Can I overtigthen the screws on my pool's skimmer basket I have an in ground pool which has been losing water too fast recently (about an inch a day). The water level will drop until it is below the skimmer basket, and then it's a more reasonable loss rate (closer to an inch a week).

After poking around online for ideas we found the suggestion to tighten the screws that hold the basket to see if that would help (cheaper than calling the pool company and easy to do). I found the to be quite loose, and hand tightened them a half-turn to a full turn, but not as far as I am able to turn them. It has helped, but the pool it still loses water at about 1/4 inch a day.

How tight should those screws be? Is there a risk that I'll over tighten them and damage the liner or require some other more expensive repair.

I ended up speaking with a pool leak detection company, and they answered this question for me.

Basically, yes you can over tighten the screws, but not if you're careful. Their suggestion was to always hand-tighten the screws until they are "wrist tight" (as noted in the comments above, formal measurements are not available). The screws should be good and snug, but don't push too hard. The screws and threads are designed to hold up to a bit of pressure so they are not likely to strip easily. Do not use power tools (not that most people have waterproof power screw drivers but still), a torque bar, or other things in an attempt to gain lots of pressure.

It's also worth noting that local pool companies (in South Carolina, US) rarely remember to check to screws on the basket, and it's one of the most common sources of leaks around here. An easy way to save water, and a couple hundred bucks in a leak detection fee, is to check the screws on the skimmer at the start of each season.


Waterproof Box THHN Clamp and Interior Run Have a waterproof box under garage eve with typical motion detector and two floods. I want to run the switched hot to a relay to turn on additional spots. So need four wires, the hot, neutral, ground, runner to the relay and a hot from the relay back to the two spots.  Right now I have a 1/2" X 1" nipple from the box through the wall. If I run emt and THHN or BX, how do I clamp the wire in the box? "Dumb" question I can't find an answer to: Can I put a rigid pull on the nipple and then emt or BX on the other side?  I can't find anything on going from rigid to emt. Or do I need to use a handy box as a pull? Or is there an all altogether different and smarter way to do this?

TIA

Ron

Later:

I've read that accessibility to the pull is an issue. I don't think there is any kind of a 90 or junction I can put on the nipple that doesn't have a cover that will require access. I suppose I could build a cubby with a door. It's the garage so not a huge deal and it would be just below the top plates.

I've about decided the easiest way to do this is to put an insulating bushing on the end of the nipple, run two NM into the box and use the hot in the second NM back to the spots. Staple off both in the stud bay and be done with it.

But . . . now I'm wondering if I'm putting too many connectors in the box . . . 4"X 1-1/2" round with 12 guage and lets see if I'm doing this right??
1. Hot to sensor =  2
2. Neutral to sensor and two lights. = 4
3. Sensor to runner = 2
4. 2nd hot to two lights = 3
Arggg 11 total. Looks like I need a 4" X 1-1/2" square.

Did I get the count correct?

Again, thanks for sharing your time and skills.

Instead of using a 1" nipple, use one long enough to reach to the exterior of the adjacent wall.  Then use a proper emt termination connector with a proper emt box.  Or use a emt LB that attaches to the threaded nipple.

Either way, it sounds like your current nipple is too short.

Running MC/AC cable to a threaded nipple won't work, especially if you can't reach it.


How do I insulate a neutral bar when installing it in a sub panel? I am adding a neutral bar to an existing sub panel and need to insulate the mounting screws so I don't ground my neutral bar, any suggestions on what to use?

You should buy an "isolated bar" or an "insulated bar" to install in the box.  This will have insulated mounting hardware of some form (for example, insulated housing for the screw penetrations) which is actually rated for the purpose you intended to put it.

You should probably buy a product from the same manufacturer as the panel you are installing into but here's an example of what you want.


How can I repair a flexible hot water supply hose that is leaking at the nut? The hot water supply hose under my sink started leaking after I replaced the popup drain on the sink. Apparently I disturbed the hose in some way. It is leaking from just above the nut where it connects to the shutoff valve. I removed it and added new plumbers tape, and after reconnecting it was still weeping after I checked it 10 minutes later (about 1 drop). So I tried tightening it more, and it began leaking faster (again, from above the nut). Do I need to replace the hose itself? I'm thinking the gasket/washer, whatever it is, is just old. I have no idea how old this hose it, at least 10 years.

In this case, a gasket in the hose is likely degraded. Replace the entire hose with a new one. For this particular fitting, PTFE (plumbing) tape should not be used, and perhaps could be causing the leaking if it is preventing the hose from seating properly.


Are router bit imperfections normal? I just got my first router and purchased some Freud bits for it. However, I noticed that a few of them have pitting at the base where the cutter joins the shank. Is this normal for router bits, or is it a defect that I should return them over? I figured it might be part of the balancing process,  but I'm not sure.

Just gas bubbles in the fillet brazing that joins the carbide to the shank. You can see the brass color of the brazing in the flute. The carbide is socketed into the shank and the braze weld in that area is the true strength element.

In brazed joints, the fillet is more cosmetic blending to reduce a stress riser than additional strength, the important part is hidden in the braze weld in the socket the carbide bit inserts into.


Can a bathroom fan be exhausted through existing gable vent? My bathroom exhaust fan recently broke.  When I went to replace it, I noticed that it wasn't being exhausted from the attic.

I was about to make a separate hole in the nearest gable to exhaust the fan, but my wife asked if I could butt the exhaust pipe up to the existing gable vent in order to avoid making another hole.

I have seen conflicting answers in my research online. (I've also viewed this question: Can I vent a bathroom fan through an attic window?, but there's not enough support for that answer for me to be confident.)

The existing vent is louvered with a screen behind it. The bathroom exhaust pipe would be pushed up to the screen (I wouldn't be cutting the existing vent), secured by a box (with a 4-in hole cut in it to hold the pipe exactly) that will be attached to one of the supports holding the existing gable vent. (I'll also caulk around the pipe where it enters the box.)

Is this acceptable, or does the bathroom exhaust need to be vented directly outside?

I wouldn't exhaust the bathroom through the gable vent.

First off, you'll be reducing the size of the gable vent. Whatever area you block with the exhaust duct, is a reduction in the area of the gable vent.

Secondly. Depending on how the attic ventilation is designed, the hot moist air exhausted from the duct, could be drawn back into the attic through the gable vent.


Application of stone veneer over painted wall I need to install stone veneer over second floor exterior painted wall. Is it necessary to strip the paint off or can it be applied over the paint with just mortar?

Yes, you must remove all the paint.

All the weight of the mortar and stone will be depending not on the mortar bond to the substrate, but on the bond between the thin layer of paint and the substrate. That bond, which was designed to hold only the paint itself, is sure to fail in time.

I have repaired two different situations like this:

thin brick pavers were mortared to painted concrete, which resulted in the pavers (and mortar and paint below that) releasing from the concrete starting one year later.
thin stones were mortared to painted stucco, with failure timing and mechanism similar to the previous scenario.

In both cases, grit-blasting would have been the appropriate (and ultimately cheaper) treatment.


Dimmer switch on fan/light combo I have 3 light/fan combos on the patio that look like the image. Each light/fan combo has a light and fan pull chain. They work exactly as you'd expect. All 3 light/fan combos power off a single light switch inside the house.
I want to make the lights dimmable. If I were to replace the on/off light switch inside the house with a dimmer switch I think that this would. However, I'm also assuming that if the lights were dimmed to half power on that dimmer that the equivalent would happen to the power going to the fans (all come off same switch).
Before I try this, what do I look forward to experiencing? Am I just going to see a slower fan when the lights are dimmed? (I can live with that because the fans have 3 speed settings and high is way too fast to ever be used.) Or are there other consequences? And finally, is there a different solution to achieving dimmable lights on a light/fan combo?

A "regular" dimmer, when used on a fan, will slow the fan to whatever setting is selected. This is awesome except for the fact that most settings will set up a very unpleasant harmonic thrumming sound. That's why a "fan speed controller" will have 3 distinct settings on it that match precisely with the 3 distinct settings you get by pulling the fan control chain on the fan itself.
You can do this, but you probably won't be happy with the results.
Instead, what you'll probably need to do is find a remote control dimmer that can be installed in the light housing and will control the dimming from the remote. You would want to find a system where either

the remote/receivers are programmable/pairable, or
there's one remote and 3 receivers, or
any remote will control any receiver

You would install the receivers in each fan, then use the one remote to control them all. You'd still have master control by flipping the switch on the wall to turn them all off/on (to the last brightness setting selected by the remote, assuming it has a "memory" function).


What are the grooves on the shank of my 16" masonry drill bits for? I had to purchase a new 16" masonry drill bit for a project I am working on and it has the below grooves on the shank. I am curious why, but also want to know if there is a special drill that it is supposed to be used with, as I believe the grooves are causing the chuck in both a wired and battery drill I have not to center the bit in the chuck, which makes it very hard to put it in a position to not wobble all over the place!

Yes, that shank is for an SDS-plus chuck. It won't work well in a regular three-jaw chuck.

The SDS shank has the advantage of fitting into a simple spring-loaded chuck, so that bits are simply pushed into the chuck without tightening. This shank and chucks made for it are especially suited to hammer drilling with masonry drills in stone and concrete. The drill bit is not held solidly in the chuck, but can slide back and forth like a piston; it does not slip during rotation due to the non-circular shank cross-section, matching the chuck. The hammer of the drill acts to accelerate only the drill bit itself, and not the large mass of the chuck, which makes hammer drilling with an SDS shank drill bit much more productive than with other types of shank.
Rotational drive uses the sliding keyways that open to the end of the shank, which mate with keys in the chuck. The smaller indentations that do not open to the end are grasped by the chuck to prevent the drill bit falling out. The hammer of the drill hits the flat end of the shank. The shank must be lubricated with grease to allow it to slide in the chuck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_bit_shank#SDS_shank


Do I need to install GFCI outlets at each location for switched garage lights? I am wiring up multiple switched outlets in garage ceiling for the garage lights and i am assuming they all need to be GFCI protected. So my question is must I install GFCI outlets after the switch for each outlet. It would mean two of the outlets would be GFCI and I am installing 2 LED lights to plug into each outlet that only are drawing .4 amps each. It seems kind of ridiculous to install GFCI for switched outlets dedicated to these lights.

Any GFCI device is capable of protecting any number of loads downline.  At extremes, Europeans use one GFCI device for their whole house but this requires compromises that make it a bad idea here.  Therefore, it is unusual to need more than one GFCI per circuit.  Most of the time, when people fit multiple GFCIs on a circuit, there's a sad knowledge gap there, which is causing them to waste money.

GFCIs are not receptacles.  Those things are GFCI+receptacle combo devices.  They also make GFCI+circuit breaker combo devices, as well as standalone GFCI (they look like a receptacle, but with no pins, and the slang is "Deadfront").  There is no way to plug in anything to a breaker or deadfront, so their whole point is to protect downline loads.   But GFCI+receptacles can do it too.

Regardless, as long as these receptacles are on the ceiling such that they're for obviously lights only and not readily accessible for other loads, ask your local inspector if you can exempt them from GFCI requirements.  If you can't, using GFCI receptacles on the ceiling is prohibited. You need to be able to reach them to reset them! This forces you into a downline design.   And another factor does too...

Putting a GFCI device downstream of a switch is bad design, and will play havoc with many models.  In that case the GFCI needs to be upstream of the switch and feed both hot and neutral of the switch+light section of the circuit, so the GFCI proper is never switched. By nature it must be one GFCI.


Possible to do full wall paneling in modern construction? I have been house shopping recently, and one property I looked at had really amazing full wall paneling and carved woodwork. Building was constructed about 1850. I was wondering about the feasibility of doing modern construction like this. Can this even be done anymore? Are there still carpenters with this kind of skill? Would the cost today be so prohibitive (in the United States) that it would not really be thinkable, or would it be a feasible in modern construction?

One Issue is that the framing of the house has beams making sort of a lattice in the ceiling, which is different than the balloon and joist method of house construction used today. Is it possible to use these old hardwood, beam-based framing methods in new construction, or would it just be so prohibitively expensive that it would be unthinkable?

Yes, it can be , and is done all the time. We use to call this style "craftsman style." All the elements you describe are included in that style: hand made paneling, open beam construction, you say, "lattice type " ceiling (we call coffered ceiling), etc.

Now we use these elements in our designs for upper end projects, (just like they did in the craftsman style, which most people don't realize). When we are trying to do something special, we'll often add wood details.  However, this is only economically feasible for the most custom and most expensive construction.

Yes, as others have stated, the cost is too prohibitive for most homes...both labor and material costs. Our housing market has changed.


Running power to an outside shed In my house I have a main panel with 3-50 amp breakers feeding a subpanel right next to it. The main panel has an opening for a double breaker.

I plan on adding a 50 amp 2 pole breaker to the main panel that will feed a second subpanel in a building that will have a 30, 20, and 15 amp breaker. It will be 240/120 service. I'm using #4 gauge aluminum service wire direct burial between house and building.

Is there a problem with any of this?

Use conduit

Putting in some 2" schedule 80 PVC now is a cheap investment compared to having to dig up a busted cable to replace it.

Torque your lugs to spec!

Get an inch-pound torque wrench and torque your breaker and panelboard lugs to manufacturer's spec.  This is a new requirement with the 2017 NEC, spelled out in 110.14(D), and simply good practice anyway, especially with aluminum (which is a bit more sensitive to torques than copper is).

Make sure the outbuilding is grounded

Since you have a feeder to a subpanel at the outbuilding, you'll need to put in a ground electrode at the outbuilding and wire it to the ground bar in the subpanel, which will be separate from the neutral bar, by the way.  (Make sure to pull that bonding screw or strap in the new subpanel!)


Can I use an electric plane to to smoothen large boards/planks? I'm working as carpenter with a lot of recycled wood which I plane on a circular saw (Bosch GTS 10 XC) from both sides (in both senses) which has an acceptable result, but is never perfectly straight because the rip fence isn't perfectly rectangular (isn't made for this task). And I'm limited in terms of board/plank width of 2 times the maximal cutting depth, i.e. 2x 7.9 cm for my saw. Even if I manage to remove less than the diameter of the saw blade, the work is slow with a fine blade or the resulting surface rough with a blade with less teeth.

Therefore I thought of investing in an electric plane in average price range (200 to 300 €), but therefore I need to know whether I can plane boards/planks with a width of a multiple of the electric plane's working width, e.g. whether I can plane a board/plank with 25cm width with an electic plane with 8cm working width so that the result is equally plane to the result of a jointer which would plane the piece in one run.

I have done what you want to do with a electric hand plane. It will leave ridges where the cuts lap. If you want it flat, one side needs to be ran over a jointer of the proper width for the piece then a thickness planer to get a uniform thickness across the board.

As I mentioned, I have done this, but as a prelude to running the material through a planer. Instead of using a jointer, I would run the electric hand planer over the surface here and there to flatten it with care, then run the other side through the thickness planer. once that side is flat enough, I flip it over and run the side I used the hand plane on to remove the ridges left by that method.


Duct tape + spackle to fix hole under window ledge? In one of the bedrooms in my apartment under the window, part of the bottom of the ledge has collapsed. Not sure what caused it. Not sure what it is made of either, probably concrete or something similar. At its widest the hole is about 3 cm, which is a little too wide to fill with just spackle. I was wondering if I could patch the hole with duct tape and then add the spackle over it so it has something to adhere to?

Nope. Use proper drywall tape of either the paper or fiberglass varieties. Both are cheap and won't leave you with a gooey, hollow, fragile mess. I also recommend proper joint compound. Spackle is very light and soft and not suitable for filling large depressions. If you're dealing with concrete or regular moisture, consider a setting-type compound for toughness. (It comes as a dry powder and requires water.)

Prefill the hole with joint compound using a small taping knife and allow it to dry completely. Deep fills can take a day or more to stop shrinking and look completely white. A fan helps.
Skim again to wet the entire area with compound.
Overlay a patch of tape and press it in lightly with the knife.
Either now or after the skim coat dries, skim again to overcoat the tape. Let this dry and repeat as necessary, seeking to apply the thinnest and smoothest coat that seems to do the job. There's very little sanding with a good taping job.
Sand, prime/seal, paint. Be proud that you aren't a hack doing pretend repairs.


How to and how much to clean the HEPA filter? I'm trying to clean this HEPA filter from my vacuum cleaner by washing* it and even though I've managed to get most of the dirtiness out, there's still some left sticking to the corners between each layer.

I can't reach there without a pointy object and I'm afraid of puncturing the sheet.

Do I need to clean that much? (how much suction do I lose if I don't)
What's a safe way to do so?

*I'm reading in some places that I shouldn't wash it, but the manual that came with my cleaner specifically told me to wash it. (and then dry)

There are washable filters and one that can not be washed, trust the manual about that.

Don't worry over or fight the small spaces that did not get clean. You will annoy yourself, and be limited in how much you can clean them if you try.

View them as a very small reduction in the filter area, be proud that you are one of the few taking proper care of your filter, and enjoy your clean air.


Is my irrigation system winterized properly? I had a sprinkler specialist come over today to winterize my sprinkler system. I live in northwestern oregon (portland) and I'm trying to figure out if he properly winterized the system or if I need more to be done to ensure I don't have a freeze split open a pipe.
Most everything I've been researching online has advised blowing out sprinklers systems.

A bit about my setup:
I have 8 sprinkler valves (3 sprinkler valves, 5 drip valves). Part of the system is in the front yard and backyard. The backyard slopes downward slightly.

Here is a picture of my double-check backflow preventer:

Here were the steps he did:

Turn valve (1) to closed position
Unscrew cap on test port (3) (i.e. port closest to where water flow exits the backflow preventer)
Used mini screwdriver to open up ball valve on test port (3) until some water stopped draining out. This was very little water that drained out, likely less than a cup.
Use screwdriver to close ball valve on test port (3)

The ONLY way to ensure that there is no water trapped in low spots in a sprinkler system is to BLOW it out with compressed air.  Until that is done, there is almost certainly some amount of water trapped and it only takes a small amount to split the buried pipe when it freezes.  Generally sprinkler pipes are buried only a few inches deep and even in moderate climate areas (like Portland) the ground this deep will freeze.

A properly designed system will have a port where an air compressor can be connected to inject air and if not, you may want to add one to save time later.

Bottom line is that you cannot tell just by looking at the valves if it's been properly winterized or not.


Can I install a heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) in a garage? I am building a high efficiency home in N. Minnesota, 2x6 construction, slab heat, spray foam insulation etc. Need to install an heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) unit, but only have space for it in the garage also with slab heat & foam insulation.  Local HVAC pro's tell me it can't be done, but cannot tell me why.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Technically, yes, but you can't feed it back inside the house. The penetrations required would violate the firewall.


Can I dim LED lights when there are two different switches for the same fixture? I would like to place dimmers in two different rooms that are sometimes a bit over lit. Is that possible when both areas have two switches for the recessed lighting? Do I need to replace both switches with LED dimmer switches?

No, you should not have to replace both of the existing switches on each circuit. You won't be able to dim from both ends, of course. You just need a "3-Way LED Dimmer" and follow the appropriate wiring. Replace one of the switches (on each set of lights that have two switches) with the dimmer - the other switch will turn them on or off, at wherever the dimmer is set.


Troubleshooting pex leakage I replaced all the copper in my home with pex in 2008. I have had a seepage leak on one of my hot water fittings. I took it apart and cleaned all the parts and reconnected it, and still the seepage. Does that indicate that the manifold needs to be replaced??? I read some about dezincification, would that be my problem?? Since it is one of the top fittings, most of the manifold is blue with corrosion. I cleaned some with my copper pipe cleaner, and it cleans well. Can the pex fittings be damaged by cleaning and does hot water possibly accelerate dezincification??

It would be ideal to know what kind of connections you have on the manifold. Often the connectors can be replaced but it kind of sounds like you don't have that option (or why would you ask?).

So, if you have barb connections, then yes, you have to be careful cleaning them... scratches cause problems. But if there is enough length on the barbed connector for two clamps or rings, that might work. You would want to put the rings adjacent to each other on the pex, and use the crimp tool to crimp them at different angles. Or use a different crimps or clamps like ULTRA-LITE COMPOSITE HANDLE CRIMP TOOL FOR STAINLESS STEEL PEX SLEEVES or Apollo PEX Cinch Clamps.

I suppose that if you had flare nut style fittings, it would be obvious that you could replace the parts, so there's no sense in my mentioning it any further.

Alternatively, if you have a shark-bite style connection, the tube support liner is what usually needs to be replaced. You should be able to remove the support line insert and replace it (depending on the manufacturer). Here's a link for pdf instructions from Shark Bite: http://www.sharkbite.com/sharkbite/wp-content/uploads/SB_Inslltn_Instrctns_2014.pdf

Here's a screen shot image of a google search for generic tube support liners for shark bite style connectors:


Paint adherence on fiberglass door. Does it need time to 'cure'? Can I top-coat it? We bought this door:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feather-River-Doors-6-Lite-Clear-Craftsman-Unfinished-Smooth-Fiberglass-Prehung-Front-Door-GK3191/204487447?N=5yc1vZas82Z7cm

I've primed it using Zinsser and then gave it 2 coats of Behr Marquee Exterior.

Looks great. Alas, 24 hours later, I can take my fingernail and scrape of the paint.

It's been a bit humid/rainy. Do I just need to give it more time for the paint to fully harden? Or did I do something wrong with this fiberglass door?

UPDATE:

Another day and the problem remains. I can confirm it's the paint. The paint can be scraped off with a fingernail, but the primer stays.

I'll give it another day or so (it's been humid) and hopefully it fully 'cures'. But if not, do I have options short of stripping the entire door? Is there any sort of top-coat I could apply to give it a stronger surface?

I have lots of questions!

Is the door installed in place?  If so, is there a storm or screen door?
Did you paint both inside and outside surfaces? If so: Did you use the same paint on both?  Are they both experiencing the same problems?

If there is a glass storm/screen door in front of the door, this could lead to problems with paint on the outside where the paint is trapped between the door and the glass.  If you could answer these questions in your question or as a comment, I can provide a more targeted response.

This paint has a 4 week cure time and should will take longer to set if applied in higher than 60-70% humidity.

For expert advice, you may consult with a BEHR Certified Coatings Professional, call 1-800-854-0133 Ext. 2 in the US.


Can I use wall rail brackets with heavy handrail? Can I use wall brackets for this type of handrail:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/2-25-in-x-12-ft-Unfinished-Wood-Handrail/1000442943
Thanks

Instead of wall bracket, I would use Rosette and, it looks great with hand-rail, also easy to attach as part of DYI.
I have handrail in my house and has this oak finished round Rosette attached to hand rail. The only different is my hand-rail in finished one. Buy any of the wood rosette whichever you like and meets your style.

Employee at Lowes can assist you what accessories you will need along with rosette.
Edited the answer after more clear. Here on wall side pic,

Hope this help!!


Is this TV mounted safely? I'm not worried about the connection between the mount and the wall - I do know how to do that properly. I'm worried, in this case, about the connection between the TV and the mount - specifically, in this case, a 65" TCL 65R617 TV with a Sanus VLT6 mount.

The wall mount came with spacers to use in case the back of the TV isn't flat, which as you can see in the first attached picture were necessary. Specifically, I used 7mm worth of spacers. (The screw holes on the TV are quite shallow, and the margin between a too-short screw and a too-long one is only a few mm. None of the screws that came with the mount were the right size, but I found something at my local hardware store that works as long as I add a couple of extra washers.)

My concern is this: The full weight and pressure of the mount/tv connection is not against the sturdy metal inner frame of the TV, or distributed evenly across the back of the TV, but rather focused on a small amount of rather flimsy-looking plastic around the screw hole. You can see what I'm talking about in the pictures. It feels like if I tighten the screws too much, I'll crush the TV's plastic frame. And as soon as I hang the TV, its full weight will be on those four small weak points. Is this really secure, and is it how this TV is meant to be mounted?

The gap, requiring the use of 7mm spacers:

The plastic spacers against the plastic frame of the TV - a weak point?

This is how it is meant to be mounted.

The plastic cabinet does not support any weight.

If you put a large washer, or cardboard over the plastic cabinet without using a spacer, then you run a chance of crushing the plastic of the cabinet when you tighten the bolts.


How do I diagnose a hot water recirculation problem? We have 2 ganged gas water heaters in a 10-year-old house. Professionals installed them last year to replace the 10-year-old pair. I'm pretty sure they are hooked up to a recirculating pump.

This setup has worked great until a couple weeks ago when the distant bathrooms started taking a full minute or so to produce hot water (suggesting a recirculation problem). After warming up, they also intermittently go back to cool water (suggesting running out of hot water), but after continuing to run for a while will return to hot water instead of getting colder (suggesting that it didn't run out of hot water after all).

I have unfortunately little plumbing knowledge but I want to know if there's something I can do to fix this problem before calling a plumber. I already tried the obvious solution of increasing the thermostat on the water heaters but that did nothing (again suggesting not a problem with running out of hot water). The water heaters themselves usually stay idle with a blinking light indicating the tank is at desired temperature.

I agree, your symptoms seems to indicate the problem is the recirculation system, not the heaters.

First, locate the recirculating pump.   It could be near the water heaters, or at the farthest fixture from the water heaters.  Your most distant bathroom may be a good place to look first.   Look under the vanity or other enclosed places for a smallish device (size of a closed fist or bigger) with two water lines and an electric line.

It may have a timer that is mis-set, it may be unplugged, or plugged into a dead outlet (perhaps a tripped GFCI).

Other possibilities would be a valve closed either near the recirculator or at the water heaters (if the recirculator has a dedicated return the whole way back).

If none of these lead you to the problem, you may have a defective pump, or a more subtle problem... it may be time to call a plumber.


How to hang mosquito net on the security bars of a window? We have a long window with security bars, I've set a mosquito nets on the outer side of the bars as you can see in the images bellow.

The issue we face is that our cats (who love to spend time there watching the world) are jumping on the net (mostly when birds fly by) and they drag the nets down.

I was wondering how can I secure the nets in a way that the cat's wont be able to drag the net down. I have no access to the outer side of the window as it is the third floor so everything must be done from inside our home.

Any ideas and tricks are more than welcome!

Use binder clips and a needle and thread (or just just sew it all in place if you find the binder clips aren't pinning your screen well).

Fold back the net at the top and the base so you can secure the net to the squared barracking of your security bars.

Use a needle and thread the secure the two nets to one another.


TV mount to Wall Studs While installing a wall mount for a 48" TV, I realized I made a mistake. I drilled a ⅜ pilot hole in the wall stud and then installed the anchors provided with the mount that the lag bolts would be secured in. Going back to the instructions I realized my mistake, having used the directions for the "Concrete wall installation" instead of the "Wood stud wall installation."
The Concrete wall installation instructions say not to use these for a wood stud installation, but rather to use a 7/32 pilot with the provided lag bolt.
As far as I can tell, the only difference between the concrete and wood stud installation is that the concrete uses the provided anchors, and both use the same 4 lag bolts.
So do I need to fill these holes with wood filler or something and start over, or will the concrete anchors make a difference at all?

You do not want to use the lag shields, anchors, in wood studs. Wood can compress and the holding power could/would be reduced after a while. Just drill your 7/32" pilot holes about an inch and a half above or below the existing holes.  Remove the anchors and fill the holes with joint compound if they'll show when you mount the bracket in the new location.


Power Strip/Extension Cord on TV stand I have a question. I have a TV stand with a capacity of 80 lb., and on it a TV that weighs ~50lb. On the wall directly behind my TV, I have two electrical outlets. On the floor, I have a surge protector connected to one of the sockets. I have a single shelf about 4 feet above the TV stand where I would like to put a projector.

The length of the projector's power cord is only 5 feet, so I can't connect it to the surge protector or one of the 2 outlets. However, the 2 outlets allow for 2 surge protectors/power strips/extension cords etc. I thought of a few possible options and would like to know which one is the best.

Extend the length of the power cord (seems difficult, might void warranty)
Place a power strip on the TV stand and connect the power cord to it (safe?)
Place a power strip on a wall and connect the power cord to it. (safe?)

The rating for the circuit breaker says 125A Maximum and 120/240V. If circuits are only supposed to hold 15A, then mine seems to have a much higher capacity. Even if it only holds 15A, with the devices I have, connecting multiple power strips/extension cords will use far less power than 15A. Overloading the circuit is impossible.

My worry is that by placing a power cord on a TV stand or wall, it will overheat. Is it really safe and I have nothing to worry about?

Most electrical equipment sold in the US, including power strips and surge protectors, are rated by Underwriters' Laboratories (UL) as being safe for normal use in residential settings. Power cords and stirps are intended to be placed on various surfaces without danger. If a power strip were tightly enclosed with no opportunity for ventilation, this might create an unsafe situation. Obviously, overloading a power strip or outlet is risky.

Your suggestion of placing a cord or power strip on a TV stand and using it to supply less than the rated amperage is well within the intended uses and should pose no risk.

Extension cords and power strips are not intended to permamently replace properly located outlets. However, many power strip approved by UL include mounting holes on the back for attaching to walls or carts. If this is carefully done, is not likely to be damaged or too tightly enclosed and is not overloaded, it should pose no problem.

It is possible that local laws or building or lease rules may limit some uses.


Getting a power pole moved Anyone ever had this done? What does this kind of thing typically cost if I have to pay for it? The utility cooperative here won't tell me anything without first paying hundreds of dollars for a "tech to review it". That was their immediate answer with zero research - they weren't even interested in what address / where I was talking about and would not give me a ball park within even "$10k dollars".

We just purchased this small farm property we live on in Montana. We are actively haying the property as was the previous owner. We are surrounded by a few small housing developments and other rural small farms. While it's easy to get a car around this pole, the farming operation requires that we bring a semi in at least 3 times a season + other large equipment on occasion. It has to go through major detours of multiple miles and through a small rural housing development, finally doing a complicated turn-around in a Cul-de-sac nearby all due to this pole being in the way on the main entrance. Ie. People have to deal with us driving our equipment through their neighborhoods. The previous owners have always done this, and while the community is understanding, it's not ideal and gets more complex as the area develops / fills up with more homes. There is also a very popular camping / river entrance that we have to drive through to do this and sometimes it's a nightmare. The sole reason for this is the pole. It's literally about 15 minutes extra + the nuisance to everyone.

Any pointers? Any typical state departments which regulate how the utilities right-of-ways are used / abused? Again, this is my residence as well and I am planning a lot of DIY improvements including improving / paving the long driveway. Would rather get this pole moved before I do that.

This is a job for an easement, plain and simple.

There's another driveway right next to you that is well-situated.  You need to be as quiet as a mouse about your level of desperation, and just approach that property owner and say "hey having 2 driveways is stupid, couldn't we combine?"  And pay enough money to get a "yes".

Make sure it is an EASEMENT and get a lawyer involved. Easement law is a mess, that's not a thing to DIY.

Moving this pole seems super hard

I suspect moving this pole will be a nightmare, because I see a high voltage (well, 10kv-ish) up top meaning 2 poles must replace this one on the / route, then I see what looks like local lower-voltage service on the \ route, so maybe 1 but probably 2 poles to replace that.  Then I also think I see phone on both routes, and I definitely see what look like phone junction boxes there at the bottom of the pole - 2 of them.  Which means something needs to come in the vicinity of "here", and that may require undergrounding from where else that pole ends up.


What are those black dots in my water? I recently changed my water filter in my fridge after 3 years (I know, gross). The directions said to run at least 20 cups of water through the dispenser afterwards to clear out air bubbles. I have run about 20 gallons through, and I'm still getting little black particles in the water.  Is this charcoal, from the filter, and safe to drink, or is it something else?

I have gone through this too.  If it sinking black particles then that is charcoal/carbon.  That is from your filter.  You can drink/digest it just fine but if that makes you squirmy then take the filter back.  Honestly there seems to be something a little off about your filter but at the same time the particles aren't necessarily harmful.


Upper roof downspout emptying onto lower roof I have an upper roof downspout emptying onto a lower roof. the downspout exit sits near the side of the lower roof, and water falls off the side before continuing down to fall into the lower roof gutter.

is it possible to install a gutter along the side? is the only solution a downspout extension to the lower gutter? how is the downspout extension secured? We prefer the gutter along the side but can it be attached to the existing lower roof gutter? not sure what type of gutter corner that would require. i don't think we can send the upper roof downspout straight down to the ground due to association rules.

we have two skylights so we can't move the upper roof downspout towards the center of the roof because of how much water is directed out from the upper roof. We want to avoid a leak in the Skylights.

]3

We have a similar two story house where we had contractors redo the gutters.  They continued the downspout from the second floor over the roof of the first floor and positioned it directly into the hole in the first floor gutter.

No straps were visible on the run over the first floor and it appears to be secured at the second floor downspout only.

Volume of water has not been given a real test yet.  I direct the output into rain barrels with an overflow facing downhill. You could direct it into 4" perforated pipe with sleeve buried in the ground and running away from the house. This is a French drain which empties into a dry well.  If you ever wondered how to use up empty plastic pails this is your chance!


Basement bath: Can I tie a wet bar sink into bathroom vanity drain? I've seen similar questions asked, but there seem to be enough variables that I'd like to ask here to be sure. See attached photos. I have a basement bath roughed in, it is wet vented. The vanity is the most downstream fixture. On the other side of the bathroom wall, I'd like to put a bar sink, and I'd like to run the drain line through the wall, through the bath vanity cabinet, and tie it into the vanity drain line.

Is this permitted? If so, is there a maximum distance between the two sinks and/or a minimum height for the bar sink? Do I have to vent the bar sink separately, and if so, can I use a studor vent? I am in Indiana.

I don't want to do this badly enough to dig into the concrete floor to access the drain line, so if there is no good solution, I'd rather just forget about it. However, if there IS a good solution, I'd rather do it now than down the road.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

As long as you put a T into vertical line, not jump on the horizontal drain line you are all good.   There really isn't much else to say.   We do this all the time with double vanity sinks.


How do I fix this missing soffit? After this past harsh winter I noticed this spot on our house where it looks like some soffit panels had fallen out.  Honestly, I'm not sure what was in the space prior; I never found any panels on the ground if it'd blown down.  And there's no lip really, just a nail as if maybe whomever set it up originally just nailed a piece onto the roof frame or something?

I'm looking for suggestions on what I should fix this with.  Do I get a soffit panel and nail it over the spot?  Just get some plywood and nail it there? Should I be putting something inside the empty space first before sealing it up?  Ultimately I just want to seal it up to keep any potential critters and pests out, plus it was probably leading to some of the drafts over the winter!

Here are some pics:

As mentioned by other comments and posts, the soffit needs to remain vented. For what it is worth, that one piece won't matter if it is perforated or not, (the whole soffit is open on the inside, that is a good thing) but use perforated soffit anyway so it matches. This material is available at any big box store.

The picture have captions in them that should explain what I seen needing to be done. What I have illustrated is the simplest way to proved a repair that will last without taking the fascia and soffit down. The only detail I left out was how to fasten the soffit panel in. Once the block is in that I drew in, add a piece of "F" track that will hold the soffit piece at the wall, or it can be screwed directly to the block. The outside egde can be screwed in too but the added fascia "extension lip" to replace the one that was torn off, is made to hold that end of the soffit in place.


Sealing and insulating drywall within a range hood Our range hood looks like this:

I discovered a ton of freezing cold air coming from the top of the hood recently. I took a ladder, and it looked like this:

Cold air just pours through the opening.

Any suggestions for how to seal up the holes in the wall? Keep in mind this is not visible unless you are on a ladder, so something that is quicker/easier will win over something that looks pretty. Also, I'm not interested in pulling out the piping to wrap something around it, if at all possible, as that dramatically increases the level of complexity for me.

Additionally, is there any risk to sealing up the top of the range hood, or does it need to be left opened?

While I'd ordinarily reach for polyurethane spray foam, that may not be the best idea on a range exhaust duct that could conceivably have a grease fire inside it at some point in time.

Stuffing the hole/gap with rockwool would be relatively fast and easy, and fire-resistant (more than fiberglass, anyway.)

Slapping a scrap of drywall or cementboard over the open top area might further help, but you might need to dress up the edge of a sheet put there, as it would be visible from the floor.

But it slowly occurs to me that they do actually make a "fireblock" spray foam, and that would be just the ticket here, I think.


How can I connect a WIFI thermostat to a Honeywell R845A switching relay? I'm trying to install a wifi thermostat and it won't power up. The old thermo was battery operated 2 wire but there were spare wires. At the R845A relay, red and white whites connect to terminals 5 and 6, red and white also connect to the 2 T terminals. I ran a jumper connecting the blue (common). In the relay, I get 24 volts across 5-6. and 24v between the white wire and common. 0v between red and common. At the thermostats I get 4-10 v between red and common,14v white-common, and 24v r-w.
As I say the thermo doesn't work and any help will be greatly appreciated.

According to this document, the internal wiring of that relay looks like this.

It sounds like it's connected something like this.

When the thermostat calls for heat, the T terminals are connected through the thermostat. This causes the relay to energize, which closes the contact between terminals 5 and 6 (It also closes a contact between 3 and 4). When terminals 5 and 6 are connected, the heater, pump, valve, etc. turns on.

Because the transformer is built into this device, it's going to be difficult (possibly impossible) to connect a C wire. You'd have to connect the wire to the other side of the transformer, something like this.

You'll also have to check with the manufacturer, to determine if the transformer can handle the additional load of the thermostat.

You might want to contact Honeywell, to see if they offer a similar relay that exposes the C terminal.  If they do, you could replace this device with the one with the proper terminals.

What you're trying to do, is something like this.

Which as you can see in the diagram, is not going to work so well.


How can I paint/stain an interior concrete floor? I have a very lovable aging bulldog who has peed on the wall-to-wall carpet enough that I'm ripping it out. It's over twenty years old anyway.

The subfloor is a concrete slab. My goal is to make the concrete livable. Goals in order:

Urine-proof (waterproof). A puddle may sit for five hours before I get home to clean it up. Ideally a bit of soap and water, and no trace is left behind. None.
Low VOC products. I've got severe allergies to many/most chemicals. These rooms are my primary living space. I'll test whatever I plan to use, but I need to be very careful so as not to make the place uninhabitable for me. I'm disabled, and am in the main room probably twenty hours a day.
Easy application. Fewer products, fewer applications is better, though it's not the primary deciding factor.
Something attractive. Least important, but I'm thinking more mottled see-thru stain than I am glossy garage floor. Probably a medium brownish color.

I found some Behr products at Home Depot, but received conflicting information. At this point I'd consider Behr Solid Color Concrete Stain, or Behr 1-Part Epoxy Concrete & Garage Floor Paint.

The Home Depot employee giving me advice said I don't need to prime either product. Just apply to bare concrete. Said either product would satisfy the waterproof requirement.

However, the specs on the products contradict that guidance. Both say "primer required". The stain is "waterproof", the paint is not. Neither product is a "sealer". I'd have thought one of the goals was to seal the porous nature of the floor, at least a 1/2" down, no?

I am looking at priming with Seal-Krete Lock-Down Epoxy Bonding Floor Primer (sorry, I don't have enough reputation to post the link). A big plus for me is that it's the only product thus far with a Low VOC rating. If I understand it, this will seal the pores, and allow the paint/stain to bond properly. It's amber-clear, so it seems that would work under brown-tinted stain, even if the stain isn't completely opaque.

Does this sound like a good plan? Prime with the Seal-Krete, and follow with the Solid Stain?

Initially I wanted a transparent stain, to see the mottling of the concrete. But I had to prime. Since I'm probably priming anyway, would Behr Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain work? My concern is if the urine will puddle, or seep in? The product is not waterproof.

There are (at least) two different types of stains for concrete. One is a surface coating, the other is acid etching.

The former can work, but isn't as durable/lasting. I believe most of the products you get at the big-box stores are more of a top-coat type of stain.

Acid etching is just that, it's a stain containing an acid that actually etches the concrete. This is the typical type of stain you see in home magazines and such. The etching provides a deeper stain that is more durable and not prone to flaking.

I've done the latter, and applying it is super-easy. It's the prep work that can be a chore--namely if you have adhesive on the concrete already. In our case, we has tile mastic, which we had to dissolve using soybean based stripper. It worked great but was incredibly messy.

If you don't have glue to deal with, however, you should be good to go. Order up the stain (lots of places online to get it). You then dilute it per instructions and spray it on the concrete. I used a garden sprayer for this. You then let it sit for a period of time, and then you apply a neutralizer to stop the reaction.

After that, you apply water and mop/squeegee/wet-vac it up.

Then, you apply a sealer of some sorts. Common options are wax-based, polyurethane, and epoxy. I went with poly as it was relatively easy to apply (roll it on). That said, I don't think it was ever truly waterproof. For your needs, you may want to go the epoxy route.


Should a 240 V dryer circuit show a current differential between legs? I have a 240 V dryer which when measured with an ammeter has 24 A on one leg and 22.7 A on the other.  If the ammeter is kept in place, one leg drops to 13 A, and the other leg drops to 4.5 A.
Because my home has the neutral landed on the ground, I believe that the delta between the two legs when they are in the 13/4.5 A mode is lost to ground.  Regardless whether that's the case, should this dryer have vastly different current measurements on the two legs at the same time?  Seems a bit hinky to me.
As you can see from the pictures, I'm measuring the same wires with different currents (24 A on the black conductor, and then 13 moments later.  22 A on the red conductor, and then 4.7 A at the same time the black wire drops to 13). I checked the connections on the back of the dryer.  Everything is copacetic there.  I had an appliance technician come out, and he says that the dryer is 100% operationally correct from his perspective. I am very interested in hearing people's thoughts.

Dryer connections have 2 hots, and neutral, and often a safety ground.
Anything since 1990? 1996? requires neutral and ground as separate wires.
Dryers do NOT connect "2 hots and ground", if you thought that, that's incorrect unless you're dealing with a Philippine-model or 5-continent model dryer made for 230/400V.
(the Philippine model dryers are typically North American dryers reconfigured to run on 240V-only, by adding a transformer to support 120V loads and using a 240V tumble motor. The Philippine government requires people in the former American-built districts stop using neutral; to harmonize the whole country to Euro-style 230/400V power.)
Those numbers

24A - 1.3A - 22.7A

That's perfectly normal draw for a dryer.  The 22.7A is the heating coil, and the 1.3A is the tumble motor and miscellaneous 120V electronics.

13A - 8.5A - 4.5A

Exceedingly improbable on a dryer circuit. 99.9% of dryer circuits are dedicated circuits that serve only the one 30A receptacle.  (mind you 30A circuits are allowed to supply as many 30A receptacles as they please; just 99.9% of the time, they do not).
Now, 13A@120V + 4.5A@120V is 2100W, which is a lot of heat - about 1-1/2 hair dryers going full tilt.  So the point of loss will be rather warm.
We can cross off the dryer. First, there's nothing in a dryer that could possibly draw 8.5A of imbalance current (tumble motor stalled and pulling LRA???? It would burn up quickly) and nothing that would draw only 4.5A of 240V that wouldn't also burn up from lack of air movement. (I assume you'd hear the blower running?)
So job 1 is chase that circuit and find out what else is on it.  Other 30A receptacles are allowed.  Sockets of any other amperage are not allowed.  Nothing hardwired should be there either (because it with the dryer would overload the circuit - and why isn't that happening, by the way?)
I don't see anything wrong with your ammeter reading methods.  Klein is a perfectly respectable vendor, and the "dryer on" readings are right in line.
Also, get rid of that Square D breaker.
It doesn't belong in a GE panel and will burn up the bus.  GE breakers only (or Eaton CL type not BR).  The correct GE "THQL2130" is $10.
Ditto that Murray breaker at bottom right, again a THQL1120", $5-ish.


Safe to remove this wall and header? I am hoping to remove a portion of wall along with a door header. I don't think it is load bearing but I just wanted to get some opinions.
I have  had one contractor say it is, and another say it is "definitely not".
The red portion is what I would like to remove, and the yellow portion IS load bearing (basement is unfinished, so it is easy to tell).
House was built in the 60's. I should note that the floor joists run perpendicular to the load bearing (yellow) wall.

Please see additional photos with the drywall removed. It looks to me as though it is non-load bearing. Is it clear to anyone that it is, or is not, load-bearing?

You are not sure if the header above the doorway or the corner to the right of the doorway is load bearing.   I have added yellow highlights to each of these.

Really there are only two ways to know for sure.

Take off the drywall at both spots and take pictures of right above them in the attic and let us inspect.
Get blueprints of the house to an engineer and have them inspect.

There is just no way you can guess based on this picture that the corner to the right isn't load bearing.   In fact I would assume it is until you prove it different.


How can I prevent water from being fed to my foundation through the gas-line ditch? I recently had a gas line installed, and now there is water leaking into my basement about six feet below grade. It is not surprising that the 130-year-old fieldstone foundation is porous, but until now the water has been led away from the house, so the basement has been dry. Here is a picture, showing the path of the gas line in yellow:

My theory is that the water is being led from the grassy area along the path of the gas line, where the dirt is less compact and therefore more permeable than before.

What can I do about it? Would running a drainage pipe to the end of the house help? If so, should start where the gas line ends, or does it need to be under the gas line the entire way?

are you sure they haven't damaged a drain or water inlet line in the process of installing the gas?
if a water inlet line was damaged and is on the inside of the meter it would spin the meter slowly (over say an hour or two) when you don't use any water in the house for that time.
i would call the people that did the gas pipe install and ask them to find and fix. they're covered by insurance..and accidents happen.

[edit] maybe they hit a drain pipe instead.
whatever the problem, they should fix it. you can't install a pipe in a way as to create a ditch that would cause moisture problems under normal conditions, which includes normal rain. to cause problems the ditch would need a considerable amount of bedding screenings and wrong slope, to start causing problems straight away just from rain infiltration into soil. or do you get five inches of rain each time?

you can't interfere (change) the bedding material (e.g. pouring in cement) so alternatives like french drain or deep auger holes (only if hydrology of the soil allows) are hard work and expensive.


Is an 'exterior' California corner acceptable? I know the top California corner is acceptable (and preferred for insulation advantages), but is the bottom corner a sound technique?

These two are effectively the same corner.  One is just rotated 180 degree from the other.  you can clearly see that in this edited image:

The only thing that's different is that you are showing only the interior wall finish.
So yes, this is perfectly acceptable and commonly done.


How to resolve subfloor squeaking when screwing does not fix the problem? I just bought a new house, and the subfloor is very squeaky. The subfloor is 3/4" tongue-and-groove OSB which has been nailed down on 19" spaced joists. Luckily, I am changing the carpet to wood flooring so I am free to fix the subfloor prior to installing the wood flooring.

I complained to the builder about the squeaking, so they screwed down the OSB using deck screws everywhere at 6" intervals. It definitely helped the squeaking, but unfortunately many small squeaks remain. The superintendent tells me that wood structures will always squeak and that this is normal. I don't believe that; there has to be a way to fix those squeaks. Besides, the squeaks are quite noisy and I think it's unacceptable.

I really hope the problem isn't in the joists themselves as this would seem a difficult problem to fix. Is it possible that the squeaks come from the tongue-and-groove joints between the joists? I've read somewhere that it's possible that the T&G joints have not been glued properly and that this can cause squeaks. If that is the problem, is it possible to simply push glue down the joint over the subfloor, or do I really have to remove and replace the subfloor?

What else could cause these squeaks?

Thank you!

Do you have basement? If you can get to the joists, you can use shims and glue to stop the movement.

see: http://monkeysee.com/fixing-floor-squeaks-from-the-underside/


Matching new oak floor planks to old planks For reasons not worth explaining I had to replace some oak floor planks.  The new planks aren't quiet flat and are obviously the wrong color.  I don't plan on refinishing the entire floor right now, any suggestions of easier things I can do for the time being.

[EDIT] Added picture, better late than never:

A picture of the area would have been good to see how the ends tie into the existing but here goes. 30 sq. ft. of floor is a lot to do. You may want to rent a random orbit floor sander to do the bulk of it, then detail the edges where it meets the existing.  When you write that the "planks aren't quite flat meaning they are higher than the rest of the existing floor, you can carefully mask off the existing floor around the new wood with 2" wide blue painters tape and sand the floor down to where the hand sander touches the tape, but not cutting through it. Of course if you do you will damage the finish of the existing floor. Start with 60 or 80 grit first and when the sander first touches the tape, change to the next finer grit. If it was 60 grit, change to 80, if it was 80 change to 100. Then take a regular #2 pencil and mark across the freshly sanded planks so  there are lines all over the place. Sand with that next grit until the pencil marks are gone. This will help you keep track of where and how well you have an area sanded. You may have touched the painters tape again, but as long as it hasn't torn through, that is ok. Mark the wood again with the pencil, and sand again with 120 grit, that is the last cut.

You will need a piece or pieces of the floor to test the stain on to get a good match. then stain the bare wood carefully and wipe it down with a rag to get the excess off the surface. Actually wipe the surface anytime you stain, even if there is no excess, there is always a residue that is naturally left in the process that needs to be removed before sealing. Read the directions on the stain for the time between stain and finish coats. Sand lightly (220G) after the first clear coat, then remove the tape, vacuum and dust thoroughly then apply the second coat of finish. cut it in carefully. Make sure to match the sheen of the existing floor.


Furnace relay - old one says 18 LRA, replacement says 48 LRA - Does it matter? forgive me if this is a newbie question. I am replacing a relay inside an electrical furnace/air handler. It is a relay model 90-293Q. The original one I have specifies it as "8 FLA, 18 LRA" but the replacement model (same model number) specifies it as "8 FLA, 48 LRA". I Googled around a bit but the best I could come up with is what it stands for (Locked Rotor Amps) without finding any info on whether or not having more LRA on a relay will matter. Any help appreciated. Thank you.

The LRA is simply the maximum amperage the relay is rated for when starting up a motor. Having a higher LRA just means you have a higher rated relay for starting currents. Having more will not matter.
The FLA or full load amperage is the rated operating amperage which in your case is the same as the original.

In many cases it's easier to just make a higher rated relay and use it for many different applications.


Is my dryer outlet not getting enough voltage? I wonder if that's my issue as well. My dryer works fine, ( but won't heat up) and after replacing a few parts multiple times, and trying 2 different dryers on the same outlet, which all worked but wouldn't heat up. This CAN'T be a coincidence, much less very possible. What do you think?

Have you inspected the dryer exhaust venting? These do get clogged with lint. I think I may have sometimes not kept our dryer vent as clear as I should have and maybe shortened the lifetime of the heater element in one dryer.

My elderly neighbor asked me to figure out why his dryer was not working right. He had put a blower on the vent opening in the wall, but the results were unsatisfactory. Up on the roof I found out he had put a screen of hardware cloth inside the vent opening on the roof (to keep out animals) and it was almost completely plugged. Of course, I told him he could not have a fine screen there, and with his permission I removed it. I also had him use the blower from below while I pulled out caked-on lint from the top.

To test the wiring for voltage drop (including the dryer cord) you would slide out the dryer while leaving it connected, remove the cover on the connection block, and measure the voltages between the two hots and each hot to neutral. Then turn the dryer on high and remeasure the voltages. If there is excessive decrease in any of these voltages, that would indicate a problem in the house wiring or the cord.

To test just the receptacle and the house wiring, you would pull the plug out partway and use the voltmeter on the partially exposed blades of the plug without the dryer on and then with it on.


what is beeping in my house? I know this sounds like a silly question and it may be closed before it may get a single answer but there is something strange in my house which beeps infrequently. I tried to troubleshoot the sound but no luck. I thought may be its coming from the living room but there is nothing special in the living room which may make a beep sound.

Can someone point me what should i look for to figure out what is making this sound?

Random theories:

smoke alarm
kids toy
a robot
cell phone
handheld video game
a bomb


Why is the furnace heating the house far past the thermostat setting Problem: Furnace came on as usual in the morning but failed to shut off after the set temp on the thermostat was reached. The house temp (as measured on the thermostat) reached about 10 degrees higher than the set temp and hot air was still blowing out of the registers.

Thermostat: Inexpensive (Honeywell), programmable thermostat

Heating system: Hydronic Air Handler? In case I'm getting the name wrong, the basic setup is that the Hot Water heater (same as for hot tap water) sends hot water to the 'furnace' where a fan blows over a heat exchanger thus blowing hot air out through the ducts. (Sorry I don't have the brand and model/info of the furnace unit handy right now - it is about 17 years old.)

Trouble-shooting/Notes:
Switching the thermostat switch to System-Off (vs Heat or Cool) did not turn off the hot air coming out of the registers (i.e. 'burner' and blower still On).

Fan switch on Thermostat was correctly set on Auto. Switching fan from Auto to On, waiting, and then setting back to Auto DID turn the furnace and blower Off. Like it 'alerted' the furnace to the fact that the temp had been reached/exceeded and it could now turn off. (This is the weirdest part, I haven't seen this same symptom listed elsewhere online.)

I replaced the Thermostat with a similar one and the problem still recurred - after switching the system off during the thermostat replacement and it being off as expected until the 'wake-up' program time, the system failed to shut off (even when exceeding the set temperature by 10-degrees). The system did shut off with the same 'trick' of switching the fan from Auto to On, and back to Auto.

The posts I've found so far online mention Limit Switch (which seems to be relevant only if Cold air were coming out) and the Furnace Relay Switch. It's not clear to me if the problem IS the Furnace Relay Switch if fixing it is something I'd be able to handle as a novice DIYer.

I'd appreciate any feedback on what might be causing this problem, on further trouble-shooting or testing that I should do, and of course on any beginner-level user-serviceable types of solutions.

Thank you,
Andrew

The problem is pretty clearly at the furnace end, if switching off the thermostat does not stop operation.


How should I weather strip a door in an outside building? I have an office in the garage that is a standard room with insulation and an AC unit (8500 BTU AC in a 9' 3" tall room, 5" 4' wide). The room gets rather hot and I found the issue to be with the door and the hot air coming in from it. What is the best method to stop the heat from entering through the door but still leaving the opening and closing of the door functional?

facts:

1. Wood door (32 inches)
2. Clearance on bottom between ground and door, ~ 3/4"
3. slight space between top of door and door framing, ~ 1/8"

update: I found a fantastic tutorial that helps to solve this issue at

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Saving-Money/Energy-Efficiency/weatherstripping-doors/Step-By-Step

You could try one of these Twin draft guards for the bottom of the door.

Some Weather strip tape might work for the top.


How to take a house apart in sections to move? I live in NC and looking for a free house to move and relocate. First, does anyone know of or how to find one within reasonable distance and second, is it possible to move one in smaller sections without doing a complete dismantle? Any help on finding and moving one is sincerely appreciated. Thanks to all. Randy

This sounds like a shopping question and would be off topic. So I will discuss moving.
I have been involved in moving 3 houses. None were on a slab. All 3 were jacked up and moved in major pieces. Porches removed , all the electrical had to be brought up to code. Note all 3 were Victorians that were constructed well beyond anything in the last 50 years. Taking a house down in pieces would take more disassembly time and repair than it would be worth, unless you found an old sears mail order home That was in good shape (don’t laugh they are out there) these small homes were prefabricated and could possibly be dismantled and reassembled within reason. Other than that a stick built house is not really feasible.


Affix Wood Shelving Unit to Studs I have a freestanding wooden shelving unit I want to secure to the studs on the wall as they're leaning forward. However, I'd only be able to secure 1 side since the studs measure ~23" apart whereas the shelving unit is 26.5" apart. What can I do to properly secure both sides onto the studs?

Add another board across the back and screw through that into the two studs.

If you would want to locate the shelf with a stud in the middle, then use a metal angle or a wooden piece under or on top of the top shelf and fasten that to the stud. One attachment in the middle of the shelves would hold unless you are in a seismic zone and there are specific requirements.

Be sure that when you tighten the screw it does not pull the shelving unit off one or two of the feet. You might need to put shims behind the wood you are using to secure the shelf.


How do I wire a switch and light so I can add a fan later? In a room with a switch that controls a receptacle I'm going to add a switch and ceiling light. I want to make this addition so a fan can be added in the future if wanted. I feel confident in how to do this project, except how to wire the 3 wire for just the light, as I'm not putting a fan in at this time. can someone help me with a diagram. thank you

First, you need to ensure there is a neutral in the switch location (A requirement of NEC 2011 section 404.2 C, assuming that applies to you) -- the easiest way to do this is to run a 14/2 NM cable (standard house wire, aka the brand name "Romex") from your power source to the switch first.

Second, run a 14/3 wire from the switch to the fan. This has a white, black and red wire (as well as ground). The white is neutral. The black and red are hot wires, and generally speaking with a fan installed you'd do one of the following:

Black as switched for the light, Red as switched for the fan: If you have a "fan control switch" (commonly availale on the market) that has separate controls for light (often as a dimmer control) and fan speed.
Black as constant power, Red as switched: If you wanted a normal light switch, and then to control the fan using pull chains.

Prior to installing the fan, install the light normally, and connect either black or red to both it and the switch (see above to help you choose). You'd just cap the other (red or black) wire -- whichever you didn't use for the light -- on both ends with a wire nut. This prevent it from shorting out on anything, and is a common convention that signifies "unused wire".


Issue with Kitchen Receptacle I have a kitchen split receptacle. The top outlet of the receptacle reads 120V AC as expected, with the hot wire being red and feeding from the breaker.

The bottom outlet reads 17.44V AC, with the hot wire being black and feeding from the breaker. This bottom outlet is then itself feeding another unsplit receptacle outside the kitchen, which also reads 17.44V AC.

I have no known load attached to the bottom outlet or unsplit receptacle when I make these measurements.
I have already replaced the split receptacle itself, so I am skeptical it is a bad receptacle (without another issue causing them to go bad).

Any ideas as to what could be causing this?

I have wired many splits like this in the past I would check the outlet closer to the main panel 90% of the repairs have been from a bad back stab ( the push in connections) I have found a few that the wire has broken right at a wire nut or a loose wire feeding this side. I would check this first.


What kind of treatment do I need to stain/paint this deck? My deck was finished with a...peculiar color many years ago. The finish is peeling up and showing patches of bare wood.

What is this? Is this paint?
What can I safely use to refinish this deck, and what sort of prep work do I need to do on it? I want a darkish wood look if I can get it.
Any finishes I should avoid?

That is paint.   And that is paint with no primer applied.
That is good news for you as you don't like the color.   It is bad news for your deck, as it has probably logged a lot of water.
The easiest way to remove this is roll on some paint stripper and get a power washer going.   You are going to have to access how each board looks after you can see it better and replace anything showing signs of rotting.
Can you stain pressure treated wood (pine)?   Yeah... but you are going to have to try some things out and make sure you are happy.   The cheapo pressure treated big box lumber from experience does not hold stain great.
However you have an edge because you want it darker and a darker stain might hide the imperfections and hold better.   You are going to have to try some sample of stain and just hit small parts of your deck - I would do the decking or tops of railings to test.


How much should I tighten the gauge on my heating oil tank? Bought a new gauge for my heating oil tank because the previous owner installed one that was too short for the tank. The gauge came with a tiered fitting that is listed as a 1-1/2" & 2" Male NPT. I did the following:

Screwed the old one out
Applied a moderate amount of "Megaloc Multi-Purpose Thread Sealant" around the threads of the 2" fitting, covering about 80% (heightwise) of the threads all the way around
Started threading by hand a few turns with the glass off so that I could keep the float inline with the tank
Finished screwing in the fitting with the wrench until only 2 threads were visible
Screwed the glass back on to the gauge

I wiped off the excess sealant and it now looks like this

I noticed that while I was met with some resistance as I proceeded it never truely felt "tight" like when tightening a bolt or nut. I could have kept going and bottomed out the fitting but the old gauge had even more threads showing before it got too tight for me to feel comfortable continuing. It had a similar looking goop thread sealant that was white and had basically worked it's way to the top of the threads.

Other details:

Brand of the Gauge is King by Beckett
MEGALOC sealant by Hercules
The wrench was a pair of channel locks with 8-9 inch long handles
275 gallon vertical oil tank

Pipe thread differs from the type used on nuts and bolts. The threads on bolts are the same diameter from top to bottom. Pipe fittings have a smaller diameter at the bottom than at the top. Because of this the threads don't bottom out they just get tight. Based on the number of exposed threads I would say the fitting is tight enough. Oil tanks are vented to the atmosphere so there no issue of pressure buildup causing a leak.


Should I use inline bathroom fans? I'm building a new full bathroom in my basement and I also have an existing full bathroom without an exhaust fan.  The sizes are 207 ft3 and 470 ft3 respectively. I was initially thinking of buying those high quality Panasonic fans but then I found about the inline fans and they might make sense for me since my bathrooms are almost on top of each other and they can share the exterior exhaust grill anyway.  There's also enough space between the walls for that stuff to go through, so that's not a concern.

Do people have experience with these inline bathroom fans?  How does one calculate the needed capacity?  Anything I should be aware of?

Edit: Here's an article about this:

http://www.bathroomfanexperts.com/article.php/inline-fans-for-bathroom-ventilation-/?id=44

I'll answer my own question a month after the installation.  Inline are great, especially high-quality ones such as Fantech.  Highly recommended.


Why are my some of my LED lights flickering? Something is causing some of my LED lights to flicker in three locations. Here are two examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J-g2z_YtYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlbPdvkZ-BU

There are a few peculiar aspects.

The lights flicker sometimes and not at other times. Each time the flicker period is prolonged. I would say the lights flicker about 30-40% of the time.
The lights flicker at different "flicker frequencies" as you can see in the videos. The flicker frequency also varies from time to time.
There are three different rooms/circuits where the LED lights flicker. (They don't flicker in other rooms/circuits.) In each of the rooms, the light bulbs are of a different brand. There are 4 brands in total: Torchstar, Feit Electric, Hyperikon, Philips.
Each of the three rooms uses a different kind of switch: Lutron dimmer (DV-600P), Lutron dimmer (DVW-600PH), and a dumb switch.
The flicker sometimes stops if I replace one of the lights on the switch with an incandescent bulb.
In one of the rooms, I have two sets of lights on two different switches, on a single circuit. Occasionally one set flickers more than the other.

A bad connection anywhere along the path is out of the question.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Simply put, you have the wrong type of switch for the bulbs you have installed. Most (not in every scenerio) LED bulbs require you to install an ELV type dimmer. What you have installed is a standard incandescent dimmer.

There are three main types of dimming switches. Incandescent, CFL (for incandescents, fluorescents, and SOME LED bulbs), and ELV (for most popular LED bulbs).

If you look on the box that the bulb came in, somewhere in small print it should tell you that A) It's dimmable and B) what type dimming switch it requires.

I could go into detail on exactly why sometimes they flicker and other times they don't but I don't think you'd be that interested in learning the engineering aspects of these switches.

Other causes of flickering:

1) mixed bulb types (ie. incandescent and LED on the same switch)

2) mixed bulb vendors

3) non-dimmable LED bulbs

4) defective LED driver

5) defective dimming switch


Connecting UF wiring for under deck lighting to an existing NM exterior light switch I plan on installing LED lights under my dry-below deck using 14-2 UF Romex. Can I connect the UF wire to an existing exterior light (NM Romex) that is switched from inside the house? If not, do I have to run the UF back to the panel and install a separate switch to control the new LED lights? Switching the new lights from the existing switch would be ideal.

Yes, in fact, UF wire can be treated just like NM wire when ran indoors.
340.10 Uses Permitted
4. Installed as nonmetallic-sheathed cable. Where so installed, the installation and conductor requirements shall comply with Parts II and III of Article 334 and shall be of the multiconductor type.
Including the ampacity adjustment in 334.80.


What are the small raised bumps on exterior painting? I just had my house repainted. I hired the highest rated contractor on google in this area and paid more than regular.
Today when I had a close look at the wall, I noticed quite a few small dots.

There are less dots on most of area but it is a common problem can be seen on many places.
The wall was pressure washed. Looks like they are not dirt particles.
Is it normal on exterior painting? I need to make sure this is a failure or not before I communicate to contractor....

First, you made a big mistake.  You relied on Google reviews.  It's known by everyone that the reviews are completely unreliable.  Google is one of the worst rating systems.  Yelp is much more accurate but you also have to be careful.  Currently, no rating system is even close to perfect so you have to look at several rating systems and read them to find out if they are fake.  For example, if you find tons of 5-star reviews in the same month, it's obvious that the company paid a company in China to write the reviews or they are even writing the reviews themselves!
This even occurs on Amazon.  You would think it's harder because you have to be a registered buyer with a credit card.  Not so.  Amazon is trying but not very hard to figure out a way to stop it but with the number of products out there, it's a losing battle.  You'll notice a lot of relatively new Amazon product releases with 5 star reviews in the 1st year.  If you are sharp enough, you'll notice that sometimes many of the names are foreign sounding.  Then, after you purchase the product and after one year of use, it doesn't turn out as you expected, you'll notice that the Amazon rating for that producted has plummetted to 3 or 4 stars as the recent 1 or 2 star start to average out the ratings.  It's a scam.  Companies will pay like $5 a review to people to write reviews because it creates a lot of money for them.
Now, Google doesn't even filter out the reviewers so the reviews are even more manipulated.  The company can write the reviews themselves!  As I said before, if you are sharp enough, you'll even notice that many of the reviews occur in spurts.  Just don't use Google as a method to find contractors.
The dots are not normal and you should say something.  There are a ton of reasons why the dots appeared.  It could be the humidity, quality of the paint, how they painted it on, etc.  They are air bubbles that haven't popped.  It may or may not be their fault.  For example, if the material is porous, it has more of a tendency to do that.  One brand of paint might cause it and another might not with that type of substrate.  Nevertheless, you need to tell the painter to go back and sand it out and paint it again.  In painting contracts, there is an expectation of a certain level of finish.  In the tier of finish wasn't stated, then it's expected that the finish is relatively smooth.  And, when I say finish, I don't mean gloss, semi-gloss, etc.  I am referring to something like this.  This refers to drywall but you can probably find the exterior paint version of it.  You have to pay a lot to get a level 5 finish.  This means it's absolutely smooth with no sign that skim coating was done.  But, it's reasonable to expect a level 3 finish which is a relatively smooth finish.
Did you put use a high gloss finish?  After they sand it, don't just allow them to paint over it and just feather the edges.  It'll flash.  This means that due to the component in the paint that makes it shiny, you can tell where they painted another layer.  On the other hand, you can cut them a break and don't require them to repaint an entirely new coat since it's outside.  It's up to you to decide to make a big deal of it.  I'm kinda' anal so I would make them paint that entire side of the wall again.
Just to let you know, I stay away from high gloss.  You really can't paint over it again.  Why?  Because it doesn't come off and when you paint over it, it starts to look globby.  Yes, it lasts longer but the next time you paint it, it looks not so good.  By the third layer, it looks terrible.  Yes, it looks great the first time, especially on trim but you need to think about the long-term that no one does.  If you don't know what I mean, go to any old house and look at the paint job.  You will almost definitely see places where they used hi gloss paint.  You'll see that those areas look so globby.  It's because age and weather will not remove that gloss paint although it will dirty it.  When you then put another layer to it, it builds up and up and up.  If you use something that is more matte, yes you will have to paint it earlier but that is the cost of keeping it beautiful for the long-term.
And, please leave a honest review about them on Google, Yelp, and others.  If they do a horrible job, please post that this did so and mention that the other reviews are probably fake.  As long as you are honest, they can't sue you.  I have been threatened with lawsuits and I laugh at the lawyers.  Some actually sue me and I countersue for a frivilous lawsuit and they lose big time.  They can't threaten you for speaking out.  That's one of the biggest protections in the Constitution.  Just report honestly.
Unfortunately, I admit that many times, my honest review of their poor performance sometimes does not have any effect.  But, you try your best to make the world a better place.  Do what's right.


Is my electrical wiring for the refrigerator correct? I bought a new fridge. Since the power cord of the new fridge is at the bottom and short, it did not reach the original receptacle high on the wall. I had to put a new receptacle lower on the wall.

I drew the wiring diagram for the original receptacles, based on what was there (Figure 1). The old fridge was connected to receptacle-1, and we used the receptacle-2 to connect toaster, etc. in the kitchen. Then, I put a 20 Amp receptacle (receptacle-3 in the figure-2). A day after the installation, I have realized that my wiring is different than original wiring. Since the re-wiring I have not used the receptacle 2 yet. I have the following questions:

Was the original wiring in Figure-1 correct and safe?
Is the new wiring done by me in Figure-2 correct and safe? Now, I think not.
Is the wiring in Figure-1 a parallel receptacle wiring? Is the wiring in Figure-2 a serial receptacle wiring?
Is there any other questions I should be asking? Or call an electrician?

Thank you!

Looks fine, provided it doesn't reflect the physical route of the wires.
Looks fine.
Those words aren't the right words, but you have the gist. I would say "branched" and "daisy chained".
The toaster receptacle needs GFCI protection.  The fridge should avoid GFCI.

The electrical code doesn't care about whether your fridge is on GFCI, but it ought to, because food poisoning is just as deadly as electric shocks.  Fridges do not benefit from GFCI  protection if they're grounded.


Which type of paint would allow the easiest touch ups? We rent out a flat and wish to be able to touch up the walls between tenants.    I have used paint from the same tin to do the touch-ups but it is lighter then the paint that has been on the walls for 3 years.   (The paint in the tin still looked OK after that time and had  not gone off.)

So what paint system can I use the next time I decorate so the paint will be easy to touch up without showing?

(We are in the UK if it makes a difference)

In addition to using the same tin, make sure you're feathering the new paint into the old. This will make any color changes harder to see. If the paint has faded significantly, I'd just repaint the entire wall.


Wiring for Adding Switched Closet Light I’m adding a light to my closet. It will be operated by a switch. Currently, I only have a receptacle next to the closet. The light switch will be directly above the current receptacle. Currently, there’s a romex wire coming down from the attic that goes to the receptacle and there’s a romex wire that comes from the receptacle and continues along the circuit.

I know that I can run a wire from the receptacle to the light switch for power. This would be illustrated in the bottom right of my drawing. But out of curiosity, I’m wondering if it’s possible to run the wire that’s coming from the attic into my light switch box, use it as a source for my closet light, and continue uninterrupted power down to the receptacle. This would be illustrated in the bottom left of my drawing.

Wiring for bottom left option in original drawing

You could do either solution as long as you know the proper way to wire up mains electrical circuits.

The solution on the bottom right is probably the preferred solution because you just have to add wires. If you go with the left side diagram you cannot just split the existing wire and expect it to nicely be spliced into inside the added switch box. There just would not be enough wire length available.

If you do go with the left side solution make sure to split off the cable well below the new switch box location so there is adequate length to pull into and out the face of the new box. Then you would need to run a new longer wire from the lower outlet box back up to the new switch box.

So as you can see the right side solution is easier as you are just adding additional wires instead of disturbing existing connections.


Any Way To Run A New 3" Pipe INSIDE An Existing 6" Pipe & Have The 3" Pipe In A Fixed Position Inside Is there any way to run a brand new 3" water line pipe through the inside of an existing 6" water line pipe. I want to make sure that the 3" pipe is not rattling around inside the 6" pipe. Any way to keep it in a fixed position as well?

There are products called "pipe casing spacers" which can be used for such a purpose.  I'm not meaning to endorse this particular brand but this is an example of such a device:

Pipe Casing Spacer

A drawback, however, is that the original line will be significantly blocked by the combination of the new pipe plus the spacers, so if you need to maintain flow in it, what you get will be quite a bit less than what you currently have.


Does a GE TM3215CCU Accept GE Thin Breakers? Hello,

I am needing to install a 240V outlet for a welder in my home garage. Unfortunately, my home's breaker panel is full and I need to make room for a 30A 2-pole breaker for said welder.

I have a TM3215CCU panel installed in the basement of my home. From the documentation GE provides, all I can determine about this panel is the following:

T
GE Indentification

M
Main Breaker

32
Maximum of 32 1" spaces

15
150 Amps (total max current of panel)

C
Combination surface/flash

CU
Copper Bus

The only helpful information regarding specific breaker criteria that comes from parsing this model number is the fact that there are a maximum of 32 1" breaker spaces.

My question is: How many 1/2" GE THQP Thin style breakers will this panel accept? I need to install 4 thin breakers total in order to make 2 x 120V slots available for the 2-pole 30A breaker for the welder.

According to this link your panel DOES NOT support the use of 1/2" mini breakers. If your panel is full, your only option is to add a subpanel. This will involve some work and I highly recommend hiring a licensed electrician. Also note, that your panel is rated for 150 amps.


Wiring up a shop with underground conduit I am wiring  a 36' x45'shop that will store my RV and other equipment.  I have 200 amp service already in.  I want to put utilities in under the concrete pad before I have it poured.  I would like to run a couple of circuits under floor so I won't have to use some much wire.  I would like to run 6/3 & 12/2 romex inside 1 1/4" gray pvc.  One circuit will be for my RV, one for a welder, one for a electric range.  I'm wanting to add a 110 circuit at each of these locations is the reason for running 12/2 wire.  I have already bought the wire and pvc for this project.
I have had a circuit run under my deck with 6/3 romex inside a 1" pvc pipe that worked fine for years. Some say you can run romex in pvc, some say you can't.

NM in conduit under a deck (or a slab) is NFG

You cannot legally run NM cable in a wet location, and the inside of a conduit in a wet location (such as under your deck, or buried beneath a slab) is still a wet location.  Don't believe me? Well, we start with NEC 300.5(B) for what's going on sub-slab:

  (B) Wet Locations. The interior of enclosures or raceways
  installed underground shall be considered to be a wet location.
  Insulated conductors and cables installed in these enclosures
  or raceways in underground installations shall comply with
  310.10(C)

and 300.9 for the under-the-deck case:

  300.9 Raceways in Wet Locations Abovegrade. Where race‐
  ways are installed in wet locations abovegrade, the interior of
  these raceways shall be considered to be a wet location. Insulated conductors and cables installed in raceways in wet locations
  abovegrade shall comply with 310.10(C).

then move onto the fact that 334.12(B) point 4 prohibits the use of NM in wet or damp locations, as NM has a paper separator in it that will wick moisture up the cable, leading to failures.

What you should do instead

While you could use UF cable instead of the NM inside your conduits, that's not a good idea because cables:

Gobble up astronomical amounts of conduit fill compared to individual wires -- the fill calculation for a cable in a conduit is run by treating the cable as a round cable with a diameter equal to the major axis dimension of the cable's cross section, as per Chapter 9 Note 9 in the NEC.
Are quite stiff and hard to pull down a conduit compared to individual wires -- you'd rather not call an electrician in to bail you out of your conduit pulling now, would you?

What's done instead is to use individual wires (THHN/THWN-2) inside the conduit.  Since you're using PVC, you'll need 12AWG and 6AWG THHN in black and white (twice as much black as white for the 6AWG, even), as well as 10AWG bare copper for ground wires (as table 250.122 lets you use 10AWG copper for grounds on circuits up to 60A).

The good news is that conservatively assuming your PVC is schedule 80, you have 178mm2 of fill available in the existing 1" PVC under the deck and 320mm2 of fill available in the 1.25" PVC you are putting in sub-slab.  The three 6AWG THHNs for the 60A circuit use up just under 100mm2 of that fill, and the 10AWG EGC adds just over 5mm2 of fill, leaving just under 75mm2 of fill spare in the 1" conduit.  In the 1.25" conduits, we add just over 17mm2 of fill for the 12AWG wires to this, leaving just under 200mm2 of fill spare, which should be plenty.

Furthermore, since we have a maximum of 4 current-carrying conductors in the 1.25" conduits (the neutral in the 3-wire 6AWG branch circuit does not count for this, as per 310.15(B)(5)(a)), and since THWN-2 wire (what most THHN is dual-rated at these days) is rated for 90°C in wet locations, we can use that as our starting point when applying the 80% ampacity derate from Table 310.15(B)(3)(a), yielding a derated ampacity of 60A, which is still in excess of the 55A that the 60°C rating on most receptacles limits us to.  The 12AWG wires do not suffer either, as their derated ampacity is 24A, which is again above the 60°C ampacity limit for 12AWG (aka 20A), as well as the 240.4(D) small-conductor limit on 12AWG wire (again, 20A).

While you are pulling all this wire, I would replace the existing NM cable inside the 1" conduit under the deck with individual THHNs + bare ground of the appropriate size, by the way.  That NM will only be fit for the scrapper, for that matter, since it will have suffered internal damage from the water exposure, which is why it shouldn't have been installed there in the first place.