Lag screws can't enter lag shields A few years ago I got 2 dozens of these to secure roof base plate on top of concrete column.. but after we put in the lag shields.. we couldn't insert the main screws so we didn't add the extra screws and the structural engineer was not even sure how to use this.

Now I'll use these to attach a breaker panel to a concrete wall. I need to know. Are these only used on soft cement like hollow blocks so the lag shield can expand against the cement.. or can you really use this for pure concrete.. but how could the lag shield expand against the very hard concrete surrounding it?

Traditionally, those were made of lead. They didn't so much expand as squish outward against the concrete, engaging with it on a micro level.

These newer pot metal ones can be a pain. They aren't really intended to expand much either, but because they're so hard it's difficult to drive the screw in. You just have to get rowdy with your wrench. It may also help to run the drill bit in and out a few times to make sure you have a fully round hole with no debris left inside.

If you find that you're breaking screws off you may want to try another brand or type of anchor.


Get rid of squirrels without poison or bb gun? The squirrels around my house keep getting in stuff, chewing stuff up, and in general are just causing a mess.

What's the best way to get rid of them? Looking for solutions online it seems I can get either poison or some automated sprinklers.  There has to be more options out there. Any suggestions?

Just read this and my first thought was the trap I bought at Lowes a year or so ago. But, since I've never used it to trap a squirrel, that's just my opinion. So, I did a quick search on "squirrel traps" and found this: http://www.wikihow.com/Trap-a-Squirrel-With-Everyday-Materials. Sounds like fun to me. I'd give it a try.


how can I make a HSS blade thinner? I have a HSS blade whose size is 200mmx30mmx3mm. For some particular reason, I need to make it thinner to 2mm-2.5mm.

Is there any tool or approach that I can use to archive this without too much effort?

Realistically you just need to buy a thinner one.  I very much doubt you would be able to plane it down yourself to the precision needed.


Is it ok for my doors rough opening to not be square if I'm installing a prehung door? I have a door rough opening and it isn't square but the sides are level and the top is almost level. I am installing a prehung door and it fits inside the rough opening but it doesn't have an even gap all the way around. Will this be functional and code-compliant after I shim it in?

It's quite common for a rough in to be slightly off square.  As long as you shim it properly and anchor it securely, there won't be a problem.


How can I prevent hanging sliding doors from coming off track? We've got a closet with a pair of overlapping sliding doors that hang, by their wheels, on a top-mounted rack.  There's a bottom guide screwed to the floor that keeps the doors lined up.  But unless a door is opened carefully and slowly, one or both of its wheels come off the track.  Are there any tricks or adjustments I can make to prevent this?

Tip #1
I do a lot of remodels and the easiest way to make a bedroom look newer is take out the old hollow doors or mirrored doors and put in 6 panels.  Not many closets are square either.  The first thing you need to do is use the rolling mechanism to adjust the door meet the wall as good as you can.  You can angle the rollers and move them up and down.  Obviously your door needs to slide on the floor so you have to play with this a little.  But try to get each door to match its outside wall.

Tip #2
Buy better rollers.  These only cost a couple dollars at big box and if you are taking old ones out, there is no extra work.  For instance the roller in Mazura's answer isn't as adjustable as the normal roller you would get at big box.

Tip #3
You want a little friction on the flooring... But that only works with carpet.  If closet doors are flung open the pressure of the roller will eventually affect the track each time it jumps off.  So get the doors a little lower.

Tip #4
Make sure the rollers are about 3-4 inches from the outside of each door.  The closer to the middle your rollers are, the easier for them to jump.

Tip #5
Get a good light/flashlight and inspect your tracks.  Most tracks are about the same quality (I am sure there are high end ones but I haven't seen them).  You can have two problems with the track.  First the track can be angled down.  This just happens with the weight of the door over time.  It actually doesn't hurt to have it angled up slightly (open side of track).   For this use a wood block and hammer.

The other thing that goes wrong is the lip itself becomes deformed or it get pushed down.  I would simply tap this into place with a hammer.  For more deformed sections I break out the pliers.  If I am having an issue I go through the whole track with pliers.

Tip #6
Grease the wheels and track.


Need help understanding switches wired in series I'm renovating a bathroom in my home built in 1958 and went to replace a bank of wall switches when I came upon this wiring. I've changed all of the switches and plugs in the rest of the house and haven't come across one wired like this before. All of the switches are connected together on the bottom terminal. Can someone explain to me if this is wired properly, or if it should be rewired? Also, is it possible for me to put change the switch on the far left to a dimmer switch without causing any problems? Thanks!

Basically, the wire that is connected to all of the switches (in parallel) is the HOT wire coming from your circuit breaker/fuse box. The other wire on each switch is going to the load (light or outlet). As @keshlam alluded to in his comment, this is equivalent to the common wire going to a wirenut with separate pigtail wires to each switch.


How do I drain my washing machine? Frontload GE Washing Machine to sit on Basement cement floor. Drain to Greywater rockbed is a 2" line going out through wall 54" above basement floor. It goes through wall and down approx 3 feet on a 45 degree angle to a 4" line which runs 40 feet to the greywater rock well.
Can I and how should I put the washer drain into that 2" line?
Where that 2" line goes out the wall it is only 24" below basement ceiling.
If I raise the washer above the floor , how high should I go?

Washers are supposed to drain into a vertical standpipe 18-30 inches in height above a trap. The trap arm must then be vented before waste water can be discharged into waste piping. I don't believe there are lesser requirements allowed for greywater discharge. By the time this all is installed, the washer must pump up to within 6 inches of the ceiling. How high the washer can pump is dependent on the model. Once this height is determined, you can calculate how high the machine must be to meet all requirements.


What should I use to fix chips in veneer plaster? I had some water issues in my shower and finally got fed up enough to remove the miss-cut plastic back-splash that previous contractor had tried to install using thin-set.
Upon removal I found a moldy rotten backer panel, so I began to sledge hammer it out with the intent to replace it with cement board.  However, as I got further away from the rot, my sledge hammer would occasionally bounce off the wall instead of punching though and it became apparent that there is a very hard plaster over what appears to be blue board.
I continued the demo to the edge of each panel abutting the tub, and tried to stop there, but occasionally some of the joints shattered in a way that removed the plaster covering the blue board above it.
How do I fix the shattered plaster so that my cement board will be flush with the the entire run of plaster coated blue board?

I'm only asking because I've gotten a bunch of mixed answers from various hardware stores

The most common is "I don't know" which at least is better than miss information

Some say Spackle; but my previous experience is that it doesn't want really want to adhere to the plaster and occasionally will fall out

Others have told me joint compound, but I'm not convinced it will be much different than Spackle, nor will it be as hard and water proof.

Finally, after insisting that I didn't want to use Spackle, one other associate told me to use Plaster of Paris, which Google seems to tell me is different than veneer plaster, and might set up too quickly.

I'd use veneer plaster. Your instinct about joint compound and spackling is on target, and you might get Plaster of Paris to work if you get the mix perfect - but why bother.

My guess is that the people you've been talking to at hardware stores either don't have a clue what you are looking for or want to direct you to something in stock.  I'd check at a building supply store (you might get lucky at a big box store, especially if they carry blue board) that contractors in your area use.

Veneer plaster is extremely uncommon in my area, and I can get it when I need it from any of the big chain stores (although I usually have to order it - they never stock it).


Door latch hits casing/trim I was starting to install casing on my doors and while positioning the board I realized the door latch is going to contact the casing (1x4 craftsman) before the strike plate. The solutions I've found are extended strike plates or chisel/route the trim. Anything else I'm missing? I see 1x4 used a lot in casing but I couldn't find anyone talking about this issue. I wonder if my door latch (Schlage) is extra long.

I approxmated the lengths of two sizes of extended strike plates I can order. Any idea on what size would look/function the best? I was thinking the smaller would not flex and I can get a 3/16" reveal. The longer extends beyond the trim but could flex some.

Update I wrote more in detail about the problem and solution here http://newyuma.blogspot.com/2015/11/craftsman-trim-and-extended-strike.html

Just replace your strike plate with an extended lip type.


Can I add a socket to my boiler power circuit? I would like to add a socket for my daughter to charge her phone and tablet by her bed. her bed is against the cupboard which houses the boiler, inside the cupboard is a socket which the boiler is plugged into. Its not on the ring main its a dedicated cable straight from the consumer unit on its own trip, its a gas combi boiler.
Can i use this socket to get the power from to put a socket by her bed.
Im based in the uk

The wording of your question is very confusing. If there is a wall receptacle near where she wants to charge her stuff, just buy an adapter that plugs into a wall socket. If the socket is too far away for her charge cords, go to a store and buy a longer charge cord. I have charge cords 10 feet long just for that purpose. If this does not solve your problem try to give a better explanation of what you want to do. Hope this helps.


How can I isolate grounded (neutral) conductors in a panel? This is in reference to my question yesterday about sub panel grounding. So if my sub panel came with a ground bar on either side of the breaker mounts, are one or both of them isolated from the case and are all the neutrals supposed to be on the isolated bar and the bare wires all attached to the case grounded bar? If this is the case and all off the neutrals and grounds are presently attached together, then how do I fix the problem if there is not enough wire to swap sides with the neutrals and grounds?

Yes, the neutral bar should be isolated from the case and all neutrals should be connected to an isolated bar.

You can purchase another bar with isolation mounts and connect it (with a heavy-gauge [4Ga is  typical] white wire) to the first neutral bar if needed to provide adequate neutral bar space. Likewise for a non-isolated ground bar, if needed. NOT having to do this sort of foolishness is one reason for leaving adequate wire in the first place, but presumably whoever wired this wrong was also of the "I want it neat and tidy and no excess wire" mindset.

This question and answer might provide some insight and pictures to look at:
Can I extend the ground/bus bar in a main service to accomodate subpanel equipment ground?


How to resolve uneven meeting of new and existing drywall pieces While installing a new piece of drywall into a painted wall with existing drywall of the same thickness, parts of the new drywall seem to sit or sink back further into the wall even with pressure evenly distributed on the new piece. I imagine this since the new piece is not pressed up against a stud.

What is the best way to resolve this gap?

At the base, the drywall pieces do not have this problem since they are both against a board.

What is the best way to approach in this scenario to end up with a smooth wall, is there some method to shim behind the drywall to get a more flush fit? Or does it make more sense to just install as is and apply joint compound until level?

Cut a few furring strips 4" longer than the opening. Place them behind the opening and screw them in place through the existing drywall on each side of the opening. Now place the new piece of drywall in the opening against the furring strips and use drywall screws to fasten it to the furring strips. you should now have a smooth surface to mud, tape and paint.


Window A/C Remote Temperature Sensor I have an LG LW1217ERSM 12,000 BTU window A/C unit and was wondering if it is possible to connect a remote temperature sensor to the unit.
For example, the unit is set to 72 degrees but the temperature in another room is 80 degrees. With the remote temperature sensor placed in the 80 degree room, the unit would continue to cool until that room is also brought down to 72 degrees. Unfortunately this unit does not seem to have this feature so I was wondering if it is possible to modify the unit.
Thanks!

Is it possible - probably.
Is it practical - probably not. Start with voiding the warranty and work up from there. The odds of ruining the thing so it does not work any more are not insignificant, depending how it's constructed and your personal skills.
Is it far simpler to just set the unit to 66 or 64 degrees, if that's what it takes to get the other room down to 72 - yes.
Can you perhaps assist the process by adding a fan between rooms to help circulate the air - Yes, and that might reduce the amount you have to overcool the first room to get the second room cool enough.


Pros and Cons of floated flooring We just bought a new house which needs extensive remodeling.

Our contractor, after ripping out the existing old carpet and damaged subfloor/padding, discovered that the floor was quite uneven, so we had an idea to install floated flooring for the hardwood (strand bamboo) that we were planning to replace the carpet with.

Can anyone suggest the pros and cons of the floated flooring approach?

My thoughts? EEK! I think this is a recipe for trouble. I hope this was not suggested by the contractor?

These floors need smooth surfaces underneath, with underlayment that will support the flooring. If there will be serious problems like that, they need to be fixed before you put down flooring. Otherwise, you will have flooring that flexes every time you walk over a spot. You will have loud squeeks. The joints between the pieces will open up and close, allowing dirt to lodge in there, unsightly lines will appear in the flooring. With enough flexing, the hard surface coating on that flooring will start to crack.

While padding is used underneath these floating floors, the flooring is simply not stiff and strong enough to resist the flexing I am talking about.

Do the job right the first time. You don't want to tear it out and redo it later. If the cost of repairing the subfloor is too much, just replace the carpet.


How can I move this water supply line so that I can frame a wall? Our main supply line enters through the basement floor. I need to move it about 2-3 inches out of the way because it's blocking a corner of the bathroom I'm framing in.
Supply line is PEX with galvanized elbow

Context of where this is in the bathroom

Am I safe to chisel out or use the angle grinder to remove enough concrete so I can reposition the supply line? The concrete around it is not the same type as the rest of the floor.

Either make the bathroom 2" smaller or 2" bigger.
If you are committed to moving the line then use a hammer drill to put a hole where you want and reroute the water main from the outside in (this will require you to dig outside, cut the line, and install a new line).  If you go this route then I recommend installing PEX as that will be easier to work with (well, easier for me anyway).
I would not recommend trying to make the current hole bigger and push the current line out of the way.  This puts it under tension and increases the risk of it breaking.  Galvanized pipe gets brittle with age, so it loses what little flexibility it ever had and you run the risk of cutting the line while expanding the hole.
###EDIT###
I just took another look at your photo.  Don't know why I thought that was a galvanized pipe.  Looks like PEX to me.  I still recommend against expanding the hole and putting the pipe under tension.
###EDIT 2###
The updated photos and detail helps.  Thanks for the updates.  I didn't realize this was coming through the floor.  Here's my recommendation.  These are not load bearing walls, so I would either keep the framing and plumbing as is, but not take the corner framing all the way to the floor (as others have suggested).  Just notch out the bottom.  Or, get rid of that elbow and run the PEX straight from the floor to the ceiling (I assume it goes there anyway, but it's your call).
Personally, I think your best bet is to do as little as possible with the plumbing and work around it by notching your bottom board.  This will allow future access when things break.


How to unlock a locked interior door? The door to the bathroom in my house was accidentally locked and I can't figure out how to unlock it from the outside.

The knob has 3 holes on the outside:

The hole in which on a normal doorknob you would insert a key, screwdriver, etc. and turn to unlock. On this particular knob in the hole, there is a silver, metal, cone-shaped plate that can be pushed in (but not rotated - there is no kind of groove to place a key in and turn). When you push it in, it goes about an inch in and you can feel a spring pushing back but it doesn't seem to change anything.
A small circular hole on the cylindrical portion of the knob that connects to the door. It isn't on the base that actually touches the door, but on the cylinder connecting the spherical knob and the base. You can see the metal turning through it as you turn the knob, but there isn't a full hole to the inside of the knob.
A rectangular hole on the same portion as the small circular hole in #2. It looks like there is some kind of metal tab that should be able to be moved, but applying force in any direction has not had any results.

I've tried every combination of push, pull, twist, push in hole #1, #2 and #3 I can think of with no luck. Does anyone know what kind of knob I'm talking about and how to unlock it?

Here are pictures of the knob: http://imgur.com/a/io4F4

You're on the outside of the door, and given both the unlock mechanism appears to not be working, and the "credit card" method don't work, here's another option: remove the hinge pins and take the whole door off.

You just need a hammer and a screw driver (or nail punch, or nail, or something similar) and then push the hinge up from the bottom. You'll probably want a second person to help just in case the door falls over while you're working at the hinges.


Lost pressure after "clunk" sound in pipe Kitchen sink faucet seems to drop to near trickle when the water is turned on full (Cold side ... Hot side has always run very slowly). This is not a new installation and there has not been any other plumbing work done in a long time.
If I turn on water about half force it will stay on okay but any harder and the clunk sound happens and the pressure goes to nearly nothing.
Just seemed to start out of the blue a few days ago and only out of the kitchen faucet.
To me seems like an air lock someplace but how to get rid of it and how did it happen to start with?
Thanks much for any reply.
DaveB

It sounds like an old system with washers, where a washer has come loose, or possibly some object, e.g. a corroded-off screw head, is being pushed into the outlet pipe when the tap is turned on fast enough to move it.

If you shut the supply below the sink and take the valve apart, the issue should be obvious unless it's an object that drops out of sight down the pipe. In that case, carefully turn the shut-off valve on a bit, after first covering the valve opening with a plastic bowl to redirect most of the water back into the sink. Hopefully, this will eject any blockage. You might need a helper to hold that bowl.


How to avoid gas freezing I am from Bangalore. Today I faced strange issue with LPG Indane gas. Gas cylinder suddenly stopped providing gas supply to stove. Today temp 80 F around the city. It's raining all the week. Cylinder is 2 months old, wait of the cylinder seems it will come at least 1 more month. Note Last refilling came for 4 months.

Neighbors suggested to put the cylinder in heat water for few minutes. When I did gas worked for few minutes then stopped again. So Is my gas really freezed? If Yes how can I avoid such situation?

It's not, exactly, frozen. Liquified Propane Gas maintains a pressure in the tank proportional to the temperature of the tank/gas. You might have noticed that the tank was quite cold - as you use gas, the liquid in the tank boils to replace it, and the boiling of the liquid takes heat (latent heat of vaporization) so the liquid and the tank cool as gas is used. If they cool too much, the pressure in the tank drops below the pressure you are using form the tank.

If you are managing to cool the tank to the point that (useful) gas pressure is lost while the air temperature is 80°F, you need a larger tank to supply whatever (presumably fairly high-output) burner you are feeding. Or you need to check for what could be a fairly major leak, if this same setup used to work, and suddenly stopped working without you doing something like adding a larger stove or turning on all the burners at once, if you don't normally do that.


Changing loft bed's beam to diagonal braces? We have an IKEA loft bed for our 12 yr old.

One of the beams that prevent legs going apart, is messing up with access to his chest of drawers.

I want to change that beam to diagonal braces like these:

What would be a good way to attach them to the bed frame to ensure legs don't come apart? The legs are 6x6 cm, and the horizontal frame part is 2x10 cm. The diagonal braces I want to use would be 7x4x40cm.

I'm really concerned about the stability/safety of what you're proposing. The diagonals seem under-sized to me but even with heavier diagonals I don't think the bed verticals would hold up. A 12 year old clambering up and down that ladder is going to put a lot of lateral stress on those vertical supports without the horizontal strut..
Have you considered moving the horizontal strut on the left of the picture all the way to the floor? That would give the stability you will need.
Also if there is a way to attach the verticals to the back wall - better yet.
Edit
Your idea of moving it up instead of removing it is much better. I would keep it as close to the center of the verticals as you can. Again - if you can attach it at the top to the back wall would be best. If you did that I think the diagonals properly attached would work well.
Second edit
If you want to do diagonal struts I would through bolt them with no more than 1/4 inch diameter bolt and washers. With only 6 cm width to work with you don't want anything larger than that.
However, I strongly urge you to attach the posts and/or preferably the bed frame to the wall and not rely on diagonal struts. That's the solution you need. Put wood spacers between the frame and wall and attach it into the studs with  Timberlok screws. All you need is two attach points through the frame. They are easy to install and remove and when you get rid of the bed at some point you only have two 3/16" holes to patch in the drywall.


Will an exhaust fan made for ceilings work in a wall instead? Does anyone know whether a bathroom exhaust fan designed to be installed in a ceiling would have any problems if installed in a wall instead? From a mechanical, ball bearings, noise perspective. Not a space perspective.

In my experience, most decent exhaust fans are dual rated, ceiling or wall. If your fan is described as a ceiling mount only, it is probably one of many inexpensive units that use plastic bushings instead of sealed bearings. If you can easily jiggle the fan blade or squirrel cage axle in it's end bushing mounts, then I probably wouldn't waste my time using it in a wall. If it is a common overall dimension (10"X10") for example and the mechanical connections feel tight and smooth, I might give it a try. Hook some power to it and give it a test run horizontally before you install it. The worse case scenario is that you may have to replace it with a more expensive unit at some future time, which is a very easy job assuming the hole in the wall is the same or smaller than the one you need for your existing unit. The easy answer is to simply spend 50 or 60 bucks and buy a new fan rated for wall mounting. I almost forgot to mention, the orientation of the air back flow preventer is very important. If this flapper will not close by gravity or spring when wall mounted then don't consider using it.


Would adding new basement windows jeopardize the integrity of the foundation? We are finishing our basement and would like to install 4 new hopper windows onto the front side of the house.  My question is what is the largest reasonably sized window that can be cut from the concrete without degrading the integrity of the house, assuming that 4 windows are being added to the front of the house, one under each first floor window (new basement windows would be no wider than the existing 1st floor windows).

When we laid out approximately where the windows would go (underneath each of the 1st floor windows) and used the width of the existing hopper windows we have (32"), they all span 2 joists.  Reducing the width of the window results in only 1 of the 3 spanning 2 joists.

An idea I came across is the possibility of adding something like a steel angle bar that could be inserted to replace the wood sill and overlap onto the concrete by 8 to 10 inches.  The steel angle bar of beam would support the joists and everything above them and the concrete would support the angle bar/beam.

Any thoughts on this idea or any other suggestions so that we do not compromise the structural integrity of the house, but maximize the window size.

In terms of vertical load coming down, there would be little load under the first floor windows as they always have a header above the window to spread the load to jack studs on the side of the windows. In addition, there are full height king studs next to the jack studs that extend to the top plates.

There may be cripple studs under the window to help reduce any small sagging of the window frame. Your steel angle bar may be needed to support this and the floor joists above your basement windows, depending on how much vertical dimension you want to allocate to this.

If I were doing this, I would determine the length of the floor joists and calculate the square footage supported by the joists above a window. Then use the code required load (typically 40 pounds per square foot for residences) to determine what your basement window header must support.

This link shows how to calculate load: loads-on-headers

And this link shows the beam size required for a certain load: load table


What is the risk of leaving a well pump on a 3-wire system? A home inspector noted that well pump and septic were incorrectly grounded with a 3 wire system using the neutral wire for grounding. What is the risk of leaving "as is" vs installing a 4 wire system with an expected cost of $1,500.00? Was code when constructed but not up to current code.

edit:  @Ed Beal pointed out that this may be a 220V pump motor.  The answer below is based on the assumption it's 120V.  Now that I think of it, Ed's probably right, the question is talking about 3-wire vs 4-wire.

Connecting neutral to the ground at the device is a terrible idea, dangerous, especially around water.  It really ought to be fixed.  I'd turn off power to the pumps if you are doing anything around them.

The simple way to make this safe (and NEC compliant) is to install GFCI protection on the circuit using the existing wiring.

However, there is a catch:  if the GFCI protection trips, the well pump and the septic pump will not be operational until someone manually resets the GFCI.  The pump motors may be susceptible to nuisance trips.

Another catch: if the wiring is replaced, depending on local code, you may be required to install GFCI even with a ground wire.  So you may be getting GFCI either way.


Disposal operation forces drain water into second sink I have a double kitchen sink that the contractors installed several years back.  See picture.  The main sink is on right side and smaller sink is to left.  They installed the disposal to the main sink because space was tight and we have pull out trash drawer in space under shallower left hand sink.  Our galley kitchen is small and we were trying to get the most use from the space.

Now when I run the disposal, nasty water shoots back up in to the left hand sink.  At first I thought there might be a clog in the wall after the small drain but if there is a blockage, it is short lived because once I run the disposal for less than 30 seconds, the water goes back down in small sink and all is fine with no slow water draining in either small or large sink drains.  I just want to eliminate that initial burst of nasty water in the small sink.   I think the problem may have to do with air pressure due the design of the connections.  There are separate connections to the wall for the sinks as you can see from the attached.  And the main stack and vent are located about 4ft to left of double sink.

I am wondering if it would work better to connect the small sink to the same drain as the large sink if I could get fit together in the tight space....  I appreciate suggestions.

PS there is no sewer gas smell coming from the small sink as long as I remember to run a little water to fill that P trap before I run the disposal.  But if I don't run water in the Left sink P Trap, I still get the nasty water shooting, but it just comes with the lovely aroma of sewer gas.

And the main stack and vent are located about 4ft to left of double sink.

It seems you needed your vent to be to the right of the sinks. Although the installation is apparently within code for the length of a single trap arm, when the disposal forces water into the drain it is backfeeding the small sink trap. Having the vent to the right would allow air pressure to equalize in that direction instead of through the small sink.

A simpler solution might be a backwater valve for the small sink. Although it may be difficult to find room for it but then you were thinking about moving the disposal so maybe there is room.

Good luck!


Laminate flooring showing vertical gap when cabinet place on it Why would a laminate floor dip at the edge near an supporting wall when heavy item placed on it.

We are looking to buy a house but noticed where the laminate sits at wall edge next to a set of French doors the floor laminate splits down showing a 5/6 Mum gap around 1cm long. The grove seems to slip out on the lock and does this at both sides where the cabinet  stands.

Any ideas why this might be. Current owners didn’t lay the floor and are not sure if the floor is cement or suspended plus they do not know what underlay was used.

Any advice about what might be the cause and if it’s a problem to start clear or or something that won’t be costly to correct

Often people install laminate floors on a foam based underlayment. It's possible the heavy object is compressing it sufficiently to cause the gaps.

Examples: https://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Flooring-Tools-Materials-Surface-Prep-Underlayment/


How to set Nest Thermostat to control blower without heat I have a Lennox G14Q3 propane furnace (forced air). I used the Nest/furnace setup last winter without any problems with just the W and R terminals.
But, these summer days I would like to push air through the house with the blower (without heat) and remove it with my HRV system.

I’ve tried hooking up the terminal G to the G terminal on the Nest (for the fan). But the Nest can’t seem to turn it on.

Note: When I test the heat with the Nest, my furnace goes through it’s standard cycle of heating up then turning on the blower.

Also, I can’t seem to get the blower going down at the furnace by shorting R and G, shouldn’t that work?

Thanks,
Josh

Edit, added model and diagram pictures:

EDIT 2:
I realized that ACC isn't actually connected to anything. It gets 120VAC when I switch the relay, but there is still no path to the blower to be energized.
Could I just take one of the speed wires from the blower motor and connect it to ACC so that it acts as an indoor blower?

Alright, I figured out why it wasn't working. Had nothing to do with ACC not having a lead.
I was looking at my setup closely and noticed that only 2 wires were coming up from the motor, but it needs 3.
I noticed that there was a wire coming from pin 3, but it was crimped and didn't run to the motor. So I looked at the speed table and decided I wanted to run the Brown wire up. Connected it to pin 3. Now when I short R and G, the fan turns on :)


How do I get rid of this ceiling finish and what is its name? I am looking for an easy method.
Common sense tells me that something like sanding must be used.
Any special tool that can accelerate the process ?

The structure the roof is shown below. I might need to remove a wall and add a supporting beam. The wall that I am removing is not a load bearing one. The only reason why it is there is because the joist would have been to long I guess to make them from one piece of wood (or more expensive). I suspect there is nothing else between the roof and the drywall of my ceiling other than the loose insulation that the previous owner installed in the attic. If removing the drywall is easier I might consider cathedral ceiling with or without exposing the joists. Ih ave to see what it takes for that. However for now I would like to know if it would be easier to remove the drywall and replace it with a new one

Update:Hmmm I just found this page
http://www.float.ltd.uk/blog/2011/05/steaming-off-artex/
The guy is steaming the Artex, and the webpage says it is better than having plaster wasted and spread everywhere...can't understand what he means with that

Update: Extensive answer found here http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/artex.htm

Getting rid of this texture will be a lot of work. I would recommend that you leave it there unless you absolutely must get rid of it.

The ceiling appears to be painted, which means that the texture cannot simply be sanded off. I actually have a similar texture applied to some of the walls in my home. The only way to eliminate it besides either tearing down the drywall, or sheetrocking over it would be to scrape down the high spots with a floor scraper, and then skim coating over it with joint compound.

Scraping it down and skim coating is a very labor intensive process, and is also extremely messy. The steps to do it are below.

Scrape the ceiling using a floor scraper. The scraper is basically a handle with a sharp blade at the end of it. Start with the highest spots and slowly scrape away until the blade is flush with the surface of the drywall. You will want to change the blades regularly because they will dull quickly. Also, always scrape with the blade as flat to the ceiling as possible. You don't want to dig extra holes into it if it can be avoided. This process will generate a lot of dust as well, so make sure everything in the room is moved out, or properly protected including the floor. You should also use a mask and a hat to help keep the dust out of your face and hair.

Once the scraping is complete, use a drywall sanding block to flatten out as much of the remaining texture as you can. At this point, you should wipe down the ceiling with a rag, or a broom to clear any excess dust from it, and then sweep/vacuum up the remaining dust in the room.

When it is clean, apply a coat of latex primer, and then check to see if there are any other areas which need to be repaired. Use a bright light and check the entire surface of the ceiling. If there aren't any areas which need to be touched up, then you can move on to painting. If not, then you will need to skim over those areas with joint compound, and feather it into the surrounding ceiling.

I would strongly recommend using a roller that will give a slight texture surface to the paint. Even with great care, there will most likely be areas where the surface isn't perfect, and the texture of the paint will help hide the defects.


Okay that TV wobbles when articulating wall mount is extended? I have a TV securely (lag screws into studs) mounted to the wall with an extending/articulating wall mount. We don't move it around, the TV remains in fixed position, about 20" away from the wall. However, I recently noticed the TV wobbles if touched or bumped even slightly on either end, furthest away from the centre. The wall mount is quite secure, and I've tightened up all the adjustable joints, it's just that the TV itself can wobble and vibrate since the whole thing is cantilevered out. Now that we have a toddler, I'm wondering if this is a safety concern. I cannot find any advice or guidance about adding extra support to a wall mounted TV, I only see people advocating for safety straps, etc. for TVs that are free-standing.
So my main question is this: is it okay that a wall-mounted TV wobbles a bit when touched? How much is too much? Part of me says it's fine, it's securely mounted, and cantilevered things like that will always wobble (like the tip of an airplane's wing). But the other part of me is, well, a worried dad.
I'm thinking the easiest way to remedy this would be to fasten a vertical support from the bottom of TV or the mount itself straight down to floor. That kinda ruins the whole "floating TV" look, though.

If the TV weighs less than or equal to what the mount is rated for, it should be fine.
However.
You could upgrade to a sturdier mount rated for yet more weight, (increasing the safety factor) and perhaps of a more robust design (i.e., mounts with two sets of arms holding the TV, rather than a single arm) if it would provide "worried parent peace of mind" (albeit at some cost.)


How to repair peeling corner bead? I have this corner bead peeling.

How do I fix it in place? Do I drill a hole and anchor it with a screw?

This is inside the garage by the way.

Based on the overall condition of this outside corner:

The peeling of the joint compound appears caused by the corner being repeatedly hit.

The corner bead does not appear particularly damaged, deformed, or detached. One could drive a 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" drywall screw through it without pre-drilling (a 10d nail would be sufficient to create a "starter hole", if necessary).

There's not much point in making repairs on this corner unless something is done to prevent further damage (ie. install plastic/rubber baseboard and plastic/metal corner guards).


Can I attach my mosaic tiles to wall in stages? I am doing a tile backsplash in the kitchen and I am not able to adhere all of the tiles at the same time. Can I do the adhering in stages as long as I don't leave any excess adhesive on the wall before returning to continue at a later date?

FYI once all the tile is up I plan to grout everything at the same time.

You can take all the time you want as long as it is kept clean. But the grout needs to be put on as you have suggested or it will show differences in color.


Two layers of underlayment for sheet vinyl? I'm installing sheet vinyl flooring in the bathroom.  Home Depot told me to get this hard plywood, just under 1/4" thick for underlayment.  I'm concerned though because my sub floor is 10" or 12" wide boards with a good amount of gaps between them.  I was thinking of throwing another sheet of 3/8" OSB on top of the subfloor, then the 1/4" underlayment.  Is that a good idea, or bad idea?  Really needed?  I'm wondering if there will be a problem with the nails going through multiple layers of plywood?

Thanks!

The goal is a smooth, flat surface for the vinyl to lay on.  If you can do that with 1/4, then that is great.  But in your case it sounds like you need to step up to 3/8 or 1/2 depending on the gap.  Once you put that down, then there is no need to add 1/4 plywood.


Why does my shower's water temperature fluctuate several times per minute? We just had two 50 gallon electric water heaters installed inline. Rheem  professional classics. And a new check valve.

The check valve was for the circulating pump. They had to leave the old one on. They said it was stuck in an open position. There's little tank connected in case something goes wrong--the tank takes some of the overflow. It is connected to the water heater pipes.

When we take a shower the water fluctuates between mildly cool and a little warmer about every six to eight seconds. This is for the entire time we shower. It is not like when you flush a toliet. It did not do this before the new heaters were put in.

They did put a little tank on top to the side of the new heaters. We have had them out three times and they can not fix this. Do you know what is causing this? Help.

The small tank is a thermal expansion tank, there should be two of them. You must have a check valve if you have expansion tanks. If you have two matching water heaters, they should have been plumbed in parallel and not in series. Also, the piping associated with each heater needs to be the same length or it will cause one heater to do more work than the other. This could possibly cause a fluctuation in the water temperature. Also, make sure that both heaters are set to the same output temperature. Everything must be "balanced" in a parallel setup. Here is a diagram of what two water heaters in parallel should look like:

Here is a diagram of two heaters connected in series:

Images are from a Rheem/Ruud technical service department pdf I have on file.


Apartment door direction I am purchasing a new apartment entry door and need help with choosing in which direction should it swing. The layout of the common  area is quite tight:

My concerns:

my own apartment is not too big. Any space savings from the door swinging outwards will be significant.
avoid damage from crashing with the elevator door (and unsafe situations)
avoid causing discomfort to neighbors
I commute with a bicycle - it should be easily un/loaded into the elevator
N1 uses only the stairs and is a single persons; N2 and N3 are families and use mostly the elevator.
it can't be seen from the "drawing", but it my door swings towards N1 it's gonna block them in - the space was drawn disproportionately long.

Too all the comments: we checked with the door company, the swing IS arbitrary and up to our choice.

Inertia is the most powerful force in the universe
In other words, install the new door the exact same way as the old door. That should make installation a little easier (lock & hinges in same places as before) and, more importantly, will avoid complaints from neighbors or building management of "why did you change it?" You can't be accused of violating either local building code or the building's own rules if you closely mimic the previous configuration.
Since you are replacing the door yourself (or with help, but you and not the building management), I presume this is a condominium or similar "you own it" situation and not a rental apartment. If it is a rental, you should not be doing this at all. But assuming you own the apartment, there are often rules, for good reason, about anything that affects the common areas in any way - whether physically (like door swing) or even aesthetically (like door color). So your first step is to talk to the management company, condominium board of directors or whatever the equivalent is in your building. Ask them about:

Door swing
Fire rating requirements (they can vary by jurisdiction, but there will definitely be some requirement for any door that faces a common area)
Color or other aesthetic issues
Rules regarding windows, peepholes, etc.


Is my contractor doing a bad patch job on my framing? We had a leak in our kitchen months ago that caused water damage to one of our ceilings in the basement. We're now having repairs done. After inspecting our contractors work from the day I suppose I expected things to look a little less "patched".

Are these repairs unsightly, but sufficient? Or does this look like a total disaster to anybody? I have no background or knowledge in home construction so any advice would be great.

Thanks!

The framing looks fine. It's a drop ceiling to hide the duct work; just don't hang any love swings off of it. None of it is structural so whatever. And rehab is never pretty, especially having to put drywall runners behind a finished surface that you're trying to maintain. I want to see how they're going to match that texture and blend in the patch. That's the hard part.

The project manager said the original framing was even "a little shoddy". It might still look shoddy but I can only assume that they did what they could to install supports where gaps in the ductwork permitted access to the joists.

All their nails seem to be in shear load which is good. The previously existing framing probably wasn't in some places, or it just lacked support where it could've been. Although perhaps they were a little over zealous: one has like 9 nails in it and it's now cracked - but with that little amount of working space, you get what you get.

It's rehab. Go away until it's done or you'll arbitrarily find cans of worms to open.


DeWalt circular saw stopped working, probably need to repair motor, can anyone confirm? Okay, so I got a a circular saw from the family for Christmas for my burgeoning woodworking hobby, and I've been using it a light amount. It went out the other day while cutting some 1x4. I had a little kicking while sawing through, but not too bad. Suddenly, the saw whirs down and dies. I think the battery is dead, so I switch. No good. I test with my drill, the batteries are both fine.

I've disassembled it fully and put it back together, verifying that there's no blockages, I can manually turn the spindle. Additionally, I've tested the circuit, and there's the ~18v getting from the battery to the spade connectors on the motor, but when I pull the trigger nothing happens. No sound, no motion, nothing.

The only thing in the saw I couldn't identify is some kind of square plate that rests abutting the motor housing. My suspicion is that it's a temperature sensor?

Anyone got suggestions to figure out what I need to do?
It's a DCS391 model circular saw.

In general, it is not worth taking apart tools such as a handheld circular saw or drill. There is not much in the way of user-serviceable parts, and doing so may void any warranty you have with the manufacturer.

First, I recommend looking up if there are any "consumable" parts such as fuses which are user-serviceable. This may be a quick and easy fix.

Your next step should be finding an authorized DeWalt service center that has the specialized tools, parts, and training to repair the tool. The major tool companies tend to have company-owned or authorized third-party repair centers in major metropolitan centers in the U.S. at the very least. They can inspect the tool and tell you if repair makes sense: it may cost more to repair the tool than to replace it. Being this new, however, it is likely covered by a factory warranty that will cover a significant portion of the cost.


Electric Furnace, no AC, blower motor starts then slows after 1 second I have an electric furnace 240V. The blower motor starts then slows and sounds like it is laboring after about one second. It does start at full speed, however. Does the same thing when in constant on setting. There is a solid state time delay relay (on delay is 1 second off delay is 45), a blower relay, transformer but no control or logic board. I've verified 240VAC on load side of breaker. I've tested the elements and sequencer and they test normal.  and I'm assuming the blower is ok as it starts at full speed then slows and it sounds labored while continuing to spin. Cycling power has no effect - starts full speed then slows. The timer relay is 24VAC. I'm unfamiliar with the characteristics so not sure what I'm looking for. I've narrowed it down, I think, to the timer relay, blower relay or, less likely, the transformer.

Any help would be appreciated.

Perry

I would be looking for a run/start capacitor it sounds like the start side is good but when it changes to run that one may be bad. Another thing is to lube the bearings there may be small ports in the front and back of the motor that you can drip some motor oil into, blowers don't require full torque until up to about 75% because they are not pushing much of a load until that point but a capacitor would be my first check unless you see the ports and have a oil can handy it only takes a few drops.


Wiring for humidifier to Goodman gmpn080-4 furnace I have a Goodman gmpn080-4 furnace and am installing a Skuttle 190-1 humidifier. Where do I wire the two wires from the humidistat to the furnace? I see a 24v HUM screw on the board, but not sure where to place the other wire.

Connecting one wire to HUM and the other to ground worked for us. I believe this is the solution for this furnace, as 'C' (Common) is usually recommended, but this model does not have a connection for that.


What's the deal with half-walls behind the kitchen cabinets? Can I cut into it? So I've recently moved in to a new house and the kitchen has two "blind cabinets" but no real good place to put my cat's food and water where it will be out of the way. So I got this brilliant idea that I could partition one of these blind corner cabinets and use the half that I wouldn't be able to reach very well as a feeding station. That cabinet butts up against a sort of half-wall at the back of the line of cabinets with the sink and I thought it might be possible to cut a hole in that drywall, then through the back of the cabinet to make an opening. I can take some photos later, but here's the kind of wall I'm talking about:

It's like this but not raised; it's flush with the countertop which just extends out a tad bit.

Long story short, I had a handyman over for something else so I asked if he could do this (I knew there were wires back there so I thought I would ask a professional) and he said sure no problem and knocked a hole in the drywall. Right into a stud. Which he didn't check for beforehand. So then he's like, I have to move this stud no problem. Blah, blah, boring events happen and I tell him not to come back because he seriously screwed up this other project I had hired him to do. So now I have a hole in the drywall and cuts in my cabinet back. There are also cuts into the stud but it's not completely severed.

And so that is the state my kitchen has been in for a few weeks as I try to figure out what to do next. My first thought is to just patch the drywall and move on with my life. On the other hand, I would really love to have that little nook so I don't have to step in my cat's food and water all the time.

I don't know a lot about studs and even less in this case...is that thing possibly holding important things up considering the countertop is mostly resting on the cabinets? The handyman apparently felt it would be trivial to move it but I don't really trust his judgement anymore.

What can I look for for clues to find out if this is a possibility? How much work does it sound like it might be? Should I patch it and move on? I think I'm a reasonable type of person.

Also, if you're having trouble picturing the feeding station, I was envisioning something like this (but not with bowls built in, just the nook part):

Thank you.

Aside from electrical and plumbing interference, you can do pretty much whatever you want with the framing. That wall is mostly decorative (it saved some money by not requiring the cabinet makers to finish the backs of the cabinets).

If you have smooth walls, open the drywall enough to work. Frame in your opening, replace the drywall, add corner bead or wood trim, and line the opening however you had planned.

If you want more specific help, strip out the kitchen's life story up there in your post, put up a photo of the actual project area, and we'll do our best.


Do we need to rewire our house after a major power surge? A squirrel got into the transformer infront of our house.  It blew the transformer and one of the main power lines from the pole fell on our supply line to the house.  It sent a major surge into the house.  It caught the breaker panel on fire, some outlets, switches and light socket on fire too.  The police, firefighters and electric company guys all said the whole house would need to be rewired.  We have an electrician looking at it (who had just replace the electric panel the week before)  he is trying to decide if the house will need to rewired or not.  I've been trying to find something on the internet like this but have had no luck.  Do you think the whole house will need to be rewired?

Thank you!!!

Your local, on site electrician will best assess this, but in all likelihood, yes, you need to replace all the wiring (and your insurance company or the utility company should be footing the bill - your insurance company will probably turn around and get the money from the utility company, it's truly their fault.)

Why? When you have had an overvoltage condition of such magnitude that:

  It caught the breaker panel on fire, some outlets, switches and light socket on fire too.

The problem is not resolved when the overvoltage goes away and the fire is put out, because every place that arced now has a lovely "carbon track" where it's supposed to have insulation - and carbon is a conductor - a lousy one, but plenty to cause problems. Once a carbon track forms, it's very easy to have repeated arcs at much lower voltages.

Typical household wiring is 600V insulation - yours was exposed to likely 1100-2400V depending on the local system.

In addition, you may well have damage at places you cannot see inside the walls. You're lucky the house did not burn down.

So - not only the wiring, but also the receptacles, switches, and pretty much everything that was connected to them is now highly suspect and should be replaced.


Is it ok to have a rise in an air compressors drain valve? The designer of my compressor unfortunately didn't put a whole lot of thought into where to put the drain valve on it. It's on the back, and the compressor is against the wall, in a corner, usually with a mower or something backed up to it. Draining my compressor is a pain in the butt.

So I did something about it! I went out and get the appropriate adapters to have a hose coming out the bottom of the compressor and just loops around the top.  Something like this.

   ________
   |      |
  /        \
 /   Motor  \   | |
 |__________|   | |
 /          \  ( x ) Drain valve
/            \  | |
|            |  | |A
|            |  | |I
|    Tank    |  | |R
|            |  | |
|            |  | |H
|            |  | |O
|            |  | |S
|            |  | |e
|            |  | |
|            |  | |
|            |  | |
|            |  | |
|            |  | |
|            |  | |
\____________/\_//Connection to old
 []        [] \_/ drain valve location

As you can see the water travels "up-hill". At first this doesn't sound right until you realize that the water travels "up-hill with 40-120 psi of pressure pushing it". I can't see a problem with this, but would love to know if there is some evidence that this is acceptable, or if this is a bad practice, given the cost of a new compressor.

As long as you purge the tank until the moisture out you should be fine. I maintain some big compressors 150-200 hp that all push up into a separator tank to make sure any oil is removed from the water then the oil drains back to the compressor and this is a commercial setup. I am guessing you have a manual valve, when there is very little water vapor coming out you should be good.


How to read the gas meter? We have a gas meter similar to the one pictured below. I've not seen one of these before and can't find anything on reading them. The reason I'm asking is because it must not be as simple as just subtracting today's value from yesterday's.. Today's value is less than yesterday, by almost 100.

Yes, it should be that simple.  My first guess would be that you have a typo or a misreading, and that yesterday it showed 4814.

If true, from the meter shown that would be a change of around 300 cubic feet, or about 3 therms.  You can check your gas bill to see how many therms per month you are averaging.  During my peak heating days, I can use that much, so it's not unreasonable.

For the meter to record 10000 cubic feet change in a day (or to run backward) is unreasonable.  If you can confirm such a change is really indicated on the dial, you should contact the utility.

The dials for the one shown will indicate usage less than 100 cubic feet.  If you're just recording long-term usage, you can ignore them.  Under light usage, you might need them to see a daily difference.


How to remove rotating bathroom sink drain cover Our new apartment doesn't have the plunge style drain cover in our bathroom sink. Instead, it has a cover that hinges in the center, rotating around that point. So it physically has to be pushed in order to close.

However, I think the seal is too large and it can't easily be closed.

I'd like to either figure out a way to easily open and close the cover without touching it, or figure out a way to remove it and replace it with a fine mesh grating like this or this.

Our drains have to stay closed when we're not using them because the climate that I live in (the desert) means that when it gets warm the water traps dry up which allows bugs to crawl up from the sewers and out through your drains.

Any advice?

Look underneath for a large plastic hex bolt holding the drain in place.

Disconnect the P/U trap and unscrew that bolt. You will need to apply a bit of force to break the caulking.

Putting in a new one will require also putting in some caulking. The new plug will come with instruction to that effect.

There are drains with a plug that is operated with a lever behind the tap. This may be what you are looking for as a solution.


Is this rotary hammer capable of driving a ground rod into hard soil? I was thinking of purchasing this SDS Plus rotary hammer, and I'd like to drive ground rods with it.  Unfortunately, almost all of the ground rod drivers are SDS Max, not SDS Plus.

I'm going to be investigating my options (making my own, using a deep socket, etc.), but I just figured I should ask here first.  I'm unsure if this rotary hammer, or any SDS+ rotary hammer, is capable of driving a ground rod into hard soil.  Any feedback on that would also be appreciated.

Here's a video of just that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kfjhRYAUHg
But why not just rent the tool?  But if you must then check out this guy who modified a bit, then used some rubber hose, to get the ground rod in: http://www.n4lcd.com/groundrod/


Why use a Thinner Water Pipe to Branch off From a Tee Sorry if this question sound naive.  Normally in water pipes, when we see another pipe branch off from a T-junction, that pipe is a thinner one.  Say, a 3/4" pipe will branch off only a 1/2" pipe in a T.  What is the reason behind using a thinner one?

If water resistance is the concern, isn't that a thicker pipe will always have a lower resistance?  Using a thinner pipe only increases the resistance (am I right about resistance Vs size?) If we want higher pressure at the outlet, isn't that only the outlet need to have a smaller hole?

Borrowing the same concept from electricity, there is really no need to reduce the size of the electric wire (except to save cost) if we expect the end point can only consume lower power.  We can always use a wire as thick as the main wire anywhere.

You are correct about the electricity analogy, the reasons are normally cost and ease of installation its easier, quicker and cheaper to install a 1/2" pipe than a 3/4" pipe.
The 3/4 pipe will give less frictional loss than the 1/2" pipe. The sizing of water through a house is of worked of

Main connection:  The total simultaneous demand in the house ( calculation given in a table for domestic houses which gives the nominal amount of flow to normal fixtures, or this can be worked out manually for non standard installation eg. a mansion)
The Main index run:The index length to the furthest (or most disadvantaged ( which in domestic is usually the furthest) fixture and the total loading units for all fixtures.
Branch Pipes: sized using the index length still and the loading units of fixtures on each branch
Branch from Branch: As above

Some things that affect the calculations are the available pressure at the main ( for main fed houses), the height of the house above or below main height (higher means less pressure, lower means more), the product used eg, materials have different frictional loss and i\d sizes.

With the pressure increase it is good to keep in mind (which it seems you already understand), increasing the pipe size will not increase the pressure just decrease the frictional loss providing more available pressure and flow at the end destination.

If your interested in the calculations or regs have a look at this link for an example


electric heater keeps needing to be reset by turning fan on and off atleast every 1-2 days My electric furnace is about 23 years old, it quits working but does not trip a breaker. It feels warm to hot at furnace and just kind of clicks occasionaly when I turn thermostat up to 90 to try and get it to kick on.  If I turn the switch on at the furnace and back to auto it will work again for a day or two.
It almost acts as though it is shutting down for safety reasons.

I am considering getting a heat pump. What should I do?

I have to say it's time for you to get an HVAC Pro, please. There's a fault in the system & your "reset" is just working until the fault trips again. Unless, you're getting a Heat Pump next week pay $100 or $300 to a someone who knows what they're doing. Then, you can take years to decide on replacing the system. You resets could very well be pushing something that needed adjustment to the point of needing replacement. Spend a few bucks every 5-years on any type of system for continuous comfort & enjoyment.


Approved weatherproof way of connecting SER into panel I have a knockout in an outdoor electrical panel that is above the uninsulated portion of the panel. I need to run 4/0 SER wire into the panel. According to NEC 312.2, I need a wet listed fitting when working above the uninsulated portion of the panel. However, I can only find weatherproof fittings for SE/SEU, but not SER.

Several web sites seem to recommend using standard dry-location clamps plus duct seal or caulk, but that doesn't seem to meet the requirements of 312.2.

What is the proper way of terminating SER at this location?

  312.2 Damp and Wet Locations. In damp or wet locations, surface-type enclosures within the scope of this article shall be placed or
  equipped so as to prevent moisture or water from entering and
  accumulating within the cabinet or cutout box, and shall be mounted so
  there is at least 6-mm (1/4-in.) airspace between the enclosure
  and the wall or other supporting surface. Enclosures installed in wet
  locations shall be weatherproof. For enclosures in wet locations,
  raceways or cables entering above the level of uninsulated live parts
  shall use fittings listed for wet locations.

I ended up buying SEU compression clamps and drilling out the rubber grommet with a round drill to fit SER. It feels wrong, and its certainly not listed for that use. But it seems to be the best option available, and in my limited testing it is weathertight.


Can a concrete block be split the same way you cut stone? I just bought a house with a large retaining wall built out of stackable concrete blocks.  At one intersection there's an extra block that sticks out awkwardly.  If I score a line with a chisel can I get the block to cleave cleanly along that line?  Or is the only way to use some kind of cutoff wheel or wet saw?

Yes that is the way to do it without a cutoff blade, it is old school. But you must chisel in deep enough, completely around the block that is accessible, before you strike with hard blows to break it on the score line you made. I have done this with as little as an 1/8" deep score, although deeper is better for a more sure result. Go around the block in levels. Light score all around, a little deeper the next pass. And so on... If you go too aggressive too quickly, it will not break on your desired score line.


Touch Up Paint on Interior Windowwill I recently had the old windows on my house replaced. The old windows had cranks to open and close the windows that looked similar to this:

The new windows do not have a crank and now I have a spot (or two depending on the window) where the crank used to be that is missing paint. It looks like this:

What's a good way to paint these patches? The paint is latex and I have a sprayer. Ideally I'd like to only paint the missing spot and not the entire windowsill but I'd rather have to look good than go quickly.

Brush and just touch up. Possible foam brush would be best, but if the paint was done years ago, the color difference could be noticable. Even if you have the same color of leftover paint, the degradation from earth, wind, and fire (sun uv ray), it may not match perfectly. But that is the quickest most simple way.


Will a 6x10 glue-lam be suitable to replace a 4x10 porch beam with one fewer post? I have a 12x15 covered patio. The builder used a 4x10-16 beam supported by three 4x4 posts. Due to some rot issues I need to replace the beam and would like to eliminate the center post. Would a 6x10-16 glulam supported by two 4x6 posts handle the load?

Yes, using a 5 1/8” x 10 1/2” glulam beam will support a 16’ long header. You don’t give all the loading information required, but I’ll make some assumptions and you tell me if I’m wrong.
Loading from your covered patio is 20 psf snow live load plus 10 psf dead load (lumber, roofing, etc.) for a total load of 30 psf. Because the covered patio is 12’ deep, then 6’ bears on the header... so, 6’ x 30 psf = 180 plf along the header.
The 5 1/8” x 10 1/2” glulam will support 600 plf. Therefore, 600 plf - 180 plf = 420 plf allowed from the “house side” on the header. So if the span onto the header is less than 28’ then the glulam will support the load. (Remember, 14’ will rest on the new header and the other 14’ will rest on the other side of the house.)
If you live in a climate that has more than 20 psf of snow, the header will still work if snow lasts less than 90 days, due to an impact allowance.
Also, you may use a 4x4 for support at each end in lieu of the 4x6 you’re suggesting. Bearing value on each 4x4 is 600 lbs. x 16’/2 = 4800 lbs. So actual load is 4800 lbs. / 3.5” x 3.5” = 391 psi. ~ 385 psi allowable.
Make sure the beam and posts are connected together with a metal connector, such as Simpson ACE.
Likewise, connect the post base to the sole plate with a metal connector.
The last issue to check is bearing on footings. The code allows 1500 psf soil bearing value without a geotechnical report. Therefore, the maximum loading on the soil is 4800 lbs. plus 600 lbs. of concrete for a total load of 5,400 lbs.  If your footings are a minimum of 16” wide, then you’d need only the perimeter strip footing to be a minimum of 30” long.
When you order your glulam, be sure to order 2400 f. (Not 2200 f.)


Is it possible to use ducts with a window a/c unit? I'm trying to cool my home recording studio, but my window a/c unit is far too loud. I have a closet in the room which has a window and I was wondering if/how I could use ducts to put the a/c in the closet window and pipe it out into the room with the use of some 90 degree angle joint things.

The room is 12ftx12ft. The closet is 3.5ftx3ft.

This is the closet and an arrow to the window. The window inside is perpendicular to the room:

This is the window (it's bigger once opened) with the duct idea:

Then I was thinking of cutting 2 holes in the closet door for the vents and keeping the door shut to cut down on noise:

I'm not very concerned with 100% efficiency as long as it will cool the room a bit while being quieter. Unfortunately, I can't install a mini-split or central.

Yes, you can add ductwork to a room air conditioner, but be careful, 1) not to restrict the “air volume”, 2) allow for friction loss, and 3) use fewest number of turns as possible.

We use “duct silencers” to reduce the noise from fans in ductwork. See this:

https://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/hvac/duct_silen.htm

They are expensive, but you could make your own. The principle is that you want the air to go around a few baffles so the noise gets trapped in the acoustic panels inside the ductwork.

Make sure you oversize the ductwork.


Problem Using Wall Anchors for Curtain Rod I'm trying to hang curtains for a floor-to-ceiling window by using drywall anchors to hold up the curtain rod. However, the plastic screw gets stuck about halfway anywhere I attempt to drill. When I attempt to push the plastic screw further in while drilling, it just expands the hole outward rather than becoming flush with the wall. How can I do this correctly so as to install the curtain rod?

You may be able to run the screw right into the framing with out using the anchors. It will hold much better if it is framing and not wood lath or masonry. if the brackets are directly over the window, you may have found the header.


Will I damage a cordless drill/screwdriver if I "over-torque" it? I own a Bosch GSR cordless screwdriver/drill. This drill automatically locks the spindle so that it can be used as a passive screwdriver, e.g. if the battery is empty (that's what the manual says).

Sometimes I use it to screw climbing holds to a climbing wall (using M10 threaded screws). However, even the drill setting on the slow gear doesn't provide enough torque to fully fix larger holds, so I currently use an allen wrench for the final (half) turn.

Can I use the cordless drill in "passive mode" for this final turn, or will I damage it? If so, would it be better to release the trigger and then turn the drill, or should I fully press the trigger while turning it?

I could imagine that the latter would lead to overheating, but this is only for a few seconds. But I guess the first option would probably lead to torque that is larger than the drill is designed for.

Additional info: On a climbing hold manufacturer's website, I read that the holds should be tightened with a torque between 35 and 45 Nm, while Bosch lists a maximum torque of 30 Nm for my drill.

You can but it would be easier and more efficient to bring a manual wrench. A wrench or ratchet will let you apply your torque closer to the same plane as the head of the bolt. Turning the drill will be like a ratchet with an extension on it. Use the right tool for the job, your tools, your watch, and your wallet will thank you for it!


Do I need to remove cap nails before re-roofing? If I have existing decking with old tar paper that I want to remove the tar paper and install synthetic underlayment, do I need to remove all existing cap nails in addition to the tar paper or can I leave the cap nails if none are protruding?
There are literally a thousand cap nails in place.
thanks in advance for advice

That's between you and your roofing manufacturer. The new underlayment may be more likely to wear through on the protruding caps, nuking your warranty. (Plastic caps are always protruding somewhat.)

I'd hire a couple teenagers to pull them. With a cat's paw nail puller it shouldn't take long. Many re-roof jobs I've done have required several thousand roofing nails being pulled individually as well.


Lime/bath stone - In need of clean and repair The stone on my house which I think is Bath stone or Limestone is getting dirty. I’m not sure if it’s pollution, acid rain or something else.
I tried to give it a quick scrub with water and a gentle soap but I didn’t have any luck.
Can anyone tell me the type of cleaning agents that might be able to help or if this needs something more extensive?
pic
pic2

I have no experience of cleaning this stone, but I do recommend caution using any products you might find yourself.
Cleaning this type of stone is a likely to be specialist job, especially on a historic building. There is a risk of damaging the face of the stone and any work you carry out might be restricted by local regulations for listed buildings, conservation areas etc.
https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2020-01/clean_bath_stone_0.pdf
https://borealabode.com/bath-stone-cleaning-repair


How can I fill small holes in drywall without painting? I am taking down several items hung on our walls; this will leave about two dozen holes ranging from small nail holes to anchor holes about 3/8" in diameter. I am looking for a way to fill these holes that will look reasonable without painting – we have no matching paint, the walls have other imperfections, and the space is destined for a full paint job sometime in the not too distant future anyway.

It's a finished living space and the walls are drywall painted off-white. The point is to avoid attention-grabbing holes and have a finish and color match that's reasonable but by no means perfect (i.e., if it's noticeable from a foot or two away, that's fine, but noticeable from across the room is bad).

For small holes like you describe, I'd use Light Weight Spackle rather than standard vinyl Spackle. The Light Weight Spackle is very easy to apply, will almost disappear in small pin holes, and you can smooth it off with a damp cloth apx 15 minutes after application. using a damp cloth also removes excess Spackle from surrounding paint so the only patch material is in the hole, not on the surrounding paint.  You can get small sample size containers of paint at HD or Lowes for a couple of bucks. Pick a close color from the cards and touch up your fixes without having to buy a gallon of paint.


Best way to stick a very long Ethernet cable semi-permanently to walls? TL;DR: I am looking for good ways to stick flat Ethernet cable semi-permanently to ceilings/walls ideally suited to someone with no DIY expertise whatsoever

After successfully untwisting the very twisted Ethernet cable (thanks @Ecnerwal) I ran the cable to my room. However my parents were not keen on it being on the floor as it posed a tripping hazard. So I used a lot of sticky tape to tape the cable from the router all the way to my room via various walls and ceilings.
This worked well for about a day or so before the sticky tape became not-so-sticky and the cable started to droop and fall off in places. I attach photos:

So I'm looking for a slightly more permanent solution here. I know there are some U-shaped panel thingies (can you tell I'm a seasoned DIY professional??) that might work if I can figure out how to stick them to the walls.

The problem with almost any adhesive is that the longer it stays on, the more likely it is to either fall off when you don't want it to fall off, or stay on when you don't want it to (typically this means "top layer of paint comes off with the tape"). Aesthetic considerations may not be an issue right now (when I was a kid, I definitely ran wires around in unattractive ways, though not Ethernet, that wasn't an option at the time), but a "temporary" wire hanging around is less troublesome than peeled patches of paint.
My recommendation is cable clips/staples. There are plenty of varieties, but generally something like this:

There are some with a single nail and some with two nails. For Ethernet (and similar), a single nail is strong enough. If the main part is white and you switched to a white Ethernet cable then the whole thing would come pretty close to "background noise" on a white wall. But if you don't care about the look, stick with the existing cable, it is just fine.
I definitely advise against switching to WiFi as others have suggested. Nothing beats a wired connection.


Maintaining a Thatched Roof Is there anything I can do to prolong the life of my thatched roof?

Should I attempt to remove moss etc?

It would be worth finding a thatcher - if only so you have someone who will repair/replace the roof when the time comes.

A good one will be able to tell you what maintenance work you need to have done and which tasks you as householder can do.


What is electrical code for number of wires in a breaker? US, Georgia
I am adding some new ciruits to add some additional outlets.  The closest place is to run a wire to the main panel box.

My question is, can I connect more than one wire to a breaker and still meet code or do I need to get a new breaker.  Both the wires and plugs are the same rating as the breaker - 15 amp.

Making the assumption that only one wire can be under each screw in the breaker, can I make a junction in the panel box?  IE, one wire to breaker, but two wires to a wire nut connecting them together, or does the junction need to be in a separate box?

Double Taps
With most devices you can only have one wire per screw terminal, however, some breakers do support multiple wires under terminals. If the device allows multiple taps, it must be listed for the purpose.

NEC 2008
110.14 Electrical Connections.
(A) Terminals. Connection of conductors to terminal parts shall ensure a thoroughly good connection without damaging the conductors
and shall be made by means of pressure connectors (including set-screw
type), solder lugs, or splices to flexible leads. Connection by means
of wire-binding screws or studs and nuts that have upturned lugs or
the equivalent shall be permitted for 10 AWG or smaller conductors.
Terminals for more than one conductor and terminals used to connect
aluminum shall be so identified.

Taps, Splices, and Feed Throughs
Feed throughs, taps, and splices are allowed, but only if they do not over fill the enclosure.

NEC 2008
312.8 Enclosures for Switches or Overcurrent Devices. Enclosures for switches or overcurrent devices shall not be used as junction
boxes, auxiliary gutters, or raceways for conductors feeding through
or tapping off to other switches or overcurrent devices, unless
adequate space for this purpose is provided. The conductors shall not fill the wiring space at any cross section to more than 40 percent of the cross-sectional area of the space, and the conductors, splices, and taps shall not fill the wiring space at any cross section to more than 75 percent of the cross-sectional area of that space.

Tandem Breakers
If you have no room for a new breaker in the panel, consider a Tandem Breaker.  You'll have to check whether or not your panel supports them, but in some cases a tandem breaker can save you from having to install a new panel or a sub-panel.
Code Changes
In the 2008 version of the National Electrical Code (NEC), section 210.12 has been updated to require Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (AFCI) protection in many areas of the home.

NEC 2008
210.12 Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection.
(B) Dwelling Units. All 120-volt, single phase, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets installed in dwelling unit family
rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms,
sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways, or similar rooms or
areas shall be protected by a listed arc-fault circuit interrupter,
combination-type, installed to provide protection of the branch
circuit.

Depending on the changes you're making to the wiring, the inspector may require you to update the breaker for this or all branch circuits feeding these areas. This decision will be completely up to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), since it's a judgment call on whether or not you're making a large enough change to warrant the extra work.


I have a neutral wire, what do I hook that wire to? I have 4 wires on a new switch, 2 of them going to ground. One green and one silver (bare) coming from the bracket of the switch. In the electrical wiring of the house I have a neutral wire, what do I hook that wire to?

I need a little more information on the wiring to give an answer. Typically the white neutral wire is bonded to ground, but only at the panel. If this is a switch box, the white wire could be bringing power to the box or returning power back to a light/outlet/switchable device.  Essentially, power has to feed "into" the switch with one wire and back "out" through another.  It's supposed to be marked/taped though to designate this.

Alternatively, it could simply be an unused neutral leg that was brought in with the hot leg and should just be capped if not used. Newer building codes require you to run a neutral leg to switch boxes so that things can be "run" from the box. For example, you would need the neutral to install an outlet/switch combo at the switch box. Or using a motion sensing switch might require a neutral leg as well.

Can you provide a picture or some history of what type of fixture was in the box?


Drilling holes behind existing walls/ceilings We are remodeling a 1914 house, and want to keep damage to the walls and ceiling to a minimum.  We had to take a few walls down already, and as a result have the ability to drill new holes behind the existing wall/ceiling.

We would like to drill through 3 to 4 joists without removing the ceiling for new wiring.

The span of the 3-4 joists is about 5 feet, and we have about a foot worth of space to fit this 5 foot spade bit plus the drill.

We were thinking about using extension bars to incrementally get the spade bit across.  The only issue that I can think about is how would we keep the spade bit straight.

Would this be a "hope it works" kind of situation, or is there a better way of doing it?

I personally wouldn't go this route, as it would definitely be a "hope it works" situation. For starters, I would hesitate to drill through stud bays that I didn't have access to both sides of because there is really no way to be sure you wouldn't be drilling through something important, like existing wiring for example. Second, drilling the holes is only the first challenge - fishing a wire through 4 blind holes over 5 feet is no small task. About the only way I would see this is feasible is using the bit (plus extensions) to pull the wire back through after it is drilled.

If you decide to try this, don't use a spade bit.  Five feet worth of extensions going through 100 year old seasoned floor joists is going to be practically impossible due to the amount of pressure you would have to put on the drill bit and the number of joints in the system.  I would use an auger bit instead - that way you would have the bit itself pulling the extensions taut.


LED light flickering in one socket but not others, and any other bulb works fine with the socket I got a batch of LED bulbs which have been working well until now. Some of these are having an issue. Let me describe the issue. A bulb start to flicker after while and if I try it on another socket, it works just fine. So that makes me think it is the original socket. So I go ahead and try another bulb on the original socket and that bulbs works just fine as well.

So for some reason, the original bulb flickers on the original socket only - but both the bulb and socket seem to work with other socket and bulb. This has been happening with a few bulbs. What could the problem be? Could it be the base of the bulb s of bad quality so it creates some sort of reaction with the socket so those two cannot work well anymore. I have no idea and I am out of ideas.
PLEASE HELP! Thank you.

Notice that the base of an LED bulb (the part above the socket) is wider than the base of an incandescent.  Often, something about the fixture is making contact with the wider LED bulb, so that it binds up and prevents it from screwing into the socket all the way.  It feels like it's screwed in all the way, but it's not.

If you look at the nub on the bottom of bulb or socket, you may see arcing marks.


How can I reconnect the tension cable to the bottom of my overhead door? Update

I was able to screw the roller fixture back into place, however, the right side now rides high:

Many thanks to Trevor's helpful response.  Given isherwood's feedback I will attempt a more specific follow-up  question: Should the right-side gap be corrected \ closed by tightening the tension on the left or reducing tension on the right?  Any explanation of why is appreciated.

ORIGINAL POST

In an attempt to replace the (bottom) roller of the garage door, I did not notice that it was tied to a cable and now it is difficult (if not seemingly impossible) to restore because of the cable length seems short.   The reason for replacing the roller is that was exposed to saltwater flooding and it may be the causing the door to stop after moving 2 inches (from either the open or closed position).

Is there a good explanation and video that can explain the purpose and mechanism so that I can safely restore the garage door back to working order?  If I can learn how the mechanism works from a good-simple youTube video or URL, then I can troubleshoot the other umpteen garage doors in the community.  Thank you for an lessons-learned and pitfalls to avoid.

There should be a cable on both sides of the door that go up to pulleys on a long rod mounted above the door. In the centre of the rod will be a large coil spring that is affixed at one end to the wall.

As the door is brought down the rod rotates and winds up that spring. The spring acts as a counterweight for the door so it only takes a few pounds to lift the door rather than lifting the entire door weight.

When the door is fully open the spring should be relaxed. When open, each pulley can be untightened separately and turned by hand, or with a lever to adjust the tension on the wires.

DO NOT ATTEMPT that with the door down. There is a lot of energy stored in that spring.

Getting the tension the same on both sides is important to ensure the door travels true and mates with the floor evenly.


How do I fix bathroom fan which is not working? I recently moved into a new home and found out one of the bathroom fans don't work but the lights are fine. I thought at first it was the motor but the motor run if i connect it directly to a power socket. I also tested the wires on the exhust fan and they have no current. I tried to understand the wire but I have not accomplished much. Usually there are only two sets of wires but in mine there are four. I have checked other switchs and there not the same there simpler. I have taken a picture so it will be easier to help, i have included a picture what i know or think i know.

Basically the first wire form the left is the form the light.(Black/White)
The second wire is the power line. (Black/White)
Not sure what the third wire is. (Black/White/Red)
Not sure what last one is either. (Black/White)

If anyone has seen this before please let me know.

Labels in the picture.

M-Line : Main power
T-Wire : Transferring Wire, this wire provides current to both switch.

Any help would be appreciated.

Without actually being there, and not being able to see the wiring at each of the devices, it's difficult to be sure what's going on. But here's my best guess, based on past experience.

To make it easier, I've numbered the ungrounded (hot) conductors in the photo from left to right.

You've already established goes to a light.
Supplies power to the switches.
Likely goes to the fan.
Also goes to the fan, but since the fan doesn't have a light built in, it's likely capped off at the fan.
Probably feeds some other device, maybe a receptacle.

Why 3 and 5 are controlled by the same switch, I have no idea. Again, I can't see the room, so I have no idea what equipment you have.
If 1 and 4 are both for lights, it makes sense that a singe switch controls them.
One other thing to check, is to make sure the terminals of those switches are rated to accept more than one conductor. There should be a label on the switch that tells you what type, and how many conductors can connect.


Multi gang switch boxes - Is it okay to keep the same branch neutrals separated for the different lighting/switching circuits? I recently learned from this community about the importance of keeping currents balanced in each cable. In other words, current in one direction should be canceled by the same amount of current flowing in the opposite direction in the same cable in order to reduce inductive heating and (possibly to cut down on unwanted rf interference). I think it is a useful rule for thinking through switching-circuits, but I just wanted to run my scenario by all of you to see if you agree with my conclusions. My question is, should the neutral conductors from the same branch circuit always be tied together in each box, or is it better to do it the way I show in the following situations?

I have three boxes: two of them in the garage, one in the laundry room. My homerun comes into the box on the right [C], where the Hot (H) pigtails to feed a single pole switch for the walk-in door light, a three-way switch for the garage lighting, and also ties into the black wire of a 2-wire cable running to the laundry room switch box [A].

The traveler terminal screws of the three-way switch at [C] are connected to the black and red wires of a 3-wire cable running to a four-way switch box [B]. The white neutral wires (N) all tie together in this box because they’ll each have to have the return path back through the Homerun neutral here. So the 3-wire cable carries two travelers and a neutral (TTN).

In box B, the black and red tie to the bottom two screws of a four-way switch. The white (N) ties together with the white from a second 3-wire cable leaving the box and running to box A. The black and red in that second cable tie to the upper two terminals of the four-way. So the second 3-wire cable also carries two travelers and a neutral (TTN) to box A.

In box A the HN 2-wire supplies a single pole switch to control the laundry room light. The black wire hits one terminal of the switch, while the other terminal is connected to the black wire of a second 2-wire (SN) running to the light. These two white (N) wires tie together in this box, but in keeping with the balanced current rule, I’ve kept them separate from others.

Also in box A the TTN 3-wire cable enters from box B, with the black and red wires tied to the traveler terminals of a three-way switch. The black common screw of the three way is connected to the black wire (S) of a third 2-wire cable running to the garage lighting. The white wire to the light ties together with the white in the TTN 3-wire cable.

Questions I have about this arrangement are:

Is this the standard way of wiring multi-gang switch boxes?
How important is it to make these distinctions since the neutrals are
all on the same branch circuit?
Have you noticed any reduction in radio interference from fluorescent
lighting by carefully balancing currents this way?

Nice drawing. Very clear and looks correct. It would be a mistake to tie the two neutral wires in box A. This would create a circuit loop and a fire risk from heating when one circuit is on and the other is off. There may also be hum if you use switches or lights that include electronic circuits such as fluorescent ballasts. It's OK to wire this up as drawn.

Green/bare grounding wires should be treated in the same way. If there are two separate grounding conductors feeding box A (e.g., NM cable) then they should be tied separately as drawn for the two neutrals. If you feed box A with two grounding wires it is best not to use a metal junction box. If junction box A is metal it needs to be bonded to one of these grounding wires and will thereby be bonded to both switches. In that case you can't avoid a ground loop. This would not be a safety hazard as these wire carry no continuous current but it may cause hum as noted above. So use a non-metal box and run NM cable or individual wires in NM conduit.

Better yet, remove the standalone A-to-C run by running HTTN(G) from box A to B as well as from box B to C. Then there are no neutral or ground loops to worry about and you are free to choose the most convenient wiring method.


Can I get away with 12" round supply and return for 2 ton? replacing two package AC heat pumps that are 20+ years old, going to convert it to a split system with an air handler inside an insulated closet style box on the outside of the house.  Ducts are in the attic with very limited space, then come outside the attic and down the side of the house inside this boxed in structure I will expand a little and put the upflow air handlers in.  I was shocked to pull the 2.5 ton heat pump and find it connected 12 inch round metal pipes wrapped in insulation.   So can I get by with the 12 inch pipes till I can figure what to do?  I will be running them in 2 ton mode. Later I would look to come back and redo the duct work.  Its in south western NC so not super cold or hot.  I just cannot redo the duct work at this time and need to get the heatpump installed and working.

Yes, my “Ductulator” says a 12” diameter duct (with insulation on the exterior of the duct) is a little small, but barely adequate for a 2 ton unit.
If I was sizing it I’d use a 14” diameter with a friction loss of .09 per 100 feet of duct on the SUPPLY side and .07 on the RETURN side.
However, your 12” duct will make the air travel a little faster than recommended, but it will not “whistle”.


Why are these cracks around all of our sash windows? We've been renovating a Victoria house (~1875) in Hackney (London) and had new sash windows installed about a year ago. Across most of them, we've had these cracks/separations start to appear (see photos below). One builder has said this was because the wrong kind of silicone was used. Any thoughts?

Silicone should NEVER be used on painted trim.

The separation that I see here can either be seasonal movement, as in the trim was installed in the summer and now it is winter where the moisture content of the wood is much less, therefore making it shrink.

It also could have been installed with too high of a moisture content to begin with and the loss of moisture is now evident. It may even be as simple as not enough nails used at the proper angle to hold the trim fast in the corner.
 Since it is a touch up item, I would add a few piloted 2 1/2"-3" nails angled into the corner to tie it together, set them below the surface and putty and sand flush. Before you commit the nails, make sure the trim is solid in its backing. You will notice it if it starts moving while starting the nail in, the trim will want to compress in. If it does, it will make the gap MUCH bigger. If so then you may want to use a trim head screw.

After it is secured, caulk with a good grade of painters caulk, it can be siliconized, but not 100% silicone. Prime and finish paint.


Can a homeowner without a Section 608 EPA license legally connect his own gauges to his own air conditioner if the unit uses 410a refrigerant? It has been suggested by at least one moderator on this site that EPA Section 608, which restricts who can purchase and handle refrigerant, including who can connect a set of manifold gauges to a unit, applies only to CFC and HCFC refrigerants  (class I and II refrigerants).
Can someone please clarify if it is legal or illegal for a homeowner without an EPA license to attach his own manifold gauges to his own equipment if it is charged with an HFC such as 410a?
From reading sections of the statute (not just the EPA summary) it is my understanding that effective November 15, 1995, Section 608 applies not only to CFC and HCFC refrigerants, but also their "substitutes." [The EPA has separately stated the term "substitutes" is not meant to restrict the sale of refrigerants that do not contain Ozone Depleting Compounds, such as 410a.  Federal Register/ Vol. 70, No. 70 / Wednesday, April 13, 2005 / Rules and Regulations / ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY /40 CFR Part 82 [FRL–7899–3]. ]
Best answer from the EPA website:  http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/technicians_contractors_faq.html

Is EPA technician certification required to service R-410A systems?
No, at this time EPA technician certification (i.e., EPA Section 608 certification) is not required in order to service R-410A systems or other stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems containing HFCs.

It appears this activity is legal, provided the 410a is not intentionally released into the atmosphere.  +100 to Tyler for being first and closest to this answer.

The law against "unlicensed" refrigerant handlers (whatever that means) does not specify any penalties, it just says it is "prohibited", so from a legal standpoint it is an unenforceable law. In order for a law to be prosecuted it must have a penalty specified, otherwise it is moot in court. For this reason, noone has ever been indicted for violating this so-called "prohibition".

In general, only companies are sued by the EPA for refrigerant issues, not individuals, with the exception of refrigerant "smugglers" who are indicted on trade laws, not Clean Air Act violations. In the last 10 years only one (individual not company) person has ever been domestically convicted of a Freon-related violation. That was a guy who was brazenly selling Freon on Craigslist. Even in this case, he was convicted of filing false documents with the Feds, not of actually selling the Freon.

No individual householder has ever been criminally charged for maintaining, charging or otherwise working with refrigerants, illegal or otherwise, in their own home or business.