Can tankless & conventional water heaters join forces? Although I have properly maintained my nearly 20-year-old 40-gallon (150-L) Kenmore natural gas-fired water heater, I have been considering replacing it with a natural gas-fired tankless water heater unit, a Rinnai 180,000BTU (190 MJ), which I bought a few months ago at a terrific price.

However, due to sudden changes in the household size (basically, grown kids are moving back for an extended stay), I am considering adding the tankless unit such that the Kenmore’s 40-gallon (150-L) water capacity will act as a preheated water supply source for the Rinnai tankless unit, with the assumption that, if I set the Kenmore’s temperature to a low setting, it will not cause the tankless Rinnai to function improperly.

So please check my plan and advise;

Location-Los Angeles, California, very mild weather.
House’s fixtures; 2.5 bathroom, 2 showers / 3 sinks, kitchen, dishwasher, Laundry.
I plan to provide a dedicated gas supply line to the tankless Rinnai unit as follows: 1 inch (2.5 cm) gas line, reduced to ¾ inch (1.9 cm), in the last 12-14-foot (3.7-4.3-m) run to the Rinnai, whereas the installation instructions indicate a gas supply line to be sized at ¾ inches (1.9 cm) for the last 20 ft (6 m) run.
Heated water supply exiting from the Kenmore water heater to act as a supply water line, via ¾ inch (1.9 cm) pipe supplying preheated water to the tankless Rinnai, then heated water from the Rinnai for distribution to the house’s fixtures.
While the existing Kenmore water heater is garage based, the tankless unit will be installed at the exterior wall, opposite the Kenmore, to minimise the work needed to connect the two and any loss of efficiency.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

I see a couple problems there.

First, having a tanked heater operate at less than 140°F (60°C) is problematic.  The reason is our science has advanced on the Legionella bacteria which causes Legionnaires Disease, and it turns out a "warm" water heater is a breeding ground for it and other bacteria.  140°F (60°C) is scalding, and that necessitates the modern style of mixing valve that automatically mixes hot and cold (It will not allow stream output to be near 140°F (60°C)).

Second, using a tanked heater to "ease the load on" a tankless isn't much use, because the tankless doesn't need the help. It means the tankless will be barely working for the first 30-ish gallons (110 L-ish) of draw, the tanked heater is now useless and can't help.  The tankless will be working very hard.  If you did manage to overload this big tankless, everyone would go painfully tepid at once.

The reverse connection makes more sense.  The tankless uses its full strength to warm the entering-the-tank water. Even at too much flow for the tankless, it's still giving a 40-60 °F (22–33 °C) boost.  Which dramatically improves the tanked heater's recovery time.   At flow rates the tankless can keep up with, you never run out of hot (at least warm) water.  At rates too much for the tankless, the tanked heater's recovery time (to a showerable 110°F (43°C)) drops from 30 minutes to 5.

However, I am honestly not a fan of either one.  I don't like the tanked heater existing, due to its considerable parasitic load.  I would just go all-in on the tankless, and school people in "don't run everything at once".


What is normally done to bridge skirting boards around an opening with different floor levels on each side? I have to attach some skirting boards on recently plastered walls and openings. The issue is that the floors on each side of the opening are at different levels, therefore the opening has a step on it. What usually happens with the skirting board on each side and around the opening?

Do you not put the skirting board around the side of the opening? And if so, how do you finish the edge of the board to meet the opening so that it looks good?

Obviously with the floor levels being different you cannot just wrap the skirting board around the opening as it will not line up on the other side.

Hope this makes sense.

Edit: Here is a picture. The step is not yet tiled, but it shows the level differences.

Dimensions on your photo would help make a better model, but here is what I might do in this situation.
The easy way
End the upper trim with a bevel (30-45°) at the edge of the stair, then continue in the lower room as normal.

Transition
You may want to use a transition piece to pull the pieces together.

You could even cut an angle into the top of the transition, for a different look.

You may also want to bevel the upper trim into the transition piece.

The complex, lots of angle calculation, pain in the neck way
Cut a small angled transition piece from the upper trim, down to the lower trim.

In this case, you may still want to bevel the upper trim piece.

There's not really a right way to do something like this. It's more about your preference, and the amount of work you're willing to do.


Can I connect the generator neutral to my mains neutral permanently? I have a 3 phase 15KW generator with four wires. I want to use it as a standby generator for my house. My house uses 1 phase 220 volts on two wires (no ground as the house is quite old). I have a 3 wire transfer switch. I was wondering if I could connect the generator neutral to my mains neutral permanently and just switch the live wires. I know I should avoid this but is it really dangerous.

p.s.

I am going to have a problem with balancing the loads
the generator is not branded i.e it made with a 1.6 litre Toyota engine (I think).

Now that its clear that I should have a solid neutral, (thanks longneck and bcworkz) is there anything wrong with implementing the following plan

The reason for using these devices is that I already have them.

Why do you think you should avoid this? You should have the neutral from the generator tied to the neutral of the house.


The hose reel does not rewind anymore We were using the hose to clean a patio and because we needed the whole length we pulled its full length out of the reel. It did not feel like anything clicked or broke when doing so, it was done in a fairly gentle way.
The problem is that the reel does not rewind the hose anymore. There is a lever button on the side to switch locked and unlocked positions but toggling it has no effect.
When trying to spin the wheel manually with the fingertips, it does not move. As if the spring is maintaining it in locked position.
What can we try?
Images here https://imgur.com/a/z9AZtxd

There seems to be many others with Hozelock reels that have problems.
fixya.com/troubleshoot/hozelock
It could be just jammed from pulling it out a little to far, not necessarily to hard but to far, or it could be the very low quality plastic parts inside have broken or the belt has broken or stripped.
If jiggling the real while jiggling the lock lever does not free it up then I think obtaining the specialty, star or torx, head screwdriver and investigating the internals is the only option to assess its repair-ability.


Slack on hose and venting for washer and dryer In our cottage have a large coat-closet near our front door -- the only place we could put a stacked washer/dryer. Plumbing is already nearby and it shares exterior wall (to place vent).
The problem: the washer/dryer would need to go above the access panel hatch into crawl space. We will only need to access that crawl space about once-per-year.
The question: Can we put the washer/dryer on wheels and keep an extra few feet of slack on the hose/vent to be able to pull it out (in order to access the crawl space) without needing to disconnect everything?

Yes.  There are even products made for this.  Its important to have locking wheels (even if you only ever lock the front two that you can access)
As to adding some slack for the hose, remember that this will effect drying efficiency and add additional spaces for lint/socks to accumulate which can become a safety/fire issue.  Is it possible to rig a quick disconnect for the hose?  this would also allow for annual cleaning of the hose:


Circuit is broken when switch is screwed into box, but not outside of box 1954 House with original (cloth over rubber) wiring on the main floor.  Replacing fan and light with simple overhead light fixture and toggle switch with a dimmer switch.  Box has an incoming conduit and an outgoing conduit.  When I pulled out the toggle switch, one screw had a dark wire and the other screw had two dark-colored wires attached.

Box Contents:  2 green (ground) wires nutted together, 2 white (neutral wires nutted together), and 3 dark-colored wires (one is hot, two are not).

After installing the dimmer and capping off the other dark-colored wire, my bathroom and hallway lights were out. When I tried to connect the third dark-colored wire to the switch, reinstall and turn the power back on, the circuit broke.

I figured out that this was a switch loop, removed everything, looked for signs of frayed wires, tried to organize as much as possible, pigtailed the ground wires, pigtailed the hot/bathroom/hallway wire, re-nutted everything, taped around the edges of the nuts, and turned the power back on without putting the switch back in the box.  Everything worked fine.

When I added everything back to the box and tried to screw it down, the circuit popped.  I turned it all off and waited a day thinking that maybe I had fried the dimmer the first time.

Tonight, I re-inspected and connected to a regular single pole switch.  With the power off, I put the switch in the box, screwed it down and then turned the power back on.  The hallway light turned on, but when I hit the switch on the GCFI lightswitch/power combo in the bathroom, the circuit broke again.  When I removed the switch from the box and tried again, all of the lights and switches work.

Can the electrical box be bad?  Any ideas?

This is in a plaster/lathe wall and is not able to be pulled or easily cut out.  Does it sound like I have a short in one of the wires and its only happening when put into the box?

The green wires are the mystery here.  One thing is clear, they are not correctly installed equipment grounding conductors (ground wires).

If this is conduit as you say, it's possible that it's just a color coding problem, which is an issue because it is confusing and potentially dangerous when people work on the wiring, but not necessarily an electrical problem.  The solution would be to identify where green wire has been used incorrectly and remove it or replace it with a suitable color.

However, is it possible what you have here is not conduit but armored cable with an insulated ground?  It sounds like you have armored cable where someone decided to use the armor as the ground (not good) and use the green wires for power (also no good).  If that's the case, someone has to sort out how this has been screwed up and correct it, and it could be a big headache.  It sounds like someone partly corrected it - they capped the green wires in this box - but they didn't fix everything.

Apparently one of the green wires is hot;  when you connect the green wires to the ground terminal on the switch, both green wires are hot, and the switch strap is hot - you're lucky you didn't accidentally touch it when you had the box open and live, you'd have been zapped.

When you close the box, the screw clamps the switch strap to the box, which is grounded by the conduit or armor;  when you restore power, you have a ground fault and the breaker trips.

If this is armored cable rather than conduit, it's likely that the cable armor is not a reliable ground path, and you're lucky that the breaker tripped, rather than heating up the armor and potentially causing a fire.

If you cap the green wires and install a dimmer, everything should work as it did, but you still have an issue, possibly a serious issue.

Ultimately I think you're going to want have an electrician take a close look at the wiring and the grounding and sort this out.  If it's conduit it may be a simple matter to trace the wires and remove or replace any green wire that ought to be a different color.  If it's armored cable, it could be quite a bit more work, and you may find that other shortcuts have been taken.


How can I fix a screen door that sticks? I have a sliding screen door that leads out to a porch/deck.  The door continually sticks and is just doesn't slide open cleanly.  Otherwise the screen and everything is fine.  Is there something I can do to fix this or do I need to replace the entire screen door?

Have you tried lubricating it? Seems worth a shot for the price before replacing the whole door.


Adding additional outlet - max wires and box size? I am attempting to add an additional outlet higher up in a wall for a wall mounted TV. There is an outlet below where I've mounted that I planned to run power from up to the location by the TV.

When I opened the existing outlet, I found there are already 3 sets of wires running into the box (so 3 white, 3 black, + grounds). All the tutorials/questions I've found have one, maybe two sets coming into the box

I don't know why there are so many wires in this box, or where they all go - The outlet is on the same circuit as a bathroom on the other side of the wall, which has a GFI outlet in it, then there is another outlet down the wall from this one that I think is connected.

There is an additional space on the existing outlet to attach an additional set of wires (it has two push in and two screw spots on each side)

I've got a couple of questions

1 - Is it ok to just attach my new black/white to the existing outlet on the open spots and pigtail the grounds?

2 - If not, how should I connect the new line? If I'm supposed to pigtail everything, I'm not sure how best to do that unless I need to connect 5 blacks and 5 whites (three existing coming into the box, plus 1 additional into box, plus 1 from pigtail to the outlet

3 - I read somewhere else here about box size, from what I'd seen it looks like with the new line in the box it'll be too full, so I'd need to replace the box... It's a new work attached to the stud box, just a single outlet. I don't want to double up the outlets, are there bigger old work boxes for a single outlet?

4 - I can live without the outlet at the bottom, so if it's too much hassle can I just pig tail all the blacks/whites/grounds inside this box and put a plate on it?

Pic of existing outlet:

existing box: (three in the back were existing, yellow is the one I added)

Read inside the box.  If you install 14 AWG conductors to the new box, instead of 12 AWG conductors. You'd need at least a 22 cu.in. Box, or a 3" x 2" x 3 1/2" device box.

8 for current carrying conductors.
1 for grounding conductors.
2 for device fill.

11 total, times 2.00 cu.in. for 14 AWG conductors = 22 cu.in.

However, since you're using 12 AWG, the calculation looks like this...

6 for 14 AWG conductors x 2.00 cu.in. (12 cu.in).
2 for 12 AWG conductors x 2.25 cu.in. (4.5 cu.in).
1 for grounding conductors x 2.25 cu. in. (2.25 cu.in.).
2 for device fill x 2.25 cu.in. (4.5 cu.in.).

Total = 23.25 cu.in.

For more information on box fill, check out this answer

As for connecting the new wire. There should be no problem attaching it to the receptacle. However, since you're using 12 AWG conductors, you'll have to use the screw terminals.

If you want to do pigtails, you can. I know some guys don't like the backstab connections, so if you want to avoid using them you can do pigtails. Ideal 76B® Red Wire-nut® Wire Connectors are rated for 2 to 5 #14 conductors, but check with the manufacturer of the connectors you're using.  Again, if you're going to do this, you'll want to use #14 conductors instead of the #12 you've installed.


Water Heater - Discharge Pipe Goes Upward, How To Address My tankless water heater (located in the basement) has the TPR valve discharge pipe traveling upwards, which is against code, and it terminates into the soil outside the house.

What is the best way to rectify this?

Other Notes: No sump pump, no floor drain. In California.

It seems like a 5 gallon bucket wouldn’t be capable of handling the flow, so I’d still like to have it go outside, but that doesn’t seem possible without having the piping go upward at some point (which is against code). Installing a floor drain seems excessive (and expensive).

TPR piping has one solitary purpose, and that is to relieve pressure should a problem arise that overpressures or boils water in the heater.   Such a problem could include the city supply overpressuring for some reason.  The discharge will be steam or water, and it needs to discharge somewhere (preferably: safe).

The discharge could be massive since it is fed off main supply.

Even if a bucket met statute, it would quickly overflow and cause a flood event in your home, and that means you'd get to have the guys with the industrial dehumidifiers come out and spend a week busting out drywall and flooring, and unfinishing your basement, then fun with the insurance company.  Goodee.

So that piping should "go overboard" to somewhere non-destructive, like a downspout on a downhill side of the house.

The only bad thing about going upward is after the event ends, stagnant water could be trapped in the rise.  The installer should have never installed your water heater oriented like that.  But these events are quite rare, and are usually the death rattle of the water heater, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.


What wall material should be used behind the Kerdi system in a tub/shower? I know from my previous question that in most cases a cement board of some kind needs to be used. However, when the Kerdi membrane system is being used behind the tile, is it still necessary to use a cement backer board?

Schluter says that behind the Kerdi membrane a solid backing needs to be used.  They define a solid backing as :

gypsum wallboard
cementitious backer unit
fibercement underlayment
fiber-reinforced water-resistant
gypsum
backerboard/underlayment
coated glass mat water-resistant
gypsum
backerboard
portland cement mortar bed
concrete
masonry

Found this in their Shower System Installation Handbook here.
Link : http://www.schluter.com/media/ShowerHandbook.pdf


p and s trap plumbing help We installed new counters and along with it a new sink.  The location of the drain on new sink is lower and much to the left of the old one.  After rotating the trap, its still off from the drain by about an 1.  But there isn't enough vertical room to make the necessary jogs.  So my question is, would it hurt to add a s trap right out of the sink drain only to jog the h2o to the location of the orginal trap?  Would it still drain correctly?  Would the lower trap still work correctly? See the attached sketch.

Thanks,

I don't believe you're allowed to have two traps on the same drain line at all, and you certainly don't want two in a row. You will surely get weird syphoning and gurgling problems.

Just replumb the new sink so that the drain goes straight down and joins the old sink's drain before the P trap.


Rusted screws in outdoor outlet box Summarize the problem
I need help removing rusted screws from an outdoor outlet box. A few notes:

The outlet box was used for an outdoor light that I removed
I turned off the breaker
I have access to the back of the box

Provide details and any research
Here's a photo of the box:

When appropriate, describe what you’ve tried
I've tried:

Applying WD-40 Specialist Penetrating oil
Hammering the front and sides of the screw
Trying and failing to unscrew both screws

My questions are:

Should I try other things to remove the screws?
Or should I just pull the box out and install a new one?

Hacksaw?
If you saw thru the rusty plate (twice, one for left slot and one for right) and remove it by pulling it out from under the screw, the remaining screw will be sticking up enough for you to get hold of the whole head with a pliers and unscrew it.
It is hard to argue w Alaska Man (or you) re merits of replacing the whole box.  But it seems like you would need these screws out to do that too.


UK Building Regulations: which document is regulation 3 in? From the list of Approved Documents, I downloaded Approved Document F (Ventilation).  It has a reference to "regulation 3":

  7.21 If any of the work being carried out in the kitchen or bathroom of an existing building is ‘building work’, as defined in regulation 3 of the Building Regulations...

But I can't find regulation 3.  Which Approved Document is it in, or is there a separate list of Regulations?

I can't find regulation 3.

Follow this trail from http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/

Building Policy and Legislation
Current Legislation
Building Regulations
Building Regs Legislation 2010
The Building Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2214)
Part 2,
3. Meaning of Building Work

Which leads you to The Building Regulations 2010, No. 2214, PART 2, Regulation 3

Meaning of building work
  3.—(1) In these Regulations “building work” means—
       (a) the erection or extension of a building;
       (b) the provision or extension of a controlled service or fitting in
           or in connection with a building;
       (c) the material alteration of a building, or a controlled service or
           fitting, as mentioned in paragraph (2);
       (d) work required by regulation 6 (requirements relating to material
           change of use);
       (e) the insertion of insulating material into the cavity wall of a
           building;
       (f) work involving the underpinning of a building;
       (g) work required by regulation 22 (requirements relating to a change
           of energy status);
       (h) work required by regulation 23 (requirements relating to thermal
           elements);
       (i) work required by regulation 28 (consequential improvements to
           energy performance).
    (2) An alteration is material for the purposes of these Regulations if
        the work, or any part of it, would at any stage result—
       (a) in a building or controlled service or fitting not complying with
           a relevant requirement where previously it did; or
       (b) in a building or controlled service or fitting which before the
           work commenced did not comply with a relevant requirement, being
           more unsatisfactory in relation to such a requirement.
    (3) In paragraph (2) “relevant requirement” means any of the following
        applicable requirements of Schedule 1, namely—
           Part A (structure)
           paragraph B1 (means of warning and escape)
           paragraph B3 (internal fire spread—structure)
           paragraph B4 (external fire spread)
           paragraph B5 (access and facilities for the fire service)
           Part M (access to and use of buildings).


Is my outside sewer cleanout a straight line from my basement drain? I'm trying to locate my sewer cleanout outside the house. Is it usually just a straight line from my basement drain hole?

98% of the time the answer is no.  It is a straight line from the bottom of your main stack.  The drain hole is a branch off your main stack.   This can vary though but this is the norm in the US.


Wiring smart switch, confused about mishmash of wires in wall box I'm trying to install a smart switch to control my 3 outdoor lights. 2 wall lights and a lamp in the yard. The house was built in 53, so I assumed there wouldn't be a neutral in the box, so I picked up a GE switch that doesn't require one. The switch shares a box with another that controls the hall light. Upon opening it up I found something more complicated than expected. The left switch, which controls the outdoor lights has 3 black wires coming in and bundled down to one black wire into the switch. There is then a second black wire coming from the outdoor switch that attaches to the right hand switch that controls the hall light, and then that switch has a red wire AND a black wire coming in. To top it all off, there are 4 white wires taped off in the back of the box. Are those neutral? I'd like to replace the hall light switch as well, but I think I'll need to get a different kind of switch as I only bought a single pole paddle switch. I'll attach a diagram below of the setup. Can anyone help me make sense of what I need to do to wire the smart switch and a new right switch?

That appears to be a very straightforward setup, with neutrals in the box. You may well lack grounds at that era. You could have had switch loops, but don't appear to in this box.
Following normal procedures:
Unswitched Line Power coming in on black to the hall switch, fed from the hall switch to the outdoor light switch.
Switched power from hall switch out on red.
Outdoor light switched power out on black, split three ways.
Neutrals joined.
If two switches in a single box are joined, that's nearly always going to be the unswitched power to both.


What is this pipe in my garage? I have a mystery pipe in my garage which spews water occasionally (can't tell when why). The black flexible pipe is just a small pipe that connect to any drain and just lies on the ground. This is how the previous owners left it. The water that comes out of the pipe can be cloudy/dirty with food particles which makes me think this is connected to the kitchen sink drain somehow.

What's the purpose of this pipe?
Where should it lead to?
What should I do with it?

I occasionally see it spewing enough water to cause a medium pool of water in the garage. I'd like to close/fix it the way it's supposed to.

That looks like it is a wye pipe fitting (cleanout) with a cap on it, but with a hose added to it to help drain the pipe stack when it backs up. I can only assume that there is a partial blockage later in this pipe, and this helps prevent it from backing up into a sink upstairs. The solution is to remove the blockage with a roto rooter or equivalent, and replace the cap with one that doesn't have a hole in it.


Can I share the neutral in 12/3 cable between two GFI circuits with different current ratings? I think I know the answer to this question however I have been known to be wrong before!

I am using GFI breakers to protect multi outlet circuits. One is 15 amp and the other is 20 amp. I realized that while I am running 12/3 using the black for the 15 amp circuit and the red for the 20 amp circuit will work I only have one white.

Question is: Can you use the neutral for both GFI's or do you have to provide a separate neutral for both circuits?

What you're explaining is called a multiwire branch circuit (and has been discussed here many times before), which is where 2 ungrounded (hot) conductors will share a single grounded (neutral) conductor. There are special requirements for this type of circuit, which must be followed to insure safety. This type of installation is slightly more complicated when dealing with ground fault protection, because of the way ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) work.
Multiwire Branch Circuits
Disconnecting Means

NEC 2008
210.4 (B) Disconnecting Means Each multiwire branch circuit shall be provided with a means that will simultaneously disconnect all
ungrounded conductors at the point where the branch circuit
originates.

This means that the breaker handles must be tied together in the service panel, so that if one breaker trips it will cut power to both circuits. This can be accomplished using handle ties, or a double pole breaker.
Legs
In multiwire branch circuits, each ungrounded conductor must terminate to different legs of the system. If this is not done the currents on the grounded (neutral) conductor will add instead of cancelling out, possibly overloading the grounded (neutral) conductor leading to a fire. Again, this can be easily accomplished using a double pole breaker.
GFCI
Ground fault circuit interrupting devices work by measuring the current on the ungrounded (hot) conductor, and the grounded (neutral) conductor.  If the currents on these conductors differs by more than a specific amount, the circuit is opened preventing current from flowing.  This can present a problem when using two separate GFCI breakers, because the current on the grounded (neutral) conductor will be the difference between the two ungrounded conductors.
Ungrounded conductor 1 = 13A
Ungrounded conductor 2 = 6A
Grounded conductor = 7A

In this situation, the breakers will detect a potential (false) ground fault and trip.  This can easily be avoided by using a double pole GFCI breaker. This is because a double pole GFCI breaker monitors both ungrounded (hot) conductors, and a single shared grounded (neutral) conductor.
Wire Size
The conductors in a multiwire branch circuit (like in all branch circuits), must be appropriately sized based on the load to be served and the overcurrent device protecting the circuit.
Receptacle Rating
NEC article 210.21(B)(3), specifies the receptacle rating based on the circuit rating.
Proper Installation
Now that you know more than you've ever wanted to know, here is what you need to know.
In the service panel

Install a 20A double pole GFCI breaker in the service panel.
Connect the bare (equipment ground) wire (from the circuit) to the ground buss bar in the service panel.
Connect the white grounded (neutral) wire (from the circuit) to the neutral terminal of the GFCI breaker.
Connect the white grounded (neutral) wire (from the GFCI breaker) to the neutral buss bar.
Connect the black ungrounded (hot) wire to one terminal of the double pole GFCI breaker.
Connect the red ungrounded (hot) wire to the other terminal of the double pole GFCI breaker.

At the first junction

Connect the black or red ungrounded (hot) wire to the brass screw on the receptacle.
Connect the white grounded (neutral) wire from the 12/3 cable to the white ungrounded (neutral) wire leading to the next junction point, and to a short length of scrap wire (pigtail) using a twist-on wire cap (or other approved method).
Connect the pigtail from the previous step to the silver screw on the receptacle.
Connect a short piece of scrap ground wire to the green screw on the receptacle.
Connect all equipment ground conductors together, and to the junction box if a metal box is used.
Connect the red or black ungrounded (hot) wire to the black ungrounded (hot) wire leading to the next junction point.

At the next junction

Connect the red or black ungrounded (hot) wire from the previous junction to the brass screw on the receptacle.
Connect the white grounded (neutral) wire to the silver screw on the receptacle.
Connect the equipment ground wire to the green screw on the receptacle, and to the junction box if a metal box is used.

Receptacle Ratings
If you used a 20A GFCI breaker in the panel, you'll want to use receptacles rated for 20A.  However, if you have more than one receptacle on a single circuit, you can use receptacles rated at 15A.  In a multiwire branch circuit situation, that means you'll need two receptacles fed by one ungrounded (hot) conductor to be able to use 15A receptacles. It's also important to be aware, that NEC considers a duplex receptacle as two receptacles.  This means you can use a single 15A duplex receptacle, and be code compliant. Though Because the overcurrent device is rated at 20A, it may be appropriate to use 20A receptacles throughout the circuit.
Daisy Chaining
If you are going to be feeding multiple receptacles off either leg of the multiwire branch circuit, you have to make sure that the grounded (neutral) conductor is unbroken throughout the entire circuit even when devices are disconnected.  This means you won't be able to use the "load" side terminal on a receptacle, to feed the grounded (neutral) wire through to another receptacle.
TL;DR

You'll need a 20A double pole GFCI breaker. Two single pole GFCI breakers will not work.
If you use a 20A overcurrent device, you must have more than one 15A receptacle on that leg of the circuit. Otherwise, you'll have to use a 20A receptacle.

As always, if you don't feel comfortable with your knowledge or skill level, don't be afraid to contact a qualified Electrician.


What kinds of flooring resist water damage? My condo has a concrete slab.  We put down engineered wood flooring.  There has been some flooding in neighboring condos, which has damaged the flooring. Does anyone have a suggestion for flooring that would resist the water damage? Would ceramic tile work ?  There are cracks in the slab that we have repaired. the building was built in 1950.

You may want to look into floating tile floors. These are tiles with a rubber or foam backing and snap together like puzzle pieces, instead of being secured to the subfloor with grout. You still need to grout the tiles, but these are made for DIY installation, instead of professional installers. It's more expensive to buy and have other issues, but if you have another crack in the concrete, it won't destroy the tile. Also, if you do find out about a crack you need to fix or have to clean up after a flood, these will be easier to remove and should even be able to be reinstalled.

For more info:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/floating-tile-floor/


Does my vented septic tank even require traps and vents near the actual fixture connections? My home has a septic system with a vented lid to let the sewer gasses escape from the tank itself. As a result, it seems like far less gas (if any) would travel up the waste plumbing and exit through the vents downstream of the P-traps. So I've been wondering: given the vented septic tank, is there any actual technical reason why my home plumbing needs to have traps and vents?

CYA provision: I'm not asking this because I'm planning to remove all the traps and vents or anything wacky and illegal and pointless like that. There would be no benefit at all to anyone, and it might even hurt future owners if the house is ever put on the city sewer or something. I'm just curious and I want to understand the systems a little bit better. Because it sure seems like traps and vents are designed to solve a problem that my septic tank solves on its own.

Take a straw.  Suck up some liquid, and put your finger over the top.  Notice how the liquid doesn't fall out the bottom of the straw.  That's a vacuum lock, and it is one of the reasons why you need to vent your drains.  Poorly vented drains don't drain well, and you'll get clicking and bubbling.  Your toilet may fail to clear the payload.    So regardless of any venting in the septic tank, you need to have appropriate drain venting.


Why is my refrigerator so loud? Can I fix this? I live in a small NYC apartment and my refrigerator is close to the bedroom. When it kicks on, it's makes a loud thunk/click, and can be enough to wake me up. (While running it's pretty quiet.)

I think it's the fan in the freezer. The maintenance folks have replaced it once or twice, but it seems not to change. Anything I can do?

(FWIW, it's Whirlpool.)

Here's an outside the box idea (which assumes that your main problem is that it wakes you up):

Get one of those timer plugs like they have for holiday lights and let it "unplug" your fridge while you sleep. You'll need a beefy one to handle the compressor spike when it kicks on (check the ratings on the timer plugs and compare it to the max rating of your fridge). Since the fridge door won't be opened, your food should be fine, though I'd test it the first night to be sure with a fridge thermometer. If your fridge is still cold in the morning, you might have a solution!


Combi boiler not producing enough hot water I have a Gloworm flexicom 30 cx combi boiler and when you run a hot tap or shower it only produces hot water for a minute or 2 then runs cold . Sometimes it error codes F25 .
My local heating company have changed the boiler  pump and the plate heat exchanger which have made no difference .
I thought the pump in a combi boiler was only for the Heating (the heating works fine ) and not the hot water ?
can anyone confirm this please ?

thanks in advance

Richard

I'd suspect the NTC (negative temp coefficient) thermistors as being faulty or not in good thermal contact with whatever they're supposef to be in contact with. That's a known cause of F25, and most other causes would indeed be related to heating circulation.  However circulation problems / pressure / air in the system could still cause this problem even on hot water.


advice re:ground connections inside a metal box When installing two switches in a double gang metal box, I mistakenly followed the directions for doing this in a plastic box. So I bundled the five ground wires with a marette, but failed to make a connection via pig tail to the metal box. Is this OK to leave?

I just did that today.  The box's ground screw hole wasn't on a dome, and it was mounted on a metal surface, so I couldn't use it without bottoming out.  Just grounded to the receptacle, which is hard flush against the box, so done.  Switches don't need to be hard flush; they are allowed to ground via the screw threads even if the switch is not hard flush.


How to fix or replace the timer button of a microwave oven? I have a microwave oven which timer button is broken. I would like to fix it (by using glue?) or replace it (with a similar "key"). The oven is a Samsung M1714.

However, I am afraid of making things worse if I try to repair it, and I do not know any shop where I could buy something similar. I noticed there is the number 3 written on the inside of the broken piece.

Do you know an online shop for this kind of thing?

Here are several shots:

I have repaired dials similar to this in the past.

I have found that if you apply some CA glue (super glue) or epoxy to the crack, and then wrap the outside of the shaft tightly with electrical tape, it will hold up under most circumstances.

Failing that, it appears that you can buy the replacement knob from several online suppliers.


Outlet box mounted in rim joist To stay within code I need an outlet on the wall to the right of my stove. There is a fully supported 2x8 rim joist right where I need to put the box. Is it ok to cut a hole for a single gang box in the rim joist?

A rim joist isn't under load the way a floor joist, so the usual restrictions on notching and boring floor joists do not apply.  Rim joists are cut all the time for dryer vents etc.  Just make sure you're between floor joists / studs.

To hedge a little, I would still prefer to mount the box horizontally and centered on the rim joist, just a bit stronger that way.

I will assume there's no way to go up or down a few inches and clear the rim joist, or surface mount the box.  That would be much easier and I'd still prefer not to weaken the rim joist if possible.


Is it possible to hang a bicycle from floating shelf bolts? The requirement is to hang a bike on 1" dowel mounted on floating shelf bolts. The bolts will go into studs and their length is 2.5". The bike weighs 60lb and will be 10" away from the wall. I think this isn't going to work; it'll just fall. Anyone have any experience of this?

It's basically this product https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZWEIRAD-Sticks-Copenhagen-various-Natural/dp/B01C34NZAM but a DIY version, with bigger screws.

To properly analyze this you'd need a good drawing of the forces acting on the system (a free-body diagram). Without seeing that, and without knowing the materials you intend to use (ex. what grade fasteners, what size fasteners, torque values, what type of wood dowels, how the bolts secure the dowels to the stud, etc.) it's incredibly difficult to say whether or not it will work.

My biggest concern is not that the bolts will fail, but that the wood dowel will break in tension. I'd be worried about the area under the fastener head. If you can provide a drawing, I'll try to edit this answer to be more specific.


What is the neatest way to run power to Somfy motorized window blinds? I have several Somfy RTS motorized window blinds installed. Right now they just have electric cables attached to them that could be tacked to the wall, but I'd rather have the cabling completely hidden. What is the best way to achieve this?

Could their power cabling be run through the wall and connected to the nearest power outlet, behind the scenes? I'd rather not have the power plug visible at all.

Here are a couple of photos of the setup:

In the end, the best way to solve this was to request replacement Somfy motors with longer cords. The factory can supply them at any length, and they arrived within a week.

I have now had them installed and there was no junction box needed, since there is no join in the cable behind the wall. There is now no visible cable whatsoever.

I hope this is helpful to others who run into the same issue.


Remove expansion foam residue After closing a gap in my kitchen using expansion foam I got residue left on my cupboard.

I have tried rinsing it off with water and mineral turpentine but no luck!

I'm hesitant scraping it off with a blade since it will damage with cupboard.

What substance / chemical can get rid of it?

Product in question:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/sika-850ml-sika-boom-expanding-foam_p1210302

Use chlorinated brake cleaner typically sold in an auto parts store.


Grounding TV Antenna and Metal Porch, And Resolving Ground Rod Issues I'm mounting a light-weight metal TV antenna to a metal mast attached to old-school metal roof columns (with the curly-cues) on a small second floor porch which has a metal porch roof, and metal floor covered with outdoor deck carpet. The mast mounts have rubber bumpers between them and the metal porch supports. The mast does not touch the porch floor, so there does not appear to be a bond (?) between the antenna and metal porch components. The mast extends a few feet above the porch, but nowhere near the height of the brick house, which has a gable roof going at least another 10 feet higher.

The mast and coaxial are each grounded to the house ground rod with 10 gauge wire. The 1930's house has one primary rod of unknown/unmarked length near a newer 200amp box, and the cable/internet service line grounds to a 5' rod 30' away from the primary rod.  I have bonded the 5' cable rod to the primary rod with #6.  The unused phone line-in is grounded to the iron water line-in (which goes at least 40' underground to the meter at the street).  The main panel is near the water-in, but not grounded to it. Presumably the primary rod, even with the cable rod, isn't 'code' (no ohm test).  I know one option is replace the unknown primary with two 8' rods > 6' apart, bonded by #6. I'm not inclined to bother with the aging iron pipe. Input about the grounding electrodes is welcome, but I'm inclined to do two new 8' rods and a jumper. So...

If I replace the unknown rod with 8', and replace the 5' cable rod with 8', and bond them using the existing #6 jumper (30' length), is that ok, even if something is grounded to each rod (electric to one, cable to other)?
Should I ground the metal porch to the rods (or perhaps to the grounded antenna mast, which is grounded to the rods)?
If I leave the phone line grounded to the water pipe, does the pipe need to be bonded to the ground rod (my understanding is that grounding electrodes are supposed to be bonded together)?
Am I correct to bond the cable ground rod to the main rod? Was it unnecessary?

Two many questions so I will tackle a few code issues. The water pipe is required to be bonded to your electrical system so go ahead and use it as a second electrode. In truth that water pipe is normally a much better electrode than a standard 8’ ground rod.

I might drop a 2nd 8’ at 6’ or more away from your existing unknown rod.   Many people here probably have not heard of a 5’ communications ground rod but it is normally allowed when the service panel and grounding electrode system is further than 20’  NEC 800.100.a.3  &  800.100.B.3.2

Section 800 is a stand alone section and is not subject to all the rules of chapters 1-7 as specified in 90.3


Will foam-filling this gap create problems? I'm trying to find out if I can spray-foam fill a gap in my ceiling. I have an almost-flat rubber roof, 1" foam, wood planks, then a gap created by 2x6s, then the sheetrock ceiling. I'm in PA, climate zone 5/6. There are soffits at two edges of the almost-flat roof and no ridge vents.

I'd like to pull off the sheetrock ceiling, add 6 inch of closed-cell spray foam (filling in the 2x6 area), and then put sheetrock back.

Concerns: No air gap, just rubber, foam board, wood, then sprayfoam. Would this introduce a problem?  Specifically, is there a possibility for moisture problems with the wood in this setup?

Ignore people who tell you that you don't need as much spray foam because it is better air sealing or whatnot. That just comes from lazy installers who don't like working with the material and want to prevent sticker shock. R-value is R-value. 4" will be twice as insulating as 2".

But to get to the heart of the matter, there's one and only one reason why you even need spray foam there instead of batt insulation: to create an air barrier to prevent any moisture-laden air that gets past the drywall from hitting the cold roof sheathing, condensing, and starting to rot the wood, which as you can imagine is very bad.

You don't need a full 6" of spray foam up there. You only need enough to fully encapsulate the underside of the roof sheathing to prevent interior air from hitting it. So 2" of spray foam would be fine, and then you could fill the remainder of the cavity with lower-cost open cell spray foam, or typical batt insulation, or blown-in cellulose, or anything really; it's all safe because you've created that crucial air barrier.

Alternatively, you could avoid this whole rigamarole by increasing the thickness of the foam insulation above the roof deck, thereby keeping it warmer and above the dew point, which would make any moist air that gets up there not condense in the first place. You'd want to increase it by at least 5". If you're in a predominately cold climate, don't use polyiso, which has worse performance in the cold--stick to XPS or EPS. In this case, you could stick whatever you wanted in those cavities. I would recommend blown-in dense-packed cellulose, because you wouldn't even need to take off the drywall.

If you want R-50 or 60 in your roof, you don't have a lot of great options without significant modifications. Entirely filling the bays with spray foam will only reach R-42, plus R5 or so from the foam above the sheathing. It requires tearing off and replacing the ceiling drywall and only gets you to R-47. Don't forget that thermal bridging of those 2x6s reduces the effective R-value. To go farther and correct some of these issues, you could additionally put more foam boards between the underside of the rafters and the new drywall, which could boost you up to R-57 with 2" foam boards. You'd only lose two inches of ceiling height.

Packing more foam above the roof deck will let you reach whatever R-value you want and fill the bays with whatever you want. It's the cheaper preferred approach, but requires removing the rubber roofing membrane and may undesirably increase the height of the roof above parapets or whatnot. If the roof is in bad shape and needs replacement soon anyway, that would be a perfect opportunity to substantially increase the foam thickness underneath the new roof.

This is the approach recommended by the Building Science Corporation:

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-043-dont-be-dense/

  So, what should we do with these flat roofs and cathedral ceilings that can’t be vented and insulated in the “typical” way? Simple, follow the building code. Add insulation on the top of the deck to elevate the roof deck temperature above the dew point of the interior air vapor mix (Figure 1) before dense packing or take the interior ceiling down and install an air impermeable insulation. Spray foam on the underside of the roof deck (Figure 2). The thermal resistance of the insulation needed to be added above the roof deck or in the form of spray foam on the underside of the roof deck is dependent on climate and the interior moisture load.

Good luck!


Can I use marble tile on a shower floor I would like to use mosaic marble tile on my shower floor. Is this ok? If i do it do I need to seal it? My concern is not friction (this tile has plenty plus will have lots of grout lines) but the pourousness of the stone. Here is what Im considering from Lowes Home Improvement incase it matters.

The porosity of the tiles doesn't matter - the waterproofing happens on the layer below. You'll want to use something like Kerdi (the Kerdi shower pan kit is nice) or a similar product, or RedGuard, or another form of waterproofing.

The problem with marble is that it's a limestone type of stone, and susceptible to chemical attack. Over time it will lose it's gloss and go dull. How long this takes will depend greatly on your water and the products you use. It might only last a few years or it might outlast you. When it dulls you can either polish or replace.

JohnBridge.com is a tile forum, and the topic of marble showers has been discussed there. You might get some good info by browsing old topics. And John Bridge himself has a marble floor in his shower and wrote an article about it. He lists a recommended sealer and has some brief instructions on using it, too.


Two outlet stopped working after turning on electronic cauterization device I purchased a electronic cauterization device from China to burn some skin tags. The device's power adapter says 100-240v, so I assumed it's ok to use it in America.

I plugged it into my kitchen outlet, and turned it on, it was turned on briefly, then the outlet just lost power. Then I tried another outlet in the kitchen, same thing happened. I finally wised up and used a surge protector strip, and tried with another working outlet, the device finally was working properly without killing my outlets.

But Now I have two kitchen outlets that doesn't have any power, the rest of the outlets in the kitchen that I didn't plug in the device into still works fine.
I checked the breakers and turned them off and on, it didn't help. I test/reset all the GFCI in my house and that didn't help too. Have anyone experienced this before and what could I do to fix this? Thanks

I would turn your breakers off to those outlets and remove the outlets, I believe you will find a bad connection in each outlet probably a back stab. But could be a loose wire nut or broken wire. When this usually happens it is with a heavily loaded circuit , but your 120v load is only about .2 amps. With this device being a 2 wire a surge type power strip really won't make any difference.
To be able to use a wide voltage input with a specific output it is probably a switching power supply that had some kind of fault that after the second attempt cleared an internal short (I would not use this adapter for risk of fire knowing this).  Power strips that have surge supressors work by a device called a metal oxide varistor, these devices dump excessive voltage levels or spikes on the power line to ground. So as I said I would toss this adapter because there is possibly some loose solder floating around or some copper traces from the printed circuit that caused the original problem to your home wiring.


Plywood repair - subfloor prepartion - subfloor leveling I am installing 2000 sq ft of engineered wood flooring.  Some pieces of plywood are missing portions of the top layer.  The plywood is 5/8" for 5 x 1/8" layers - I am not worried about strength.  How do you typically fill the portions that are missing.

I've added some example images - some of the worst.  Let's assume that over 2000 sq ft.  There are 100 knot holes that should be filled, 40 areas that are missing some portion of lamination.

Replacing portions of the plywood for something like this would require cutting a new piece, removing the old piece carefully including trying to get it off the joist without destroying the joists as the ply is glued to the joist, and re-installing the new piece.  Possibly also require sistering the joists depending on how the interior walls fall and where the patch was going to go.  This is certainly a lot more work than whipping up a batch of thinset and screeding it into the areas needing filling.

I appreciate that using something like PL could fill the areas but I need the floor flat for the hardwood installation.  It can vary by 1/4" over 10' and I can't remember the number for shorter distances but I want it really flat.  I don't think filling with PL and then trying to sand would work.  I need a production level technique.

For some of these I've used a modified thinset (for extra flexibility/strength).  It mixes quick, installs quick and seems to be easy enough to screed level with the floor (it might shrink a small amount and be shy of the floor surface but I think that is reasonable.

If you read books on hardwood flooring like

Wood Flooring: A Complete Guide to Layout, Installation & Finishing

by Peterson.  He suggests that "manufacturers" have a liquid filler to repair plywood.  I wasn't able to find one.

I've also had someone say wood filler.  The wood filler I've used is fairly viscous and would take a lot more time to fill in the missing space in the plywood than thinset.  I am also not sure the wood filler would be any better - will it adhere better, flex better?  Certainly easier to sand flat if needed but a lot more labor intensive to install.

How should the areas that require filling be prepared?  Would you take a wire brush and vacuum and then prime them?  If using a thinset should you apply a latex primer to the area first?

I am looking for best practice for this kind of issue.  I am sure it is common but maybe there just is no standard approach and people just 1/2 ass it.

Maybe some of the larger areas in the pictures below should be patched?  I am not sure where the line is for patching vs filling.

Thank you!

]
]

Cut out the missing sections to match pre cut patches that span joist to joist.

Assuming 16" centers patching a 10"x10" hole.

Cut a piece of 5/8 ply 16x10
Place it over the hole covering half of each joist and fully covering the hole.
Pencil your impression.
Set saw depth to a "light" 5/8" and carefully plunge cut the lines, remove any screws or nails first. A magnet helps to find them if they are buried or filled with debris. (I always pass a magnet over for cuts like this)
Use a prybar to pop up the section and chisel anything else in the way.You can also scab in a scrap along the underside of the floor under lapping the patch.
Glue and screw your repair peice in.

Edit

It's not a ton of work but I do understand your question better now. It would be a bit much to correct just a single lamination from the ply missing. You can simply use a putty type of wood filler. Or anything to prevent the laminate from dipping. I've seen guys use construction adhesive like PL to repair small defects in the subfloor. It's messy and doesn't spread very well, but if they are using a tube elsewhere they often try to use it up as it's a pain to reopen for additional uses.

Second edit

The picture shown probably wouldn't need to be repaired but it doesn't hurt to fill it.


Front Porch Posts Not Contacting Porch Slab After removing my front porch railing, I noticed that 3 of the 4 porch posts do not make full contact with the porch slab. The one closest to the front door is the one that doesn't move around. The others move around quite a bit on the bottom.
I don't remember the posts moving around before I removed the railing.
Are these load bearing?
Is there danger of the porch collapsing?

Typically in cases like this you'll have cantilevered trusses in the roof system with an interior bearing point. The posts are entirely decorative (and hold the railing system). The biggest clue is the shape of the gable.
It's possible that only the one by the door is carrying a load. There could be a small beam there for the high front gable, but that's not likely. You'll need to peek into your attic to be sure, but considering the design and apparent age of the home it's a safe bet.


Drywall vs hardiebacker I am doing a bathroom remodel down to the studs. The wall behind the sink will be tiled with stacked splitface marble. My questiom: what goes on the wall before the tile?  do I drywall, then add the hardiebacker on top, or just attach hardiebacker? I ask because then I have to know exactly where the drywall would end and hardiebacker would start, which is dependent on cabinets and counter top etc. Or, I just drywall everything and add hardiebacker once exact perimeter of tile is known. Or is hardiebacker even needed. Could tile go on drywall?

HardieBacker on the studs, no drywall. In this zone the tile will hold better and last longer. Outside the damp or wet area, I change to green or blue board - a water-resistant type of sheetrock that I use in bathrooms. I will use HardieBacker for the width of the sink to the next stud, or in a tub / shower area, then green or blue water resistant sheetrock.

I have seen water-resistant sheetrock hold up for 30 years and even regular sheetrock for 20 or close with well-sealed tile. I have never had a quality cement board fail or need repair so this is the best in my opinion.


maximum ceiling joist to beam span without joist hangers I'm building a tray ceiling and the assembly is easy to visualize.

In a 14' x 14' dining room, I'm coming in 18.5" to the inside of the beam on 2 sides with a 2x10, and then similarly cross-wise between them the other way, also 18.5" in.  Those in-between beams are hung with a 2x10 joist hangar.

So there is a 18.5" "band" all around and then it goes up with new joists 12" above the base level.

My question is regarding the band area.  The finger joists are only going to be 17" of span, with the other end sitting on the outer wall plate.  Are 2x4 joist hangars necessary for such a short span?  And bonus, do they need to be 16" O.C. or will 24" O.C. suffice?  Thanks

There are two considerations, 1) vertical loads (including uplift), and 2) lateral loads.

1) 2x4’s at 24” o.c. are plenty strong enough to support a roof load of say 30 lbs. per square foot LIVE LOAD (snow load) plus a DEAD LOAD (framing, insulation, etc.) of 10-12 lbs psf for an 18.5” span. However, the connections at each end will be in the 140lbs. Range. So, 2-16d are required (each 16d will support about 80 lbs. each for toe-nailing,) but make sure you don’t split the joists.

If the 2x4’s extend over an exterior top plate, you’ll need to fasten them down by toe-nailing them to be he top plate, (if you don’t want to use clips).

2) Lateral loading (earthquake and high wind resistance) is different. Here you want adequate transfer from roof sheathing to supports. Unless you live on an extreme earthquake zone or high wind area, 2x4 roof supports at 24” o.c. Will be fine.


How to mount TV on brick I have a 75" TV that I want to mount above a wood burning fireplace (don't worry, the fireplace is not in use!) in a 1920s built house. I have bought this pulldown mount from Monoprice (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=27773). The weight of the TV is 79lbs and the mount itself is about 33lbs.
The wall is plaster and wood lath with brick behind. The brick is about 2.5in behind the face of the wall (plaster and lath about 1.75in and 0.75in gap).
Since the wall bracket for the mount is I-shaped (i.e. bolted across the top and bottom, I'm thinking to cut out two parallel channels in the plaster the width of the mount to expose the brick, fasten 2x3 lumber using anchors into the brick so it is flush with the wall, then attach the mount to the 2x3 using lag bolts as if they are studs.
Requesting feedback or other suggestions. Hoping to limit intrusion into the plaster or face my wife's wrath. Thanks
EDIT: Slight setback during the installation...the adhesive started gelling in the nozzle in less than a minute and my caulk gun broke. I managed to get some in all the holes (don't think the last hole was fully filled) along the top row and get the rods in place. Hopefully it's enough. Need to go buy a new gun to finish the bottom!

Feedback: sounds like a good idea. But I suggest you use as big fasteners as possible, as your moment on them will be quite high...the load being so far from the anchors themselves.  Something at least 3/8" or even 1/2".
The entire weight of the set is around 112lb and your TV will stand at least 6in from the brick surface; this will create a torque of ~56 lbf, higher the more you extend the arm away from the wall.
I suggest you consider fastening the TV-mount THROUGH the wood, into the brick itself, and consider the wood just a "spacer", as 2" of wood only may be to little to hold the assembly.  I would personally install a long internally-threaded sleeve (such as this), and fasten it with a chemical anchor such as Hilti HY-270, Simpson Strong-Tie AT-XP, DeWalt AC100+ or other similar non-epoxy resins suitable for masonry.  You can then drill and drive threaded rods through the lumber, and fasten the mount with nuts.  If you cut the threaded rod to the correct length, you can use black dome nuts, that would look as good as a regular bolt.


What can I do about joist framing in brick pockets that is uneven and loose? A 100 year old house with solid cement then brick structure has old floor joists in brick pockets. The joists are 2 by 8 and 2 by 10 inches and spaced about 19 inches apart and not consistently so. The wood is not rotten in the pockets or anywhere else in-spite of a very damp crawl space. The floor joists are, however, loose and at times have sagged greatly.

I understand to ask the carpenter to level the floor by sister joists or some other way. What are my options?
Is the loose nature of the wood in the brick pockets a mason's job? How can that be addressed?
I also wanted to run 4 runs of solid wood inbetween the joist to support them, there is none. They would run in 4 rows across the width of the house for the length of the house. I have a few ideas of how best to do that. But someone else surely has a more experienced description of how to fix the wood braces and get them as best as possible in a row (I imagine that some ways of securing them between the joists will require some staggering).
Also a 3/4 inch plywood subfloor is going to be placed on top. I am almost sure that since a damp crawl space is underneath, the first layer of subfloor should have a 1/8 inch gap between boards for expansion and then I imagine a second layer or subfloor is needed to cover the gap and to make the floor less saggy. One layer of 3/4 inch plywood on 19 inch spanned joists is showing visible sag when anyone over 150 pounds is standing on it.
Should the first layer of plywood subfloor be glued to the joist, and then screwed or nailed to the joists with what sort to screws or nails? The second layer of subfloor if needed should be what material at what thickness and should it be glued? Should the second layer be screwed or nailed to the first layer (not necessarily the joists) with what screws or nails?

The contractors all have their own differing opinions about these things so I figure I should get more opinions.

You should shim under the loose joists with steel shims, not cement, because cement causes wood to deteriorate. Large galvanized washers and small steel plates can be used as shims. The framing block in between the joists are called bridging and in an old house I would space them about 4' on center. You can off set each row by 1 1/2" which will enable you to blind nail through the joists which minimizes toe nailing. Use 3/4 tongue. And groove ply glued and screwed to the joists and bridging. I would use pl400 for glue and 2" exterior screws spaced about 8" apart. If a second layer of ply is desired you should also glue and screw it the same as the first sheet. Try to hit the joists. Use a chalk line to mark the joists. If a solid wood finished floor is being installed 1 layer of 3/4 plywood is all you need.if a ceramic tile,stone or wood laminate floor is going in use 1/2 ac plywood over the sub-floor.


Cooktop replacement… induction or ceramic? I currently have a St George CC355 cooktop (2 burner) paired with an electric grill. The cooktop is hardwired in and the grill plugs in to a powerpoint under the bench.
The ceramic cooktop shattered the other day and now I am trying to get my head around a replacement. I like the sound of induction, but have read so many things that are turning me off the idea, not least of all is the fact that I might have to get an electrician to rewire things (eek), as I have read that you need 3 phase power. Is this true?
I am a bit stuck for options as the current appliances are a non-standard size, meaning I have to find a 70cm replacement to fit the hole (or I could go bigger to say 80cm). I really don't need anymore burners than that — 90cm with 5 burns would be complete overkill.
I have found a Bosch 70cm ceramic cooktop, which will do the job, but, sadly, there is no 70cm induction version, so I would be pushed to an 80cm if I was to choose that alternative. I am wondering if I will need an electrician for both, as the ceramic says it is 6.6kW and the induction is 7.4kW, but my current cooktop is only 3.4kW.
I would be very appreciative of some advice before I go down the wrong path for the wrong reasons. Thanks.

I agree with the comments saying you should have an electrician do it. As pointed out by @Ecnerwal they will be able to advise before you decide which appliance to buy and help you make an informed decision.
The key factor will be the size of the cable to your existing hob. It depends on the power of the new hob, the distance to the fuse box and whether the cable runs through insulation or not. More powerful hob, greater distance and going through insulation = bigger cable required.
If the existing cable is suitable it would be a quick job for the electrician to fit the new hob. If the cable is too small for the hob then they'll need to run a bigger cable and that will cost more. Depending on the construction of your house might require lifting floors or making holes in walls.
I won't pretend to do the calculations but there are cable calculators online that will help. For the UK it seems that 2.5mm2 might be ok if you're lucky, 6mm2 is often ok, 10mm2 is the future-proof option. Best have an electrician make that call.
Also +1 for induction :-)


Is caulk acceptable for filling nail holes in baseboard? Several folks in this very helpful thread suggest using putty to fill nail holes during baseboard installation.  I've got multiple contractors doing work on my remodel and one says caulk isn't a good choice because it will shrink and be noticeable later on.

The contractor who will be installing the baseboard wants to use caulk because he's using it to fill the gaps along the top edges between the baseboard and wall.

Does anyone have experience using caulk to fill holes in MDF baseboard?

Caulk is a bad choice, because it can't be sanded.  You can't get it perfectly even with the flat surface, because it stick to everything it touches.  You will end up with a slightly raised area around the hole, and it will show more readily than putty, because caulk has such a different consistency. And, yes, caulk will shrink just like putty, but unlike putty, you can't put a second coat on.


How many circuits are recommended for this basement game room remodel? Ok so this paint photo is roughly what I want to do to my basement. The lights are 6 inch recessed lights. The fireplace blower was on the old 15 amp circuit so I dont see a problem there. It currently has the old black wiring that is on a 15 amp breaker. I plan of replacing the wiring maybe leaving the home run. Can I place all of this on one 15 amp circuit or should I split the lights and the receptacles to two 15 amp circuits? Or Should I use one 20 amp circuit?

I'm going to leave minimal for someone else and answer smart....

Put the lights on their own 15A breaker.

Put receptacles on a couple of 20 amp breakers.

If you MUST share (or think you must) put half the lights and some receptacles on one circuit (probably 15 amp unless you really want to run 12 gauge to lights) and half the lights and some other receptacles on another. Having lived with shared outlets and lights, I'm opposed to being left in the dark when a receptacle is overloaded. A lighting only circuit almost never trips, IME.

Being a basement I think you need everything to be GFCI protected at this point - either with GFCI breakers or with a GFCI as the "first thing in line" as it comes off the breaker.

Tester 101's answer to my question about lighting circuits did come up with a figure of 3 volt-amperes per square foot based on use as a dwelling for minimum power required. But minimums can be exceeded.


Does paint peel and crack on drywall "furniture"? I'm planning on making some shelves with drywall and steel studs (like the one below), but many people told me that the paint cracks and peels with time. Is that true?

Or just bad experience or a bad paint job?

How to prevent it?

Drywall isn't meant to be handled or bumped a lot. In most builtins like those pictured, the interiors of the boxes and the faces would be made of wood, taped, compounded (often with harder compounds) and painted to match the adjoining walls.

If the surfaces are drywall, they will likely dent or crack.


How to extend short wires into new panel? I replaced the panel yesterday, and as I was removing the old panel, the hot and ground wires from a damaged cable broke off. I stripped the hot and that looks good above the damage. The neutral seems to have the insulation scorched only.

So now I'm looking to extend the cable into the new panel because I only have about one inch of wire (hot and ground) inside the panel. I'm looking at a metal box, located above the panel on the inside of the wall (see picture pls). The picture shows an open knockout hole. This is where the box will attach.

Optionally, I can move the brown cable to the empty knockout and put the box closer to the stud. I think a regular 1 gang metal box may fit there. I'm wondering if I can use a conduit box? instead of the 1 gang box. The conduit box looks smaller/narrower. Either box would be fitted to a 1/2 in nipple and threaded to the panel (and the box). Then the cable would come into the box from the top with a wire clamp. I'll add an foot or so of cable to extend it into the panel and make the connections.

I will be fixing the dry wall so no access will be possible in the future, unless I cut the drywall again. So I want the cable connection to be rock solid. I would rather solder the wires before adding the wire nuts, probably a no-no? Any better options? Thanks

Based on what you say you want to do, your only option is the Tyco type "inside the drywall" boxless splices now on the market.   That is the only code-legal way to make a splice without without a junction box that remains accessible.  And even then, your inspector may not allow the Tyco method given the limited conditions under which it's allowed to be used, and the pre-existing cable damage to this cable.

Really this cable should be replaced.

Now we talk about the "box" solution.

I do this all the time.

Many of my installations have a junction box near the panel. It solves all sorts of problems.  Not least, your panel does have a convenience receptacle for the Electrician right next to it, right?  No?  Why not put a receptacle on the face of this junction box? **

You just said that you intend to bury the box in drywall.  No you won't.  You can't do that.  You are never allowed to bury boxes.   Every junction box cover must be accessible without disassembling any part of the house.

Now, you'll be using a large size steel junction box because you'll be making potentially more than one splice in it.  Junction boxes have cubic inch requirements for splices.  With cable clamps entering the box, a handi-box is too small.  Splicing is illegal in conduit bodies*.

I would use a 4-11/16 deep box, unless you're sure you'll only have 2 of these, then a 4" x 4" x 2-1/8" box will suffice.

EMT Conduit

This box will be attached via less than 2 feet of EMT conduit, at least 8" simply to avoid blocking other holes.  Find the happy medium of the largest conduit size (1/2, 3/4, 1") that will fit both box and panel knockout, and figure out how to mount the box so it will ultimately be flush to the finish surface.

Noting that you have two drywalls there, use either one - whichever makes the best fit.  It would seem to be more aesthetic to have the blank cover plate above the panel not on the shown wall.

If you want to get fancy with bending the EMT to make room for whatever, go for it - but keep total EMT length < 2 feet.

By doing steel and EMT conduit, we remove grounds from the picture. There's a ground screw hole in the junction box tapped #10-32; we take a pigtail off that, and the circuit grounds to that.  We don't need to carry ground wires down the EMT conduit into the panel.

Attach and splice

Once the junction box is mounted finished, now bring that cable clamp into a knockout in the box.  Like I say, the ground ends here: the metal EMT carries it the rest of the way to the panel.  The two conductors (hot/neutral) you give yourself about 12" of length, and nut it to a couple feet of hot/neutral wire.  Those go down into the panel.

Here you are at liberty to use "stranded THHN" if you prefer, it's much easier wire to work with.  It'll work great on wire-nuts, breaker lugs and neutral lugs.

What if you have more than one circuit to splice like this?  How many splices can you do inside one junction box?   There's a formula for that.  2.0 cubic inches for #14, 2.25 cu.in. for #12 and 2.5 ci for #10.  *Except all grounds together count as only 1 wire (the largest) and all cable clamps together count as 1 wire (the largest).*   So in your case at #14, you'd be joining 2 wires to 2 wires, +1 for grounds +1 for cable clamps = 6 "wires" = 12 cubic inches.  And this is why we need big boxes.

When you see the job done right, instead of horked together dirty, you'll be proud and you'll want to do work of this quality in the future.

* Disclaimer: for all conduit that is sensibly sized for its wires. Don't ask why I have to disclaim this.

** Typically the electrician's convenience receptacle is on a dedicated circuit.  If you follow my box-and-EMT plan, you can easily add this to the box with 2 wires, a receptacle, a cover and a breaker.


What cut of wood should I use for door stile & rails? I'm starting a project to build a pair of bi-fold doors for a closet (its an odd size, and so there are no prebuilt doors of the required size). I've done research on building the doors, and think I have a handle on the actual building part, but I'm having a hard time sourcing supplies, in particular the wood for the stiles & rails, which I think should be 1 3/8" thick, 3-4 inches wide, and ~80" long for the stiles.

Does this size/cut of wood have a particular name that I should look for? I've checked the local big box DIY stores, and they have 3/4" thick boards, but nothing thicker. What should I be looking for, and what type of store would stock something like this?

In my area, we have a place called Northern Hardwood Supply that stocks many types of woods used for furniture, custom trim, etc. I'm sure there are similar suppliers in your area. If your local lumber yard does not stock thicker woods, ask them if there is a specialty house in your area.

The second item worth mentioning, is that I recommend using a hardwood for you doors. A good choice would be poplar wood. It is the least expensive hardwood, easy to work with and finishes nicely, especially if you plan to prime and paint. Soft woods like pine tend to warp or wain and check easily and aren't the best for framing long narrow stiles etc.

As far as the tools and techniques for sizing custom stock, a table saw and planner are the best.  The term "resawing" refers to cutting the thickness of narrower stock, say less than 4" with a table saw. One would set up using a feather board and a 80 tooth or hollow ground planner blade. This often gives a decent sandable cut, but not a real furniture grade finish. A planner is your best bet for a decent initial smooth finish that can be sanded to a good finish. The combination of using both is often required for custom sizing. Usually one side of your stock will have a good factory finish ready to sand, so do your DIY cutting all on one side of the stock that will not be as visible in the finished product.


How to properly dispose of empty fire extingusher? Bought a small home fire extinguisher, and had to use it for a small stove fire. The needle is in the middle of 'empty', (not all the way, but it appears that the fire extinguisher is of the one time use type, and is non-rechargeable) and the label says to discard if the needle points to empty.

I don't just want to chuck a fairly large metal tank into the weekly trash, even fully discharged does that present a danger? Or, is that the proper method?

Many, but not all, can be refilled/recharged. I'd ask the local fire dept who does that, get a quote, and compare it to the cost of buying a  replacement

If not, then if there is any pressure left they might be interested in having it for demo purposes.


How can I remove my bathroom extractor fan's cover? I have this Cata B-Plus extractor fan in my bathroom:

It's connected to the light switch and it stopped working. I want to take the cover off and remove all the dust. If I yank on the cover I can see that it is separating from the unit inside the wall but I can't get it off. What's the trick to getting this thing off? It's on the wall not the ceiling.

Just pull it outward about 1" (2-3cm). There will likely be a long V-spring on each of two opposing sides that you'll need to disengage from some slots, often by squeezing the legs together.


feeding 30 amps to detatched shed with 10/3 armored cable? Can I use the existing 10/3 steel armored cable as feeder for a 240v 30 amp subpanel in my garage (detatched)?

That's 3 wires and a grounded metal jacket.  2 hots (red and black) which connect to a double 30a breaker at the main panel, along with a neutral wire(white) which is bonded to the main panel.

I've seen similar things discussed here so I know I'm missing a wire somewhere. The Does not the metal jacket substitute for the lack of a bare ground wire? Suppose I use a ground rod at the subpanel. Any reason not to ground cable at both ends? Does a 30 amp GFI at the main panel mitigate concerns about the missing wire (?) be it green or bare copper?  That's a lot of questions so I'll summarize. How can I di this without replacing the 10/3 armored feeder?

Armored cable can't defend itself from the rain

You'll need to re-run this cable in order to meet Code.  While you have enough wires there for your proposal as the armor on modern type AC can be used as a grounding conductor as per 320.108, AC cable can't be run in damp or wet locations (such as outside attached to a fence) as that violates 320.12 point 2.  In fact, I would not be surprised if the cable already has water in it, or is even rusting away as we speak, depending on how long it's been out there.

Replacing the cable with a PVC-jacketed (wet location rated) type MC or MCI-A cable is your best bet here as a result.


What is the optimal configuration of a cross brace on a wooden gate? I'm building a wooden gate for my deck, and I want to put in a cross brace to reduce sagging. I want to install the brace so that it transfers the load from the top unhinged corner, to the bottom hinged corner.

I'm just not sure what the best way to achieve that would be.

Given the image above. How should the cross brace be installed?  Does it even make a difference?

You asked for optimal: Follow a few thousand years of practical experience and put in a tension brace (lower outside corner to top hinge-side corner - opposite what you are going for, which is a compression brace) Go with the past few hundred years and make it a turnbuckle.

The best form of compression brace "in plane" is none of the above, and has a point on the end that connects to both sides of each corner, with the midpoint of the brace hitting each corner. Call it corner to corner. That is inferior to an "out of plane" brace in the same position that overlaps the backside of the face frame and is glued and screwed to the face boards; both are inferior to the tension brace, though you can use both for the classic X brace scheme - but the tension side will do most of the work.


Why is my smart switch tripping the breaker? I'm trying to install some smart light switches into my house. I've had a little trouble doing it.

The first one was in the kitchen. Every time I tried, it tripped the breaker in the main panel. I went away for half hour to think about it and tried the breaker again and everything was fine - it worked. Strange, like it sorted itself out.

So I went to try the lounge next and all it did was trip the breaker every time, even after leaving it for a bit like the kitchen.

So I left the lounge and went to try our bedroom again. It just tripped the breaker, so for some reason I went and unwired the lounge and tried our bedroom again and it worked fine. I wired the lounge back together with the old switch.

I've tried every room and none of them except the kitchen and our bedroom will accept the smart switches. What an I doing wrong?

I've posted a picture of our main panel. Does everything look ok in it? Are all those earths suppose to be just bundled together? I've also posted a picture of the inside of the light switch and the back of the new smart

I've added another picture to the post (the last picture) can anyone tell me what the blue and yellow wires are please. obviously the red is the live and the green and black is the ground. but what are the yellow and the blue wires. thanks]1

You don't have neutral in that box!

Yellow/green is the one wire whose color code is is standardized worldwide: yellow/green, green or bare.c   It always means safety earthing.

Anywhere you might have used those for neutral, you must correct that.  Whoever taught you that is wrong, and full of shortcuts which are unsafe.

Misusing ground for neutral is what's causing the breaker trip.  Even the ones that "seem to work" are still a problem and will still tend to cause trips.

The black wire is also not neutral. Since there are only 2 wires besides earth, the two wires can only be supply always-hot, and switched-hot to the lamp.

In this box, there is no neutral because it is a switch loop.  However it also looks like in surface conduit, so it may be feasible to open up the conduit and change the cable to 3-core+earth, which can include neutral.

Regardless, those switches are wrong here

Since you don't have neutral, you need smart switches which support lack of neutral.  I recommend going down to the local Wickes and seeing what they have.

The switch in your picture will not do.  It is a cheap Chinese no-brand thing that you mail-ordered or bought from a dodgy shop who smuggled them in.  Note the complete lack of certifications by any reputable testing lab such as TUV or CSA.    See the CE and RoHS marks?  That is not any promise by the importer that they self-certify, and are taking legal responsibility for, the item being compliant with EU regs.  And guess what. You're the importer.

This thing will cheerfully kill you or burn your house down.  I wouldn't want to be answering inquiry why I fit this particular thing instead of a listed unit.

It's not an anti-mail-order conspiracy.  The conspiracy is Alibaba's, because their stuff is such complete junk and they don't even try to meet safety standards.   The Alibaba junkstream feeds AliExpress, eBay and Amazon Marketplace (anything that doesn't say "ships from and sold by amazon.com"). Feel free to buy from, say, Real Amazon.


goodman furnace /ac no y terminal on board (revisited) My son-in-law's Goodman B1809913S control board only has R, W and G terminals (no Y terminal). In order to make the AC compressor AND the furnace fan operate the Y and the G wires are jumpered together at the furnace end of the thermostat cable. In this configuration there is no way to control the fan independently of the AC compressor. Currently when the fan is set to "Manual" at the thermostat the AC compressor AND the fan run continuously. Not a good situation because it would cause the AC compressor to run continuously.

Is there a way to wire or configure the system that would allow the fan to run continuously without turning on the AC compressor?

Use a relay

You can wire a standard HVAC "blower relay" of the SPST-N/O type with its coil connected between Y and C  and its contact connected between G and R and mount it in the furnace's wiring compartment.  This allows the thermostat to energize G by itself to turn on the blower without energizing Y by accident, but also energizes G to turn the fan on when the thermostat applies power to Y to call for compressor.


When installing a garbage disposal what kind of PVC pipe connects directly to the disposal? The PVC pipe connection from the garbage disposal is leaking. I have hand tightened the washer on the PVC and then did a 1/4 turn wrench tighten. Still leaking.  It looks like the PVC has a little lip on the end and butts up to the disposal outlet instead of fitting inside the opening.  What kind of connection should it have?

The common disposal unit drain pipe connection looks like the following picture:

There may be some variation in the design of the tail pipe assemblies from manufacturer to manufacturer but the ones for the above type connection generally follow the form shown here:

These tail pipe pieces are generally supplied with the disposer. It is possible to purchase manufacturer specific tail pipes at appliance parts outlet stores and from online sites. It may also be possible to purchase a generic replacement at some hardware and big box home stores. If you purchase a new one make sure to include a new rubber gasket.

It has been my experience that a common cause of leaks at the disposer outlet is the corrosion of the body housing of the unit around the drain hole. In the cases I have dealt with it was time to replace the disposer unit with a new one. One thing to check is if the lower part of the disposer housing is wet or showing signs of rust and corrosion separate from the drain pipe attachment. If so this is often an indication of the sealed bearing inside the disposer starting to leak and is another reason for replacement. On disposers that I have replaced I have noticed leaks from both the bearing and the drain pipe area.


Single Pole Motion Sensing Light Switch Attempting to install GE single pole motion light switch.  The existing switch controls two lights in a small hallway.  Can the single pole motion switch be wired for 2 lights?

TL;DR Yes

Full answer: Normally the only restriction is the amount of power. An ordinary switch will be rated for the full power of the circuit - e.g., 1875 W for a 15 A circuit. However, a smart switch, dimmer, motion switch, etc. is much more complex and will typically be rated for less total power. That helps save money as the electronic components don't need to be designed to transmit, switch, dim, etc. as much power or to dissipate as much heat.

The good news is that with CFL and now LED lights - which you should be using pretty much everywhere now as the power savings pay for the bulbs very quickly - the power ratings of switches are typically far more than ordinary residential needs. For example, if you have 2 3-bulb fixtures, in the old days (incandescent), that could easily be 6 x 60 W = 360 W. With typical CFL bulbs, the power used is 13 - 16 W, and with typical LED bulbs 9 - 10 W, for a total of 54 - 96 W.

Just check the rating on the new switch and compare it with your existing bulbs & fixtures. There may be different ratings depending on the type of bulb, but 2 fixtures in a small hallway is unlikely to be a problem.


Toilet shut off valve not shutting off []

I had water going into toilet that would not cut off, changed the fill valve but still happens. When Shut off valve is OFF it still allows trickle of water into toilet back and then dribbles out the the overflow, with the shut off valve off takes about an hour. I guess I need to change the shut off but a friend said I could loosen the handle screw turn it back a bit and then re tighten so it could SHUT OFF more ??? IDK, I am afraid if I loosen anything I will have a flood since that little ball (if there is one) might fall out. I had to have the valve in the exterior faucet replace last month since it would not turn off completely either. I really hate to call the plumber back for something so simple. Maybe they are just worn out? House was built in 1986, I originally had those grey plastic pipes but they were converted to copper 20 twenty years ago ( at least I Hope they were all changed) Thanks in advance for any advice.

There are three valves in and around your toilet:

The supply valve is what connects water from your home's cold water pipes to a hose or tube that connects to your toilet tank. This is what you have pictured.
The fill valve inside your toilet tank lets water into the tank (usually sending some to the bowl also) so it is ready to flush. These are designed to fill the tank to a certain level and then shut off. The common designs for this are the traditional ballcock style with a round float attached to a lever, and the newer style (popularized by Fluidmaster) where a plastic float slides up along a shaft.
The flush valve is what dispatches water from the tank into your bowl when you flush.

The valve you've photographed is the supply valve. It does sound like your supply valve allows some water through even when tightened, which is not good because you want a supply valve that shuts off water completely for service. However, the more significant problem is your fill valve. If the supply valve leak is slow, you may just be able to shut it of as best you can, have it drip into a bucket for a few minutes, make other repairs, and reattach it for normal use.

The reason we know the problem is your fill valve is that, even when the supply is fully open, the fill valve should stop the flow of water into your toilet tank when the tank is full. If that doesn't happen, the tank will be overfilled. To prevent water spilling onto your floor in that case, the tank is designed with an emergency overflow path that just drains overflow into the bowl. Nice to not have a wet floor, but you're still wasting and paying for a lot of water.

So the question then is: why is your fill valve not stopping the flow of water into your tank? Photos may help, but the common causes are:

Incorrect adjustment. Fill valves can be adjusted to set the desired fill level, usually by turning a screw. If the level is set too high, it will never reach that level and keep filling while the overflow drains.
Obstruction. The valve control can be blocked, either by mineral buildup on the valve parts or by poor positioning next to other toilet parts.
Wear. Some fill valves include rubber gaskets/washers that erode over time, or can accumulate mineral deposits. Cleaning or replacing these parts, or sometimes simply tightening parts of the valve, can fix this. But often it's easier to simply replace the whole flush valve.

What to do next:
We want to figure out where your fill valve is leaking, so let's try to control its operation so we can observe it.

Take the lid off your tank.
Open the supply valve.
Standing over the toilet, gently lift the fill valve's float mechanism to the point where it should be shut off. Hold it there - the fill valve should stay closed.
Hold the flush valve to drain as much water as possible from the tank.
Identify where water is exiting the fill valve. This is your leak.

Depending on your type of fill valve, you may be able to repair the leak or it may be more practical to simply replace the valve. Post pictures and info on the leak if you want more advice. Good luck!


Can an existing furnace flue be used to vent bathroom exhaust fan I am doing a basement bathroom reno and wish to install an exhaust fan in the ceiling. Since I have had the furnace replaced and now its direct vent out the side of the house , I have an existing furnace flue in the area that is no longer in use.(5 inch) Is it possible to vent the exhaust fan through this ? As there is windows, furnace vents,gas lines at the side it is almost impossible to add a vent on the side of the house. The rise for the old furnace flue is about 16 feet and I will need to add a couple of elbows to get to the flue.

I see no problem with using the old furnace flue for the bathroom vent as long as that vent has no other connections such as off to a gas water heater.

The 16' rise of the old furnace flue can represent a challenge for a small bathroom fan to push air through. The column of air presents a back pressure that the fan must overcome in order to be able to produce positive upward flow out of the flue pipe. A small capacity fan may be able to cause air flow to occur but it may be way less that what is needed to adequately vent your bathroom.

So I would suggest selecting a bathroom fan that has a greater than normal flow capacity than would be needed for your installation under normal circumstances.


New dryer makes concerning noise when drum spins I bought a scratch and dent GE Dryer (model GTX42EASJWW) from AJMadison and had it professionally installed this morning.

It makes a concerning noise when I spin the drum - either by hand or in a cycle. I am trying to get a sense of how problematic this noise is, and/or how fixable I should expect it to be, so I can set my expectations when dealing with the company.  Customer service has been quite hard to deal with for more mundane things and returning a dryer sounds like a real pain.

Here are two short videos I took of the dryer making the noise:

https://vimeo.com/344399459

https://vimeo.com/344402142

One thing that I wonder is that when they ship appliances like dryers with big moving parts, they often have little plastic or Styrofoam blocks used to hold those parts in place during shipping and you have to remove them when you install it. Sounds almost like someone forgot to remove one of them.


Can the high efficiency washing machine drain into the kitchen waste stack? newbie here.  We live in a condo that is the third floor of a converted Victorian home (there are two units below us).  We have in-unit laundry - a stacked high-efficiency washer and dryer (both front loading).  It's in a closet that we would like to be our linen closet.  We've got space off the kitchen where we would like to move the laundry.  The problem is that the new location is far from the old drain pipes.  It is near the kitchen sink/dishwasher drain pipes, though.

Can the high efficiency washing machine drain into the kitchen waste stack, which I believe is shared with our downstairs neighbors?  Or Would we have to put in a whole new drain stack for the new washing machine location?  That would make the whole project impossible as we would need to be running through our downstairs neighbors' walls.

We're located in Boston, MA if it makes a difference for code purposes.

Firstly, disclaimers: I have no idea what rules might apply in the US, and I have also never heard of a "high efficiency" washing machine. I shall therefore answer from the point of view of practicality, and the assumption that "high efficiency" doesn't affect the water coming out of the washing machine's drain hose.

Size of particles: waste water from your washing machine presumably goes through a relatively small diameter hose. It therefore isn't going to have any problem going through your kitchen drainage stack (which should handle small pieces of food waste).

Type of water: waste water from your washing machine is going to have detergent in it. Just like water from your kitchen sink. I can't see any reason why the stacks would connect to different sewers, and therefore I can't see any reason why a national (US) or local (Boston) code would prohibit washing machine waste water from entering the same stack as kitchen waste water.

My experience: in the UK it is normal for a house to only have one drainage stack, which the bath water, toilet flush, kitchen sink and washing machine all discharge into.

In summary: I would find it very unlikely that you wouldn't be able/allowed to drain your washing machine into the kitchen stack.


New Smoke Detectors continually alarm when connected I am replacing four old Firex FX-1020 with one  Firex P12040 and three Firex i4618ac. When I connect each one the alarm sounds immediately. I have verified my wire connections are correct   Not sure why this is occurring any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I would recommend you use a step by step approach to connect these up.

I noticed you said each one the alarm sounds immediately. That sounded like you connected up the bases and then began stabbing in the detectors with the power on. I can tell you that electronic devices do not like that. So everything you need to do you should always do with the power off and then turn it on.

First turn the power off, then disconnect every base except for the first one, plug in the device and see if a single one works alone.

Then turn the power off and connect the next base, plug the device, turn the power on and see if they will work in tandem. If the device alarms then turn the power off and try using a different device, turn the power back on.

Keep repeating this procedure until you begin to isolated the problem. either a base is miswired or a device is defective. Or as the last resort a P12040 and a i4618ac are not compatible. That's why you need to contact the manufacturer.

Hopes this helps.