What do the numbers in screw sizes M3, M4 etc. mean? I noticed that in some (many?) countries, screw sizes are listed as "M+number", e.g. M3, M4, M5 and so on.
What does this size designation mean?

There are a few more numbers for a complete description. It's pretty much a world-wide system described by several ISO standards, but there are occasional oddities (slight differences between ISO and DIN standard sizes on a few items for instance)
You asked about M3, M4, etc - that describes (only) the outside diameter of the screw - or the size of an unthreaded hole the screw would slip through.
A full description is like M6-1X25 Which describes the outer diameter (6) , the distance from one thread to the next (1) (pitch) and the length (25) (all in millimeters.)
An M6 could also be an M6-0.75 (fine thread pitch) X whatever length. When not specified, the coarse thread is generally assumed, but sometimes the assumption is wrong...
Coarse and Fine pitch for the sizes you asked about:

M3-0.50 and M3-0.35
M4-0.7 and M4-0.5
M5-0.8 and M5-0.5

Thread charts are easily found if you need to know about more sizes.


No water pressure after new installation We installed a new kitchen faucet and a new shower head and have no water pressure in either.

All the plumbing in the house has been recently installed. We checked all the supply lines and connections. There is pressure in the tub faucet, the bathroom sink faucet. There is pressure in the dishwasher and the kitchen sink sprayer.

If the sink sprayer has pressure, water is getting to the sink, through the sink valves, and to the redirection valve... so the question would be why it isn't getting to the main tap. Presumably something is blocking/plugging that path. If removing the aerator doesn't solve the problem (in which case you need to replace that aerator), and you're sure the tap has in fact been hooked up (check underneath; some snap-on connection systems may be self-sealing if left unconnected), the only thought I've got would be to disassemble and see if you can find the blockage.

Shower head: Is there also a tub spout, and does it work? What happens when you remove the head again and just try to run water through the pipe? Are you sure you haven't thrown the "stop water while I soap" valve?


Correct way to use jack post These photos show the way the previous owners of my house used a jack post to brace sagging floor joists.  I'm not sure of their method, so I wanted to check what the correct method is.

Angle 1

Angle 2

Typically, there is a beam put under the joists, then the post are put under each end of the beam. This detail is better suited for longer beams, covering more joists. Somebody has found new and unusual ways do do something there. I can see the logic of what they were trying to do, but makes for a lot of guessing still.

The problem really happened when the insulated pipe was drilled through the bottom edge of the joists.


How can I turn off this water valve? (tl;dr - check the bolded questions and look at the pictures)

Earlier this week I had a frozen (and burst) pipe. It's on the way to the outside spigots and not particularly important in the winter, so I turned off the valve feeding it (that should have been off already, yes) and put the repair on my todo list.

However, I noticed today that it hadn't dried completely in the basement space below this leak. It looks like the shutoff valve didn't work completely - there's still some flow out this ruptured pipe.

The problem now is that I can't figure out how to operate the only other valve upstream of this leak. I tried once in the past and couldn't make it budge.

No markings other than Meuller. I gripped the handle on the left with a large pair of adjustable pliers and applied as much force as I could in both directions, no luck.

Here's the layout, in case it's in any way helpful -

Water enters the T at the bottom center. To the left through the blue handled valve and defunct water meter is the rest of the house - no issues there. To the right and up are the pipes feeding a pair of outdoor spigots. At the top, the red handled valve is the leaking valve leading out to the ruptured pipe. As far as I can spot, this Mueller valve is the only other way to cut off that side, short of the buried valve at the curb - and I don't have a t-handle to reach in there.

I've plugged up the leak as best I can at the pipe, and fiddled with the cheap plastic valve some more, and stopped things for now. The question I have for you guys -- How do I operate the Mueller valve? Is turning the key on the left correct? Does it turn clockwise? Do I need to do anything with the coverlike part on the left side of the valve body?

Thanks.

Typically this would be a quarter turn valve, and turning the key on the left would open the valve. It may or may not rotate 360 degrees, the design does not indicate that. Adding some oil or lubricant to all surfaces around the 'wing' cannot hurt.

If you are able to cut off the flow with the blue valve, try releasing the screw on the side of the Mueller. you may get access to the parts where you can lubricate it.

It is evident that all of the metal parts of this system are deteriorated. If at all possible, cutting off the house at the blue valve and replacing the galvanized and using a ball valve cutoff would eliminate what will surely be additional problems.


ensure that new faucet fits the pipe I need to purchase a new faucet for kitchen. The house is pretty old, built in 1994, so I'd like to make sure that the new faucet will fit in pipes exactly. What do I have to pay attention at when buying a faucet? Are they pretty much standard these days?

Attached is the faucet's underneath picture

Thanks.

Wow, that is a pretty old house....Really, mine was built in 1975, so it must be ancient! But your faucet should be pretty standard, however, the valves could be any of a few standard sizes. You would need to make sure you get the proper hoses to attach the faucet to the water valve.


Recommendations for drilling a lot of small holes in various plastics (ABS/PVC/Acryl) I need to drill a large series of 2 millimeter holes (several 100) in pieces of plastic that vary in thickness between 16 and 22 millimeter.
The plastic will be ABS, PVC and acryl (not sure if that is the correct English term, I mean the clear stuff they make aquarium walls from).
I've got several pieces of each material and I need to do it one-handed standing on a ladder. The pieces of plastic are mounted on a frame high up on a wall. (One hand for the ladder, the other for the cordless power-drill.)
Luckily for me neatness isn't important. The holes don't need to be at a very exact angle as long as they are more or less straight in and go all the way through.
Some raggedness of the holes, even a bit of melting at the edges due to the drill-bit getting warm is OK as the holes won't be visible from up close.
Splintering the plastic however is NOT OK and I only have one go at this. The pieces of plastic can not be easily replaced if they crack or splinter...

I intend to use a 2 mm drill for steel, set the power-drill for high-speed and apply little pressure when drilling. I think the acryl and the ABS would be a bit to hard/brittle for a wood-drill (For the PVC it would probably be OK).
Obviously I need to let the drill-bit cool a bit between holes and maybe drill each hole through in 2-3 phases, possibly having to clean plastic residue from the drill each time.
Am I on the right track with this or will I be making a big mistake somewhere?

EDIT in response to various comments.
The plastic pieces are mostly horizontal inserts of a (much larger) company logo mounted on the roof/wall of a company building. It can't be disassembled without breakage (lot's of glue and some pieces were molded in place and wrap around the frame).
The horizontal parts of the construct gather rain-water which leads to moss-growth (eye-sore) and which provide ideal nesting-places for pigeons and sea-gulls (bird-shit and the noise of the gulls).
Management contacted the artist who designed the whole thing and he came up with the brilliant idea of drilling the holes. About half of them to let water run of and the other half to insert 12-15 cm transparent (so they are invisible from the ground) plastic rods to deny the birds access.
The artist is a cousin of the CEO. The CEO is heavily impressed by him and basically orders us to follow the artists every whim.
Access to the panels with a ladder is pretty good. I'm not worried about dangerous working conditions. Scaffolding only works for the lower panels. The upper panels are mostly located in recesses that are wide enough to get a ladder in, but to narrow for a scaffold. (For the lower part I will use a cherry-picker. That is a lot easier than a scaffold and gives me the same access.)

The scope of your project requires an equally large scope of preparation. Swap out the ladder for a scaffold system. Replace the hand drill with, at a minimum, a drill jig to keep alignment while you drill. Use drill bits designed for drilling plastic to prevent cracking. Your emphasis on avoiding splintering/cracking increases the importance of proper drill bits. Using such a small diameter drill bit also increases the chance of snapping a bit in the hole. With a combination of scaffolds, a drill jig and proper bits, you may be able to accomplish your goal.

You suggest that the holes need not be perfectly straight, but a jig will enable you to drill in a safe manner to avoid snapping a bit.

A quote from a plastics web site:

  Plexiglass, Lexan, Plastic Drill Bits These are the bits you need for drilling Plexiglass, Lexan polycarbonate, PETG, and other clear
  plastics. The special tip design carves through the plastic (not for
  use with wood or metal).

  It takes a special drill bit to properly drill through Plexiglas,
  Lucite, Acrylite, or Perspex acrylic sheet. Ideal for Lexan, Tuffak or
  Makrolon polycarbonate sheet. Special 60 degree angle. Not recommended
  for wood or metal.

  These are specially ground flukes with a 90° point for drilling holes
  in acrylic plastics including, Plexiglas®, Lucite® and Acrylite®
  materials. Metal drill bits will not work as they are made to bite
  into the metal as they are pushed into it. If they are used on
  acrylics they will chip and cause other damage to the plastic.

  When drilling holes for screws, you must make the hole larger than the
  screw itself to allow for expansion and contraction of the material.
  If not you will cause stress cracks at the hole and they will spread!
  Always have a backer board behind the plastic sheet - most problems
  happen when you punch through the back side. The design of these bits
  helps prevent that!

Bits for cutting plastic have a shallower angle to the tip as well as less aggressive cutting edges. The one in the photo below shows it is nearly a scraping edge rather than a cutting edge:


Why is my fridge not cooling properly? I live in a rental apartment, and it came with a poor quality fridge. It's your standard plastic box with a cold plate around 1/4 of the way down. The upper part is the "freezer" and the lower is the regular fridge. There is little to no insulation, all the freezer part does is gather ice and can't even keep an ice cream from melting.

Anyways, today the ice started melting for no apparent reason. The temperature slider is in the same place (max). I can't see what's going on with the cold plate since there is still a solid couple of inches of ice around it. The engine is still making the same old sound. Its melting at like 2 drips per second? I've gotten around half a gallon of water out of it over the day.

I've put a towel under it to collect the water, I don't really care for the well being of the fridge, I'm more concerned with why its suddenly being worse than usual. Could the ice have cracked the cold plate or something? Would the fluids from the cold plate be dangerous?

EDIT: thank you to all answering, there has been a development:

I started defrosting the fridge a little while before posting the thread. Couple of minutes ago, the bottom half of the ice that was stuck to the plate just fell off and into the plastic thingy below it which also fell to to the bottom of the fridge. Nothing broken there, the plastic is just naturally flimsy.

Now that I can see the plate, it appears to be tilted (I'm assuming its supposed to be horizontal) by around half an inch. Shortly after that, I could hear some more dripping except this time it came from somewhere I couldn't see and made this kind of boiling noise, I'm assuming that would be the coolant. I don't know if that's normal since it only lasted a few minutes, could be a heat adjustment thing, its completely silent now.

EDIT2: I tried turning it on again, the engine started up for a few seconds but then stopped. I can also kinda smell it now, a faint smell thats somewhat like the window cleaner fluid in cars. My theory is that the weight of the ice must have been enough to bend the pipes holding the plate (they are literally the only thing) and that they broke.

EDIT3: I finally got the fridge out of its hole (it fits exactly inside one of the counters) and got a look at the backside. One of the pipes leading from the compressor to the inside of the fridge is almost 100% rust at the point where it goes through the back wall. I'm guessing since that was the cold pipe and the radiator bit was right next to it, it was a good place for condensation to form. It has a big gash in the middle (like a good centimeter), frankly I'm surprised its worked so far at all.

The sensor that tells the compressor to run is probably coated with ice or frost.When this happens the compressor wont turn on enough because the probe is still frozen, look for a small metal tube like a wire about 1/8" thick usually clipped close to the cooling plate. this needs to stay free of ice for the fridge to maintain temperature. don't use an Ice pick to chip the ice off because you may damage the evaporator coils and release the freon. It is best to turn the fridge off and let it melt, (food in a Ice chest) I have used warm water to melt the ice faster but this makes a mess also. I don't recommend hair dryers as there could be a shock hazzard with all the water. Hand held torches may damage the coils and plastic parts. Usually a bad seal on the door causes the excessive buildup.


Brand New Weil Mclain Gas-Fired Water Boiler not heating zones The other day, my heating guy removed our old system (completely) and installed a new system (Weil Mclain Gas-Fired Water Boiler) along with a new water tank. He said we didn't need all these 'elbows' on the new system and he wanted to redo everything.  He's passionate about his work.  Last week one zone stopped working. He fixed it by letting some air out. Then another zone wouldn't work and he fixed it.  Now the same second zone isn't working.

The home has 2 zones top floor / lower floor. Upstairs has a control unit just for heat and another just for A/C. They are seperate thermostats. Same for the first floor. One unit for A/C, and one unit for heat. This is just how the builder did it many years ago. There might be some reasons for this but I am not entirely sure as to why. Big home? 120 ft long?

When the HVAC guy was hooking up the thermostats to test out the system he was caught off guard when he noticed we had 4 thermostat controllers providing for two zones.

Here's a photo of new setup.

Probably still have air in the system.

The circulating pumps on these do not provide much head pressure and cannot overcome significant accumulations of air in any vertical return lines.

If you have baseboard radiators with air bleed valves near the high spots then crack those open to vent until no air and only water comes out (with all zones circulating and also assuming your make-up water connection works correctly).  If you do not have the luxury of strategically placed accessible air bleeds then someone will need to properly flush air out by closing the loop across the boiler and flushing line pressure water in one side at high velocity while draining it out the other side across all zones until all the air is purged.

The separate heat/cool thermostats are likely because the original installer did not want to deal with integrating separate boiler and a/c controls into a single thermostat, which would have required slightly more complicated control work than is typical.


Proper way to mount TV on wall that might be lath-and-plaster? I have a flat screen TV that I have always mounted on drywall using plastic drywall anchors—eight of those has always held it up just fine and I probably could have used just four.
New home is in a 1940 building (New York City), and the wall is not drywall, it’s a wooden board with plaster over it. My searching on the subject suggested that lath & plaster is likely for the time and place, only the wooden board doesn’t look like lath from the photos I have found.
Here is what the interior of the wall looks like, as seen in the cut-out for various cables relevant to the TV:

(Yes, I also wish they had used proper jacks for those wires; the bedroom side of this wall is worse and I’m not yet sure what I want to do about that.)
I can’t get a good photo of the far side of the wall space, but it’s the same kind of board, as far as I can see (which isn’t very but maybe a foot or so) in all directions. It’s not thin strips like I usually see described for lath.
So what is the appropriate hardware to buy for this kind of wall, that will hold the TV securely to the wall? There are some holes in the wall already, looks like they drilled four holes and inserted sort-of-similar plastic pieces past the plaster and into the wood, but I’m not sure exactly what they are (they’re in pretty deep and I can’t see them very well) and what the process is.

The wood that's visible around the edge of that opening is plywood. I would suggest opening up several other boxes throughout the apartment (or at least along that wall) to see if they're all like that.
If this wall seems to have a consistent plywood backing, you're in luck because all it takes is a few of the appropriate sized lag bolts (specified in the instructions of your wall mount) and you're good to go. You can hang that thing anywhere you want - plywood has a lot of strength and can take the weight of just about any TV/mount combo out there. So much so that the frequent recommendation is to attach plywood to the studs then attach the mount to the plywood. You just get to skip the first step.


Electric wall heater keeps tripping off. What might be the causes? Just moved into a new house that uses in-wall electric heaters. Sooner or later, we'll be switching to a heat pump, but until then, I need these as it's getting cold.

Our first floor has two heaters connected to one thermostat. One runs fine, but the other keeps shutting off requiring that I take the front panel off and push in the reset button.

If I reset it, place the cover back, it runs fine for about 10 minutes then trips off.

If I reset it but don't place the cover back, it runs just fine and never trips off.

What is the cover doing that could be causing this unit to keep tripping off?

UPDATE:

I'm giving Ed the credit as his theory seems to fit the solution I came up with: I flipped the vent cover over.

The cover on it had all the fins pointing down. However, this heater wasn't the same as the other heater with the same cover...which seemed specifically designed for this cover. So, on a whim, I just spun the cover 180 degrees so the fins slanted up and the heater hasn't tripped since. Seems as if the upward fins allow more of the heat to get pushed out preventing the heat trip.

What is the cover doing that could be causing this unit to keep tripping off?

The cover is holding in heat and the reset you are pushing is tripped by heat. Usually, the reset trips because the unit is drawing too much current which creates heat in the thermal trip device.

Is there anything blocking air flow to the unit? The heater needs air to flow freely otherwise it could overheat and trip out.

If it is tripping out without anything blocking air flow this means the heating coil is not functioning properly or the thermal unit is faulty.


How to seal swamp cooler wires going into roof I was shutting down my swamp cooler for the season and notice that the sealant around the wires going down into the roof has opened up. I assume it would be a good thing to seal this to keep rain and snow out. What is my best bet to solve this?

The best way would be a total do-over.  Penetrate the roof with conduit rather than liquidtight and use two boots for two pipes.  The conduit is optional - the boot will work better cinched to a conduit that doesn't flex or move than it will with liquidtight.  But using two boots really isn't optional.
If I really had to try to make it work as is I'd try filling the boot with expanding foam.
I'd remove as much of the debris as possible, and keep the two liquidtights at least a half inch apart.  Then I'd fill the boot a couple inches at a time, letting the foam set up each time.  I'd use the low-expansion type foam made for doors and windows.  I'd top it off with some roofing adhesive for UV protection.
But I'd only do that in a pinch, and I wouldn't be surprised if it leaked, you should do it the right way, use two boots.


When I plug in a dimmable lamp on the other side of the house, a GFCI outlet in my kitchen starts humming. What gives? The GFCI outlet in the kitchen ONLY buzzes when the following two conditions are met:

(1) Microwave is plugged in
(2) Dimmable lamp on other side of house is turned on

Any idea what could be causing this?  Never had any issues with this outlet until relocating the lamp to a new outlet and turning it out, which leads me to believe the issue is either with the lamp, or with the outlet that the lamp is plugged into.

I have read all other questions pertaining to GFCI issues but cannot find any that seem to pertain to this strange issue.

Thank you for any assistance in this matter!

Since the GFI's test button does not make it trip, the GFI should be replaced pronto.  Until that can be done, unplug everything from it and from downstream outlets.

The test button is not an accessory feature.  It uses simple electronics to produce a slightly unbalanced current so as to directly test the protection logic.  If that doesn't work, the protective circuitry has failed.  That, plus any buzzing (especially under bizarre circumstances) is a screaming cry to fix it.


Can a sun tunnel be installed with a 15 to 20 degree angle in it? Can a sun tunnel be installed with a 15 to 20 degree angle in it? If so, how would it affect the amount of light it transfers into the room?

Whether or not they can be bent, and the degree to which they can be bent, depends on the manufacturer.

The amount of light will be impacted, but the question is by how much. Light is lost the more reflections required to reach the diffuser.

I would say you don't need to worry to much if you have one bend. Where it will get bad is if you have multiple bends and (in the case of flexible-reflector units) if the film is not drawn tight.


Adding new overhead outlets in garage - conduit required? I plan to install 3 new GFCI breakers in my electrical panel in my garage, and pull three dedicated runs through storage space above my garage to my woodworking power tools (overhead outlets). I thought this task would be simple: the electrical panel's existing wiring exits up the garage wall behind drywall, and I had assumed that the wiring exits into the storage space above my garage. However, when I looked closely, the storage space above my garage is NOT directly above the electrical panel. I have accepted the fact that I will need to cut out some drywall from around the top of the electrical panel, punch out three knockouts, and route the new wiring at least 4' horizontally (drilling thru several studs) before I can route the wiring upwards and into the space above my garage. THIS is where I need assistance.  The garage wall where the electrical panel resides is an exterior wall. The top plate of this wall is not exposed to the elements, but it is directly beside a rather wide, long roof/soffit ventilation "trough" (which runs all the way around my house).  Is this ventilation trough considered "exposure to the elements"???  Is there anything in the NEC 2015 (my town uses the 2015 electrical guidelines) that prohibits me from drilling through the top plate of this exterior garage wall, and running my 12 gauge wiring directly to the desired outlet locations - without using conduit?
The original wiring (1993) that feeds the garage lights, outlets, and garage door openers does NOT use conduit, but that old wiring was installed before the garage drywall was installed, and thus does not follow the path through the exterior wall's top plate. I would prefer to avoid conduit, as the wiring runs are less than 15' each - seems like overkill to run conduit. I'm a do-it-yourselfer, have significant experience with both AC and DC in an industrial environment, but I do not want to fail a home inspection when I move away some day.  I believe in "doing it the right way the first time", but I'm hoping the right way is "conduit not required"!  Thanks... John in Dallas

The vent is under the roof and you said you have Sheetrock inside so that would make the location “dry” by code standards.
Can you run NMB exposed on a ceiling, actually you can if it is over 8’.
Code has no specific height some states allow over 7’. Most inspectors use the height protected by elevation of 8’ as a basis for the 8’.
I would suggest using metal clad type MC it is a little more expensive but exposed it is more common and most consider that first finished compared to nmb or Romex.
Believe me for resale metal clad or MC makes a difference. As someone that has been part of a team that flipped old houses this is one of the “upgrades” we commonly did in garages a 250’ roll 12-2 (3wire) is under 100$ You can get smaller coils but 250’ was usually the best price and a manageable spool (1000’ sucks because of the weight and size and is not much less per foot). The realtor we used said ~10k price increase compared to open wiring of cloth or nmb that is common in my area in the older homes. Note your home would Not be considered older and the nmb on the outside screams DIY and no permits. Conduit or metal clad if installed neat looks much more like a pro job.


Not able to find Lennox ML193UH furnace filter I have a Lennox Merit series gas furnace ML193UH in my attic. The furnace turns on, but no air blows out of it. So i figured the filter needs to be changed. But I'm not able to find it. The pictures show the furnace i have. I have changed the filter for the main air intake vent. Any thoughts on where the furnace filter is??? Thanks!

If you have a filter in the return air grille, that's likely the only one in this system. Nobody wants to climb into their attic just to replace an HVAC filter, so when a furnace or air handler is installed in the attic these filter grilles allow placement of the filter in a more accessible location. In fact, according to page 6 of this spec sheet for that model furnace, a filter rack is not built into this model and is available as an optional accessory.

So unfortunately, something else is wrong with your furnace...


What size extension cord gauge would I need for a 12 amp electric mower if the cord is 250 feet long? I need to use an electric mower for my very large yard because I can't start a gas mower and my nearest neighbor is about 5 miles away.  Living on a limited budget, I can't find anyone to cut the grass for what I can afford to pay.  My yard is about an acre with about 30 trees.  It has heavy dense grass.  The extension cord would need to be at least 250 feet long to reach to the edge of the yard.  My question is what gauge wire would I need to use to make the extension cord?  The mower that I'm thinking about buying is a 12 amp mower.  The circuit breaker for the plug at the house is a 20 amp breaker.  Are there other things that I need to take into consideration?  And if you have suggestions for a mower that would work well for these conditions, I'm open to suggestions.

A Gas lawnmower with an electric start. Electric ones don't like to cut heavy dense grass. Plug it in at the house, start it, disconnect and go. A quick search found a self-propelled one for about $300. I couldn't really find one much cheaper but I do recommend a self propelled model. Like this one from Briggs and Stratton, a reputable company.

 -Home Depot

If you're not just going to plug a bunch of regular cords into each other, a legitimately constructed cable and an electric mower would near, if not surpass, the cost of one of these more effective machines.


How can I stop this GFCI receptacle from tripping? In my garage I have two wall receptacles on opposite sides of the garage. On one side the receptacle is a GFCI receptacle and the other side is a normal one. In the normal receptacle I have a small deep freeze, and a refrigerator plugged in. A couple of times a day I go out and neither the refrigerator nor the freezer are working, and the GFCI receptacle on the other wall is tripped.

Any suggestions on what I can do to fix this?

A GFCI outlet works by measuring the magic electrons in and out on the hot and neutral legs and if they are different by a certain amount, trips the circuit to stop electricity from flowing, on the principle that those electrons are going somewhere bad (your body, perhaps).

If the normal outlet is connected to the LOAD side of the GFCI (which it sounds like it is due to your problem statement), then your problem domain is the GFCI outlet, the cabling from the GFCI to the normal outlet, the normal outlet, and the freezer and refrigerator.  As a first step, try unplugging the freezer and the refrigerator to see what happens without them plugged in.

However, more than likely, the compressor motors on one or the other are at fault, and in general terms, these devices should not be on GFCIs.


Why are there sheen differences between woods? I hired a painting contractor to stain and poly my new windows. He used (2) coats of oil based polyurethane, but after the second coat, the finish was rough on the pine sashes. The oak jams and casing were fine. I asked him to come back and sand and apply another coat to the sashes, which he agreed to do. I was home when he began the sanding, but left before he began applying the poly. When I got home, the sashes were smooth, but the sheen was much duller than the oak, which wasn't the case after the first 2 coats. I am suspicious of the application of a third coat, but he was adamant he applied it. The windows were not tacky when I got home as well. He said the lower sheen was the result of the additional sanding, but wouldn't the additional application of the poly have the same sheen, as well as be tacky?

I hate to be critical of other contractors, but from the clues you have given in your question, I think I know what happened.

First, pine is a much softer wood than oak and needs to be sanded very smooth before the first coat of urethane. The first coat raises the grain of the pine and almost always is somewhat rough regardless of how good the initial prep was. The first coat is sort of a sealing coat and must be sanded lightly to smooth it for the second coat. If the first coat is not fully cured and sanded, subsequent coats will only exaggerate any flaws or roughness. This is what I think happened when you noticed the roughness.

As for a difference in sheen. If the contractor applied the same urethane, semi-gloss for example, the sheen should be pretty much the same as it was before the 3rd coat. They may have used one grade lower sheen. Satin instead of semi, or semi instead of gloss.  If you can see any noticeable unfilled sanding marks or really thin coverage, then perhaps the rough surface was sanded with a very fine paper and not over-coated. Oil based urethane stays tacky for several hours. At best conditions, it could be dry to the touch after 2 to 3 hours.


Electricity usage up with new unit I have a separate post regarding duct sizes but our new unit is using more electricity than older unit.  Both are 3.5 ton.  Prior unit was a 20 year old 10 seer, new one is 14 seer.  The two differences are airflow and cycles.  The prior unit would run and run, sometimes for 90 minutes or more at a time.  Long  run times even in early evenings.  The new unit runs between 11 and 14 minutes on 84 degree days.  On 92 degree days for maybe 23 minutes

So the new unit cycles a whole lot more.  Is that causing my higher electricity usage?

The airflow is much stronger even with a one inch merv 10 filer.  The humidity is usually between 45 and 55%.  The 55% is normally only in the morning hours until the unit comes on. It is a single stage unit. House is 1700 sq ft excluding sunroom.  House gets full sun all day.  Airflow is much stronger even if fan is on low.  They did turn the new air handler to eliminate an angle in the plenum.  The plenum now goes straight up

Thank you

The unit cycling on and off more would have a negligible effect on your usage. Now the air handler is a different store. If the installer upped the size of it than that's where your increase it. That would explain the higher air flow. Most air handlers have different speeds the blower will operate at. Maybe your old unit have a lower speed set and the new unit has a higher setting set. Those motors are usually 1/3 to 1/5 HP and they run all the time the compressor is running unless you have it set to run continually... make sure it's set to "auto". The plenum being rerouted would also help the airflow by eliminating the bend. If the installers replaced the thermostat the calibrations will probably be different and that would also affect the run time of the unit.


How do I snake this tub drain? I have a Trip Lever Plunger Style Stopper. I removed the faceplate and there was no plunger attached to it or in the pipe, and it seems like the stopper closed. Why i say this is because when we insert a snake or grabber it just comes up through the overflow/ faceplate. I thought i got it to go past that hole but then it hits something solid and wont keep going. When i insert the snake or hair grabber through the faceplate it his something solid and wont move. I have no access panel. How can I snake this drain?

You'll need a different tool to get the plunger and/or linkage - your drain snake would be unlikely to get it. You might have one of these grabber tools somewhere in the house, and it would be worth trying it (down the access plate opening, so it's got a straight shot at the plug.) If that fails, you're probably near the tipping point where calling a plumber might be quicker and cheaper than continued DIY.


Metal box grounding question GFCI outlet What is this wire for? The picture shows a wire connected to the grounding screw and back to the outlet.  Is this commonly done to get a connection to the metal box? My outlet tester shows this outlet as wired correctly and grounded.
This is in the kitchen and I would like to swap the pictured outlet for a GFCI outlet. Can I still add a GFCI outlet without a grounding wire? The box is metal and is connected to a metal conduit in the back.

That is what is called a “bootleg ground” and it’s both against code and dangerous. This can be done when there is no ground in the box. It works because the ground and neutral are connected back in the main panel. However, there are problems, such as if the neutral wire back to the panel fails, suddenly, the outlet ground is at 120 volts (through the load, out the neutral pin, through the wire to the ground pin.
The interesting thing is that it appears that the wires are going through conduit which should provide a good ground to the metal box.
Assuming that the box is indeed grounded, all you need is to install a “self grounding” GFCI.
On the other hand, if the box is not grounded, what you must do is install a GFCI, leaving the ground screw disconnected. Also, label the front of the outlet “no ground”. There should be a label in the packaging that you can stick on.
A GFCI is the only legal way to install a 3-prong outlet on an ungrounded circuit.


What could be causing these mold issues in my brick townhouse? Live in a town house in Virginia built in 1970's.  We have lived there for about 12 years.  Two weeks ago I noticed a picture hanging on my bedroom wall was wet and discolored.  I moved the picture and under the picture was mold growing on the drywall.  I cut a section of the molded drywall and removed wet insulation.  Once the insulation was removed I could touch the wet cinder block.  Since this first spotting I have several other pictures with mold growing.  Some are on different floors of the town house and opposite exterior facing walls.  My question is should there be some type of sheathing or moisture barrier between the cinder block and stud/insulation, and drywall?  Again the town house is brick on the outside with the drywall and insulation removed I see the cinder block, but no vapor barrier.  Is this a case of poor construction?  Is it possible to take so many years to appear?

I have had my gutters looked at and roof checked.  All appear fine.  My attic is fine as well.   Several roofers have looked into the problem but can't solve. Any suggestions?

DA01's theory is correct. Outside humidity is migrating through the wall until it contacts material colder than the dew point of the vapor laden air. The vapor at that point condenses into liquid water. Aside from not using A/C, one remedy is to install a vapor barrier between the insulation and the exterior wall cinder block. This has a detrimental effect in the winter because the situation reverses. You need a vapor barrier on the interior side of the insulation. This is feasible, but the problem now is any moisture that gets past the barrier (no barrier is perfect) has no where to go. It is trapped in the insulation.

This of course means removing all insulation and drywall on exterior walls. Thus, I believe the best course of action is to insulate with a material unaffected by moisture and is actually a vapor barrier itself. One such insulation is spray applied polyurethane. The only drawback of this material is that it is quite expensive. It's the ideal material for difficult, varying climatic conditions such as yours.


How can I close off crawl space vents for the winter? My exterior air vents are still letting air into the crawl space, even after being closed for the winter. I've seen the suggestions for wedging plywood over the air vents to further block the air, but is there a product such as a solid metal cover that goes over the closed air vent (from the outside) to more successfully insulate the crawl space? I've searched online and can't find anything. I'm wondering if it's because I don't know the specific name for such a thing. Suggestions?

Your louver (damper; shutter) doesn't  work so well anymore. Replace the whole thing with one made out of metal that has rubber seals where the blades contact: (solerpalau-usa.com)

A working louver should not leak (much) air or need an extra cover, however you may want to shove insulation or foam board in it, for over the winter. A custom cut-to-fit foam board taped-to it on the inside, may be a cheap temporary solution.

FYI, a vent cover with movable lovers is also a register. One without movement is a return grill, or simply a grill.

If your grills are metallic and relatively flat, you can use a magnetic vent cover: (always-free-shipping.com)


Is there any code requirements determining how close a ceiling fan can be to a pendant light? Is there any code requirement on how close to a pendant light a ceiling fan blade can be? This is Oregon, which is based on  2018 IRC and 2020 NEC code.

Roundabout "code" reference.
Several fan makers specify 39 inches (remarkably/suspiciously close to 1 meter) as minimum clearance from fan-blade-tip to pendant-light-chain.
Code requires that you follow the maker's instructions.
So, if the maker of your fan has language like that, which may or may not have the same measurement, you should follow the instructions of the maker of your fan.
If not, you're back to what common sense will insist on teaching you.


How can I attach a safety gate at the bottom of the stairs? I have a wall on one side with trim molding at baseboard and opposite end is the wooden banister. What type of gate can I attach. The drywall is not holding the screws in place and we we frequently open and close the gate. I have  regalo gate that I re-purposed but it keeps falling  off the drywall. The stud is a little fruther away from where I want the gate on the wall, if I fix it to the stud in the drywall, the gate would be at an angle to the wooden banister.

Could you attach a board to the wall, that spans the distance between the stud, and your ideal hinge location for the baby gate?   For an example of what I'm talking about-- as well as plans for a cool parallelogram baby gate-- see the following:  http://woodgears.ca/home/baby_gate.html  (Note I am not talking about the gate at the top of the stairs, that you see at the top of the linked page, but rather the gate at the bottom of the stairs.)


limescale flakes in shower pipes We live in an area with very hard water, and so the usual problems this creates.

One particular thing is that we get a lot of flakes of a chalky material building up in the shower head (We've got an "anti-limescale" shower head that you can dismantle to clean it). The shape and nature of these flakes suggests to me that they're the result of limescale building up inside a pipe somewhere in the system, then flaking off and travelling down the pipes until they get caught up in the shower head.

Is there any way I can work out where this buildup is happening, and stop it? Why does it only happen in the shower, and not in the normal taps?

If it makes a difference, it's an electric shower, wheras the other taps (bath, sink etc) are fed off the gas boiler.

A standard water softener will remove most of the calcium ( and Mg, Ba, Sr , etc) from the water supply. It will not remove existing scale in the pipes, etc. It would be expensive to remove the existing scales ; flushing with dilute hydrochloric/muriatic would do it , but not a job for the homeowner. The taps that don't plug may have no strainers; also you may have mostly "temporary" hardness. In temporary hardness , carbon dioxide acidifies the water and keeps the calcium in solution, when the water is heated the CO2 is removed, and then the calcium precipitates/scales.


"Draining" concrete blocks? We've recently had exterior waterproofing applied our house. In the process, we removed an old cold room that was underneath our porch. They walled up the entrance to the old cold room, and then removed the walls and floors.

While they were removing the old cold room, they noted that the concrete block walls of that cold room were filled partially with water.  We haven't been exposed to heavy rain in the last few months really.

The interior of our unfinished basement concrete block foundation walls were painted with something black many years ago, probably as a waterproofing measure. So now, we have really good waterproofing outside, and some crappy waterproofing inside.

The trouble is, I'm convinced that if there was water in the concrete blocks of the old porch, that its likely that many other spots in the house have water in the foundation. Lots of it.

Is there a good way to find out, and possibly drain this water out?  Will a dehumidifier work in this situation?

Edit

Should we try to remove the black substance painted on to the inside of the concrete block, to help dry out the walls from the inside now that we have exterior waterproofing? if so, how?

Is there a good way to find out, and possibly drain this water out?

A drill with a concrete bit should do the trick.

  Will a dehumidifier work in this situation?

A basement in most climates (any place with somewhat humid summers) should likely have a dehumidifier regardless. So it definitely won't hurt.


Is the Gap Between the Window Header and the Header a Problem? I'm renovating a bathroom. This section of the house is single story. I noticed that there is a 1/4 to 1/2 in gap between the window header and the top plate. So, the header isn't carrying any weight.  Is this a problem or should I leave it? The house is 50 yrs old. There haven't been any issues with it. (I have to replace the jack and king studs on the right side due to termite damage.)

If it hasn't been a problem in the past, it won't be in the future. 50 years is a pretty good test.

I am also pretty sure that when the home was built the header was tight, but shrank when everything dried out over time. It happens in every wood framed house.

If you choose to, you can add a shim in the middle or in two places and snug it up in place, but that would at the most. I would think that the sheathing on the outside is helping to hold everything up, which in reality, isn't a whole lot of weight over that window as long as there is no snow load.

I would think the rafters are situated so that they are near the ends of the beam, not in the center so that minimized the use of the header.


Upstairs circuit in house is noisy first of all, I'm sorry if I'm posting in the wrong community. I looked for a stack community more related to my issue but couldn't find one.

Here's my issue: all the outlets on the 2nd story of my brother's house have the same problem. When a phone is charged through any of the outlets, the touch screen on the phone behaves erratically. Through some research online, I've found out that this is usually caused by noisy 3rd-party chargers, but this issue is present with genuine chargers as well. So I'm assuming it's the circuit behind the charger that is noisy. I tested the outlets with a wattmeter - both frequency and voltage are within normal ranges.

Any idea why a house circuit would be this noisy? And if there is a safe way to fix it without hiring an electrician? My brother hired an electrician recently to take a look but he couldn't figure it out. He's letting me live at his house rent-free for a bit so I'd really like to figure out what's going on to help him out.

Any suggestions are welcome!

One possible cause for electrical noises are loose connections on the back of the outlet. For example, where the internal mains wiring physically connects to the scews or push in terminals on the outlet, if these are not tight, or are worn out and loose, a noise can be generated.

Recommend checking and replacing if necessary.  Also, when replacing a outlet you might need to replace with a AFCI and or GFCI/DFCI type outlet per code requirements.  Some jurisdictions may not require this but you can still do it for safety.


Problem- air condition- compressor and fan outside not on I'm new to hvac. My ac was working fine but it decided to die one day. I've been able to fix my ac, but it continues to happen(the same problem), and it is not easy to get to the ac (it's on the roof).
The problem is: there is a switch that provides electric to the compressor and the fan, and it often turns itself off.

if the ac stopped working(the fan and the compressor not running), i had to climbed up to the roof just to push that button to make it work again.

I would like to know how to prevent it from switching off.

Here are some more pictures

1.how to take this cap off- I worry I would break it.

2.this is how it looks when it worked. is it normal for the compressor?

Sincerely,
alt

I am not a HVAC tech but I do believe that is a high pressure switch that is tripping and there could be a couple of things going on with your unit. It is tripping to protect the compressor and fan from faulting. I would suggest calling a HVAC company to come take a look.


Can flow of gas be too strong to ignite in oven? My Viking oven lights only intermittently.  I hear the spark module sparking.  It tries for 4 cycles and then turns off, to prevent explosions I assume.  I have replaced spark module once; no help.

When I take the metal floor of the oven off so I can look down and see the spark module and the gas manifold, it usually lights.  I see sparks.

It is hard for me to think of a reason it would light with floor off but not with floor on.  Could there be so much gas coming out that it replaces available O2 under the floor and so cannot light?  Ideas welcome.  I want to bake!

I would speculate that the MIXTURE of gas and air may be off, in the "too much gas" direction. There are lower and upper limits of the gas to air mixture beyond which the mixture will not ignite (too little gas to light, or too little oxygen from air to light.) Removing the oven floor may provide just enough extra outside air to allow it to light.

Check the color of the flames - if they are more yellow than blue that's a pretty good sign the mixture is too rich. There is normally some sort of air control on/near the burner inlet. They are not too prone to move of themselves, but they more often get plugged up with dirt, hair, or spiderwebs. However, it may need adjusting if merely cleaning it does not solve your problem.


Outlet tester says "Correct", but there is no ground wire I replaced all outlets in my house weeks ago, informally noting which had ground wires and which didn't (only a couple).  To confirm my notes, I bought an outlet tester, yet all outlets including the couple with no ground wires are coming up "correct", rather than the anticipated "open ground".  Please advise.  Thanks.

Assuming you are in north america: In a home wired up with armored cable, otherwise known as BX or AC cable, the armor is the grounding conductor. It is always terminated to a metal box with a cable clamp that secures the cable and completes the connection between the box and armor. The metal mounting bracket(called the yolk), which is the frame of an outlet, is not only mechanical but also serves as a ground conductor for the outlets ground prong(s), the grounding terminal screw and the cover screw. The ground connection is made in one of two ways: via the ground screw or the mounting screws which secure the yolk to the box. The yolk method is acceptable in armored cable systems.

Newer MC or metal clad cable looks exactly like armored cable but has its own grounding conductor. In that wiring system, the armor is not listed for grounding and the wiring methods are similar to that of terminating non metallic cable (aka romex). Meaning, the ground wire must be connected to the metal box, the outlet, and any other grounding conductor.


How to replace a compression valve behind sink? Would prefer to not cut through the copper but the stem seems to either be bent or rusted enough to where it won’t slip off with a good amount of effort. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

That valve uses a compression fitting to attach to the copper pipe. Here are your options (in order from easiest to hardest which is also, conversely, in opposite order from a reliability standpoint), I will label them as to each method's reliability. All three methods require you to shut off the water supply:

Buy an identical valve and screw it to the nut that is already trapped on the pipe by the compression ferrule. Remove the existing valve by holding the valve body with one wrench, then unscrewing the compression nut with a 2nd wrench. When you screw the new valve onto the old nut, reverse the procedure above and know that you will have to get it nice and tight for a good seal. (good)
Cut behind the existing nut and ferrule (you will likely need to use a hacksaw because there does not appear to be room for a tubing cutter). Use a "sharkbite" style push-on connector with 1/2" male iron pipe threads (MIP/NPT). Thread on the appropriate replacement valve. (better)
Cut behind the existing nut and ferrule (you will likely need to use a hacksaw because there does not appear to be room for a tubing cutter). Solder on a male adapter with 1/2" male iron pipe threads (MIP/NPT). Thread on the appropriate replacement valve. (best)


Thermostatic Control of Simple Apartment Heater My daughter's apartment has a very simple heater. As shown in the pictures below, it is an heater-coil unit with only a fan control. There is no temperature control or thermostatic feedback. So, for example, the heater cannot be left running unattended for extended periods of time, like overnight.

I'm wondering if there are any solutions that can attach to a heater like this to provide automated thermostatic control. Since this is in a rental unit, replacing the heater is the last thing she would want to do. In my mind, a simple mechanical attachment to the fan control would be ideal. Has anyone seen a solution to a problem like this?

I found a link to the product line for this heater (SeasonMaker ThinLine Fan-Coil Units), and it shows that there are thermostats available for some configurations. I can't decipher the catalog to understand how this might work with this particular unit, or if it can work at all.

NOT an electric heater - a hot-water heater with an electric fan, connected to a central source of hot water (which might be under control of a thermostat not local to the Fan Coil Unit.) It is not inherently hazardous to leave such a unit turned on 24 hours a day.

Would be a fairly simple/inexpensive "robotics" project to have a temperature sensor and a servo or stepper motor that connected to the dial, which would not require any "landlord irritating" attempts to modify the internals of the heat unit. Landlords are not generally thrilled with tenants who modify things the landlord owns, so don't go there.


Outlets not grounded? Remedy? For some months, I'm renting an apartment in the Canary Islands. It looks like the plugs are not grounded. For example, when I connect my laptop, a ThinkPad T420si, then I feel an unpleasant sensation on my bare legs when connected to mains (220V/50Hz). A similar sensation I get when touching certain parts, incl. plastic parts (!), of my smartphone when connected to the laptop. Contrary to what I wrote before: When connected to the USB charger, I do not get that sensation when touching the smartphone.

My guess is that the outlets are not properly grounded. While I assume there is no risk for my health, I am a bit worried about my electronic devices. Also, I may want to do some electronics soldering, and I don't like the idea of the soldering iron's tip possibly being on a different potential than ground.

What options do I have to remedy the problem? An isolating transformer?

Update as of 2014-10-15 WEST

After removing the Schuko (fype F) multiplier, and upon close inspection of the outlet, I realized that the center hole is not a screw hole. It is ground, i.e. this outlet is of type L. So I bought an adapter, and yesterday the problem was gone:

Facepalm!

But wait, today the problem is back, and in the entire apartment! For the first time, I felt a potential when touching the washing machine in the bathroom, and this one is connected with a Schuko plug to a Schuko outlet:

Something is wrong here. Probably unrelated: Some days ago there was a power outage, I think affecting several houses, i.e. not just the one I'm living in.

This is not about grounding, or perhaps it is...

Lets start with your connectors: Do you have AC-connectors at your devices with or without grounding pin? Laptop psu may have a protective earth connection, a phone charger won't have one. I've never seen a phone charger with protective earth connection.

Both PSUs are doubly insulated, I'm pretty sure, which means primary side is galvanically separated from secondary side, which includes everything which can be touched with bare hands.

How does this sensation of 50 Hz AC come over to touchable parts? There's something calle Y-Capacitor between primary and secondary side in these PSUs. It is used to provides a stable potential for the regulating circuitry of the PSU, i.e. it prevents the secondary side from "floating". It can be described by two small capacitors in series between neutral lead and live lead on primary side with the middle node connected to the ground of the secondary side. Hence, on a 230V system, the secondary side gets a level of 115 V AC. The capacitor is designed to permit a maximum current of 0,35 mA to flow, if shorted to ground. This is a current you can sense, but which cannot harm you or your equipment.

If something with earthing in your mansion was wrong, it would not change this effect in my opinion.

In the rare case, your PSUs really have a protective earth connector you should not be able to sense that voltage as it was conducted away. In this rare case you should get an electrician soon, because if you touch your oven or washing machine there is no such limiting capacitor to protect you in case of an failure.

I have a different theory why you feel somthing you do not know at home. On canary islands it is rather warm and carpets are rare while most homes have tiled floor. If you live somewhere cold the rest of the year you probably have carpets or wooden floor which reduce capacitive coupling by orders of magnitude. You just may not feel the phenomenon while it is there, too.

Update

Relating to your updates: Now you do have a problem.
When you feel a tickling sensation when touching devices like a washing machine there is one possible conclusion: the potential of protective earth connected with the housing of your devices differs from the potential of your house. Which can mean different things.

You have only 2-wire conduits in your house. The neutral and protective earth in your wall outlets are connected to one common wire (usually blue in EU). Some connections in your house have too high ohmic resistance. When under heavy load, voltage on N and PE rises, hence you can feel the influenced voltage.
Protective Earth is somewhere broken, effectively. This is really bad, as all Class 1 equipment relies on working PE and a short to housing, which especially water bearing devices are prone to, will put the full voltage to touchable parts of the defective devices.
And if PE is interrupted at the equipotential bus bar it gets even worse. Not only a faulty potential from one defective device will propagate through your complete building and be present on every Schuko (PE contact), but will also be induced by assymetric load in the 3-phase-network between the next transformer station and your house. Which means, even if all devices in your house are depowered properly, PE-conductors may conduct harmful voltages.

For the last two options, your life is at risk. You should get an electrician to prove me wrong. The first possibility can be verified by opening a wall outlet (of course after opening the circuit breaker, securing it against reconnecting, verifying all pins in the outlet are deenergised and so on). If there are two wires only and one of them connects to N and PE you have a “bootleg ground”, which renders even ground fault interruptors partially useless.


Mounting large tv to drywall I have a 50-inch tv weighing in at 15kg/33lbs, that I want to mount to a drywall. Ideally, I would like to be able to use a mount that can flip the tv out at a 90 degree angle. I have not been able to find the studs in the wall. I found a very helpful and informative video here. It calls for 'snap toggle bolts'.

So here is the challenge - I live in Bangkok, Thailand. And none of the hardware stores I've visited had ever seen the pictures and video I showed them of snap toggle bolts. They came back with some suggestions, the sturdiest of which I took a photo of.

However, nobody could tell me how much weight these anchors would properly support. And of course I don't want to risk part of the wall plus my new tv coming down!

Ideally, I hope somebody recognises these things and can tell me if they'll suffice. But that might be a stretch. Instead, perhaps somebody can give me some pointers in terms of what to look for, how to judge different solutions for suitability, etc. and I'll just continue my search.

Much appreciate your help.

No... those expanding bolts aren't going to do the job, period. There are several reasons but suffice it to say your TV will find up on the floor.  Toggle bolts of some variety are the preferred way to do it... it's hard to believe that no one in a city the size of yours has them or something more suitable.  What you need is something that will spread the weight of your TV over a wide enough surface area and not be dependent on resisting withdrawal through the sheetrock, as the ones you pictured are.  You said you can't find the studs... how have you tried?  Is your home typical studs with sheetrock over?  If they are metal studs that might be why you're having so much trouble.  But don't use what you have pictured, they are not suitable.  Let me know your answers to the above and I'm sure we can figure this out.


Installing sheathing with Staples or Ring Shank? Wanted to ask the community about their experience with code and reasoning for using one or the other. I'm talking about fastening 7/16" OSB to walls and 5/8" OSB to roofs.  Do you use narrow crown staples or ring shank nails?  Here, we are not in a seismic/earthquake zone but we do get high winds and potentially tornadoes here.

It is my experience that staples may hold better than nails because they have a larger surface area of grip and two sharp points spread 1/2" apart gripping into the stud or truss member.  However, those two sharp points are very narrow and I feel like this has to be something code is cracking down on, but I am struggling to find valid, tested, literature on the use of one or the other.  All I have found so far is that when using staples, edges must be stapled every 4" instead of 6" like nails.

I am curious if anyone has seen side-by-side comparisons to know which option is truly a better fastener for the job?  Staples are starting to appeal to me due to how many can be loaded in clip, and how you don't seem to have to come back and hammer the head in on ones your gun didn't quite get square up on before firing or the hard to reach spots.  I will be doing a roof soon and think maybe using a air stapler will increase speed of sheathing the roof by a good factor.  My local inspector does not seem to care, just mentioned that he thinks nails are stronger.

The Code (ICC Code Table 2304.9.1) requires for either 5/8” or 3/4” structural panels (plywood) or particleboard (OSB board) for roofs, floors or walls use either:

8d common at 6” oc at edges and 12” in field.
6d deformed at 6” oc at edges and 12” in field.
2 3/8” x 0.113” nail at 4” oc at edges and 8” in field.
2” x 16 gage staple with 7/16” crown at 4” oc at edges and 8” in field.

For 3/8” or 1/2” structural panels or particle board use either:

A. 6d common or deformed: 6/12 oc

B. 8d box or deformed: 6/12 oc

C. Wall: 2 3/8” x 0.113” nail: 6/12” oc

D. Wall: 1 3/16 x 16 gage staple with 7/16  crown: 4/8” oc

Be careful how far you span on the roof with 5/8” OSB board. In certain heavy snow areas it could sag when spanning 24” on center.


What is the best way for a DIY'er to work with contractors/inspectors? Like many here, I was born with an unhealthy desire to do things myself. It is in my DNA, it isn't gonna change.

This is NOT a post about the evils of the government deciding what/when/how I can do things on property that I supposedly own.  That ship has sailed.  Good or bad, it is the type of civilization that exists on this planet.  Let's move on.

What I want to know is this.  What is the most practical way for someone like me to be allowed to do the maximum amount of any particular building/remodeling job myself while working TOGETHER with the trades/inspector (as little as possible) rather than against them.

Specifically, I'm asking what are the best ways for me to find the right guy in the trade or approach a given tradesman to get them to agree to a contract job where:

I pay them for the time it takes them to "walk me through the job and tell me how they would do it".  A mini-brain dump about the pitfalls and codes involved.
they go away and don't bother me.
I pay them for the time it takes them to come over and "inspect" my work and tell me what I need to change and how. He is on site for interim inspections from the county and he gets paid for all of his time by the hour.
After a couple iterations of the above, I pay them to "finish the job" and call the inspector to come approve the job.

Item 4 above would vary from job to job, but an example might be putting in a driveway...I do all the excavation and prep and gravel and build the forms and put in the rebar, yada yada, and then he and his crew order the cement truck and pour it and finish it.  This is just an example with one specific trade.

So, is there a way to find such a contractor?  Would just about any smallish contractor do this if I posed the job to them in the proper way?  Are there some trades where this idea can fly, and others where there is no chance?

The question is posed mostly to the many tradespeople who frequent this forum, but I also would like to hear from any DIY'ers similarly afflicted who have found a workable path through this quagmire over the years.

You might find such a person, but it'll be tough. I suspect you'll spend a lot of time on the phone, reading your 4 points out, before you get someone that's willing. My guess is that you'll end up finding an older, semi-retired handyman type.

Concerns/roadblocks include (but aren't limited to) the fact that you're asking the trade to take some measure of responsibility for your work. (I know you said 'inspect', but sometimes things get buried/missed/fail later, and that would make a trade nervous.) The initial "brain dump" sounds good, but I sometimes find that I can only make choices once I'm elbow deep in a job. That, and you'd need someone that communicates well. The last thing that springs to mind is about specialty tools: if I've invested a grand in door hanging stuff, it's easier/faster/more cost efficient for me to just hang the door than to instruct you on how to work through it with non-specialty tools. (Though maybe you're heavily tooled up and this wouldn't be so much of an issue...)

Anyway, I do wish you luck. I think this approach can work for some jobs, and won't be as applicable for others.


Likelyhood of lead paint in 1970s build UK I'm currently stripping some horrible old anaglypta wallpaper and noticed that under the lining paper there is a bright yellow paint underneath. Some of it is coming away, most of it is not and I'm trying not to disturb it as much as possible.

Next I will use a steamer to get the rest of the lining off but it dawned on me that I might not be taking the necessary precautions. I've heard that it would be extremely unlikely given the age of my property in the UK that the paint would contain lead.

Does anyone know if that might not be the case?

Get a rub-stick lead test kit, they're very easy & cheap. My understanding is that you didn't ban lead paint until 1990 in the stores. Bright yellow is a clear indicator it's lead, that started out navy blue. I'm kidding of course.

But, lead paint's only bad if you swallow it so don't lick or eat any, though it's the color of cake frosting (icing, cream, schmootz) & wash your hands liberally with lots of soap & water, for once in your life, after actually handling it & anything that might have stuck to it for 40+ years. Looking at it doesn't require decontamination.

Secondly, just don't scrape it nor sand it. Yep, no scraping & no Sandpaper or Pricker Cloth or Dragon's Skin or Stubble Pads, whatever you might call it over there. It's fine to peel, pick & lift off with a putty knife (yeah, whatever). Paint Stripper (no that's not a "dancer") is also fine. But, most people pass it on to the next person & paint over it with a Lead Encapsulating Paint. You should go that way since you took the wallpaper down & did your part.


Convert switched out to always hot what to do with ground and neutral wires Simple question:

I have a switch that controls an outlet across the room, i want to make it always hot and just have a dummy cover plate it its place.

I have read that all i gotta do is join / screw cap off both the black wire, but

1) What do i do with the neutral wire, if there is one? Should i also join it with the other neutrals and cap it off?

2) What do i do with the bare copper ground? Do i just leave it hanging or should i twist it with the other grounds ( The wall has 2 other 3-way switches that controls lights)

Thanks!

First, turn off the breaker that controls the circuit you are working on. If there are any other circuits in the same box as the switch, turn off those breakers as well and verify that there is no electricity running through the box with a non-contact voltage tester and by flipping the switches (lights should remain off).

Hot/black wires: take the two hot wires connected to the terminals on the switch and cap them together.

Neutral/white/gray wire: if this is a smart switch (i.e. the switch itself consumes electricity) then either cap the neutral or if it is pigtailed from the other neutrals in the box, you can remove the pigtail and recap. If this is a "dumb" switch (99% of residential switches in the USA) it does not have a neutral and nothing needs to be done.

Ground/green/bare wire: you can leave the ground wire as-is (no need to cap it). Just tuck it behind the other wires. If the box is metallic and does not have a ground wire, you can (and should) ground the box. Metal boxes should have a screw hole in the back where you can attach a ground wire and secure it to the box. This ensures that if there is a wiring fault and a hot wire energizes the box, electricity will flow to ground and trip the breaker, alerting you to the problem rather than burning the house down or zapping you if you touch the box.


Can I install thermostatic radiator valves on a hydronic heating system? My house has three hydronic heatin loops; two are shaped like a ladder.
The baseboard radiators are plumbed with type M copper pipe.

I'm thinking about installing thermostatic radiator valves on the 'rungs' of the ladder; one loop will be left open.

Will this cause excess pressure in the system, causing pipes to leak?
Will this cause the pump to fail earlier?
Any other concerns with doing this?

I'm curious as to why this isn't done more often, as the valves seem much cheaper than zone valves.

Excess pressure?

No.  Residential circulating pumps can only produce limited head pressure.
Early pump failure?

No.  Life expectancy of residential circulating pumps is not usually affected by changes in flow.
Other concerns?

Maybe, depending on your exact layout.  Response time of wax motor thermostatic radiator valves is slow (20+ minutes) and restricted flow through partly open valves may distribute heat unpredictably where there are multiple radiators in series in a single branch (or ladder rung).  From the Taco "Hydronic Zoning Seminar - Residential and Light Commercial Applications":

  Series Loop Zoning

  While thermostatic valves can be used in a multi-zone series loop
  system, electric zone valves or circulators are a better choice for
  series loop zoning.  The reason:  the modulating characteristic of
  thermostatic valve operation can result in unbalanced heating within
  each zone.

  If thermostatic valves must be used for series loop system zoning, it
  may be necessary to balance radiation by adjusting baseboard dampers,
  or by removing radiation fins in a room that is overheating.  An
  outdoor reset control may also be required.

Also, depending on the type of boiler you have, it may have a minimum flow and heat delivery requirement.  Too few thermostatic valves open within a zone may cause the boiler to not work well.


What kind of paver edging should be used that won't show when completed? I have a patio in progress.  Currently I've got a big square hole with a few inches of gravel in it.  The top surface of the gravel is about 2 inches below the ground, so most likely the pavers will not be flush with the ground, but be about 1 inch raised at the most.

I know I still need to put an inch of sand before I start putting in the pavers, but what would you recommend I use for edging around the patio that can be covered up, or otherwise won't show when it's completed?

You can lay a soldier course of the pavers to edge the patio, and then lay a wedge of concrete to lock the soldier course in place.  You can cover over the concrete with dirt after it cures.

(Image Credit)


Should this pipe be replaced? During the inspection on a home we are looking to purchase, our inspector found that chicken wire was being used to hold insulation in between the floor joists in the crawl space. The chicken wire is touching many of the water lines, and where the two metals are touching there is corrosion. At the points where they are touching, there is a very small amount of water. Possibly pinholes, possibly just condensation.

Our inspector says they need replaced, theirs says it's no problem. Who is right?

Here's a photo of one of the worst pipes.

Obviously, your inspector is aiming to cover both your butts, while the other inspector has an incentive to help sell the house- that's a strike against the sellers' inspector. Moreover, think about when you need to sell the house. Do you want to tell the next buyer it's fine? When can afford to replace it? Chances are, it will need to be replaced eventually... it looks like it's ticking to me.

But since you are asking, you must be doubting your own inspectors' experience or intelligence. Caution is also age related; older people tend to be more cautious, and wiser. Bear that in mind, it's only a tendency. So, do some people work... find out about them. And try to get another opinion from someone who can be there to physically inspect it. Maybe you could get two new inspectors. If they don't agree, then expect to replace the pipe since the owner will not.

Rationally, both inspectors work for themselves of course and have their reputations. Check with BBB and/or Yelp and/or Angie's list, and/or Facebook and/or ask them for references and figure out which guy has the reputation. Pay attention who their clientele is. If the sellers' inspector's clientele is primarily people selling houses, this would make me less apt to believe what he's selling.


How can I add a window to my front door? I have a traditional six panel wood door that I would like to add a window to. How can I remove the wood sections to install a glass panel? Thank you!

In a traditional panel door construction, the panels are held in grooves cut into the rails (horizontal pieces) and stiles (vertical side pieces). The rails and stiles are doweled and firmly glued together, and it is impossible to take them apart without ruining them. The panels are not glued in place, so they can expand and contract with the heat or humidity, without changing the overall dimensions of the door.

If you want to try to replace one of the panels with a glass or perspex pane, you must carefully cut away the molding from one side of the panel. (You should cut on the outside of the door because windows are traditionally caulked on the outside.) Remove the wooden panel and use a chisel and sandpaper to clean up the opening.

The steps, in cross-section:

Then you can install your pane using standard glazing technique.

You might also want to replace a damaged wooden panel with another wooden panel. In that case, instead of caulking you would install milled wooden strips, such as quarter-round or very small crown molding, to hold the new panel while allowing for expansion etc.

One problem you will have is figuring out how much molding to cut away. You should carefully carve material away, about halfway along one edge, until you can see the edge of the panel, then extend the measurement to the corners.

Alternately you may be able to break the panel and remove it without damaging the door. Cut out most of the panel with a jigsaw, notch the remaining frame almost to the molding in several places, and break out the remaining pieces. Once you have wrenched out the first piece, the others will come out quite easily. Then you can measure the depth of the groove directly and decide how much to cut away.

I would call this an advanced-level project, because the results of your carpentry -- joinery, really -- and your glazing will be highly visible and in your face every time you enter or leave your house.

If you have some artistic design or special effect in mind the results can be worth the effort. But if you only want to get some more light into the place, just buy a new door.


How to protect stone masonry wall from weather My external walls are made from natural stone and they were built in 1900. The weather has stripped the paint off and is causing wear to the wall. The current paint used on the wall is a matt black which has faded.

For the window seals I applied PVA glue as a protector and to leave a natural look. Only problem is the glue returns to normal state when freezing outside.

I would like to protect my external wall from the weather, how can I do this?. I would preferably like it to be a natural look. Is there a glue that works during freezing? Should I just buy a black masonry paint which will stand out? Or does anyone have any other ideas?

I have searched online but still unsure. Thanks.

I visited my local paint shop and got a handful of paint cards to match against the current paint. I selected the paint and had it mixed up to good quality. It is a dark grey which is common in my area. I brushed off any loose sand from the stone before painting. Areas that were falling off in lumps I put PVA glue mixed with a small amount of water on it.

You can then paint over that area if need to. I will have to keep on top of painting the lower part of the wall. It will protect against rain and wind.

The problem was the stone was going soft and flaking off. I wanted to know how to protect the stone from the weather. This seems to work. It is worth paying for the paint because it is very expensive to have to outer wall rebuilt. The wall was down the side of the house with a walkway so you do not see it. It was the bottom that got the worst of it.


Is it advisable to run a snow blower on a non-GFCI receptacle? Is it advisable to run a snow blower on a non-GFCI receptacle?

After all, while using the machine I will always be wearing mittens and boots. Would these not provide sufficient safety?

NSIS.  A GFCI receptacle will certainly provide more protection than mittens and boots.  If there isn't a GFCI receptacle available, you can use a portable GFCI

on whatever receptacle is available.


10/3 Aluminum 20A with multiple electrical circuits? What is correct wiring? I have a house built in 1971 (EQ Load Center - 200 amp service panel) that is all aluminum wiring and I remodeling the kitchen. The existing wiring is technically working but questionable. We have lived in it for 2 years without issues. I have had a couple of electricians over and they said it works, don't touch it if you don't have to but I suspect they are not looking too hard.

I am remodeling and upgrading room by room. My goal is to pigtail all the aluminum to copper with nolox so I can use newer style receptacles and switches. I need and want to replace any aluminum wires with copper when I can from the home run of aluminum.

During my kitchen remodel I found that I have 2 - 10/3 aluminum wires that are split on 2 different circuits. My main panel has a few tandem breakers. In this case I have one 10/3 wire that the red / hot is for circuit #6A - [20amp tandem breaker - (Dishwasher and Garbage Disposal], and the black / hot is for circuit #4 - [20 amp single breaker (Kitchen Receptacles)].

My second line is similar (10/3 aluminum split out to 2 different tandem breakers) #5A - [20amp tandem breaker - (Kitchen receptacles)] #6B - [20amp tandem breaker - (Office receptacles)]

With this information what is the correct way to take the 10/3 aluminum and create 2 different circuits still? Please review the diagram as I posted what I think is the correct approach. Thanks for taking the time to make comments / answers. I really don't want to run new wiring as this house has been using this wiring for so long there must be a correct / safe way to do this.

UPDATE

After finding that I have 3 - MWBC that are most likely not up to code and needing more circuits I will be working with my electrical contractor to put in an 80A subpanel so I can use the MWBC for dedicated circuits only and bring my kitchen even remotely close to code. Thanks for everyone's help!

This link was very beneficial: https://www.twielectric.com/safety-and-energy-saving-tips/national-electrical-code-multiwire-branch-circuit/

The short answer is: as long as they are on different phases it is fine!

The red alert here isn't actually the aluminum wire.  It's the multi-wire branch circuits particularly when combined with double-stuff breakers, with that stacked on top of a 1970 era panel.

Aside from the usual horror-shows like Zinsco, FPE, Challenger (that one's fixable) etc., there's also the inherent fact that 1970s era panels are much too small. That tends to trigger the use of double-stuff breakers, and that introduces a catastrophic failure mode with multi-wire branch circuits.

A multi-wire branch circuit is the thing where  you have a /3 cable and split the hots and share the neutral.  You seem to have a good grasp of the basics, however your breakering is wrong and unsafe.

You must wire the feed breakers correctly

This applies regardless of copper or aluminum.

We're going to hit the first rule of multi-wire branch circuits: They must be fed by a 2-pole 240V breaker which is handle-tied and has common maintenance shutoff.  We strongly advise full-size (normal) 2-pole breakers that take 2 full spaces, because they prevent a common mistake, and they have the option to be AFCI or GFCI.

However if you have to settle for a quadplex breaker, you can attach the MWBC to the  two inner terminals with fair confidence, because those are always handle-tied. While they do make quadplex with the outer handles also tied, you have to be careful and make sure they really have common maintenance shutoff. Try it in the shop; if you can shutoff one outer switch while holding the other one on, you can't use it.   For MWBCs, don't worry about common trip; you don't need that ability.  Even so, hook up outer quadplexes carefully: The first circuit must go on both inners, the second on both outers, like

 R2 - R1 -- B1 - B2
         or
 R2 - B1 -- R1 - B2 (however this can be confused with a dangerous one!)

DO not cross them like this, or you'll defeat common maintenance shutoff (although at least the phasing will be right):

 R2 - R1 -- B2 - B1

Heh heh, see what I mean? Because this is so confusing (especially for "the next guy" who will have no idea what he's looking at), I entirely disrecommend outer terminals on quadplexes.

Aside from assuring the whole circuit is de-energized for maintenance, the much more valuable aspect is that the handle-ties assure the two hots are on opposite poles, as they need to be.  (otherwise the neutral can overload - this is the biggest danger in MWBCs).

So far, one of your MWBCs is wired the dangerous way, and I suspect you got away with it because one leg goes to the garbage disposal. Either you don't run garbage disposal and countertop heat appliances at the same time, or your overloads were very short duration, not long enough for the wires to heat up.  Congratulations on your luck; don't push it.

That aluminum wire

I am very favorable toward aluminum wire because I have done the gory-detail research as to exactly how it fails, and how it does not.  Interesting science fact: aluminum is actually not the bad actor. Copper is.  Aluminum lugs play well with both aluminum and copper wire (which is why panel lugs, Polaris connectors and Alumiconns (basically mini Polaris connectors) are all made of aluminum. It's copper lugs that do not play well with aluminum wire, hence the problem.  Switches and receptacles proven for copper-only were tweaked and hastily cross-rated for aluminum, because of the urgency of the copper shortage... and the testing was inadequate.

Also, the AA-1350 alloy of old wire was simply transmission lines (the ones on huge towers), and was found to feed the problem. A new alloy was developed specifically for in-home wiring applications, and this AA-8000 wire is now mandatory.  Your old wiring is grandfathered IF... we'll come back to that.

Your drawing calls for using wire nuts to splice aluminum.  Nope.  The only thing I can possibly recommend is Alumiconns, which are true lug connectors of the kind which have proven reliable with aluminum wiring, just miniature versions of them.  Alumiconns are designed from scratch to be aluminum splices, not copper splices tweaked, which is what caused the problem in the first place remember.  Yes, I know they sell purple wire-nuts, but they are the "backstabs" of aluminum wiring.

I recommend using 2-void Alumiconns with a copper pigtail in all cases.  Including ground!  That will make it easier for you or the next guy to add additional wires or outlets here.  In some cases that will add an extra splice, but a copper wire-nut splice is no problem if it is competent.  Competent means you crank it down hard, and give it a "pull test" holding the nut and trying to  yank each wire out.  If any fail the test, iterate on your technique.

I'm glad I don't have to convince you to avoid any more aluminum wiring than necessary.  Three reasons I don't use it for 10-30A circuits, #1 I don't want my resale value murdered, #2 can't use wire nuts, have to use $7 Alumiconns, and and #3 it doesn't save enough money (even ignoring the cost of the Alumiconns). Once I am in wire too large for wire nuts, then I start pricing aluminum.

You must, must, must torque the Alumiconns to their specifications using a torque screwdriver.  Which is something I never say normally... But aluminum requires attention to detail like this.

Big Big Box

So you seem to be saying you'll keep aluminum for the "home run" between panel and first box.  OK, you're going to need to make that "first box" Rather Large, because of the practical space needs of what will be at least four Alumiconns, and presumably since this will be the first outlet, these receptacles will need to be GFCI, and they are huge.

If this will merely be a splice box, then you can get-er-dun with a 4x4x2-1/8 deep box, however I don't gather you want an unsightly splice box lid cluttering up your new kitchen.  And you're not allowed to bury boxes.

They do make 6" square boxes, but I'm going to recommend a 4-11/16" "deep" box with a (what would it be, 2-gang?) drywall mud ring. That will give you about 65 cubic inches, which should allow 2 GFCIs, Alumiconns and your four cables to fit without impossible aerobatics to make them all fit.

If you plan to terminate both aluminum cables in the same box, that will  be close to statutory limits on a 4-11/16" box, so go 6".

In all cases I am strongly recommending metal boxes. Why? Because they are much, much better at containing heat - instead of melting through like a blue box, their good thermal conductivity distributes heat all over the box, keeping it cool enough that you'll get a breaker trip or smell it before it starts a fire.  It's a cheap precaution.  However you will need cable clamps on the knockout holes; big boxes don't come with auto-clamps.

If you like saving money, buy big boxes and lids at the electrical supply house, where they'll be about half the price of big-box stores.

Is it really grandfathered?

All this presumes a couple of things.

First, that your local AHJ (inspector/permit issuer) will allow you to continue these old aluminum homeruns in service under the principle of "being grandfathered". Generally, the doctrine is, "If upgrading is readily achievable, then it is mandatory".  And generally, a remodel pushes the reset button on grandfathering.  So it will be challenging to keep it.  If you were only remodeling the kitchen and the cable routing was prohibitive because of the layout of the house, then probably you could keep it.

However, you are remodeling much of the house.  AHJs tend to view a sequence of remodeling projects as a single large project.  If you would ultimately have enough walls exposed to feasibly replace those AA-1350 homeruns with copper, then they will almost certainly require it. Even if some of the work is finished... that's whatcha get for trying to sneak one by. Mind you, the new cables don't have to follow the route of the current cables, any route will do.

Second, your new remodeled kitchen has to meet modern Code, period.  The power requirements for kitchens in modern Code are much greater than in 1970s Code, so it strains belief for me that you can fully serve this new kitchen with the circuits provisioned in the 1970s.  I count four 20A subcircuits, which ain't enough.  That means you will need to run additional cables from the panel to the kitchen, and if you can run 1 cable, you can run 4.

So I don't expect the grandfathering to hold.  If you need to run all new cables anyway, you can avoid multi-wire branch circuits.  However if you are running >4 circuits tightly together, e.g. in conduit, MWBCs can be helpful to avoid 310.15(b)3(a) thermal issues (necessitating a wire size bump if 5-10 cables run together), since an MWBC counts as 1 circuit not 2.

If you are unable to sequence the remodel in a way that will allow you to replace the aluminum wiring in one step, then I advise installing two conduit pipes from panel to kitchen, as you work through each section where you'll have access. Two 1/2" EMT conduits will do, however if you plan to have an electric range, either make one of them 3/4" or add a third 1/2".  If you use PVC, use two 3/4" because we'll need room for ground wires. No more than 4 90 degree bends between access points, 2 is better. You can use a junction box as an access point as long as it only has thru wires and won't contain any splice.   Either do the kitchen last, or do the kitchen in a way that lets you run off the old wire temporarily, and cut over to conduit-fed wire once it's linked up.

AFCI is your friend

Anytime you are continuing aluminum wire in service, your #1 risk is arcing - typically series arcing.  There is now a circuit breaker which detects specifically that, and I consider it a "must-have" for any aluminum wire circuit.  It is called AFCI, or Arc Fault Circuit Interruptor (no relation to GFCI).  It must be in a breaker or deadface quite near the panel, since it protects wiring.  And it requires a full size breaker, so double-stuffs are right out.

AFCIs on multi-wire branch circuits are a thing. Usually they're a 2-pole breaker, but some manufacturers have you use dual 1-poles handle tied.  If it's a 2-pole breaker, for just a few dollars more you can have an AFCI+GFCI dual-mode breaker, and remove the need for GFCI receptacles, so that's a financial win.

Think panel expansion

Double-stuff breakers in an old panel means it's already past full, and you haven't fully provisioned your new kitchen yet. You need more room, and that has to be dealt with.  Replace the panel if it's an FPE or Zinsco, or other known-dangerous panel type. Challengers just need their breakers replaced with BR. Pushmatics are safe.

Fit a large subpanel wherever is practicable.  Feed that with a breaker in your existing main panel.   Add all your new circuits to the subpanel, and feel free to migrate existing circuits there.

You can have as many subpanels as you find convenient.


What is best place to place TV unit in the living room so that it will comfortable to the view? The image has two options for walls  marked as 1 and 2? I have 40 inch led 1080 p TV.

The way that I solved the "best viewing" dilemma was to purchase a flat screen TV console similar to this one:

The console came with a full tilt and swivel TV mount bracket that attaches to a post on the center back of the console. The TV in turn mounts to the bracket.

Placing the unit in a corner like shown below allows for a great variety of furniture arrangement and the swivel mechanism allows the TV to be rotated slightly to favor a certain viewing direction if needed.

The center shelf of the console works very well for placement of a sound bar and the lower shelf can accommodate video player and cable box if required.

Best things of all. No hacking of the walls and the console can be moved and easily adapted should you ever decide to step up to a larger sized screen.


How to frame and insulate a "cold" room I'm renovating my whole basement but I'm starting with the "cold" room as I'll be moving some mechanicals in there. The cold room is one of those old storage rooms people used to use as a pantry/larder or as a fridge/freezer in the winter. It sits right under the front porch, measuring 4' x 6' and with a ceiling height of 7' 5". It had a 1' x 1' vent to the outside but I've patched that closed already. The ceiling is a concrete slab (top step of the porch). Walls are concrete block.

My first thought is to glue 2" rigid foam to the ceiling. Then frame the walls with 2x4s leaving about a 1/2 to 1" gap between the frame and the wall. This would mean that the top plate would be in contact with the rigid insulation of the ceiling. Attaching the frame at the top would mean drilling through the insulation before hitting the concrete.

I could instead frame the walls first, attach the top plate to the ceiling directly and then insulate the ceiling with rigid foam.

I'd finish both by using spray foam to insulate the walls and use treated wood for anything that touches concrete. I would also probably use a sill plate in conjunction with the treated wood. Then use strapping on the ceiling to hold up dry wall.

Which would be better? I can see pros and cons to both approaches. Or should I do something different?

I think I'd run furring on the ceiling first, then frame the walls up to that so you can nail the top plates into it and help support it.

Since you'll have spray equipment on hand I'd then spray the entire thing for maximum moisture handling and hang drywall (or something more robust).


Why does my toilet feed service valve still leak? The metal pipe that comes out of the wall and feeds water into the cistern on my toilet is connected to the plastic cistern pipe (inlet valve pipe?) by a service valve. It is pretty much identical to this one:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Valves/Service+Valve+15mm/d20/sd2696/p44747

There is a leak in the connection between the female end of the service valve and the threaded plastic pipe to the cistern. The leak stops if I turn off the valve (so at least that's something) but starts again as soon as I turn it back on. Not a serious leak, just a drip, but it drips about a litre in 12 hours so without a big bucket under it, if I leave it on it will flood my bathroom while I'm at work.

I figured it was the washer that had gone, so I bought a pack of these:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Washers+Fixings/Fibre+Washer+38/d20/sd2703/p91174

I took the washer from the service valve to the shop when I bought them and compared them, so I got the exact same ones (or at least they look and feel identical). I have now tried every combination I can think of, and haven't been able to stop it from leaking. I have tried with a single washer, with two washers together, I have wrapped PTFE tape around the thread on the plastic pipe, I have even tried a washer wrapped in PTFE tape, but nothing seems to help.

My question is:
  - Is it worth replacing the whole valve? Could there be something wrong with the valve that isn't just the washer? The valve part works fine, because the leak stops when I turn it off. I did notice when I took the old washer out that there seemed to be tiny chips of what felt like concrete or something in there, not sure what that is or where it came from.
  - Could there be something wrong with the thread on the plastic pipe, or is this unlikely to be the issue?
  - Is it worth trying a rubber washer instead of the fibre one that was in there already?
  - Should I be tightening the valve onto the pipe really super hard, or should a few turns be enough if the washer is doing its job?

I have done a few bits of pieces of DIY before but I have not done much plumbing, so any suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks for the comments getterdun and bcworkz.

I went to Toolstation and bought a new service valve and also a new inlet valve for the princely sum of about £11. As per your suggestion I checked the plastic pipe, and it looked a bit rough around the end and one of the teeth of the thread was badly worn, but I couldn't see a way to replace just the pipe so I replaced the whole thing (dismantled the cistern and everything as per a video on YouTube).

I couldn't get the old service valve off, couldn't get enough grip to turn the valve part opposite to the nut part, so I decided to leave the old one now but give it a really good wipe and test anyway with the new inlet valve and pipe. I also used a fresh fibre washer. At first when I turned the water back on it leaked quite a bit and I was slightly disheartened, but I remembered reading somewhere that fibre washers slowly expand as they get wet, so I just put a bucket under the leak and left it for an hour or so. Bingo! No more leak :)


Installation Ecobee3 Smart Thermostat Confusion So Ecobee' website says my configuration is compatible but after looking at my wires (Im not an AC guy) I have lots of questions as the wiring doesnt just align perfectly. Im assuming because my unit us 10+ years old and things have changed. So here are my questions..

My old unit has R but the Ecobee only has Rc and Rh. Do I need to
jump this to both?
My Y is jumped to W1 as you can see in the photo. Does the same need to occur on the Ecobee?
W2 is connected to both W2 and E but the Ecobee doesnt even have E. Is this needed or am I out if luck?
Lastly, O is on the Ecobee but labeled O/B. Is this ok to just connect to?

Sorry for the list but if anyone can take the time to explain Id be more than greatful. Im also thinking that the site may be wrong and its just not compatible. Please let me know if so.If additional pictures are needed I can provide them.

The Ecobee3 automatically handles the Rh vs Rc thing, so just connect your R wire to either Rh or Rc.
You can connect Y to Y only on the Ecobee3 and configure it for heat pump operation
W2 connects to W1 on the Ecobee -- this is your axuiliary heat
Yes, O on your old 'stat does connect to O/B on the Ecobee.

See this diagram for more info.