How should I plaster a hole in the wall on top of thermalite? I have a hole in my wall which is about 300x300mm, approx. 30mm deep going back to thermalite block. I only have experience with smaller patching-up jobs, so I'm unsure how to approach it.

My instinct is to use a piece of plasterboard, somehow attaching it to the thermalite, filling in the gap with plaster mix, then using plaster tape and smoothing with another layer of plaster mix. Is this the right approach?

If this is right, what should I use to adhere the plaster board to the thermalite?

I'm from the US, so I'm not familiar with them either, but on page 42 and 45 of the Forterra product spec sheet it mentions plasterboard being adhered on dabs... which means using materials and methods like the ones found here:

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/how-to/plastering/direct-bond


Options for adding “C” wire to thermostat Possible Duplicate:
  Options for adding “C” wire to thermostat

I am upgrading to a newer thermostat that requires a constant 24 volt feed, I have an extra (unsused) wire in the cable at the thermostat. Do I simply connect it to the transformer at the furnace?

Once you confirm the power supply in the furnace matches your thermostat's requirements, then yes, use the extra wire. Not only confirm a constant 24v is supplied, but whether it should be AC or DC. (DC would be really weird, but worth confirming)

Since the wire you use may not match the usual color coding, label both ends of the wire to eliminate any confusion in the future.


Should all my home's GFCI outlets be connected to a GFCI breaker? My house has all of the GFCI outlets (approx 7 outlets/ 2 bathrooms, kitchen, and shed) running to a single GFCI breaker. Is this a proper setup for GFCI? I'm looking for a solution to keep the breaker from tripping when several devices are pulling power at once.

No.

You should not put a GFCI outlet on a GCFI breaker.  You need GFCI protection in only one device per circuit.  Or stated better, you should not have a GFCI outlet downstream of a GFCI breaker.  It's not unsafe per se, but it will be an unpredictable pain to deal with when it trips and you don't know where to go to reset it.

GFCI Outlets do not require GFCI breakers.  GFCI Breakers make regular outlets and other devices GFCI protected.


How to stop a metal table from vibrating when bumped I built this table recently and when you bump it, it vibrates continuously for several seconds. Imagine a tuning fork vibration, not a wobble. It makes everything on top of the table shake.

Does anyone have any ideas on what is causing this and what could be done to solve the problem? I just welded brackets in the corners and it did not fix the issue. I will try to post a photo of that as well. The steel tube legs are open on top and bottom. I tried with rubber feet and without. Tried on hard surface and carpet.

I would guess that it's the long horizontal bars that are thrumming. Carefully drill one or more 1/4" holes on the inside of the tubing, where they're inconspicuous, and fill the tubes with sand or lead birdshot. Seal it up with tape or silicone.

To maintain strength in the bars, position the holes near connection points.


How should I install tile on plywood? I am installing tile directly to plywood. It is for a bar, foot rest area approximately 7 inches wide. what is thr easiest, cheapest way to accomplish. Wont be wet, wont be walked on, more for looks than anything

Given that it won't be walked on, I'd say spread a very thin layer of thinset, give it 24 hours to set, then just do a regular tile job with thinset and tiles followed by grout. The hardest part of this job will be cutting the rearmost row of tiles so your bullnose is even with the edge.


How can I repair a split copper pipe in place? I have this exterior hydrant. If you read the reviews, you'll see that it's prone to a split inlet pipe. It's happened to me too.
The pipe is actually part of the valve. Water doesn't come gushing out of the split in the pipe unless you open the faucet.
Is there any way to repair this? Or am I looking at tearing out the entire section of wall to get in there and replace it?
Here's what mine looks like:

This is a complex product; easy to mess up. Hence the reviews.
A complex product like this depends on correct installation and usage.   It must be installed sloping toward the outside (or it won't drain).  The valves proper at the back of the hydrant must be inside the house's insulation envelope, and actually receive heat (or obviously the valve proper will freeze).  Nothing must be connected to the valve spigot except when the valve is in use (Because the only way for the hydrant extension to drain is if the vacuum breaks work properly; and if you leave pressure or water on them 24x7, they freeze up). Leaving a hose on it all summer is a no-no. Controlling it with a valve at the end of the hose is a no-no if you walk away from it at the end of the fun day (because the hose remains pressurized even after you close all the valves, and good hoses can hold pressure for weeks).  Letting it freeze in that state is doom of course, and here's the problem: people underestimate late night frosts.
That item is bundled with an anti-siphon; it may be necessary to remove that too in order to comply with the valve's instructions.  Complicated product indeed.
So you must read reviews with a skeptical eye:  Take the one who said "It flooded my basement" -- who, clearly, left the hydrant turned on 24x7 in direct violation of its instructions.  Another said "By fall, it failed" ... Fall, eh? I think we know what happened there lol.  They left a hose on it through the freeze, or had done so earlier and ruined the vacuum breaks, preventing them from draining.
These reviews are further corrupted by a supply problem at Amazon.  They love "commingling" their own and 3rd-party goods, but this is a backdoor to counterfeits and used units. That explains the "used item" reviews.
All that to say, the reviews may not be all that helpful.
You have to fix it properly, though, or it'll happen again.
Now, if you yourself violated the rules, then you brought this trouble on yourself.  In which case, own it, and make necessary corrections.
That may require reinstalling the valve properly (to correct slope, or to place  the valve base inside the house's insulating jacket; it appears it is not right now).  If you don't do that, and just try to patch it as-is, it's just going to fail again next fall so don't even bother.
I note that these double hot-and-cold valves have a rather limited selection in terms of hydrant depth.  You need the hydrant depth that you need, and if it's 18" or 24" that's what you need fullstop.  A shorter product will not work.  So you need to figure that one out or you'll just be here again.  There isn't a way to put extensions on hydrants.
So yeah, most likely you will need to do some construction to correct the deficiencies in this one's installation.  I would either decommission the hydrant permanently, or replace it with something that is viable.
Consider a plain hydrant and a hot-cold mixer behind it
Note that 2-valve hot-cold mixers are a bad idea if you have a tanked heater that you properly run at 140F to stop legionella bacteria, because this valve lacks any anti-scald feature.  If you ask for only hot, you will get scalding.
One way to "kill 2 birds with 1 stone" is to use a plain hydrant that's long enough to get inside your insulation envelope; these are readily available in longer lengths.  Then, behind the hydrant well inside the insulated house, have a hot-cold thermostatic mixing valve that will assure it can't be hotter than 110F or so.  How would you control the mix from outside? A simple "bowden cable" as found on a lawnmower throttle.


What's the quickest way to get rid of larvaes and [clothing] moths at home? We've moved to this apartment two months ago. The apartment was apparently repainted, while the building is no older than 10 years, but every single part of seems intact for all these years. I've been trying to clean eveywhere, but not fully done, yet.

Since day 1 I've been noticing small "fluff"s on walls and ceilings, the back side of wooden drawers (where they have this thin raw-wood-looking layer), and corners of the carpet in the bedroom [that is the only room with a fitted carpet and have been very curious about them, until I've just recently learnt that they're larvae, the baby(?) of the random flying moth we happen to see here and there, and that it's too late when one actually happens to see the flying moths, since it's the larvae that eats stuff, before turning into a moth.

Growing with Persian carpets, we've always had special powder killers to protect the expensive hand-woven carpets, that are informally called "carpet powder/poison", and never even had so many moths in real life! However I don't have access to that specific powder at the moment, and I don't know what actual chemicals it's got in it.

What I've done so far is:

regularly vacuuming the house, trying to get rid of those fluffs as much as possible (before knowing how damaging they can be).
spraying the two cans of "ant killer" and "fly & mosquito killer"s after cleaning every single corner (just after moving), and on a [somewhat] regular basis, but mainly to get rid of spiders that seem to an undetachable part of daily life here, and I haven't found them so strong.
hanging wardrobe dehumidifiers in each wardrobe that consist of a pack of silicon balls that absorb humidity and melt in the container, each of which last for a month.
running the electric dehumidifier that can suck something like 2, 3 liters of water in every several hours of running (not running it too frequently since it's slightly noisy and not welcomed during hours after work!)
reading a lot of articles online about this creature and ways of fighting against them. Additionally I've checked several products on Amazon, etc. and obviously all of them claim they have the best solution to this issue.

What I would like to learn:

is the quickest (and possibly the cheapest) way of getting a rescue from these little annoying creatures despite the articles that mention once the larvae is there, it's too difficult to immune the whole area and kill them all.

Note: We have a small "room" that contains the hot press, and the rest of unwanted/unused crap that has a room with gaps around, and I haven't scrubbed it so far, but I've sprayed the killers in there a few times, as well, but I'm still paranoid that it's the lovely home for all the unwanted insects and spiders and crawlies we may have.

The floorings are wooden (mainly) with some nylon carpets that aren't fancy enough for the larvae to eat, tiles in the bathroom, and carpet in one of the bedrooms that was shampooed and vacuumed and lots of its fluff came off during shampooing, which is another clue! and we're located having a nice view of the river/sea from our windows (which means a lot to these creatures!)

TL;DR: I need a recommendation on the quickest solution to kill all the larvae and moths that have lived in a house for quite a while without being cleaned. (Some product that can kill spiders is a pro!)

Any brands or specific product names are welcome (if that doesn't break S.E.'s rules).

As a tenant I believe you've already done too much as this should be the land lords problem to rectify and not yours.

Notify the landlord verbally and in writing about the on going issue of the infestation in your apartment.

Contact your local city / town / government about your landlords responsibilities and your rights as a tenant in this type of a situation. Note: It may be possible to break the lease and move out without penalty should the landlord fail to rectify the situation in a certain amount of time.

If this was your dwelling: You've done everything you can and unfortunately the situation is beyond DIY and your control.

The best advise anyone can give is to contact an exterminator to have your hone sprayed. The problem with an infestation is that it needs to be addressed all at once, if you clear out one area and move onto another, it's possible that the moths to re-infest the original area and your at square one again. It only takes one for the cycle to start again.

  Local hardware shops have only cedar balls (new generation of moth-balls for clothes wardrobes) and spray cans that are useless for a deeper attack. Getting a pest consultant or whatever will NOT count as the desired answer, since I'm not a big fan of spending too much money on this.

Comment: In the case you have provided it is not for you the tenant to resolve.

If this was a dwelling that you owned and you were responsible for you would still need to bring in a professional. The time and effort you've spend trying to eradicate this type of infestation (that has lasted weeks) by purchasing over the counter products and your time will be far more expensive than actually bringing in a professional.


What to use to clear paint a few pieces of brass? I want to paint a few pieces of brass, with some kind of clear paint/primer. Removing the pieces and spray painting would be tedious, so I am looking for an option where a brush would be used. I've searched online, and so far have come up with a few things, namely clear metal primer (if it does exist), shellac and epoxy resin.

How would clear metal primer (if it does exist), shellac and epoxy resin work to paint a few small pieces of brass?
What would be the best/a relatively durable paint/primer to use on brass?

Regards.

I believe that crystal clear enamel or brass lacquer (actually not a lacquer- it's polyurethane) may be what you are after (enamel connotes painting metal). Please pardon the product recommendation, but Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel works pretty good, but Mohawk Brass Lacquer is specifically for the job.

Spraying it on makes a physical difference- it is more durable... aerosol is closer to being a vapor deposition. The trick is to use 2 light coats. But I suppose that you could use any old brush-on polyurethane; for what it's worth, I think an oil based one might be a little more durable.

Don't use shellac, as it is actually made for penetrating wood, so it won't work on metal (although what people call shellac and lacquer are often acrylics or polyurethanes). There are a variety of qualities regarding epoxy. Some epoxies will become cloudy or yellow with age, so if you don't want that, aim for something that is used more for finishing rather than sticking things together. Also, be aware that an epoxy might be more difficult to remove. Overall, I think epoxy might not be the best choice for you.


How to seal cracks between stone veneer and soffit? My home is wooden stud construction with rough limestone block veneer.  I have lots of gaps that have opened up where the top of the veneer meets the soffit.  It looks like these gaps were originally closed with mortar or a similar material.

Image attached is an example and show some small cracking.  In some areas the gap is up to an inch wide where this brittle material is breaking away.

What is the best way to repair this?  Caulk?  If so, what type?  Or does a similar mortar type material need to be used?

If you're looking for a long lasting repair, I'd suggest a gunnable rubberized/polyurethane caulk such as Sonolastic NP1. It comes in various colors. Depending on your locating, there MAY be a home improvement store, Lowe's and/or Home Depot specifically, that stocks it. If you don't have either around, you'll need to check with a roofing supply house.


Why don't any of my electric ovens actually keep the temperature that is displayed? I had an older oven that was consistently 25-50 degrees Fahrenheit lower than what it was set to be and what the display unit stated. I purchased an oven thermometer and keep it inside to check the temperature. The oven display would show 450, but the thermometer inside would be 425 or even 400.
Thinking it was a problem with the oven, my landlord replaced it with a brand new oven. The first day I had the new oven, the temperature was maybe 10 degrees lower than it displayed. Yay, problem fixed, right? Sadly, no. Now, over time, the new oven gets really inconsistent temperatures. Sometimes it is 25-50 degrees cooler, and sometimes it is 25-50 degrees (or more) hotter! As you can imagine, this is causing a lot of issues with cooking.
Since the problem is likely not the ovens themselves, as two different ovens are displaying this behavior, does anyone have any suggestions about what could be going wrong?

A variance of 50 degrees or more - both high & low - sounds extreme.
However, a consistent offset of 25 to 50 degrees is actually not that unusual. Hypothetically, that could be 35 degrees miscalibration of the thermostat combined with a 15 degree temperature swing between cycles. I don't know what the typical temperature swing is for a residential oven. For a typical HVAC thermostat, a typical temperature swing is +2, -1, or 3 degrees total - so 5 degrees if you include the extra degree in each direction to actually trigger any action. I am sure an oven will have a wider range - the chicken or cake is not as sensitive to minor variations as people are.
Thermostats are manufactured to behave a particular way, but I highly doubt they are factory calibrated, just as mass-produced cars aren't taken out on the highway before being delivered in order to make sure the speedometer accurately reads 65 MPH.
Many ovens now have a user-accessible calibration feature. For example, Kitchenaid has a page describing the calibration process.
You can also determine your oven temperature with sugar! You don't actually need a thermometer. (And thermometers themselves are often miscalibrated.) A quick search finds How to Test Your Oven Temperature with Sugar, though I first read about it in The Science of Cooking:

which is well worth reading for anyone interested in both science and cooking.


Can I attach a kitchen vent and a dryer vent to the same exhaust? I currently have a dryer attached to an exhaust vent with flexible tubing; this flexible tubing is in severe need of repair.  That is (I hope) easy enough, and is not the crux of my question.

The problem is that my kitchen vent (above an electric stove), rather than exhausting anywhere sane, exhausts into the laundry room.  This, to me, is a terrible idea (but I am hardly a ventilations expert), and I would like to remedy it.

Since I'll be going to the supply store and working to replace/repair the damaged tubing anyway, I wonder if it's possible to attach the kitchen vent and the dryer vent to the same exhaust (rather than running a second duct and cutting a new exhaust hole in the wall).  I'm thinking it would be easy (and cheap) enough to just attach a T- or Y-joint (again, note, I am hardly a ventilations expert), but I don't know if that's a viable and/or safe option.

So the question lies thus: What sort of considerations/parts do I need to do this sort of renovation, and — given that I am hardly a ventilations expert — is it something that can be safely (and reasonably) done without professional help?

You're mixing grease with lint, which is only going to make a mess and clog up in no time. You could also create a situation where dryer exhaust goes back into your house instead of outside, causing excessive humidity and a mold/mildew risk. The workaround for that would be to install dampers, but those would likely get jammed with the grease/lint combination. And that's assuming that this would be within code, which I suspect it isn't, or every builder would cut the corner. So, in short, my suggestion is that you don't even consider joining the two.

Also, a suggestion, only use flex pipe for the final hookup to each device, and cut away any excess flex tubing. The rest should be rigid metal venting for durability and to give you the best airflow.


Wiring a home made lamp I have a homemade 8 light lamp I need to wire.  I had a class in Electricity in the 10th grade when Nixon was still in office.  I do remember that I will wire the lamps in a parallel circuit.

Each socket will host a 6 watt LED, which 8 of them put AMPs at .4 by my calculation on 110 v.

The lamp is made of metal, and I plan on running a ground from the lamp to the ground wire in the outlet box.

For the wiring harness, I'm challenged with balancing cosmetic appeal and not burning my house down.   I'm thinking about MIL22759/12 in 20 AWG, which is a flame resistant wire rated for 600V, and operating conditions of -65°C to +200°C.  The insulation on this wire is PTFE.

My reading of 20 AWG is that it can carry 1.5 AMPs, which I'm well under.  For safety I'm thinking about a 1 AMP in-line fuse.

The wires will be put into heat shrink tubing to prevent chafing.

Will this lamp burn my house down?

First problem: you'll need to pick a thicker wire.  The NEC specifies a minimum of 18AWG for fixture wire in 402.6:

  402.6 Minimum Size. Fixture wires shall not be smaller
  than 18 AWG.

Second problem: you'll need a reliable way of making connections.  Instead of soldering (solder splices in free air are finicky beasts), I would recommend box-style pressure terminals (made by Wago and others).  They are highly reliable (probably the best DIY multi-way connection option available) and UL listed for use in general household wiring, so they won't give an AHJ heartburn.  They also are listed to terminate 10-18AWG solid or stranded wire, so they can be used with fixture wire, no matter what you get.

Next, you'll need a fuseholder that's rated for your application.  I'd recommend an Eaton (Cooper Bussmann) HLR or a Littelfuse LHR type -- these are practically made-for-purpose for fusing fixtures, and are UL recognized as well.  They also are panel-mountable to somewhere on the fixture, allowing convenient, touch-safe access to the fuse.

Finally, as to terminating the fixture wires, what I'd do is use a multi-way Wago box to terminate it to a single 18AWG that can go to your fuse holder (in fact, the fuse holders I mention above accept solid 18AWG leadwires, and can be obtained pre-terminated with them), then bring an 18AWG hot and neutral to the box.  As to the earth? I'd simply provide a 10-32 tapped hole on the fixture base dedicated for a ground screw -- that way, premade ground pigtails can be used.


Hot wire won't stay in back outlet hole Replaced a regular outlet with a 4 USB plate. Mistakenly removed the side screw and now it won't hold at all, and the hole on the back won't hold the hot wire (since the side screw that is now stripped should have tightened it in place).

How can I get the hot wire to stay tight?

I'd replace the receptacle, loose wires can cause arcing or heating, which is the way fires get started.


Why is the hot water in my tub fluctuating between hot, warm and cold? I've been living for a year in a 1985 (or so) 8-floor condo in the NYC metropolitan area. The building is well managed.
I have a kitchen and a bathroom with both a separate shower and a jacuzzi/whirlpool tub installed.
The tub is a Kohler ('Devonshire' model).
The 2-handle faucets looks like from Pegasus ('65602 Estates Roman Tub Faucet').
Hot and cold water works fine everywhere in my apartment but the tub.

** PROBLEM **

When I turn on the hot water faucet of the tub (assume it's the only thing running water), I get first very hot water as expected for a short moment, then it becomes warm and cold. I have to play around with the faucet (turn off, or turn more or less) to get some hot water again. But the cycle will repeat.
It's frustrating.

I'm not sure what is causing this. The problem has been there since I moved in.

Elsewhere, the water works fine (kitchen, bathroom sink, shower) with this minor note:
In the shower, I have a Pegasus single handle with a typical problem.
Assume turning the handle from Right to Left, starting at the 6pm position.
- From 6pm till 1pm, I have increasing hot water as expected,
- Then at 12pm, it shuts down all water.
- Then continuing from 12pm back to 6pm, cold water (not sure if there's any hot water at some point, I've never tried long enough but I doubt).
It's not a big problem for me since I've been able to take showers, so never had the need to fix it.
I'm mentionning the shower just as FYI, in case it could have anything to do with my hot water problem in the bathtub.

Oh yes, jacuzzi button works fine too.

I have the feeling all I need to do is replace something in the tub's hot water faucet, but not sure what. I've had hard time finding a PDF specs or manual/instructions for that Pegasus 65602 Estates Roman Tub Faucet.

Thank you for any help or advices.

There could be multiple reasons.  In order of likeliness.
As a safety feature there are anti scald features of those faucets.  Roman style tubs move a high amount of water and very possible there is a mixing valve upstream that is opening when the water is hot. Very quickly the hot water is evacuated and the mixing valve closes. Slowly heats up and the cycle repeats
Or
Incorrect cartridge in the tub faucet handles.  Perhaps they installed the hot cartridge on the cold set and vice verse.

Or

Poor insulation on the piping but this would give te symptom of a long amount of cold then warm with eventual hot water.

I'd say rhe first solution is most likely.  You can try and fill the tub at a slow rate with both handles open. The hot more than the cold.

Either way if you can find the mixing valve. Perhaps near the jacuzzi access panel or a nearby access box in the wall or under a sink you can possibly adjust the controls to allow higher temperatures. Keeping the mixing valve from opening as often.  But this may not be so in an apartment building it could very well be in a mechanical room under he buildings maintenance control.

Also the other faucets don't exhibit this due to he flow control aerators keeping flow rates down in the 1gpm range depending on local code.


Is it OK to shut off the A/C at the breaker? My A/C continues to run even after the thermostat says it should shut off. Can I shut off the A/C by tripping the circuit breaker until it can be looked at?  Is there any safety issue with doing this?

Yes, it is ok to shut it off at the breaker until you can have someone qualified look at it.  This is the easiest, safest option for you.  It will ensure that everything is safely shut off, including the compressor, evaporator, and any other components that your particular A/C unit has.


Can I wire a 120v 20A outlet with #8 wire I am installing an outlet on the front of my house to charge my Kea Niro. The current charger I am using requires a 120v 20A circuit.  In the future I expect to get a charger that will require a 240v 50A circuit.

Can I run #8 wires thru the conduit for the 240v 50A circuit but cap the RED wire and just hook the BLACK to a 20A Breaker and on the other end install a 20A recepticle in a box large enough for the future bigger outlet?  Then when I upgrade I can install the 50 A double breaker and the proper 50A outlet.  Does all of this make sense and seem proper?

There is really nothing wrong with having a bigger wire. Not knowing how long your future is.  Would put in a over sized conduit in emt to handle ,future wire.  1 inch emt. pull in your 12 wire. when you do change it out .Use wires to pull in new ones. Codes may change by the time you upgrade.And wires may not meet new code and be waste of money spent.  Or pull your 8 wire add pigtails fine to .


How do I make built-in bookcases for the corners of a room? I am planning some built in book shelves around a room. The issue I have is what to do at the corners of the room. That is,  how not to waste space, but to make the space useful.

The corner space could be used for storage other the books if it worked better.

You could simply make the shelves at the corner "L" shaped, like this.

Another approach would be to make a corner unit, at an angle to the two wall units. Like this.

A smaller corner unit, is also an option.

Though all of these options are dependent on your personal preference.


How big do I frame the door entrance for a closet sliding door i have a 72x80 sliding closet doors how much bigger do i am the opening. I am framing a new closet

although every situation is different, generally when you frame the opening, add:

horizontal
3/4" to each side for the jamb (or whatever the jamb thickness is)
1/2" to each side for the gap for shimming the jamb
1/4" extra for bifold or french doors

vertical
3/4" to the height for the jamb (or whatever the jamb thickness is)
1/2" for the shimming at the top
3/8" to the bottom for the gap between door and floor (we usually do 1/2", or 3/4" if there are carpets or matts being used in winter

so for a 72 x 80 bypass door, your RO will be approx 75 x 82.  since its a bypass door and the floor could be out of level, i would do 75 x 82 1/2.

remember too that trim will cover a lot of stuff up, particularly now when most casings are in the 4" or wider range.


What's behind the wall above fireplace What can I expect to find if I open up the wall above the fireplace (behind the T.V.)? Brick, wood studs, etc..
This is an exterior wall.
Thanks

You probably have studs and drywall/plaster like the rest of the wall and a cutout where the fireplace is mounted with the chimney going up the outer wall. The brick and mantel probably go back to the unfinished wall.


What brand are these pex threaded T connectors? Has anyone ever seen these type of PEX connections?  I can't find them anywhere online or otherwise.

These are actualy "Qest" (pronounced "quest") brand fittings that were more popular 10-15 years ago (maybe further back).  I remember in the early 2000's these were sold at Home Depot and Lowes back before they had very much PEX plumbing supplies.  They were common in mobile homes.

Here is a sample at a plumbing supply retailer:

https://www.ferguson.com/product/qest-plastic-compression-tee-assembly-qqat/_/A-ProdFamily-216224


Use of a cordless drill I recently bought a Makita cordless drill w/no battery i have a battery for this model but it says it uses a NiCd battery which mine isnt. can i still use this battery?

Thanks

Before 2000 many cordless tools had nickel-cadmium battery packs.   Some time in the early 00's, tool makers started making nickel metal hydride battery packs.  As is often the case with batteries, the chemistry involved gave them the same operating voltage (1.2 volts per cell) as nickel-cadmium.  And internally, the cells are compatible in size and shape, so it was an easy swaperoo.

An older tool made for NiCd will work fine with a NiMH battery pack, even though it's not labeled for NiMH.  That's simply because it was made before NiMH came along.

A NiMH battery pack will work anywhere a NiCd does, and give ~50% extra runtime.

A battery charger made for NiCd may not charge NiMH correctly, the biggest danger is overcharge, because NiCd is fairly sanguine about overcharge, but it damages NiMH.


Cutting thick wood veneer on band saw? Hey guys so this might be a stupid question but I am just a beginner, but can't I cut wood veneer on a band saw.

I glued 5 sheets of wood veneer together to make it thicker and stronger, but it' alternates in wood grain direction and in veneer type. I used paperback veneer and 2 ply veneer together. After I used a vacuum compressed to kee them flat while they dry. Now I need to cut them into smaller pieces, I'm fairly sure it would be fine to use a band saw, right?

Also I've made 3 large pieces of veneers but one of them came out a bit warped for some reason, is there a way to flatten it even after it's been glued up and thick?

Yep. The Band Saw would be best, since it cuts downward & will avoid any face chipping. If it's not currently cutting downward, for some bad reason, then you'll need to flip the band & therefore restore the band saw to normal & safe operation.

The warped piece might be scrap. But, you can try putting it in the oven or in your really hot attic or out in the Sun on something black. This will hopefully temporarily loosen the glue for a weighted compression or flattening. Possibly upside down with a central spacer to over-bend it backwards, so the new tension releases the old tension until dry again.


Is 15 amp circuit sufficient for 14.8 amp load? I have an 8.1amp garbage disposal and a 6.7amp drinking water filter system under a sink - both 110V. Is one 15 amp circuit sufficient?

Your 15A circuit will be fine, considering that both loads are noncontinuous loads and they are plugged into different receptacles (210.19(A)(1)/210.20(A).  The NEC treats the two receptacles in a duplex receptacle device as separate receptacles, by the way -- this means that you don't have to worry about the 12A limit on a single receptacle load on a 15A circuit (210.21(B)(2)).


Exterior wall plugs? I have a 4" hole in my ext. wall that once held a vent. I want to plug it 'flat' and parge over it.
What is the actual name for these plugs, please?

If this hole is in a stud bay in your wall then you're likely looking at 1/2 inch OSB or plywood. If so then you need a 4 inch plywood disc. In order to secure it in place you should get a piece of plywood that's about 1.5"x6", place it behind the exterior wall, and fasten it to the wall with a screw on each side. Once this cross-brace is in place then screw your 4 inch disc to the brace.
If this is through your rim joist then you'll need a 4 inch disc that's as thick as your rim joist. You should be able to put the disc in the hole and secure it with wood glue if it's snug or epoxy if there are gaps. You could also choose to support it with a cross-brace from inside your home similar to the plywood method.
If you have no idea what I am talking about then this image should help:

Courtesy of https://www.dreamgreendiy.com/2019/01/21/how-to-patch-a-hole-in-drywall/


Does a light circuit in a garage need GFCI protection? We are in the process of building a new garage. I am putting 4 rows of light on separate light switches, they will be on separate circuits so if a breaker would trip I won't be in the dark.
From what I have read since the lights are plug in they need to be GFCI protected. I was going to come off the panel box to the switch then to an outlet in the ceiling. But once again from what I was reading a GFCI outlet is not allowed in the ceiling.
So my question is does the light switch also need to be after the GFCI outlet or can it be before the GFCI outlet where the light are plugged in?
Also can the GFCI outlet be at the top of the wall just not on the ceiling or can it only be so high off the floor? I don't really want to have 4 outlets right beside my switches.

The requirements for GFCI protection are in NEC 210.8(a):

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel. Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel shall be provided as required in 210.8(A) through (E). The ground-fault circuit interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.

and (A) tells you that receptacles in garages require GFCI protection.
The NEC has a very specific definition for readily accessible and if you need a ladder to get to the receptacle, it's not readily accessible.
Your cord and plug lights plug into receptacles, which require GFCI protection with the test-reset buttons in a readily accesible location.  That does not mean that each receptacle in the garage must be GFCI type;  if they are on the LOAD side of a GFCI breaker, receptacle, or dead front, they're protected.  The dead front or first receptacle could go in any readily accessible location - by your switches, next to the panel, where ever you want.
GFCI breakers are a pretty straightforward way to handle it, if you've already started wiring this would fix your issues easily.
Dead fronts next to the switches would be nice, that's a nice conspicuous spot - easy to notice the indicator light when they trip.  You could install a second box right above the switches.  The circuit would come from the panel to the dead front then to the lighting.
Receptacles might be the way to go.  The wiring would go to the LINE side of the GFCI receptacle then the rest of the receptacles - on the wall or in the ceiling - would be fed from the LOAD terminals on that first GFCI receptacle.  This is probably the way to go for what you want.
Unless your garage is warehouse sized, four circuits for lights - probably LED - seems a bit much.  Since LED lighting doesn't draw much power, you could put your regular general use wall receptacles on the same circuits as your lights.  Maybe hedge and use 20A circuits with 15A receptacles.
Even then, four circuits seems a bit much for most garages.  I might put half your receptacles and the odd rows of lights on one circuit, and the other half of the receptacles and the even rows of lights on the other circuit.  Hit the GFCI receptacles first in each string and continue on to the rest.


i have chipped my kitchen cabinet door. Is there any way it can be repaired I have chipped the kitchen cabinet door. The laminate is shown in the figure 1 along with the chipped door.

I am seeking advice for how to repair the chipped door.

If you still have the chip and it's in pretty good shape, glue it back in place with some white epoxy from your home store. Use a toothpick to carefully spread the epoxy to fill and smooth out the cracks and seal the edges. If the chip is gone, fill in the hole with the epoxy using a toothpick, being careful not to over fill. Once the epoxy starts to firm up, dab the area with a small paint brush to add some texture. You could use white caulk instead of the epoxy but it will take a lot longer to harden.


Should Neutral and Earth be bonded at the meter instead of in the main panel(s) with tandem 200A main panels In my 2014-built United States mainland home, I have two side-by-side 200A panels.  They both have a 200A main breaker.  One really neat thing this let me do is have two lighting circuits in the basement, so that I can work on a panel with the main off and have great lighting to see what I'm doing.  There are of course, no loads that pull from both panels.

Both panels receive power from the same meter can on the other side of the wall,which I believe is rated 320A.  The meter can does not have a breaker.  The meter can is designed with one input and two outputs for each conductor.  I believe the meter can is a Milbank  U4702-X-5T9-K3-K2-IL

In both panels, the ground and neutral are bonded together as they should be in a main panel.

Obviously both of the neutrals come out and tie to the same lug under the meter.  And both of the ground wires coming out of the tandem main panels are tied to the same building steel and grounding rods.

My question is this:  Why isn't Neutral-to-Earth bonding done in the meter can in a "class 320" service?   (before it splits off to two separate panels)

Is it just that the interior of the meter can isn't as inspect-able as the interior of the panels?

The two main panels are in some way sub-panels of the meter can right?  I read all the time neutral and ground should only be bonded in one place.  I understand why if I hang a sub panel off a main it should be isolated there.  But why would the same logic not affect my tandem main panels?

In my neck of the woods (Pacific NW) we call that a "class 320" service:  A single meter feeding 2 main panels. Because both panels are considered main panels, neutral and ground need to be bonded together. In the meter panel, in most cases, the neutral is already bonded to the can just by how the lugs are attached. I recently installed a class 320 service on my son's house that did have a "service bypass" that would enable the power company to swap a meter without interrupting service, but I don't think that is what you have.  A pic would help.

2020 code is requiring the ability to cut off power to a structure externally.   That may have been required locally for some reason back in 2014...local codes vary.


How to post mount flood light security lights I am trying to add some light for security and visibility in our backyard that serves as a parking lot. The area where I'd like to install a light fixture is in the back corner of our yard opposite of our home. This means I'll need a post of some kind to attach it to. From what I can see these types of lights are meant to attach to a junction box that is on some outside wall of a home. I can't seem to find pole mount options for this type of motion sensor activated security light:

Can anyone enlighten me on how to attach this to a pole? I was hoping to avoid installing a very wide diameter wooden pole where I could run PVC conduit along the side to an exterior grade conduit junction box attached toward the top of the pole. Namely, because that starts to look unsightly. I'm looking for something that floods the area with light but also isn't an eyesore.

Just about anything you do will look like an eyesore unless you're willing to spend 300 to 400 bucks on a 12 foot light pole and bury it 4'. I have seen people take a 14' 4x4 and bury it 4' and run conduit up to an exterior junction box mounted on the flat surface but those posts have a strong tendency to twist. Check with your power company. They may have an outdoor lighting program that could help you on this.  Think about installing the fixture on one of your walls.


Design up (2 story) or out I am not a builder. I am looking at properties with garage/shop + apartment.

The two designs pictured are equivalent. From what I have seen most properties take the build out (left) approach.

To me it seems more efficient to build the apartment up. Less slab and less roof. Took 2' off the apt on the out (left) design for not requiring stairs.  But also lose storage under the stairs.

Up (right) I understand there is cost to support the apartment.

From a cost perspective which is a better design?

Not sure it matters but cool climate - no A/C.

I am asking because I may purchase land and build.

The model is a 1-5 acre lot with the expectation the buyer would build a main home. I don't need much living space and I want a structure with lowest cost.

Going with $6 sq ft for slab and $7 sf roof is about $8000. Basically the apt gets a free roof and slab with with 2 story. Unless is cost more than $8000 to hang an apartment that should be cheaper.

Yes, two story is probably less cost to build because it has a smaller “footprint”, but it’s less than you think: 1) The footings can be smaller because they are supporting one floor and not two, 2) Two story will require additional square footage for circulation (stairs), 3) Because of the height of your RV, you’ll have additional height requirement than normal which will require special scaffolding for construction, 4) Possible special water pump due to extra height of second floor, 5) Additional space required for “Entry” downstairs, and 6) Extra fire rated protection between garage space and living space above. (Fire material is required between garage and living for single story too, but easier to install and less required.)

Maintenance is more for two story: washing windows, paint, cleaning the gutters, etc.

The two story option gives you more privacy, but you’ll have the largest thighs in the county.


Switched (half hot) outlet I'm trying to split an outlet to be half hot. Right now the switch turns on/off the entire outlet. I'd like the bottom plug to be always on and the top controlled by the switch. Now I live in an older house, so I don't see the 14/3 wiring that I see on YouTube and other sites. I know I need to break the tab on the right side, but not sure what wire to put on the lower right prong. I've included a picture of the outlet and switch along with a crude wiring diagram. I didn't include the bare ground wires for clarity. Thanks!

All you need is a short length of black 14AWG and a nut

The always-hot is already present in your receptacle box at the nutted-together black wires with the one white wire coming in.  So, once the power's off, take a short piece of black 14AWG solid wire (THHN works), nut it onto the existing junction (you'll probably want to use a new nut for this), and land the other terminal on the spare brass screw on the receptacle after breaking off the hot-side tab.  You should also take some black electrical tape and flag the white wire that runs from that junction to the switch at both ends with it while you're here, by the way.  Button it back up, turn the power on, and enjoy your half-switched outlet!  (What you're doing is "pigtailing" the receptacle screw to the existing junction.)


Smoothing OSB subfloor after hardwood and glue removal We are in process of installing new nail-down solid bamboo floors in the first floor of our home.  This has required us to remove the existing glued-down engineered hardwood from the kitchen area.

We've removed the floor and glue, but the glue took some of the subfloor in the process.  Wondering what the best way would be to patch the subfloor to be smooth?

I thought about putting down a skim coat of something like FeatherFinish, but wondering if there's an easier way.

If there are just a few patches here and there where it ripped out parts of the subfloor, something like FeatherFinish may be acceptable.

Personally, I have seen and have used 1/8" Lauan underlayment on rough surfaces or where the subfloor has been damaged. It is easy to install and creates an extremely smooth surface for adhesive tiles, laminated flooring, or engineered / hardwood floors.


How to fix a button on a dishwasher? I have a Bosch SHE44c05uc/20.

One of the buttons on the door doesn't pop back when pressed. I looked inside and found that one of the little plastic springs is broken. Looks like a $.25 part, but it comes with the control panel that costs $170 to replace and no way to buy separately. Any suggestions for a workaround?

I had this happen on two different machines. I was able to just use some crazy glue on the one because I had the parts. The other occasion I was missing the parts so I took the spring from a switch on the machine that I never used.. I think it was the "quick rinse" button. If you can't swap out the spring maybe you can swap out the switch or swap the connections. Last but not least, if it's just a simple toggle switch pick up a small one from a home or electrical supply company, hook it up and mount it on the door.


Is DIY water softener feasible with my house layout? I'm planning to finally deal with the hard water in my home. Before I get a plumber involved, I wanted to check if I could DIY the installation, so here I am.

The water main pipes and valves are exterior to the home adjacent to the garage. After that, the only pipes on the outside of the walls are on the opposite side of the garage as seen in the picture below when entering/exiting the water heater.

Am I able to turn off the main, cut into the inlet seen in the picture, redirect that to a water softener next to the water heater, and then feed the outlet of the water softener back into the water heater? Or am I stuck having to cut through drywall at a closer point to the main?

I'm also not sure what to do about draining the water softener because there's nothing nearby that could take it. There's no floor drain or egress from the garage. The closest thing would probably be the laundry drain lines behind the drywall near the attached picture.

Is it common to have to dig through walls to plumb for a water softener?

Yes, a DIY is feasible, provided you don't want whole-house soft water, just soft "hot water".  The valve is for your cold water intake (a safety feature that should be on all water heaters), and you'll cut that line and rework it into your water conditioner, taking the outlet of your conditioner back into your water heater cold inlet.  You'll keep a cold cut off valve (but probably not the same one), placing it between the wall and your water conditioner.

If you want your cold water to be soft too, you need an exterior softener between the house and the whole house cut off valve.  I'd recommend avoiding DIY for an exterior job, as fixes are more complicated if things go wrong.

Even though it is feasible, there are many reasons you might not want to do this job:

It's water, and good PVC joints are made with dry pipe.  This means a lot of drying is involved, and rework of mistakes take a long cycle of shut off water, remove, dry, add, turn on water, test (and hopefully not repeat).
Some jurisdictions permit water heater work as DIY, some require a permit, some require a licensed plumber.  It's not fun getting fined if you are discovered to be on the wrong side of your city's, county's, state's code.  Permit doesn't mean no-DIY, but it does mean committing to a DIY that passes code.
Should things go wrong, you don't have the convenience of someone else's insurance / wallet / time to effect the repairs.  One example of something going wrong might be breaking the in-wall pipe attempting to rework the cold water line.  Depending on where the break is, you might be DIY'ing drywall too.
This kind of work seems easy and fast, but often it takes more time than expected.

If you've rebuilt a toilet, installed a sink, and fixed an AC drain line, you're primed to replace a water heater, and are primed to do this job.  If you've replaced a water heater, this is not more difficult, but there are more cuts and bends involved.  If this is your first plumbing DIY it's still within the realm of feasibility for some (demeanor, etc.) while it could be a very challenging DIY for most.  If you're on the fence try draining, flushing, and filling your water heater to get a taste of about 1/4 the work.

Good installations have wall mounted pipe, good hoses for where they are required, and a good (tested) drainage system to catch the leaks and spills for canister changes.


Why do well pumps need 240V when the wattage is not that high? I want to be able to power my well pump from a battery when the power goes out, but I am learning that well pumps are heavy duty, running at 240V high voltage, even though mine is only 3/4 hp, which is about 560W, which is much less than a microwave oven, which sits on my counter and runs off 120V house current.
What else is going on here besides wattage/horsepower than determines why a well pump needs the higher voltage?

Need is not the right word here.  Preferred is probably a better choice.  240V is preferred because submersible pumps are often well away from the house and deep down in the hole and you must run a wire there capable of supplying its power needs without too much voltage drop in the line.
While you could do this with a large AWG wire at 120V, you can use a smaller and less expensive wire at 240V.  So this is commonly done.
I've not shopped for one but I suspect you may be able to locate a 120V submersible pump if you needed one.  By the way, keep in mind that a 500W pump may need a 1500W inverter to start it up.  Check the specs for your specific pump.
Apart from that, why not get a 240V inverter for your battery backup instead of a 120V one?


Is spinning a new paint can the same as mixing? So I recently painted a section of my basement wall with a couple coats of Kilz oil-based stain-blocker primer (Product Page here).  The walls are a bright, clean white now.

However, there was a section of wall that I could not access at the time and I had to paint it later.  I bought another can of the same Kilz paint, and I had the person at the paint counter spin the can in the spinner to mix it up.

I went straight home and started painting immediately.  I figured that since I had just had the can spun at the store, I didn't need to mix it.  However, after I finished two coats, I saw that the color was not the same bright white as the rest of the wall - it's more of a cream color.

I doubt that this is simple product variation, because the color difference is pretty obvious even to someone like me who can only name 10 colors or so.  Also, the rest of the wall area was painted using several cans of the same Kilz product, but I see no variation there.  Also, the underlying wall color is not any different in the new section than the rest of the wall (it was a light blue color).

So my question is - why would this can of paint have different color?  Is it because I didn't stir the paint with a stick, even though the paint can had just been put in the spinner at the store not 30 minutes prior?

UPDATE:

ok, so this is a case of "user error:  replace user".  I didn't actually buy the same product.  I had used the low-odor oil-based killz primer (green label on the can) initially, and this time I bought the regular oil-based (red label).  although the variation is still more than I would have thought, I repainted with the same product and the match is much better.

sorry for wasting everyone's time.  I nonetheless learned something from all of the answers.

Normally the paint store has a shaker not a spinner. But this may be a difference in terminology.

The paint shaker usually thoroughly stakes the paint to mix it up. They always recommend you buy plenty of paint and mix it all together in 5 gallon buckets so the color is uniform.

Construction job spec's require painting break to break so floor to ceiling corner to corner to reduce color variations. So, you may have to paint an entire wall to get uniform color.


Why does my dishwasher fill when the machine is off? Water slowly fills my dishwasher cabinet when the machine is off, and eventually leaks out thru door.  Any suggestions on cause and repair video? I have a Whirlpool dishwasher model DU8750XY-0.

Shutoff the water supply to the dishwasher and run water through the sink drain from the faucet.

If the flow of water stops to the dishwasher, then the problem is in the supply and Ed's advice is likely on track. If you find water filling the dishwasher with the supply turned off, then the problem is with the drain line. The drain needs to be attached to the underside of the counter or connected through an air gap at the sink to minimize the risk of water from the drain backing up and into the dishwasher.


Bathroom Remodel Drain/Vent Configuration All, thank you in advance for the help.

I am remodeling a bathroom and fall under IPC 2018 and was hoping that folks could look over the design below and let me know if this was code compliant and if follows good practice. Basically I was wondering if the proposed layout worked as a wet vent system or if I needed to open the wall and run new individual vents. Any suggestions are welcome.

photos at links below

Current Configuration - https://drive.google.com/open?id=18laXLjQdX7CR97IxsfdHEKBLSG1uoDaW

Proposed Configuration - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oLorrhJ4ObA_jmICtfHLMOnkeN7k6Qa3

As is photo - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SCymslJ1p0Cx1zQNjvSOqe7A5Wa7zjMW

The fact that the sink is technically being individually vented back to the 3" vent is throwing me off.

I don't have a copy of the IPC 2018 code and I'm in Canada, but I believe the codes are similar.

Is there any way to extend the 3" portion closer to the sink so that you can still run the fixture arm with only 135° change in direction? You can then offset the vent back to the existing location once 6" above the flood level rim of the sink:

With the above alteration, this would be a clear wet vent.

A few additional notes:

The fall on the fixture trap arm can not exceed that of the diameter of the pipe. So for 1-1/2" run with 2% grade the max length would be 6' and 2" pipe would be 8'.
A fixture trap arm cannot exceed 135° change in direction (except for a toilet which cannot exceed 225°).
The length of the wet vent is not limited.
A toilet must be the last fixture in a wet vent (or connected with a symmetrical fitting).


Do I install my green board before I install my shower pan? I have had to take my old corner unit shower out and about to install a bigger shower.  What I'm going back with is Cultured Marble.  This will be the pan and the walls.  I was told I needed to install the pan and prep the walls with the green board prior to them making and installing my walls.  My question is do I install the green board first or the shower pan?

Shower pan is always first because you want the top of the shower pan to the edge of the green board.  So there may be shimming involved to get the walls not only lined up with the pan but as close as you can to perpendicular.

I am not going to argue with your installers because I have had some large sheets of granite and marble installed for showers but I would recommend a backer board not green board.  Even if they say green board is fine because the water is impervious to their tile that doesn't mean water can't get on the green board from behind or up top.  And if they are gluing the sheets down there will eventually be issues.  Using Hardiboard would take water coming from any direction out of the equation.


GFCI won't reset even though circuit is ok I have a shop wired without GFCI outlets. I decided that was unsafe so purchased three GFCI outlets, picked the nearest outlet and wired as described. When I powered it up a huge POP occurred in the metal box. What?

The original wiring has three outlets and two pull-chain lights plus a fluorescent light. I have disconnected all of these - open wired except white wires are still connected - hmm maybe that is the problem, the failure is in the neutral somewhere. (I'll check that by disconnecting neutrals as well. I did it on several, but not on all.)

I pulled the wiring apart again and can see no evidence of damage. So I hooked up only the line side to check operation - it works. But the other side is showing only a few ohms so I disconnected all of the outlets on the line until the short went away. Then I tried to hook up the line again without the short. The GFCI refuses to work, so I tried a different one - same result. The wires should be open. Can the GFCI determine that it has a load when there is only wires?

The building was wired in 2005 probably before the new code and it has a ground rod and two sets of ground terminals, but they are connected together and the white side is connected to the main box - could that be involved somehow?

The wires ground (bare) wire and the white wires are separated throughout and passed the tester check before the change. (Can't test them now.) But I wanted to verify that the wiring had not been destroyed, so I hooked it back up as it was and it works ok now. So what gives?

Update 7/13/2018: I discovered the enemy and it is me. I had forgotten that I had added an outdoor outlet complete with GFCI a few years ago. As it happens, the GFCI was on this circuit and as I traced it back, the box for the circuit was protected by a gob of materials I had stored there.

As I mentioned in another post, I had found an additional outlet as I had continued to trace the circuit back, but with every thing disconnected, I had a short black to white on one line. I finally traced it back to a junction box and found the feed from there that was failing was one that I thought had power on it. But unfortunately, I cut a wire assuming that it was the bad (shorted) wire and was going to wire a new circuit around it when I found this junction box and then the outdoor outlet with the GFCI so now I have to fix my damage. Life lesson: don't begin to fix until you know what you are fixing. I would have been done now had I not jumped the gun and cut the wire. It had to be it, right? No, it wasn't. I cut the wire too close to the wall so that I cannot repair it so now I will have to replace the wire as I was going to do and so needlessly if I could have figured out how to find it earlier. Even now I am guessing about where the cut wire comes out - it just has to be that one right there - but what if I am wrong again? I have no way to check - the two wires are about 8 feet apart - it could have been routed anywhere. So here goes...

First, GFCI trips are a fairly quiet snap. The big loud "pop" might actually be a terminal screw arcing against the steel box.

Second, backstab connections (which you jab in and it grabs the wire) are well known to be unreliable, and you're not allowed to use them twice, because the spring is sprung and now they're even more unreliable.  How do you keep it straight? Easy, never use backstabs ever.

As far as neutrals and grounds, some folks treat them as if they are mixable and interchangeable.  Both amongst each other, and amongst other circuits that may be in the vicinity.  It's OK for grounds to intermingle with other grounds, since their one job is safety.  However neutrals must not mix with grounds or neutrals from other circuits, because their one job is returning normal current from their partner "hot" wire.  They are not fused so they depend on that not to overload.  Also, GFCIs depend on this for how they work.

This problem can also show up as a neutral screw rubbing against a ground wire or metal box.

And what can really getcha is an MWBC, two hots sharing a neutral by design.  If there's an extra hot in any of your cables, that's what that is. MWBCs are safe if wired corrctly, but do not play nice with GFCIs.

Now I don't know exactly what "as instructed" told you to do. GFCI's have a set of terminals called LOAD, and a novice thinks "sure, they're the second set of terminals like most sockets have".  Nuh-uh.  They are covered with a piece of tape that says "do not use unless you know what you're doing" in as many words.  The LOAD terminals confer GFCI protection to all of the circuit downstream.  But if that circuit's wiring has any defects like I discuss above, that will result in instant trip.

The short answer is don't use the LOAD terminals at all. 90% of homeowner use of the LOAD terminals is because their old socket had an extra set of hots and neutrals going to it, and they didn't know what else to do with those wires.  That doesn't count as "knowing what you are doing".  Not using the LOAD terminals requires a new skill: the pigtail and a few extra supplies.

The long answer is take your wiring all apart and figure out how each cable connects to different boxes.  Then come off the LOAD terminals to the next receptacle only, unhooking any wires that go beyond that.  Power up and test.  If it passes, power down and add the next segment.  One at a time.  Eventually, adding sometimg will cause it to trip.  That is the problem item.

If everything hooks up, then fit everything back in the junction box one device at a time.  Power up and test again.  This is where you detect screws contacting metal boxes and stuff like that.  If you put them all back together at once, and it trips, you'll have no idea why.

Divide and conquer.

If you caught the bolded text above, you now realize that a socket downline of the load terminals of a GFCI is protected by that GFCI.  Putting another GFCI there is wasted, it's playing a "yo dawg" joke on yourself.  You may also want to rethink whether you want lights GFCI protected, since a GFCI trip will plunge you into the dark with hands inches from a spinning saw blade.


TV cables getting stuck in conduit after mounting TV on fireplace We are first time home owners and trying to learn basic things. We mounted our TV ourselves yesterday. I'm now trying to hide the wires. There is already a rugged conduit (something like this) behind the wall to pass the cables to the other end where the switchboard can be seen (bottom right in image)

I took a 6 feet long HDMI cable. First, I tried to put it down from the top of the pipe. The entrance to the pipe can be seen right below the TV.The cable goes in about 4 feet and then gets stuck. After that, I tried same thing from bottom. I pushed the cable up and after about 4-5 feet, it again got stuck. I'm not sure how to get the cable through other end. I tried with another TV cable as well that wasn't as sturdy as HDMI and that got stuck at the same point. Thanks.

Update: I already tried the vacuum approach.
I cannot put a vacuum cleaner pipe on either side. On top, the vacuum cleaner pipe wouldn't go because the conduit is vertical and my Vacuum cleaner is a longer end, unable to tilt into that tiny opening of pipe. On the bottom end, there are other wires and insulation and I'm worried that would be damaged by the suction of vacuum..and also same problem of longer vacuum end. This is my vacuum cleaner and the black solid pipe at the end isn't detachable or flexible.

Vacuum a string through the conduit. Literally put a vacuum cleaner sucking on one end and feed string in the other until it comes out.

Then PULL the wires (all of them, at once) into the conduit with the string. That works easier if you make the front end of the cable bundle somewhat smooth as you attach the string, generally by wrapping tape to cover the connectors, etc that will want to catch. You can have your helper push a little as you pull.

Stagger the connectors (put one behind the first one, and the next one behind that) so they don't make a big fat lump right at the end.


hooking up a ceiling Light I have a switch that controls a plug in the wall in the living room.( turns a lamp on and off) I want to put in a light fixture in the ceiling in the center of the room. I could run a wire from the plug to the new light fixture and it would be an easy fix. But without putting lots of holes in the wire getting to the plug is impossible (outside wall insulation and three cross studs in the way). i can get at the wire from the switch to the plug in the attic space. Now my question

Can i junction the wire in the attic and connect to the white and red wire and ultimately do the same thing as ( pigtailing at plug) to the wire to control the ceiling light?

Any help would be appreciated

Sounds like you have modern wiring so it should be pretty straightforward.  The /3 cable is delivering neutral, always-hot and switched-hot (presumably red) to the switch.

You come off the switch with /2, white to the white in the switch box, and black to the switch terminal which now has red.  (if you want the receptacle to remain switched, you could pigtail the red, new black and the switch together.)

Then up to your light.  You're pretty much done at that point.

If you do not want the receptacle to be switched anymore, then pull the red wire off both ends and cap it with a yellow wire nut, add tape otherwise the wire nut will fall off.  Push it into the back of the box in case the next homeowner finds a use for it.  Then change the receptacle to a new one.  The old one had a tab broken off between hot terminals, you need that tab restored.  Or you could pigtail both hot terminals if you want to.  Whichever is easier.


Why has my bathroom cold water tap (but no others) stopped working? The basin cold water tap in my bathroom over the last week has gone from fully flowing, to half pressure, to a dribble, then to a drip and now nothing comes out.

The 3 other taps in the bathroom work correctly, including the cold water tap on the bath.

Are there a series of simple things to check before calling out a plumber?

We just had this happen - there was an airlock in the cold water pipe to that tap. As the tab was a mixer (two knobs, one spout), a simple solution is to put your thumb over the end of the spout, open the cold water completely (nothing happens) and then turn the hot water on. Blocking the spout means the hot water is routed back up the cold pipe, eliminating the air lock.

Use a cloth/rag if your hot water is too hot to keep your thumb over the end - it takes a minute or two.


Where do I find 4-4-4-6 direct bury copper cable? Installing a 100 amp subpanel approximately 160 feet from my main panel to a new garage. 4-4-4-6 copper I understand will be more than sufficient for a 240v/60 amp load at the subpanel and have less than 3% voltage drop. The problem I am having is finding 4-4-4-6 copper cable anywhere on line. I prefer copper to aluminum. I can find 4-4-4-6 SER, but as I understand it SER is not to be direct buried. Any direction on a place to order the copper cable, or advice on other substitutes is appreciated.

That choice of copper wire is going to be even more expensive when the inspector makes you rip it out and replace it with the 3-3-3-5 you should be using.   You need to use the 75C column in 310.15b16 and can't use the 83% bonus derate on subpanels.

There's an urban myth that 4Cu/2Al is allowable on 100A, that was due to a misunderstanding of the applicability of 310.15b7, which in fact only applies to service entrances that serve the entire dwelling unit.  E.g. from meter to weatherhead or from main shutoff to main panel.   NOT subpanels.

I agree SER is not made for direct burial.

I concur that at this distance, 3Cu or 1Al will contain voltage drop to <3% at 60A.  Expect about 4% at a full 100A, which I wouldn't lose any sleep over.  You are correct not to design for 3% at breaker trip current.

Regardless expect to spend $5-7 per foot for #3Cu and about $1.60-$2.00/foot for #1Al.

The price you will really pay is decided by your local electrical supply house, at least the one willing to carry oddball cable like this.   The size isn't oddball, the use of copper when just about anyone else would use aluminum is oddball.

Some houses in the 1970s had a problem with 15/20A circuits using powerline grade aluminum (AA-1350). But there is nothing wrong with aluminum feeder at #4 size and up, even the obsolete AA-1350 alloys proved reliable.  Regardless, out of an abundance of caution, AA-1350 was outlawed and a new alloy, AA-8000, was invented specifically for household wiring.  The lugs will be aluminum, which means aluminum feeder does not introduce a "dissimilar metal" issue - but copper does!   Ironically.

Given your desire for copper, you are probably better off laying conduit e.g. sched. 80 PVC, and running individual copper wires (THWN or XHHW) therein.  They definitely   make those in copper.  The downside is theft risk, but it's a lot harder to steal buried cable.


How do I access the light in this recessed can? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills...I can't for the life of me figure out how to access (and ultimately change out) the bulb inside this recessed can.

I've tried twisting, pushing, prying, twisting, bopping...everything short of kicking these things.

Someone please save me from insanity.

The shroud around the bulb should just pull down and out a few inches before the tension wires lock.  If it seems really solid then someone probably painted then replaced before drying and glued it there with the paint. Try using a flat scraper or 5in1 between ceiling and ring.


Is a planter light a bad idea? My wife and I were looking for a light for the kitchen and came across this:

Seems like a bad idea to me:

Seems like watering the plant would be hazard
The heat from the light would kill the plant

Am I right, or is there a way to make this work?

Well I took some time to try and find this fixture to see if it was listed and the voltage used and light source.
“Beautiful halo” appears to be at best a horrible company at worst a total scam company. So I would not do any mail order from them 620 reviews 565, 1 Star reviews and only 24, 5 star reviews.
Could this be done with a live growing plant? Yes this could be easily done with low voltage that is finger safe.  Voltages (you can touch the exposed conductors and not get shocked)  or line voltage with GFCI protection built in.
Today LED lamps could be in both options low voltage or GFCI protected. with only 6-9 watts of power consumed a fixture of that size may not feel much more than warm if that.
Wavelength of light 4500-7000K light spectrum would be good for vines or leaf growth. mix in some 2000-3000k LED’s and that would help with flowering so it is feasible it could be done safely and even get a listing.
As I mentioned swimming pools have wet niche light fixtures  and they are safe when properly installed plant light Fixture should be easy.
I would make sure it has a UL listing if being used in the US.
Not all stuff is safe or listed on the internet some just junk but if you purchase it at a brick and mortar store in the US you are usually safe as they can get in trouble for selling non listed equipment.


Wiring multifunction fixture to 2 switches, 2-wire cables I'm replacing a fan in a bathroom. The setup I have currently cannot be changed with new wiring. I can add pigtails but I can't run a new 3-wire cable through the chase. Power supply runs to the fan box first. The old combo fan and light were independently operated on a double switch. 2 separate 2-wire (plus ground) cables are running from the fan box to each side of the double switch. I don't know how the old fan-light combo was wired but the double switch had the grounds tied together in the switch box (but not grounded to anything); 2 white wires hooked up to two black screws on the right side of the double switch; and 2 black wires hooked up to the brass-colored screws on the left side. There were no other wires in the switch box and no jumpers or pigtails there.

The fan that I purchased is the Delta Breeze Green Builder with combination LED light, fan, and automatic humidity sensor GBR80HLED. The fan comes with three pairs of wire and a ground. One pair is white and black labeled power. One pair is white and blue labeled mode. One pair is white and red and not labeled.  Instructions do not show how to wire with power to fixture first. They show using either three or two switches connecting blue to blue and red to red, neither of which I have in my cabling.

I would like to use existing wires and set it up so that mode (humidity sensor) is always on, one switch controls light, and one switch controls manual on fan for odors. Help with a diagram?

Color-coding.  It is your friend. You'll need some black, red and blue electrical tape.

Go into the switch box.  Confirm that, in fact, the white and black from cable 1 are across switch 1...  And the white and black from cable 2 are across switch 2...   (that is to say, they are not criss-crossed).  If they are criss-crossed, that is bad, make them square.
Also in the switch box, tape both of the white wires black -- by which I mean wrap several wraps of tape around the wire an inch or two back from the ends.
Up in the fan box:   Note the two cables coming up from the switch.  Tape both of the white wires black.   We are re-designating these white wires to be "always-hot". **
Note the two black wires coming from the switch (partners to the whites you just taped).  Tape one of those black wires red.
Tape the other black wire blue. This is also a switched-hot.
Note the third cable coming from supply.  It has a black wire.  Nut it together with the two whites now taped black.
Now look at the wires which remain loose.  You see a white wire (neutral, from supply), a "red" wire (switched hot from switch), and a "blue" wire (switched hot from other switch).  Also a black bundle pushed back into the box. These are exactly the same wires you'd have on a /4 cable.
Wire it per factory instructions.
If the fan needs "always-hot" for some reason, tap it off the black/"black"/"black" bundle you pushed into the back of the box in step 3.  It looks like for the humidity sensor to work, the black wire must be connected to power.  The blue wire is an override telling it to run full speed regardless of humidity.

If you are not happy with which switch is the fan and which the light, switch them up top.  Do not switch hots at the switch, that would create the crisscross situation we labored to avoid in step 1.

** When you are forced to use a white wire as "hot", like in a switch loop, there's an advantage to using the white as the always-hot wire.  It's far easier to detect with a voltage tester since it's always-hot.  If it was used for switched-hot, a person might mistake it for a neutral since it is not energized with the switch off.  White wires reused as hots MUST be taped.


washing machine doesn't spin I have a Haier HLP23E washing machine. Last week it stops to spin. After draining all water, instead of start the spin cycle, it stops for a while and then start to pour in the water. I switch off the power, turn it on and start the spin cycle again after all water drained out. This time, I hear humming, just like the motor is spinning but the inner tub doesn't follow. Someone said the motor burned but it works perfectly in washing cycle. It is also suggested that the door switch doesn't work but the washing cycle is working well if the door switch problem shall it have the warning during the washing cycle also, so I don't think the switch is bad. By trying to start the spin cycle several times, I some times hears the noise like a stucking gear. Does any one have any idea how to diagnose the real problem of the washing machine? Thanks.

The humming is the drain pump, not the motor.

You probably have an electrical problem - some wire someplace is broken (probably a wire going to the motor, perhaps a sense wire, or for high speed power). I had this happen to me and diagnosis said to replace the main control board for $$$.

But before doing that I checked it closely and found a cracked solder join (i.e. one wire was not making a good connect). I reflowed the solder and all was well.

But I did this myself - and it took a long time. For you to pay someone to check this for you will probably cost more than just getting someone who does this for a living to just diagnose and fix it.

Unless you are really good friends with someone handy? Usually if you take apart the machine it will have documentation telling you how to diagnose it.

First thing to do after following the instructions on the documentation is carefully check each wire going to the motor, and check the board where the wire goes for a loose connection.


Prefab houses seem to cost more than you would suspect I was reading the catalog of Blu Homes, a prefab housing company. They advertise their prices as being "20% lower" than comparable custom house prices. Their homes typically are abound $275 per square foot.

I guess I don't understand this, because you can custom build a pretty nice house for $275 per square foot. I would have expected a factory-built house to be a lot cheaper than having a whole bunch of tradesmen come and build a custom home.

What am I missing here? Why does the prefab cost as much as a custom house?

Built in California.
Take a look at that slick website and the design of the houses; does it looks like they're marketing to the moderate income crowd?


Ideas for redesigning laundry room entrance We have a laundry room that's tight in space and with inconvenient entrance that I would like to redesign. As shown in picture, our laundry room is in first floor and its sitting in the entrance into the house from Garage. It's about 5ft x 8 ft and has doors on the opposite end. Both the doors open inside into laundry room and when both are open they overlap and blocks access to shelf and area behind. Its super inconvenient and to use the area properly, we have to lock ourselves inside.
Now to the question, I am looking for ideas to redesign the entrance to laundry room. here are some ideas that I came up with already and not super ecstatic about any of them. So I want to see if folks in this forum have other any ideas.
Ideas that I came up with

Re-orient the entrance so the door opens into the dinette. Wife not liking the idea of door opening into the house.

Convert the door into a barn order. Like this better than previous option but might look weird.

Any other ideas, measurements are in the diagram.

I would change the door to the garage to open out into the garage. Having noted that "public and commercial buildings" require doors to open outwards for egress, I prefer that direction for doors in my house, despite it being "unusual" for homes, for some reason.
Change the other door as well, if you like - a pocket door takes more work, but looks less odd than a "barn door" inside a house, IMHO. But odd is in the eye of whoever actually cares about what it looks like. As can be seen by my choice of house door opening direction.


I think I have a section of frozen PEX inside an exterior wall. What should I do? The sink in our main floor bathroom, which has an exterior facing wall, seems to have a frozen hot water pipe. The cold water flows freely and toilet is fine, but hot water seems to be frozen, which I guess isn't a shock given it's supposed to be a high of 2 degrees out today.

From what I've been reading it seems like I shouldn't be super worried about the Pex at least short term, but I'd still like to get it thawed so I can use hot water in the bathroom sink.

ANy suggestions? Should I be more worried about the frozen Pex?

First the only real concern you should have here other than the ability to use your sink is that the ice has made its way to the nearest PEX connector.  What can happen is that the ice expands the PEX connector slightly and when it melts the connector is a little loose.  It could fail right away or a year later.  Not trying to put you in alarm mode but this is worst case scenario.  The actually PEX tubing handles freezing much better than copper and will be fine.

PEX can also be ran in long lengths so it could be that the first connector is 10-20 feet away in the middle of your house and this isn't an issue at all - I don't know unless I see it.

What would I do?

If I was in let's say Atlanta or a warmer region I would probably not do much.  It will thaw and will work after that.  I would keep an eye on the area for leaks, especially first few days after it works.  To get it to thaw you try running other hot water on the same run.  This might be the bathtub.  Also you said this was for bathroom sink.  I would keep the cabinet open during cold weather.  This could change the cabinet/wall temperature by 10 F.   You could even run a space heater under the cabinet to get things going.
If I were in a colder region...  I would probably open up the drywall behind the cabinet.  I would add more insulation to the wall and possibly wrap the PEX.  This really depends on what is on the sink wall (tile or whatever) but get that PEX as close to my drywall as possible and put up a solid barrier to the outside.  Really if the PEX runs are right next to the drywall on an exterior wall it should take very severe temperatures along with you keeping the house pretty cold for them to freeze.


Clone gate and garage access Remote I have a HOA gate entrance that uses a Linear ACT-34B (318 MHz) remote and two Liftmaster 8550W garage doors (315 MHz). Is there a clone or learning remote that would consolidate these into one remote?

Likely there is not a learning remote for this, since they are different frequencies and protocols.

There are a couple of options, though:

Add a "Security+ 2.0" compatible receiver to the gate

Depending on the actual gate used, if you can wire in a universal receiver, then you can link the Liftmaster remote with it. Would need details on the gate control hardware to help with that (probably best to ask a separate question).

Of course, if "HOA" == "Home owner association" == you can't modify the gate, then this may not be an option. Maybe you could get the HOA to wire this in, as likely other residents would benefit because Liftmaster is a pretty popular brand (also sold as Chamberlain and many Sears brands, and probably others).

Custom-build a remote

Looks like the Linear remote is already a "keychain" remote. From there, get a normal Liftmaster visor remote, and try to fit the contents of the linear into it, or potentially get a Liftmaster keychain remote (smaller) and fit both of them into a visor-style clip.


Power adapter blocking adjacent plugs Wall warts / power bricks seem to be pretty poorly designed. They always seem to block a power socket either side when used on 8-plug extensions.

What's your solution to stop them blocking adjacent plugs?

Some wall-warts are made to plug in horizontally to avoid that problem. But then some power strips are arranged horizontally also, so it is blocked one way or the other. The better wall-warts are made to extend OUT from the plug rather than below or to the side of the plug. That way they don't interfere with adjacent plugs, but then they are too long to plug into the wall behind a piece of furniture, etc.  There is no universal solution to this problem.

Except maybe the really short (1 ft/ 30cm) "extension cords". They are made speciically to solve the problem that you present.  Here is one example of many available...

http://www.allelectronics.com/item/ext-11/1-ft-extension-cord/1.html


Can you add a separate switch (different light) to a 4 way switch? Can I add a circuit (new Light separate from existing) to a 4-way switch set up?  I  used what I thought was hot from a switch and the new light only works when certain switches are activated. The 4-way light can be on or off and the new circuit may work or may not.  I think I connected it to a traveler.

I think I connected it to a traveler.

That is the key right there. If you pulled power from a traveler then the new light will only work ~ 1/2 the time, depending on the position of the switches.

Keep in mind with any solution that you may need a larger box to install a 2nd switch due to box fill requirements.

There are 3 possible solutions:

Switch at the source of power

Power typically takes one of two paths:

Panel -> Switch 1 -> Switch 2 -> Switch 3...n -> Lights
Panel -> Lights -> Switch 1 -> Switch 2 -> Switch 3...n

If you have the first setup then you can pull power from the always hot at Switch 1. You can't get it anywhere else because everywhere else is either traveler or switched hot.

If you have the second setup then you can pull power at the light fixture, but that would typically require running a new cable to get to the new switch.

New cable

You can run a new cable from the panel or some other always hot location to the same box that has one of the existing switches. You must pull hot & neutral together - you can't piggyback on another neutral even if it is part of the same circuit (breaker), and you must make sure that the neutrals don't get mixed up in the switch box.

Smart switches

You can replace the existing switches with smart switches that only need one wire instead of two travelers, freeing up a traveler to be used to power another set of switch(es)/lights. That works because smart switches use some variant of power line signaling or wireless signaling to do their job. No new wires to run, but more equipment costs, unless you were considering moving to smart switches anyway.


no water in toilet bowl My toilet bowl will not hold water. If I fill the bowl manually I can flush it but the water goes completely down and won't refill on its own. The tank refills fine,I can see water going into the bowl but it drains out as fast as it goes in. There is also a gurgling sound as it drains out. Any help?

As Carl noted above, if a pipe/system cannot pull fresh air in as water fills up the pipe on it's way out, a siphoning affect is created which can pull the water out of the 'u bend' in the toilet during a flush.

The vent is usually the last or highest part in the system. Look for the pipe outside as it vents into fresh air, usually through the roof or on an outside wall (in the UK at least).

It's a bit rare for a vent to get blocked though (birds and animals occasionally) as the pipe normally only has air in it! It's possible the pipe is blocked where the bottom of the vent pipe joins the sewer pipe (if the pipe gets backed up or such like).


Using a boulder wall as an 8' retaining wall (Dallas area) I've got an 8' retaining wall, runs about 120' across the back of my property (faces my house). It's railroad ties and has about run its life.

I'm looking to replace with some kind of stone/block wall. Had contractors out for bids on using engineered block.

But I'm also wondering about what's called "Boulder walls". Basically, just stacking (with skill) large 1000+lb boulders in place, after digging out the ties, then backfilling with gravel, plus using a french drain along the top to drain off excess.

Is this something that's not advisable in this area, or would it be ridiculously expensive vs using block, so no one does it?

The engineering on such a wall may prove difficult. We recently built a 6' retaining wall and a couple of 5' retaining walls. The 6' wall was 32 MPA concrete spray using our pool as the footing, the 5' walls are steel reinforced, core-filled besser blocks with footings 600mm deep and 1000m wide. In both cases, using steel and concrete, the engineering was complex. We rendered both walls. We constructed our walls this way to minimise the foot print (the walls are 200mm thick).

Using something like boulders could prove tricky unless you have a 45 degree angle of repose - this would simplify things but also eat up a lot of your back yard.

My neighbour has just build a shorter retaining wall with besser blocks then added a rock finish afterwards - looks rather nice.


Can I paint plain particle board shelves? I recently purchased a house and the kitchen cabinets have particle board shelves with no vaneer or vinyl wrap. Can I just paint them or will this cause future issues?

If the shelves truly are unfinished, it will be fine to prime and then paint them. However, it is not common to have shelving with no surface protection at all (like varnish or veneer).

Put a few small drops of water on a back corner in an inconspicuous spot. If the water soaks right in, you are good to prime and paint. If the water beads up and sits there without soaking in... well then the wood is finished and should probably be well sanded (or stripped and sanded) prior to painting.


Alternating breakers have power and no power I noticed I had an issue with no power in parts of my house. Both lights and receptacles affected. I go with my multimeter to the panel, and I have on the  8 breakers on the left and 7 on the right, in thleft side,I have power to 1,3,5 and 7. No power to 2,4,6 and 8. On th right side No power to 1,3,5,7 and power to 2,4 and 6. I see a clear pattern, but don't know what to do going any further.

It is clear that you have lost a phase or a neutral. The reason you are getting strange readings is when you experience a phase or neutral loss it can turn some circuits into series circuits. This causes all kinds of weird things and readings to happen.

Start by turning all of the branch circuit and feeder breakers off. Then check the voltages just below the main breaker. You should read approximately 120V to the ground bar on both phase A & B, and 240V across A & B. If you are reading anything other than that. You have lost a phase. Then you can do the same thing to the incoming lugs above the main breaker. If you get different results than what you just read below the main, then you have a bad Main breaker. If you get the same result your problem is either the utility power or at the meter.

If you get the same results above and below the Main, then disconnect the ground wire from the neutral bus and take the same readings both to the neutral and to the ground. If you are getting voltage to the ground and not to the neutral then you have lost a the neutral, and it is usually between the panel and the utility power. Do you have an overhead drop? I have frequently found a break in the drop neutral (the bare wire).

Use extreme caution when taking these readings because you have no real overcurrent protection if you foul up. If you feel uncomfortable then you should bring in professional help.

The bad news is that if it is a main or the meter installation, you will need a professional to do the repair. I would never recommend that a DIYselfer try to make the repair, since it requires a trained person in safety and procedure to perform such a replacement.

The good news is if it's a break in the utility drop. Then they will make the repair.

Stay safe and good luck.


What size gravel works best for a driveway? What is the best type of gravel for a driveway. Is it the larger sized so it does not get stuck in tires, if so what is that called.

Driveway gravel is usually sized by the stone that is mixed with the sand.  Example: 3/8", 3/4" etc. A good driveway packing gravel is 3/4".  Another good choice is 3/8" stone dust. This material packs down very hard and smooth.

So when you call to order your material, ask for 3/4" packing gravel or 3/8" stone dust.


What is this "on" cap that's adjacent to my tankless water heater's service valve? There's a "cap" next to my water heater's service valve that says "on" with an arrow. What is this "cap" and its purpose?

i need a side pic but as of right now i think that valve is closed. so if this is the case it is a valve to open or close the T pipe. im guessing the black screw cap is there just to cover another connection. so the valve is closed. you could take that black cover off and add another pipe there and open valve. from your other question your trying to clean it. thats the hot water side of the water heater. so this is im guessing you would clean it from


How can I compute the force with a fulcrum on a Murphy bed? I've built the following murphy bunk bed:

It rotates around the circles (the fulcrum) into a closed position:

I decided to buy gas springs (the retracting kind) to assist in closing the bed. Using the measurements from the picture,

from what I understand, the calculation would be:

force = 110*(35.8125)/11.4375 = 344.43

At this point, I was feeling pretty savvy and bought two springs that had 150 lbs of force, thinking this would be perfect. But I had a problem--instead of naturally falling open as I expected, it required all 200 pounds of me at the edge of the bed to get it to budge.

So where am I going wrong?

It's going to take 71.5 pounds of force pulling straight out from the wall in order to begin moving the bed downwards. The required force will actually increase a bit as the door begins to rotate and the tension from the gas springs becomes closer to perpendicular to the bed frame, and then the force required will begin to let off as you reach closer to the bed's horizontal position.

So even if you're putting all 200 pounds of your own weight into getting it started, a good portion of that force is going down through the bed frame to the hinge, which will just add more rotational friction and cause it to be more difficult to open.

If I have time later, I can try to recommend a different mounting point for the gas springs that will alleviate some of this problem. I can tell you right now that the more acute the angle the gas spring makes with the bed when stowed, the easier it will be to get it moving downward. Then you'll have more of your weight working for you as the bed passes through perpendicular with the gas spring.

Here's the force profile for various angles and bed weights. The point where it dips negative is when the force exerted by the gas springs is not enough for the bed to be lifted, and you'll need to assist it that much to stow it upright. (All you other engineers out there on DIY.SE, feel free to make sure I didn't make any stupid mistakes. The angle graph looks right to me, but then again, there's some pretty tedious trig to get that monster formula.)

The weights listed in the graph are for actual bed weights - if you took the whole assembly off the wall and threw it on a freight scale, not the force you experienced while lifting up one side of it. The forces (colors) are the perpendicular forces required to pull the bedframe down into a useable position. Where they go negative is the area you'd have to lift the bed up to get it back in the stowed position.

Since you've already bought the gas springs, the best option may be to change the geometry of how they're mounted instead of looking for a different load capacity. Here are some graphs that give the required pull down (rather sideways) force to open the bed and then the lift force required to stow the bed. Note that it's for an assumed 220 lb bed, since I ran out of dimensions to graph things on. Hopefully these plots will allow you to make a decision on what tradeoffs you want to accept if you rearrange the gas springs mounting point on the frame. (You'll also need to check if the gas springs have the range of motion required beforehand too.) The vertical offset and horizontal offset are measured from the bed's pivot point on the frame (distances h and a in the second sketch, respectively).


How can I fix a not-quite-hole in my carpet? The actual strands of my carpet have been pulled up in a half-dollar-sized area, but the base weave that holds it all together is still intact. Is there any way I can repair this without doing a full-on patch? IE, can I "harvest" strands from elsewhere and superglue them there? Or will that still be obvious/undesirable?

Photo of the spot:

You might try crocheting yarn from elsewhere on the carpet onto the backing. Basically you are pushing loops of yarn through that backing and then pulling them up so they're even with the rest of the yarn. It'll be finicky to get looking right, but should be a nice durable solution if done well.

Alternately, as others have said, cut a scrap and use it to patch that area. If you match the nap direction and keep the edges of the backing material tight when you tape it in place, you should be able to tease the strands up enough to make it look seamless.


old american standard bathtub faucet still leaks after replacing 2k-2c cartridge Just replaced a leaky cold-water faucet cartridge and it still leaks.  It's "better" but far from solved.

The rubber on the old 2k-2c cartridge seemed to be pretty deteriorated (practically no longer existed) and lots of bits of rubber came out.  Is there another washer or seat that is supposed to be there before putting the cartridge in?  Is the cartridge supposed to be rotated prior to placing the brass ring over it?

I'm not sure what, if anything, needed to be in place before putting the cartridge in.

I have a number of faucets of a similar style and you will want to check and replace the seat.  In the image below, the seat is the little threaded part at the bottom.  It's placed behind the cartridge (contrary to how it's shown in the image)

You'll need a seat wrench to get it out:

Likely you will find that there are notches in it.  Get a replacement and screw it back in firmly.  Do not use pipe dope or Teflon tape (thanks @JimStewart.)  It should go in easily if it's in the right position.  You don't want to cross threads here.

They should have seats where you bought the cartridge.  Take the old seat in to make sure you get the right one.  I'd buy a handful.  You will probably be doing this again before long.

One problem I have run into with replacement cartridges is that they use a rubber gasket instead of the felt ones in the original cartridges.  After the cartridge is tightened, this gasket is compressed against the shaft and as the faucet is opened and closed, the gasket turned with it and caused the assembly to come loose.  This might not be an issue with this design but to solve that problem, I used a little plumbing grease on the shaft to allow it to turn without moving the gasket.