How to uninstall this fancy bathroom faucet? I have this faucet that is leaking right at the top.

The top of the faucet looks like this

Can someone please help me on:

How do I remove this?
Do I have to replace the entire faucet or can this be repaired or replaced independently?
Help me understand how to remove that ring on top, if indeed that is what needs to be unscrewed as it seems to have a layer of glue sealing it to the sink.

You should be able to remove that small cap at the very top of the cold water valve. Try to pry it off with a small screwdriver. There should be a brass screw inside there, remove it to remove the handle. Then the cone should lift off or unscrew counterclockwise. That should expose the valve stem. There's packing and washers that would need to be replaced or you might have to replace the valve stem. Look for a good plumbing supple store. Remember to turn off the water to that faucet before removing any parts. Water is probably seeping out through the top and dripping out the bottom.


central A/C Turns back on 30 seconds after shutting off First of all, the a/c system is probably 30 yrs old. The outside unit stays running when the inside unit shuts off. After about 30 seconds, the inside unit turns back on again, and will sometimes only run for a few minutes before taking another 30 second break, all while the outside unit continues to run. The inside unit only stays off for an extended period of time once the outside unit is off as well.

I installed a programmable Honeywell thermostat about 1 year ago, and I am wondering if it is going bad. Is there any other explanation for this constant quick cycling?

It seems like it just started doing this last week when we got installation blown in the attic. Maybe just coincidence?

Interpretation:

Ok so, the air handler inside cuts out when it should be running. These symptoms became apparent once the house was basically air-sealed with insulation. And the unit is old.

Conjecture:

Insulation is the straw that broke the camel's back (it caused the fan to have to work harder to push the air). The blower motor is tripping-out on thermal overload because it's mostly burnt out; either the windings or the bearings (or both, now) are shot.

Solution:

Replacing the blower would probably get it up and running, but do you really want to drop ~$300 + labor to find out, on a 30yo unit? (Decide soon ...winter is coming.)

Confirmation:

Turn the AC off and set the fan to 'on'. If it kicks out every half hour: there's your problem right there (provided, it's not a lose wire somewhere, but if you can set your watch to it, I'd be leaning towards an over-heat).


Above cabinet LED light placement I am considering installing LED tape lights for under/above cabinets in my kitchen.  For under cabinet lighting, placement is easy and obvious.

For above cabinet lights, I wonder what to do.  The cabinets (not my kitchen, but the cabinet placement is similar)... http://st.houzz.com/simgs/c7a1f969008dcfa3_4-1019/traditional-kitchen-lighting-and-cabinet-lighting.jpg

Viewing from the top, would I just run a strip of lights along the front panel on top of the cabinets, or would I follow the entire perimeter (as in the side, the front, and the other side, etc)?

This is a matter of personal preference, however that being said you should avoid direct line of sight with the strip.

For example, if you can see the LED strip while walking down stairs then it would be better to adjust the strip as to avoid this if possible as they are pretty intense on the eyes.

An easy to make wooden lighting rail that basically looks like a triangle would direct the light up on the wall which has a nice effect and also keeps the light away from the eyes.


How high must a shower pan curb be? Releated to: Building on top of 3/4'' plywood subfloor

(link for impatient: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/12/21/how-to-make-a-relatively-sweet-shower-cheap/)

I would like to know how high the shower pan curb should be. I have read somewhere that 2" is the minimum while a lot of examples (Lowes,HD, tile stores) have some about 6".

So, my question: is there a rule? If so how high?

Bonus points There must be some sort of calculation I can do for this:

amount of water coming out of standard shower
volume of shower pan
amount of water being drained

yields how long it would take to overflow the shower pan.

Any pointers on this?

The shower pan curb must be a minimum of 2 inches above the top of the drain.  This is common building code in the U.S.  For example, if you have a 1/4 inch per foot slope, and the curb is 3 feet from the drain, the curb must raise 1 1/4 inch from the shower floor.  Of course, this is for the finished shower.  The curb will be higher before you put in the pan.  The 6 inch figure you are finding is for the shower pan liner.  The liner should go up the shower walls at least 6 inches.


Kohler k620 tank - which Tank-To-Bowl Connector Kit? A toilet is leaking at a bolt that holds it to the bowl.  (See photo.)  It is a 1950's Kohler 2 piece with k620 stamped inside the tank.  (See photo.)  How do I find a suitable tank-to-bowl connector kit?  (Searching on Kohler and K620 and connector kit does not work for me.)  Should I replace the bolts and washers only or the flapper gasket also?  If the flapper gasket also, how do I know which kit to buy.
Thx.
P.S. The nut on the leaking bolt was loose and I tightened the nut a little more than hand tight.  It no longer leaks. But clearly the washer is starting to wear away.  So I want to buy the parts to be ready when I need them.

It is always a good idea to replace the tank-to-bowl (TTB) gasket along with the three (or two in some brands) bolts. They can dry up, warp and crack over time and reuse is a bad idea as it probably won't fit exactly. It only takes a pinhole for water to leak. Unless your tank has some indents in the porcelain for the bolts, you can use generic bolts. However, the gasket could be unique to that make and model. Take the old one to the store with you for comparison. You might be able to go with a generic TTB gasket. You can find kits with bolts, washers, nuts and even a gasket, either generic or for your brand. Dome kits now have stainless steel carriage bolts, which ensures they won't rust or rust less. The whole enchilada will set you back only $13.


Should I try to repair an A/C condensate pump that has suddenly started getting real noisy? So my Little Giant Condensate pump suddenly started getting real noisy when it kicked on. I pulled the cap off the unit and the water sure is dirty in there. I have done nothing with the unit in the 12 years I have been in the house.

So do you think it could just be a dirty clogged unit that I can fix by cleaning, or should I just replace the thing?

Also, what kind of maintenance do you do on these little pumps?

Replace it.  They are cheaply made and the little motor's bearings can wear out.  They are much cheaper to replace than the cost of the damage that might occur if it fails and floods an area of your home.

As for maintenance, I would open it once or twice a year to check/clean slime out of it so it does not clog.  After you clean out slime, pour a watering can full of water into the auxiliary inlet (the hole plugged with a blue cap) to verify that it pumps the way it should.


Is it normal for air to be leaking from this part of the HVAC? First time living in a house. While I was cleaning (AC was also running) I noticed that somewhat cold air leaks from the circled part of the furnace on either sides.
Not sure if this this information is relevant: My electric company shows usage comparison to neighbors (mostly town houses), it says I am about 30-40% higher than my neighbors.
Is this normal for air to be leaking here? Should I do anything about it?

"duct tape" - this is what it is actually designed for! Though actually I would use a good metal tape like:

However, would that explain 30% difference in energy usage? No. Maybe 1%, if that, since any leaked air is still going into your house and not to to the outside.
The typical utility company comparison is based on very broad comparisons. At best, they will compare single-family-home to single-family-home and townhouse to townhouse. I've never seen any that actually take square footage or other factors into account.
Your 30% difference could easily include one or more of:

electric vs. gas hot water
electric vs. gas heat
electric vs. gas kitchen appliances (e.g., I have a gas cooktop, but the house originally had electric and most of my neighbors still do)
number of people in the house (more people = more computers, lights, cooking, etc.)
typical temperature setting for air conditioning and whether you set back the temperature during the day (well, in the old days when people went to school or worked outside the home...)
quality of windows
lighting - incandescent vs. fluorescent vs. LED

and many other things. Bitcoin mining in your basement?


HVAC Air returns help. Please I am having problem with my bedroom staying as cool as the rest of the house. I have just moved in and I looked at the HVAC in the garage and I could not find where the filter is.  The paper work that came with the system is basically the warranty  and schematics. So I have one larger return, maybe 2’ x 2’ in the main living area. I opened it and there is a filter.  It is brand new. I have another air intake in one of the bedrooms. I opened it and the picture attached is what is there. Is that a plug? Why is it there? Could this be causing that bedroom to not cool down?
Thanks in advance...

Also the vent above the door is above every door in the house but the bathroom. I have never seen this before either. It isn’t a register. It’s just a vent. The registers are all in the ceiling. I suppose that might be why the vents are above the door?? Help circulate the air? Because the intakes I have in The house have filters am I to assume there are no filters at the main unit in the garage?

If the air return in the bed room is blanked off it will reduce the flow in the bedroom. If there are no filters at the furnace you will need one at the intake once the plate is removed. Why would someone blank off an intake? It may have been to reduce noise and or if the room was two warm or cold when the system was running for central heat/AC.


How can I run voice over existing coaxial cable? I've been doing home improvement projects for a while and one thing that I've made use of the most is taking advantage of existing cabling in the walls that isn't being used. The project that did this the most was my "video-over-coax" setup, which uses a composite-video-to-cable modulator and a coax switch to show some video output on the whole coax network, for example the security camera monitor. This thing works by tuning into a specified channel on the TV that the coax is attached to.

I want to get access to my landline phone signal from my garage/office. As of now, there are only a couple of connections from the network closet (where the main networking stuff is, most importantly here the phone line switch) to the garage, which are a coax line and an Ethernet line (which can't be tampered with because it's needed for an internet connection).

Simply running new cable from the closet to the garage is unfortunately impractical, since it would need to be underground (the garage and main house are separated from each other) and we can't do that.

  skip to here to ignore background info ramble

The only solution I can come up with is somehow modulating the voice signal over the existing coax line and demodulating it at the other end (and vice versa because voice is two-way), which I have no idea how to do (or if it's even possible). The main problem here is that my current modulation setup is one-way, video-->coax-->TV, where the TV never interacts back with the modulator or video source. This is obviously incompatible with voice (and IP, etc), which means I would need some sort of modem on both ends rather than a modulator on one and a demodulator on the other. Regardless, if it is indeed possible, how could I go about running voice over coax?

Expanding on this I'm also curious if I can do "general purpose" modulation, wherein I could run stuff that's completely unrelated to what coax is usually used for, like USB or SPI (for Arduino), over the existing cable. I've ran USB over Cat5 cable before with success (the 4 USB wires connected to 4 of the 8 Cat5 wires on either end), which is what brings up this idea.

Assuming you don't already have ethernet available in the garage, you COULD use a pair of MoCA adapters to use the coax for ethernet.

Beyond that, the two magic terms you'll need to Google for are "FXO" and "FXS". A FXO VoIP gateway is basically a VoIP server that's connected to a telephone line. A FXS VoIP interface is basically a VoIP client that uses a regular telephone as its input and output device. In theory, any device capable of being a FXO server should be able to be a FXS client as well, because the interface hardware is basically the same... but if you can find a FXS adapter, it'll probably be cheaper than buying two FXO servers.

Don't take my word for it without further research (it's been about 10 years since I last looked into it), but I think at least one member of the Linksys SPA-3xxx family can be used for this purpose if you buy a pair of them... basically, each box has an ethernet port, a FXO jack, and a FXS jack. You'd configure one of them as a FXO gateway and VoIP server with local LAN IP address & connect its FXO jack to the phone jack, and configure the other one as a FXS client that connects to the first & plug the phone into its FXS jack.

Be careful with the SPA-3xxx (and SPA-21xx?) devices, though... some of them are service-locked, especially if you buy one that isn't brand new. From what I remember, the only way to know for sure whether it's locked to a specific service is to try accessing its configuration menu... if it's locked, you won't be allowed to change the SIP or FXO settings. Also, there are two passwords... one of which is necessary for "advanced" settings and can NOT be factory reset. I remember reading about how a bunch of people who bought cheap ones on eBay to use with Asterisk & discovered that they were basically paperweights due to service locks or lost passwords.


30A supply split to 2 15A arc fault, then recombined into 30A? Boat using 30 Amp shore power, I recently had some arcing on the connection from power cord to boat socket. Have replaced both the connectors.
I am NOT an electrician by any means but have heard of arc fault breakers, I have not been able to locate 30A arc faults breakers (I suspect they are not available) and was wondering if I could split the input to 2 x 15amp arc faults which would then be connected together again to feed my power panel?
or does anyone know if and where I can get a 30A arc fault breaker?
in the last few weeks I know of several boat fires that killed, and after my arcing event I dont want to be the next.
Thank you for any help or advice you can offer.
Once I have some more knowledge I will approach a certified marine electrician to install it
Thanks again, stay safe
Scott

You're barking up the wrong tree.  Fix the sockets. Don't create arcing.
If you have sockets that are arcing while in normal use, then the plug or socket is defective and simply needs to be repaired.  You saw it happen, you know it happen, cash out your 401(K) and head to West Marine and get another socket or plug.
If it arced while you were plugging or unplugging it, well heck - that's normal when the boat is drawing a load when you yank out the plug or plug it in. You shouldn't do that.  Turn off the supply disconnect before messing with the plug, and then, you won't have that problem.  It would also suffice to turn off the boat-side disconnect (or all the breakers if it doesn't have a master disconnect/breaker).
Disconnect switches often look exactly like circuit breakers. They are simply breakers rated for switching duty.
Now, if you want AFCI protection inside the boat, you can feel free to get AFCI circuit breakers on all your 15A or 20A individual circuits.  If you have an obsolete or cheesy 120V distribution board in the boat that does not accommodate AFCI breakers, get one that does.  You may want to think about industrial-grade "bolt-on" (bolt-down) breaker panels and breakers. They're used in factories to keep unauthorized personnel from opening up panels and messing with breakers because the bolt-down bolts are hot... but they also work great when dealing with vibration or shock.
Mind you, AFCI breakers operate by "listening" to the power line and identifying that characteristic crinkle-crunch sound of a bad headphone jack or of connecting speakers with the power on.  They can't help hearing what's on the supply side of the breaker.  So even if the arcing is "before" the AFCI breaker, they will often trip anyway.  E.G. when you unplug the boat hot.
So... don't create arcing.
Why that won't work
As far as combining breakers... 30A is not made up of dual 15A.  OK, imagine you wire two 12V batteries nose to tail, and you call the middle neutral.  You then have +12V and -12V - use them both and you have 24V.  Now if you have a 24V, 30 amp load - is it drawing 15A from each battery?  No. It's drawing 30A from each battery.  Likewise a 240V/30A load.
Regardless, you're not allowed to combine 2 small breakers to substitute for a big one, so you can't use two 15's to get a 30.  Manufacturers will do that for very large breakers (gang four 100A to get a 200A/240V breaker), but they do it under controlled conditions and the whole assembly is tested and UL-Listed.
Even more than that, that doesn't work with AFCI breakers - because they monitor the neutral wire for current imbalance, both of the above cases will trip them.


Can I have splices in an electrical panel? Adding 220 to garage no room in my 125 amp main panel. Subpanel will be 10 ft from main will be removing 3 15amp and 1 20 amp  breaker to add 50 amp breaker in its place.
I'm I allowed to have splices inside of main panel or will I have to add J boxes for circuits that were transferred to subpanel

Yes, you can have splices in the panel to extend wire to reach breakers.

What you cannot do is have splices where a wire enters the panel, is then spliced to another wire that exits the panel.


Was it standard practice in decades past to connect hot conductors with crimp devices? Yesterday, the modem and desk lamp in my home office started flashing.  I thought the power strip was failing.  When I touched the outlet to unplug the power strip, the outlet was hot to touch!!!

I immediately shut the power off and upon examination of the outlet, a copper crimp had been used to pigtail off two black wires.  The insulation on the wires and electrical tape had melted and the crimp fell to the floor when I removed the outlet.

This is the second time this has happened.  We were fortunate to find this before major damage. The first time I had an electrician inspect the first incident and he made the repair.  This one, I rewired with wire nuts and electrical tape.  Now I plan to inspect EVERY outlet to remove these crimps.

Question:

House was built in 1978 in central CA.  Was this normal procedure back then?  If so, with new technology and gadgets, is that causing the failure of the crimps.  Thank you.  Bk.

Somewhere between the practice of soldering / taping and the use of wire nuts, Barrel crimps were used to make joints in smaller wire.

If they are done properly they should last a lifetime. Just as any other compression type lug lasts. Millions of ring/fork type lugs are sold and used every year without incident unless they are not crimped tight enough. Then they can heat causing expansion and contraction and eventual failure.

Inspecting the electrical system for more failures would be prudent but I wouldn't rush to replace every joint in the house. If the wires are tight and there is no sign of excessive heating of the joint then they outlast us all.

Good luck and stay safe!


Is white vinegar as effective against black mold as rice or apple vinegar? Does anyone know if you can use white vinegar to irradiate black mold from inside window panes? I see they mention rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar; is there a difference on how those react with mold spores versus white vinegar? I'm trying to stick with a more natural approach since I have a chemical sensitivity.

The rationale for using vinegar in treating mold is that the acidity disrupts the pH balance that it needs for growth.  Black mold's growth range runs between a pH of 4 and 7.  Different vinegars will have different pH values that run between 2.4 and 3.4, so the vinegar with the lowest pH would presumably be the most effective (although lemon juice or a citric acid solution would be even better).  However - the other consideration is that upsetting the pH balance only slows (albeit pretty dramatically) fungal growth, so I'd actually go with a distilled vinegar personally - cider vinegars contain some solids and unconverted sugars that would potentially provide a food source.

Note that you can go the other way with pH and use a base instead of an acid. A saturated solution of baking soda in water will have a pH of somewhere around 8.1, so it should be effective via the same mechanism.

Finally, you can mix baking soda and vinegar and use that on molds instead, although this would not be using a pH vector - it would be using an oxidizer to disrupt growth.


Resource for ballparking current home construction costs? We're about to move several states away and have begun the house hunting process. We're moving to a region that, like most in the US, has seen housing costs tank, though it is a small enclave of relatively higher costs homes due to location (compared to even 40 miles away).

However, it appears that construction costs are also tanking and that it might make sense for us to consider building a house as well.

Is there a resource out there that helps plot ballpark prices in a region for new construction? Something like Zillow but instead of recently sold costs, recently built? Being able to see some recent build costs would be a good way to peg it against home costs to see if its something we should pursue further (which I know involves tons of other variables...land, foundation, sewage, electrical, gas, permits, architect, etc, etc...)

As a former construction estimator, I would suggest that you get in touch with the contractor sales department at a building supplies store in the area in which you're considering building.  Quite often the estimators there will have a ballpark "per-square-foot" price for materials, and may have an idea of a ballpark price for labour, too.  They can probably refer you to reputable builders as well.

That said, there are really far too many variables for a ballpark estimate like that to be at all useful.  You can get a house to lock-up fairly cheaply, but it's the finishing work that's really going to determine the end cost.  The cost of a beautiful metal tile roof is going to be a lot more than 20-year asphalt shingles, and the cost of vinyl siding is going to be a lot less than stone, as examples.

To get any kind of accuracy in an estimate, you're going to need to have a set of plans and you'll need to decide what exactly you want in terms of finishing, land, appliances, etc.  Anything shy of that is really just going to be pulling numbers out of thin air.


Detecting concealed PVC water pipe with ultrasonic sensor I'm planning to install some glass shelves in one corner of my washroom. The problem is, there are some plumbing pipes snaking around underneath the ceramic tiles and I risk punching holes while mounting the metal brackets. Is it possible to use an ultrasonic sensor like this one to detect the water pipe behind the ceramic tiles?

Or is there any other inexpensive way to do this?

An infrared thermometer would probably be a better solution.   You should be able to see them if you run hot or cold water.   You may need to decrease or increase the room temp to get better accuracy but I would go this router vs anything else.


Basement Smell in Utility or Bathroom? In our house, we have a partially below grade basement. Occasionally, our basement will smell like sewer gas (farts) but I can not determine where the smell is coming from.
The basement does have sewer clean-out drain in the utility/washroom but our clean-out drain cap is securely tightened. It seems like the smell is coming from the downstairs bathroom which is next to the utility room.
The bathroom downstairs is hardly used but I occasionally flush the toilet and run the shower to keep water from evaporation from the P trap on the shower.
Additionally, it seems that when we use an upstairs bathroom the smell is more present.
Anyone have any ideas on how I can find the smell or what I can do to resolve the smell?

It sounds like a P-trap to me, one thing I learned years ago, water evaporates, thus the reason you have to re fill the P-traps.
Try pouring some vegetable oil in the P-trap at least enough to fully coat the surface this keeps the dry air in the house from pulling the moisture out of the traps, the plumbing side is very humid so it is not taking water out of the traps. I have had the same smells but after adding the vegetable oil to the floor drain, Sink and shower I did not have this problem in that house.
Since then if we have a mud room I put oil in those floor drains , in my last home we had a bathroom that wasn't used except when the family was home that sink and shower got a good shot after the first time we thought something died in the house , opened the bathroom door there was the smell. It never happened again with liquid vegetable oil, never had a bad smell from the oil.
One person, a snow bird I told about that, even used it on her toilets. I have not had an issue with toilets but if I was going to not be there for an extended time I would probably add to the toilet also.


How to wire 2 gang smart switch with two neutral wires and wire connecting both COMM I am finding it hard to find a diagram for my specific case. I have 2 gang light switch and I would like to replace it with a smart switch. I have attached images
Am I right in saying the left COM goes in L. The wire connecting the two COMs is discarded? The wire going into the left '1WAY' goes in L1, the right '1WAY' goes in L2. Both neutral wires go in N
Thank you in advance for any help on this

You have it.
But all 3 neutral wires go to the N terminal only if you're allowed to splice onward power like that. Otherwise you'll need to pigtail off the neutral splice and oh look, a spare pigtail just became available!
Also, sanity-check the quality of this switch.  Most multi-switches like this come straight from China and are cheap dangerous junk.  If you bought it mail order, if it came from China, or if it came from Amazon Marketplace... send it back. CE marks are certain to be faked, unless you bought it in a responsible bricks-and-mortar store inside the EU that has a well-managed supply chain.
It's probably OK if it has a UL or ETL (or other NRTL) stamp with a file number.  If it has that, that'll be the biggest mark, not CE.  Big CE = junk.


Techniques for putting ends on RJ45 connectors easier? I've been doing a bunch of cat 5 running lately. I've been putting RJ45 ends on everything I run.

I'm finding it is still not that easy for me to get the little wires into the connectors.  Do any tools or techniques exist for helping get them into the connector?  I already have a tool to crimp the ends but it's the actual getting of the 8 little wires into the connectors that I'm looking for help.

I'm not aware of a tool but I'll give my tips.

General Process

Strip the jacket 2-3 inches back. Jacket strip tools are great for this:  a knife works but it takes longer and you're more likely to nick a wire (= start over) or accidentally cut yourself.

If you're using a boot, install it now.
Splay the wires out, unwinding them, and start lining them up in order as you go. Try not to unwind any further back than you've stripped the jacket. Hold them tightly and flat with one hand while you do this.

Keep holding the wires flat, but with your other hand, flex them back and forth a bit to get them 'seated' (to relax in this position). The idea is when you let go, they'll stay lined up and barely move (but don't let go until you cut them). This is much easier when you're using solid conductor cables (mainly in-wall type cables) as opposed to stranded conductor (used for patch cables).
Use a pair of side cutters to trim the wires to the correct length, about 1/2". Do this in a single cut, and make sure it's a straight cut so all the wires are the same length.
Push the wires into the connector.  This is basically the first time you let go since lining them up. You want the wires to go to the very end (red arrow), and the jacket to be seated underneath the block that crimps down onto it (blue arrow).

If the jacket is cut too far back, the connector won't crimp onto it, and the only thing holding the connector on will be the wire connections. While it might work for a bit, these wires are easy to break, sometimes in a non-obvious way because only a single wire fails.

Use a tester to verify it's good. The ones with indicators on both ends can be had for tens of dollars. It's much easier to fix if you find out it's wrong immediately, plus it helps teaches immediately what you're doing wrong.

Another tip:  don't crimp them if you can help it! :)

Punchdown blocks on patch panels and keystone jacks are easier to do properly (especially for cat 6), and can make a nicer installation.

Patch cables (any short-ish run that doesn't go through the wall) are cheaper to buy assembled than you can buy the parts for (even with bulk cable and connectors and valuing your time at $0/hr), and the cables are better than what you can do by hand. Since stranded cable is also harder to assemble, avoiding assembling patch cables means you avoid stranded cables.

That said, many years ago in the late 1990s I spent an evening watching TV and creating a couple dozen ~1.5' patch cables for my dad's office network, and that was a pretty good crash course. Since then I've rarely screwed one up. :)

Really, it's just practice. For example, I'm a non-pro, doing a few cables/ends here and there, and every few years it seems I do a bigger job like networking a house, but then I go months between doing anything. I can crimp an end in under a minute for sure, and faster as I get back into the swing of it.


Is "cutting in" necessary when painting vinyl siding? I watched a video that sugggested using a smaller roller first, to "cut in" under the fold of the siding:

Then they used a larger roller for the whole width of the segment of siding.  Do I have to use the smaller roller first as in the video?  If so, please explain the purpose and what exactly I need to do to the edge of the roller for going under that little fold, or what exactly to buy as a roller cover.

My siding is vinyl but the shape looks similar to the video.  The long horizontal things are a little bit less wide than in the video.

You obviously have to coat the bottom face of each lap. How you do that is at your discretion, but full-size rollers don't make it easy. You'd need a big, sloppy paint load to get good coverage, and this leads to dripping and splatter.

I've traditionally used a brush for the undersides. Do that first, then roll over the brush marks on the vertical face. Don't work in direct sunshine if you can help it, since latex dries quickly and you won't get the brush marks rolled out well.

There's a plethora of edger devices out there. Some may be worth a try. There are no rules about this sort of thing, so use what works for you.


Is there spring tension on this garage door part? We have bedrooms above the garage and I am trying to reduce the noise from the garage doors. I have installed a vibration isolation kit like this on the opener/motor, which already made a huge improvement. But I can still hear some noise from the door running in the track.

I was thinking of installing another set of these rubber dampers in between the track and the ceiling bracket, but I noticed that the screws holding the bracket on are orange, which, according to Google means that they are under tension. But I can't figure out how there could be tension on this part, since the spring is attached somewhere else completely, and the cable is attached to the bottom of the door.
Is there really tension here? If so, is there a way to install these in this spot without having to unwind the springs?

When the door is up on the track there is weight on it but when the door is down only the weight of the track is at that location.
Those vibration isolators are really made for compression. I use them on some motor loads they are nothing more than 2 bolts with a cast rubber holding them together. There would need to be some kind of safety device for when the rubber fails so your door and track are not damaged when they break.


Wiring a new IKEA light into old ceiling junction I moved into this apartment and there were no ceiling lights so I bought a standard ceiling lamp from IKEA but I am sure how to connect it.
I have 2 Black wires and 1 yellow wire and the light is connected to a 2 way switch one is near the main door and other one is in same area as the light.
The light i got from IKEA have just 2 wires (L) and (N).
I dont know which one is live or which one is neutral as I havent tested it.
I also want to mention that the building is not too old its like 10 years old and is in UAE, Dubai.

What you show on the lamp is L for the switched supply and N for the neutral.
Is is possible to put the switch in the neutral line theoretically but that can put someone in danger as the lamp will always be live.
Get a multimeter and check out the connections, this is not an opportunity for guesswork.


What are watertight storage solutions to protect objects from flood water? Our home is prone to occasional flooding during the rainy season. There was only one time in 26 years where our home was devastated by the flood reaching up to half of the 2nd floor. This destroyed so much of our things such as our car, electronics, furniture, documents, and etc. Other than that, there are a few instances of flooding that reaches only a few inches into the home but it was also rare.
I am considering buying quite an expensive monitor, CPU, and printer but I am thinking that rainy season just arrived and I am afraid they will just get destroyed. The only way I can be reassured I can buy these if I can find some kind of storage solution that if I place my appliances/electronics in them, there is an almost 100% certainty that water will not be able to enter and damage the objects in case it gets submerged (assume the entire thing is submerged for hours to days).
I have looked for flood bags, but all I can see everywhere are either sandbags or sandbag-like fibres that absorb water and create a barrier to prevent water from entering, but these are surely only for mild flooding. If it is on the scale where it will reach the items of value,  it will be a massive flood thus a watertight storage solution is the answer.
I have been looking but I cannot seem to find any good solution. I am thinking of something like a garbage bag, but I know garbage bags are not the best choice as they are not watertight despite having several layers of them

While this borders on being a "shopping recommendation" question, I think a "dry box" or "dry bag" is what you're looking for.
These are often used by backpackers, rafters, kayakers, etc. to keep their items dry when out in the wilderness. Obviously, you'll need something larger than those folks will use because they usually don't take large items with them. However, once you're on the right track, you should be able to find a supplier that makes bigger ones.
You may also look at a waterproof travel or shipping case. People who take photographic or other expensive gear need sturdy, waterproof cases to protect the gear, so that's another avenue of research for you.
Finally, while I realize that a "century flood" can happen at any time, if you've only had your 2nd floor flood once in 26 years, it seems that moving the most critical items up to the 2nd floor is going to be your best bet when the waters start to rise. If you have an attic, reserve "emergency storage space" up there and you'll be above the areas you've had flooded while you've been in the house.
While it's a major hassle, your home insurance (especially if you have specified flood insurance) should replace any items destroyed in the flood, so unless the items have sentimental value and can't be replaced, I wouldn't go too overboard.
Finally, I'll reiterate my statement from the comment to be sure to have an offsite backup of any critical (or valuable/irreplaceable) computer data (like family photos/videos). This isn't the place to discuss that (hit up Super User.SE for info on that), but hard drives die, even if they haven't been swimming.


14-2 wire on a 20amp circuit I have a 12-2 wire connected to a 20amp breaker.  This wire is currently not in use and capped off in a junction box in my attic.  I'd like to bring this wire back into service to install two new outlets in two rooms below the attic.  The outlets will be used for light/medium duty (plug-in light fixtures, a computer) and do not need to be 20amp receptacles.  Can I add two new 14-2 lines into this junction box with the 12-2 wire and then use 15amp receptacles?  Thanks for any advice.

Nope, you have to extend a 20A circuit with 12 AWG wire.

The logic that "these will be lightly used receptacles" doesn't buy you a thing, because the safety of the wiring can't depend on how you use it.

You are allowed to put NEMA 5-15 (common receptacles) on 20A circuits, due to a special exception.

Even in the industrial parts of the Code, in the byzantine Tap Rules, such an extension would required a hardwired load of known value, or a single receptacle.  I'm sure you don't intend to install this:

So if you're installing the common duplex 15A recep, what keeps you from plugging two 9A loads into it?


What are these nail strips above and below windows? There’s a new condo being built in a nearby northern Californian city and I noticed sets of nail strips above and below each window opening, over the plywood but under the vapor wrap.

What is the purpose of the nail strips? Do they add structural strength? Are they an earthquake code requirement? or are they part of the moisture mitigation system?

Ps apologies if I’m using the wrong terminology. I’m referring to the horizontal  metal strips that are nailed above and below each window visible in the photo above.

It’s a structural tie for lateral forces. Those are shear walls and when you cut a window into it, you need to add a tie to “transfer” the load through the wall.


Can I use 14/2 cable for a light switch loop? Can I use 14/2 wire to feed switch leg on 1 light? The light will be on separate breaker.It is just a can light with 60 watt bulb.

You can use cable that contains 14AWG conductors for adding an additional light on the circuit as long as the circuit breaker that protects that wiring circuit is not rated above 15A.

It there is a case where the existing wiring of that circuit happens to be 12AWG and the breaker is rated at 20A then any additional wiring runs you add to that circuit will have to be 12AWG as per code and safety guidelines. A 20A breaker cannot properly protect a wiring circuit that contains any 14AWG wires that may develop a short circuit or be exposed to an overload.


How to remove bulb from this Harden faucet to replace cartridge My widespread Harden faucet has set screw that removes the handle but the white base bulb will not come off. I can turn the bulb but there is a metal rim which extends inside the bulb and prevents it from being pulled up. When I turn the bulb, the metal above the bulb does not turn so somehow I need to get that out.  Faucet is leaking and I need to replace the cartridge.

Try to grasp the chrome collar with a pair of vice grips, (carefully so you don't scratch the surface) and urn it counterclockwise. It should come off.


How do I tell if a basement is dry? I am looking to rent a basement. My purpose is to store documents and clothes, for several years. Hence I need to be sure that this basement is dry, that my documents and clothes won’t be damaged over time. I find it hard to see that when visiting the basement. How can I tell ?

A humidity measurement is the first line of defense. The relative humidity should be appropriate for the local climate, say 40-50%. If it's higher, find out whether a dehumidifier can be used (with a floor drain, ideally).

If you have an unfinished section of floor, duct tape a square of poly sheeting for a few days and see how much moisture accumulates. This doesn't give you an absolute answer, but it tells you how hard you'll have to work to keep the air humidity down.

Otherwise, look for visual cues. Dark concrete. Staining. Mildew. Of course, you could also ask the owner.


Is this long drywall crack a big concern? The house was built only 5 years ago. There were several hairline cracks after 1 year as the house started settling and the builder patched them, but more cracks have appeared since then.
My biggest concern is about a long crack on a pillar in the morning room (see attached photo)
I am very new to owning a home and have little DIY knowledge. I was going to start looking up youtube videos on fixing hairline cracks, but this one makes me think that I might need to hire a professional drywall repairer.
Here is another one that does not look as terrible, but still worse than the normal hairline cracks. This one is on the wall adjoining the stairs. The crack extends upward quite a bit in a straight line but is very thin towards the top.

It’s not a settlement crack. Settlement cracks are diagonal or run at an angle.
It’s metal corner trim popping loose. It’s caused by the lumber drying out and shrinking. You need to re-screw the metal corner trim down and re-apply mud (joint compound).


Need to develop a tapered spacer for under a car lift on an angled concrete slab I need to fabricate/develop an angled spacer.  13 inch wide by 10 inch long, by 3/4 inch to 1 3/8 inch thick. This spacer is needed to go under two of the posts of a hobbyist car lift in my garage.
The garage floor is angled by the door where two of the four corner posts will go. These two rear posts need to be on a flat surface and at the same level as the two front posts.  Each post pad will need to handle approximately 2000 pounds.
I was thinking of building a 4-sided mold where the column pads would be on the angled concrete and pouring some type of epoxy, resin, or cement into the mold. Which the metal plate from car lift posts would sit on.
enter image description here

Isherwood has good points about the capacity of the floor slab, you need to confirm what you have. A standard 4" slab may not hold up to the rigors of the lift. If the install guide says differently or you know you have a  thicker slab that can take it, then carry on...
Non shrink grout is typically used for this type of condition. Pack it fully by pushing it through to the other side of the form so you can see it bulging up against the form you have set about 1" maybe more away from the metal base. Keep adding until the area is packed. It seems you may be able to use the butt end of a 1X4 to pack it in, leaving one side of the form off to pack by. The last side will not need the form. Just mound it up to keep it from "slumping back" from the underside of the metal base. The forms you make would need to be the height of the gap under the base, it can be higher, so using 2X4s or 2X2s are a good idea.
Once the grout has gotten its initial set, were you can slice off a section of the mound and it does not lose its shape, remove the forms and slope the  grout to a 45 degree angle from the metal base to the floor.


Why American homes are wired TNC-S and not TNC I wonder why American buildings are mostly grounded TNCS and not just TNC.
They have virtually no RCD protection, and also an RCD could work fin on TNC system as long as PE on outlet is connected on PEN before the RCD (or just left not connected). Aren't they just wasting copper?

We do use RCD (Residual Current Device) protection, and rather extensively these days even, it's just hiding in disguise

North American electrical wiring indeed started off as a TN-C (all protective earthing is accomplished by referencing things to the neutral) system, back in the bad old days before we had three-prong outlets and GFCIs (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters), and evidence of this can be seen to this day (such as the abhorrently common NEMA 10).  However, two things happened:

Unlike Europe, who was coordinating a brand-new standard for wiring installs "all at once" if you will through the IEC process, protective grounding (TN-C-S) and GFCI (RCD) protection were added to the US NEC (the US wiring regulations, more or less) separately; furthermore, the GFCI protection rules in the NEC were phased in, location by location.
Our GFCI protection started off with wide adoption at the receptacle level due to the desire to retrofit shock protection into existing houses, especially in wet areas (bathrooms and kitchens).  This is in contrast to the IEC style of RCD, which was widely adopted in breaker form due to the larger number of new installs in Europe.

The consequence of these two things is that the sensitive UL 943 Class A GFCI, while widely deployed in the US nowadays, winds up performing a very different function to IEC RCD protection -- the former is designed to protect against electric shock, including "can't let go" hazards up to and including shock-drowning, while the latter protects primarily against fire, with protection against gross shocks as a side-effect.

Fast-forward a while, though, and the US, while having largely tamed its electrocution problem, still has a serious fire problem, partially electrical in nature.  This electrical fire issue is blamed on a variety of abuses and defects that cause what are described as "arcs", but are more precisely a surface-tracking type of fault where excessive current intermittently leaks through damaged insulation, slowly carbonizing/pyrolyzing it to the point where it smolders into an electrical fire.

As a result, electrical protection manufacturers in the US come up with what's called the Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter, or AFCI, that is designed to listen for the conducted-RF signature of these arc faults and break the circuit when one is detected.  Due to a combination of design limitations and accidents of history, though, the early AFCIs were built off of what basically is a GFCI platform, and as thus had a 30mA equipment protection ground fault trip function in them that is used to catch arcs-to-ground, despite the functionality not making it into the UL standards.

As a result of the rapid push to adopt AFCI breakers, and the retention of this GFPE trip functionality by 3 of the 4 North American breaker manufacturers (GE is the only one to have dropped it), in many cases, a modern house in the US will have RCD protection at the 30mA level on most branch circuits, with select circuits protected at 6mA.  However, this protection is provided at the level of individual branch circuits, not service-wide as is typically done in 5-continent power.

Why is this, you might ask? Well, service-wide ground-fault protection is applied to large, low-voltage three phase services in North America to protect against fires, and works well in those applications.  However, the sensitivity of North American ground fault devices at residential-scale operating currents requires they use electronic ground fault sensing, as opposed to early IEC direct-acting RCDs that used the differential current in the measurement CTs to operate the trip coil without any sense electronics.  This has the upside that North American GFCIs were able to achieve reliable performance at low leakage levels early on; however, it has the downside that wiring a GFCI up backwards (with power being fed in on the LOAD side) will break it in a non-obvious fashion.

As a consequence of this, you can't reasonably use a GFCI as a main breaker in North America unless you are willing to take the same approach as the large wye services do, otherwise you run into issues as soon as you start doing other sophisticated and desirable things, like solar power.  Furthermore, the larger size of US services means that a central RCD would need to be excessively insensitive due to the simple fact the differential leakage currents are higher.


New Plywood is Delaminating I just purchased 30 sheets of new 1/2 inch spruce plywood for use as subflooring. As I worked, 2 of the first 8 sheets spontaneously delaminated as I was cutting them. Not just a little at the edges, but in sheets of several square feet. The adhesive that is supposed to bond the plies is visible (dark colour) but it appears to have come unstuck. Has anyone encountered this behaviour before?

It sounds like the mill’s blow detector was not functioning. Or a bad batch of glue, , plugged nozzle several possibilities,
take it all back. I used to work in a plywood mill and with 2 sheets bad that unit probably will all have the same issue. I would take the cut sheets back. The mill randomly pulls sheets and chizzles chunks and those chunks only a couple inches square have to stick together.
So take it back and get some from a different unit.


Wet Room walls, is plasterboard (Gyproc or Drywall) OK to use? Looking to build a new wet room style bathroom. Is it better to use cement sheeting for the walls that will be tiled, or will plasterboard (Gyproc) just as good to use? Obviously whichever surface is used will have the relevant wet room sealing mixture used on it, but would cement sheeting provide a better base that Gyproc?

Obviously the cement sheeting is thinner than the plasterboard which would be an advantage to gain some small amount of space.

Once the wet room sealer is applied to the surface it will then be tiled.

Cement sheeting provides a better backing - specifically something like "Aquapanel" (as marketed here in the UK.

It's stronger and stiffer than standard plasterboard and hence can take the weight of the tiles. It is also more resistant to moisture. Also it's not hideously more expensive.


How can I fix and cap my undersized sump? So, I have an old Sump in my house (built 1960), that currently does not have a functioning pump in it. I plan on replacing the pump and running new exit pipe however, I'm stumped on how to close/cap the sump hole. I mostly want to cap it to reduce radon gasses in my house (we did a reading

The reason is because my sump is only 14.5" across, and 24" deep so all of the standard "sump containers" simply don't fit.

Luckily, groundwater flooding in my neighborhood is very uncommon (the pump I threw out was a 1970's pump that had rusted to no function).

Does anybody know of either a:

A) source of small sump containers?

B) Some way to install a cap on flat concrete?

Buy a steel or aluminum sheet metal plate big enough to cover the hole. You could use a silicon bead under the edge if you really need it to be gas tight, but if you do, when you add a new sump pipe remember to also add a hose to allow air to return into the sump when the pump runs.

Thickness of the plate will depend on the hole location and whether you expect anyone or anything heavy to stand on it.


How do I wire a switched outlet with the switch downstream? Can I simply use the same switch loop technique as with a light?

in combination with this:

replacing the light with the final outlet?

Only if you either have only one outlet or have 3 conductors all the way between the feed and the switch. Notice in your top diagram that there isn't a neutral going to the switch - it is being used as a switched hot. If you have more than one outlet, you need to find a way to get a neutral beyond the first one. See below - ground and boxes omitted for clarity (feed is from the left):

If there is only one outlet between the feed and the switch, you just wire it like your top diagram with the outlet as the "light".


How to mount floating loft stairs to the wall I'm looking for a nice way to make a stairs for loft bed in the apartment. I definitely want to use space under stairs for storage but I don't want to use all space.

I like an idea shown here (photos below and video).

I have larger room so I'd like to have wider stairs about 500-600mm (in case if that doesn't affect strength of a construction).

Does anyone know how to mount stairs that way? Thanks :)

Well, the boxes themselves appear to be structurally adequate to carry human weight. The 3-4 inch lap between the boxes also provides some stiffness and weight bearing. The trick would be in fastening them to the walls in such a way as to withstand the large tensile (pulling) forces. A few ideas come to mind:

Decorative or hidden angle brackets, mounted to the wall and the upper surface of each step.
Dual-thread bolts, with lag threads into the wall framing, and machine thread on the extension, which would need to pass through most of the upper step panel with washer and nut applied behind the face trim.
Direct framing attachment, where the stair components are fitted around the wall framing and anchored to it. In this case, insulation and wall paneling would be fit around the stair components.

However it's done, the individual boxes need to be well-built, using an appropriate adhesive, quality sheet goods, and mechanical fasteners where possible.


swamp cooler high fan is same speed as low If I turn it on to high speed, my swamp cooler "turns" but it's the same speed as if it were on "normal."  What gives?

Other clues: when it's on "high" it has very short lived bursts where it blows a little extra.

Turns out it was a loose belt.  Once I tightened the belt between motor and pulley then it worked fine.  Even the "low" speed was higher than what the old speed(s) both used to be.


How can I protect a vending machine wire from being cut again? A friend of mine operates a vending machine in a school. Oftentimes, there are issues when a snack gets stuck in the machine, the students will rock the machine. Rocking the machine is an issue, because when the (very heavy) machine comes down on the wire, the wire can get cut. My friend has gotten people to patch it up a few times, most recently myself (simple job -- snip, strip, twist, and tape everything together).
However, the current situation is definitely not optimal -- I don't think we have a lot of wire to use :P

Therefore, I ask -- how can I protect the wire to prevent this from occurring again?

Even if the cord is protected by FMC (flexible metal conduit), once the unit falls on it, it'd best be inspected anyway.

Install an Anti-tip Bracket on top of the unit: (intelligentvending.co.uk)

If the owner of the building will not let you secure a vending machine to the wall (which has fallen over multiple times) it's time to find a new place to put it; neither of you should want the liability of not having an anti-tip. And then never set foot in the building again; who knows what else is going on in there...

-Note, use a purchased replacement cord, wired inside the machine (no splicing outside the unit) and cord strain reliefs (grommets).

Also, you need the sticker where the machine eats you if you shake it.


Can I use construction screws to pull together bowed joists? I am building a small (14'x12') detached deck to be placed directly on the ground with some gravel under it. I am using 4x6 pressure treated boards (UC4B) for outside frame.

I intend to use 6" TimberLOK screws from FastenMaster to stitch the frame together. All resources suggest that it's as good as lag screws.

As I put boards together, I noticed the bent on one 14' board. That makes about 1" gap between outer frame and inner joist in the middle (also 4x6).

I wonder if it's ok to use couple 6" TimberLOKs to just pull the outer board to the middle joist.

This picture is to give an idea of the project.

It shouldn't be too difficult to pull that bow out, and the screws should hold it in place. I'd use a rope with a cinch loop or a ratchet strap to pull it all together, then run your screws in.

Seeing as you're pulling from end-grain you may have a hard time doing it with just screws. They might strip.


Uneven copper bellow threading when replacing copper pipes with PEX I had a water leak behind my shower and found that it was leaking through the soldering of a copper pipe. There's a threaded male connected and the copper pipe was going inside of it and sealed with solder instead of using the thread, so I decided to cut the copper pipe and use a threaded female connector that would work with PEX. There is only about 4 inches of clearance in the wall I'm working in and have been avoiding to cut the wall away for more room because of a piece of wood that would still be blocking the plumbing. I've done my best to cut away the copper and have started to use a Dremel tool to grind away the remaining exposed copper and soldering to try and make it smooth so I can make a seal but there is still some leaking.

I am using ½" PEX with this adapter and a worm clamp to attach it to the threading with an o-ring inside of it. I'm using Rectorseal T plus 2 thread sealant on the threads to help make a seal and I'm tightening it as much as I can. Again, there's very little clearance which makes tightening very difficult.

Here's An angle from the right, an angle from the left, and a video of it starting to leak on the left side when I turn on the shower. I think I need to grind away more of the exposed copper to allow for a flatter surface for the o-ring, but I'm nervous to grind away more of it and am unsure if there is any other solutions to stop the leaking.

Maybe you can use a hand file or a sharpening stone to get a surface flat enough for the ring washer to seal on, hand-held power tools are unlikely to produce a satisfactory result. But your best bet is probably teflon thread sealing tape. it takes crazy amounts of tape to get a good seal. put 6 or 7 layers on

That hose clamp looks kind of dodgy, I think those connectors are intended for use with crimp rings, you should probably use a connector system that you have the correct tools for, EG one of the push-on or screw compression types,


So much humidity in home over the winter My home is a single level ranch style. All new windows that are less than 4 yrs old. It has base board heating. During the cold season, when the heat is on, there is an extreme excess of condensation on the inside of the windows in most rooms. In one bedroom, where there is a large bay window and small sliding window, I frequently find pools of water at the base of the bay window. Even the ceiling in one side of that room occasionally has droplets of water in about an area of about 1 foot and shows speckles of mold. I clean using a bleach solution but it comes back every month. This is the worst room in the house.

I have checked the insulation in the attic and it is sparse. Even the walls adjacent to the exterior are cold to the touch in the winter. I have 3 to 3 hanging bags of "Damp Rid" in the room but the problem persists. I have used a Dehumidifier in the past but it really drives up my electric bill.

My question is why is there so much condensation happening? What can be done to prevent or reduce it? Thank you for the feedback.

You get condensation because the windows (and evidently part of the ceiling, unless that's just a roof leak) are the most poorly insulated part of the building, so they cool below the dewpoint of the interior air.

Bay windows are particularly bad as they are a fairly large expanse of window stuck out into the cold, and not infrequently the non-window parts of the bay are not well-detailed from an insulation point of view. They also have a lot of joints making potential cracks to leak cold air.

Active ventilation can help remove some of the interior moisture (from whatever sources), but since your investigation has shown poor insulation, solving poor insulation is probably a good idea as part of the overall fix.

If you happen to be using an unvented gas heater for your heat, that
alone will add a huge (generally unacceptably huge) amount of water
to the indoor air (and replacing it with a vented heater will help
immensely.) Indeed, most houses are quite dry through the winter with
normal heat, which is why I mention that, as I half-suspect it.
If you have a gas range and your range hood is either not running
when you operate the range, or one of those useless range hoods that
does not actually exhaust air (merely recirculating it through a
filter) that will add water to the air.
Bathrooms without fans, or with unused or ineffective fans also add
water to the air.
Improperly vented clothes dryers or hanging laundry to dry in the
house add water to the air...

For a quick, inexpensive approach on the windows, consider using "window shrink film kits" for the winter. They effectively make an interior "storm window" and both reduce air leaks and radiative heat loss. If done carefully they don't look bad.


I need to run electric past the dishwasher to the end of the peninsula cabinet We are replacing our kitchen cabinet layout and we are adding a peninsula. The peninsula is where our dishwasher will be with the plan of running plumbing and electric under the IKEA cabinets to the sink cabinet where there would be a dedicated outlet for the dishwasher. The toe kicks come off easily and will provide any needed access.

We know we need to add an outlet in at the end of the peninsula, but we are unsure of how electric will be able to get there. It is not an option to come up through the floor. We figure we could run conduit from the existing outlet behind the dishwasher, but we don't know if there is space behind a dishwasher to do this. We are having an electrician come in, but we need to figure this out before we finish planning the kitchen layout. Any thoughts?

There's almost always an inch or two of space behind dishwashers. There isn't a standard depth, so the cabinets aren't built for that exact dimension.

It's usually fairly simple to pull dishwashers--two screws at the top or sides of the cabinet faceframe. Flooring set in front can make it challenging, though.


Goop under carpet padding We're pulling up carpet in a new-to-us house. There's a beautiful hardwood floor underneath that is in great shape except that there's some red/brown sticky goop spots left behind by the carpet padding. The padding is that multi-colored stuff and it seems like the red parts have melted or something. We don't know how long the carpet has been there, but it doesn't look like it's been there more than ten years. Under the goop, the floor finish is fine. I'd love to clean this stuff off and not have to completely refinish the floors.

The red stuff is still tacky. We can scrape most of it up, but it leaves behind a red film. What do you think we could use to clean this stuff up?

You could try an orange oil product like Goo-Gone to try to remove the remaining sticky film. Apply directly to the spots, let sit for a short time and the use clean paper towels to wipe up the mess.


Can I shut off the water supply by unplugging the water softener? I have to replace one of the O-Rings in a leaky faucet, and would have to shut off the water valve to said faucet. However, the faucets in my place don't have individual shut off valves, and there is only one main valve. I am hesitant in shutting off the main valve, because it has been known to leak in the past upon re-opening. I have a water softener installed that is fed from the pipe from the main valve, the water softener then feeds the hot water tank and breaks off to feed the rest of the cold water in the house. If I was to shut off the water softener(unplug it) without changing it in bypass mode, would this turn off the cold water supply to the rest of my house?

The power to the softener is only used to run the backwash and recharge cycle. It will continue to operate without power, and will even continue to soften water for a while (though it does eventually need to be recharged, depending on the hardness of your water and how much you use).

Certain types of bypasses can be used as shut-off valves.

A custom-built one with 3 valves is easy: just close all valves.

There's a type with two valves that can also be used: close one (so the valves are in opposite directions).

Other types that only have one valve/control handle don't shut off the water flowing through them.

Separately, you should have a main-shutoff that is reliable. If you have a leak in your house it will likely cost much more than a valve will. Install a ball (quarter turn) valve, rather than a globe or gate valve -- very reliable, and will easily last at least a couple decades.


Convert a ceiling fan controlled by two switches to a remote control I would like to convert a ceiling fan with light from 2 switches (one for the light and one for the fan) to a single remote control. Is there a best practice or do I just pick a line and cap off one at the ceiling fan box? Is there anyway to keep both the fan and light on separate switches and have them both remote control as well?

Thanks

You'd need to replace the switch with a remote controlled switch. Since you currently have two outputs, you'd need to find one that has two outputs - I believe they sell one which has a button for the fan and another for the light. Regardless, they'd still have to be separate.

Also, getting this to work would require no modification to the fan itself or the wiring at it. Everything would be changed at the switches.

If you can't find a remote switch module that allows two outputs, then you'd have to leave one currently as is and only control the other.


How to repair broken drywall (gypsum exposed) I had some water damage in my laundry room. We had some water damage pros take care of any potential mold issues. But they were not very careful removing the baseboard, and the bottom 2-3 inches has large gouges down to the gypsum, and sections that have just broken off.

Can I use something like Rust-Oleum problem surface sealer to reseal and install new baseboard? Or should I cut the drywall out and reinstall? I want to prevent any mold regrowth since this is in a laundry room that can have higher than average humidity occasionally.

If just the paper on the surface is broken you can fill the gouge and paint over it. If the sheetrock is broken and falling off it is better to cut a section out. I find the closest stud on either side and cut the sheetrock down the center of the studs, cut a new piece to fit and screw it in at the edges of the new piece and the original area cut off then tape & texture to match and repaint.


Smoke Detector Alarm keeps on beeping I have 6 inter-connected smoke alarms and one of them won't stop beeping. I replaced 4 of these alarms.

The 2 I haven't replaced were newer ones installed by the previous owner in 2008. I have replaced the batteries on both these and one of them won't stop beeping.

I've had similar problems from several smoke detectors at different job sites. Here is what I learned in the process:

Smoke alarms have expiration dates. That is they will work for a finite period of time before you will need to replace them. 5-6 years approximately is the length of time to replace (or when the manufacturer recommends). Look on the back side for a production date.

There should be a code explanation for the blinking lights or the beeping on the back of the unit. Most beeping is for a low battery that needs replacing.

RC states all new houses will be fitted with battery back-up powered smoke alarms with the main power supply as house current. Further all smoke alarms will be Daisy Chained so that when one alarm is activated all the other alarms will sound an alert.

All alarms are not created the same. If you purchase the least expensive alarm you can expect to replace much sooner or have more problems with it than a more costly alarm. Most manufacturers warranty their devices for no more than a year and most will replace a faulty one with proof of purchase.


How can I strip our newly-refinished hardwood floor? We bought a house and decided to refinish hardwood floors ourselves.  Mistake!  We used Minwax Complete one step.  It is water based and has stain and poly together.  The floors look awful and we want to remove it.  What is the best way to get this gook off the floor?  We are supposed to move in and 5 days!!

It will need to be sanded back down and redone. Find the right contractor, and it may get done in 4 days if they fit you in right away. THAT will be the trick.


Do I need to hire an electrician to turn off my main? My service panel (newly installed) does not have a main breaker.  I'm guessing the main breaker is outside in the panel shown with the utility lock tag.  Am I not "allowed" to turn off my main breaker?  My intention is to run a 20 amp circuit for a couple outlets in the basement.

To close the loop: I contacted the electrician who did the installation. The lower lock tag can be removed.


How can I fix an exterior door that is hard to close? when I try to close the laundry door it ovelaps the jamb on the handle side. I can only close it by banging it hard against the jamb. The gap at the top of the door increases as it gets closer to the handle edge so I know it has dropped however the hinges and screws are not loose.
Can anyone tell me what I can do to fix this please?

I am going to make the assumption that this condition has developed over time, rather than been this way since built. I am also assuming you meant an interior door, not an exterior door, since it is to a laundry area, not an entry door.

The easy answer would be to trim the door to fit better. But before we go that route, let's try to determine why the door has sagged. Open the door half way, stand in front of the handle edge, grab the knobs on both sides and try to lift the door. Is there any give?  If you are able to lift the door, which would effectively close the gap you described in your question, then we have a hinge or frame issue. If you are able to lift the door to a point where the door would close properly and notice any give to the frame, here is a fix. Remove the center screw from the jam side of the top hinge. Use a 3 to 4 inch screw of similar finish to replace the one removed. This screw should reach the jack stud and can be used to move the top of the door frame closer to the jack stud, evening out the gap on the top of the door. Adjust this screw until you get the proper fit.

If the above mentioned technique doesn't work in your case, then trimming the door may be necessary. If so, carefully measure how much needs to be trimmed off, scribe a straight line on both sides of the door. Remove the door, secure it on it's side (just so it is easier to reach and work on,) and use a belt sander, plane, or DA sander to remove material just up to the scribed line.  This will give you a nice straight edge. Re-hang your door and enjoy!


How to restore a curtain pole where the rawl plugs have torn themselves out of the wall My curtain pole has fallen down tearing the rawl plugs out with it and leaving two messy holes.
How can I get the curtain pole back up securely? Ideally in the same holes so that it covers the damage and the curtains are in the same place, though I suppose I could move it horizontally then refill the old holes?
The wall appears to be plasterboard.

Go buy toggle bolts and fender washers (I have seen them up to 2"in diameter) or some other large washer to cover the holes. You could also make a wooden washer out of some pre-finished wood or look for some kind of hanger hardware that will cover the holes and reinstall the curtain hanger. Take the bolt off the toggle, insert it through the curtain rod hanger, then add the washer, and last the toggle. Push the assembly into and through the old hole in the wall and tighten the toggle bolt. Hope this helps.


Drilling into outdoor stucco to hang bike I'm interesting in hanging a bike hook up on my patio outdoors. My outdoor walls appear to be some kind of hard stucco, and I've run a magnetic stud finder over the whole wall and it's all magnetic, indicating to me that there's some kind of metal mesh underneath. Ideally I'd like to hang the hook high enough off the ground on the wall such that the bike doesn't rest on the ground, but if it's significantly easier to hang it such that I don't put that much weight on the hook I can do that.

What is the best way to drill into the wall and hang the hook? I have diamond tipped drill bits. I'm just not sure if there's some kind of plywood underneath or if I will hit the metal when drilling. Will I need some kind of expanding screw holder or will the wall be strong enough to hold the weight of the bike?

EDIT: Apparently I shouldn't be trying to damage my outdoor stucco, so it looks like I will be trying to find another way to hang the bike.

I live north of Pittsburgh, Pa. and that stucco exterior finish was used on older commercial brick, stone or masonry buildings as a cheap insulation. It consisted of 2" white styrofoam board, covered with what we call "chicken wire" fencing, then that was covered with an exterior plaster type coating. I believe that the whole process was often called DRIVIT. You could not hang anything on it. I would follow Jim Stewart's advice as a solution


How can I vent a bathtub trap when the drain is routed under the tub? I am … very slowly … thinking about replacing the probably circa 1950's galvanized steel drain pipes in my basement with PVC. In particular, I would like to replace the drain line under the bathtub since there is a drip there.

What I am not sure about is how to route things to correctly vent the new trap when I replace the current setup. I believe my easiest (and thus "best") option is to run a vent pipe straight up through the floor to an air admittance valve (AAV) placed (a lot) more than 6" above flood level for the tub. The most natural place to run this vent pipe would be the area just in front of the tub. The plumbing access for the tub is in this area. It is at the back of a closet and still mostly unfinished and thus accessible.

However, the fellow who self-built this house ran the existing tub drain in the exact opposite direction, directly under the back of the tub since this is the shortest path to the outlet to the septic.

From the look of things, venting was never a priority for him. I am guessing he assumed the tub trap was "close enough" to the vented septic outlet that a vent wasn't needed for the tub's trap. I am less trusting in the benevolence of Murphy.

My understanding is that the vent should be placed "behind" the trap and at least 2 drain pipe diameters distant. The vent access to get above the tub's flood level is in front of the tub, the opposite direction of where it seems the trap should go. I have attached the pics below to better illustrate what I'm talking about.

So … how to vent this? Do I try to route the p-trap in front of the tub, vent it, and then turn it back around to run under the tub to the septic outlet drain? Or can I point the p-trap back under the tube, but angle the vent so that it comes back in front of the tub where I can then take it up through the floor?

It's a mystery to me.

Just for the heck of it …

While the picture below doesn't directly apply to my question, I added it just for context. This pic shows the main outlet to the septic. Directly above it is the WC. The PVC angling up is the 2" vent stack through the roof. The combined bathtub and kitchen drains enter on the opposite side (behind in the pic) of the cast iron. The pipe with the black tape coming from the right is for the bathroom sink drain. The guy who put this together certainly did love him some right angles. <sigh />

Why do you think the bathtub is not currently vented?

Not all traps need to be individually vented so you're not always going to see a vent if you don't know what to look for. It's a little hard to tell from your photos, but I think your bathtub is wet vented through the kitchen sink:

Please correct me if I've got the arraignment of your pipes wrong.


Wet spot on outside of foundation oozing I have a wet spot on the outside of my foundation. It is a block proprietor and a slab poured inside. Pipes run under slab.

When I first noticed this I checked the water meter for 24 hrs several times to see if I was losing pressure, but there was no movement on the meter after 24 hrs. I checked it several times.

Then I was away for a week (with water turned off) and when I returned it was still oozing this white paste. Wet , white looks like tooth paste. Don't see any wet spots under carpets or other floors. About 3" round about 8 inch from top of foundation.

Could it be a spring ? It's not waste water because I put blue dye in the toilets and it remains white. White paste consistently.

Had a plumber out. He did the same meter check for two hours but it did not move. Really has me stumped. The paste can be wiped off, which I did just before this picture and the "paste" never hardens, stays pasty. The circle is not a perfect circle it is just looks like that in the picture.

My guess is that a lump of unmixed something-or-other made it into the concrete pour. If it was portland cement it would have cured long ago, so maybe it's lime, which is added to concrete as a flex and waterproofing agent.

Lime concrete, produced by this mix, makes a good base for load bearing walls, columns, or laying under floors because it has a degree of flexibility that regular concrete does not. It also has a certain waterproof property to it that prevents subsoil dampness in floors and walls. Additionally, lime concrete can be made easily and cheaply while still providing a durable material that resists weathering and wear and tear.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-much-lime-should-i-add-to-a-concrete-mix


Can this garbage disposal be saved ? Black gunk doesnt drip down to cabinet floor but my skin crawled when i saw this? Garbage disposal is about 3 years old. It got jammed , so i tried to find the reset button on bottom.  It wouldnt budge so i got a flashlight and got on the floor to make sure i was pressing right thing.  I was horrified when i saw this nasty sight in the middle of the garbage disposal. Looks like dried slime. It doesnt run down the machine or to the cabinet floor but something definitly is wrong.  I got disposal un jammed and it works fine but underneath scares me. Is it worth tryin to fix ?

It looks like whoever installed the disposal didn't tighten up the locking bracket enough. You have three brackets in there. Two are for the mounting to the sink and they are not leaking.  See picture below of standard installations.

The lowest bracket is what holds the disposal to the sink fitting. You can undo that bracket by turning it counterclockwise with a screwdriver or allan wrench like in the picture. You'll want to disconnect the pipes and turn off the power first. Once you unlock that bracket the disposal will drop down. Clean it off, make sure the rubber flange is securely in place and put the disposal back in place and turn the locking bracket clockwise while holding the disposal in place.The bracket has to attach to the upper bracket in three spots, make sure they are all engaged. Make sure you tighten the bracket all the way.
This requires some strength and working in a slightly confined area so if you don't feel comfortable doing it, get some help ahead of time


No hot wire in switch box I moved recently into a new house and had to replace an outdoor light and switch because both were dead. In the picture, the switch on the right is a 3-way switch that is wired and working fine. The left switch goes to the outdoor GFI switch and light. I replaced the GFI and wired it correctly but I’m still getting nothing. Everything works when I tie into the 3-way hot wire (but then the other 3-way switch has to stay on). Is there something I might be missing? Or do you think maybe the hot wire was cut somewhere? All the circuits from the breaker are good.

Bought a wire tracer and was able to trace the hot wire to a switch receptacle upstairs, where it was taped off. Wired that to power and everything works. Thanks for all the responses/help!


What is the likely cause of a hidden leak from shower and toilet use? Our kitchen ceiling has a leak.

We have narrowed it down to it coming from the master bathroom shower. If one person takes a shower, it’s fine. If a second person showers shortly after or even a couple hours later, we get water leaking from the ceiling in the kitchen. Not a whole lot, but enough that has done damage to ceiling and leaves water on kitchen floor.  Also sometimes if master bath shower turns on, and we flush toilet in master bath, it drips. We replaced shower pan less than a year ago, and it was ok for a few months but is now back.

What is the most likely causes of my leak?
How should I approach finding and fixing it?

Unfortunately, there could be multiple causes for this issue you are seeing.  Without seeing the inside of the wall or the configuration of the waste/soil lines it might be impossible to give a definitive answer.

It is very likely the leak is always occurring when the water is running, it is just noticeable once the wall material become saturated to the point it cannot hold any more water, and then begins leaking into the room below.

I think is unlikely the drain pan for the shower is the culprit if the toilet is actually affecting the rate of water intrusion.  The toilet would have to push enough water up the shower drain to fill the trap and flow into the pan. If it could do that, then you have another problem further down the soil line.

Given your description these are the places I would inspect:

Check for blockages.  Even if a blockage is the culprit, there is still a problem. Ideally the overflow should appear in your fixtures first, not hidden behind the wall.

I would check the joints in the stack.  Typically, a toilet soil line is separate from the waste line of a sink or shower until the soil stack, where they collect and run to the sewer.  If a joint at the stack has failed, the waste water flowing through the fittings is seeping through the joint and down outside of the stack to the cut-out in the plate between the floors and then into the ceiling.

If the toilet and shower are sharing a drain line check the joints in this line too.  Pay attention to the traps, while installing a new drain pan or toilet if too much force was applied it could have damaged the joints of either the shower or toilet. E.g. remodeled floor changes the rise of the toilet flange above the floor; new toilet is installed and tightened down, pushing against the soil line, stressing the joints and forming a leak.  Cast iron is not forgiving of this abuse.  Also check that the pipe is being supported at regular interval so it is not sagging and causing unnecessary stress to the joints.

Check that the shared line is sized for the flow, is sloped correctly, and doesn't run too far.  If any of these factors are incorrect, air-locking can occur.  This can decrease the amount flow the pipe can handle, which leads to water filling or backing up in the line until it breaches, say the toilet flange, where it flows over the flange edge and down the pipe into the space below, all hidden by the toilet pedestal itself.  Your pipe should not have a slope of greater than 0.25" per 12" run.  The pipes size from the toilet should be at least a 3" pipe, perhaps bigger if the shower is joining it; a pipe of such duty should not run more than 6' to the soil stack.


Samsung washer trips breaker during spin I appreciate any help. I have a 5.6cf Samsung washer. Model WF56H9100ag/a2. It pops the circuit breaker mid spin cycle. It’s only 4 years old and has not moved. I have opened up everything except the drum and everything is clean and dry. the water exit filter is clean.
I put it into service mode and run the quick spin test and it failed at about 850rpm and 1050rpm.
There is no slip in the bearings. (I had a kenmore elite that failed that way so I’m familiar with the signs)
The motor is clean and spin fine.

Only other issue and I’m not sure if it’s normal, the drum shakes a lot during spin startup. Then it spins smoothly. Not sure if that is a signal.

Thank you!!

Hallways have typically AFCI protection to protect from fires in the wiring in the walls.

Laundry rooms must have GFCI protection to protect humans from being electrocuted by faulty appliances.

It's likely the laundry room also has AFCI protection, since circuits that need GFCI can also have fires from wiring in the walls. So from the purple button, we know that is a dual-mode AFCI+GFCI.

So by moving the washer from the laundry room to the hallway, you removed GFCI protection.

And the problem went away!

Well, no, actually, your ability to detect the problem went away.   Problem is still there.

A GFCI problem means that the appliance is leaking electricity internally due to failing insulation or perhaps a bad capacitor.  If it wasn't for ground, it would be giving you a nasty shock (> 5 ma).  It's repairable.


How to light the pilot for an old Gas Heater We have moved in to a new home (new for us!) and we noticed that there was no heat coming from the base board. I tried to read the instructions on the Gas Heater in the basement and it talks about the need to light the pilot. I've posted pictures of the instructions and the Heater below. I looked up this video to figure out how to light it. The instructions in the video are very similar to that of the instructions posted on the Heater.

But I'm not sure where the pilot is on the system, the knob to turn it off (I can turn it off the switch at the circuit break however). Can you guys help me locate it on the image below and any instructions that can help us? Thanks.

Call the gas company.

If they aren't also the power company and there isn't a power crisis like a wind storm, then they'll often send someone out to light it for you for free.

The gas company's perspective is they would much rather make a service call than have you attempt to light it and fail (e.g. Due to an obsolete or defective valve) and blow your house up.  That also lets them put eyes on your setup, do a safety check, and give you advice if you need it.  If they have conservation incentive programs that your unit qualifies for, they can have that conversation with you too.


Is the material behind my wall's surface asbestos? I'm a bit worried. All the wall is peeled off and its an old house. Just trying to renovate.

It's probably just plaster. However, a test kit is the only reliable indicator.


Only 1/8" of NM cable sheathing in electrical box? I live in Massachusetts and I'm having my unfinished attic turned into living space; I failed the initial rough inspection for a variety of reasons. One of the things the inspector told me is that the NM cable that runs into the nonmetallic boxes needs to be stripped back to no more than 1/8" extending into the box. I am certain he said this, and more than once.

This seemed really odd to me and when I had a licensed electrician come in and make all the fixes that needed to be made, he left at least an inch of sheathing in each box. When I questioned him on it and told him what the inspector said, he pointed to NEC 314.17-C, which states that there should be a minimum of 1/4" sheathing in the box, which makes a lot more sense to me.

The inspector is coming back today for a re-inspection and I'm wondering if this is going to be an issue. Has anyone ever heard this, or do you think I must have misheard him? Or was he referring to some other 1/8" requirement related to wiring up nonmetallic boxes and I misunderstood? I know he said it, so it's possible he just misspoke (and I'm hoping that's the case).

In my state the inspector Shall cite the code to write a violation. Your electrician is correct there needs to be at least 1/4" of sheath left on the cable. This is to protect the wires from the sharp edges on the knock out type boxes and from the clamps on that style. My experience is inspectors don't like DIY home owners and pull all kinds of B.S. I recently moved to a diferent county and pulled some permits as a home owner, after the 3rd BS violation told him he needed to show me the code sections for each violation because the wiring was done by an electrician. He thought he was going to catch someone doing work on the side until I gave him my license number from memory let's just say he got very red in the face and after showing him my license he barely looked at the finish inspecton except for verifying the GFCI outlets functioned correctly.


Nail through ceiling We live in Northern Illinois. Five or six years ago we had the roof replaced on our detached, single family house. The job seemed to be well done and we had no complaints. This afternoon, however, as I lay down on my bed for a moment, and, looking straight up, noticed a nail protruding through the white, finished ceiling directly above me.  I look at that spot in the ceiling multiple times a day, and there is no way that the nail was protruding before this afternoon.  The house has two stories, and a 16 foot ceiling in that room. No one, to my knowledge has been on that part of the roof since the new roof was put on.
So, is it normal for a nail to come through so long after the new roof was put on? In any case, what dangers/issues are there with this situation, and what steps might I take to correct the problem? Picture attached.

Looks to me like a drywall screw or nail has "bubbled out". It happens sometimes due to wall movement, especially with weather swings (like a real wet winter or a long drought). It also happens when moisture gets to a nail or screw and causes it to corrode. Hopefully your kinda new roof is not leaking. I don't see any signs of plaster discoloration indicating a leak.

Get a ladder and bang the nail back in (or give the screw a turn) and spackle over it.


RV Pedestal - 20 AMP GFCI & 50 AMP 14-50 in same 2 Gang Box? I'm installing an RV pedestal at my home. Out-of-the-box pedestals are not available. I'm using a 70 AMP outdoor main lug load center (HOM24L880RBCP), and a quad 2-20A 1P, 1-50A 1P breaker to feed two receptacles. Namely a 20 AMP GFCI and 50A 14-50R.
My question, Does NEC allow, and is it kosher, to install two separate circuits that are 50A and 20A in the same 2 gang box? If so, do they need to be de-rated?
I'll be using 6 AWG THHN and 12 AWG THHN between the load center and the box ~ 6 inches away.
Thanks for the help.

Box fill requirements basically make that a hard no.
#6 wires need 5 cubic inches each. The device (receptacle) they connect to adds two more, so you need 30 cubic inches just for that.
#12 wires need 2.25 cubic inches each, and the device they connect to adds 2 more, but you get to skip the ground (or count only 1/4 of it under 2020 rules) so 9.56 cubic inches for that.
A 4x4x2-1/8 would just fit the 14-50R. The 20 amp outlet is easy in most boxes so long as it's separate from the 14-50R (and then you count the ground as it'a not a shared box - so you need 11.25 cubic inches, though you'll appreciate more room since GFCIs are big.)
Depending on how you have protected the panel/outlets from the weather in your home-built pedestal will affect whether you also need to deal with exterior boxes and in-use covers. Since you mention that it's an outdoor load center, it may be the case that you will need exterior boxes (which will vary somewhat from the cubic inch sizes I've called out above for interior stamped steel boxes - just pick ones that are at least as large or larger than required) of appropriate volume and in-use covers for proper weather protection.
If using a quad breaker, you might as well put in an additional 20A GFCI on the other 20A feed.
If the terminals on both breaker and receptacle are rated for 75C (and they usually are for a 14-50R) you could reduce the cubic inch requirement quite a bit by using #8 THWN or THWN-2 (3 cubic inches per count) since you are running wires in conduit, not cable, so you can use the 75C column in the table rather than the 60C column. Then you'd only need 18 cubic inches for that, rather than 30.


How do I smooth a concrete pool surface after an acid wash? After an acid wash, the surface of the pool is very rough.

What should I do to smooth it out?

Traditionally: Slap on a fresh coat of pool paint and let that provide the smooth surface.

(I grew up with a concrete-and-plaster pool. Our ad-hoc experience was that removing as much muck as possible from the bottom, shock-treating the heck out of it, starting the filter and getting the chemistry rebalanced seemed to be effective enough that we could skip the empty/acid-wash/refill cycle some years. I'd appreciate commentary from someone who understands the chemistry of the paint and plaster well enough to tell us just how unreasonable this was.)


moisture on my garage ceiling I live in northern Wisconsin and am getting mold on my ceiling in my 900 sq ft. garage. The garage is a dry walled and has r19 in walls with plastic barrier over the insulation between the dry wall and insulation. Same goes for the ceiling has drywall , plastic barrier then r40 blown in over top. I am getting mold on the ceiling only every now and then where do you think my problem is ocuring from.

If you run the engines of the cars in your garage then that is probably source of the high humidity and the moisture. If this is the case, then you need to vent that area when the engines are running and for a short time after the engines are shut off. Burning fuels create a lot of water vapor. If it is not from the cars engines, Then i would check for water infiltration from the roof area. With all that insulation and the vapor barrier you have created a tight atmosphere in the garage. Any operation in the garage that gives off moisture will allow that moisture to collect on the ceiling and walls which can allow for mold to grow.


Why is my downstairs shower pressure lower than upstairs? My shower pressure in my upstairs bathroom is fantastic. However, the same cannot be said for the downstairs bathroom (ground floor). Given the fact that upstairs is disadvantaged, this does not make sense unless there is a pump serving that bathroom alone which i don't think there is. So i want my downstairs shower to reflect the upstairs one. I'm not entirely sure but i think the question is how do i decrease the pressure in order to increase water velocity. Or how to I increase the flow to increase velocity. My hot water is supplied by a gas boiler.

Your downstairs shower has a restriction of some sort in the water supply. Start at the showerhead and work backwards to find it. You need to check pressure while flow is happening - a restriction will allow full pressure when there's no flow, but will cause a large drop in pressure when there is flow.

For the easy possibilities, check any supply valves to be sure they are fully open, and check that you don't have a limed-up or otherwise overly restrictive showerhead. Other issues can be much more involved to find/resolve - my classic warhorse of a tale is the shower/tub with terrible flow on the hot water side, due (found after I reached the point of disassembling pipes, because something was clearly very wrong with them) to one elbow being 95% full of solder, leaving only a tiny hole for the water to pass through.


Moisture collecting underneath condo terrace deck boards A little history - We bought this condo unit last year and just noticed that the paint the previous owner used on the deck boards were bubbling and peeling.
We inquired with the condo management to confirm that it is our responsibility to replace the decking boards.
Upon further inspection, some of the boards were noticeably moist and rotted. Some areas were worse than others. We initially thought it was due to the thick coating the previous owners used which may have trapped moisture and decided to replace all of the boards.
There is one area right above the floor drain that is collecting moisture on the underside of the boards. The new boards in the other areas of the terrace that were just laid down (not screwed down yet) and seemed to be ok.
This area in the winter is constantly warm and snow does not build up. Based on what we see, there seems to be a good amount of moisture in this area.
The structural base of the deck (and the deck boards) is constructed with pressure treated 2x6 boards which is sitting on top of a membrane.
Would larger gaps in between the boards (currently at 3/8”) allow enough airflow to prevent future rotting issues?  I’m thinking that something more needs to be done to allow for more venting and prevent it from building up in the first place.
This is the drain area:

NOTE: The deck boards are flipped up on their sides to help them dry out.

You should replace the boards with composite decking.
I don't know what the old boards were or how old they were.  A roof top deck that covers a membrane is always going to have moisture.
The deck structure looks to be 12" oc so you should be good to use composite.
If you flood the membrane with water chances are there are low spots that pool the water for portions of the year.  It will never be perfectly dry in there.  You don't want larger gaps in between your boards unless you want to loose coins, keys, etc in between the boards.  Larger gaps would probably help somewhat with ventilation but I doubt it would be a magic fix.