Weird wiring configuration, neutral is live I'm trying to install a wemo dimmable smart switch to replace a regular switch. The original wiring pictured below is unlike the other 8 switches I replaced in my home. It looks like it's hooked up to two switches next to each other. One of the switches does nothing. The other controls the lights and dimms them.

When I remove the extra switch from the equation and just have the white wire and the red wire hooked up to a regular switch with the black wire unattached the switch still works like it should. This tells me that the white wire is live? I tested it with an mtool and it does buzz. When I insert the smart switch white to white, red to red, black to black and green to metal frame does nothing. However, I can rearrange the wires where regardless of if the switch thinks it's on or off the lights remain on.
So the questions are:

Is the black wire neutral? If not, what is it?
Could the switch be defective or is this wiring conducive with an always on possibility?
Is there a wiring configuration that would actually work?

If you have two switches and only 3 wires feeding them then here is what they most likely did.

When creating a switch leg for lighting or other loads using non-metallic cable, the National Electrical Code requires that the white wire be connected to the hot feed to the switch and re-identified some other color (except gray). Usually it is re-identified with tape as a black wire because that is what electricians carry with them.

In your situation, the white wire would then be the hot feed to the pair of switches. After the switches, the black would go to one load while the red goes to another. If this is for a ceiling fan then the black would feed the fan and the red to the lights or vice versa.

This means there is NO neutral present at this switch location regardless that the wire there is white. Someone just never re-identified the white wire as is required by the Code.

To use a smart switch at this location you will need a smart switch(es) that does not need a neutral wire. It would use the ground wire to stay active while it waits for motion or a wifi signal. Apparently, the smart switch that you have needs a neutral since it has a white wire. Look for switches marked "NO neutral needed".

Good luck and stay safe!


What can I do about this gap between the sill/exterior board and the subfloor? I just discovered that my sill plate and joist setup is different than others I've seen (and I was a Realtor, so I've seen a lot of sills).

As you can see from the picture, there's a gap between the exterior board and the subfloor. Covering that gap, on the exterior, is just some tar paper and vinyl siding. So as you can imagine, cold air here in Maine is just pouring in.

I have two questions - is there a potential structural issue? and what should I do to fix it? spray foam? cut 2 x 6's and attach to inside?

More information: house built in '78, floor joists are insulated, area is a crawlspace, joists rest on on full length steel I-beam.

Any help would be appreciated.

There should be no gap.  Looks like shoddy construction.

See figure 16 from this page for proper alignment:

Also I have never seen a "band" or "rim" joist that are configured in the fashion described by your image.  It can't be good that half of the wall is resting out in space.

You could rip a board to fit the gap so that the weight of the wall is transferred to the foundation evenly, but I would probably call a professional to see if that option is even structurally sound.  I would not fill it with spray foam.  Fix the structure first, then insulate.


Will a lithium-ion battery powered lawn mower recharge after sitting idle though the winter? I've had a corded electric lawn mower for 5 years and I am very pleased with its performance and value. However I am not pleased with the "chain" of the cord. I do not live in the suburbs, I live in the city and do not have a large lawn, so its only annoying for about thirty minutes worth of lawn which I just live with. I am considering a new electric with batteries but herein lies my question.
I live in the north east and I only need to mow the lawn maybe three months our of the year. The rest of the year the mower and its batteries will sit idle in an unheated garage. Will the lithium-ion batteries go flat and not recharge after sitting idle though the cold winter? Will I have to constantly keep them charged wasting money?
I realize I will want to get at least 2 batteries and I'm fine with that investment if its going to worth it. I don't want to have to replace them each year.
I wanted to ask other people who live in similar climates what their experience was before cutting-the-cord, as it were.
Update:
Thanks to all the responders for your expert responses. I maybe posted on the wrong forum tho, because I was looking for people who've actually lived it and done it and not so much theory as to how it "should" work or lessons about batteries. Thx.

Lithium batteries are not lead-acid.  They don't have all those "bad habits" like decaying when left in storage.
Tiny palm-sized packs such as for power tools do tend to age like normal power-tool packs and only give you 3-5 years life... but I understand lawnmower packs are bigger.
This assumes you buy quality and not some cheapo piece o' junk off Amazon Marketplace.
However, I gather you have apprehension about large lithium packs.  Lithiums do have certain rules.

Do not discharge them literally to zero.  Now, any competent lithium battery will have a Battery Management System (BMS) to protect the battery from a variety of things (including overcharge)... and it will disconnect the battery and shut down your appliance to protect it from too-deep discharge.   That does nothing about self-discharge from long storage, and I'd suggest putting them on charger every couple of months to keep them from reaching zero.
Do not recharge them if temp is below freezing.   In fact, if you try to recharge a Tesla whose battery has deep-frozen, it will first heat and circulate battery coolant, before it attempts to charge.
Never, ever, feed them after midnight.  Just kidding!

As far as buying 2 battery packs, if the supplied battery pack lacks the range to cut the whole lawn, just put the battery back on charger and cut the rest of it later.
Lithiums are happiest working in their midrange: 20-80%.  Charging is fastest and it does not need to be tapered/limited, like it must for 0-20% and 80-100%.  That's the trick about crossing the country in an EV: you can DC fast-charge within that 20-80% range very quickly.
So if it doesn't have range for the full lawn, stop at halfway and recharge... that way you'll be recharging from 20-50% SOC and it will charge pretty fast up to 80%.... then finish.


What kind of exterior wall insulation is this? After some searching, I'm guessing it might be "encapsulated" insulation but I don't know. It's unmarked and, as you might see, it's it's tucked into the corner and bulging in the middle.

I assume that, despite the different type of insulation, it's still not right that they tucked it in like that.

I'm not really seeing the part you're referring to with it being tucked in, but it looks to me like this is just foil-faced fiberglass batt insulation. The foil acts as a radiant energy barrier.
It is built like paper-faced insulation, but with a metallic facing instead of just paper. This is supposed to add some insulation value by reflecting energy back into the conditioned space or reflecting back to the outside, depending on how it's installed (you would face the foil inside if you mostly have to heat your interior, and outside if you mostly cool the interior).


Is my AC right-sized for my house 2 years ago I had a Bryant 2 Ton 13 Seer Air Conditioner + new furnace and coils installed in my 2800 sqft ranch style house with 6 bedrooms and 2 baths split evenly between the basement and main floor. My house was built in 1962 and it has some issues. The AC always has problems keeping up when it's above 90 - 95 degrees out. But, it's gotten worse recently.

2 weeks ago we opened up the basement to the main floor in the living room. Where there used to be a door / hallway and closet, we took all that out and more or less connected the basement main room to the living room in an open floor plan. Thus, there's no closing off the basement anymore. It's always open.

Also, my AC intake is in the upstairs hallway. I have the original ductwork which is 4inch tubes coming off of a 2ft by 1ft high main supply duct. It's all in my floor, none of it is insulated. There are two vents only downstairs, which is more than enough, we usually have them closed off and the downstairs still stays about 65 degrees while the upstairs won't go below 78 on really hot days (95+)

The windows are aluminium single pane. The ceiling has on average, 2 inches of blown-in teddy bear looking insulation. I know my roof has insulation issues because I get ice blocking on the heated part of the house in the winter.

I have a few questions:

Was my AC compressor sized correctly for the house?
Did I completely mess it up by opening up the basement?
Will replacing windows and adding insulation help much?
Finally, what else can I do to make it more efficient?

The lack of insulation on the ducts in the floor is of no concern as the floor is in the conditioned space (ie, the area around the ducts is supposed to be cooled.) If the ducts were in the attic that would be a BIG deal.

The very low insulation in the attic seems like both a contributing problem, and the most easily solved one. Either rent a blower and buy some insulation or hire a company to do the whole job and insulate the attic a lot better. Read up carefully before deciding to try the "free blower with 10 bags" at the big box stores. 12-16" is a good number to shoot for, where possible, but you may (probably will) need to baffle for your roof vents at the edges to go that high.

Better windows will HELP but they are more costly and complex to do and involve a smaller area (thus, less overall contribution to the problem) than the attic does - grab the low-hanging fruit first.

Improving attic ventilation along with or before the added insulation will help with both cooling and with ice dams by keeping the attic space above the insulation closer to outside air temperature.

If you find that your system is still undersized, adding a couple of higher SEER mini-split heat/cool systems (on the upper floor, perhaps one at each end of the hallway) might be a better approach than replacing the whole thing. Might not, as well, but should at least be considered, IMHO.


Shower niche in larger cavity I’m redoing the tiles for a 3’x3’ shower stall. It’s in the corner of a room, with the side wall an exterior wall, and the wall with shower head is a dividing wall between condos. There is a half wall as the 3rd wall. I’m looking to install a niche, but I don’t want to put it in the exterior wall, so I’m planning to put the niche in the shower head wall. But that wall has non-standard stud spacing, so I’m going to build out the niche instead of using a pre-built niche box like ezniche. Howeever, in pulling out the insulation I discovered there isn’t drywall directly behind the studs in the corner but rather a larger empty cavity (see pics, its small, to the right directly behind the shower faucet studs begins a cinder block wall). In total the depth is about 10”. Id like to built it here but I’m a bit worried about (a) how to build the back of the niche, so I don’t have to build all the way back the 10” and (b) whether there is any issue with the exterior wall being next to this cavity, causing cold air to come in through the niche.
Any advice welcome

What are you planning on using on the walls and for waterproofing? If using kerdiboard you can just make the niche out of that and glue the panels together with kerdifix. It doesn't need to be supported although some blocking for it to sit on wouldn't hurt


why is my generator running but you cant plug in anything we have a new smart tool 4750 gas generator and it was working fine when we plugged it into our rv then all of sudden it stopped putting out charge but it still turns over and sounds like its working but if you plug in anything it doesn't work

Did you check to verify the circuit breakers haven't tripped. I attempted to find a manual on line and was unable to download the file from the SmartTool web site. I was checking to see if the unit came with replaceable brushes in the generator. Brush failure is pretty common issue with discount generators. If you can get replacement parts they are usually easy to replace. It can be as simple as unscrewing the cap, pull out the spring and carbon brush and install the new one. If you remove the old ones a local small engine shop may be able to match them up with a generic part.


How long does it take to make money back on a new air conditioner? I have a townhouse built in 1975 with an air conditioner on the roof. I have no idea how old it is but I can imagine it is on it's last legs. What's more, this last month's energy bill was one of our highest so I'm looking to see how much I'd save a month if it were replaced? I know ACs can be expensive but they have improved so much in their efficiency I figure at some point it'll be worth replacing the old one.

How long would I have to own the townhouse before I start to make money on a new AC?

Are there any other tips/tricks to maximize efficient usage of the old one in the meantime?

It'll depend on the SEER of the current model vs. the one you're changing to, how much you run your A/C, and the total cost of the installation.

When was the last time the current unit was inspected?  It's possible that it might have lost pressure, which will affect its efficiency, but you typically notice that the system's not able to keep up with its cooling.  Of course, depending on the coolant used, it might not be that easy to get a recharge, as the regulations on freon have changed over the years.

(note -- my knowledge of A/C recharging is based on dealing with cars, I've never done a whole house, as I have window rattlers, not a centralized system)

What I'd personally do is try to identify the model & SEER of the current unit, so you at least have an idea of how much of an improvement you'd get.  I'd also contact your local utility company, as most either have a program to check for leaks & insulation problems, or can tell you what companies in your area can provide the service.

Sealing drafts is likely going to give you the quickest ROI as it's a DIY type thing, and it's going to be useful if you change out the unit or not.


What's the proper way to flash an inside roofing corner, with self-stick membrane? What's the proper detail to apply membrane or tar paper to an inside roofing corner, where a sloped roof meets a higher wall at a corner? Of course a metal flashing goes on top of of the membrane, and the wall's WRB must lap into the metal flashing.  But here I'm asking about how to lay out the details of the bottom-most redundant water shedding layer.

Tar Paper or Membrane underneath, I've never found a single drop make it through metal flashing...that was replaced or re-faced with every new roof. If we're not talking about the slope being parallel with the wall & the slope is perpendicular throwing water at the wall, then definitely membrane as far & wide as you can under very tall & wide metal flashing.


What is the best way to repair a cracked bathtub? Close examination of the floor of my bathtub has revealed a long, thin crack in the bathtub itself.  The bathtub is one of the common plastic-feeling variety (though I am not sure if it is actually a plastic.)  What is the best way to patch this crack?

Most bathtubs that aren't cast iron or steel are acrylic plastic.

If the crack is right through the tub and water is leaking though, you should replace the tub.  If it's an emergency and you need a short-term repair, I'd use a two-part epoxy.  Choose a thin epoxy (2:1 ratio) from the selection at the home center and use a putty knife to try to force it into the crack.  Let it cure for 24 hours.  This will be at best a short term solution because if tub cracked it must be because it flexed in that spot - it will flex again and the brittle epoxy repair will crack again quickly.

If the crack is a surface scratch, it can be repaired with a repair kit such as offered by http://www.surface-repair.com/.  The problem is color matching: your tub will have changed color over time and it will be difficult or impossible to get a good match.

Another approach is using fine sandpaper.  You can get very fine wet-and-dry sandpaper at an auto parts store like Napa.  Get 320, 600, 1200 and 2000 grit.  Apply some elbow grease to the scratch with the 320.  Try to keep the scratches localized and in one direction.  Use the 320 until the scratch is gone.  Then move to the 600 and keep it up until the scratches from the 320 are gone.  By the time you're done 1200 you may be satisfied, but if not you should be able to get a fairly glossy finish with the 2000.


Outlet to Outlet/Switch Combo So I want to add a switch/outlet combo to an existing outlet line, I want the new switch to control the outlet in the fixture with it while keeping the existing outlet I had already always active. There are two conductors/one ground to the existing outlet. Do I take the neutral from the existing outlet and tie that to the hot screw of the new switch then run from the neutral of the new outlet to the neutral of the feed line?

Existing outlet should have black (hot), neutral (white) and ground. All grounds always go together and are never switched, so we can ignore them for this answer (but do connect them all together).

Change the hot & neutral going into the outlet to pigtails. Each single wire goes into a wire nut along with a short wire (same color) going to the outlet as well as a wire (same color) going to the new switch box.

The new switch box will have two sets of wires coming in:

Black/white pigtailed as noted above to the old outlet.
Black/white going to the new, switched, outlet. Black normally goes to the brass screw, white normally goes to the silver screw. Don't use the backstab connectors as they are less reliable than screw terminals.

Wire nut the two whites together. You don't need them now, but you will in the future if you ever put in a smart switch.

The black from the old outlet goes to the switch ("line" if you have "line" & "load"). This is the hot.

The black going to the new, switched, outlet goes to the switch ("load" if you have "line" and "load"). This is the switched-hot and you may want to mark it differently (e.g., red or some other color besides black, white or green) on both ends so that anyone looking at it later will know that it is a switched-hot and not a regular hot.


How do I remove shower handle to change stem? It’s an old Price Pfister 3 handle shower system. The shower leaks cold water when it’s turned off.

I watched some videos and now I can’t  get past the first step, pulling off the handle.

I removed the screw.
Soaked the handle in white vinegar with a plastic bag and rubber band.
Wiggles it. Wiggles it some more.
Nothing.

Could there be anything else holding on this handle? Is there some experienced move to reduce the pressure like turning the handle all the way open before removing?

I'm assuming the screw you removed was behind the plastic/metal cap on the front of the handle. That handle has probably been on there since you were born and will have to be worked off. What has worked for me in the past is sliding a wrench behind the handle, over that chrome sleeve and tapping the back of the handle to try and move it forward. Continue to also move the handle back and forth. If all this fails, you'll probably have to get a small wheel puller to do the job.  Good luck


Is there a 24VAC transformer for a thermostat, that fits in 1-gang wall-cavity? I'm replacing an old battery-powered thermostat with one requiring a C-wire. Unfortunately, the wires I currently have sticking from the wall are only two: White (W) and Red (R and Rc jumpered together).

If, as seems apparent, I must add a separate 24VAC transformer, what are my options? There is a standard 1-gang dual power outlet nearby, which is rarely used. Is there a transformer on the market small enough to fit into the 1-gang box instead of the outlet?

I'd then pull the wire behind sheetrock and be happy...

Update:

The new thermostat I'm trying to install is Honeywell TH8110R1008. Its basic functionality works without C-wire (on 4 AA-batteries), but to talk to remote sensors (the functionality, for which I bought it), 24VAC power is required.
The thermostats throughout the house are all connected to a TACO ZVC 406 box in the boiler room. The box has a transformer inside it, but the cables running from it to each thermostat have only two wires each: white and red. The installer must've saved a fraction of a penny per foot of the cable, but it is too late now.
To folks worrying about low/high-voltage separation -- I'm looking for a transformer, that would fit in a 1-gang box instead of the dual power socket currently there. There are external transformers out there, which plug-into the power socket and can be semi-permanently wired (like this one). But I'd like it to hide inside the wall, if at all possible, so that no wires are visible.
Regarding phase -- if I do add a separate transformer, I'll remove the jumper currently connecting the R and Rc terminals on the thermostat. The red-wire will remain on the R-terminal and the additional transformer will connect to the Rc and C-terminals.
Finally, the furnace and everything else throughout the house all use the same grounding. Can I "cheat" and simply connect the C-terminal of the thermostat to the nearby socket's ground?

Any transformer you use needs to be listed specifically for use in 120VAC wiring subject to the National Electrical Code.  Do not use some random transformer out of an electronics supply catalog, even if it is UL listed as a component.

One of the Code requirements is that high voltage and 24VAC must be separated by a divider etc.

Generally these transformers are readily available in forms which solve that problem.  For instance, a common form is a transformer built into an electrical box lid.  The low viltage terminals are on the outside of the lid, solving the separtion problem.

I see these often as 2-gang box covers (4”) and I swear I've seen them in a 1-gang (2”x4”).  We're not a product recommendation site but your question is do they exist; the answer is yes.

Phase issues

The problem you have adding a second transformer is phase.  The two transformers will both be attached to R.  If your transformer is out of phase with the furnace transformer, that means there would be 24v between your C and R, and another 24v between R and W when the furnace is off. So the thermostat would see 48V between C and W.   You'd need to check with the thermostat maker to see if it can handle that.

May not need C

Some thermostats (perhaps not yours) can also scavenge the power they need simply by being in series with the two wires R and W.  They do not need a C wire.  However this trick only works if the furnace's control relay draws a fair amount of current.  If it is too efficient, the thermostat can't scavenge enough power to function, and then they give you the advice to get a C wire.

So, you can fix this by making your furnace relay less efficient.  I would say put a resistor in parallel with W and C on the furnace, except for that "must be listed" rule.   So, use a furnace or air conditioning relay, which are readily available.  Make sure your furnace's transformer has enough power to drive it. The purpose of the relay coil is to waste energy; the contacts are connected to nothing.


How can I close a gap between my fence and my neighbor's that's on his side of the property line? My heighbor erected a fence about 4" into his property. I recently erected my fence and put the post about 2" from the property line.

I then extended the fence (boards only) to come as close to his fence as possible.

Problem is he approached me and made me remove it "because its on his property".

We obviously don't get along and he is doing this in spite. I am just worried a dog will come through or a child and potentially fall in my pool or harm my child (the dog).

How can I secure the gap while respecting my neighbor's property rights?

If you are worried about access around your pool you should be extending your fence as necessary (beginning at right angles to the end showing in the picture) so that it encloses the area of concern. That can all be done on your property with no quibbles from the neighbor.


What is the most common home automation technology? I will soon move in my new house and I am looking to create a custom home automation system using what already exists on the market.

The most important thing would be to interface well with existing products on the market, for example lamps, fridge, television, etc. Is there one mainstream radio technology that can communicate safely with most devices?

I don't want to build my own lamps, but I wouldn't mind putting together an "automation box" to meet my needs, do you have any advice?

Here are the most common technologies/protocols based on my experience purchasing devices:

Zwave: proprietary, wireless, and tons of devices available
Insteon: Uses power lines and a wireless radio for redundancy (dual-band)
ZigBee: Wireless, but shares the same spectrum as cordless phones, microwaves, etc. But you can purchase ZigBee chips without having a OEM license, so that can mean cheaper in some instances

Also, keep an eye on enOcean devices that will be getting cheaper and cheaper. They are used mostly in larger corporate buildings right now, but that could change as controller prices come down.

As far as getting started, you need some sort of controller to interface with all your devices. Have a look at MiCasVerde controller which connects to zwave devices (and many Insteon devices if you buy an additional plug component). That gives you tons of devices to interface with, but mostly on the lighting, temperature, door-locks, etc. Setting it up for controlling TV and fridge would not be trivial.

Hope that helps!


Would an opening to the outside help me dry out a basement? I had a hot tub problem which resulted in huge amounts of water gushing out into the yard.  This happened a couple of times.  (Hot tub repair company from hell.)  The hot tub is situated a few feet from the house.  The ground is still saturated like a dripping sponge.  As a result the walls and floor or the unfinished cellar, which does have a functioning sump pump, has not dried out yet, several months later.  I have tried running a dehumidifier, a fan and a space heater in the cellar, but that hasn't helped a whole lot.  I suspect it's because there is no window I can open down there.  Would it help to create a small temporary opening to the outside?  Which I would close up once I've accomplished the mission.

The floor and walls will not dry out until the ground outside absorbs the water. I would avoid making an opening in a perfectly good wall. Once the outside ground water is gone, you should start to see some improvement.
Is it possible to dig a hole where the water is bad and pump the water to a different spot far away from you house?? Just a thought.


How do I run wires for a wall-mount flatscreen TV? Like a lot of you, we have several wall-mounted LCD HDTVs in the house. The TVs have two wires -- power and HDMI -- running down the wall to the power outlet and cable box.

I've historically been too timid to try to run the wiring inside the drywall and too cheap to pay someone to do it... and I'm hoping diy.stackexchange.com can come to the rescue.

What is the easiest and least-destrictive way to run cables from behind the TV (about 4-6 feet high, depending) to the electrical junction boxes on the floor (usually about 3-4 inches high).

Solutions that are too hard/destructive for me:

Removing and then patching large swaths of drywall. I would like to keep any drywall holes to a size that can be repaired with a small drywall patch kit.
Installing an electrical junction box behind the TV. I'm not an electrician and this scares me. Also, it doesn't help with the HDMI table.

Is this possible for a novice DIYer, or do I need to call in a professional?

Monoprice has a complete kit that will allow you to cut two holes in the drywall, and then get power and also run your signal cables vertically. I believe you need to install an 'old work' (aka 'retrofit') box for the power side, but that is pretty straight forward.

Once you cut the holes, these things fit in, and have wings that tighten down onto the drywall.


Cutting a 4.5m long 2x6 in half with a circular saw My question is about cutting 2x6 boards in half with a circular saw ("Skil"-saw). Now, I've looked around, and there are many sites describing how to cut off a small piece from a larger piece, the latter you want to keep. Most of them point out that you want to clamp the longer piece to a table or a sawhorse and let the small piece drop, to avoid the piece buckling down on the saw as the cut progresses, causing it to catch and kick back.

Fair enough.

However, I would like to cut a rather long piece (4.5m, or about 15') in half right in the middle, and keep both ends. I haven't seen anything that addresses this type of situation. I can't imagine I'll be able to keep half of that long piece floating in mid air, probably ripping the wood as the cut advances and less material is left between the two parts. On the other hand, if I hold it with a support, how do I avoid the weight of the saw from causing the cut to buckle in?

My normal way to deal with this is to put 3 scraps of 2x4 on the floor.  One is on the longer board near the cut point. One is at the end of the longer board, or at least halfway.  The third is not quit halfway down the short end. This gives you 1.5" clearance.

When you make the cut, the short piece is trying to pivot upward at the saw, but the sole plate keeps it down.  If you support it at the end, it will try to drop instead, and the back end of the cut will twist.  No big deal with dimesion lumber, but can be a problem with 4x8 sheet goods.

So example:  You are cutting a 16 foot board at 11 feet.  Make your mark.  One 2x4 goes on the 11 foot side of the mark.  No terrible accuracy required.  Leave an inch or so of clearance.

One 2x4 goes anywhere between 2 and 6 feet from the far end of the 11 foot section.

On 2x4 goes about 2 feet from the cut on the 5 foot section.

You make your cut with the bulk of the saw on the 11 foot section.

If you cut a board to length with too heavy and unsupported end, you will usually get a triangular splinter coming off the supported board as you finish the cut.  For structural purposes this doesn't matter.  If you are making something that shows, you will care.

A chop saw often is on a support with entendible supports.  The supports don't have to be at the ends.


How should I wire for two side-by-side refrigerators? I’m installing a stand up fridge and stand up freezer, side by side (ie, there are two separate units). These will be in a new location so I’m adding the electrical wiring. I was going to use a 12/3 wire with a split receptacle and 20 amp breaker. Both units would be plugged into the same receptacle. Alternatively I could run two 12/2 wires and have two outlets.
I see the code in my area (Ontario, Canada) is that I can use a 14/2, 15 amp dedicated circuit (with the option of using 12/2, 20 amp). But I’m not able to find a situation where you have a Fridge and Freezer.
Specific question: is 12/3 20 amp split receptacle to plug in a freezer and fridge (side by side) meeting code?
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Ever seen a refrigerator plug?
They have a 90 degree molding on them so they are flush with the wall.  The bend is generally downward (not sideways) to the plug pins.  Plugged into the upper socket, they will block the lower socket.
So 2 fridges on 1 recep is Right Out. You'll need two receptacles.
We had a question a couple months ago from someone who did not realize this until the refrigerators arrived, drywall/paint was done. They had the good sense not to use extension cords, but it was a serious vexation... "extend with Wiremold surface conduit" was our best answer.
Separate circuits if possible
You are contemplating a Multi-Wire Branch Circuit or MWBC.  That requires a 2-pole breaker, or two 1-pole breakers with a handle-tie (which are hard to find, easier and cheaper to use a 2-pole breaker).   So clearly, you have 2 breaker spaces available for this.
The problem is, this creates a situation where one fridge's problem can take out the other fully functioning fridge.  Ask your partner how much food spoilage that would be.  A lot.
We don't like AFCI or GFCI on refrigerators because of the chance of a nuisance trip causing food spoilage.  The problem with MWBC is if one leg trips, most likely, so will the other leg due to the handle-tie.  (2-pole breakers have a feature called "common trip" which guarantees this). And if you put both fridges on the same simple circuit, same problem again.
So my advice is 2 dedicated circuits, 1 per fridge.  The most costly thing is establishing a wire-able route between panel and outlet... once you've done that, 2 cables vs 1 is no trouble at all.  Throw two 12/2's in there, done.  The second most costly thing is spaces in the panel, but you have those.  Throw the two 12/2's on separate breakers, and you're all set.
"Oh I know! I just won't handle-tie a MWBC going into a single junction box. What could possibly go wrong???" The answer is a maintainer getting nailed because they did not realize the neutral was a live wire.  Happens all the time.


Should a neutral wire ever be connected to the neutral for the power meter? I was not working with this circuit breaker box but I was interested to see what was going on with only 3 breakers for the entire apartment.  I found a neutral from the apartment going into the neutral with the power meter.  Is this safe and to code? What else is wrong with this picture?

I am not sure I understand the intent of your question.  The neutral wire is not metered.  It just passes through the meter box.  Old electric meters don't have a connection to it at all.

Electric meters monitor both hot legs and add up the kilowatt hours based on current flow through those.

 photo source.

The only remarkable thing I see in your photo is the unusually small number of circuits.  That makes sense if heating, air conditioning, hot water are provided by the landlord or commons and you don't have an electric range, laundry, etc.  Nothing but some lights and electronics.


Etching solution vs muriatic acid to prep concrete for epoxy I'm thinking of ways to remove the concrete cream from my concrete in preparation for epoxy finish. Rather than grinding, I need to use chemicals. Initially was thinking muriatic acid but it's in a basement, although pretty well ventilated and someone told me mixing the standard ratios of acid to water might cause fumes that can be even lethal (that's what he said). They suggested etching solution as a less harmful alternative but that requires a little more hands on approach and attention.

I am interested in the pros and cons of these two competing materials. I have three rooms to clean, totalling about 400 sq ft.

I use muriatic in confined spaces, yes it is bad and needs to be vented. You are the highest risk when diluting the acid. Always add acid to the water, a 70% water 30% acid will do just about any floor. If it is clean , just needs to be etched I have used 15% acid with good results, when it quits bubbling the acid is close to consumed by the reaction.  (Note this is by volume I think the acid available at home stores and pool supplies is 36% if some one wanted to get technical so the real value is only about 10% acid).


Replacing old fan switch with no ground terminal I am going through my house I just purchased that was built in the 1950s and replacing all of the light switches as the old ones are faded and quite unsightly. I noticed when I pulled out my first switch that it only has two terminals and is missing a ground terminal; however, there is bare copper wire in the electrical box along with a neutral wire. The copper wire is coming out of the same bundle of wires entering the box as show in the picture below. Pictures attached below

So my question is now that I am installing new switches that contain a ground terminal, should I use that bare copper wire as ground? Or is that possibly used to ground the electrical box, for the fan, or something else down the line?
Thanks!

You'll need to do a bit of digging and wirenut a pigtail on that ground, but yes, that is a ground and should be used to ground your switch, as well as the box if it isn't already hooked up to said box.  All metal things associated with a circuit hook up to the circuit's ground wire, by the way, so you can still hook onto it if it's grounding something "down the line" -- as long as all the cables coming in are connected to it, all the downstream boxes and devices will still be grounded.


Should I reinforce my lap-joint? I have a garden entrance gate that has rotted and I am planning to replace it.

Because it matches my neighbour's gate I want to make one that looks the same rather than buy a ready-made gate. Also, making a gate should be fun. I've not done much woodwork before so I'm pretty much a novice.

The original gate has a full frame with two stiles and three rails. It has no diagonal bracing in the frame but is faced with diagonally laid tongue & groove cladding. I guess the cladding provides sufficient bracing to resist sagging.

I can't work out how the rails were joined to the stiles, there are three plugged holes on the stile opposite the rail, so I guess there may be dowels or maybe large screws.

Anyway, I used some small scrap timber to make some test joints to see if it would be feasible for me to make a mortice & tenon joint or a lap-joint using hand tools. This was a lot of work and I'm inclined to use a lap-joint. It will mostly be hidden behind the cladding so visually it will look the same as the old gate to most people.

The lap-joint relies on glue, should I insert some screws to make the joint stronger or would that just create a pathway for water into the wood & joint?

Use waterproof glue, make the joint tight-fitting, and leave the screws on the shelf. A lap joint is one of the strongest of all the glued wood joints, and a well-fitted glued lap joint will be at least as strong without the screws as with them.

But... there's a condition. How wide are the two planks forming that joint? And which wood is being used? I ask because of wood's inherent expansion/contraction with humidity/moisture changes. If the joint is too wide for that species of wood, and the wood isn't extremely well sealed against moisture intrusion, then expansion/contraction will destroy the joint; nearly all woods expand & contract across the grain far more than they do along the grain. As the wood becomes moist, it'll become wider but not longer.

Certain woods have a very low expansion/contraction rate. Other woods have a very high expansion/contraction rate.

If the wood is extremely well sealed, its inherent expansion/contraction will be minimized, but can never be totally eliminated (there's no such thing as a perfect seal).

If you're using wide boards, and that species of wood is subject to high expansion/contraction, then neither glue nor screws will prevent the joint from failing. Better in such a case to make a different type of joint, like a dovetailed saddle joint pinned across the "inside" corner, for example. That's much more difficult to make, though. Another option would be a long mortise with a tenon narrower than the length of the mortise.

Good outdoor gate joints are difficult things to make, since they're exposed to the weather and tend to collect pockets of water after a rain.


How can I figure out where the toilet overflow pipe goes? In the toilet tank I know that the overflow pipe is there for when the toilet tank is full. However my toilets overflow pipe in the tank doesn't go back into the toilet it goes to a pipe which runs along the waste pipe but what is that pipe attached to? where does it go. We have a major leak that no one can find and I am worried that pipe is the issue when it goes into the wall that it then isn't attached to anything.
We know none of out live pipes are the issue and not our drains and waste pipe as water is clean.

The overflow pipe is for when the tank is full AND the normal fill-control system for the tank fails. If there is water entering the overflow pipe either due to a failed fill control setup or due to a leak in the connections at the bottom of the tank then that is a problem that should be fixed.

I would suggest adding some food coloring or similar dye into the tank. This should allow you to quickly determine if the water is coming from the tank or not.


Repair Small Holes In Brown Coat & Plaster Removing nails from a plaster wall results in much of the surrounding plaster cracking and falling away.  The brown coat under the plaster is a sand aggregate that also starts to crumble easily since the nail disturbs and cracks the coat.

I have attempted to just plaster over the holes but the undercoat crumbles and I end up with sand in the plaster or the plaster just 'sitting' in the hole.

What methods or tricks are there for stabilizing the brown coat and repairing the walls?

edit:

After reading Jack's answer, and getting a better vocabulary, I would agree that it is not rock lath but a brown coat as well.

That looks like brown coat (the sandy part) with a white coat over it. Just as a mention, I see no rock lath anywhere. Nevertheless, it is an easy fix. I see the brown coat has fell out from behind the edge of the white coat. Using anything to do the same around the rest of the perimeter, a pen, pencil or stiff wire to carefully scratch out enough of the brown coat so a small lip of white coat protrudes all around the hole. It doesn't have to be large, it just needs a small lip, even 1/8" over the brown coat. Brush all remaining loose sand out with a soft bristle brush.

If you have drywall mud, plop a big enough wad to fill the hole completely the first time, allowing it to squeeze out all around the hole, after that, remove the excess by pulling the putty knife, (which is I hope wide enough to span across the width of the hole, this is important) across the hole by starting at the center of the hole and pulling to the outside of the hole, doing this in all directions. Since the sand mix is so loose pulling across in one direction only will "peel" mud back out of the hole. Let it dry for a day or two, it is a lot of mud and it may even shrink and crack a little. If that holds, tape over it and finish off with a light skim over it all and sand smooth.

If you are using real plaster of paris like your post suggests you used at first, you will need to wet the hole after it has been brushed clean. A spray bottle will work for that. Dampen it enough to change the color of the sand mix, it won't take a lot, a few squeezes of the trigger at all angles to wet all sides will do. In the same way as the mud, do the same with the plaster, but this stuff sets up fast. After it is place with ooze everywhere, clean the knife off and keep it wet, do not use a dry knife over plaster, it is an entirely different beast than drywall mud. Still working from the center scrape off the excess with the wet blade, you may even be lucky enough to get it smooth enough not need any sanding. If you manage to succeed in that- congrats, it is an art in getting the right "touch" to finishing plaster. When it comes to small repairs in a plaster wall, using plaster of paris, by the pros, there is no tape needed just persistence of going over and over the hole with a sponge and wet knife to get an invisible repair.


What kind of subfloor do most people use these days? I've been reading tons on how to do a subfloor for my basement and I don't seem to be getting any closer to an answer.  So far it looks like there are 4 ways to do this: (I'm stealing a good part of Chris Jaynes answer from Should I use a subfloor for a finished basement's floor?).

Additional concerns that I have are that I want to put in cabinets with a peninsula. According to This thread, cabinets shouldn't be installed on floating floors.

And then of course, there's this problem of what to do with the existing steps.

It should be mentioned too that I'll have an unfinished portion of the basement (maybe 25%), so not sure how that affects different solutions.

The Old Fashioned (6mil + sleepers + plywood)

PROS

Tried and true method

CONS

No insulation - cold.  Nails penetrate barrier and allow the moisture in, causing mold down the road.

XPS foam insulation under 5/8" plywood subfloor (Mike Holmes / BSC recomended)

PROS

Cheap
Good R-value to provide insulation from cold.
Feels almost as warm and soft as a regular subfloor

CONS

Opinions vary about how long the foam will last before breaking down
Installation instructions vary wildly (some anchor directly to floor, others anchor through wood bracing, etc.)

Opinions vary about how much air circulation the foam would allow

1" XPS + 2x4 Sleeper + 5/8" plywood = 3 1/8" sub-floor

DRIcore-style subfloor tiles

PROS

Dimpled underside allows excellent air circulation over concrete
Feels almost as warm and soft as a regular subfloor
Most come in 2'x2' tiles so there are no 4'x8' sheets to lug around
Easy install, much like a "floating" hardwood floor
Nothing anchored into the concrete (except maybe interior walls??)

CONS

Most expensive option
Installation calls for 1/4" gap at the edges to vent.  This would vent the moisture into the wall cavity (that can't be good) if you have unfinished walls, or you are supposed to leave at least a 1/8" gap in your trim to allow it to vent into room.  I have issues with this:

If you leave a 1/8" gap then your baseboard isn't nailed into anything but the drywall
You have an ugly gap under your quarter round
Dust and whatnot can (and will) get pushed/sucked under the floor where it is moist, causing future problems

Platon/Delta-FL underlayment under 5/8" plywood subfloor

PROS

Dimpled underside allows excellent air circulation over concrete
Feels almost as warm and soft as a regular subfloor
Much cheaper than the DRIcore tiles, because the Platon is purchased separately in large rolls

CONS

More difficult to install than probably any other option
4'x8' plywood subfloor is no fun to lug around
Requires the subfloor to be anchored to the concrete
Many people complain of "clicking" noise.

I would just lay tile on the concrete. It will last longer and be less upkeep down the road. Could always get some rugs if you're worried about your feet being cold.


How to make switched Outlet control on Switched Outlet on opposite side of room Are there any on the Shelf products that allow light switches on one side of the room to control unswitched receptacles on the other side of the room? I know that you could do this with smart switches, but those are relatively expensive and I would I think that there is one that uses a RF transmitter and RF controlled relay.

You're looking for a product that works just like industry standard, connected smart switches, but is not industry standard, not connected, and uses a proprietary radio frequency.

That wouldn't have much of a market, would it?  From what you're saying, it sounds like you see the market as "it's cheaper", and you hope that incompatibility and low feature set would make it cheaper.  That would certainly make it worth less ... but as far as "cheaper", nah, that's just not how production economics work.


Unable to locate shower shutoff valve I wanted to repair a dripping in-shower valve, and as the first step searched for a shut-off valve to the shower, only to discover there is apparently none. Similarly, I cannot find a valve for the second bathroom's tub supply only. All other fixtures have their shutoff valves.

My unit is a condo in a 3-story building located in the Los Angeles county, California. According to the LA county FAQ, state and county plumbing codes are based on the 2000 Uniform Plumbing Code, and the latter, if I am understanding it correctly (version on the Watt's site, PDF, page 29), seems to require that all fixtures could be shut off without shutting off other units:

  605.3 In multi-dwelling units, one (1) or more shutoff valves shall be provided in each dwelling unit so that the water supply to any plumbing fixture or group of fixtures in that dwelling unit can be shut off without stopping water supply to fixtures in other dwelling units. These valves shall be accessible in the dwelling unit that they control.

The building was built around 1985. Hot water is heated centrally in the building, so I am looking for a pair of valves, not a small setup to overlook easily. How likely it is there is no such valve installed for the showers/tubs? What could be a less obvious location for the valve (inside the wall is very unlikely, is it?). It would not be a very big deal to arrange a time to shut off water with the neighbors, and the valves that shut off 3 units on one floor each are accessible with a step ladder in the underground garage, but I would avoid that if possible.

In my experience, with a house built in the '80s, there was no separate shower shut off valve. I had to shut the water off for the entire house to repair the fixture.


Dimmer wiring for 3 wire single pole [Edited from original version apparently read into a cell phone's voice reco.]

I am trying to wire a dimmer switch into an existing light switch that was in the box before. It had three wires connected to it:

a white wire which was labeled line negative on the old switch [NEUTRAL]
a black wire that was labeled line positive on the old switch [ALWAYS HOT]
in a red wire that is presumably the power wire To the light the light. [SWITCHED HOT]

The dimmer switch has a ground wire, a red wire, a black wire,  and a striped red wire. According to the instructions on the dimmer the black wire should be connected to power; the red wire should go out to the light; the striped red wire should just be capped; and the ground should go to the ground.

What confuses me in the situation is that the white wire coming out of the wall doesn’t actually attach to anything.  Is this correct? Do modern dimmers not need a negative [NEUTRAL] return?

You need neutral in that box. Now.

I don't mean for your current dimmer.  I mean as of 2008?, they changed the Electrical Code to require that you pull neutral down to almost every place a switch can go.   This being a "switch loop" circuit, it must be wired -- by amazing coincidence -- exactly the way it is now. Lucky you.

That means you must keep it that way.

Your particular dimmer does not require neutral. Increasingly, more and more of them do.  That's because dimmers, motion sensors, lighted switches  and smart switches are capable of doing more cool stuff when they have real neutral.   Eventually I assume you'll upgrade to LEDs and experience the limitations of this dimmer, and want to change to a better one.

In the meantime, just put a cap on it (orange or blue wire nuts are about right) and tape the cap down to the wire pretty aggressively, because wire-nuts fall off single wires very easily.  Neutral loose in that box would be a problem.


Installing tiles on bare floor after removing kitchen cabinet We had to remove a kitchen cabinet to free space for a dishwasher, and now the visible floor is bare.
I have few tiles that I would like to install on that area, but I have no idea what steps I should follow to do it the right way. it is an old kitchen, 40 years old, I can see wood floor then another layer of wood then a layer of vinyl.
I'm looking for a fast fix for that area since our plan to renovate the whole kitchen in a couple of years. Appreciate your help!

Based on the picture and what you described, you have tile set over vinyl sheet flooring that was put down over 1/4 in plywood used as underlayment, and the gray stuff underneath is the old floor boards.  I'm assuming you want to tile this because it's no longer going to have something sitting on it and you just want it to match for the next few years until you renovate the whole floor.
The easiest quickest thing to do would be to fill the gap in the thin plywood underlayment with more plywood, either same thickness or a little thicker to make up for thickness of vinyl, then set tile over that adhering it with thinset directly to that plywood.  If you don't put down plywood, you'll need to have the thinset a good deal thicker which means a) more thinset to buy+mix+handle, b) sloppy deep mess of thinset to work with and level tiles in, c) maybe over thickness spec for the thinset.  Also you'll be adhering directly to the floor boards and that's not great because a) you'll probably ruin those boards and will have to replace them if you do anything else with the floor later and b) they're almost certainly not a good substrate for tile because they flex from load and environmental changes.
Quarter inch plywood over floor boards is still not great, that tile is likely to crack either when you set something heavy on it, when the seasons change, or just from walking around in the kitchen.  Ideally, you'd make sure the structure underneath that floor is sufficiently strong so the floor doesn't flex, tare up the whole floor down to the floor boards, put down proper thickness of plywood, maybe some kind of waterproof membrane if you want a waterproof floor, then tile the whole thing wall to wall.
But as a temp fix, you can put down more plywood to make the hole less deep and protect the floorboards, set tile on it with thinset, and grout it.  You can try to knock out the cut tiles like Jack said if you want to make it more continuous.  For more info on setting tile, invest a few bucks in this book from amazon and check out the John Bridge forums.


Main breaker and branch breaker tripped simultaneously I live in a high rise apartment built in the '70s (USA), and this afternoon we suddenly lost all power to just our unit. After some investigation we found that the main disconnect (70A) powering our unit had tripped. When I looked into our own load center, the oven/range breaker (50A) was also tripped.
We weren't doing anything unusual - the oven was on and some lights, but we've often had the dishwasher/lights/hair dryers/etc. running simultaneously. I find it strange that both the 50A and the 70A tripped simultaneously. Does anyone know why this can happen?
If it's relevant, I have installed some LED light bulbs into dimmers that are not for LEDs (on different circuits from the oven/range circuit) and some of them were on at the time. Doesn't seem like that should be relevant but it's the only thing I can think of.
UPDATE - found the root cause! It turns out the range and the cooktop were combined together in a box in the cupboard with wire nuts and then a single line was run to the 50A breaker. Wires in one of the connections melted the plastic and shorted, tripping the breaker.
Currently we have only the cooktop connected, as there's significant work required to bring the unit up to the current code (last remodel was 10 years ago). They'll have to move the panel outside of the closet and increase the size as all the current spaces are doubled up.
Photo of the carnage - thank you to the poster who told me to keep the breaker shut off!

Very simple: Massive power overload from the oven.
The 70A and 50A tripping at the same time means:

Problem is past the 50A. Since that has just one appliance, we know the source of the overload.
Since 70A tripped, must be greater than 70A, which of course is also greater than 50A.
Since breakers are generally designed with a thermal trip curve to avoid trips from motor startup and similar short surges, this was likely far more than 70A, because if it was 71A it would trip the 50A quickly but not the 70A.

My guess is an element (oven or cooktop) failed but short circuited along the way, tripping the breakers.
I'd be extremely wary of turning on the 50A (the 70A is fine) without getting the oven checked by a professional first. If you're in a rental, call the landlord.


Changing old light switch 2 black wires and 1 red I am changing out light switches in a house that I have just bought and don't know how to approach this one. There are 2 black wires running into the bottom and one red one at the top. There are also 2 white wires in the box that are attached. What type of switch do I need to buy to replace this one? This switch is only connected to the outlet in the room. There are no overhead lights either.

This appears to be a conventional switch configuration. The white wire carries the neutral on to the outlet that is switched. One of the black wires is the hot. The other is an extension of the hot to some other fixture or to one half of the switched outlet. The red is the switched hot.

After removing the old switch, the preferred method is to join the two existing black wires together and to add a short additional black wire (called a pigtail). Cap it with a wirenut or use push-in connectors to attach all three wires. The other end of the pigtail goes in one side of the new switch and the red in the other.


How to install a drain cover in the shower for this opening in the floor? We have a tiled shower in the house we just bought.  The drain cover is not there anymore.

I bought the drain cover that is closest in size.  However, it does not fit perfectly. There is about 1/8" gap all around.

There are two rusted screws I believe on either side of the hole.

At first, I made a ring of plumber's putty and put it on top of the hole...and slightly in the hole.  I then sat the drain cover on it and pressed down.  I then realized that it is quite soft.

What is the best way to install the drain cover for my shower?

You bought a tub drain cover, not a shower one.  I would just use silicone in a few places to secure it.  Do not wrap the silicone all the way around as it may hinder water from going down.


Best way and best tool to file sch. 40 PVC So I'm doing some DWV plumbing, and I'm close to being finished with my project. I'm looking for advice on the best way to clean up and chamfer PVC sch. 40 pipe (I'm mostly using 1-1/2" and 2" diameter).
My question mostly is which type of metal file to use?
Also, what angle of chamfer should I strive for? Should I file towards the length of the pipe or towards the end/opening? Should I consider the file enough, or also use sandpaper, and if so, what grit?
I would have bought a Reed DEB4, but those are pricey and since I'm almost done I'm going to stick to my file/sandpaper method.
I've been Googling this question for a while. I'm very surprised that there is little info out there as of now. I saw one mention that a "Flat Super Shear File" and a shear tooth file are the best options, but no real explanations; plus I don't find either of those tools on Amazon labeled as such.

The a deburring tool made for plastic pipe is money well spent if you'll use it enough.  But the same tools that make sense for a professional don't necessarily make sense for a DIYer.  If you're doing it yourself to save money, you can very quickly lose the savings buying tools you'll probably use once or twice.  I think a plastic pipe deburring tool that will handle your 2" pipe is going to be a few bucks.
You can deburr the pipe adequately with a utility knife.  It's not fast and you have to be careful not to cut yourself or gouge up the pipe, but it can be done.  I think everyone does it when that's what's on hand, it's not worth a trip to the truck or the shop for the special tool.
There are some inexpensive options that are worth having and won't break the bank.  A simple deburring tool is never a bad addition to your tools and under $10USD:

This type of deburring tool works on both the inside and the outside, it's not real fast but faster than a knife.  It doesn't take up much space, you can put it in a shirt pocket.  It will also work on metal pipe and many other situations where you want to round off the sharp edge where you cut metal.
You can certainly get it done with a file.  Most any file will work, but a rounded one will work much better on the inside of the pipe.  If you're buying one for the task, it's nice to buy something versatile so you're more likely to get other use out of it in the future.  The most versatile file has to be the four-in-hand type, which has a flat file, rounded file, flat rasp, and rounded rasp in one tool.  Of course for reaming the inside of the pipe you'll use the rounded file, the outside, the flat file.  These are also available under $10USD.

As for angles of chamfer etc., don't sweat it.  You're not machining the barrel of field artillery, it's a plastic pipe.  About 45 degrees, take off just enough to remove the plastic shavings and make it easy to assemble the joint.  If you want to be precise about anything, better to focus on nice square cuts.


How to better waterproof the shower area? I recently started having a lot of moisture in room next to my bathroom/shower wall. Its important to add that these walls are made of plaster.

Initially I thought it was the silicone than joins the shower with the wall that was letting water pass. The shower base started separating from the silicone.

I put new silicone but there is still moisture in the room. It's not a perfect job but it should be enough to keep water out. Or at least prevent that level of moisture.

I am now starting to think that the tiles joints may let water pass. These are 3 mm joints with bitumen.

My question is:  what can I do? is it possible that the joints let moisture pass? Can I do something to isolate better the area  with silicone? Is there something I can put on the joints? Any other tips?

Yes, the tile joints do let water pass. The grout is porous, and additionally does not seal tight with the tiles as it ages (causing it to actually pull some water in via capillary action). Many tile materials are not waterproof either.

Bathroom tiling is only "waterproof" in the sense that it is a finish material that will not be damaged by water. It does not serve to create a waterproof enclosure; that needs to be built behind the tile. If that was not done correctly, any attempts to seal the grout and tile will at best only serve to delay the inevitable.


Adding a bulkhead to a framed/stud wall I am looking to build a framed/stud wall that's roughly 3500mm wide and 100mm deep but I also need to add a bulkhead to a section of it, see the image below:

Do I:

A: Build the full width of the framed wall 100mm deep (adding extra
    studs for attaching the bulkhead) and then build/attach the bulkhead
    separately?

B: Incorporate the bulkhead into the framed wall design,
    building them as corners in the appropriate places?

The bulkheads run from floor to ceiling and serve no purpose other than aesthetic appearance and housing a few spotlights, they will have no load applied to them (other than tiles), will they need to be attached to the ceiling/floor too?

Normally I'd build the two separately, as in your first plan. However, I'd use pairs of studs in an L configuration as backing for the bulkhead. This provides interior drywall backing as well as a more convenient fastening scheme.


Do modern washers heat the water if below cycle temp? As my house is currently without hot water (heater broken), I am curious if my washer has a heating element to regulate the water temp if what comes out of the pipes is below the cycle required temperature.

I would like to wash some underwear as I have no clean left but would like to use a warm cycle.

I was told that it is OK to use my dishwasher with incoming cold water because the DW has a heating element to regulate the water temp, it will just take longer.  But I was wondering if a modern clothes washer will do the same.

It would be rare indeed, and obviously it would matter what your specific brand and model was.

In general, assume no. If you want a warm-water wash with a broken hot water heater, heat up some water on the stove and pour it in as the machine is filling.

On the other hand, you might find that you can get perfectly decent results with cold water.


Do-It garage door opener will not close without holding down the button My garage door opens fine with the remote or the button. Will only close by holding the button down. I have unhooked the sensors and have disconnected the door from the opener and have the same problem. The sensors or door drag have been bypassed. What should I try next?

Having to hold down the button is a classic "something has interrupted the beam" symptom. Simply disconnecting the sensors will not bypass this behavior. If it did, then a sensor failure would cause the door to work anyway, creating a safety issue.


How do I remove this wall plate with no visible screws? I'm amazed how complicated this wall plate is to remove. It is made of plastic and accommodates a phone jack and a coaxial cable. Please see the images that accompany this question.
I've searched it thoroughly and there are no tabs anywhere on the face or edges to press in. There are no screws.
I've pulled on it pretty hard, hoping that it would pop off, but if I pulled any harder it surely would break. Of course, I had the coaxial off while I tried to remove the plate.
The brand name on the phone jack part is "KRONE". Has anyone seen a wall plate like this? If so, how do you remove it?
I have to say, I'm absolutely blown away by how ridiculously difficult this is. Any help would be appreciated.

It's not complicated, you just haven't used one before.
I use ones like it all day long.
The screws are hidden under the little rectangular plastic bits at top and bottom. Typically you push one end in and pry the other one sideways until it pops up. Sometimes you just have to pry one end until it bends far enough to release, but usually it slips under the other end if you push the other end in.
Here's one fresh out of the bag, with one opaque and one clear plastic screw cover (it comes with two of each, the clear ones normally have labels under them, which hides the screw)

OK, the other two pictures I tried to take came out even worse. The two screw covers have a lip that keeps them in place, but they are flexible so that they can bend to allow insertion/ release, and there's extra space so they can be pushed back at the end to slide sideways (on most of them, this is a design cribbed from Ma Bell back when there was only one Ma Bell.)


aluminum or vinyl for replacement glass sliding door? I'm replacing an aluminum glass sliding door. Should I replace it
with another aluminum door or go with vinyl?

Aluminum is heat conductive and sweats in the wintertime as moist, warm inside air hits it. Despite drainage built into the frame, the water also condenses on the outside of the frames and can rot out the wood that forms the rough opening. Foam sealant will help eliminate the air spaces that allow this to happen but doesn't stop any exposed surface from getting damp and dripping. In windows, this leads to black mold growing in the tracks in the winter, no matter how hard you try to keep them clean.

Vinyl is self-insulating and prevents a tremendous quantity of this condensation from happening. Quality sliding doors have a stainless steel cap-strip for the rollers to run on and will outlast the aluminum rib most aluminum doors use for support.

Extra attention must be paid to installation as the vinyl frame needs proper support, a square and flat opening that won't distort the frame, and the door track checked to be properly level and straight. Vinyl is pretty tough, but not rigid like aluminum.

Note: Always use low-expansion foam to insulate the gaps around the frame between it and the rough opening so you don't distort either type of sliding door frame.


Hardwood to Tile Different Height Transition We've just installed some large format tile in our home which required a good chunk of mortar and thinset due to its weight, and as a result we now have a large height difference in this door frame transition between the new tile and our existing wood floors. There was already a difference in height between the previous tile and the hardwood, but now it's about an inch higher.

Rather than add 4th step to the existing "steps", we would like to have one large step (or some kind of transition piece) between the tile and the hardwood floor (removing the existing steps in the process). However, the height difference is about 3" from tile to the base hardwood floor, and I can't seem to find any reducers or "ramps" that are tall enough to do the job.

Any ideas on how best to handle this? The picture below shows the threshold with the height differences labeled.

EDIT: The "schematic" isn't clear, but it's the 'vertical offset', between the upper "step" and the new tile (~1"), and then the actual wooden floors and the new tile (~3").

That's a difficult one, and probably should have been thought through before installing the tile, not after.

I like using stone thresholds (commonly marble or granite) to terminate tile, but even a 6" wide would be sitting at a steep angle to make 3" vertical offset, and still be a stumbling hazard, at least. I'd probably take out that last/first tile and chew downwards until I could set it as a ramp of more reasonable slope.

If you are just going to have a 3" step and hope not to fall on it, you could make one from wood, or you might be able to set a 2" stone threshold on edge and a 4 or 6" one flat on top of it, filled with mortar to make the step; Or, remove wood in the threshold area until you can fit a solid 3" thick stone in there flat.

Alternatively, build up a ramp on the wooden floor side.


Chimney repair for old unused flue We bought a house, built in 1986. The home has a "real" fireplace (heatilator style)- (Center flue), furnace is direct vented (now), and water heater is vented through the chimney (right flue).

The Chimney has three flues:

So here is my question....

Clearly water is getting into the chimney. It probably has been for years. I'm confused on why someone would break down a flue like this and leave it open to the elements? The house plans show the left hand side flue as being used originally for the furnace, so when they went direct vent, I "guess" they capped it off? But when you look at the water heater vent you can see it was once much larger, like for the furnace?

So I suppose it is possible this flue was never used? Clearly repair work has been performed up top to include mastic, and new caps. Why would no one cap off this flue?

I've called some masonry contractors in the area and am awaiting a visit from one of them. Should I consider using silicone/mastic and repairing the cracks and capping the flue flush to the crown with a piece of ceramic tile/stainless/aluminum OR should I consider a full chimney chase cover which I'm assuming could be cheaper in the long run as I would not have to have it resealed often or worry about more cracks in the crown?

Seeing the basement picture and the open flue picture, I'm under the impression the structure of the chimney is fine internally, am I being unrealistic given that this has been this way for a minimum of 5 years (winters, rain etc)?

I've had two masonry contractors out.  They both agreed the flue  is unused, both stated  it is a dummy flue. I'm not convinced, but it doesn't matter.

Both noted the water getting inside.  Booth discussed the cream of the crop solution,  New crown.  Neither oversold it.

One liked the idea of metal cap,  one never heard of it,  lol.

Both suggested to cementing cap the dummy flue and sealing cracks. As I know I'll never use this flue,  it made enough sense, I went this approach.

Job done as it was the simplest most immediate solution.  I suspect in the near future,  maybe next season,  I will do a stainless,  or all out copper top,  with a drip edge,  as its astute top lady longer than concrete in wet snowy buffalo weather.


Why doesn't my dehumidifier stay on the humidity setting I select? This is my 40 pint dehumidifier. I need help setting the humidity it just keeps jumping to 76• and I need it at somewhere around 45•.

You set a Relative Humidity value with a humidifier, not a temperature (as indicated on the control pad). The reason for your confusion may be that when you set some humidifiers, the set point is displayed for a short time, and then the actual RH is displayed on a long-term basis. You won't see the set RH again unless you adjust it.


How long should completely renovating a 6x12 bathroom by yourself take? I want to level set expectations with my wife for a small bathroom renovation i want to tackle on my own.

considering all the materials and fixtures will be pre-purchased and sitting in the garage prior to start. how long should a  single man renovation take?

here is my thinking, let me know if i am off my rocker on any of these estimates.

.25 days remove double vanity, medicine mirror cabinet, toilet and tub
0.5 days demo walls (tile and Sheetrock)
.25 days deliver to the dump (2 trips)
.25 days put in 2 new spot lights in pre-existing ceiling
.25 days expand electrical to include new switch for spot lights
.25 days replace ventilation fan
0.5 days close walls with concrete board
0.5 days install new bath tub and connect drain
1.5 days tile walls
0.5 days tile floor and doorway saddle
.25 days install new toilet in same spot
.25 days install new double vanity and 2 new faucets
.25 days install finishing touches and clean up

am i too optimistic on the duration of these tasks?

I don't think we can judge your estimates via the internet. Some info we don't have.

your skill level. The time it takes to do a job seems to vary about 8x from novice to expert. Since you're asking this question, you're probably on the slow end of the scale.
tools. Having the right tools makes the job go faster and produces better results, but buying a full complement of tools may not be a good idea. Stopping the work for a tool shopping trip is a big delay (or the best part!)
your time and energy. If a pro works 8hrs/day but you only work a couple hours in the evening, it will take you way longer. If you decide to work 12hrs/day but get tired, then you'll need to factor in rest time. If something else in. Your life comes up, your project may sit idle for a while.

I've found that diy projects don't save me money or time, unless they are very small. I do them because I enjoy it, and like knowing I shaped my home.


Need to cap a ceiling fan pull-chain switch hole I recently installed ceiling fans along with a remote-control module to adjust speed. As a result, I do not need or want the pull-chains to control the speed of the fan or turn on/off the light. Removing the switch itself is a trivial electrical problem of cutting the wires and tying them together, but I'm left with an ugly hole in the side of the fan.

Is there something I can use to nicely cap the hole? The fans are polished brass if that matters.

You want a hole plug something like this

These are similar to electrical knockout plugs.

If you can't find a source, you could use a brass cap on the outside and a short machine screw on the inside (with a washer if needed).

In either case, you need to be certain the capping material is not interfering with existing mechanisms or wires. Since the pull chain switch was previously in that location, room should not be a problem.

Images and links are for reference only and are not an endorsement of any product or company.


How can I handle expansion drainage from water heater? I have a couple of 150L electric water heater cylinders in the cellar, fed by mains water pressure. They're designed to bleed a little from the bottom, as water inside heats up. If they were above ground, it would be easy to pipe this water to outside. As it is, their bottoms being below ground level, that's impossible.
I have to catch the water in a tray, and periodically empty it, every few weeks.
Looking for a fix-it-forget-it solution.

This sounds like an ideal situation for a condensate pump. Those are miniature sump pumps with a built-in reservoir. You drain your seepage into this, and the pump pumps it up and away when the reservoir reaches a certain level. Just make sure you get one with the capacity to pump as high as you need to to reach the outside, a drain, or whereever you want to dispose of the water.
These also usually have a 12V NO and NC switch that you could use to wire in an alarm if you wanted to.


Staircase Design Review I am designing a staircase to be built inside a house. At the moment I am not concerned about materials or supporting structure but rather with the usability and safety. I realize I may not build a perfect staircase which is compliant with the code due to space constraints.

I have read a few articles about the requirements for safe stairs, such as angle, raiser height, tread depth, overhang length and walk line.

Based on what I have read and the set of constraints imposed by the location where the staircase has to fit, I came up with a design. I do see a few limitations of this design. Specifically, I am concerned about the following:

Some stairs have width at walk line of just ~17cm(6.6"). I've read the minimum required is ~25cm(10"). Is this going to be much of an issue?
I am not sure if I have measured the distance to the walk line correctly (please see the screenshot). Please correct me if this is wrong.
Some stairs are 10cm(~4") wide at the narrow end. Is this acceptable?
Rise is 19cm(~7.5"). Is this acceptable?

In the U.S., (I see you use cm. Metric is too difficult for us Americans,) there are several types of stairs that “bend” around corners, etc. We call them 1) spiral stairs, 2) winding stairs (your stair design), 3) curved stairs.

One of the most important requirement in the Code is that the stairs must be uniform. That means uniform height, depth, depth at wall line, etc. (I see your treads vary in width 31 cm from the narrow end.)

For spiral and winding stairs, our Code requires a minimum of 7 1/2” wide at a point 12” from the narrow end (the walk line).

Nosings shall not exceed 1 1/4” beyond the riser below and beveling nosings shall not exceed 9/16”.

Standard risers shall be a maximum of 7” and a minimum depth of 11”. However, in residences, the maximum riser height shall be 7 3/4” and the minimum tread depth of winder stairs is 10” in residences. (There are exceptions to these dimensions for spiral stairs...see above.)

Remember, using winding stairs is most dangerous descending. The likelihood of missing a narrow tread while descending is far more likely than missing a tread ascending. Make sure handrails are installed on both sides of the stairs...if not possible, make sure you have a handrail on the right side descending.

BTW, excellent drawing.


How to fix joist hangers where joist is not fully on seat of hanger This is an old house and pictures show the framing and joists around a stairway opening.

Compared to the “before” picture, you can see that the wood was removed from both sides of the double header.  The ledger shown in picture #1 (before) was removed.  Joist hangers were installed (pictures #2 and #3). However, the joists do not fully sit on the seat of the hangers. I believe the industry term is “not fully bearing” on the hanger seats.

Will this result in sagging floors or a structural failure? How should the contractor/framer fix this?

Edits 7/16/18:
1. Added “ledger” and “double header” (both are perpendicular to main joists) into the description of the problem.
2. Yes, there is a knot with a crack in the 3rd picture. What to do about it?
3. Would you suggest removing the new joist hangers and putting the ledger back in place (as it was in the first picture)?

Sorry if this sounds insulting, but that is terrible work.

Build a temporary wall underneath to hold the joists in place while this is being fixed.

Then remove the hangers, cut all the joist ends to 1-5/8" off the beam, stuff a new 2x behind, then re-apply the hangers. (Use plenty of long nails to attach the new 2x to the old beam.)


What does this square icon mean on my Honeywell thermostat? I have upstairs Honeywell Thermostat showing me a square icon since yesterday.  The upstairs AC is not working.  It is blowing air since the fan is on but the air is not cold.  I opened up the thermostat and replaced 3 AA batteries in it, but that did not make any difference.  I have tried to find the manual on the Honeywell's website, but they don't have anything there.  The picture of the icon is below.

We'd be able to know for sure with the correct model number, but assuming all Honeywell thermostats follow the same icon structure then this indicates that the Smart Response™ technology is off.

Source: Honeywell CT8602 manual

According to this similar thermostat's manual, Smart Response™ this does the following:

  Keeps you comfortable by automatically calculating exactly when the furnace or air conditioning should go on to
  have the house at the desired comfort temperature by the time you wake up or return home.
  Saves the maximum amount of energy and money by automatically remembering to adjust the temperature when
  you leave home or go to sleep.


can't find a 3uf.5uf,5uf 250vac 5 wire Ceiling Fan Capacitor what can I use instead? I've searched the internet and closet I've come to the 3uf,5uf,5uf is 4uf,5uf,5uf can I use it?

you could use individual motor run capacitors. of 3, 5, and 5uF

4,5,5 is probably close enough, especially if the 3 is only used in the speed control circuit


What could cause banging in the hot water tap? I have erratic hot water from my tap in the bathroom sink, when I turn on the hot water it runs for about 30 seconds and then bangs and the water stops. After a few seconds the water returns with a force and we have a constant banging like a machine gun, from the tap.

What could cause this, and how can I fix it?

You've got a bad valve causing the water to stop. You may be able to only replace the cartridge/valve inside the faucet to solve the issue, but keep in mind that this could also be the shutoff under the sink. As user663387 says, the banging sound is water hammer, but I suspect that's an effect rather than the cause.


Back door frame no longer square I live on the 3rd (top) floor of a condo building.  Our back door - which opens to the outside, is not square.  The building was built in 2006 and the drywall around the door at the corners is cracked and separating (the corner tape is clearly coming away).  There is visible light at the bottom of the door and it does not close properly (rubs in several places).  My suspicion is that the building has settled (this didn't happen overnight) and this is a structural issue.

So my question is twofold.  First, does my suspicion sound correct (I know it's hard to judge based on a brief description)?  Second, if I am right, what is the best way to deal with this?  I don't see any obvious exterior signs of cracking, but I'm guessing this can't be good.  It's likely the condo association's problem to address, but if there is anything I can do to alleviate the issue, I'd like to.

It's time to take photographs, measurements, and contact the association.  Take measurements periodically.  Check other windows & doors for similar problems, and ask your downstairs neighbors about the same.  The HA needs to get to the bottom of this, and only they can do it.


Why is my blower motor drawing 12 amps on low speed - and can I do better? I have an old lennox pulse furnace on the ground floor of a utility building, it is only used sporadically for air circulation not for heating.  I replaced the blower motor about 4 years ago (original had bearing problems).  This is a direct-drive configuration.
The motor is a 5-speed (EMERSON K55HXNHD-4656) 115V 10 amp.  I have the motor wired using the slowest speed.  Problem is, it runs very hot, frequently tripping it's internal heat overload when run for an extended period (4 to 6 hours).  The current draw when its running is 12 amps.  It draws about 1.5 more amps on medium speed and another 1.5 amps on the highest speed (and yes the speed does increase quite a bit for each speed).  The run capacitor is 15 uf (and it is exactly that value when measured with a capacitance meter).  I measure about 1 to 2 amps of current through the capacitor on the various speeds.
When I pull the fan assembly out of the furnace and run the fan on a bench (no ductwork involved) the current seems to go up a bit (to 14 amps) on slow speed.
When I pull the motor and run it (no fan, no load at all) the current is about 3.2 amps.  The spindle turns freely, not much friction that I can tell.
The motor won't start without the capacitor, so I guess the cap is both a start and run cap?  I don't know if the motor will keep turning if I disconnect the cap after it's started.
Bottom line:  Why the heck does the current draw go so high when it's driving the fan?
This motor/fan is unusable in this configuration given that it acts more like a heater than a fan.  I would like to be able to circulate air and hopefully do it by using more like 4 or 5 amps - is this not possible?
Or is this not a good motor to use in this situation?  What sort of efficiency can I expect (what is the best I can do current-draw wise) if I obtain a different motor (with the same frame type) even if just a single-speed 1-phase 120v ?
To what extent could the capacitor be causing the motor to run hot?  Is it possible the capacitor can test ok on a meter but in circuit it behaves differently?  Or perhaps it might run more efficiently with a different value?  What capacitor current should I read anyways?  Should the cap current be X% of overall current draw, and if so what is X ?

You can measure current - Great!
You almost certainly need to (this will sound terribly counterintuitive, but you can use an ammeter and see it!) restrict the ductwork this is connected to. There might be a large master damper, or you might have only individual dampers, or perhaps you have to add dampers or put boards partly over registers.
You have already seen the current go up in "free air" - when you restrict the ductwork, you should see the current drop. When you have restricted it enough it will be drawing 10A on "high" - based on the information you have provided.
Bottom line - when it's driving the fan, it's doing work. When it moves more air, it does MORE work. When you restrict the airflow, it does LESS work and draws LESS current. People "intuitively" tend to think that restriction makes it "work harder" but that is not the case with a centrifugal fan. It's "counter-intuitive."


Does anyone know what this type of furnace/heater is called? I have this old style of heating but I cannot find any information on it. Can anyone help? It's gas and just sorta gets hot heating the house. No blower, no ducts, just the exhaust. The brand on the front says Quaker. It's old.

It is a free standing stove or room heater that was used in homes before people installed forced air heating systems. They were used in homes where I lived growing up in the 1950's. We had 1 in our home and it heated (sort of) 3 rooms with the help of small electric fans.


Amperage, receptacles, breakers I acquired a fixer upper house built in the early 1950s. I looked into the electrical box and all the breakers there. It looks like some random assignment of breakers to the points of use throughout the house. For instance there is a sole receptacle (right under the electrical box) that has its own breaker rated 20amp. But the whole second floor (with all its receptacles and switches) is under one breaker rated 15AMP. Same thing with the whole kitchen. So I am puzzled or confused as to the power I can run simultaneously, say in the kitchen. Say on one receptacle I may have a small fridge (200W), a coil water boiler (1000W) and a toaster (700W). I am thinking that my circuit breaker (15A) will turn itself off if I run those three at the same time? What about if I run three appliances simultaneously, totaling 2000W, but plugged into different receptacles in the same kitchen? Will the sole 15A breaker switch off, or am I OK to run the appliances at the same time?  P.s. I am talking in 120V environment.

Sounds a lot like my house before I redid my kitchen. Current code requires at least two 20A circuits in the kitchen, for exactly the reasons you stated. My kitchen used to be almost all on one circuit (except the oven & cooktop).  I also have one 15A circuit that powers: kitchen lights, cooktop hood fan/light, 1/2 the bedroom lights & receptacles and 1/2 the main basement room lights & receptacles. Not unusual at all for the 1950s.
But why, you ask, if so much is crammed on each 15A circuit, is there a 20A circuit with just the one receptacle at the panel? Very simple: Your house, like mine, originally had a fuse box rather than breakers. Or even multiple boxes, using the Rule of Six. I still have mostly fuses, except for a small breaker panel added when I redid my kitchen.
In your case, my hunch is that a previous owner decided to replace the fuse box(es) with a nice big panel. When they did that, the electrician added, at very low cost, a convenience receptacle next to the panel. It is quite likely the electrician added some new circuits somewhere, but didn't bother (because it wasn't a problem at the time) to replace the existing circuits. Any of those old 15A circuits that included 14 AWG wire couldn't be changed to 20A, so even though that would be useful, especially in the kitchen, the existing circuits had to get 15A breakers.
If you have room in the panel, you can wire up new circuits to the kitchen. If you do that, they should be 20A and they must have GFCI, either in the breaker or at the first receptacle in each series.


Multisplit with MHRV, number of heads? We are reconstructing an old house. Step1 is getting a fairly airtight envelope and a lot of insulation installed.

We have the designs and a heat load analysis, saying at peak delta (minimum -17C external temp, 20C internal) there will be a total heat loss of 6kW including ventilation.

The MHRV unit has an integrated air heater and recirculating air route but our design does not allow for large warm air heating duct work, so we don't think that we could get more than 1kW or 2kW from that.

To supplement it we were offered underfloor radiant, but the price is astronomical here and we don't like it much. We much prefer the minisplit ductless feel of heating and cooling.

We are looking at supplementing the heating with Mitsubishi hyperheat, and we would really like to know if we can get away with heads in the main rooms and upstairs hallway, or would every small room need its own head? My thinking is I could get away with an 8kW heat pump and 4 heads. One in each main area, while MHRV recirculating routes would cover bedroom thermal losses. Each bedroom has a heat load of only 400 watts. Bathrooms have radiator ladders.

Is this viable or am I looking at an indoor multisplit unit per room?,

Having a split system will heat the home you do not need to have each room connected if you leave your doors open. In my area it is common to have 2 or 3 units in the large areas of the home like the dining room/ kitchen and one in the living room. And sometimes a small unit in the master bed/bath room. Your area gets colder than where I am at but it comes down to how uniform in tempature do you want the house, if you can live with doors open at night 2 inside units could do the job. If you want 1-2 degree range throughout then more small inside units would be needed.


Is this a properly done aggregate courtyard A restoration company came out to repair our aggregate courtyard that they damaged while working on our home at their cost (which they should). We also had them extend the courtyard up to the front door because the original home had a different pea gravel finish from the courtyard and didn’t look right. The portion of the porch we had agreed to pay extra for them to do but haven't paid them yet and I question whether this whole project was done right.

The existing courtyard was ~20 years old so I don’t have the expectation that they could make it exactly match but this doesn’t even look close. Ideally I thought there would be more stones showing. When I asked one of the workers he said it was because they didn’t put on the retardier right away and that they had waiting 2 hours to spray it. He said the new stuff they used no one read the directions or used before and realized it needed to be added right after the courtyard was poured. They did cover the concrete with plastic after they were done and the temperature here in NM was in the 90s during the day.  I watched what they were doing off and on and it seemed like stuff I had read on how to do aggregate. They poured it, treated it with retarder, covered it with plastic and then the next day basically they tried to pressure washer the cream to see stones and it didn’t really come off. Nothing really came off. So then they were forced to use grinders, water and brooms for the next 4 days to even make some of the stones show. I am including some pictures. The one with two different types of aggregate is the existing and the new.

Since I don’t have any comparison of what a new one looked like or if anything these guys are telling me is accurate or true,  I wanted to see what people think and if some unbiased experts can weigh in. Thank you.

I think they totally messed it up if the plan was to match that first picture. I've watch contractors install Chattahoochee patios, which are similar and they have to add the stone right after pouring and smoothing the slab. They might be able to do an acid wash to remove some of the concrete and give you what you paid for.


Uneven surface under drywall I have this small 2 inch concrete footing under my bottom plate that I am going to drywall over shortly. The concrete protrudes past the plate a half inch in some places, making it very uneven at the bottom. Should I just screw the sheetrock to the bottom plate, nearly 2 inches off the floor, then use large molding? Or is there a better way to do this?

Yeah just go with the moulding idea. Image a room with 8'3" ceilings. The drywallers aren't going to cut a 2.5" strip, they just leave the gap at the bottom.


Fix puppy chewing damage on corner of veneer cabinets Our puppy chewed on each corner of our IKEA veneer cabinets.  She chewed past to veneer to pressboard.
I would say it is light to medium damage.  The corners are still there.  She basically scraped the veneer off.
Is there a way to repair them without replacing them?

Not easy to make “invisible” joints to the surface.
So, what about adding brass corners to all corners to cover the damage.
As a bonus, they may dissuade the puppy as well.


Is this convex bend in my furnace filter slot OK? I just bought a house that has a two-year old Carrier central air/ furnace unit. The filter holder slot has a convex bend on the side closer to the furnace which makes little gaps between the filter's cardboard frame and the metal filter holder. When the fan is running I can feel a little air flowing into these gaps rather than through filter.
Here is a picture:

I'd estimate the top gap is less than 1/8" and lower is maybe 1/4". This does not change when the fan kicks in, i.e. neither the filter nor the metal frame flexes to close the gap. When the fan is running I can feel a small amount of air flowing into the gaps, which would obviously not be getting filtered.
Is this a big deal? I assume like 95%+ of the air coming in the main return duct is flowing through the filter as intended, not flowing out around it and into those gaps.
Is it worth trying to bend the right side of the frame to be more flat, or having a service tech in to straighten it?
Note that there is no door that closes to cover the filter slot. It's permanently open by design AFAIK.
Thanks.
More Pictures
Filter insertion area, filter removed:

Filter slot viewed from inside:

So the filter's cardboard frame roughly sits where these red lines are:

There should be an air filter holding frame there.   It looks like someone tried to make one or they literally got the cheapest filter frame I have ever seen.   These things should be a much thicker gauge and should firmly house the filter.
The other issue is that this should be fully enclosed with a solid cover.  There are a multitude of problems here, easily resolvable.   You need a filter holder (pan and a door).   Any AC company can install this in an hour and probably have parts on hand.
You can install this yourself if you don't mind shopping around and finding the right sizes and doing so minor duct cutting and sealing.

So based on your picture the issue isn't the effectiveness of the filter - yea that's a very very minor issue - the main issue is the inefficiency of your unit based on lost flow and disrupted flow caused by all of the "cracks".   All of the things in yellow should be caulked/sealed/taped and the filter holder should be rigid so these things can be done right.
Addendum based on comments:   An example of a filter holding frame is here.   I don't know this brand, just did a search.  Should be very rigid, should have a "door", should have a section that the filter slides into.   This is not rocket science and there are many different brands/types available.
When doing this you have two options:

You get a good, rigid, thick gauge holder.
Custom holder is securely fastened on both sides and sealed.  (This is usually thinner gauge)

You have neither.   Not really a huge deal but needs to be fixed.