Making a path less slippery I have a path (in Indonesia; rainfall 4000 mm per year) that is a combination of steps and slope.

This picture shows a relatively steep slope over a brief section that's a bridge over a hole. The total path length is around 50m and I guess it climbs around 10m over that distance.

It probably had some sort of gravel finish at one point, as on this part of the path:

but now it's basically just slippery.

Basically I'm constantly falling over, and I want to fix it up.

Is it sensible to just try and resurface it, subject to some sort of maximum gradient, or am I better just to make the whole path completely flat with stairs?

Anything you add on top will likely wash away. So I agree with the rest that steps would be the best solution.

An easy way to add steps may be put a board on edge the width of the path every 3-5 ft. Then fill in behind it with stones or gravel. The boards, be sure to use pressure treated, would keep the gravel from washing away. The gravel would give you flat sections to walk on which would reduce the slip issue.

I think this would be much easier then building an entire wooden or stone staircase.


Can I pressure test a gas line section that includes a pressure regulator? I have added two flex-pipe gas line extensions to the existing gas piping. Everything is working properly and there are no signs of any leaks while testing for bubbles with soapy water or any smell of gas whatsoever over a week after the installation.
Now, I need to pressure test the new section for inspection. I have a 15psi test gauge which will be attached to one of the new fixtures and I will close the remaining shutoff valves at the end of each flex-pipe extension AND close the shutoff valve that was in the existing black pipe that is just before the split/manifold.
The issue is that there is a pressure regulator between that shutoff valve in the black pipe and all of the end shutoff valves.
Will I damage the pressure regulator, specifically the internal diaphragm, with ~15psi of air pressure?
Will the pressure regulator release any pressure through its vent and prevent the pressure test from succeeding?
Thank you.
Eddie

My guess is that you will be fine to pressure test the system. It would be silly if a component of the whole system had to be excluded from a pressure test and added afterwards.
What is the brand and model number of the regulator? It would be trivial to find a spec sheet online or call the manufacturer.


How thick to pour slab over existing brick patio I have an old brick patio, cracked in some places. I want to pour concrete over it and stamp the concrete with a texture. What is the thinnest I can go? 1 inch? 2 inch? I have 5000 square feet and need to save as much on materials as possible.

You can go with whatever thickness you like, however, if you want it to last, you need to determine if the brick will continue to settle and crack. If so, thicker is better or your cracks will eventually show up in your slab. 4" would be the best, with expansion joints. You might be able to get away with 3" with more joints, but you'd be pushing it and possibly inviting cracking. A standard sidewalk is 4" thick, and even they crack from settling. 1" is just a skim coat and will definitely crack. You can't make up 4" by using your 2" brick, plus 2" slab. The brick below will continue to move and seperate from the slab, causing more cracking. Your best bet....remove the brick and level, grade, gravel and then pour a new slab, 4" minimum with proper expansion joints. Not cheap however.

What will this slab hold? Heavy weights like a vehicle? If so, you will want 6" minimum.


cold water too hot in AZ—worth it to insulate attic copper? All of my plumbing runs through copper lines in an accessible attic in a 1960's slab-on-grade ranch style home in Phoenix, AZ where I don't need to tell you how hot the attic can get for a huge chunk of the year. This results in having to run the cold water for about 2–3 minutes to get water that isn't scalding hot—and this "cool-down" of the pipes only lasts for maybe an hour before you have to restart the process as the pipes have heated back up again in the attic.

I know insulating the pipes will not entirely solve the problem as I will just be slowing down the heat transfer, but I'm trying to get some sage advice on whether it will be at least marginally effective (enough to justify the work) to insulate my water pipes. They sell polyethylene (pool noodle) pipe insulators here in the big box stores, but I also noticed a fancier version online which has a fiberglass interior with a foil-like radiant heat barrier and wondered if this would be better? Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated. I've done a lot of searching online but can't find anything to answer my specific question.

update (12Sept2018)
Thanks for all your answers and help everyone—I finished this project and wrapped the entire cold water line in the attic with the "pool noodle" type insulation. It made a noticeable difference in my house immediately. During the eight hours I am at work and no water is running through the pipes to cool them down the water still gets scaldingly hot, but once you run cooler water through the pipes it takes much longer to heat back up again to scalding (now it takes around 4–5 hours to heat back up rather than an hour like before). I have a temperature probe in the attic and during June/July it gets above 130F in the attic so there's a lot of heat to fight against.

This is the same theory behind insulating the hot water pipes in attics in cold climates (freezing concerns aside). It'll help but only for a little while. It might extend your hour-long window of continued cold water to 2 or 3 (or more) hours, but you won't keep cold water all day long.

If your attic is easily accessible, the pool noodle pipe insulation is cheap enough and easy enough to install for this to be a good trial. Not much lost if it doesn't work out. If that trial goes well, then you'll want to consider if more expensive solutions are worth the time and effort to install.


Is it possible to get my existing dimmer switch to dim lights further? I have just replaced lower watt LED ceiling lights with new, higher wattage LED ones. I have discovered that I'm using a Lutron TG600P toggle with sliding dimmer that is meant for incandescent bulbs. The LED's work fine and are dimmable.
What I want to do is to control the dimmer to a lower range - with the higher rated bulb the low end is a little brighter than I would like.
Is there a another settable control on the Lutron other than the sliding control to lower the low end brightness?

This is often the problem with incandescent dimmers used with LED lights. The lowest setting for an incandescent dimmer is too much when used with an LED bulb.
There are no adjustments you can make to increase the dimming on the actual switch. There are many types of LED bulbs out there so you could experiment with different types until you find the one that fits your needs. You could also replace the dimmer with an LED dimmer. They will lower the brightness on an LED bulb more than the incandescent dimmer will do.


Is this masonry roofline intersection problematic? Should it be called out by our home inspector? Our new house (brick and stone veneer) came with a significant exterior wall leak at a roofline/masonry intersection, so I've been learning more about how these are supposed to be waterproofed, and am concerned similar intersections may have problems in the future.

Here's an example of an area of concern:

Researching online, there are different techniques that can be used here, but they all seem to involve flashing that covers the bottom of the masonry. It's what I see on most houses in my neighborhood. But not on mine. :-/

Are there techniques for waterproofing that are legitimate where all of the flashing is behind the brick veneer? Or is what is shown here suspect?

Is this truly a brick veneer wall (one full brick deep), or an "adhered" brick veneer (1/4" - 1/2" thick)?  A brick veneer wall should definitely have visible flashing, counter-flashing, and weep holes, but an adhered veneer might just have flashing behind the joint.  I do see that the roof bulges along the joint, this is a good sign that there is something there, but it does not look like proper flashing.  There should also be flashing visible below the adhered veneer. (see http://ncma-br.org/pdfs/masterlibrary/MVMA%20Installation%20Guide%204th%20Edition%20web.pdf pages 28,29,36).


How to check if roof has ice dam issue I have bought a house built at 1957, but the roof is replaced at 2010 so I guess status should be fine, but today my wife said the ceiling sounds like color not the same at the corner but I almost can not figure it out. few days ago here has some snow on my roof.

So I search the internet and found someone said maybe ice dam issue. But when I go to attic to check, it's not possible for me to reach the corner since my ceiling is low but not high (about 15 ~ 20 degree), so I can only see the corner far away.

How can I check if my ceiling has ice dam issue or not? Maybe need some robot machine?

You need to look up your county's regulations for builder accountability/warranty.  In NW Washington the rule was 6 years for discovery and 6 years to get it fixed.  Simply there was a 12 year warranty unless the contractor was savvy enough to put in his contract 'In Lieu of Blah Blah Blah' warranty, putting in his own 1 year warranty.

Hire a Home Inspector...someone who works FOR YOU to go through your home to find PROBLEMS.  This should have been done before you signed anything to purchase this home.  They will go through your home WITH you and make sure you make them explain everything to you, mainly cause you are paying them for the information.  They are so reasonable, worth every cent.  I hired one 8 years ago and the bill was $150 for a huge, 4,000 sq. ft. log home with daylight basement.  He had his office in his van and any question at all was available via computer to include State, county and city warranties.

I used to build custom homes so I know the ins and outs.  If there is a shortcut MOST contractor's will take it to make money. Sad and wrong but so true.
Who can you trust?  A Home Inspector!!  Again, check the regulations.  It might be that the original owners only have that warranty but then that goes into the 'discovery' aspect to finally end up with the real estate agent in fault.  The roof is a big big deal.  Yours looks rather yucky.  Is any of the insulation wet?  Looks like they left the old rafters and ship lap.  Ugh job.  Do you have composite for the skin of this roof?  Do you have gutters?  Where is it leaking?

Go hire an inspector, they are your best bet to solve this issue, whatever it is. If you ever sell this home you'd better have your ducks in a row or this problem becomes yours to solve. Inspector, courthouse records..did you hire this contractor in 2010? Get records from them as well regardless.


How to hang load from ceiling I-beam joists behind drywall? I'm looking to attach rock rings to my garage ceiling. I've found similar posts, but in each one, they have a seemingly critical difference from my setup:

I don't have access to above the joist because my living room is above my garage (here).
I have I-beams, not 2x8s (here, and seemingly here).
I have drywall covering my I-beams (here) but would prefer to leave it.

I do like bcworkz's answer but I'm not sure if this is something I can do with I-beams. I would think that lag bolting along an I-beam would be bad due to its thin profile. Perhaps this concept could be adapted with opposing angled bolts to better catch the beam?

Are there other options/variants for attaching to I-beams behind drywall?

If you don't mind the look, I'd suggest a 2x6 run perpendicular to your joists. Ideally, you'd get 3 joists (so a 2x6 slightly longer than 4', assuming you've got 16" spacing) with at least 2 good 3.5" #10 screws each. (Since these are pretty big screws, you'll want to drill pilot and clearance holes.) To attach the rock rings, use 6/7mm -ish cord through holes you've drilled in the 2x6. (If you don't want to dent the drywall, just chisel a small channel across the top of the holes.)


Can I pair two thermostats to work with a single zone system? I have a southern California two-story home built in the late '70s. It's a single-zone system with both heating and cooling.  The thermostat is located downstairs. In the summer the upstairs gets too hot and in winter the downstairs is too cold.
I'd like to put a wireless second thermostat upstairs and pair it with the hard-wired one downstairs. That way the system can tell the actual max./min. of the house temperature.
Are there any thermostats out there to do this?  Would it even work?

What you actually need is a single thermostat that has support for one or more secondary remote thermometers.  I believe the Honeywell TB8220U1003 supports this via this part:

Remote Thermometer http://customer.honeywell.com/Honeywell/getliterature.axd?literatureID=C7189U_color_3in.jpg

As a side note, it is often necessary to properly balance your HVAC system depending on the season by adjusting the dampers to increase/reduce the airflow to certain areas based on the season.  Also remember to open your cold air returns in the winter.  You might not need a different thermostat at all!


How to replace 12v halogen under cabinet lighting with LED lighting from scratch? Somebody initially wired up six 12 vac 10 w halogen bulbs under my kitchen cabinet, wiring them in parallel. The 12 vac power supply was putting off a lot of heat, and within a day or two appeared to burn out. Prior to that I questioned that the power supply was enough to power the 6 bulbs and, trying to recall some basic calculations from physics class 25+ years ago, I think the math showed that we were pushing the transformer beyond the load that it was created for.

So with with the wiring in place, I'm thinking about replacing them with some form of LEDs instead. I think that the power requirements for LED's will be significantly lower and I do have a large box full of assorted transformers that might work as a power supply.

Rather than purchase a kit from a store, I'm thinking of using the existing wiring that's running through the cabinets, purchasing high output LED's and whatever components I might need (resistors?), warming up my ancient soldering gun to wrap this job up.

How would I go about this? What types of LED's should I use, and how would I go about figuring out the power requirements for this set of 6 lights? Should they run in parallel or in series?

You can buy LED fixtures off the shelf, which are basically ready to go. I've seen these as puck-shaped lights that are basically designed for under-cabinet or shelf lights.

There are other pretty simple off-the-shelf solutions as well, such as using rope light.

If you are talking about using raw LEDs and literally doing everything yourself, it's pretty simple. You need to get some high output LEDs (pay attention to color temperature, beam angle, etc to make sure it is suitable). You can get LEDs in different packaging: clear/diffused, large/small, forward/side-emitting. Likely your best bet will be a large frosted one. How many you need will just depend on how much area you're covering, and how bright you want it.

You'll need a DC power supply. The exact values are all dependent on what you use, so it's very hard to give an answer here. There are online LED array calculators available, which can give you something like this:

One of the major disadvantages of serial wiring (shown here) is that if one LED is disconnected or burns out, they all go out. Finding which one is broken can be difficult, and if you've ever done this with x-mas lights you'll understand what I mean.

Another possible disadvantage of the DIY solution is that you are either going to have to come up with a nice way to package this all underneath, or you'll have a bunch of wires and bare LEDs hanging under your cabinets (maybe hidden by some moulding, but still). This may turn off future potential buyers. Off the top of my head, using some split-loom tubing may be a way to hide the wires and make it look at least half-decent.


Appropriate slack for door jambs Generally speaking, what's an appropriate gap to leave between the door jamb and the stud?
In my particular situation, neither wall is plumb. On the left, I adjusted for it with some padding that you can see in three places. With that adjustment, the current rough opening is 24 1/8" at the bottom and 25" at the top. What should be the total width (outer-to-outer dimension) of the door jambs. I can afford to make it 24 1/8" wide, but would making it 24", and giving myself and 1/8" gap at the bottom be better?

I like to have 1/8" to 1/2" gap all round. if you run out of gap you do not need to pack it, you can even plane the back of the jamb to make it fit.


How to fix deck board at edge not lined up with beam? My near-ground level deck is quite large (20x16) at one side and its end is a one-step stair. But at the edge, one end is flush with the last deck board (Trex 5.5") but the other end is like 1" short, showing the below beam.

Flush side:

Short side:

This happens because over the number of boards, the gaps could be slightly different between each board and the bottom frame could have some off measurement.

My question is how to fix this? If the below beam showing like 3-4" then I can put on another board. In this case, it's only 1".

I am thinking of two options below so please let me know:

Option A:

Cut the last board by 1" along the length (on table saw). So the new width is 4.5" (Green bar). Then get another 16' long board and cut it so the new width is 3" (Purple bar) only instead of 5.5". The read line is the below beam lumber. Then on the side of the beam, I can install 1" fascia board. This way there will be 1-2" of overhang. If I follow this option, do I join the two new cut boards closely or do I leave gap in between them? They are no longer having groove at the gap. So I will screw on top instead of using Universal Trex Fasteners.

Option B:

Create custom build trim pieces. This is harder (Trex doesn't sell the 90 degree trim pieces for Enhance version). So basically I need to create an L-shape using 1x8 for the long side of the L and 1x2 for the short side. But on the short side of the L, I will have to cut it so that one end is exactly 2" while the other end is 1". Then I can slap this trim on and stain same color of the deck.

At this point, it's too late to move the stair below or change the frame. I have many more 16" Trex boards. So I am tempting to go with Option A.

What are your suggestions?

.  Put the last boards down but don’t use the universal clip on the rim joist side. screw the side toward the rim joist but do it at an angle and bury the screw inside the groove  So that the board looks normal and is securely attached (the screw will be hidden).  Secure a board the length of the underlap (or whatever you want to call it) next to the last board so it looks normal.  Get underneath the board and snap a line right next to the rim joist.  Take the board off and rip it for the final piece.  Screw it down from the top knowing it will get covered by whatever railing system I use.  I think that will work just fine and I don’t have to add material.


Installing a projector a ceiling junction box So in my apartment, tenants aren't allowed to drill holes in the ceiling (it's concrete), but there are junction boxes available where lighting/fans can be installed.

I thought it might be a good idea to repurpose these junction boxes to mount my projector.

To start, I bought a junction box cover, drilled holes in it, and bolted in a projector mount.

I also drilled an additional hole for the power line. My projector uses a typical pc power cable, so I cut off the end that normally plugs into the wall and ran it through the hole in the junction box cover. The colors of the wires from the power cable were a little unfamiliar, but I mapped them brown to black, blue to white, and green to green.

So two things:

1) Is this a good idea as far as weight/support? I was told it was ok to mount a ceiling fan and the projector should be on the lower end of what a ceiling fan might weigh.

2) On my initial test run everything worked as far as the mounting went, but my projector didn't operate normally. It's fans made an unusual noise, the picture flickered, and after a minute or so it would turn itself off. This leads me to believe there might be something wrong with the power supply, but as far as I know, power supplied to the ceiling should be the same as that supplied to the outlets. Is there something I might have done wrong in wiring, or could this be an issue somewhere else?

Thanks!

Your cord penetration needs to either be grommeted, or use a proper cable clamp in a standard knockout hole. They sell junction box covers with standard knockout holes.

Mechanically, what you did is fine as long as the projector weighs less than 4 pounds.  If it weighs more, you need to properly tie into the fan support structure in the way that you might for a chandelier.

The data cable cannot run in the same in-wall conduit or raceway as the power cables.  You might consider stick-on surface mount wire loom for the low-voltage cables.  Alternately, you could remove all mains voltage wires from the conduit, and replace them with signal cables and 12/18/24VDC to power the projector, e.g. Extend the wires on the projector's wall wart.


Identifying neutral and ground in breaker box Short version: In this breaker box to install a 14-50R would I run both ground and neutral to the same bus bar on the right?

Long version: This breaker box is directly beneath the meter outdoors in a modular home I purchased. I'm wiring an outdoor 14-50R receptacle into the existing 50 amp breaker in the photo and so far as I can tell I'll be tying the ground and neutral to the same bus bar on the right side of the picture. I know I should consult a licensed electrician and electricity is dangerous, just looking for a relatively simple answer.

This is your main panel so having your grounded and grounding conductor on the same buss is the right thing to do here.
Grounded I’d the neutral , grounding is the bare copper or green. Note they could be on separate busses but the proper bonding jumper would be required.


Can bio fuel ethanol used as a main heating source? I recently discovered some heaters based on "bio fuel" (ethanol).

Many products seem to be decorative and often present a modern design.

Some ethanol burners can be used in empty fireplaces and can deliver some moderate heating power.

It seems also that the emissions are very low, and there's usually no need for using a chimney.

Do you think that a solution based on ethanol can be used as a main heating source for a flat?

Anything that burns will provide some heat, it will also provide some exhaust.

At today's prices you can save a dollar per gallon by using ethanol over home heating oil.  The problem is that you really shouldn't care about price per gallon, you should care about price per amount of energy released.

Heating oil is about 141 Mega-Joules per gallon.
Ethanol is about 70 Mega-Joules per gallon 100% Ethanol.

At $3.60 / gallon for heating oil, it is a bargain compared to $2.72 for 85% ethanol, because you would need to buy two gallons to equal the amount of theoretical heat available in one gallon of heating oil.  It is even more of a bargain than 95% ethanol (denatured), at $29.31 per gallon.  Note that we won't consider 100% ethanol, as opening the container tends to suck enough humidity from the air to make it 95%.

 $3.60 for ~141 MegaJoules of heating oil (1 gallon)
 $6.40 for ~141 MegaJoules of 85% ethanol (2.35 gallons)
 $62.15 for ~141 MegaJoules of 95% ethanol (2.12 gallons)

It is not a fuel with a high energy capacity, so you'll need a lot of it.  Cheap sources are not very pure, and are poisoned (to prevent sales on the alcohol market) that means that "burns cleanly" isn't going to apply unless you want even more expensive forms of ethanol.

Some claim that one can recover more heat from burning ethanol as all of the combustive products (including all of the heat) can be captured in the room.  This is highly inadvisable unless you use a double-burn setup, guaranteeing the complete combustion of Ethanol.  Partial oxidation of Ethanol produces acetaldehyde which is quite harmful to lungs and belongings.  Also, most Ethanol is denatured, meaning it has poisons purposefully added to it to prevent consumption (avoiding the alcohol taxes).  The by products of burning the denatured additives are varied and generally unwanted (if not also poisonous).

Partial combustion by-products, like acetaldehyde, are very damaging to certain plastics, making installation costs higher (or hiding those costs in future repair bills).

It makes sense in some places, but in home heating it's not a winning choice unless other factors increase the costs of more mundane solutions.


3 sets of wires in outlet box, lights won’t turn off I just bought a house built in 1977. I am updating outlets and switches in the house and ran across a fun challenge last night. My father-in-law finished one room and when we turned the breaker back on the lights in the room wouldn’t turn off. I believe the issue is in the outlet box below the switch. It has three sets of black and white wires. I found the set from the box and placed those in the top two positions (1 and 2) on the outlet (black/brass, white/silver) and I have power to that outlet only. When I hook up set B to the bottom two positions (3 and 4), everything turns on (switches and plugs) and the light switch won’t turn off the lights. Set C seems to have no affect on anything.  I connected the switch and continuing circuit wires to posts 3 & 4 and opened up the 2nd outlet in the series. It also had three sets of wires?!  When I wired it up as shown, everything works the way it is supposed to. However the black switch wire can’t touch anything if I clean up outlet 2 and cap the free black wire is everything okay? Any ideas?

You have hot wired your lights.

The light switch seems to be fed from the receptacle below it. (Cable C) So, the white wire on the switch should be re-identified as a hot wire with black, red or blue tape. It is now the hot feed to the switch. If this wire comes from the receptacle below it should also be re-identified there. The black wire in that same cable is the return leg from the switch. Your lights (Cable B) should be fed with the switch leg wire not the hot wire from the panel, and the neutral from Cable A.

In the receptacle box you should have a hot feed to the receptacle as one cable of the cables. (Cable A in your post.)

It sounds like the other cable (cable B) feeds your lights somehow. Strange way to wire it but from what you said that would be why your lights are now on all the time.

If you connected all the blacks and all the whites together in that box the lights would be on constant and the breaker would trip when you turn on the switch since it would now be a dead short. Since you didn't connect Cable C the switch does nothing at the moment.

Good luck and stay safe!


Smart wall heater thermostat line voltage from high to low. Cadet's blog provided an approach on connecting a smart thermostat to a Com-Pak wall heater by connecting it to a relay/transformer. They have recently updated and changed their post to not recommend it due to the relay not providing enough power to the smart thermostats, and they suspect it will drain the battery.  Will a relay such as the Honeywell RC840T-120 24V, power the HoneyWell Wifi Thermostats, RTH6580WF, powered from a Cadet Com-Pak 1500W, 120V model CSC151? Are externals transformers/adapters best? If so, are there other specifications beyond a two wires 24 volts transformer to keep in mind?

The key specification is the VA specification -- the RC840T only has a 1.2VA transformer in it, which is quite small.  In fact, it's too small to run a power-hungry WiFi thermostat -- it was sized to be barely large enough to run the relay itself, although old-style programmable 'stats draw very little power and probably would work as well.  Standard thermostat transformers are 40VA, which is more than beefy enough to run any thermostat you can find.

So, get a separate thermostat transformer to go with your relay.


How to replace bottom plate on non-load bearing wall I recently purchased a house and am trying to DIY as much as I can so that I can learn how to do things correctly.

I'm looking to replace the bottom plate in my bathroom and just want to make sure I've got the right idea.

This interior wall is not load-bearing from what I can tell. I climbed in the attic and there is no direct load holding up the roof and the joist do not split and sit on top of this wall.

The plate itself looks ok but when I hit it with a hammer, it does chip away fairly easily. I assume it's better to replace while the wall is open instead of trying to replace it later.

My plan was to saw the nails with a multi-tool, slide the plate out, and insert the new plate. Seems simple enough but since I'm still learning, I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

That's pretty much it. You'll know when you start cutting the stud nails whether there's significant pressure on the plate (the saw will move instead of the blade, and you along with it--it's a fun ride with a reciprocating saw :) ). If there is, you might use a jack to (gently) life the ceiling adjacent. Pad it well and don't punch through your drywall. Move it barely enough to relieve the pressure.


Causes of condensation in basement wall First time home owner of 1 year old house in Southern Ontario.

South facing basement wall (50% above grade) has condensation forming between polyethylene barrier and pink batt insulation.

What could be a common cause of this?

It's the combination of polyethylene and fiberglass batt insulation. What you have there is a mold-and-rot-machine. For more info, see http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-103-understanding-basements/

You need to remove the poly sheeting at a minimum. Preferably, you would redo the basement wall entirely to have rigid foam insulation against the concrete walls and spray foam in the stud bays of the aboveground part.


Is GFCI protection required for a dedicated exhaust fan circuit? I'm considering installing an exhaust fan in my bathroom which includes light and heat, and requires a dedicated 20 amp circuit. Would this circuit need GFCI protection? The instructions for the unit don't say anything about it. Even if it's not required, would it be a good idea to do anyway?

The National Electrical Code (NEC) does not require bathroom exhaust fans to be GFCI protected, however, there is this bit in Article 110.

  110.3 Examination, Identification, Installation, and Use of Equipment.
  (B) Installation and Use. Listed or labeled equipment shall be installed and used in accordance with any instructions included in the
  listing or labeling.

Which means you have to follow all of the manufacturers instructions while installing the fan. If you read the installation instructions that came with the fan, you might find something like this.

  SUITABLE FOR USE OVER TUB OR SHOWER ENCLOSURE  WHEN INSTALLED IN A
  GFCI PROTECTED BRANCH  CIRCUIT.
  Source

If you install this fan over a tub or shower, the fan must be GFCI protected according to the manufacturer.


How to check if cabinets are wood or laminate When i move in to my new home i will more than likely need to do touching up in the kitchen.

How can i find if the cupboard doors are made from wood or laminated MDF?

Easiest way is to cut one in half, but I'll assume you want to do this non-destructively.

One way that you can check is to remove one of the hinges.  If it's a recessed hinge you'll find yourself looking at the inside of the door.  If it isn't recessed you can examine the screw holes and/or probe them with a dental pick.


3-wire electrical wire for recessed lighting I want to install 4 LED recessed lights in my living room.

No ceiling lighting currently exists though there is an existing wall switch that was decommissioned by the previous owners that I plan to re-purpose to control the new lighting.

The wire powering the existing switch is the standard 2-wire (plus ground).  Do I need to use 3-wire from the switch to the lights?  I heard that any new wiring for ceiling fixtures should be 3-wire according to code, but I haven't been able to confirm if that's true.

Aside from future-proofing, my lighting plans should not require 3-wire.

Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks.

The rule you're referring to relates to presence of neutral in  the switch box.

It's saying, if neutral isn't already in the switch box, you have to bring it to the switch box; and that means if the wiring goes to the "lamp first" and you are wiring a switch loop, you must bring neutral down the switch loop, which in turn requires a 3-wire cable.

3-wire cable can't hurt, might help.  If you are doing retail therapy on zero information, then yeah, grab 3-wire cable (although this goes against Harper's Rule of "Buy the wire last").

Really, you should be finding out where your power source is going to be.  If power comes to the switch, then onward to the lamps, then /2 cable will be fine. If the lamps will be tapping power, then not only do you need /3 cable to the switch, you may need it between the lamps as well.

How to determine?  Draw the needed wires.

Lay out on paper a box for each lamp, and the switch, and also draw where power comes in.

Now, draw "pipes" connecting how you expect to physically lay out the wiring.  The pipes must follow tree topology: "T" branches are fine, but no loopbacks: No triangles or squares.  Between any two boxes, there must be only one possible route.

Now, put each of these wires into the "pipes":

Neutral (white or gray): comes from power and must connect to all lamps AND the switch.
Always-hot (black): Comes from power and must go to the switch.
Switched-hot (red): Must connect between the switch and every lamp.

Make sure the switch has all 3, and every lamp has switched-hot and neutral.

You will have 2 or 3 wires in every "pipe".  If you finish with only 2, you may use /2 cable and simply use the black for the red. (bonus points if you mark it with tape).

Now you know whether you need /2 or /3 on each segment.

If you remember something about remarking white wires to black, yeah that was a thing once, but is no longer allowed now that neutral must go everywhere.


Can manufactured countertops warp I have a friend with a seam in a countertop that has misaligned after about 4 years. It's man made stone but I'm not sure what material. I would like to fix it but I'd like to know more before I try. It looks like the two sections are flat and could be removed and reinstalled but that would involve redoing the sink and backsplash. I would like to know if it's a bad idea to simply shim up the low corner 1/16th of an inch. I don't think it's from the weight of water in the sink, but from a poor leveling job from the start.

The difference in height can be from 1) bad initial installation, 2) someone sitting on one of the panels, 3) warping of one panel,

1) Leveling two pieces of plastic laminate (Formica, etc.) is mostly an “art” and patience. Yes, the initial installer could have given up after a few tries.

2) Settlement...ugh...I cringe when my teenagers decide to “help” in the kitchen. An easy test to determine if this is the cause is to pry on the two pieces (gently) and see if they move independently from each other.

3) I’d look under the counter and verify that both panels are particle board. We generally use plywood near sink installations. If it is plywood, it could continue warping with additional water splashed on it, change in humidity, etc.

Here’s an article that explains: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/laminate-countertop-put-over-plywood-particleboard-99004.html

Removing and reinstalling the countertops is difficult because the base will be deformed from prying the tops loose. If the problem is truly just a difference in height, (and not that the two panels have twisted, rotated, moved out of “square”, etc.) then I’d try slowly raising one panel with wedges (shims).


208x240 buck boost transformer putting out ~260v I recently installed a buck-boost transformer in one of our buildings with 208Y/120v service to support a 1hp submersible well-pump rated for 230v single-phase.

The transformer is a GE 9T51B0158 which is labeled for 208v primary x 240v secondary, up to 500va.

Per the label diagram, I connected 208v nominal (210v measured at the transformer) to X1 & X2, tied H2 to H3, and then took a meter reading at H1 & H4 before connecting to the well-pump control. I measured 259v at H1 & H4, unloaded. Is there some reason to expect this kind of over-voltage? Would you expect the secondary to drop down closer to 240v under some load? Or is it more likely that I have either misunderstood the wiring diagram or acquired a dud unit?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

That transformer is awful small

Your transformer is not a buck-boost transformer as you assumed it to be -- instead, it's a standard (isolating dry type) transformer with a 120/240V primary and a 208V secondary.  As a result, its windings are handling full power, which means that since it's a 500VA unit, it can only handle 2A at 240V coming out.  I'd expect it to overheat quite severely trying to handle the 8FLA@240VAC of a 1HP motor.

As to the high output

I would check the input voltage -- it sounds like the input is on the high side, and doubly so because there will usually be a bit of turns ratio compensation on the design secondary side that acts in the opposite direction from what you are describing in a backfed application such as yours.  However, it should drop to a more normal value under a reference load.


How can I remove the condensate pump from a Miele dryer? I can't figure out how to remove the condensate pump of a Miele tumbler dryer.
The pump is locate at the center bottom at the back of the dryer. I can shift it back and forth a bit, but don't see any obvious way to detach it.

It looks like this:

Left corner behind the pump

Right corner behind the pump

From below

In 3 corners the pump is held down in plastic brackets, which would seem to indicate that it sould be removed by a rotating movement.
But i can find anything holding it stuck in the fourth corner:

At the left corner (2nd photograph), push down the lip a bit with your finger, then it easily swivels out.
Clean out the stuff in the reservoir.
You can remove the part that the hose attaches to as well, be sure to put back the ball back into this part, it serves as a anti-back-flow valve


EV Wall Charger with built-in metering? Background

I plan to purchase a new electric vehicle in the coming months (a Tesla Model 3).
My parking garage in my apartment building offers electric vehicle charging (unlimited charging for an extra $50 per month).

However, as I'd probably want to get them to install another wall adaptor near my spot (rather than move my spot to one that already has a charger) I thought I might suggest options that would be more fair. $50 per month seems steep with light use, while with a Tesla and heavy use, I could probably draw enough power to make their eyes water when the power bill arrives, so much that they would likely jack up the rates.  So my thinking is to negotiate an arrangement where I simply pay for my share of the electricity.

My ideal solution would be to find a system that could measure usage for particular vehicles charged at that charging station.  While I am out at work, they might charge another EV vehicle so if I just got them to put a meter on the wall adapter to pay my share of the electricity, I might end up paying for someone else's charging.

Question

Are there (consumer grade) charging systems (wall adapters) that will track usage?  The perfect one would be one that doesn't need a RFID card or code to activate, but just picks up the VIN number or whatever from the vehicle when it is plugged in.  The parking garage has WiFi so in theory there could be a charger that does this and uploads the statistics to the cloud so one could get a statement at the end of the month, when it is time to pay for the parking spot.

In short, yes

There are at least two consumer-oriented EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) brands that include utility-grade consumption monitoring. PG&E, my utility, actually had a pilot program (which I was a part of) for submetering EV charging. Instead of installing a separate meter, these reported the consumption over time to the utility directly so charging could be billed at a separate rate.

I don't remember all of the options (and I don't want to make this a shopping list), but I have a ChargePoint Home. The app provides consumption data. Similarly, JuiceBox has a more portable solution, which only requires an appropriate receptacle (typically a NEMA 14-50). You'd need a J1772 to Tesla adapter in both cases, but the ChargePoint Home would be a more permanent solution vs. the JuiceBox which is inherently portable.

Is this worth it, probably not

As many others have said, good luck getting your apartment manaement to agree. They'll need to pull permits for a new 40-60A circuit, have the work done, and access the EVSE's data. Given that you don't exactly have much bargaining power, I doubt they'll want to negotiate at all.

Economically speaking, $50/mo. translates to about 400kWh at my utility's EV charging rate. This might be a slightly generous assumption if they allow you to charge at any time because the rate I assumed is only for off-peak hours. Peak hours are much more expensive. Without any Time-of-Use, it'd still work out to 250kWh with my utility.

Your mileage may vary (literally), but I expect you'll likely average 300Wh/mi consumption, which means 250kWh will get you ~833mi and 400kWh will get you ~1333mi. If you drive the average of 1000mi/mo. (which is only about 30mi/day...), then you'd be right on track to pay quite fairly for your charging anyway.


Garage ceiling joist support for studio apartment? I bought a house with a 24x24' attached garage. The rafters above the garage has a cape cod style. There's already a door in the attic space leading to the outside (2 stories up with no staircase....) The previous owner told me he was planning to build an apartment space up there, complete with mini kitchen and bathroom.  Seemed like a fun project for me to finish. However, looking at the garage ceiling it appears the joists are only 2x6s spanning 24' running parallel with the garage door opening, and I don't see how there's any center support.  I can't fathom how the ceiling isn't sagging or how someone planned to build a whole apartment on top of that.  Does this sound right to anyone?

My recommendation would be to consult a structural engineer or building engineer. They can tell you everything you need to know and also draw up plans for the addition so you can apply for a building permit if necessary.


Contractor cut joists short (followup to earlier question) We are removing a couple of load bearing walls as part of renos in our home. The engineer specified a W8x21steel beam to replace the load bearing wall. The floor joists are 2x10. The joists are 2x10 and W Spruce. Their span is about 12' and are spaced 16" on center.

The space above the joists is comprised of two bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (shower in one and tub in the other). The upper area is being renovated and bedrooms will have hardwood flooring (carpet previously) and tile in bathrooms.

The contractor had originally put the bolts too close to the joists and ended up cutting some of the LUS210Z hangers to make them fit. Our engineer has since asked the contractor to move the bolt locations so that they no longer interfere with new hangers.

For the hangers the engineer has directed the contractor to use LRU28 hangers instead. We also checked with Simpson and they confirmed that LRU28 can be used but recommend that we use SD10x1½” screws into the face flanges and SD10x2½” screws through the double shear joist fasteners.

Questions:
As it turns out several of the joists are not sitting flush with the beam and have as much as a 1/2" gap at the top and 1/4" gap at the bottom between end of joist and steel beam.

We checked again with Simpson - they advised that they have test results with short cut joists for LUS hangers but not with LRU ones. They checked the test results and advised that even with the bottom two nails not really going into the header and short cut joists the LUS hangers would be fine when installed with SD9x2 ½ (SD9212) screws (as long as they are not cut of course). They are unable to comment on the LRU hangers as they don't have test results with short cut joists. To sum it up they recommend using the LUS for that reason but say ultimately it's the engineer's decision.

It is not clear if our engineer was aware of the short cut joists when he ok'd using LRU hangers and we are now very concerned about using LRU hangers given the feedback from Simpson.

Please note that only a couple of joists (shown in picture) are sistered so aware that a different hanger is needed for those. Picture is meant to show gap between joist and beam.

We would greatly appreciate any feedback based on the above. Thx

(edited for clarity)
First image is view from directly below the beam and looking up. You can see the gap between bottom of double joists and beam...the gap is more like 1/2" at the top of the joist.

I think the joists cut short are fine because, 1) required bearing is satisfactory, 2) withdrawal out of hanger is not of concern.

1) Your 2x10’s at 16” on center spanning 12’ will support a maximum of between 100 per linear foot (plf) and 155 plf depending on the species and grade of the lumber. Therefore, the maximum load on each hanger is:

155 plf x 6’ = 930 lbs.

Lumber can withstand between 375 psi and 455 psi in compression perpendicular to grain before it starts to crush. Therefore, the MINIMUM bearing length required in each hanger is:

930 lbs. / 375 psi x 1.5” (width of joist) =
1.6” into hanger

The joists cut short at the top of the hanger is not important...there is no load on that portion of the joists, except to provide support for your subfloor.

2) Withdrawal out of the hanger is not supported by the side nails, but rather by the subfloor. That is to say, the joists cannot “move” out of the hangers because they are secured in place by the nailing of the subfloor into each joists.

Summary:
If the joists extend about 1 5/8” into the hangers, they can support the maximum load that a 2x10 joist at 16” on center spanning 12’ can support.


Tub installation/level questions I am remodeling our bathroom, and we got a new tub/surround made by American Standard. They're both direct to stud installations.

The tub came with a large piece of horizontal plywood along the entire bottom of the tub, and two vertical runners attached to the bottom of that, which I assume are supposed to help prevent bowing of the fiberglass tub.

I followed the instructions, measured and leveled the ledger boards to their minimum height, then used a bed of mortar (more two large globs so it would squish out)

I dry fitted everything (drains, water lines, etc) with the tub in place like 3 times, everything looked great. Tub was really flush against studs, and it was sitting on the ledgers really well.

The issue came when I actually installed it over the bed of mortar. We lifted it, and set it in place, squishing down the mortar. Then all of a sudden it wouldn't go down any further, so I figured we were good. Just as a quick test I poured water all along the corners & rim and it all ran down into the tub and down the towards the drain. GREAT! RIGHT? NO! After I ate some dinner I came back and noticed it wasn't actually ON the ledgers. It was about 1-2mm off in a few different spots. It's SUPER solid as far as sitting on the mortar, and it doesn't move AT ALL. Luckily I put plastic between the mortar/floor and mortar/tub though.

The question is, should I try to remove it and place it again, even though it'll be a pain in the arse and potentially damage the tub. OR should I just fill some of the minor gaps between the tub edge and ledger with some sort of foam/silicone so the edges have something to rest on (other than the screws holding the tile flange in place), and just leave it as is, considering the water is traveling where it should, and the base of the tub is really well supported?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The ledgers are not meant to carry any weight. All weight should be supported by the base of the tub. The only weight that the edges of the tub should carry would be the weight of the wall panels which will be reduced as the top edge will be screwed to the studs.

If it was me, I would first remove the screws and gently pry up on side of the tub to see if the plastic separation will allow the tub to lift freely. If I felt too much resistance, I would leave it be, reinstall the screws, and continue with the wall panel install.


First time ceiling fan installation wiring issue I am trying to install a  ceiling fan in my bedroom for the first time. There is already a "Acceptable for Fan Support"  box installed by the builder. I looked at several videos on youtube on  how to wire fan. The wires coming from the ceiling confused me.

First, the color of wires. I see red, white and yellow. I was expecting black, white and green.

Second, red and white go back up as shown in the picture. How do I wire my fan?

Appreciate any help

This is conduit. Everything's different.

All the literature you have read on the Internet talks about cables in the walls installations. In that case, you are married to the standard wire colors in cables - Black Red White Bare.

Here, you have a network of piping called "conduit" and individual wires in the pipes.  This is a highly competent job.  The house was supplied with no fixture, but they left you enough length on the "neutral" to add one.

The wires are able to be any sensible color instead of being married to the colors built into cable.  Here you have

White as neutral (neutrals must be white or gray).
Red is surely your "always-hot", but it doesn't come to the ceiling. If you need always-hot here, then add a wire to that pipe from the switch, and grab it at the switch.
Orange is another half of a multi-wire branch circuit.  Do not mess with it.
Yellow is your "switched-hot" from the switch to the lamp.

It's easy to add wires to a pipe.

Where did ground go?

This installation uses non-flexible metal conduit, and that is allowed to be your ground path.  I have 4 buildings that look exactly like this; this is normal.

Switches and lamps can be grounded right through the mounting screws.   Receptacles cannot; search for a question on "how to ground a receptacle in metal conduit" as it's complicated.

Simple installation

Cut the white wire at the halfway point.  Splice it to the neutral from the fan/lamp.

Splice the yellow to the hot(s) from the fan/lamp.

Now the switch turns the fan/lamp on/off.  Presumably speed control and lamp vs fan select is on the fan itself?

Complex installation

Open up the switch box.  You will see a pipe leaving it with a red, yellow and white wire.  Tug on the white wire and see if it moves in the ceiling box.  That's the pipe!

Shoot us a picture of what's going on inside that box, and get back to us.


Hidden fasteners for 1/2" spacing between decking boards? I want to build a screen out of 5/4 x 4 ipe boards with 1/2" spacing, using some sort of hidden fasteners. All the hidden fastener systems that I was able to find so far are designed for decking, and offer the maximum spacing of 1/4"... Is it possible to use one of these systems, but set the boards wider apart?

Most of the deck brackets are installed board at a time, and the last bracket holds the next board.

The Shadoe Track however is a continuous rail, with conventional screws from below.  It can be set at any spacing.


Do I need to unplug my hot water recirculating pump when I turn off the water to the house? When I turn off the water to the house (for vacation) and open a faucet to relieve the pressure, I notice that the hot water recirculating pump makes a lot of noise that it doesn't when the water is on. Do I need to unplug the recirculating pump to prevent damage while the house water is off?

If I do unplug the pump, can it be damaged if not woking for too long?

Thanks for any input.

Running the pump dry for an extended period can damage it. You should unplug it rather than let it run dry.

If it sits idle for longer than a couple weeks for vacation, minerals in the water could cause it to stick when put back in service. It usually just means you have to disassemble the pump and free the impeller before it will work again.

Good luck!


Are there any types of tile with insulating properties? Is it possible to buy insulating indoor wall tiles?

I have just bought a house and am in the process of slowly renovating it. The bathroom is an extension that was added to the house approx 40 years ago and sits at the rear of the property. It has three external walls and although it has a radiator it is always very cold in there.

The walls have had cavity wall insulation done (approx 7-10 years ago) and I have added loft insulation to the roof cavity (the extension is only a single story).

It is currently single-glazed but I do plan on getting double glazing installed in a couple of years time.

I am about to tile the interior walls, but before I do this I want to make sure there is nothing further I can do reduce heat-loss. I have looked around but I cannot see any tiles that have insulating properties, do such things exist? If not, is there anything I can attach to the walls prior to tiling?

EDIT: I live in the UK btw...

What kind of construction is the floor? It seems to me that the floor would be your main heat loss culprit if you're up to a sufficient insulation value in the walls and ceiling.

To answer your question directly: There are no ceramic or composite tiles that significantly add to the R-value of the structure. However, there are additional materials that you can place inside the walls.

I would look into other things, like heat loss through a window, or through a fan vent that draws air, or through the floor. If the room still feels cold, I would definitely include in your renovation a heated floor mat, which gets embedded in self-leveling cement and then tiled over. Having a nice warm floor in the morning when you get out of the shower is one of the ultimate simple luxuries in my opinion.


Sealing 2-ft square hole in cement beneath tub We are having our bathroom in the basement redone. Having a tub installed and the installer cut a 2 ft wide hole in the floor beneath the tub. after the tub is installed I was told that they no longer fill in the 2x2 ft hole.
However the dirt shows moisture. Seems unclean and unwise.
What can I pour into the hole to seal it?
A gallon can of water based exterior polyacrylic?
I asked if I can pour in liquidity cement and they said that is no longer done.

Well, that's a code violation, at least under IPC.

1002.8 A recess provided for connection of the underground trap, such as one serving a bathtub in slab-type construction, shall have sides
and a bottom of corrosion-resistant, insect- and verminproof
construction.

Additionally, it sounds like the tub (with a 2 foot square hole under it) may not be "bedded" - which is OK if it's cast iron, and otherwise dubious - plastic and thin steel tubs should have material filling between the tub and the floor (plaster is traditional, some folks use sprayfoam these days) to prevent it from flexing (and eventually cracking) when loaded with water and a person's weight.


Removing Tuck Tape from an unfinished window frame The builder taped the vapour barrier to the window frames in my basement.  Is this normal?  I attempted to peal it off but the glue residue is stuck to the wood.

Any suggestions on how I can remove it?  Is it possible to prime over the tape?

Your builder is an idiot. That is just plain lazy.  Yep, Goo Gone, or maybe some mineral spirits. As a last resort if the aforementioned don't work, try acetone.  Acetone dissolves most glues, but also can damage the finish. Test a small area first.


Can I close the garage vent on my furnace? My furnace duct system has a vent in the garage, right over the furnace. Is it necessary for the proper operation of the furnace to keep that open? I'd hate to waste the money heating up my garage, but I don't want to close the vent if it means damage to the furnace.

In the picture below, I have the vent closed, to increase the pressure going into the house.

It's not necessary, they probably just put it in because it was easy to do and gives you the option of heating the garage if you want.

I would keep the vent closed, and if you want an even better seal, the make magnetic pads that you can put over the vent as well


What is the best method for carrying a 4x8 by yourself over tough terrain? I have to travel about a quarter mile through the wilderness, carrying a 4x8 each time to get to a remote building location. Some of the terrain can be tricky, otherwise I might fall in the water. Any ideas on the best way to carry a 4x8 panel?

I am imagining a clever backpack contraption.

Are there any tools, strategies, or methods one can recommend for achieving this?

Here's a low-tech method that's worked well for me:

Attach a loop of rope around the bottom corners and pull it up in the middle on the outside with your arm going over it and your other arm holding it stable in your armpit.


Should solar thermal collectors always be cycling fluid at maximum speed? I've been reading about DIY solar thermal collectors, and the various ways their performance is influenced. One of the things I learned about solar water heaters for a pool is that it's recommended to run the pump pulling water through the collector at full speed. The reasoning is that the amount of energy that the sun is putting into the collector is constant, and running the water though the pipes faster results in less heat from inside the collector being lost back to the surrounding air (or the glazing, box material, etc.).
If a solar thermal collector for air is pulling air via an intake fan from the house, driving it through pipes in the collector, then pushing it back into the house, does the same concept apply? The fan should be blowing the air as fast as it can, as long as the temperature of the pipes are greater than the intake air temperature? Or am I missing something?

In some mythical world where nothing else mattered, pumping your working fluid at maximum speed does limit the temperature rise of the collector surface, which limits the re-radiation of heat from the collector (re-radiated heat is not collected, thus, lost.)
The simplistic theory is that raising 11 pounds or kilos of air or water 0.1 degree is more heat collected than raising 1 pound or kilo of air or water 1 degree. And that's true, in itself.
Like most "purely theoretical and ignoring large parts of reality for the sake of a simple theory" analyses this falls down hard in the face of all that stuff being ignored because it's complicated, in reality.
The 400 mile or kilometer per hour blast out of your "nearly ideal, but perhaps it could be 500 or more" solar air collector will be very unpleasant to live with, deafening, and cost more to run than having no solar collector and just putting that power into a cold climate heat pump. The churning vortex the water version will turn your pool into will probably waste a lot of heat to excess evaporation, and drown swimmers in your pool.
Finding the happy sane point is engineering, and it's not overly simple, because it deals with the real world issues like power to run fans/pumps, efficiency of heat transfer and all that stuff.


Help with vinyl planks on damaged subfloor It previously  had sheet vinyl and  still has some adhesive  residue  on it.  How do I cover up the residue?  I can't  get it completely  off.  Thanks!

I have found that serious application of a CARBIDE "paint scraper" will remove some truly miserable adhesive residue in a purely mechanical fashion. Don't even bother with the steel blade types, they proved useless.

Typically have a narrow tungsten carbide blade that is clamped, and has two sides so you can flip it once for a fresh edge before replacing or resharpening. Not even terribly expensive.


Getting rid of black shadow/stain in toilet caused by interaction of iron sponge with anticalc + toilet gel with bleach There was a lot of stains down in the puddle (?) of my toilet and toilet gel (that has bleach/javel in it, this product) and anticalc (the spray to wash lime scale off) and toilet brush didn't help. So I scrubbed it with an iron sponge. Now there is a shadow in the puddle on the porcelain which doesn't go off with anything.

I have dried the puddle (yes, taken the water out by hand) and washed with high consentrations of those liquids and the toilet brush but the shadow is still there. What can I do? And I have almost one day before returning the room.

(This is how it looks like)

Thanks in advance!!

Try Iron OUT or similar cleaners with sodium hydrosulfite and/or sodium metabisulfite, which reduce iron and manganese stains, rather than bleach (Javel) which does the opposite. Place a paper towel over the stain and soak in the remover, so that it does not run off immediately. Let it sit for some hours and repeat as needed.

Do not use abrasives such as pumice, or hydrofluoric acid (HF), as in Whink Rust Stain Remover, which will remove the stain, but will also permanently damage the china bowl... which your landlord may ask you to replace.


Does a carport slab need expansion joints at interior piers or the perimeter? I'm planning to pour a pad into an existing open carport / garage area that has mid-span supports resting on poured piers and a foundation wall going around the outside. I'm planning on digging down about 10-12", laying gravel and compacting, laying sand and compacting, then add a vapor barrier and metal mesh / rebar.
Is there anything I need to think about when pouring the new slab up to the edges of the foundation and around the piers? do I need to wrap the slab edges with foam insulation to give an expansion joint / allow them to slip past each other when settling occurs or is there a better solution?
The piers / foundation have been in place for at least 40 years. The slab would just be adding a new surface in the garage area.
EDIT: there will eventually be living space above the garage. I was sort of assuming I'd want the vapor barrier due to this. The space is approx 30' wide by 20' deep, and there's three garage slots, with posts supporting the joists above between each slot.

I assume the pier is above the finished floor. You are correct in thinking to provide the full depth expansion joint around the pier, as well as around the perimeter of the slab that will be poured against existing concrete.
If the garage area is large, in addition to the expansion joint, it is recommended to have a control joint at an approximate 10'-15' interval in each direction to minimize the potential for random crack. The control joint (1/8"-1/4" wide x 1" depth) shall be made by saw-cut within 24 hours of concrete placement. Around the pier, the diamond-shaped control joint is recommended to avoid diagonal cracks at the reentrant corners of the slab.
The last recommendation is the fresh concrete shall have at least 5% of entrained air to improve its durability against weathering, especially in the cold regions.


Andersen casement windows show condensation and ice on the inside of the glass Our home in IL is 25 years old and during the last 2 - 3 winters we have experienced condensation and thick ice on the inside of most of the 30 windows we have in the home. We know several windows need to be replaced because they are foggy and streaky all year round.
Many contractors want to sell us brand new windows (price range: $25,000 to $70,000).
While we are contemplating our options (excluding new windows) on how to solve this problem we were wondering if anyone on this site has any idea: a) how to fix this problem or b) a contractor genre' that we could turn to for information and pricing?
Thanks,
John

Call Andersen windows and ask for a price to replace your windows.  Right now around Pittsburgh, Pa. they are giving a $300.00 discount for each replacement window. The sale ends November 4th. You may even be able to purchase replacement glass or replacement glass/sash that you can replace yourself if you are so inclined. Before you replace the glass and/or sash , check the sealing gaskets to make sure they are still OK. If you stay with Andersen windows they may have other options. I would call them, or "google" them for a phone number.


Teak flooring in the shower, good idea or bad? There is a trend to place teak flooring into the shower. What is the best way to accomplish this with minimal problems? Is there an advantage to having teak flooring in a shower, or is it just not a great idea no matter what type of wood is used to place it into a shower?

The teak wood is not the actual floor of the shower it is just a layer on top of the waterproof substrait or tile.  There is no wood that has properties to form a shower subfloor - it holds too much water, expands and contracts too much, and rots.  Not to mention sanitary issues.

So can you put teak in a shower.  Sure.  You can stand on top of whatever you want as long as the underneath part is waterproof and drains.  However you are just adding another (major) thing to clean.


Electric requirements for gas stove I am buying a new house (new construction) and it currently has an electric stove.  One of the changes we've put in the contract it to 'remove the electric stove and adapt the stove cavity for a gas stove".  We're not having them install the new appliance - we're buying that separately.  I noticed on the contract that they changed my wording (approx. above) to "Run a gas line to the stove".

The area currently has 220V to the cavity.  I'm worried that the gas stove will need a 110V outlet in addition to the gas line (for ignition, convection fans, clock, etc.)
Should I be worried that when the new stove arrives, we won't be able to hook it up?  Or will it use 220?  Or is there a 'simple fix'?

Get the 220v outlet while you can. With that wiring, you can run two 110v circuits in the future or install an electric oven if you change your mind. Running another line in the future would be much more difficult, so now is the time to have it installed. The only change you'll likely have to make is replacing the double breaker with two single breakers if you want 110v, which any electrician should be able to do with minimal effort.


Cover carport framing The inside walls on my carport are not covered, so the framing is visible. It looks bad, and it's pretty dark at night. I was thinking of covering the walls with plywood and painting over it.

Any recommendations regarding materials, e.g. is plywood suitable for this? It is an outdoor structure, so and I am concerned about moisture damage.
Would I need a permit for such an project? I live in Los Angeles.

UPDATE: Added photo

You could paint it white without covering the walls, and solve both the dark and potential permitting issues with the other approach. Paint is generally free of permitting needs (so long as you source it locally so it's VOC legal for California/LA air pollution issues, I suppose from afar.)

Permit/code issues would better be addressed by a local - as an interior low-cost project that doesn't change any doorways/windows, or add a structure to the property, it would probably be fine without a permit here. Cities tend to be a bit more irritating and/or want more pounds of flesh, so I'd guess you might well be in need of a permit given that you are in a big one. When in doubt, ask, as the consequences for doing without are usually a lot harsher than the hoops to jump through to get one. And you might actually find that you don't need one - but that's a local jurisdiction having authority issue, not something the internet can reliably answer for you.

Material-wise will depend on your local bug population and why the INSIDE of your carport (with walls, so presumably not a "roof-only, classic" carport, thus creeping closer to a garage) is subject to moisture damage. You might want to use something like tile backer board (Durock, Hardibacker, etc.) for the bottom 3 feet (it comes in 3x5 sheets) as being pretty much immune to bug and water damage. If it gets wet higher than that, either stick with the same product or choose an exterior-rated plywood. Tile backer is also nicely fire-resistant. If it's dry inside, drywall should be fine, as it is in many garages. A picture might help.


What tool and technique do I use to achieve this finish in plaster? Our shed (in Switzerland) has an outdoor wall that is finished with plaster texture called crépi here which Google translates as roughcast. The plasterer here says it is impossible to replicate today.  We have added to the building and would very much like to put the same texture on the new walls.

Does anyone recognize this finish and know how to achieve it and what tool is needed? The plasterer refers to it as style papillon or butterfly style if that helps.

I just got an answer by email from the owner of a company in France that specializes in artisanal plaster work. He recognizes it as a very thin lime-plaster that was applied with a bundle of leaves like these:

with a whipping motion. He calls this type of finish an enduit fouetté which translates as whipped lime-plaster. He suggests that we mix a very thin lime plaster and use a bundle made of olive leaves to achieve this finish.

Here is a pretty good explanation of how these enduits fouettés are prepared and applied (including some videos). I don't see my exact pattern, but some of them come pretty close.


How to remove dust from outlet holes? A few outlets in the apartment I am renting have not been used for a while And I noticed dust accumulating in the hole where the prongs go.
Is it safe to use   outlets with dust in them or Should I remove the dust. If yes, how can I clean those holes?

It's generally not a safety hazard unless there's so much dust that it begins to obstruct the insertion of cord prongs. Use a strong vacuum with a non-metallic nozzle (mostly to avoid scratching the outlet covers), and press it tightly against the outlet face to create a seal.
If you find the the dust is sticky, use a soft bristle brush to agitate the dust, then vacuum.
If the outlets are more than about 20 years old they should be replaced anyway. Over time the electrical contacts wear and weaken, leading to insecure connections, sparking, and eventually failure.


Can you tie conductors together on lugs? I'm replacing a bad light switch.  The current switch is wired as shown in the picture (two hot wires secured under a single lug).
This looks unsafe and I'm concerned that one of the wires will come loose.  I'm putting in a pig tail, but wonder if the current wiring method is acceptable.

Definitely not allowed!
If you want to do that, then shop for certain spec-grade switches and receptacles ($3 instead of 60 cents), which have a feature some call "Screw-and-clamp".  This allows you to back-wire 2 wires under each screw, and you tighten the screw to clamp the wires.
Also note that since it's in a metal box, your switch does not require a ground wire.  It will pick up ground via the screw threads and head.   This trick doesn't work for receptacles unless the receptacles are labeled "self-grounding", which most of the "spec  grade" receptacles will be.


How do I cut and cap copper water tubing cheaply and safely? In my basement I have copper water pipes that look like they hooked up to an old shower.  Now they don't hook up to anything.  I want to prune these pipes where they come off the main water line (so I can put a deep freezer in their place) but I've never done anything like that before.

Google tells me I have two options for pipe fittings: sweating or compression fittings.
I want something more or less permanent but I don't to buy extra tools I may not need again for a long time, plus if I can avoid open flames I'd like to, etc.  Are compression caps available and suitable for this kind of thing?

PS Can I cut copper pipe with an angle grinder or should I buy a pipe cutter?

Resolution: Thanks for all the advice!  In the end I went with a pushfit cap made by SharkBite:

I also bought a handheld, handleless pipe cutter for $7.  I shut off the water, cut the pipe, popped on the cap, and turned the water back on.  Worked like a charm.  The whole job took 20 minutes and cost about $11.

I'll look forward to learning to sweat connections another time.  For a casual plumber like me, pushfit fittings cost about 10 times as much as soldering and so worth it.

I think you should definitily go with sweating. It is very easy(even though open flames from a torch might seem intimidating) and is more reliable than compression fittings. Plus, installing a cap is one of the easiest things to do, so it will be a good practice to learn a new skill.

You can also achieve a pretty clean cut with a hacksaw, if you dont want to invest in a pipe cutter.


How can I tell if a dimmer switch is LED compatible? I have recently put some smart LED bulbs into my ceiling fan (Lifx if the brand matters) and there is a bad humming noise. Previously there was some humming in at least one of the LED bulbs (they weren't all the same and I don't recall how many made it) but it was much more faint.
I have read that the issue may be the dimmer switch the lights are on, that it may need to be replaced with a special dimmer switch that works with LEDs. How can I tell if my switch is one of these dimmable LED switches or not? Can I tell by looking? I have a very basic multimeter but that is my only tool.

It is worth mentioning that I am aware that now that I have smart lights a wall dimmer is not needed as opposed to a normal switch (dimming is done through the app). If I do end up replacing this switch I will probably put in a "normal" switch instead of an LED dimmer. At this point I am merely trying to diagnose the problem.

As a general rule:

Incandescent bulbs - will dim with any dimmer
Fluorescent bulbs - require a dimmer-compatible bulb and a compatible dimmer
"Simple" LED bulbs/fixtures (i.e., not much difference whether fixture + bulb or "all in one") - require a dimmer-compatible bulb/fixture and a compatible dimmer
"Smart" LED bulbs/fixtures (and technically speaking, smart "any" bulb or fixture, but normally only found with LEDs for a number of technical & economic reasons that are irrelevant at the moment) - normally require "full" power and any dimming will be handled inside the bulb/fixture.

In addition, as Harper pointed out, there are certain locations (especially stairwells for obvious reasons, but also in general "one per room") where there is an expectation, and code requirement, for a light switch to function to turn lights on/off (unless you just leave lights on all the time - which is practical in some situations). The catch is that if you use an ordinary switch with a smart bulb *and the bulb defaults to "off" when power is initially applied, or remembers previous setting, even if that was "off") then you could end up with the following situation:

Person A turns on switch and then turns on light to desired setting via an App or remote control.
Person B turns off light via switch - no power = no light.
Person C walks in (at night) and turns on switch - and nothing happens. And trips over the remote control that A left on the floor (or whatever...)

This is not a problem with:

Secondary lights - e.g., ceiling light has a regular switch (or a permanently installed wall smart switch) and the smart bulbs are in table or floor lamps as an additional source of light
Smart bulb defaults to "on" after any full power cycle (this may indeed be the default on some (many? all?) smart bulbs, but it is critical for safe operation if the smart bulbs are the only light on the primary switched circuit.
Wall switch is itself a functional remote for the smart bulbs.


What is the term for a gambrel roof with an extra angle on each side? What is the this roof style? Can it even be done with timber! Its not Mansard or Gambrel.

Though similar to Gambrel notice the extra pitch.

Any pictures, design, sketches of where this has been implemented would be good plus its name of course!

I've updated the question to emphasive that the diagram shows the shape not the design as I thought that was obvious but just in case!

I am not intending to actually design one I just want to know if its done and preferably a picture or design example like one can easily find for a Gambrel roof with a simple search.

I still consider it a gambrel. The word simply means "leg" or "forked leg", describing the interior supporting timbers.

The inherent flaw in the design as you've shown it is potential lack of rigidity at the upper angles. Unless they're robustly gusseted there and at the lower angles they're in danger of inverting at those points. There isn't enough arch to prevent outward splay and maintain compression.


Cracked wall, is it serious? I am in the process of purchasing a home and this was reported in the inspection report. The side of the house showed long cracked lines of the wall "with deformation". Would anyone be able to tell if this is serious? The seller does not want to fix it on their own, and agree to give us $2,000 (which I think is not enough to cover the cost to repair this).

I was wondering about how much would this cost from a professional?

Just from the pictures it looks like a bad install.  The cracks look like they are rolled.  They aren't on any parts of the structure where there are two joints meeting or any sort of weak point.  They are basically right in the middle of a wood framed exterior.

[Remember this advice is just based on me looking at a couple pictures and from what you said about inspection.  I am thinking that your inspector really looked hard on the other side of these cracks and found nothing.  They don't seem structural (but could be).  So I am really relying on your inspector doing a thorough job.]

How would I approach this?  First @Jack's comments are correct.  It looks like EIFS.  So I would get a couple of EIFS/Stucco installers out to get quotes on what they think is wrong and how to correct.  I am going to guess that there were installation steps or materials skipped.  A total guess would be that they left no expansion gaps for the insulation and that the insulation expanded and pushed out the finish layer.

If the installers say something similar and quote you something now you have a dilemma.  This doesn't seem to be a huge thing.  But given they made a mistake here, it was probably made everywhere.  This is probably the first issue since it is the biggest continuous exterior wall.

So I would go into this with the thinking that if it is an install issue then you might have more.  I would also figure out the age of the install.  If it is less than 5 years old I would think this waves can pop up everywhere.  If it is 10-15 years old I would be less concerned.  But really it looks to me to be a cosmetic issue and if you are the type of person that doesn't care about that as much, it really isn't a big deal.  Really this is why stucco and EIFS has more issues in temperate climates and is found more in the far south (or Spain and France).


How can I check the wiring in my home? I am renting a flat (in Germany, in case that matters), and since we moved in, within 7 months, 3 of our kitchen-appliances broke down with bad smell or even smoking.
It did not happen AT ALL in the previous flat!

What could be the reason, and how could we check it?

Thanks!

Within a European apartment, bad wiring causes appliances to shut off, not fry.

Check it with a voltmeter. I suspect you have excessive voltage, due to a lost neutral between the building and the supply.

Generally in Europe, power is distributed as 3-phase "wye" (230V leg to neutral, 400V leg to leg).  However, a freestanding home gets 2 wires from the pole, just one phase and neutral. If neutral breaks, power simply goes out.

However, in a multi-unit building, the building typically gets all three phases and neutral.  Each apartment gets a different phase and neutral.  Now, if neutral breaks, power doesn't fail exactly.  Power can still get from phase to phase, via the appliances that are plugged into it.  So for instance, power flows from L1, via your toaster, to Neutral, via your neigbhor's lights, to L2.  Meanwhile it's also flowing via your other neighbor's PC to L3. This 3-way flow is a marvel of 3-phase, and you can thank Nikola Tesla.

If all these appliance loads were equal, this would actually work. The problem is, the loads are not equal.  The imbalance is causing voltage to go up for some people, and down for others.

Imagine a triangle, 400 on a side.  Each corner has a pulley.  Each apartment has a string that goes through one of the three pulleys, to a knot in the middle. Each apartment pulls on the string in proportion to how much electricity it is using.  There is a pin,holding the knot in the middle so it's exactly 230 from knot to corner.   Now remove the pin.  Now, the knot can be dragged anywhere in the triangle, depending on how hard each apartment pulls on the rope.  The length of the rope from knot to corner is your voltage.

When apartments on other corners pull harder than the apartments on your corner, your voltage goes up.  And the excessive voltage fries your appliances. So you would see voltages that are not 230V and at different times, roam between 0V and 400V. (Typically 150-300V). Turning on a large load would make the measured voltage dip.

The power company should be contacted immediately.

In my complex (same exact thing but only 2 phases), it took us a week to notice the problem, and 2 hours to get the power company out and fix it.

In the meantime it is best to shut off circuit breakers to any appliances you value.


Should I drain all the pipes before a freeze? I live in Austin and we are going to have some pretty cold weather in the near future. I recently bought a house that I'm not living and since the electricity is out (and cannot be turned on until an electrical inspection is completed), the heater won't be running there. In order to prevent any pipes from bursting, I was thinking about maybe shutting off the water to the house, draining the pipes, and just leaving all the faucets and hose bibs open while it's cold. Any reason not to do that?
Post snowpocalypse update
I thought I would follow up with what I ended up doing and how things worked out. Local news recommended (very adamantly but without explaining why) that people do not drip outside faucets, inside only. So we decided to wrap the outside faucets very well and put hand warmers on them for an extra punch of heat and not drip them. We did leave the water on and drip the inside faucets.
We did this at both houses and basically everything worked out fine. We did have older hose bib crack and gush water. Luckily I had a replacement bib so we were okay. I know other people that dripped their outside lines and were fine. I also know someone who just turned the water off and it was fine. I also know a lot of people who had pipes burst, including my wife's parents in Dallas. They left the house for a few days and didn't come back until after things thawed out. A pipe in the ceiling burst near the kitchen and flooded the much of lower floor of the house. Not great.
Anyway, thanks again for all the advice. It was a pretty crazy week, but we made it through without any major issues.

Shutting off and draining the water is a good idea. If for no reason other than an unnoticed leak could cause considerable damage.  Don't forget the water heater and fridge if it has an icemaker since the power is off. Also the toilets, flush them after you have the water off. Then use a large sponge to sop up the water in the bottom of the bowl. Dip the sponge in and wring it out into a bucket. For extra insurance pour some RV antifreeze into the toilets and sink traps.  Use RV antifreeze not automotive antifreeze as the RV type is nontoxic and flushable.  When it comes time to turn the water back on remove all the faucet aerators or they can become clogged with sediment. Run the water until clear before reinstalling them.


Wood stain is not tacky but still leaves residue on cloth I built a wooden table using Pine. I sanded and stained the whole thing, wiping off the excess. It is in my garage and temperatures have been in the upper 40s - low 50s so I was expecting longer drying times.
Now, about 7 days later, the stain feels dry to the touch and is not tacky but when I wipe it with a white cloth (like an old t-shirt) I see stain residue coming off on the cloth. This will not do for a table that will be in the house and leaned on (and probably climbed on) by small children.
Is this because the stain hasn't fully dried or is this a product of some other factor? Do I need to attempt to strip/sand and re-stain it?

A stain only application will rub off even when dry this is one of the reasons poly is used to seal the surface. The pigment that is on the surface is the issue once the solvent evaporates the pigment is left on top of the denser wood. Wiping the excess will help but without sealing the pigment on the surface residue can rub off for years.


Low Frequency Noise inside my house I do live next to a sewer lift station.  The noise is through out my home.  It seems to be worse late night to early morning and when it's colder out.  Could the pump station noise be piped into my house?  I do also feel slight vibrations at times.   I thought maybe it could be the monitoring system they are using which has a giant antenna.  I don't know what to do, I really need help.  I cannot take the noise.  It can be so loud at times it hurts my ears.

Many lift stations now use what are called "VFDs" (Variable Frequency Drives) to control the speed of the pumps. So instead of allowing the tank to fill up to trigger a pump to run full speed until it pumps down again, they use a continuous level monitor system and change the pump speed to adjust for variations in flow and the pumps never (or rarely) completely stop.

VFDs can cause electrical distribution transformers to make noise (due to what are called "harmonics"). If you are hearing this as an audible hum, it may be something they can fix, but they won't do it unless you complain.

The other possibility is that this is a mechanical issue with the pumps causing actual mechanical vibrations (seismic) getting to your house under certain circumstances that are conducive to that transmittal, i.e. ground moisture conditions are just right. In that case they SHOULD fix it, because it is an impending equipment failure. They may not know, so either way you should tell them.


What is a strong glue for bonding metal? I have a (cheap) garage door that has the metal frames/hinges connected to the actual metal door by some kind of glue.  The glue on one part of the frame has broken off.  What is a glue that is strong enough to hold 2 pieces of metal together?  This is about a 1.5 foot length of metal that is about 1/4 inch wide.  The garage door opener connects to this piece so there is quite a lot of push/pull and vibration, so it needs to be very well bonded.

This-to-That recommends JB-weld or LePage's Metal Epoxy.  I've never used either, personally.

The important thing for this is going to be surface prep and clamping, I would assume.

You might be able to use a CA glue (ie, "super glue"), but you'll need additional reinforcement to keep the bond from shearing (eg, glue then bolt it in place, but 1/4" is kinda narrow to bolt through; also, I have no idea what sort of clearance issues there might be if there are bolts sticking out)


Two unrelated circuits drop at the same time I'm writing a new post for a couple of reason, 1) the post I found that was similar was more than 5 years old and 2) I was not able to comment because I don't have "50 reputation points"
So here's what I have. 2 circuits in my house drop at the same time. This used to happen once in a while, tonight it has happened about 5 times.
As I have UPSs on one of the circuits I'm able to log that the power drops for 4 seconds each time, then comes back. No flicker at any time, just off and back on
The confusing thing to me is they are on opposite legs of the 200 amp service and the best I can tell at the moment is nothing else on either side seems to be affected, just these 2 circuits.
What the heck could / should I be looking at here. It makes no sense.
In my UPS logs I see, utility failure 3 seconds and Invert 3 seconds. I presume the Invert means it was inverted to battery for that time.
All other monitoring looks good meaning I don't see any voltage sags or spikes. No under or Over voltage incidents and no Boost or Buck incidents.

On your original problem
Ed Beal is on the right track.  I think it's a "lost neutral", but since we now know the circuits are unrelated, I am highly suspicious of a "lost neutral for the whole house.  95% of the time, this is due to a neutral wire failure in the overhead service drop line coming from the poletop to your house, which is not your bailiwick, and which the power company fixes for free in almost all cases.
What happens is that on the service side of the meter (the power company's side), they do not carry safety ground as a wire.  (it's in the air anyway lol).  They use pre-bundled "triplex" wires like this.  The bare wire is the carrier wire which carries the physical weight of the other 2 wires, and is physically anchored at both ends.
the bare wire is used for both the neutral and the carrier wire (we can't do that; the power company can). Years of whipping in the wind tend to break it.  The neutral fails.    When that happens, the two legs are still 240V, but neutral is no longer halfway between them.  So the two 120V legs still add up to 240V, but they are no longer 120/120 - they are 105/135 or really, "all over the map".  This changes based on the loads of the appliances on each leg in that instant.
This doesn't get as extreme as it could, because neutral has a second path: via the Neutral-Ground Equipotential Bond in your panel, the Grounding Electrode System, a bunch of dirt, to  your neighbor's GES and through their N-G bond.  That is about as effective as you'd expect (better than nothing at all, but not great).  However, this can work  well enough (especially with LED lighting) that people can go weeks or even months without even realizing they have a problem.
Enter the wildcard: the UPS.  The UPS is actually monitoring power quality closer than anything else in your house (including you).  It's going "Hey, this ain't right".
So my advice is investigate a possible "Lost Neutral", as it nicely conforms with the stated symptoms.   Get a voltmeter and monitor AC voltage (easy mode: get a Kill-A-Watt energy monitor; its first display is instant voltage.)
Now, try turning on large 120V (plug-in) loads in your house. "Large" means things which make a lot of heat like a hair dryer or toaster.   Watch the voltage. If neutral is in good order, the voltage anywhere else in the house should not deviate by more than 1 volt (maybe 2 at the absolute outside).  Shut off all 120V or 120/240V loads (anything that uses neutral), and call the power company and report an outage.
On that panel
So, driven by this problem, you have a lot of eagerness to fix stuff, but not much knowledge about panels.  You have also been the victim of faulty information sources.  That is fine; we all start there.  Having dealt with plenty of them, here is what I would do if it was my panel and my hard-earned:
Bryant is a perfectly respectable panel type.  In the 80s(?) it was acquired by Cutler-Hammer which has been part of Eaton all along.  In recent years Eaton has stepped out of the shadows and started putting their own brand alongside their various brands, sorta like GM sticking their logos on Chevy cars.  Cutler-Hammer and Eaton hasn't made any radical changes to the BR line since they acquired it, outside of no longer using colored handles (the handle colors match traditional Buss fuse colors).
First, the Square D breakers are gone.  They never belonged in the panel in the first place - there are serious safety issues with crossing breaker brands because the bus stab shapes are different.  UL, Square D and Eaton all say "don't do that". They get replaced by BR breakers, which are now marketed as Eaton.  Same thing.
As far as being unable to find Eaton BR breakers, that ain't right. BR breakers are the most popular in America.  So you're in an unusual place (like Guam) or just aren't trying very hard lol.
As far as replacing the colored-handle BR breakers, that's really not indicated based on trade experience.  We just don't see reports of old BR breakers failing.  There is a general sense of "breakers wear out", and I suppose you could swap in new Eaton BR if you really want to... but I'd put it on the safety upgrade D-list, honestly. Other upgrades are more important.
What I would do is turn each breaker off and lift it out of the panel, and look at the bus stabs for any arcing damage, being bent, that kind of thing.  Light oxidation doesn't bother me.  Any stabs that are burned, those get put out-of-service permanently. I wouldn't condemn the whole panel unless problems are severe.
That safety budget
Since you seem to be willing to spend 4 digits on improving panel safety, here's how I'd prioritize that.

Any 3-prong dryer or range circuits get upgraded to 4-prong w/ ground, either via retrofit ground ($10) or using a GFCI breaker ($80).
GFCI protection on all kitchen, bathroom, laundry, garage, basement receptacles, and any water features (pool equipment etc.)  I'd try to do it with GFCI receptacles ($16) with 1 per circuit, because it's cheaper. Keep fridges/freezers off GFCI/AFCI if not Code required.
AFCI protection on any wiring that seems alarmingly old; any bedroom circuits (electric blankets); and any circuits where cords are likely to get mashed against the wall by furniture.  That's what AFCI protection is for.  If the goal is to protect outlets, AFCI receps ($20) are fine since this is retrofit.
An EV charging recep will add value to the house, so I'd throw in a 1" conduit between panel and garage. Enough room for up to 100A charging wires.
Noting the numerous 240V breakers, it's apparent your house has electric toaster heat.  I'd replace both that, and the A/C unit, with a wide-range heat pump that doesn't require separate emergency heat - either straight or split unit.  That would pay for itself in electric bills in a few years, but not right away.
I'd use the heat-pump dividend to replace any remaining Bryant BR's.
I would NOT worry about the "messy panel" or seeming clutteredness of the wires.  Wires bundled tight tend to overheat and melt, so loose is better. Excess wire length is important so you can move breakers around in the future and/or install AFCI or GFCI... so I would not nip them off short like some of the "show panels" you see out there.  Besides, if you ever replace that panel, you're gonna want that extra length.


Should I leave NiCad rechargeable batteries charging when not in use for long periods? I've got an Black & Decker electric trimmer that gets used about 2 months out of the year. It uses a NiCd battery pack.

For optimum battery life, should I leave it plugged in all year when not in use? I hate to waste that power (minimal though it is).

I'm Ok with needing to charge the battery overnight before first use.

The "memory effect" is not typically a problem with modern batteries.  The effect is generally "broken through" by large discharges, too, so if it's a battery for a power-tool, then it's a self-correcting problem.

Modern chargers won't over charge so you shouldn't have a problem.  Power consumption for continuous "trickle charge" is tiny.  Opening your refrigerator an extra time will probably amount to a year's worth of such charging.

Battery longevity may be reduced by it remaining warm for an extended period but it also degrades just sitting around.

Bottom line:  If it'll be a problem for you when you need to use your electric whatever and there is no charged battery, then leave a battery in the charger.

http://batteryuniversity.com/ has some of the best information about batteries.  I'm especially fond of this article on the maintenance of Li-Ion batteries: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries