Lights flickering, outlets randomly stop working We bought a house built in 1990 in CA and have been having issues w/ lights flickering when other appliances/fixtures are run. When I turn the powder room fan OFF, a lamp connected to a receptacle 20 feet away in my kitchen flickers. Today, I had a fan connected to the same receptacle with the lamp, and when I shut that fan off it flickered again. Upstairs, when an A/C cycles on in one of the bedrooms, the lights in a completely separate bathroom flicker.
On top of this, single outlets in 2-outlet receptacles randomly stop and start working. One day I'll go to plug something in and one of the outlets don't work. We had an electrician over from the home insurance the sellers left, who used some device on the flickering receptacles and said nothing was wrong and it was "normal."
When I was flipping circuit breakers to match them to my kitchen outlets, I found that ALL the kitchen receptacles (6) were attached to one breaker -- titled "Kitchen." But when I tried to trip that by running 6000+ watts of appliances across receptacles, it didn't trip.

It's not normal, and you probably have loose connections somewhere. As usual in my experience, "Home insurance" looks like a scam that does not solve anything. Send incompetent who sees nothing wrong, laugh all the way to the bank. Won't pay for a competent serviceman, they have their own special people who are selectively blind.
If (as Jack asks in his comment) the Kitchen outlets are on a double breaker (Multiwire Branch Circuit or MWBC - very common USA/Canada for the required two 120V 20A circuits in a kitchen) that will support 4800W - I would question whether your "6000W" worth of appliances was actually drawing 6000W, or merely "nameplate rated" for that much total.
There's often quite a difference between maximum draw and actual draw at a given time.


What should I do about nonmetallic sheathed cable that was wet? The wire running to my dryer (240V) got wet from a leaking AC window unit directly above on second floor and tripped the breaker. I saw the ground wire paper was damp after removing the outlet cover and so I let it sit for a week. Tried breaker today but it tripped again. I removed the outlet and capped the wire ends but it still flips the breaker.

Leak issue was fixed last week so no additional moisture.

Am I doing any harm (or risk) just waiting for it to dry out and flipping the breaker back on every few days?

The water alone was NOT what tripped the breaker. Water alone does not cause shorts and arcs. You have another issue somewhere in that cable run. Check every connection, box, splice, etc.

And yes, you could be doing more damage to the wire or breaker by repeatedly trying the breaker and tripping it so many times.

On another note, if you only have 12/3 going to a typical electric dryer (in the US I assume) that is NOT the correct cable. An electric dryer requires 10/3 on a 30A breaker.


How can I disable one switch in a three-way circuit? I replaced a ceiling fan with a regular light a while back that originally had 2 switches that worked it. When I was done only one switch worked. I was okay with this because I didn't use the other switch anyway. Well yesterday I removed the switch (the non used one) to put a blank plate on the wall. (To get rid of the switched that were of no use). So I capped off all wires from the switch, but now I can't use the original switch I'd been using. (It makes sense that I cause disruption in the way things connected it just didn't occur to me that it would happen). What can I do to make connection behind this plate without putting a switch back in, if anything?

The red and the black at the bottom are the hot, nothing on the others. There are three sets of wires, any help would be appreciative. They can be labeled as A B and C.

I replaced a ceiling fan with a regular light a while back that originally had 2 switches that worked it. When I was done only one switch worked, I was okay with this because I didn't use the other switch anyway. Well yesterday I removed the switch (the non used one) to put a blank plate on the wall. (To get rid of the switched that were of no use). So I capped off all wires from the switch, but now I can't use the original switch I'd been using. (It makes sense that I cause disruption in the way things connected it just didn't occur to me that it would happen). What can I do to make connection behind this plate without putting a switch back in, if anything?

The red and the black at the bottom are the hot, nothing on the others. There are three sets of wires, any help would be appreciative. They can be labeled as A B and C.

To know for sure, we need to see pictures of the wiring and switches. But I'll make an educated guess:
Common (Shared) Hot
The two switches shared a common hot wire. One hot in, two switched hots out. There are three ways to connect one hot to two switches:

Two switches built together with a common hot
This is the easy way - essentially two switches in the space of one. I know you didn't have this, because if you did then there would be no way to remove one switch without removing the other switch. But listing it for completeness.

Pigtail Hots
This is the preferred method because it avoids the problem you found. The hot wire comes in to the box and is connected to two short wires, pigtails. Each pigtail connects to one of the switches.

Daisy Chain Hots
Hot wire comes in and connects to switch # 1. Another wire connects from switch # 1 to switch # 2. The two connections on switch # 1 could be two wires under one screw (not usually recommended, but often done anyway) or one wire under a screw and one wire in a backstab connection. If you disconnect all wires from switch # 1, then there is no longer any hot wire for switch # 2.

You need to look at the wires going to the remaining switch. You should have one wire going out of the box to the light and one wire going out of the box back towards the circuit breaker. What I suspect you will find is that one of the wires actually has the other end loose, but capped, in the box. That is your formerly-hot wire. The hard part is figuring out which wire from the removed switch is the hot wire. The easiest way to figure this out is a non-contact voltage tester:

With the breaker on, use the tester to identify the hot wire. Turn the breaker off and then connect that wire to the switch instead of the loose/capped wire.


What packing material to use between a brick and house beam? I'm replacing a damaged beam under my house with bricks under each floor joist. The bricks are 15mm lower than the original beam. I've been told to use roof slates to pack the rest of the height.

I'm slightly skeptical due to slates being brittle. Could I use synthetic slates instead?

I've read about dry hard packed mortar but that isn't an option for me.

What other materials are used for packing in these instances?

Use stacked steel plates as shims. Use varying thickness's as required to ensure they are tightly packed and fully supporting the joist loads.

I'll assume the remaining structure of bricks and whatever is supporting them is properly designed and constructed, not just dry stacked (unless this is temporary, in which case do what ever works). If you live in a seismic area, the top of the bricks need to have a positive connection to the joists, not just shimmed. Your proposal sounds a bit sketchy on the surface, but it is possible to do this well and correctly, so I'll give you the benefit of any doubt and just answer your question.


Do above counter bowl sinks require special cabinets? I am currently renovating a bathroom.  In the process, I'll be replacing the ugly 1970s vanity with a new craftsman style cabinet, solid surface countertop, and two above counter glass bowl sinks.  However, I am getting a bit concerned about the sink height, as the sink will no longer be set into the vanity.  How is this typically dealt with?  Standard height cabinets?  Special cabinets that are lower/designed for these sinks?  Something else?

If the vanity is so small that it just supports the bowl but with no usable countertop, then the vanity is often lower than standard by 8" or so.

But if there is usable space on the counter than it's more important to have that work space (shave space?) at a comfortable height than it is to have the top of the sink at a standard height.


How can I fix a toilet that is backing up with sink water? I need help. I would like to avoid calling a plumber. The toilet in our downstairs bathroom keeps backing up.

Here is what I have tried and/or observed:

I tried using a good plunger. I cannot even get a little bit of the
water to drain with the plunger.
I tried using a good toilet auger.  I can get the toilet auger all the way through. I did that a couple of times. But no change.
When I turn on the faucet to the sink that is next to the toilet, the water gets rerouted back up the toilet.
I turned on all of the faucets and the shower and bathtubs upstairs and flushed the other two toilets upstairs. They all are all fine and do not impact the downstairs toilet at all.

I do not have a lot of home improvement experience. I did have to remove a toilet once before to get a toy out. It was a pain in the butt for me to do since it took me like three hours from start to caulking. But I'll try just about anything before calling a plumber.

What advice can you give me to help me fix this myself? Is it even worth removing the toilet given #3 above?

If the sink is backing up into the toilet, then the clog is at or after the junction of the two in your drain lines. You'll have to snake the drain to remove the clog, and it will likely be beyond the reach of a standard toilet auger. You could remove the trap on your sink and attempt to snake it from there, or remove the toilet and run the snake down that drain.

If you do remove the toilet, you should wait for the water in the lines to recede so it doesn't flood your floor. If you go through the sink drain, you'll likely have a smaller drain line to maneuver the snake and it's possible the clog is further away, requiring a longer snake.


What causes standard door hinges to close up to a certain amount automatically? Hopefully a relatively easy one to answer. :) My bathroom door has a standard hinge attached, that requires the door to physically be closed - this matches the setup of the other doors in my house. However, when fully opened, my bathroom door closes up to a certain point and then stops - this amount is consistent each time. What causes this to happen for certain doors, and not others? This is the only door to do this in this house, but I've seen others that have done something similar previously.

The two hinges are not exactly one above each other, in 3D. One of them is slightly left, right, front or back, relative to the other.

As such, the line going through both hinges forms a vector in space. If this vector is not straight up, when the door rotates around it, the door will go higher or lower.

Gravity is pulling the door down. As such, it will try to go to the position where the door is lower.

(following comments, I assumed passive hinges. Do you have a hinge that is supposed to close automatically?)


Easiest way to cut, shave, or chisel bottom 8" of posts to fit footings I got some 6x6's and deck post brackets that are similar to the picture below, except they're 8" high:

Come to find out, the 6x6 is slightly too large to fit inside this bracket.  Now I see how this makes sense.  It is better that the bottom of the post is notched off, so that water runs over down the side and over the metal, instead of in between the wood and the bracket.

I'm afraid this will take forever.  What is the best way to shave off the bottom of the posts?  I have 6 of them and will need to shave off 8" on all 4 sides.  I have basic tools, like a chopsaw, skill saw, table saw, but I can't figure out how to do it, except use a chisel.  And I'm afraid using a chisel will be imperfect and effect the stability.

You're going to shave the sides, not the bottom.  The stability will come from the down force on the bottom of the post - a milimeter shift laterally inside a mounted bracket is nothing.

That said - easiest approach IMO will be to set your circular saw to an extremely shallow depth and notch 8" height to that depth on TWO sides, not all four - and repeat that notch from the top line all the way down to the bottom - cutting over and over and over.  Then use a chisel to knock out the rest of the wood and clean it up some.

Something like this but with a REALLY shallow depth on your circ saw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0GJw7y9vzc


Why is my portable air conditioning unit increasing relative humidity? I have recently purchased a new portable air conditioning unit. For some reason when I am using it the RH increases rapidly. The exhaust pipe goes through the wall and appears to have a good seal. The BTU’s seem to be suitable for the room size. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the issue could be?

If the A/C unit is cooling the room but not running long enough to remove the humidity, then YES, the % of relative humidity will rise. If by chance the A/C unit is too large for the space it is cooling then it will not run long enough to reduce the relative humidity.
Also, those type units exhaust air from the room as it is running and unconditioned air has to be migrating to that room to make up for the air that is being expelled. A better choice would be a portable unit that has 2 pipes; 1 to bring in the required air for the unit to operate properly and one to exhaust the warmed air that is produced by the units operation. I call the units with 1 hose a 1/2 A/C unit since they only satisfy 1/2 of the air requirements for proper operation. For a more comfortable room you need to install the correct unit.
To better understand humidity, you need to get a book or search online and learn about the relationship between % of relative humidity and air temperatures. A quick learn is that as air temperatures fall the % of relative  humidity rises and visa-versa.


Wiring an attic light and bathroom light to a 2 gang switch I am trying to wire 2 separate lights to 2 separate switch in one 2 gang switch I'm certain that i've done everything correctly,

The attic light switch works fine, but the bathroom light switch only works when the attic switch is on???

Im sure its really simple but it wont work :@

The switch and the circuit both look dead simple. I can think of two possibilities.

(1) The switch is defective. Alternatively, the switch is not actually broken but is a special application device and it does not function the way we think it does.

You'd need to borrow or buy another switch and connect it the same way. Tell the store where you bought it that you may have a defective product.

(3) You've wired it wrong but you're blind to the error. This happens to me more often than I like to admit. The first person who comes and looks over my shoulder sees immediately what I've done wrong, and looks at me like I was a chimpanzee.

The symptom you describe indicates you may have wired the switch like this:

which is why I asked about pigtailing vs. doubling up on one terminal -- to make you look at the connections from a different perspective.


Can Armored Cable and Nonmetallic sheathed cable be used together? Can metal jacket wiring, that uses the metal jacket as a ground, be used with conventional Romex wiring?

If both wiring methods are allowed in your area then both can be used together.

As always, proper terminations and grounding must be considered.

Also be very careful. Even though you have AC cable, the older stuff, like what you have, is rarely an accepted or safe grounding path. These circuits cannot be extended.


Can I hang two inch blinds with only one inch of available window sill overhang? I just had new windows installed in the house and they look great! It's definitely time now to put up some decent looking blinds.

I love the look of the two-inch blinds (nothing fancy - most stuff at Lowes would seem to work fine), but I only have just a little over an inch of available overhang on the windows to mount the brackets under.

I'm definitely okay with the top of the blinds sticking out some, but I'm not sure if mounting the two inch bracket on only one inch of "wall" will be stable enough. If it wont be, would a 1.5" blind work?

I'd really like to mount inside the window opening rather than above if at all possible.

I have 2" blinds from Lowes, probably the same one. Our windows had enough over hang though.  If I recall, there are little metal rectangle boxes that get mounted / screwed into the top of the window, and then the the blinds slide into the little metal box to hold it in place.  These little metal brackets have numerous holes in them on both the side, and on the top.  I think there were four screw holes, one in each corner on the top, and two on the side.  If this is indeed the type of bracket your blinds come with, then you would most likely be able to get three screws in place (1 side and 2 in the top).  Then repeat that with the other side of the blind.

This should be more than sufficient to hold it in place.  I think it would look a little funny though, I would probably go with a 1.5" for looks.  But you could use a valance to cover it up and no one would even know.


No Room for Fan Wires? So I replaced a fan today, and the way the bracket is (it's quite large) there wasn't really room to stuff the wires up through the tiny hole at the top of the bracket into the wire box.

I made sure the wire nuts were very snug (and then electrical taped them up as well).

Is this ok? I've seen other youtube videos of fan installs and i've seen people do similar things with large brackets like this. I made sure to separate the white/green from the red/black as well.

I really hope this is ok, cause this fan was a PITA to install (just time consuming). Everything seems to work fine with it. I made sure the wires are secure, so nothing will be popping out and going below the bracket (not to mention they are too short to go any lower anyways).

(Just for reference, this is a picture before the fan was installed, so there is a cover plate over this that comes with the fan)

You're fine just so long as the fan enclosure covers the wires and the wires do not interfere with the rotation of the fan.


Is the ability to save pictures worth it in an inspection camera? I am about to run a whole ton of communication cable in an existing two-story house, and so I am considering buying an inspection camera to help with this. As I started looking around, they range in price from about $75 on sale to $800. I'm not a pro contractor, but this will be a tool I use a few times a year (mostly to help fishing wires), so I don't think I need anything really high-end: One model I was considering was the Royobi Tek4 Inspection Camera (which is ~$140).

What all the sub-$250 units seem to be missing is the ability to store images ("take pictures") on an SD card or whatever.

So my question is this: if you own an inspection camera, how often do you actually store images, and how useful is the ability? If you don't have a model that can do this, do you often wish you did (or end up using another camera to take a picture of the screen)? For casual, non-pro use, is it worthwhile to spend $100+ additional on this ability?

EDIT: Follow-up, a year and a bit later

I ended up purchasing a fairly simple model that doesn't have the ability to store pictures. I've taken a picture of the screen using another camera once or maybe twice. The problem is it's exceptionally hard to get a picture that has enough context for other people to understand. In most cases, you really have to be the one holding and manoeuvring it to understand what it is you're looking at.

I've used this primarily for fishing cables and drilling holes (using a very long installer's bit) inside finished walls, and it's allowed me to avoid hitting plumbing (in spots where I never would have even attempted to drill blind) and just generally work within tight spaces. It's very useful for getting a fish line through a hole in a sill plate while working through a hole in drywall the size of a single-gang retrofit box. I've also used it to see behind pipes and vents to trace wiring/plumbing.

It's one of those tools that you can get by without for the most part, but it saves a lot of time, and once you have it you start finding a lot of uses. That said, it's saved me enough time and from opening enough drywall that it's easily paid for itself.

Well, I don't think you will buy such thing again in the next years, so I suggest that you consider it a major purchase and plane for all reasonable usecases, not only for laying cables. You can use it later for all sorts of inspections - finding sources of noise, finding sources of leaks, finding clogs in ducts and sewers, etc.

I believe ability to take pictures can be worth it - you can post a picture here and ask if that's mold or you can send it to the utility company to convince them that it's a leak on the common property and not on yours or you can use it to post something really curious to your twitter/facebook/whatever account. You decide whether these usecases are worth considering and how often you might encounter them.

One very important thing is you have to actually test how the thing works. It may be that it saves pictures of infernal quality that can only be used as garbage.


Can I use a small BBQ regulator to reduce propane line pressure from 10 PSI to 11" wc? Propane company hooked up my permanent propane line today to the garage. I told them to put a T with shutoff BEHIND the 2nd stage regulator, (for a future propane generator). But they put the T in the line that comes from the high pressure regulator! (see below schematic).

So, as I understand, the T and valve output now have 10 PSI ?
I looked on the generator specs and it requires household pressure, 11" wc.

Can I use a small bbq regulator to reduce from 10 PSI to 11" wc, I found one that meets the BTU requirements of the genny.

1000 gal propane tank
|
at the tank, red high pressure regulator
|
|---at the garage, a T that goes to 1/4 turn shutoff valve---> to generator
|
at the garage, green 2nd stage regulator
|
garage heater

No. You can not put the bbq unit 'approved for occasional supervised use' on a 1000 pound propane tank.

We can, however talk about the maximum blood alcohol level of an adult, before he/she is no longer considered capable of 'supervising' a bbq.

dan - the bottle cable just is not designed for what you want to do. I can dig up UL listing information for you. But this is not about 'code', this is honestly concern about you, and your safety.

There are a few things in life that are just not worth saving a bit of money. Health care, electricity and combustible gasses are at the top of that list. There are some things, generic drugs, copper plated electrical load centers, and world series tickets that are not on the 50 yard line, some things are ok.

Doing gas lines on the cheap, please don't.

I can argue for and against what you suggest. I can not stop you from using the bottle tank hose.

You came here looking for advice, mine is don't do this.


Is it wrong to use 2 GFIC breakers on 12/3, sharing the neutral, even if the breakers are on different phases? First, I am using 12/3 romex feeding 2 new circuits to a pool area, for fans and ceiling lighting. Because of the rule, under 10ft from the pool water, you must use GFI's, I installed 2 GFI breakers.
With 2 GFIC breakers in a small 220volt  sub panel, when I turn on either breaker by itself, the breaker stays on. But when I switch the 2nd breaker on, they both trip. Doesn't matter which breaker is turned on first, the 2nd breaker will trip both. Because the fans today, draw such small power, and the ceiling lighting is all LED's, I am going to load every thing to one #12 wire and check the amp draw. If the amps are within a safe margin, I will then just use 1 GFI to protect the whole new install. I am not to crazy about running a new romex 12/4 or 12/2/2, as its sometimes marked, with 2-hots and 2-neutrals plus ground. Is there a way to share a neutral with 2 GFI's on different phases??

The reason it's tripping is that the two GFCI breakers are feeding two circuits with the common neutral and there is no way for each of them to tell if a hot-neutral imbalance is due to a leakage (which should cause a trip) or current through the other breaker.

You need to either run separate neutrals or, as @tyson commented, use a dual-poll GFCI breaker.

BTW, running a MWBC on two separate breakers is against code. They must, at least, be linked to always dual-trip.


Does Limecrete exist in North America? I've been learning a little bit about limecrete

And I thought it'd be fun to try a project with it (small one) but I can't seem to find it as a product in North America. Most (all?) references to 'limecrete' that I can find appear to be out of either Britain or in some cases, Australia.

Is it a product that is manufactured in the US at all? If so, does it go under a different common name? Is it something I could make myself using lime-based mortar perhaps?

I seriously doubt you'll find "limecrete" as a ready made product, but the lime you want (which you can then mix aggregate into) is "Mason's Lime" - unless you are abnormally brave and silly and want to risk playing with quicklime, which is VERY nasty stuff. Type S or SA (air-entraining - makes small bubbles which help various properties of the product) are probably what you want, and will be able to find at any well-stocked masonry supply.

From the second link below:

  Hydrated limes used in building applications are divided into four
  types, as described in ASTM Standard Specification C 207 (Hydrated
  Lime for Masonry Purposes): Type N – normal hydrated lime Type NA –
  normal air-entraining hydrated lime Type S – special hydrated lime
  Type SA – special air-entraining hydrated lime Types S and SA are
  differentiated from Types N and NA principally by the unhydrated oxide
  content and their water retention value. Type S must meet a water
  retention value of 85%, while Type N hydrate lime must have a water
  retention value of 75%. No distinction is made based on the nature and
  source of limestone. The maximum air content of cement-lime mortar
  made with Types NA and SA is 14%; with Types N or S lime, 7%.

Type s and sa mason's lime described.

National Lime Association

More about type S


Need advice on how to make a projector screen fit into an area We have a projector screen that can easily be lowered or raised electronically, whose top support is 113" wide, and whose physical edges are each 3 and half inches inset from the sides, so the screen itself is actually 106 inches across.  The screen requires fastening at the back to something sturdy at the extreme ends of the 113" long support, and I was hoping to hang it from the valence immediately in front of our balcony window, the valence being 114 inches wide.   On the left side of the valence is a fireplace, however, and positioned at a 45 degree angle it has a beautiful mantle that is about 5 feet up but whose corner extends about 8 inches into the area underneath the front of the valence.   The living area extends into another room on the right of the valence.  If the screen is center mounted directly on the valence, however,  then it can only be lowered about halfway before it hits the fireplace mantle, failing to clear the mantle by only about four inches.  The living area extends into another room on the right of the valence.

We have, as I see it, two options other than tossing the projector screen idea entirely.

The first option is to buy a 2x4 the width of the screen, and attach it to the valence so that it is offset slightly to the right.  Because the 2x4 would be positioning the screen an inch an a half from the valence, we would only need to push the screen two and a half inches to the right.  This would extend the screen into the adjacent room on the right but only by two and a half inches athough The screen itself sound still be entirely in the room.  It would not be centred on the valence however, and with its top extending into the next room, I fear that would look peculiar.

The other solution involves securing a 2x4 to the ceiling instead of the valence and having the screen pushed away from the valence by about 4 inches so that it can be centered on the valence, and mounted onto the side of the 2x4.  However, because the screen needs a minimum vertical clearance above its mounting points of about 3 inches this would require additional space between the 2x4 and the ceiling,  making attachment nontrivial. I am concerned if I attempt this myself, it will also look bad, but I also fear that I would not be able to afford the services of a professional that could make it look nice.  In fact,  I don't even know where to begin to inquire for such services or anyone that might know.

Obviously, I would like to minimize my costs, but I desperately need some advice from somebody with a bit of experience in home improvement.

I can take some pictures later tonight if it will help, but I hope that I have described the situation accurately enoug that at least a general idea has been conveyed.

Definitely go with the ceiling mounting. However, I prefer simple, clean & neat.

(1) Is the setup I prefer. The top hook (4) is best, as it screws into the structure's framing, if you can find it. If not, then (5) can be screwed into the drywall or plaster to receive (4). (2) & (3) also use just the drywall or plaster & give you positioning flexibility. (6) can be an open or closed  (carabiner) S-hook or even just a nut & bolt with washers, so just the top of the chain is removable.


How can I locate a mysterious leak in a 3 story rental unit? I have a 3 story rental unit with 4 apartments. The apartment on the middle floor reported that the closet wall was wet. When I checked it the wall had mold and a moist/wet feel to it. The ceiling and other walls seemed to be dry. This is an outside wall so I thought there was some type of leak behind the wall. I pulled the sheetrock to to find that there were no pipes. The outside of the house is cinder block and I discovered that the sheetock was screwed to furring strips, no insulation.

I checked the outside, no obvious cracks in the paint or holes in the wall. The nearby old window was a bit wet but there didn't seem to be any moisture on the wall under the window or to the side wall. I thought perhaps the water was somehow penetrating the block so I used drylock to seal the wall, 2 coats, added some foam insulation and sheetrocked with greenboard.

The tenant just called, 5 weeks later to say the closet was very wet and moldy. Apparently they do not use the closet very often. Above the closet are stairs heading up to the 3rd floor. There did not seem to be any moisture on the stairs when I checked.

So how do I find the source of this moisture? Especially when I don't live there myself so I can check it daily. Any advice or ideas are greatly appreciated.

you can run a dye trace on the building.  you just buy a uv trace kit and you add the different colour dyes to the suspect areas.  then wait a couple of days and check the area with the uv light.  whatever colour shows up is from the site with the leak.  you may have to repeat a few times to get it to show up.

as an aside, if its a flat roof, check the adjacent areas on the roof really closely.  its often the case that you will get a hairline crack in a sill or dam and its the cause of the problem.


What hardware do I need for selling the electricity generated by solar panels to the electric company? I understand that solar panels generate low DC voltage, and public power lines require high AC voltage. I am also aware of the device called Power Inverter which converts DC power with low voltage to (ideally same) AC power with a higher voltage.

But I don't believe that just connecting input of the inverter to solar panels and output of it to the AC line would work. I think the phases of the inverter output and the public AC voltage must match each other.

I also feel that I would need a different power-meter for my house. Because the current one is designed for one-way transfer of electricity; it may not be detecting the direction of power transfer.

What hardware is used for this purpose? I want implement the circuits myself if I can. Please guide me on this. Is there any article explaining the electronic details and background of selling home-generated DC voltage to the electric company?

You need an on-grid or grid-tie inverter, and you can buy them far cheaper than you can possibly build them. In any case the power company and electricity regulator won't let you implement the circuits yourself unless you're prepared to spend thousands on certification tests, including requirements to, for example, shutdown within a millisecond of mains loss.


What kind of dimmer switch and ceiling fan are needed to correctly wire and control a ceiling fan? I’ve read a lot about how people incorrectly install ceiling fans and control them by dimmers. As a result I want to do it right, but nowhere can I find concrete directions on what I need to do.
What kind of dimmer specifically do I need to get in order to control a ceiling fan? And what do I need to make sure I get in a ceiling fan, to make sure it can be controlled by dimmers? Eg. Do I need to make sure they are rated for a certain number of amps? What kinds of characteristics are necessary for a dimmer to control a fan and/or a light?
To be clear, I want to install a ceiling fan where I can control the light with a dimmer switch, and where I can also control the fan speed with a dimmer switch. I am also hoping to use smart switches with this, so I can control them remotely without having to use a dedicated remote (which tends to get lost). So I know one feature I need is to have separate circuits to control the fan speed and the light brightness. What else do I need to know?

You're on the right track with running separate switched hots for the fan and light
First off, you're definitely on the correct track with running separate switched hots for the fan and light; having only one switched-hot at the fan location limits your options quite severely.  To go along with this, you'll also want to have two switch gangs available at all control locations you plan to operate the light and fan from; that way, you can use separate devices for light and fan control, instead of limiting yourself to combination controllers.  Finally, you'll want to arrange your wiring so that neutral is available at the primary control location, if not all control locations; this is important as smart switches generally require neutral to power themselves properly.
Be careful when you shop for fans, though!
The other issue you'll run into is that you will need to be somewhat careful when you shop for fans.  Some newer fan designs use a DC fan motor, driven by an integral speed controller; as a result, they don't play nicely with third-party controls.  While some of these fans may be available with "smart" features out of the box, they don't lend themselves to integration with any sort of broader ecosystem of smart devices.
However, most fan controllers aren't too picky otherwise, and will work with any fan where you have to wire the light kit and fan motor to separate wires on the remote, or fans that ship without a remote for that matter, just pull chains.  Don't forget to make sure the chains are set to HIGH when you install the smart switch!
As to fan controls...
As the comments allude to, a fan requires a special fan speed controller instead of an ordinary dimmer; regular dimmers may burn out prematurely, cause the fan to hum most annoyingly, or even damage the fan itself due to overheating.  The two primary options for "smart" fan control are the Lutron Caseta fan controller, which is a good option when paired with the rest of the Caseta line or if you are interested in "spot" wireless control without any "smart" features for that matter as it can be swapped out for something else relatively easily due to being a wallbox device, and the Insteon FanLinc, which is a canopy module device that doesn't require the extra hot wire, and thus is a good option in retrofit scenarios where separate hots are unavailable, or if sophisticated scene-based control is necessary.
There are a couple of other wall-switch or canopy module options: GE/Jasco makes a Z-Wave wallbox fan controller, while there's a ceiling fan module in the Wink ecosystem if you're in Zigbee world.  There are also products that can work with an existing ceiling fan receiver/remote setup to give it Wi-Fi capability, but that's again more of a retrofit option.


How should I deal with an unused water line that's dripping? For some reason an old refrigerator water line that has not been used for months started leaking. How can I fix it?

That looks like a 1/4" copper tube with a kink in it. The kink may or may not be what's been holding the water back all this time.

A combination of fittings could be found to cap that tube. A 1/4" compression to male pipe thread adapter followed by a female threaded cap could get the job done, for example. It would be recommended to cut the tube upstream of the kink, though, because the tube is weakened at the kink and is more susceptible to failing.

The better approach is as Alaska Man wrote in a comment: there should be a valve at the other end of this tube. Likely locations for the valve include under the kitchen sink or somewhere near the water heater. The valve may need to be closed more tightly, repaired, or removed. If you can located the valve, or at least candidate(s) that might be the valve, post pictures of it/them and we may be able to advise further.


installing sliding shower door when width is larger than tub I'm looking into sliding shower doors and all the doors I see assume that you are installing to space which is the width of the tub. In my case, the end of my tub has a little shelf extending beyond the tub, around 4 inches length and 1 inch higher than the tub. Has anyone seen examples of installs with this?

Make a 2” return on each end or 4” one end to support the sliding units which takes up the extra space.

Now you have added the picture I would go for the 4” - designed to match the shelf or just completely box-in that end... but that shelf area could be useful....

Some shower screens don’t go the full length of the bath anyway - I fitted one that is 2/3 of the bath length which works fine for the shower.


engraving steel sheets with a punch set - what can go wrong? I am planning to buy some small steel sheets (such as those) and a letter punch set (such as this one) to engrave some data for safekeeping. It is for a one-off job so I am not looking to spend to much - but enough to do a good job.

I am wondering:

whether a normal (500g?) metal hammer or rubber mallet will do
whether I will need any kind of support (e.g. special bench) or if I can improvise one easily - I assume I need a hard material
whether the steel sheets are appropriate for engraving - not too hard for the punch set?
Anything else I should know or haven't planned for?

I am probably overthinking it but I would not want to realise too late that this was a bad idea!

whether a normal (500g?) metal hammer or rubber mallet will do

A 500g/1lb metal hammer should be fine. A 1000g/2lb would not be overkill

whether I will need any kind of support (e.g. special bench) or if I
can improvise one easily - I assume I need a hard material

Solid support is needed, but it need not be hard. End-grain wood is typical - a straight section of log/firewood will serve. Set on ground or a concrete floor to minimize bounce, or use a very heavy support.

whether the steel sheets are appropriate for engraving - not too hard
for the punch set?

Stainless steel in most grades is very difficult to punch as compared to mild steel. You should also realize that you are not "engraving" which is a cutting process (can be done with cutting tools or acid or electricity, but material is always removed) - you are stamping (or embossing) into the face of the material, deforming it to make an impression. In stainless steel, that deformation causes "work hardening" so it can be quite difficult and may exceed the capacity of your punch set. Using a thinner stainless sheet in "dead-soft" condition as sold might help with that.

A simple wax-resist chemical or electro-chemical engraving process might be a lot easier (coat with wax, scratch through the wax to the bare metal, immerse in an etchant bath where the bare metal is eaten away and the metal protected by wax is not.)

Anything else I should know or haven't planned for?

Wear safety glasses for sure (the potential to have a chip fly off the hammer or punch and into your eye is always there) and hearing protection of some sort is also wise when hammering.


Best lighting option for basement Bought my house back in August.  Have finished everything upstairs, so it's time to finish the basement.  It has a fixed ceiling already with 3 lights.

Two lights have pull chains and one (which you can't see but is directly to the right of the picture) turns on with a switch at the top of the stairs.  My plan was to put a few recessed LED lights down there strung together connected to the switch.  Since the ceiling is fixed, I will have to fish the wiring to the left to the other side of the basement where there is no fixed ceiling.

Any better light suggestions?  I thought maybe using rail lights, but the ceiling is only 7 ft high.

Recessed fixtures would seem like a perfectly good option, since they won't project down below the ceiling. If you wanted to get complicated (a bit of drywall work) you could actually bump them up into the ceiling a bit.

LED (generically) or "relatively efficient LED" more specifically without getting any more specific (it's a moving target anyway) is an excellent idea - you can light the whole basement on what one or two old-style bulbs took for power, and bulb replacement is a non-issue. Just do keep an eye on the lumens-per-watt figure - some are just selling not very efficient fixtures that happen to have LEDs in them in the hope that you'll see LED and ignore lumens per watt.

Given that you have the open side to fish to, I'd just wire them up and call it a day. If you also replace the switched fixture they'll connect to, you might consider dimmable LEDs (many are these days) and an LED dimmer. OTOH, if you can't think of a reason you'd want it dim/half-bright in the basement, leave the switch.


How do I determine the ideal height stool for a given height surface (table, counter, bar, etc.)? My immediate need is to ensure that I'm matching the right height stools to a kitchen island, but I assume there's a standard difference that's ideal for an eating seat to be from the eating surface?

(Note that I don't want to consider the height of the user(s); I'm looking for the best bet to accomodate most users.)

There are common established heights for table/counter surface and seating combinations. They are:

Table height: 30in (750mm), with a chair at 18in (450mm).
Counter height: 36in (900mm), with stools at 24 in (600mm).
Standard bar height: 42in (1050mm), stools at 30in (750mm).
Extra tall bar height: 48in (1200mm), stools at 36in (900mm).

(Source: runmyhouse.com)

In all these combinations, the difference in height between seat and table/counter surfaces is 12in (300mm). Whether or not this is ergonomically ideal, most people will be used to these sorts of dimensions, so sticking with them is a safe bet.


Is a vertical crack in a wall stud okay as long as the wall isn't load bearing? In the photo above you can see that a pipe was put through a 2x4 and that the 2x4 splintered/cracked somewhat as well. This is framing a bathroom in the basement. On the Framing perpendicular there is a steel beam support the house.

I don't think that the framing around the bathroom is supposed to be a major load bearing wall. Is this 2x4 okay as is or should I have it replaced?

There is no need to replace it. Just put in couple of 2 inch screws to tighten it up. ( your could squirt some wood glue into the crack for good measure before hand )

We can not see further down the wall but in theory it is attached to the 2x4 of the wall next to it so it is not carrying any load by itself.


What product will work best for repairing a clothes dryer drum which is cracking along the Weld? My clothes dryer's drum is made of aluminum rolled into a cylinder and welded together along a single seam.  The weld has developed a crack approximately 1" long, and is opened by about 1/8th of an inch.

The crack flexes on every rotation as it passes by a roller.  I've attempted fixing it with standard J-B Weld.  After sanding, cleaning, and applying a moderate layer of JB Weld to both sides I allowed it to cure 24 hours, but the crack reappeared while doing the first load of laundry.

What product(s) can I use to mend the crack and prevent it from re-opening, wihtout it failing in the heat of the dryer, or leaving residue on clothes?  I've thought of trying to combine an epoxy as well as a strap of reinforcing tape on the outside of the drum, but don't know what specific products to try.

If you can get the whole drum out take it to a welder. Something this small probably wouldn't cost much and it would be as good as new afterwards. Just make sure they can do aluminum. It's a bit different than steel and not all welders do it.


Any reason not to ground the sheathing of MX wire? Having recently bought an older house (c1943) I am doing a little work on the place. While rewiring a light switch I noted that there is newer Romex wiring from the distribution panel to the switch, but older BX (2-conductors) wiring from the switch to the light fixture.

I now need to put in a junction box nearby to join the BX and a new length of Romex (which runs to a different appliance). This gives me a chance to connect the sheathing of the BX to the Romex ground wire (which is grounded at the distribution panel). Is there any reason not to do so?

TOTALLY DIFFERENT ANSWER FROM THE ORIGINAL:

The original answer was not complete and had some misunderstandings. I hope to clarify here.

First off, there are many types of armored cable, most of which are colloquially called "BX". By "older BX" I assume you mean something like the wire at the bottom of this image:

Two conductors, no ground wire, no bonding strip. This kind of wire is an older design predating the grounding requirement. If the wire is original to the house, it was not designed to have the armor grounded (because it's 20 years older than the NEC grounding requirement itself). It's still available (hence the newer PVC insulation and overall new condition of the wire in the picture) because there are still situations in which it can be used safely (and jurisdictions that don't care); however, your situation and location probably falls under neither of those.

It can be dangerous to use the armor of older, "non-bonded" BX cable as a ground connection because:

The armor of this older cable was never rated to transmit current, much less 15+ amps of it; if it is too thin, or the run too long, it can present high resistance to current along its length, meaning less current will flow through it in a failure situation, and so the breaker may not trip when it is supposed to.
The armor may be aluminum (in fact it is likely to be), which is highly "anodic"; where aluminum touches copper (such as your proposed join between the copper Romex ground and the armor), or iron/steel (nails/screws/pipes), or really any metal besides other aluminum, zinc or magnesium, the aluminum will corrode preferentially when given any excuse at all (humidity, salt, high temperature, electrical flux) and eventually your ground path will fail.
Continuity of the armor becomes a primary concern; if the armor is damaged, its continuity can be reduced or destroyed. This can be problematic when the primary purpose of the armor as designed was to take a beating.
Aluminum, when an electrical current passes through it, heats up more than copper. In a sustained failure situation that doesn't pop a breaker/fuse, this could end up being a fire hazard, especially if there is increased resistance due to damage at any point in the armor.

It's possible, and it may even be likely, that you'll never have a problem, but electrical codes are extremely pessimistic for a reason. When "possible" takes another job on Murphy's side, and "likely" don't want to come in to work that day, that's the day you have a problem.

Nowadays, type AC cable (modern "BX") looks more like the following:

Notice the bare wire. This type of cable is designed specifically to have its armor and this "bonding strip" form the ground path in combination. You do still have to be careful about what you connect it to:

The bonding strip may still be aluminum, as in the picture (though copper-bonded AC cable is available); if so, it should not directly touch any copper or steel. You should instead ground the J-box (typically galvanized or zinc-plated steel; the zinc coating in either case protects both the steel and aluminum from galvanic corrosion) through the wiring clamp by bending the bonding strip backwards so it's also held by the clamp, then attach the copper wire somewhere else in the box (there are usually other attachment points in the J-box for just this purpose).
The bonding strip is 16AWG, because it's designed to complement the armor; if the armor is fully compromised at any point along its length, however, the bonding strip is all that's left, and it's 2AWG smaller (and aluminum provides more resistance) than the minimum gauge of copper wire rated for 15A.

This all just means you should be careful when installing it, to make sure that you don't abuse the armor or create a galvanic cell in your J-box. You also must not install this wire in any location where water could be an issue; instead, you should use a Type MC cable with a PVC outer jacket. However, if installed properly, this type of wire is perfectly safe.

Looking at the first image again, the middle cable is an example of non-bonded, grounded BX, known in the NEC as type MC (though newer MC has an extra PVC jacket between the conductors and armor; it's basically armored Romex). Because it doesn't have a bonding strip, the armor of this cable should not be used as ground. Instead, the green wire (in the image it's a very blue-green) should be used as the ground connection. MC severs these two responsibilities; the armor is there to take abuse, the ground is there to add electrical safety to the circuit.


What could be causing these oddities when replacing a power socket? Yesterday I replaced a power socket in my home. Before hand, I plugged a light into the socket, switched it on, then flipped the relevant switch in the fuse box and verified the light was out.

When replacing the socket, two strange things happened:

1) When I wired in the ground wire to the new plug, it tripped one of the two RCD switches in the fuse box, resulting in half the sockets/lights in my home going off.

2) I left the RCD switch tripped and carried on. When screwing the new socket in, I swear I got a tingling sensation in my arm, like a very mild electric shock. I was sitting on a sofa the whole time so not really in contact with much.

Do these things sound normal? The new plug works but it's metallic and I'm now terrified to touch the thing!

Sounds like there is indeed some sort of insulation problem along the line, causing both problems you describe. As Jodes said, call in a professional electrician to find the source of the problem before trying to fix anything.

When you have some sort of 'leakage electricity' while connecting the ground, it will trip the rcd (that's the very reason for having the rcds).


Redgard over the entire walls? I'm putting 12x24 tiles for a shower + glass enclosure; is it typical to paint the entire wall with Redgard or just joints that haven't been mortared yet?

If you're using Redgard as a moisture barrier (which I assume is what you're doing) you tape and mortar all the joints.  Once that's dry, you Redgard over all the cement board and mortar with two coats (1 coat = crack isolation for concrete floors, 2 coats = waterproofing membrane).


How far to put a prehung door in a rough opening? I've put in a prehung door before but the last one had a brick-mold on the exterior part of the frame and I just pushed it in until it was against the house. The prehung door I have to install now doesn't have a brick-mold, so how far do I put it into the rough opening? Should I just leave 1/2" sticking out on the inside so that the drywall will meet up even with it for trimming?

If it's pre-hung, it should be the width of your wall (sheetrock to sheetrock). That way you can easily place trim around it.


Is it ok having a ground wiring loose in the light fixture? There is a ground wire coming from the box and is attached to the green screw (grounded). There is also a ground wire coming out of the light fixture loose and not connected to anything. Is this ok?

No. If a ground wire is present, it has an intended function.

Pigtail the lamp and box wires together with the grounding conductor in the cable.


Can I hang a key hanger without attaching it to a stud? I am trying to mount a key hanger on a wall, I drilled two holes in the dry wall, they went right through with little or no resistance, I'm guessing because there was no stud behind the wall. I stuck two plastic anchors into the holes, am I safe to hang that key hanger from the holes without ripping up the wall?

Key racks tend to be fairly light, so you shouldn't have any problems using only drywall anchors.


What type of duct should I use for a clothes dryer exhaust? I am planning to relocate my gas dryer to the center of my basement. The closest vent is in one of the walls 16ft/5m away. To reach it I would need to run an exhaust pipe horizontally, enclosed in the ceiling by drywall (so preferably no leaks).
What is the best material in this case? Any tips? Is moisture pooling in the pipe a concern?
Here is what I currently know:
PVC pipes
+Can handle moisture
-Combustible
Flexible metal foil
+Not combustible
-Might increase moisture pooling due to texture
-Rust?
Sheet metal ducts
+Not combustible
+No moisture pooling
-Leaks out of horizontal and lengthwise joints?
-Rust?

Assuming the 16' distance, plus any other lengths and elbows falls within the manufacturer's guidelines, I would use sheet metal round ducts, usually 4" diameter.  If you mount them so the lengthwise seam is at the top (or close to it), then you don't have an issue with any moisture that might collect on the bottom leaking out.
Join the duct sections with metal duct tape (no screws that could collect lint) and, if you want, run a length of metal duct tape along the seam.


Are entry door systems with lock release secure? I am renovating my recently bought house. It currently has a entry door system with a lock release on the yale lock so that you can release the door from one of the handsets. something like this.

I have handsets all over the house so I opened up the entry system outside (1 screw) to make sense of all the wiring and realised that I could short circuit the power and lock wire and open the door from outside.

I would have thought that it would be more sensible if the door release circuit was not exposed outside.

Is this how they all work?

Surely this isn't secure?

Can I improve this?

If I am inferring correctly what you are describing, it sounds like the "brains" of the system are installed outside with one screw access. That, of course, is an abysmal design. The only thing that should be outside accessible would be the wires to the call button and speaker - all other wiring should be inside-access only.

If you are otherwise happy with the system, you could probably move the components that should not be outside inside, leaving only the wiring needed for the outside components running to the outside box.


What is the ideal distance between supports of a shelf? I've got 122x25x1cm and 61x25x1cm plywood boards that I want to use to make shelves for books and tools.

I'll use 2 supports for each size of board and I'd like to know how far apart they should be. Perhaps someone has developed a program that tells the answer.

Picture1 of the other parts (not sure how you call them):

1 Image from: http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/EP0404699B1/imgf0001.png

Enter The Sagulator - it's a free online calculator for sag of shelves which is a wonderful tool exactly for these questions.

Running your 2 shelf sizes, the larger shelf span (122 CM) won't hold more than about 2 KG overall without noticeably sagging. The shorter shelf (61 CM) can hold about 10 KG overall.

As you can see, 10 MM plywood isn't that stiff for shelf use. You can add a wood support under the shelf. Even a 1X2 (20 MM by 40 MM) attached vertically will increase the load capacity of the longer shelf to about 18 KG, and the short shelf to well over 100 KG.

You might consider using three support brackets for the longer shelf so that each unsupported span is 61 CM. This, together with the wood bracing under the plywood should provide decent support.

Alternatively, if you don't want to use wood bracing under the plywood, you might increase the number of supports so that the unsupported span is shorter. With a span of 30 CM the plywood can support about 35 KG. This would mean 3 supports for the 61 CM shelf, and 5 supports for the 122 CM shelf.

Edit: as the original poster and Henry Jackson suggested, the Sagulator cannot help directly with optimizing the position of the supports for the shelf - it only calculates the sag of a given length of shelf, and cannot provide the sag for a shelf that is only supported at one end. In the following diagram, the Sagulator can help with determining B, but not with determining A:

This is due to the mechanical formula used by the Sagulator. Searching a little through the reference provided by the Sagulator, we can see that the actual formula used (for uniform load with the shelf fixed to the supports) is this: Structural Beam Bending Stress & Deflection Equations / Calculation - Fixed at Both Ends with Uniform Loading. Indeed, punching the numbers gives the same result, if the Sagulator "Apply WoodBin lab correction?" is not checked - i.e. only the mechanical formula is used (based only on the dimensions and the properties of the wood).

This is all well and good, but what about dimension A for the shelf? Here comes the following formula: Structural Beam Bending Stress & Deflection Equations / Calculation - Cantilevered Beam with Uniform Load. This is the formula for measuring the maximal deflection at A. Comparing the two formulas ("Critical Deflection" in the first vs "Deflection at the unsupported end" in the second), one notices that the calculation is the same (Wl^3 / x EI) except for the fixed denominator x - 384 in the first formula and 8 in the second. This would mean that the maximal deflection for the unsupported end would be 384 / 8 = 48 times greater than the maximal deflection for the shelf supported at both ends. So, if you have a figure of 100 KG for a supported shelf span (B) of 96 CM, the maximal length of the unsupported shelf (A) that will still be able to support 100 KG is 2 CM (96 / 48 = 2).

Naturally a 2 CM shelf won't need to support 100 KG. Here some tinkering is required to get meaningful results. Using the 122 CM shelf and ignoring the width of the supports, to support a total load of 60 KG (typical for a 122 CM bookshelf fully loaded with books), we'll get about 0.5 KG per 1 CM. A span of 16.5 CM with a load of 8.25 KG will give a sag of 0.01 MM per running foot. Converting this to a shelf supported only on one end by multiplying by 48 gives us 0.48 MM per running foot, as suggested by the Sagulator for a maximal deflection visible by the human eye (0.51 MM per running foot). This will leave us with a supported shelf span of 89 CM (122 - (16.5 * 2)). This supported span can't support the needed load of 43.5 KG (60 - (8.25 * 2)). Adding a third support at the middle of the supported shelf gives us two spans of 44.5 CM, each easily carrying the 21.75 KG load:

Two points in conclusion:

All of these calculations are theoretical. Your exact shelf material and load distribution will probably behave differently. It is always better to add a safety margin for the expected load (so if you think you will load the shelf with 60 KG, design it to support 120 KG (or even more)).
The edge of the shelf supported only on one end can support 48 times less weight than the same span supported at both ends. Again, err on the side of caution and don't expect the shelf to support exactly what the calculations showed.


Standard floodlight problem I recently bought a house built in 1972. It had 4 double spotlight (standard switch controlled) at each corner of the house with the romex coming down thru a hole in the wood soffits.
Two of the fixtures didn't work and the bulbs were good.
Using a voltage tester i removed the fixtures and determined neither fixture had power at the wires.
Could the power be piggy backed off one of the working fixtures and has become detached?

The lights could be on the same switch but if the 2 working are in front there may be a second switch for the one in back.


Covering up a small mistake in flooring I installed some engineered click-lock hardwood for the first time, and I made a small mistake, I made a bad cut and the edge is a bit far from the wall. I expect I will have to pull them out and install a new piece in that spot, which isn't a huge deal, but is there an easier way to fix it? Like would it look right if I just glued down a strip?

There's no good way to secure a thin strip like that with less effort than simply replacing the faulty board. You'll regret not fixing it correctly.


after power cut - fuses all on and no power? (to pool filter) We had a power cut last night due to a thunderstrom and this morning our pool filter wouldn't turn on.

I checked all fuses in the fuse box, and everything appears to be switched on.

I have a continuity tester that shows no electric getting to the box with the pool filter timer.... but i don't see any fuses or anything on the actual pool filter.

I'm thinking if there was water (from last nights storm) that somehow had gotten into the electrical box next to the filter it would still have power from the continuity tester; leading me to believe it's a fuse issue.  But again, no out-door fuse to be found.

Any ideas on what else it may be?  I'd hate to call the electrician and find out there was a fuse i didn't know about somewhere.

any tips appreciated,

Sometimes when breakers trip, they can look like they're still on.  Try turning it off, then on again.

There may be a fused disconnect, which is just a metal box with a door, with a little handle thing inside. Pulling the handle thing out, cuts power to the fuses.  Then you'll have to remove a cover plate, to gain access the fuses.

Without seeing the equipment, it's difficult to provide an accurate answer.  If you post some photos, we might be able to help.


Align kitchen cabinets to wall, or align face frames? First time installing kitchen cabinets.  Uppers went it fine, no trouble at all.  With the base cabinets, though, I have one wall that is out of square about 1.5 inches in 12 feet.

Should I just be making them level for the countertop and plumb, as tight to the wall as possible, or should the entire run of cabinets along that wall be perfectly square to the perpendicular row?  Said differently, should I be shimming them out from the wall at each cabinet so that when I get to the last cabinet I have 1.5 inches of shims behind it?

Wouldn't that make the countertop look a little funny if it was 1.5 wider at one end than the other, especially if it's only 12 feet?

Thanks all.

You want the faces of the cabinets on the same plane, and the entire assembly as close to the wall as can be easily achieved. On average, the wall and the cabinet assembly should be roughly parallel.

If you're dealing with two sets of cabinets at right angles, you'd still want the faces of each set on plane, respectively, but you may not be able to keep a 90 degree included angle.

In this case, your biggest concern is the countertop. A pre-cut 45 degree miter affords you maybe half an inch at the most of scribe-fit depth. You need more than than, which means you'll need your countertop miter pre-cut at a custom angle. That's not a problem if the shop measures in place, but if you're buying tops from a big-box store you're in for a challenge.

Another consideration is how the cabinets align with any relevant patterns in the floor. Diverging lines can make a high-quality installation look shoddy in a hurry.


Where is my fridge leaking from? I have a Whirlpool Gold fridge, model GI6FARXXB06. It's a French door design, with the freezer on bottom, as a drawer. It has an ice maker, and water / ice through the door.

For the last several weeks, I've noticed water seeping out from around the feet. It happens intermittently, maybe every couple of days. It's not a lot of water, probably a quart (liter) at a time before I notice and clean it up.

At the same time, a sheet of ice develops in the bottom of the freezer compartment, under the drawer. It gets to 1/2" (12 mm) thick in places, maybe 3/4" (18 mm). I suspect the water seeping out around the feet is this ice melting.

I see what looks like a small stream of frozen water in the back right of the freezer compartment, from the top to the bottom. I don't see any water leaking in the fridge compartment, either under the ice maker or under the filter housing, which might be the source of that stream though.

Where might my fridge be leaking from and how can I fix it?

This model fridge like all fridges has a drain hole for the water to run out during the defrost cycle, with your fridge the drain hole is located behind the back wall in the freezer, in order to get to it the Wall has to be removed. You may need professional help. You have to remove the freezer door, The slide out drawer and ice maker,if it has one.The side rails need to be removed that hold up the slide out drawers.Now your ready to remove the back wall.now you Will have to melt the ice and remove it from the pan,once you find the drain hole you Will need to clean it out. Now you have to go behind the fridge,remove the back cover at the bottom and locate the drain tube, on the end off the tube you Will find what is called a duck bill, that needs to be pulled off and cleaned,once you do all that your ready to put it all back together.. Hope this helps you.


my new exhaust bathroom fan wiring issue The fan unit itself has a black wire, a white wire, and 2 green/yellow wires. Where do I tie in the green/yellow wires?

Green/Yellow is typically the bonding conductors (ground).  The reason there are two of them is because one bonds the fan enclosure, the the other one bonds the electrical enclosure.  Tie them to the ground wire of the cable you used to power the fan.


Is there a UK equivalent to a BC Dry Chemical Extinguisher? I realise that in the USA, you can buy a dry chemical fire extinguisher rated for class B (flammable liquids) and class C (electrical) fires. Here in the UK, class B is the same, but class C is flammable gases.

I have one of these which I bought from Argos a while back, along with a fire blanket. What would be the equivalent of a BC dry chemical fire extinguisher from the USA, in the UK?

It seems that the new type "AF" is what is recommended. It is a watermist type extinguisher. While using water seems counterintuitive, it contains an additive that renders the water non conductive. When combined with the misting properties it smothers the fire. The other advantages are that it leaves no toxic residue and can be used in small areas without the concern of lung damage that can be a issue with dry powder.


Should I COMPRESS fiberglass OR use foam insulation? I have a room made of hollowed concrete blocks that I framed by mounting 2x4s, wide side against the wall. This gives me a 1.5in depth cavity to fill with insulation.

Should I use an r19 fiberglass insulation and compress it down from 6" to 1.5"? Or should I use a 1" foam board (r5)? I know compressing insulation lowers the r value. I'd like to get the r value as high as possible (recommended is r13 in Florida)

If you use anything Use foam, fiberglass gets its R value in the volume.
The block wall actually has an R value, I think when I poured my shop walls there was foam on outside and inside and I think the wall was rated at R 50. Since you have a solid wall I might just have an air space. As 1” of foam is expensive for the R value and the air space is actually an insulator. I would base my choice on the r value of foam panels vs the cost.


Grounding for surge protection I'm running a long Ethernet cable between my garage and home (50m). How do you guys protect your long cable runs (and thus your equipment) from lightning surges?
House is separate from the garage. About a 15m 20mm PVC ducting section underground between garage and house, and then the rest up in the roof (a portion running on the outside of a wall). I was thinking of using APC Ethernet ProtectNet surge protector on both ends, however it requires a ground connection.

So 2 questions:

Can I connect this to my mains ground?
Will a large surge cause the mains to trip?

Best option - get an outdoor-rated fiber patchcord, SFPs, and switches with SFP slots for each end. You have the duct in place, this should be simple enough. Prices have come way down.

If you use the wired method, the wiring /surge device should be bonded to the house and garage grounding systems at the service entrance to each building. Using a shielded cable so you can ground the shield may be beneficial.

Typical cheapest, easiest, good-enough method for most homeowners (since fiber requires replacing your network hardware in most cases) is a point-to-point or mesh 802.11ac wireless link. This may also improve the heck out of your WiFi, depending what you have now. Not as fast as a wire or fiber, but faster than most service to the home.


What are the requirements for a header for an open passageway through two rooms? My question is for both load and non-load bearing walls.
There used to be a hinged door between the kitchen and dining room, who knows when it was removed (I've been here a couple years).  The door frame is still intact.   The opening is roughly 6'8" high and I'd like to know if I can extend this opening all the way up to the 8' ceiling.
For the second situation, I have a small hall that ends in a T-intersection where you need to turn left or right towards bedrooms.  This might be part of a load-bearing "line" of the house, for my question lets assume it is.   Similarly, can I remove the wall above this opening such that the passageway opening goes straight up to the ceiling?
I'm unclear on what the header, king, and jack requirements are for a passageway that has no door attached.
Edit: Above the ceiling is 24" tall 'attic' under a flat roof.  2x6 ceiling joists 16 OC and 2x6 roof rafters 32 OC.

It's almost surely possible but how much will you have to modify?
Let's assume a structural header is required.
If the header is already high enough, nothing might be required, just remove cripples. If the header is not high enough you may still be able to do this. You might raise a header into the attic and the use hangers to support any beams. Supporting posts would need to be installed to support the new header.


How do I get this rusted screw out? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I remove a really stuck screw?

I have to return my license plates to DMV by Friday (they expire!), and am finding it next-to-impossible to get them off my car! First I tried unscrewing them with a solid/thick flathead and neither screw would budge (there's two; 1 on each side of the license plate):

So early this morning I practically emptied a small can of WD-40 on the screws, both of them, on the front of each screw (and around them). Additionally, I pried back the license plate away from the car, and sprayed WD-40 on the back-side of the plate, around the area where the screws might be rusting/welding onto the car underneath the plate. I let it sit there soaking in the WD-40 spray for about 40 minutes, which according to the instructions, is more than enough time for it to take full action.

These screws will not budge! Either of them!

I am junking this old car, so I'm not too concerned about hurting its exterior, but I'm at a total loss as to how to get these screws off.  I have a hacksaw, but the width ("curf"?) of its blade is too thick to fit between the bulky head of the screw and the license plate (preventing me from being able to cut the head off). Not to mention I don't think I could use it anyways, because the license plate area is recessed 3 - 4 inches inward from the rest of the car's exterior, and I don't think I could fit my hacksaw into the recess.

Any ideas?

Some times tightening the screw helps un stick it.I don't mean turning it a full quarter tighten but use some force. If you hear it click/budge a bit- Spray WD-40 on it then untighten it, spray WD-40(only a short spray-don't drown it), repeat over and over and the distance will get larger and larger and eventually you will be able to unscrew with ease.

By the way- Do not use a flat screwdriver. Get a spanner that fits snug on that bolt - you will get it loose very quick with that.
To avoid this problem in the future- spend a few bux more and get stainless steel bolts/screws. Galvanized are OK- but some cheap ones rust anyway after a year or two.


Should I Use 3/4 Inch Tongue and Groove OSB for Exterior Sheathing I've recently built an addition and over ordered sub floor so the result is I have enough sub floor (3/4" tongue and groove OSB) to do a good amount of exterior sheathing.

My question however, should I? Are there consequences other than the sheer cost of the lumber to actually using this heavy grade of OSB on a 2x4 exterior wall or will it just produce a tighter, more insulated wall?

Structurally, it's not a problem. If there are windows, you may need bigger trim (surround) by 1/4". (By the way, most residential walls need to be 2x6 construction due to the energy code.)


Diode in a link wire for Thermostat? What I have is a back boiler that runs my central heating via a pump. The domestic hot water is gravity fed.

At present I have to turn the domestic hot water on via a timer switch this then gives me hot water for the central heating pump to circulate when the room thermostat dictates.

I now have a Nest thermostat, this will sometimes switch the pump on earlier depending on the temperature outside so I connected both HW and CH to come on together via the Nest thermostat but because of it's properties the house may get warm before the hot water tank. If the HW is switched on manually then so is the CH pump.

Can I change the link wire with a wire with a diode and if so can someone spec it? The reason I want to do this is to keep it compact, the HW and CH will come on via the Nest thermostat but when HW switched only the HW will come on as the Diode should stop any power going back to the Nest and pump.

Room stat has been replaced with the Nest thermostat, N & L to respective position on Nest stat, 4 & 5 to 2 & 3 on the Nest.

for the heating to work the Nest starts the CH pump but only a timer stars the boiler(been like that since installation years ago) I have linked 1 & 4 together this means the Nest switches the pump on and the link starts the boiler = good enough!
What this also means is that if the boiler terminal 1 is switched on then by virtue of the link the CH pump terminal 4 is switched on.

This is why I asked the question, to put a diode in the link between 1 & 4 so that switching 1 doesn't switch 4 on. I'm only suggesting this to keep within the existing footprint of these controls.

1 is switched live to boiler,2 is live (feeds 1 when switched on HW) 3 left vacant for this application, 4 is switched live for CH pump, 5 is live(feeds 4 when switched by room stat(Nest))

Not sure if my system is exactly the same, but I have to run the pump and boiler to get HW and the pump, boiler & a valve to get heating. The valve is a simple looking bypass thing with just live, neutral and earth and is sprung return. Now according to NEST such a system isn't compatible. However, I've wired with the live going to 2 and 6 (that's right, not 5) on the heatlink. Along with the valve on 3 and a jumper going from 3 to 4. The boiler and the pump are then on 5. This gives me full heating and independent HW control from the NEST without any relays etc. So far it's working perfectly. I looked for ages to find an answer to this and couldn't find a satisfactory one for my application. I hope this helps someone else in the same frustrating position!


What should I do with the white wire when wiring a 240 volt garage heater? I was given a 240 volt garage heater from a friend. When I built my garage I had the electrician run a wire so I could put a heater in down the road. He ran a orange wire with 4 wires in it black red white and ground. I went to make the connection in the heater today and the heater only has 2 blacks and a ground no white. So I know the blacks from the heater will get hooked to the black and red coming from the panel but what would I do with the white one. Any answer would be appreciated.

I assume you are in the USA. The heater is probably a pure 240V load with no need for the neutral (white) wire. you should simply cap the white wire with a wire nut and tuck it back into the electrical box.


Raising Door Frame On Load Bearing Wall We are in the middle of ripping out wood paneling in our living room and replacing with drywall.
After ripping out the paneling around the door we decided we'd like to raise our door frame up to be higher and to add an arch. This is our load bearing wall.
We were thinking about just doing two temporary A frames on either side of the door frame while we raise it.
Added better pictures (First one is a pan shot the beam is level and does not look morphed do to merging a large distance into a single picture)
Question: Is there a better way to go about raising the door frame or is this the easiest temporary solution.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I had a similar situation recently and here's what I did. Disclaimer-there might be better ways to do this and I suggest you wait on more answers or comments.
I created a temporary header near the doorway using 6x6's on the ceiling and floor, with bottle jacks and studs to hold the system up. I used foam board on the ceiling to not damage the drywall finish. Once everything is in place I slowly cranked up each bottle jack a little at a time until I could tell I was getting good pressure on the ceiling. If you go this route, you need to verify which way the floor and ceiling joists run, so that you can distribute the load. If you have trusses, make sure you put this on the side of the wall that keeps it under the truss. You will need someone to help get you get this set up, it's difficult to hold everything in place while working the bottle jacks.


Wavy cuts when cutting closet doors I have had this happen to me on a few closet doors I am installing. I needed to trim just a quarter inch off and I properly measure and set a straight edge before cutting. When cutting I am perfectly aligned with my measurements the entire way, but once I stand up the door the top is very wavy. So far this isn't an issue because I have trim hiding the tops, but on the next door you will be able to see the top. So I want to figure this out.

I haven't ever had issues cutting straight lines in plywood, it just seems with doors. Could it be a bent blade? I checked and it seems like my blade is square to the saw and I don't think it is a dull blade. Any suggestions?

How are you setting the circular saw when cutting? If you are clamping your straightedge so only the narrow part of the saw baseplate (1-1/2" or so away form the cut line) is on the wood, the saw is prone to wobble much moreso than when the wide part of the saw base is referenced (4-5" away from the cut.)

The other likely cause is that the surface profile of the face of the door (the raised panel section) is affecting the position of the blade as the baseplate rides along it - solve THAT by using a sawing straightedge that supports the saw above/on top of the door surface - something like a 1/2" piece of plywood 5-6 inches wide, with a straight board (or metal angle) screwed to the edge, using the saw to trim the edge of that plywood when the baseplate is run along the straightedge, and then you clamp the whole thing to the door with the cut edge aligned on your desired cut.

Something like this link, which I did not steal the idea from (it's  common idea) but which illustrates it tolerably well (they use an absurdly wide straightedge, I think) and I don't feel like taking the time to make my own illustrations, nor do I wish to steal theirs. http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/making-straight-cuts-with-a-circular-saw/

Then again, an even wider base might be easier to clamp down without getting in the way of the saw - several of their pictures seem like they have it clamped in such a way that they could not have started or won't be able to end the cut without running into the clamps.


Bathroom ceiling vent has a fan cover, and a duct behind it but no wiring. What does that do? I'm in the UK. I believe this house was built in the late 90's. The bathroom (and toilet) both have ceiling fan vents with a plastic guard covering the vent.

When I removed the guard to replace the fan, (I thought it was broken as there was no noise coming from it) I realised that there was no fan! There's also no wiring. It looks like a rubbery vent going straight up.

What's the purpose of this? It doesn't seem to be doing anything as there is mould building up in the bathroom.

Any help would be much appreciated.

I've attached a picture with the guard off for reference:

Also, apologies if this has been posted before. This setup may have a name but I don't know what it is so I'm not having much luck with Google!

It is possible there is an "inline duct fan" half way along the duct.

These are "designed to produce higher working pressures for applications that require high air flows, with low relative noise." compared to cheaper surface-mounted fans.

Your duct presumably runs through your attic/loft and is accessible from there.

There will probably be an isolation switch for the fan somewhere just outside the bathroom. This may incorporate a fuse. If so, you could check the fuse is Ok and that the switch is working.

Typically, power to the fan is provided via a pull-cord operated light-switch and often there is a separate permanent-live feed so the fan can continue to extract damp air for several minutes after the room has been vacated.


What would be a good way to run a ground from the existing grounded circuit to the new power outlet from another circuit? So after asking around here I was told that it is OK to run a ground wire from an existing near by power outlet (on a different circuit) to a new power outlet. The layout is below. The garage circuit(to the left) is something that I extended to that end of the garage using PVC conduit.

What is a recommended way to run that wire, given the below layout?

Update: here are is the type of wire that was used by the previous owner AND a close up of the point where the cable enters the wall to feed the first light and then it exits to go up and head over to the second light.
I rotated the image so you can read the wire specs, in fact the right side is the bottom of the image

My intention is to install a power outlet just below that hole
I might want to add a switch to shut off the lights when the in house switch is on so I can work with the table saw without having the lights on during the day time.

Update:
Here is a picture of the box behind the first light (the one to the left). The black (hot) wire seems to have a cracked insulation just where it exits the wall, I had to put some tape there

As per this question: https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/185137?noredirect=1 I do not need to run a ground wire as my wire already has a ground.


How to remove a tile with floor heating mat Two weeks ago I laid 1 X 2 ft ceramic tiles in my bathroom using premix tile adhesive. After reading some reviews, I should have mixed my own - lesson learned.
This weekend I added grout and all went well, but this morning (Monday) the grout around one of the tiles which aligns against the bathtub seems to be cracking/splintering slightly. I have now found that when I stand on diagonal sides of the tile and shift my weight, I hear a creaking sound. Seems that the tile is moving, hence the grout issue.
The tiles were laid on a floor heating mat.
If there was no heating mat, I wouldn't hesitate to pull up the tile, but it seems the mat will be a problem for me. I know most of you guys are not psychics, but what are my odds here of pulling up a tile and ripping up the mat also? If the tile is creaking, I assume that it is loose? Also, how does one pull up a tile?
I don't want to dog a hole bigger that I need to (so to speak). Is there an option to fix this without pulling the tile?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice.

I have repaired the issue I had with this tile. I did not take the advice given above and looked around for an alternative as the risk of damaging the tile-warmer element was too high (and expensive).
I spent a few hours and carefully dug out the grout around the tile and surrounding tiles - this was very tedious as I didn't want to damage the heating element. I vacuumed and cleaned thoroughly. I then mixed up some epoxy grout and with a putty knife pushed the grout as far as possible into the gaps. Since I had used grooved trowel to lay the tiles, the epoxy grout filled under the tile into the gaps. After 2 days I tested the tile and it does not move at all. The epoxy grout is INCREDIBLY strong and hopefully stabilized the tile. I am glad I didn't resort to breaking up the tiles.


How to attach to electrical subpanel? So I'm having some problems planning the last step of my electric run to my detached garage subpanel. I'm using 2 inch pvc buried with individual 1 gauge aluminum conductors (and a 2 gauge ground).

The garage was just built, so open walls and such. I'd kinda like to mount the subpanel between the studs and have all wiring be behind the wall. My understanding though is that since I'm using individual conductors, they have to be in an approved raceway, like PVC. 90 degree pvc bends are very large. Each one is about a foot. I'm not sure what my options are. My state uses 2014 NEC.

I was thinking:

Two LB conduit body boxes, one on each side of wall to make kind of a U? 2" ones are pretty massive so I may need to downsize to 1.5".
Two 45 degree angles may work, but the hole would be difficult for me to drill at an angle, or kinda large (i.e. out of the ground, 45 into structure, 45 on other side to straighten it out into subpanel).
I've thought about switching to a SER cable near the end, but I'm not sure how to properly join large gauge aluminum connectors. Would I be able to switch it in a conduit body piece above ground outside the structure?

I'd do (and have done) Ed's suggestion of up the wall a then LB (or LR, LL) straight into the back of the box. It works, no fuss, no muss.

If you want to come in lower for some reason, I'd stay with PVC on the exterior but transition to a metallic product (EMT, IMC, RMC) once in out of the weather. Among other things, a lot more compact than their PVC friends for the same "size product"

A handy thing I've only just now seen in PVC (but was familiar with from metal) is a "pulling elbow." Oddly called an "access elbow" for some reason in PVC?

Those are a lot more compact than an LB.

Making some assumptions about your wire insulation, I also see that your conduit fill % is quite low (generally good for pulling) but that does mean you could switch to a smaller size for the presumably short section inside the building without violating 40% fill. 1-1/4 EMT or PVC-40 would appear to work (with the assumptions I'm making, basically XHHW insulation) - you need PVC 80 where subject to physical damage, but if you are already in 2" outside that's fine if the inside is protected by being in the wall.


How can I project a clear light shape on the wall with an LED lamp? I'd like to build an installation which projects a star sky on the ceiling. The picture will explain the concept and the problem I've encountered:

As you can see, there is plenty factors that I would need to take into account which I don't know. I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach this problem and would be grateful for some buzzwords on what to google for similar projects (light projecting and similar didn't yield results).

Focusing the light requires some tinkering. The size of the hole is a factor. The distance between the light source and the apeture is another factor. Also, if you are using multiple LEDs then there will be multiple stars per hole; each LED will make a star.

Some words to google might be diffraction, interferance, and apeture. Also you could perhaps pick up some info from making an eclipse viewer.


Screw's head screwed up I guess I screwed up with a screw's head. This is not unusual and the question answered all over the place, but all existing answers I found were for wood screws.

Mine's a small (diam ~1/12th inch, length ~1/6th inch?) brazen round-headed slot screw that holds the name tag of a brazen bell system, similar to this one. The screw was turned in with too much force. When trying too loosen it, the head lost some brass around the slot, so I can't get any force into the screw with my screwdrivers any more.

What can I try, before changing the whole bell system?

The easiest way I've found to remove screws which you just cannot get purchase on with a screwdriver is to make the slot bigger. This can be accomplished with Dremel type rotary tool with a slim cutting disk. This is made easier if the head of the screw is above the working surface such as in the picture you showed. All you are trying to do is recreate the slot you've damaged. This will probably mean you'll need new screws in the end (but I think you are there already anyway). This, of course, will not work if the head is snapped off. Once the new slot is created, just use a flat tip screwdriver of the appropriate size to remove the screw. If it is still happening after this, the aforementioned processes of screw extraction would come into play.


Will 2x4 remain straight? I was able to straighten a slightly warped 10-foot piece of pressure-treated wood with clamps.

Will it warp again? If so, is there anything I can do so that it doesn’t warp?

This 2x4 is being used in a fence and it has two vertical 4x4 pieces of wood on each side.

As the temperature and humidity change, it will tend to warp again.  But, if it's securely fastened to the other fence components, that will help to keep it straight.  If it was only a tiny bit warped, you're probably just fine using it.  But if the warp was a really bad one, it could do interesting things to the fence as it reverts to its old shape.


Will many weak bulbs be more luminous than one bright one? I'm getting a floor lamp for my small apartment and want to get the best lighting I can from a single fixture.

I basically have two choices:

A reading lamp: a single 100W bulb directed towards the ceiling, plus a 60 watt bulb pointed downards.
Three 60W bulbs on one pole pointed various directions.

Which of these fixtures will put out the most light for a roughly square room?

For incsndescent bulbs, usually the opposite. -- a 100W incandescent bulb puts out more light than two 50W bulbs. Though as a single source, shadows may be more of a problem.

Not sure about fluorescents.

LEDs are probably closer to a linear relationship between wattage and lumens.


Storing latex paint in hot garage? How well does latex interior paint hold up to being stored in a hot garage over time?  I did some painting several months ago, and without thinking too much about it kept the leftover paint in the garage.  Outside temperatures sometimes reach 90+.  Should I worry about the color changing, etc.?

Update: The paint color was indistinguishable from the original.  In fact, I have used the same paint again more than a year later.

The final color of the paint depends on the ratios of the different pigments in the paint, and those ratios won't change once the paint is mixed.  The storage instructions on all the interior paints that I have say nothing about high temperatures, just to protect from freezing which I believe would cause the paint to de-emulsify.

That said, a paint can's lid doesn't form a perfect seal, and higher temperatures are going to cause volatile chemicals (including water) in the paint to evaporate faster than normal.  (I've noticed that paint that has been left open for a while and thinned with water behaves differently than a can of fresh paint -- I can't define exactly how, but it just doesn't paint as well).  However, given that it can take weeks for a coat of paint to cure fully under normal household conditions, if the can is sealed well, my SWAG is that it would take years before you'd notice a change in the paint.


Is there a low temperature thermostat that is simulatneous switching for two electric garage heaters? I want to connect two QMark MUH108 10kw electric garage heaters to a single thermostat. According to the spec sheet, this unit uses 24 V control.

It was previously asked about a low temp thermostat for an electric garage heater and the Honeywell CT50K1028/E was mentioned (which is your basic low voltage thermostat) that goes down to 35 F.

The M600S from Marley was suggested as a simultaneous switching thermostat. The temp range for it is 50deg F - 80deg F. I only want to keep the garage above freezing (at a cabin in the mtns) so 50 deg F is too high for the low end range.

Are there other options like the M600S with lower temp range or is it possible (or advisable) to connect each heater to a Honeywell CT50K1028/E?

This is a hard problem

Heaters of the 10,000 watt size use a variety of ways to support external thermostats.  Most of them use internal contactors, but most of them assume they are the only heater under external control.  Their control methods are dangerously incompatible with paralleling.

The control is simple enough - they provide two wires and you shunt them together to call for heat - but each heater needs its own "switch".

Worse, they are 240V and your selection of 240v thermostats is already quite limited.  The selection of true multi-pole 'stats is far narrower, as most "2-pole" stats actually only switch thermostatically on one leg, the other is just an on/off switch.  Your fairly specific requirements will make for hard shopping.

There may also be heaters with no thermostatic control at all, and need to be hard switched by a contactor.  The actual load is 41.7 amps, plus a fan, pushing it near 48 amps.

So my goal here is to come up with an affordable, off the shelf, legal control method that will work wih a variety of heaters and 'stats, and be understandable to any HVAC technician.

My answer is 24V control voltage just like household HVAC uses.  It's easy to wire with inexpensive off the shelf components.  Transformers are $13, you can use almost any thermostat from a $15 Honeywell to a a Nest, and it's easy to wire under the low-voltage rules.  Don't haul line voltage any farther than you have to.

Paradoxically, low voltage is the only way to switch this much current.

The basic setup is a 24V transformer typically 40 VA (watt), readily available for about $13, that mounts in a junction box lid.   Designate the two 24V wires R and C.  Then to the thermostat of your choice, which takes wires called R and W (and C if a smart stat). Then on to each furnace location, and designate the two wires going to the furnace W and C.   Here is how you hook up each type of furnace.

A furnace with onboard contactor

Generally these types of furnace support an external thermostat by providing one pair of wires.  These are to be shunted (shorted) together to call for heat.   Some of them only need to operate their internal  contactor itself (less than 1 amp) and others operate the fan also (less than 7 amps).

You use any common relay with a 24V coil.  The coil goes to R and W from your thermostat wiring.   The contacts go to the two wires the furnace provides.c. Appropriate relays are kinds that mount in a junction box "knockout" (the furnace will surely provide several of these) such as RiB or Aube relays.  An internal relay could also be mounted, such as a $12 air conditioning contactor would more than suffice.

Contactors

This is the word for a "big relay".  If you are controlling a heater that does not have its own internal contactor, (such as paralleled Cadet heaters) you will need to provide your own contactor.

And the place to look for sanely priced 50A-tier contactors is air conditioning supply, as larger air conditioners have 40-50A rated motors.  These contactors are actually made to work from thermostats.

Heat pump, ideally ground sourced

At typical electric rates, it will cost you $2.40/hour to run these heaters.  If they are on 20% of the time, that is almost $400/month.   I don't know who pays for your power or if you have a special rate plan. But the payback time for a ground-sourced heat pump would only be a few years. At which point the cost of opeation would be nearly nil compared to this.

A heat-pump does not require fat air ducts running everywhere, the units can use separate "registers" connected by Freon lines - this is called a "mini-split".

The reason to consider ground-sourcing is that if the heat pump air-sources, it will become too cold to operate some days of the year, and will "fall back" on emergency heat, which is resistive electric heating exactly like this here. In fact, with the contactors discussed, these very heaters would suffice as emergency heat.

Any heat-pump solution also provides air conditioning.