not a neutral, and this is not a correct/compliant/safe installation.
Your well pump is 240V. Cable comes black, white, ground and when you have a 240V only load, the white wire is a second hot. In conduit, you would use a hot color (2 blacks, or black & red, or one of the various other colors) but in cable, 2 conductors is black & white.
It should be "re-marked" with black or red tape or paint or heat-shrink, but it often isn't.
It should NOT be connected to two independent breakers. It should be connected to a dual-pole breaker which will be twice as wide as the single-pole breakers you show, and clip onto TWO of the bus wings.
[want proof? turn off your shed breaker and watch your well pump not run. But you might find power in the shed, to an extent (at least enough to shock you) if the well pump is trying to run, since power will pass through the motor windings (at half-voltage) and then to your shed circuit - this Not Good.]
So, buy a dual-pole breaker of the correct size for your pump, re-mark the white wire with red or black, and connect the well black and re-marked white to the two terminals on the new dual-pole breaker, leaving your shed circuit out of the well circuit.
You'll have a 20A single pole breaker (that you will remove the black pump wire from) to use for whatever new thing you are adding...
Obligatory reminder to use a torque screwdriver or wrench for tightening the terminal screws - values are on the box label, and molded into the breakers themselves (35 in-lb for the breakers, if I recall correctly)
Further issues, responding to comments.
Yes, the neutral being double-stuffed is wrong. Every neutral gets its own hole. Grounds may be able to share, that should be detailed on the panel label that also has the torques for the ground/neutral bar screws.
The well breaker should be a double-pole, probably 15 or 20 amps, size should be specified in the pump's documentation (if you have it or know what it is.) If it's not tripping the 15A shed breaker that feeds half of it, 15A might be sufficient (if documentation is missing.) Looks like you could put that on the bottom and move the shed up - or you can wire-nut an extension onto the well white to make it reach the top position. Breaker panels ARE junction boxes, though there's a common misconception that they are not.


Weight load for a bench using 2 x 12 I would like to build a entryway bench using a 3 foot length of 2 x 12. I plan to use 16" hairpin legs made of 1/2" cold rolled steel. Not sure if the type of wood matters, but I will probably use pine. How much weight can I expect the bench to hold?

I ran this through the sagulator, Assuming a shelf 36", 2x12 on side, supported at the ends (floating) with a center load of 1000 lbs, and got a total deflection of .07 inches.

1200 lbs still read as acceptable,  1250 went borderline.

So for supporting one or two humans within normal weight parameters, you should be good.  I'd be more interested in the legs and how they are connected.


Help explain how this receptacle is wired? My house was built in 1955. Original cloth braided wiring. However, the words are visible on some of the wires in the attic and they do say that they have a ground wire. My ground outlet tester confirms that the outlets are grounded.
Today, I was looking at this outlet and it was wired differently than I have seen before (power was off at the breaker and I was positive it was off). I was given advice to not touch anything and have an electrician come out because I don't know what I'm doing. Which is fair, I don't know too much about this. But I'd like to learn for my own knowledge.
The wiring to the receptacle has two hot wires screwed in and one neutral wire screwed in. The other other neutral is put in the back "stab in." The ground screw at the bottom left of the receptacle does not have a ground wire around it. However, my ground tester said it was grounded correctly. If I look in the back of the box, I can see what appears to be a ground wire twisted together. However, I don't fully understand how it's grounded back there.
Here are a couple of pictures:
The hot wires

The one neutral wire

The stab in neutral in the back

What I think is the ground wire in the back

A few questions:

What have one neutral wire stab in? Why not just use the open screw that is there? As you can see it came loose in the picture. So the outlet isn't working.
Why isn't the ground wire around the ground screw? The way it looks currently is that the two ground wires are twisted together. Neither is connected to the ground screw terminal. My understanding is that they should be connected, preferably with a wire nut instead of just twisted together, and then one of the ground wires should go to the ground screw terminal. From what I can tell, that isn't being done and they are just twisted together in the back. How come I'm getting a reading that it is correctly grounded? Is it because the yoke is metal and both the yoke and copper are touching the metal box?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I was having a hard time making out where the neutral with the bad insulation came from. it did not look wrapped on the other screw or no wire left there I can see. That bothers me unless there was a back stab on the receptacle then the long strip would make sense it pulled out.
One common place for solid wire to break is at the strip point if the wire is nicked or not (the reason most electricians won’t use solid  wire in industrial locations or where there is high vibration).
The grounding conductors in the box should be connected to the box and the box can be the ground to the receptacle.
To me it looks like the hot jumper between top and bottom receptacles is intact so there is probably another receptacle that was not working since this one was dead. But if the hot tab is broken one of the receptacles is probably switched.
Last the wrap on the neutral is the wrong direction, the hot conductors are correct.
Code specified wrap is 66-75% the code book shows this as aluminum wire but inspectors use that as a guide for copper also.


What is spray latex paint? An abatement professional suggested that we use spray latex paint to coat a pipe that has embedded asbestos fibers.

I can't find anything online or at stores that is labeled latex spray paint.

Many professional painters use a compressor and a paint gun to paint (usually) common latex paints in homes and apartments.

Here's a couple videos about professional sprayers and another about residential sprayers.


What are these pins for that I keep finding in my steel cabinets? I keep finding these pegs in the steel cabinets I just bought for my garage.    During the process of assembly and every time I move them,  new ones keep appearing inside the cabinets.

Do they serve a purpose or are they a byproduct of the manufacturing process?

They are the remnants from the rivets used to hold the pieces of steel together. Each rivet contains a piece that holds the metal together and a piece that looks similar to a finish nail. When the "nail like" piece is pulled by the riveting tool it distorts the head then breaks off.

Pop Rivet set tool grips shank, draws ball head up through tube rivet to expand it till it bottoms out and breaks at neck inside tube rivet.


Makita Power tools identification help I hope I am in the right stackexchange domain for this question.

I have acquired an old Makita SDS-MAX drill hammer in a garage sale for almost nothing because the rotor of the electrical engine is fried.
The issue is that the print with the tool reference is gone, and the series number are not helping me find anything on the internet. Moreover, Makita is now producing a new version of this tool so it is even listed on their website.

My question is thus : could you help me identify this powertool so that I can find the right part for it ? Thanks !
The details :

it is a Makita drill hammer for Europe (220 V)
the bits are SDS Max
There a two positions : hammer or drill hammer
It is probably ten years old but I can't say for sure.

Here's a picture

I would say that this is a Makita HR4010C, but I'm not 100% sure.


Potential asbestos exposure from adding screws to drywall? My father manually screwed in two self-tapping screws into drywall that most likely contains asbestos in the compound. It was in a garage in a house built in 1976. It was actually those hooks that you screw into the wall to hang stuff off of.
He did not use any power drill. Is the risk of asbestos exposure low?
I understand the drywall usually doesn't contain asbestos but the compound usually did. No idea where he screwed it in.

IMHO Asbestos dangers have been dramatically over-stated for the general public. The people who were in real danger are  people who worked with asbestos in an industrial setting, like ship workers insulating pipes, heating techs insulating pipes and ducts with asbestos etc. , day in and day out, cutting it, being exposed to it's dust.
Extremely limited exposure to asbestos like your father may have had will not result in any health problems.
Hopefully this answer will not get flagged for being opinion based because if you look at the facts, nearly everyone who got asbestosis was in an industrial or military setting.   Your father is at virtually no risk from what he did.


Can I use #10 wire instead of #12 when wiring a new house? I am wiring a new house. I bought a boat load of new Romex wire size 10, 12, and 14. I've used all my 12 and 14; is it alright to use the number 10 in place of number 12?

Yes, since #10 wire can handle more amperage than #12, #10 wire would be a suitable substitute for #12. However, since #10 is larger and less flexible than #12, you may have a wiring device or junction box space issue.


What size drill bit do I need for a 3/16" plastic anchor in tile? And yes, the obvious answer is 3/16" ... that doesn't work.

I'm installing a towel rod and hook in a bathroom that is fully tiled. The instructions with the rod & hook both said to drill a 3/16" hole for the included anchors, so I bought a Rigid 3/16" diamond tile drill bit. Drilling the first two holes went great, until I tried to fit the anchor in. Didn't fit.

Generally with drywall, the anchor is a little bigger than the hole, and you just force it in and it works fine. There's no give with the tile though.

For reference, I grabbed a caliper and started measuring things. 3/16" is 0.1875" The holes I drilled with the 3/16" bit are actually 0.225" and the widest part of the anchor is 0.245" -- almost 1/4"!

As a secondary question -- assuming I get get the right size bit -- am I going to run into trouble trying to make these holes larger? If so, is there a better way you can think of to mount the hook with the two 0.225" holes I already have?

If you are wary of making the holes larger (which is possible and as Tester101 says just make the hole in the tile larger) then you could just go for a smaller anchor and screw.

Obviously this will depend on whether the smaller screws are still a good fit for the holes in the hook. Also the load the hook can take might be reduced, but as you're not going to be swinging from it (hopefully!) you should be OK.


How do I install transition molding between my new hardwood and existing tile floors? I have ripped out some old carpet and am preparing to install a new solid hardwood floor myself.  In several places, the floor transitions to an existing tile floor.  The hardwood floor guys told me the best transition between the two is a T molding.  You simply leave a gap between the two floors, and then place down the T molding between the two floors, so it sits on both surfaces.  Sounds simple enough.

However, the height difference of the two floors is considerable, and the T molding does not sit flush.  What are my options?  Here is a diagram showing the dimensions.

NOTE:  Using the T molding is not a requirement, I could go some other route if there is a better option.

In your situation, I'd use reducer molding instead of T molding:


What are the 4-wire cables use for? I am trying to figure out what's the best way to get electricity from my garage to the garden. In the garage, I have the normal 230 V outlets/lamps, and the power gets there via 1.5 or 2.5 mm^2 (still need to check) 3-wire (line, neutral, ground) cable. I was planning to connect another cable to it, lay it in the garden and connect to the lamps/water-proof outlets there. In the shop, I've discovered the dedicated cables for the outdoor use. But they also have a 4-wire cable. I wonder what the purpose of this cable may be. In the photo below I show it next to the normal 3-wire cable.

Those cables have totally different applications.  On the left, you have common household power cable in the modern EU (IEC) colors:

Ground: mandatory green/yellow
Neutral: mandatory blue (today; older installations use other colors)
Hot: by common practice, brown

The American equivalent is bare-white-black.  These colors in 14-2 Romex (jacketed cable; 14 gauge; 2 conductors +ground) is used all over the place in every US home.

The right is for three-phase power, specifically "delta" power (which by definition does not have a neutral.) That is why there is no blue "neutral" in the bundle.  This is bigger power, for heavier loads such as factory lighting or air conditioning in a large retail store.

It'd be an odd duck in residences — while three-phase "wye" power comes down your street (230 V to neutral, 400 V phase to phase), it's rare to pull all 3 phases into a home.  Probably more common in a townhouse (mansion) or a 12-unit apartment block.  Because of its notable lack of neutral, this cable would only be useful for running large motors or heating units, say to deliver 400 V delta to a large air conditioning unit of 5 kW capacity.  Here are the IEC color codes:

Ground: mandatory green/yellow
Phase 1: Brown
Phase 2: Black
Phase 3: Gray

Black is no longer legal for neutrals in the UK, and unless the cable is pre-2004 old stock, it is certainly intended for 3-phase delta, since the colors are just right for it.

What I hear from Euro folks is this is how  normal 3-and-earth is sold, and you are expected to re-mark one of the phase wires to be neutral (if you need neutral).  I would re-mark the black, since you should take it "out of play" as it's not a valid neutral color anymore, so that'll reduce confusion.

Note: North American people can never re-mark or re-sleeve wires, *except in cables, they can re-mark a white (neutral) wire to be a phase/hot. In wiring where only certain wires are always-hot, the remarked white must be used for the always-hot.


Gas Oven - Very Low Gas Flow I have a Frigidaire/Electrolux gas range, with two burners (broiler [top] and bake [bottom]).

When I turn on the oven for broiling, everything works fine.  When I set it to 'bake', the bake igniter will turn very bright orange, then the gas will turn on, but the pressure is VERY low, the gas never reaches the igniter, and therefore does not ignite.

I can take a grill lighter and light the gas coming out of the burner, and it hardly shows any blue flame (like when you turn a burner on the top of the stove all the way to the lowest gas setting).  So there is gas coming out of the burner, but not enough to reach the igniter.  Thus, our kitchen fills with the smell of gas, and the oven never lights.

There are two gas valves to each burner.  Here is a picture of the two that lead to the bake burner.

The right valve feeds the burner.  There was a thick yellow sticky substance that covered the entire top of the 2nd valve (red rectangle).  I cleaned it off, and verified there is nothing above the valve that was dripping anything down onto the valve, or anywhere around it.  I'm not sure where the sticky substance came from.

When the igniter is glowing and the gas flow is very low, if I tap gently on the edge of the valve (green circle), then the gas suddenly flows correctly (I can hear it flowing), and the igniter lights the gas like it should.

I think the valve is bad and needs to be replaced, because tapping on it fixes the gas flow issue every time.  However, as I bake things, the gas turns on and off to keep the oven at the target temperature, and it lights just fine while the oven is hot.  So I'm wondering if the igniter is really to blame.  Is it just not getting hot enough when I first turn the oven on, and so it never fully opens the gas valve?  And then while I'm baking, the igniter is hot enough and so when the gas turns off/on, the valve opens all the way?

The only way to determine if you have a bad gas valve or ignitor is to check the amperage of the ignitor. They sell Ampmeters at most hardware stores. Unplug range. Gain access to the wires going to the ignitor. Clamp the amp probe around either wire to the ignitor, and a safe distance from burner. Plug in the range, turn on oven bake and watch the amps increase. The ignitor needs to pull at least 3.2 amps before its hit enough to ignitthe gas. The gas valve won’t open until the :.2 amps is reached. If you have less than 3.2 amps after a few minutes, then your ignitor needs replaced. If you have 3.2 amps and little or no gas comes out the valve, then you have a failed valve. Unplug to make repairs. Turn off gas when replacing the gas valve. Test for gas leaks.


Why do I have low hot water pressure in my kitchen? I have very low hot water pressure in the kitchen only.  I have disconnected the line and have great pressure from the valve.  It is a two handled faucet and the cold water pressure is very good.  There are no kinks in the line from the valve to the faucet.  No doubt there is some build up but where to look.  The aerator is clean also.

It sounds like the valve in your hot water handle has some blockage.
There are hundreds of different different designs, so it's hard to diagnose without brand/model. However, many faucets are made with valve cartridges (see link below) whose narrow channels can easily pick up bits of pipe scale. Take the handle apart and have a look.

Image http://community.homedepot.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/28699iE1106DE14461EE20/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1


Mirror Image distorted after a distance I bought a mirror 9ft *4ft and image is alright till 10 ft away from the mirror after that it's distorting the image and thickening it.How can I solve this problem?

Because the surface you affixed it to is not flat

A mirror that large can't rely on its own stiffness to stay straight.  It is relying on the underlying surface.  Glass can bend a little bit.  Your surface is bending, so the mirror is bending, so you have a funhouse mirror.


Is this circuit correct for controlling old 750mv HVAC with NEST I am just starting out with wiring and some other home improvements. Decided to install a Nest 3rd generation thermostat.
I had a TH5110D Honeywell thermostat, so I pulled it out and found 5 wires running into the wall. The R, Y, G, W were connected to Thermostat, and C was not connected. This is fine for Honeywell since it was running on 3v AAA batteries.
However, I did not check the voltage on the R line.

After checking that the wire config was ok with Nest, I set out to installing it. After wiring up, the Nest was not turning on. So charged it with microUSB for some time, and then tried to install it but it said the Rh had too low or no voltage.

When I checked the voltage between R and W (after turning on the breaker for my HVAC) I realized it only had 750mv. I read online that 750mv is being used in old thermopile configs. I have a 2010 American Standard AUE1B080A9361A, with gas heater, external cooling AC and a combined fan on furnace. I am surprised this system is not using 24v. Or maybe it is using it internally, just to thermostat it was sending 750mv.

In any case, I did not want to change anything on HVAC, so I want to keep two system (NEST and HVAC) connected through set of relays. This is what I am thinking of wiring up,

I will use a 24volt AC external adapter and connect it to Nest, as well as the terminals on the relays for W, Y and G.
The old wires from furnace controller board will go into relays and will never receive 24v, only was the original R wire was sending, i.e. 750mv.

Can anyone review and see if I am doing anything wrong?

Thank you.

It was my fault. I did not check the Furnace Control board before posting the question. The system is 24VAC.
The C wire was not connected on my control board by the previous owner/installer because it was not needed.
Connected the C wire, and now I read 27v AC between R and C.
Tried connecting Nest, and that works too. Tested Fan, heating and cooling, all good.

(P.S. I feel stupid for not realizing the control board was on the bottom panel, I thought the board was hidden somewhere inside, and I was reluctant to unscrew anything major on the furnace)


fixing up a 1920 row home - wood paneling everywhere - Advise before I go in? So the previous owner must have received a tremendously great offer on wood wall paneling because it is all over except for the kitchen.  It is even in the bathroom, albeit paint a weird orange sherbet color.

I want to tear it all down but a HD guy in the paint department put a scare inside me by saying I don't know what's behind it... might be opening a whole new can of worms.

So my options are 1) tear it all down and hope for the best- which did not work out for me when I pulled up a bedroom carpeting... 2) fill the ridges with joint compound/wood filler - apply a layer of Killz and paint over it. 3) Either rip it down or not put 1/4" drywall over it.

Also, I should mentioned that on both sides of rooms there are party walls(it is a row house)will no studding - just solid(I think) party walls.

Any advise or pitfalls I should avoid on any of the three methods.

Surface is surface. Paneling is surface. Surface is the cheapest and easiest of home repair.

Tearing it down can do no harm. You will almost certainly need to install a new surface material on any wall you strip, but drywall is cheap and fairly easy. If you are going to tile (e.g. in the bathroom), you need a better base than cheap woodish paneling.

Also, it gives you a chance to find any hidden problems. Better address them now than after you have decorated.


Apartment on the top floor gets very hot - cheap, eco friendly ways to keep the place cool? I have an apartment on the top floor of an apartment building (the community roof is right over us). In summer, the place gets very hot! I can't start a community garden upstairs and am dying with the air conditioning bills. Is there some quick cheap way in which I can cool my place?

Adding insulation to your ceiling is probably the ultimate answer, but it may be expensive and disruptive.  The master bedroom in our last house was below a flat roof, and I found the following measures made for more comfortable sleeping:

1) Since the cold air from air conditioners tends to sink, use fans to blow it back up to the ceiling.  From there it will descend and you will feel it more than if it were just all pooling on the floor.  Placing a fan near the A/C source may also help draw a greater flow of cooled air.

2) If you can open windows and the air is cool outside, use fans at the base of the window to blow air upwards.  Same principle as before.

3) Humidity is as much your enemy as the heat.  Although A/C is supposed to dehumidify, I've found that running a supplementary dehumidifier can help.  You'd be surprised how much water you can draw out of the air.  No point doing this while the windows are open, though.


How do I repair a door jamb that has soft and split wood at the hinge in my 100 year old house? We have an old house (100+ years) with original door frames. The top hinge on one door has come away from the door frame - the wood is split and soft, so the screws have no bite.

I'm thinking the best way to fix this, short of ripping out the whole door frame, would be to drill out the split wood, chisel it square, then glue in a new piece of wood for the hinge to be screwed into.

Is this a wise move or is there a better way?

The short answer is longer screws, plus some glue.

There should be plenty of extra room for longer screws on both the door and the jamb. If the hinges are brass, solid brass screws are best.  Pre-drill. At the same time stick in a small strip of wood soaked in wood glue into each hole just to be sure.  Toothpicks, chopsticks or similar dry wood work well.

For bonus points sand off the lacquer coating on any solid brass screws you buy, so they will tarnish faster and match your hinges.


Bathtub/showerhead leak, short water pipe I bought a new home recently and found that the water in the bathroom tub/shower comes out of both the showerhead and tub spout (when the diverter is "off").

I removed the spout to see if there was anything clogged inside.  As I was removing it, I noticed that there was some caulk/glue on the base of the spout where it met the wall tiles.  Turns out the spout wasn't clogged, so I put it back on for now.  To my dismay, water now sprays out of the now-unsealed spout base when the shower is on.

I have a few questions:

1) It seems like the water output pipe coming from the wall is much shorter and looks different compared to the pictures I've seen online.  In all the pictures I've seen, the water pipe is a thin copper   My pipe extends approximately 1 inch from the wall (see pictures)  Is this normal?  And if not, what should I install to extend the pipe?

2) What is causing the initial problem of having water come out of both the showerhead and the spout? Will replacing the spout do the job?  Is the short water pipe a concern?

3) Do I need to put some sort of sealant/caulk around the spout base like it had before?

Thank you.

What you will have to do is remove the round piece that is shown in your photo. I believe it was an integral piece from the spout. The small thin O-ring that you see on the most forward section should be pressed into the tub spout for a pressure fit. Since that is what keeps it connected to the spout (as opposed to being mechanically secured) it most likely (and easily) loosened as you were repairing the spout. If you use a pipe wrench or a pair of channel lock wrenches (protect the pipe with a rag wrapped around it) it should unscrew counter clockwise. With some luck you will have removed only the spouts base and not the 1/2" pipe nipple inside the wall (you should be able to see the threads inside the wall). Re-connect the spouts base by pressing the two pieces together. Apply Teflon paste to the female threads on the bottom at tighten back in place. What is causing the water to leak is most likely: 1)the valve handle is not exactly in the off position , 2) the washers or valve cartridge needs replacing, 3) the water may not be a leak , but residual water that remains in the pipe after the valve is closed.


How can I power my sump pump in a power outage? My sump pump does a great job of keeping my basement dry even in heavy rain. But I worry about what will happen if I lose power during a heavy storm (like a hurricane) and my sump pump is unavailable.

I spoke to my plumber about sump pump backups, and they recommended digging a second sump pit with a dedicated backup pump that would be powered by either a marine battery or by the water pressure in my home's water service.

Both of these options were fairly expensive, so I was wondering if there are other options. I could get a gas generator and run extension cords into my basement, but is there a simpler option?

For example, is there a battery that has a conventional 110V electrical outlet and could power just the sump pump for a period of 1 - 3 days?

In most cases an extra sump pit is pure plumber profit - if the sump is not tiny, the backup pump can use the same sump, and just be set to come on at a higher water level.

The practical problem with your vision of "a battery with a 110V outlet" (battery charger, battery, and inverter) is that is entirely possible, but wickedly expensive; also, batteries don't last forever, both in the "length of power outage" and the "number of years before you have to scrap them because they no longer work at all" sense, so it gets even more expensive. Sump pumps with a battery backup built in are made - they have many of the same problems, but usually skip the added inefficiency of converting back to 120 VAC and just use a DC pump.

If you have utility water, and such things are acceptable to your utility, the water-powered sump pump has the benefit of being fairly inexpensive to own, being based on a power source you don't have to buy and maintain. You will get a big water bill if you need to use it. If you have a well pump, it's useless.

Anything depending on you running a generator depends on you being home, the generator being functional, and adequate fuel for the generator being available in the event of a prolonged outage - which it often is not, since the filling station does not have power either. You can expensively address most of those with an auto-start natural gas powered unit if you have natural gas available...

You can also use only tile or concrete for surfaces in your basement and not put things that would be bothered by getting wet in it, so that the occasional flood is less traumatic. How badly or quickly it floods if you turn the sump pump off might guide your thinking on this. It can be very expensive to build and maintain a pumping system that will work though a long, widespread power outage.


What is this metal part around the fan's motor in my freezer and how to prevent it from rusting? A few months ago, while cleaning, I took the plastic cover off the back (of the inside) of my freezer (covers the fan and the cooler) and things looked fine:

I didn't put the cover back on and later noticed this metal thing went rusty:

(That's not really 'regular' iron rust, it's somehow soft and kind of greasy.

That is also the reason why the fan is unplugged in the second photo. It spatters crumbs/drops of this rust around when it's running.)

So I took the metal part off, cleaned it with bathroom cleaner and steel scourer/scrubber and put it back in. Some time later, it got rusty again. (I hadn't put the cover back)

So, what I would like to know is: does it go rusty because there is no cover?
Can I clean it again and put the cover back and rest assured it will not go rusty again underneath it?

Or do I have to replace it? What is this material anyway? Zinc? Does it have a special purpose apart from holding the fan and its motor in place?

Many thanks in advance!

From my point of view this metal part is a base plate which makes it possible to mount the fan onto the plastic parts.

As RedGrittyBrick noted, it is (or better was) zinc-plated. It seems to me, that most of the zinc layer is oxidized and cannot provide galvanic protection anymore. So why did it loose the zinc layer so quickly?

If it was behind a cover before, it might be, that the cover was to protect the fan and the base plate from humidity and corrosive vapours. Food can emit corrosive vapours like vinegar and almost certainly a lot of water even at temperatures below freezing point.

But the usage of bathroom cleaner might have been the death sentence for the zinc layer, because bathrom cleaners are highly acidic and can dissolve zinc quickly.

Anti rust primer can do the trick but you will have to coat the part carefully and without gaps. After that you can coat it with an additional protective layer. And you should try to get some stainless steel screws equivalent to those used there, as it is impossible to coat the screws.

There's one major drawback on using anti rust primer and other coatings inside your freezer. They tend to evaporate VOC and other nasty things in return which may enter your food. Something I wanted to avoid.

Alternatively you could clean the part thoroughly from any rust and screw some magnesium or zinc liner onto it. This liner will jump in for the lost zinc layer. And put the cover back on to reduce the amount of humidity reaching that part.


Inspection suggested to replace vents between laundry and garage I have a house up for sale, and a recent inspector called this out (to which the buyer is requesting to be serviced). When I purchased the house, my inspector did not say anything about these, so I'm a bit confused.

  Fire Wall/Ceiling Review.  Compromised due to holes at make up air vents. These vents cannot violate the firewall. Recommend drywall
  install as these vents are not needed for make up air in laundry

The pictures are taken from inside the garage looking toward the laundry room. The door on the left leads in to the laundry room. We have a gas dryer, so I figured some sort of air flow is needed, but the inspector claims these vents don't provide that?

Anyone have experience with this? I don't want to replace the vents with drywall if there's going to be a safety / code violation.

The inspector is likely correct, depending on what codes you follow.

If make up air is required for the water heater, it should come from outside, not a habitable space. If make up air is required for the dryer, that too should come from outside.

If the vents compromise the firewall between the garage and habitable space, they must be sealed in an approved manner.  It's also not a good idea (and likely a code violation), to have open airflow between the garage and habitable space.


connect 3 pair of speakers to receiver installed 2 speakers in kitchen, dining room, padio, total of 6 speakers, 3 pair.

have an Onkyo TX-8050 receiver that has stereo SpeakerA and SpeakerB terminals with a total of 4 channels, 2 pair.

If I buy a speaker selector that also has volume controls for each speaker pair, do I wire SpeakerA, or SpeakerB terminals to the speaker selector input? Here's the speaker selector:
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cp_id=10903&cs_id=1090307&p_id=8232&seq=1&format=2

Would I only wire 1 of the 4 Speaker Channels of the receiver to speaker selector?

thanks.

There are lots of ways to calculate the intended load, etc. However, the simplest thing to do is to buy a speaker splitter. Generally, they are specifically designed to combine multiple speakers in to the load expected by your amplifier.

And the device you linked to is exactly that: "... and maintains load at 8 Ohms".

Also, I have used that particular speaker selector. It's a pretty decent device.

One thing to watch out for is that some amplifiers don't like being suddenly disconnected from all speakers. Make sure that on the switch that you never turn off all of the outputs on a particular channel if your amp is on. The Yamaha amps I usually work with have no problem with this, but I have seen lower quality devices fry.


Should backsplash be tiled before or after installing kitchen cabinets? I've been searching the Internet and all English-speaking web sites state that the backsplash should be tiled after installing the kitchen cabinets (both lower and upper) and countertops.

In some European countries, it is customary to install the backsplash first, extending a bit below lower cabinets and above upper cabinet bottom line, and then add the cabinets on that.

Why is that so? What reasons are to have either option? If the backsplash is added after the cabinets and countertops, in what vertical direction should the tiling proceed?

I spend a lot of time in France and in the midwest US.

Customary in France if you put up a backsplash is to extend it before putting up cabinets.  There is no caulking usually between the backsplash and the cabinets.

Also the cabinets would be floating on the bottom most of the time.  And the bottom cabinets are on legs - where in America they are almost always enclosed.  Maybe this allows any leakage from backsplash to hit the floor easy.

It is just a different way of doing things because people are accustomed to taking their cabinets and everything with them when they move.  I have seen this trend slowly change over the past 10-15 years though in that you will walk into some apartments or houses now with the kitchens already done but this is not the norm.

And obviously you do the backsplash last in the US because we like everything permanent looking.  You use less tile and it is just easier to do that.  Also - and just my opinion - but homes in the US are built... lets say faster.  So you don't always have right angles, your floors are slanted a little, the walls wave a little... Meaning that it looks better to have shimmed cabinets.  I have installed IKEA cabinets in kitchens in the US and people look at me like I need to fix their walls when the cabinets don't sit flush.

Personally I think it would be good to do a little of both.  First it is kind of dumb to take your kitchen with you - which may not work in your next space and then you sell off pieces for a fraction of what you paid.  But I am also a huge huge fan of keeping lowers on legs and having more mobility in your cabinets.


How should I investigate an exterior leak from bathroom shower use? I noticed after a shower if I go outside that there is water leakage coming out of the stucco wall.  Should I start to investigate going under the house for the leak or cut a square out where the leakage seems to be outside.  Or inside the bathroom shower wall?

You can do some investigation without opening up a wall:

(1) Fill up a  2-gal bucket at some other faucet in the house or outside. Pour this into the shower and then look for the water leak you've been seeing. If you see the leak, then the leak is in the shower pan or the drain.

(2) Run the shower into the bucket so as to catch all the water and none goes down the drain. If you see the leak, then the leak is in the water supply past the shower valve.

EDIT It might take more than 2 gal to get the leak to show. You might have to use two 2-gal buckets.


Track lighting connectors - brass? Aluminum? Tinned copper? I have a mix of lightly used track lighting pieces that I got second-hand. The connectors seem to different brands, but all fit with each other. (Same profile.)

My question is about the contacts on the connectors, that connect the bus bars of one piece of track to another piece. Some appear to be bare copper, others brass, others appear to be aluminum, or maybe tinned copper? Do I need to be concerned about long-term compatibility here?

This is exactly what I was trying to say before, (what you found on Nora's spec sheet) admittedly not as clearly as I should. These manufacturers are not going to put their products at risk with such a fundamental flaw.  I have seen bus work in load centers over the years and learned that all those different colors mean little of nothing.  People will often think that just because a contact metal is silver in color, it has to be aluminum.  These manufacturers know very well the dangers of oxidation and specifically the problems with the oxidation of aluminum.  They avoid it like the plague.  Additionally, they know the results of mixing dissimilar base metals and the electrolysis that if can cause. This, they avoid as well.  The problem gets worse:  The metal ‘copper’ alone or in high concentration is actually a problem also because although it is an excellent conductor it alone is too soft to stand up to the rigors of an electrical contact surface.  Therefore, manufacturers combing copper with other alloys to make it stronger. Every manufacturer has their own proprietary mix and the resulting look or color is different in every case.  They pay metallurgist big money to figure these things out. You can be quite sure of this; the contact metal, you speak of, will stand up the rigors required and at the same time do an efficient job of conducting the electricity necessary without harmful reactions between metals. I hope I made this more clear. P.


Mounting screws into thin plastic decoration I'm trying to mount a smart doorbell on a doorframe. The problem is that the latter runs a decorative "pillar" made out of thin plastic (see photo) with a gap between the plastic and the wall underneath, so using anchors and screws in a straightforward way is problematic. To make things more interesting, the decorative surface is not flat. So I would appreciate any advice on the way to mount 2 screws there. So far, the things that come to mind are:

Drill all the way and drive anchors into the underlying surface, then use long screws.
Use some short butterfly anchors to fasten screws to plastic only (do such things even exist?)
Set it on epoxy glue.

What would be the best way to mount on such a surface?

If you can't relocate it to either the narrower white bit on the right or one of the red bits, simply use longer screws.
A Ring door bell or similar can't weigh more than a few ounces, so you could simply buy longer wood screws with the same type of head that the device came with, carefully drill a clearance hole1 through the plastic (to ensure you don't crack it), then push the screw through that hole until it hits something solid, then drive the screw into that.
Don't drive the screws to the point of deforming the plastic you're mounting it against, but until it's just flush. If you're using a powered driver, leave the screws just short, then use an actual manual screwdriver (I know gasp!) to do the final couple of turns, just to be sure.
If you tighten it too much, it will distort the plastic which won't look good, but will also be a hint to the less savory visitor that something's rotten in Denmark. Seeing the distorted plastic may encourage someone to attempt to remove the doorbell.

1A clearance hole is one that's big enough for the threads to pass through uninhibited. In this case, you're not worried about the plastic trim helping to support the doorbell, you just need to make a clean cut through it so the screw can pass. Once it's through the plastic, you want it to actually bite into the wood behind.


what material could I use for a mirror that allows light to pass through I am creating a smart mirror by constructing a frame where a monitor sits right behind a mirror. I tried using a regular mirror but the mirror did not allow enough light to pass through to see the monitors lighting. Is there a material I can cover glass in to make it reflective like a mirror but still let light pass through?

What you are looking for is a so-called "one-way mirror" (Wikipedia). This is actually a partly transparent mirror: if the back is dark, it looks like a mirror but if the back is lighted sufficiently, that is seen through.


Do I need to replace this water pressure valve? We recently bought a house built in 1976. The property is relatively rural but does get city water. The water pressure in the whole house is less than desirable, so we had a plumber come out to tell us what was going on. In addition to two clogged water filters (which we replaced,) this valve  was installed between the main and the filters, so he removed it altogether. None of these "repairs" seems to have affected the water pressure for better or worse. So my question is, would my water pressure improve if I installed a valve downstream of the filters? The water is very hard and has lots of sediment, so I can't realistically remove the filters. What else could possibly improve the pressure otherwise? All of the faucet screens, etc. have been cleaned...

The first thing you should do it check your static (no flow) water pressure and the pressure with water flowing. Find a place where you can attach a pressure gauge and check the pressure with and without flow. You need to find out if this is truly a pressure issue or if the issue is related to restricted flow.

Check the static and flow pressure both upstream and downstream of the filter units. Looking at the pressure drop while water is flowing should tell you if the issue is restriction.

Considerations:

1) the valve he removed is a pressure regulator; regulators are usually installed for a reason (to protect pipes and fixtures from high pressure), if your upstream static pressure is higher than 85 psi (or if your neighbors tell you there are issues with pressure spikes) you should have a regulator.

2) the "set" pressure listed on your old regulator was 45psi, that is pretty low. I would adjust your regulator to no lower than 65psi, no higher than 85psi. The fact that removal of the regulator did not improve conditions makes me think you have a different problem.

3) filters restrict, that is how most work. Chemical filters restrict flow too because they need "residence time" contact between the flowing water and filter media.


Can I varnish wooden worktops that have previously been oiled? The previous owners of our house fitted wooden worktops in the kitchen. While these look nice, they need constant maintenance (re-oiling every three months) to stop water getting in - which we don't have the time to do to the standard I'd like, as it effectively means not using the kitchen for a week every time we do it (three sections of worktop, each needing multiple coats which, when working full time, we can only do one coat a day, especially in the colder weather when everything takes longer to dry).

Can I sand down the surface and varnish/lacquer it instead, in order to better protect it while reducing the maintenance liability? If so, what properties do I need to look for in the varnish?

You can apply varnish on top of oil, but the oil should not be fresh / wet.  It might help to go over the surface with fine steel wool and mineral oil to prepare it.  You could consider Danish oil, which is a combination of varnish and oil.


Are nails okay for flooring the attic? Our attic has foam insulation and is fully encapsulated. As part of this project, we removed all of the old cellulose insulation above the ceiling, so now there's nothing between the attic joists except for the ceiling drywall. We plan to put flooring for storage in the attic over the joists using 3/4" plywood.

Is it OK to use nails to secure the plywood? If not, what are the problems with using nails? Is it OK to use any type of nail or will it only work with certain kinds? I may get the help of a handyman who is quoting the job based on nails instead of screws, so I'm trying to decide how big a deal this is.

Flooring in an attic that's mostly used for storage needs very little in the way of fasteners. Nails are certainly fine, though they're more likely to squeak and work up over time.

For the few that are needed, and to minimize trauma to the ceiling below, and because I may want to lift the sheets to access wiring later, I'd be using screws. I wouldn't do a full "screwdown", however. A half-dozen per sheet is adequate.


What is the best way to drive the hard-cut nail into wooden baseboards to prevent splitting? I am installing my baseboards, and there is a section that must be attached to brick.  I know, by experience, that the best nail for my type of brick is the hard-cut masonry nail (and not the fluted nail).

What is the best way to drive the hard-cut nail into the wooden baseboards to prevent splitting?  Should the wider surface of the nail be driven perpendicular or parallel to the grain?  Should I pre-drill the wood?

Definitely pre-drill the wood.  By removing the material, the nail doesn't have an opportunity to wedge open a crack.

To make it trouble-free long-term, make the drilled hole just a little smaller than the nail shaft for a tight fit.


Switch no longer controls outlet I replaced a switched outlet together with a switch, but now the outlet has permanent power no matter what position the switch is in. When I was replacing this single pole switch, I think I wasn't too carefull about attaching all the wires to the same connectors. One of the black wires was connected to the ground screw. I thought it was a mistake made by the previous owner, and I attached all the black wires together on the switch. Please take a look at the pictures that I am attaching, and please advise what I should try to change in my set up to make the outlet be controlled by the switch again.
P.S. At first I thought the problem was a defective switch and replaced it once again, but it didn't solve the issue. I did replace all other outlets in the same room without any issues, although none of them was switch controlled.

Are you testing the receptacle on the top half?
The end the red wire goes to of the receptacle?
It looks like you have it wired correctly the bottom receptacle will be always hot (the end with the 3 blacks) and the top will be controlled by the switch.
That is how you have it wired and that part of it is hot all the time I believe you are checking the wrong side because it is wired correctly.
Now for the critique, although a back and side may be listed for 3 wires the wrap is 2/3 to 3/4 around the screw. A better method would be to add a wire nut and short piece of wire so the 3 wires are connected securely and only 1 wire is under the screw


Can a concrete porch be poured against a stone wall? I am installing concretes porches in the front and rear of my home to replace wooden decks.  The front exterior wall is stone and the new porch would extend up over the stone wall at the bottom.  Should the stone be removed to have a straight edge flush against wall, or is it ok to pour against the stone wall (bedding them into the porch)?

What would you recommend as the process for both?

I agree with Tyler Durdens advice,with one important addition.
Don't lay your patio directly on gravel. Assuming your patio is about 75-100mm deep, gravel on its own will not offer enough support, and eventually, cracks will appear due to subsidence. A much better solution would be to "layer" your foundation in order of aggregate size.
Lay a layer (or two) of large stones,followed by a layer (or two) of medium stones, DON'T FORGET TO TAMP THEM DOWN!!!!,
followed with a layer of sharp sand,tamp down again,then gravel(tamp),then patio.


Bracing 2x6 floor joists I'm wanting to remodel our attic to add a few bedrooms.  We currently have 2x6 floor joist that span 16' on one side and 18' on another.  All meeting up on the load wall.  We were going to sister 2x8 to the existing 2x6 but are worried about the extra weight and the huge amount of pain it will be.

All our current 2x6 joist are spaced 16" on center.

I'm being told that we could just put in braces in every 16" to form a 16" x 16" cube structure. Is this true?

2x6 joists at the span that you are talking about (16' and 18') are not strong enough to support a floor as a living space. With a span like that the timber size that you sister in would have to be at least 2x10's. Look this up in a joist span table (available in numerous places on the web) if you do not believe me.

Trying to install cross bracing on the existing 2x6's can stiffen the overall construction if it is installed correctly. It will not however make the overall floor any stronger. Instead it just spreads localized loads across multiple joists to lessen flexure due to live loads moving around. Depending on the method used it will add to the dead weight of the existing structure. If you tried to install cross braces using 1x3 or 1x4 material in an X format you would have to remove the ceiling from below in order to properly nail in the bottom ends of the cross braces. If instead the bracing would be done by installing 2x6 blocking between all the exiting joists these could be nailed from above using the appropriate tools. Although nailing 16d spikes in between 16" on center joists with a conventional hammer is no picnic. It is also likely that nailing to the existing joists like this will lead to some flexure and corresponding ceiling damage below.

It would be typical that a remodel like that would have, at a minimum, the roofing and roof sheathing removed on one slope of the roof so that the long members can be poked into the space from the outside. If the whole attic was basically clear it may be possible to make one hole in a gable end to push in the timbers and then position them in place in the attic space but it would be a total pain.

Then with that all said you would have to decide if the loss of an additional four inches of floor to ceiling height under a sloped roof area ends up making a usable bedroom living space anyway.

Rooms built up under a sloped roof often face a huge compromise of insulation in the rafter area where the sloped part of the ceiling comes into play. Done blindly with the idea of just thinking of attaching sheet rock to the bottom if the rafters you lose even more insulation due to the need to provide air vent paths in this space from the rafter tail area up to the peak area. Be prepared for a lot of heat loss in winter and the rooms potentially getting very hot in the summer.

A better choice remodel may be to consider an addition to extend the existing floor levels out the amount needed to provide for the added rooms. Or if there is an existing attached garage consider a garage conversion.


My dryer has a issue after switching the breaker I sold my old dryer because my neighbor gave me a new dryer
And her new dryer had a 4 prong plug compared to my old dryer which had a 3 prong plug...

I changed the 3 prong wire plug to the 4 prong dryer so it would plug into my outlet for the dryer... the dryer is on a 60 amp breaker by the way... and everything was fine the first couple of months then my breaker started getting hot, like too hot to touch kind of hot...

I switched off the breaker and switched it back on later and now the dryer won't work at all... my question is, would changing the wires on dryers cause a electrical malfunction in time and ruin something in the dryer by pulling to much current when the dryer had a 4 prong to start... ???

I found the 60 amp breaker odd for a dryer also, but no I can't post pictures... the dryer is too heavy for me to move and it's just a regular 3 prong dryer outlet , the wires were just changed from the dryer to the outlet...so it would work, and I didn't have to change the outlet.

I would say the main suspect is your breaker.

If it was heating up and not tripping it is probably faulty.

The normal breaker for a dryer circuit is 30 amp and #10 wire.

To use a 60 amp breaker for a dryer circuit you would need a minimum of #6 wire (smaller numbered wire is larger). I would suspect your wire is not that big.

If a voltage test at the outlet does not show voltage then you should try replacing the breaker with a 30 amp for a fairly inexpensive fix. If that doesn't work. It's possible the dryer needs repair.

Good luck and stay safe!


What Type of Caulking will adhere to Composite Decking for water proofing? I need a sealer Caulk to fill a approx. 3/8" gap between my Composite Decking boards to waterproof
and prevent water from dripping between the boards and going on to a deck below. I want the rain water to flow over the composite decking boards to the edge of the deck and run off onto a roof that will take the water away.
What is the best product for this application?
What product will adhere to and seal to Composite Decking?

Typically you need those gaps for expansion of the boards in hot weather- if they're tight to each other they can get damaged as they expand from heat.
They make under-deck panels that catch the water and direct it out a side that work very well. That would be a better solution than caulking, which would most likely need to be re-done every year or two anyway.


How can I make the underneath of an outdoor playset usable and not a mudpit? Based on this bulletpoint from the allowed topics:

Which tools, materials, and best practices for home improvement task.

I'm looking for advice on dealing with our playset.  Specifically the area beneath it that they usually recommend being a sandbox.  We don't want a sandbox.  However, since we haven't done anything with it yet, the thing ended up being a mud pit with some interesting weeds growing.

So my questions are:

What materials and best practices can I use to make the area a usable "indoor" space for the kids with a flooring of some kind and maybe even a door or gate?
What do I need to do to make sure the flooring is weatherproof and won't become muddy or allow weeds/grass to eventually poke through?
Any advice on making sure critters, bugs, spiders, hornets, etc. don't decide to take up residence inside?

Under our playset we have landscaping mesh with rubber mulch over the top. The top layer of mulch is for comfort and protects the mesh. The mesh keeps things from growing up through the mesh. It's been there for 4+ years and not a single weed.


Subwoofer in a 5.1 surround Possible with outputs? I am collecting speakers for a 5.1 surround!

Now I have found a subwoofer which looks nice it's an active subwoofer.

But it has this connections:

it has stereo input and output for speakers!
My surround receiver has an subwoofer jack output, so only subwoofer signal.
Can I still use it in my surround set?

I Hope you guys can help!

You should be able to connect this to your subwoofer output. The presence of the speaker outs means it has internal crossover networks to route the lowest frequencies from both channels to the sub while passing higher frequencies along to the other speakers. The fact that your receiver has already performed that separation means the crossover isn't needed... but it shouldn't do any harm.


Clothesline sagging even though it was properly tightened I'm new to this forum. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be asking questions about clothesline here, but I didn't find any forum in StackExchange that was something like 'DIY'. So, I suppose it's okay.
I've recently built my own clothesline using rope and a tightener. It worked pretty well for some weeks but I now see that it is sagging.
This is how it looked when I built it for the first time:

And this is how it looks now:

When I built it, I tightened it as much as I could, but still, it ended up deformed this way.
Do you know what I can do? Should I change the rope maybe? Is it the tightener that I used?

They always sag , even steel . The only difference is the amount . For steel cables you would need instruments to measure the few thousandths of an inch of sag. The shape of the sag is called a "catenary" . You can find math equations to calculate the sag depending on the material and tension.


Are these four add-on wiring techniques all up to code? I'm fixing some wiring mistakes in my house and installing some GE Z-Wave Plus switches at the same time. Where there were 3- and 4-way switches I'm using the GE Add-On switch to add additional control points.

Because the Dimmer switches have a nice blue LED to show when they are on/off, and the Add-On switches do NOT have this LED, I want to place the dimmers in certain locations, not always in the box where line enters or load leaves.

Are the following diagrams all 'legal' with respect to code and safety? The diagram on the bottom right is the one I'm most concerned with. Is it legal to have neutral enter the box from a different wiring path as line does, if they are on the same circuit?

UPDATED diagram:

Imagine ants climbing up a tree to harvest its fruit. It is a proper "tree topology" - None of the branches ever touch each other.  Ants are allowed to scurry up and down any branch in any order, but cannot leap or fall from branch to branch.

At any point on the tree, if we clamped an "ant current meter" around the branch, it would count exactly as many ants going up the branch as down.  Once past that point, ants might zig-zag up any number of sub-branches, but the ant must come back past this point at the end of the day.  144 ants go up past the point , 144 ants come back.  Ant currents are equal.  If there was a Residual Ant Fault Current Device, it would not trip.

If any of the branches touched each other, it would be possible for ants to go up branch 1 and come back on branch 2, making ant currents unequal on those branches.

So a "tree topology" is a pretty strong defense against the unequal currents problem.  How do you detect whether your diagram is a tree?  The "paint bucket" fill tool makes easy work of it. Trees don't enclose areas, so the paint should be able to reach all points (except between wires inside a cable.)

Nope, in #4, the wires enclose a space, so it's not a tree diagram, and currents are not equal because currents can encircle the space, imbalancing currents in every cable/raceway on each side of the space.


Can I connect to any neutral wire in the house? I have a Belkin Wemo switch that requires a neutral wire for installation. There is no neutral in the switch box. However, there is a neutral in the electrical outlet box below it, and a path from the switch to the outlet. Can I run a neutral wire from the switch to the neutral in the outlet box and connect it as a shared neutral? I guess this is another way of asking of all neutral wires are basically interconnected eventually (leading back to the main electrical box) and whether any neutral in the house can be used by anything requiring a neutral.

According to 2011 National Electrical Code article 300.3(B), No.  For verbiage, see this answer.  For one explanation why, see this answer.
Another reason not to do it, is because you could end up overloading the grounded (neutral) conductor. Depending on if the two circuits are on the same branch circuit, different branch circuits on the same leg, or different branch circuits on different legs, you'll run into different situations.  However, in two out of three of these situations, it is very easy to overload the grounded (neutral) conductor.
Examples:
Let's examine what happens in a 120/240V single split-phase system, in a few different configurations. The circuit breakers in these examples is a combination circuit breaker, with 15 ampere thermal overcurrent protection and magnetic short-circuit protection.
Load on a circuit

With a single branch circuit supplying a 15 ampere load, we see that there will be 15 amperes on the grounded (neutral) conductor.  This is fine, since the grounded (neutral), and ungrounded (hot) conductors are both sized to carry 15 amperes.
Two loads on the same branch circuit

In this situation, we'll see 30 amperes on the grounded (neutral). However, since we're also drawing 30 amperes through a single breaker with 15 ampere overcurrent protection, the breaker will open.
Two loads on the same leg, but different breakers

This is the dangerous situation, since the breakers will not trip. Each circuit will draw 15 amperes on the ungrounded (hot) conductor, but the grounded (neutral) conductor will see 30 amperes.  Since the conductor is only rated for 15 amperes, the conductor is in danger of overheating and starting a fire.
Two loads on different legs

If the two loads are on different legs. You'll find that while each ungrounded (hot) conductor sees 15 amperes, the grounded (neutral) carries 0 amperes.


Best approach for squeaky subfloor fix, with some water stains We are replacing the carpet in our kids room and want to tackle the subfloor as it squeaks. There are two questions I have:

1 We plan on screwing down the existing subfloor, do I need to remove any of the nails in the subfloor? Someone I know did this but a contractor said it was overkill.

2 There are what look like dry water spots in some corners, near the exterior wall. Do I need to be concerned about these? We are having the siding on the outside of that wall replaced soon, so if there is a leak I assume this will be fixed then.

Some photos at https://goo.gl/photos/RH3CpsbfD24xY62V7

When I redo flooring, I always remove all the nails, and then screw the subfloor down.  It costs nothing but time, and I'd rather waste time doing it, than have a squeaky nail after the flooring is on.

As for the water marks. It does look like there was some water infiltration, but without poking around it's difficult to say to what extent.  Replacing the siding could well solve the issue, depending on where the water came (is coming) from.

If there were animals in the house, the "water" stains could be from poorly housebroken animals.  If you notice an odor, you might want to paint the subfloor with some Kilz or similar primer. If it's really stinky, you might want to treat the stains with an enzyme type cleaner before priming.


How can we prevent the upper floor in a split-level home from getting too warm? I have a split level home.  Main floor contains living dining and kitchen.  8 stairs up to top level with 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.  Down 6 steps from main level to family room and from there down another 6 steps to fully underground sub-basement.

My last house was a ranch which we liked to keep warm at about 75F or so in the winter.  With the thermostat set to 75 in the current split level, the top level must be 90F if not higher.  The thermostat is in the dining room next to a sizable window.  I just covered the supply vents in the top level but I'm not sure if this is safe/efficient/productive, etc.  The bottom 2 levels have electric floor heating in addition to vents from furnace.  Furnace is in sub-basement.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Usually we have dampers to adjust multi level homes in winter pushing more heat down stairs and less upstairs, if there are no main trunk dampers individual room vents usually have dampers or are adjustable. I never recommend totally closing a duct off because I have seen ducts split and flex line blow off when vents were closed too much. Opening the lower vents and partially closing the upper vents will help.

I have also found that keeping the main fan running in low can also help as the air is moved constantly so the upstairs won't have the heat naturally moving up.


Add overflow drain to utility sink I haven't been able to find an inexpensive drop-in utility sink base that has an overflow drain.

What steps/hardware would it take to add an overflow drain to a standard utility sink?

Would this be a reasonable thing to do?

Example sink: https://www.lowes.com/pd/KOHLER-22-in-x-25-in-1-Basin-White-Self-Rimming-Composite-Tub-Utility-Sink/1000012352

Take a look at a typical bathtub overflow drain:

That's basically what you'd need. The specific parts depend on your other components, but they're all fairly standard.

Whether there's any point to doing this is completely subjective.


Installing a new 240v receptacle - what do I need to know? Provided I use a box large enough to meet the fill requirements (and use 10 AWG conductors), are there any additional requirements I should be aware of when installing a new 240v 30 amp receptacle for a clothes dryer?

More specifically, does the box need to be metal or have certain attributes that a standard blue plastic box might not have? Is a cable clamp required?

My state (CA) currently adopts the 2011 edition of the NEC. I haven't had much luck finding anything that specifically addresses this so far.

Be sure you use a 30A double-pole breaker to adequately protect your wiring. Make sure you provide an equipment ground and use a NEMA 14-30 receptacle.

The box can be metal or plastic. Some form of cable clamp is always required, it's just that most plastic boxes have an integrated clamp (that finger-trap style door).

If using NM cable, The cable must be supported and secured by staples, cable ties, straps, hangers, or similar ﬁttings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable, within 300 mm (12 in.) of the outlet box. If the wire is being fished through a finished wall and the wire cannot be secured in such a manner, this rule does not apply.

Pure Opinion

As far as selecting an actual box, from experience, I recommend getting a 2-gang plastic box (or something equivalent in size if you want to use metal). The larger the capacity the better because a NEMA 14-30 receptacle with four #10 wires is not only bulky, but can be a very stiff pain to manipulate. They even make boxes that are "specially" designed for this purpose.

If you use a 2-gang box, you'll want to get a faceplate that is designed to match (faceplates for NEMA 14-30 receptacles are also manufactured for 1-gang boxes).


Difference between Rockwool and Acoustic Foam As far as I understand, mineral-fiber ("rockwool") and acoustic form perform similar roles: sound absorption, or reducing echo.

The fact that both exist and are for sale imply there's a trade-off going on between these two technologies.

What are the differences?

Yes, as general concepts, both can be used for noise absorption but that doesn't mean they work the same way.  They can have potentially different absorption levels; different targeted frequencies; different form factors; different areas of use.

This page tallies up the absorption coefficients of hundreds of products: http://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm

Note how there are wildly differing values based on type, thickness, and even specific frequencies.  If you have a serious spike at 500Hz and only have 1" of space to work with and it's a curved area, then you'll want to find a material or product that is flexible and works well at that frequency.  Add in factors such as if the product will be visible or not; enclosed or not; and such, and you find a massive amount of variability.

So in the end, why are they both in the market?  Because they serve different specific purposes within the subset of acoustic control.


Will a 4", 100CFM bathroom exhaust fan work with 3" exhaust duct? The bathroom is 112x80x96, the duct to outside will be 3-4' at max
This is a 100CFM 25W, 4" fan
The only reason why I want to buy this one is because it has humidity sensor and timer for under 90CAD...
I could use an adapter installed near the opening in the wall since the ceiling is open but not sure if that will diminish the side effects of the diameter mismatch between fan and duct
I wouldn't like to increase that opening in the wall

Yes it will. There are many different types of 4" to 3" reducers that will work with your fan. You will have to match one to the material of your vent and the duct. Below is a picture of one sold by Lowes.


My weld shop washroom's fan is vented indoors I work in a weld shop,an employee asked me if the bathroom fan has to be vented outside.right now its just vented out of the bathroom and into the shop.Is there any regulations stating it has to be vented to the outdoors?

If the area is covered by International Building Code, then yes it must be vented outdoors.

International Mechanical Code 2015
Chapter 5 Exhaust Systems
Section 501 General
501.3 Exhaust discharge. The air removed by every mechanical exhaust system shall be discharged outdoors at a point where it will not cause a public nuisance and not less than the distances specified in Section 501.3.1. The air shall be discharged to a location which it cannot again be readily drawn in by a ventilating system. Air shall not be exhausted into an attic, crawl space, or be directed onto walkways.