Basement cinderblock wall tops - cover or fill A few spots on the top of my basement wall have had their tops hacked off for projects (ducts/plumbing/unknown). We had a mouse issue and I'm looking to close these spots up in case they are finding their way in somehow that way.

My main question is should I cap/cover them off again with some sort of tile/adhesive or do I need to fill them?

The first two locations are against the back of the house but there is another room/slab further out above it and it looks pretty dry down in the "void" of blocks. They don't appear to be filled or reinforced. I was planning to just cover these up.

The third location which is on the side of the house is where I'm unsure if I should also fill it in with rocks/mortar/anything recommended? or also just cover it up on the top. It's a difficult spot to get access to but the pics show the outside walls mortar and further into the gap there is some dirt. If you're looking at the first of these "3rd location" pics the wall to the right is where the garage would be.

Loc 1

Loc 2

Loc 3

If it were my house, I'd get several bags of Quikcrete and take the time to carefully shovel it in there with a small garden hand-shovel and maybe some sand.  Quikcrete is cheap, reinforces your foundation from other problems, and fills the air gap.  No gap, no problems.  Then like you're doing now for rodent control and insulation.  Unfortunately, I can't back this solution up with experience.


Indoor blower fan turns on and off intermittently in 10-15 min increments when system is off Bit of background: The furnace blower originally did not not turn off at all (or if it did, very rarely did so), even when set temps were reached or when the system was off (fan setting is set to auto, not on). The AC unit outside would shut off when the set temp was reached, but the fan inside continued to blow. I called a technician, who said the issue was probably a bad fan switch relay and it was replaced.

Now the fan does turn off, but it doesn't appear to remain off. Even when the system is set to off, the fan randomly turns back on and off every 10-15 minutes. The technician reinspected it but said there's no apparent reason it should be doing this. As the fan doesn't turn on for a while after the system is off, he wasn't really able to verify that the fan was doing this. He replaced the relay again with a more "heavy duty" one, and just told me that even if just the blower is running, it shouldn't draw much power/create a high bill (my HVAC is all electric).

Is there any other reason it could be doing this? Is the relay still the problem? Or is this how they're supposed to operate (furnace/house is approx. 3 years old)? I had a much older home/hvac system before this and recently moved into this one so I'm not really familiar with the newer systems.

Most furnaces I am familiar with have a thermocouple or timer switch that allows the fan to go into a cool down cycle before shutting off. I would start looking there.


Can POP (Plaster of Paris) and Paint done without waiting I am undergoing paint in my house and POP at same time.

A guy did a POP in most of the rooms.

Now after how much time i allow a painter to start doing a putty and paint on it or should they wait for some time.

Overall i want to ask how much time i left POP to fully dry before painters can start doing their work?

POP (plaster of paris) achieves full hardness in about 12 days at STP.  but for your purposes its entirely cosmetic.  you should be able to very safely paint 24 hrs after installation.  give it an extra 24hrs on the ceilings to be safe.  you can help things along enormously by using a dehumidifier to speed up the curing process


How to lay last row of Hardwood Flooring under an undercut the Baseboard? I've (almost) decided to undercut my baseboards before installing a hardwood floor.  For the last row of planks, how do I get them under the undercut baseboard, i.e. won't the second to last row interfere due to the height? What's the trick?

Edit: This is not a floating floor.

Ok I'll keep guessing.

If this is nail down with no tongue and groove then you slide the piece in and then use a glazer's bar to pry it back out while you nail it.

If this is tongue and groove nail down or glue down then

quarter round
or micro-round
or cut the tongue off the last piece and glue to avoid face nail.
or cut the tongue off, create a biscuit, glue the biscuit and pry the last piece back onto the biscuit and glue this piece down to avoid face nail.

If you don't want 1/4 or micro round your option seems to be either 3 or 4.


Is it okay to face nail the drip edge to the fascia? A sunroom contractor is adding a screened in deck to my house.  The drip edge was not delivered before the roofer installed the roof and he said that the drip edge could be installed later by lifting up the shingles and nailing.  When the drip edge arrived, they did not lift the shingles.  They nailed the drip edge to the fascia using aluminum siding nails.
Is this okay?  On one hand, I can see how water could get through the nail holes; but on the other, there are already similar holes present for the aluminum siding wrap on other fascia on the home.

TBH, it would probably be pretty difficult to lift the edge of the shingles enough to actually be able to nail the drip edge down from above. The shingles should be nailed pretty close to the fascia to prevent them from lifting in the wind, so (IMHO) you're doing pretty good that they were able to slip the drip edge under there to begin with.
Personally, though, I agree with your concern and would probably put a little smear of clear or white silicone over each of those nails to ensure water doesn't get through. Whether it's strictly necessary to do so, I couldn't say, but that's what I'd do.


How to remove closet shelf clips and brackets without damaging the wall? The previous owner of my new house installed ClosetMaid shelves in the closet. I removed the shelves, but had a really hard time with those clips and brackets (pictures attached). Seem like they were hammered into drywall anchors.

How can I remove them without damaging the wall?

UPDATE: I found the shelf clips on Lowe's website.

The wall is already damaged - nails do that to walls - so you're looking at fixing the wall no matter what.

With that in mind, you want a hammer, a small pry bar, a small quantity of joint compound or "wall repair spackle" (the latter is in the paint department), a sponge, a 1" putty knife, 1 pint or quart of primer and an equal quantity of interior paint matched to your existing paint as closely as possible, and a 1" trim paint brush.

Use the prybar and hammer to remove the clips and their nails.

Spread the joint compound smoothly over the damaged area with the putty knife, and allow to dry.

With the sponge DAMP NOT WET, smooth the compound even more.  Allow to dry again.

Apply primer with the brush to the dried joint compound.  Clean brush, allow it and the primer to dry.

Use same brush to paint the now dry white primer.


What is the formula for fence height and fence post length? My neighbor has requested that we remove our current shared old/broken 6' cinder block wall and put up an 8' high horizontal slat wooden fence.

The distance between the posts will be ~5.5'.

My question is how deep do I need to put the fence posts? This will help me determine the length of the fence post.

We live in Los Angeles. I think the frost line is 12".

Are you setting the posts in the ground, or in concrete? How deep is the frost line in your area? Have you contacted your local building department? There may be local codes and ordinances that stipulate the depth.

A common rule of thumb, is to dig the hole 3 times as large as the post, and to a depth of 1/3-1/2 of the post height above ground. so for a 8' high fence, using 4x4 posts. dig the holes 12" in diameter, to a depth of 2 1/2 - 4'. Of course, that's assuming you're setting the posts in concrete.

If you're going to put gravel at the bottom of the hole, you'll have to dig the hole that much deeper. Gravel is optional, and dependent on the drainage characteristics of the local soil.


How do I fix a twisted shower head? I have one of those shower heads that has a twisty bendy cord that allows you to wash specific areas my easily. Also makes washing pets easier in the tub as well.

The last week or so the shower head has been wanting to twist itself to the far stage right. Towards the bathroom/shower curtain!

It also will not stay "up" all the way.

Being a tall man this renders it unusable and I've no idea how to fix it. I've tried twisting it the opposite direction as many times and it'll twist (about 2 and a half) and it twists "back" into the normal position. But as soon as I run water through it, it goes back to it far right twisted position and points further down.

Is it worn out or is there something I can do to fix it? :)

Try letting the shower head hang for a few days while it's not in use. This might help "unwind" the plastic. You could even run hot water through it once in a while, while it's hanging, to help the re-straightening process. Next trick would be to remove it and place it in hot water then let it cool while hanging.


Can I replace a window in a garage gable wall without adding a modern header? So, I have an older construction home (1948, a great year for lumber in MN) with a detached garage connected to the breezeway. The garage roof structure has rafters and collar ties with two storage joists (maybe for shear) and joists on the gable ends running between bearing walls. The gable walls are rafters stick framed (very basic image attached) down to a double top plate with the previously mentioned joist nailed to both the rafters and studs above the double top plate.

There is currently an 8ft wide barn sash window on one gable wall and two 7ft tall by 8ft wide garage doors on the other. None of these existing openings have anything but the double top plate as the header. The garage doors have king and jack studs like a regular doorway, but the window only has king studs with cripples from the top plate to a single 2x4 header and a 2x4 sill plate with cripples down to the bottom plate. None of these openings have any sag in them.

Shouldn't the ridge be passing some load down through this window and creating sag in the middle of the window span? or is this being mitigated by the joist above it being nailed to the gable studs as well as the rafters? I want to convert this window into a roll up door and was thinking I could just frame it the way the garage doors are framed to keep the opening 7ft tall. Not so sure the permit office will share my enthusiasm for this idea, with good reason.

A ridge board (as you've drawn it) isn't a beam. It's just a connection point and lateral bracing for the rafters, and (in the case of the overhang) support for the fly rafter. There's virtually no roof load transfer through the gable wall as the rafters and wall plates, which act as rafter ties, work as a truss system, just as they do in the middle of the building.

That said, modern standards would have at least a superficial header over the window to prevent sag in the wall. It's unlikely to be a problem if it hasn't already been, as the sheathing is acting as a shear beam, but since you're modifying the opening you'll probably put in a 2x6 or better U-header to meet modern standards.

Talk with your inspector. Even if (s)he calls for a 2x10 header, the cost is fairly minor, so it's worth doing right.


How to compute panel bus bar stab and breaker spring clip electrical contacts area This is zoom of the image below showing the gaps and seeimingly insufficient electrical contacts between bus bar and breaker spring clips. Siemens seems to treat it as normal. So let's compute instead.

An electrical engineer told me:

"Compute the area as you would any rectangle. Remember that there is still a gap for a short distance below the edge of the feeler gauge.

I've never investigated that. But it would seem the contact area would have to be no less than the cross sectional area of the maximum wire size for the breaker... and probably a little more because of the added resistance due to the pressure contact versus the continuous metal of a wire."

To compute it, must I use the table for 60c, or 75c or 90c in the following?

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/a7/a767224b-82d0-41a6-a02f-316c94392ce1.pdf

Original message:

Does anyone know where I can get thin copper conductor sheet. The spring clip and bus bar of original Siemens breaker and Siemens original listed enclosure panel is not making full contact (only at bottom) and Siemens won't admit they are incompatible.

So if I can insert thin copper sheet cut to the bus bar size.. then it can make spring clip and bus bar establish full contact. The bus bar thickness is short by 0.5mm or 1mm.

All Siemens load center bus systems are exactly the same and have been for decades, going back to when they were ITE brand before Siemens bought them in the 1980s. Nothing has changed. If this were a design issue, there would be countless fires, lawsuits etc. Siemens is the world's largets electrical company, something that lawyers drool over. So they would be all over this like stink on a pile of poo.

So there are three possibilities here;

1) You have a COUNTERFEIT breaker, which has been happening a lot with breakers being sold over the internet, even through big outlets like Amazon.

2) You bought a used  / "refurbished" (no such thing) breaker and it had been subjected to a lot of heat, likely due to overloading, to where the springs have lost their tension.

3) You have a defective breaker. It happens, but generally Siemens catches it and issues a recall. Now, as it so happens, there WAS a recall of this series of breakers by Siemens back in 2010 for this EXACT reason! So whomever you bought this from either failed to notice that, or pulled them out of a garbage can back in 2010 and is selling them at 100% profit. If you can prove that you bought this from an AUTHORIZED dealer of Siemens equipment, they will likely replace it for you. If you bought it from FleaBay or Amazon or some surplus site, good luck with that... When the price looks too good to be true, it is.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1998/cpsc-siemens-energy-automation-inc-announce-recall-of-gfci-circuit-breakers-used-with


Code exception for not installing AFCIs in kitchens? I'm having an electrician replace my old Zinsco panel with a new Eaton panel. My understanding is that all the 120V 15A and 20A circuits for the house (no basements, garages, etc) need to have AFCI or for the kitchen and laundry combined AFCI/GFCI (none of the outlets are GFCI). My city still references NEC 2014, and I read section 210.12

When I asked him to put AFCIs on all the circuits, he responded:

  These breakers are confused by motor circuits, so the code gives us
  an exception for dedicated circuits, like fridges and laundry
  machines

Is this true? I didn't see anything in the code about this.

He is not changing the wiring, just moving the circuits to a new panel, so maybe this exception is relevant?

  NEC 210.12: Existing installations are not required to be updated with ARC-fault
  protection unless modification to the wiring is done.

  Exception: AFCI protection shall not be required where the extension
  of the existing conductors is not more than 1.8 m (6 ft) and does not
  include any additional outlets or devices.

Is he correct about exceptions for fridges, laundry, etc?

AFCI/GFCI is not the most important safety dollar

The ability to be flexible later is.  It is making sure you have plenty of spaces in your panel.  A 40/42 space panel is the right answer for anything bigger than a cottage, from having seen too many pictures of 30-space panels completely full.

It gives flexibility, and flexibility makes later safety upgrades cheap and easy. I would much rather you fill a 40-space panel with plain breakers (easily upgraded later) than a 24-space with AFCIs (and then you're stuck later, which invites unsafe hacks).

The cost differential (as compared to the panel the electrician probably bid to hit a competitive price) is very low compared to AFCI/GFCI breakers, which I note you are ready to install.

If you have any probability of wanting 2-pole (240V) breakers that are both AFCI and GFCI, avoid GE panels due to a glitch in the way they do AFCI.

Mind you, this is opposite of what the electrician will want.  The electrician will want to fit a 16-space panel and fill it with double-stuff breakers, because that prices the job slightly lower.  That will render you unable to fit AFCI/GFCI later; you'd need to upgrade panels again (see how that works for the electrician, why bill one job when you can bill two?) So you must spec a 40/42 space panel, or you won't get it.

You are grandfathered

Grandfathering means that if the circuit was correct at the time it was installed, it does not need to be upgraded merely because the electrical code is revised.  The electrician is correct, merely changing the panel is a unit operation and the individual circuits remain "grandfathered".  That means yeah, he could actually slap a 16-space panel full of double-stuffs and render you utterly unable to upgrade later.

One reason the electrician may be afraid of AFCI and GFCI on every circuit, is that those devices are sensitive to any wiring flaws - crossed neutral, bootleg ground, you name it.  He might install one of those breakers and have it immediately trip. He can't walk away from your house that way (certainly not with payment!) so now he has to go on a "bug hunt" through the house, identifying which loads are on that circuit, opening up every junction box and trying to find the flaw.   This could be hours per circuit and will obviously drive the price up considerably.  He needs to set your expectations on that.

AFCI/GFCI is still a great idea, though

Applying AFCI to almost every circuit, and GFCI to circuits with a probability of user shock, is still a great way to go, and I want to encourage you to go that way. Just maybe not right away.  In my opinion the best way to solve the "bug hunt" problem is to do the work in two phases: First urgently change that nasty Zinsco panel with plain breakers, and then swap them to AFCI/GFCI individually one at a time. (ideally yourself if you can skill up enough to do that, so you can roll it back if problems arise).

To do that, the work done today must make ready for it:

Enough spaces to accommodate these full-size breakers (not to belabor that point)
Hot and neutral wires long enough to reach a reasonable variety of locations, so neutrals can reach AFCI or GFCI, and so you have some freedom to relocate breakers. Some electricians, who I call "Captain Snippy", take great pride in nipping back all the wires so they are just long enough to reach their current destinations.  He must not do that here.

He is absolutely correct that refrigerators and freezers should not have AFCI or GFCI protection. They're not the use-case for GFCI, being a grounded all-metal box with inaccessible electricals that you're not likely to drop in a sink.  And you don't want to have "dueling safety systems", like a low-oil-level shutoff on a nuclear power plant's emergency generator, or locks on a fire escape so children don't play on it.  A GFCI on a fridge just converts the risk from (nonexistent) shock to (likely) food poisoning.  Most new fridges are labeled "Don't use with GFCI". AFCI provides a similar risk.

Other installed, hardwired machines like air conditioners also are unlikely to shock you (being well grounded) but likely to nuisance trip.

The only exception is the dryer and range.  Many dryers use a 3-prong "NEMA 10" type connection, and ground is bootlegged to neutral inside the dryer.  If converting this to NEMA 14 isn't practical (individual ground wires can be retrofitted), then put it on a GFCI breaker, convert the receptacle and dryer cord to NEMA 14 (including removing the bootleg ground jumper), and label the socket "GFCI Protected/No Equipment Ground".   Ditto ditto all that for the range.


can a top/bottom feed style sub-panel be fed from back of panel I have an Eaton main lug load center that is listed as top or bottom feed. I had to run EMT through a wall to the back of the panel.

Is it legal to use a knockout in the back of the panel (top part of panel just to right or left of center in the back) to feed the wire through?

It is #6 thhn stranded wire. It would have the appropriate emt to box fitting.

I cannot find any information on this.  I only find examples of either the wires fed through the sides of the panel or the top or bottom.  There is plenty of room but the wires would be making a 90 degree bend as they came into the back of the box to get to the main lugs which are below the knockout.

The alternative would be to put a junction box above the load center and come through the back of it and then down into the top of the load center.

The box is a 125amp eaton ch box.

thanks
Michael

The panel has knockouts all over the place.  They don't care which knockout you use.

"Top or bottom feed" doesn't pertain to where on the panel the EMT enters; it pertains to where on the busbars you attach the wires.

The very fact that you have a choice of two sets of lugs (top and bottom), implies this is a main-lug panel (not main-breaker) and it either has

symmetrical screws (so the whole busbar assembly can be unbolted and installed upside-down) or
has "thru lugs" (a second set of lugs on the bottom of the buses) is intended for if you want to continue power to a second subpanel.


New light switch not working My old light switch in a bedroom stopped working, and only worked when the switch was pushed and held in the on position.

I purchased another single pole switch. Upon taking the old switch out, I Noticed there were 5 wires...two black, two white, and a ground bare. There are two sets of wires coming into the wall box...one set of wires has the white hot, black, and ground. The other wire has the same three, but no electricity (which I assume turns on my overhead lights in the bedroom.)

The old switch had two side screws used, two push back connectors (where a wire is simply pushed into the hole in the back of the switch), and the ground wire on a screw.

The new switch I wired with the white hot into the push-back, the one black into the other push back, then one white and one black on the side screws, with the ground connected. No lights came on. I tried putting the hot white wire and black wire onto the side screws (swapping the wires between the push back and side screws), and the other white and black wires into the push backs, with no lights working again.

Not sure what this means, but between the white and black wire, I’m getting around 53v. When I put the multimeter on the metal case (near the actual switch) and the black wire, I’m getting 120v. Any help would be appreciated!

The whites aren't hot, they're neutral

The white wires here are not hot wires at all, they're the neutral wires that return current back to the power company.  So:

Blacks go to switch terminals (one is the always-hot, the other the switched-hot to the light)
Whites get nutted together to provide a neutral return to the panel/power company service
Grounds get nutted to each other and to a bare pigtail going to the switch's green ground screw.


There's a bunch of unshielded copper wire in a light switch - what is it and what does it do? I was just replacing a faceplate, and noticed that there was a large amount of unshielded copper wire twisted together in the back of the light switch electrical box.  The light switch box is a larger box, containing a single and two three-way switches (3 switches in all).  What is this wire in there for?

You are probably looking at grounding wire, which is typically sheathed in green or is bare.

The bare wire serves as the equipment grounding conductor as a safety precaution.  In the event of an electrical fault, the equipment ground will prevent you from becoming shocked and injured by coming in contact with bare metal in the box or on the metal casing of the switches or other receptacles (if there was an electrical fault).

It is perfectly normal and nothing to be alarmed about, it is a safety feature.


200 amp service wire jumping from house, to barn to pool house. Somewhere the Neutral is broken My question is a bit more technical then most as I have narrowed the problem down to a bad neutral somewhere in the system. There is a service wire from the house overhead to a barn, then another line from the Barn panel to a pool house. (The Main service feed goes to the house) In the pool house, the homeowner was running a compressor that started idling dumb and not running properly. After investigating, I found that everything seamed normal until it was put under load and then the voltage between the two lines in the panel went crazy. I think it was like 50 and 170 instead of your normal 110/120.
After this I was pretty sure it was a bad neutral and it was backfeeding trying to run the compressor. I went back to the barn and checked the voltage there and it was the same as in the pool house. When I went into the house, the voltage at the breaker in the house to the barn was fine. I am trying to confirm that the issue is then between the house and the barn. The line had fallen and we raised it back up after a storm and it worked fine for a few months but maybe something broke in it and we can't see it?
The main thing I am wondering is if the wire is bad underground from the Barn to the pool house, can it still change the voltages at the barn panel even if the wire to the barn is ok? I don't want to focus on the wire between the house and the barn and the problem is between the barn and the pool house. I'm just trying to confirm my findings.

I'm sorry, but we have to talk about legalities.
Especially given the high risk here.
You are not a licensed electrician and that places limits as to what you may do.

You CAN do work the AHJ deems trivial, such as changing receptacles, switches and light fixtures.
You CAN diagnose and test, take deadfronts off panels and poke around with a voltmeter - basically anything a home inspector can do.
The homeowner is entitled to DIY (except a few jurisdictions like NYC), and you are allowed to genuinely assist under their supervision; but this can't be a sham.

But people will assume the worst, especially after an accident.
The problem here is that between the 3-wire feed which may be 40 years old (but is that documented?), the known lost neutral (pretty much the worst-case scenario), and the pool for Pete's sake.  Read electrical drowning reports, and they always open with scenes like this.  You're already involved, so it's a liability albatross for you.
Job One must be to sever yourself from that liability, and the path there is to have a licensed electrician review the site, write an action plan, and serve it on the customer.  That shifts liability to the customer and gets you off the hook.  Preferably get the customer to pay for it, but even if you have to eat it, it's a "get out of jail free" card.
Don't take my word on it. Ask your lawyer.
Based on what you say, I'd confirm your analysis
Given that the voltage swings are extreme at the barn and pool, and not at the house, it seems like a lost neutral somewhere between house panel and barn panel.  Given that several splices are involved in the transition from panels to pole line, it could be any of them.
You say that the installation was previously done (before your time) with 3-wire "triplex" overhead service drop cable, with a bare neutral. That was legal prior to (I want to say) 1999, but not in every case; where there were parallel metal things e.g. water pipe, the ground was sometimes required to keep fault current from corroding the pipes. Since it was installed prior to that, it should be grandfathered by the inspector. Not by the reaper, though: neutral problems like this one are exactly why it was outlawed.
So the short-term quick-fix is to find and fix that poor neutral connection.  Note that NEC 2017 requires use of a torque wrench/screwdriver for most connections, but larger connections such as feeder required it prior to that.
Simply doing the quick fix and walking away will still leave you with big liability exposure.
The next things to look at
And again, merely looking at these things yourself will not reduce your liability.
But I would start with the Grounding Electrode System inclusive of Ufer grounds, ground rods, and all the special grounding and bonding that must happen around a pool.  I'll bet you a lot of that is out-of-order even for the time of original installation.  If work was illegal at the time it was done, it is not grandfathered and must be done to current Codes.
Then I'd look at GFCI requirements especially around the pool areas.
Next, I'd look at running that fourth ground wire.  The problem with a 3-wire feeder is exactly this: nothing really controls a "lost neutral", and if the GES is in good order, it can actually float the earth around the buildings to dangerous levels. (which can combine rather badly with things like fence lines).
The electrician's report would cover all that.


Is a cork floor pet friendly/durable? We have some pet rabbits. (don't ask... ;)

They're pretty good with the litter box...maybe batting .900 but it's that other 10% of the time that wreaks havoc on the carpet. Rabbit pee is pretty nasty and once in the carpet, it's staying there.

Our old house was all hardwood and it wasn't a huge deal. You see the puddle, you mop it up. We now need to tear out this carpet (it was cheap and ugly anyways) and replace it.

We'd rather not go with hardwood as the rest of the first floor is hardwood and we'd never match it so thought contrasting material might be better. I like the idea of Cork but have no idea how pet proof it is. Is the sealed/finished cork fairly durable? Would anyone recommend a particular type of installation over another? (Tiles? Snap-together-laminate? Sheets?)

Is a sealed cork floor porous at all? That'd be my primary concern.

Sealed cork is definitely durable. My parents' house has cork in the kitchen and the family room which was installed ~25 years ago, and the only place where it's showing some wear is in the spot in the kitchen where my mother drops things regularly and they've shifted the oven and dishwasher in and out for servicing. Knives do stick in it rather than bouncing off, which may affect the permeability of the sealing.


Two GFCI on 20A bathroom circuit Long time reader, first time poster... so I thought I had my bathroom wiring layout pretty well nailed but the guy in the electrical department at the local big box store made me rethink my entire plan.

My original plan:
20A feed to bathroom from breaker box. That goes to the same wall box as GFCI outlet. The feed line from breaker is pigtailed to both the GFCI outlet above the sink (plus one normal outlet fed off this GFCIs LOAD) and the other feed goes to vanity light/fan/ceiling light 3-gang switch box. Inside 3 gang I would have a dead-front GFCI, a combo vanity light/fan switch, and a dimmer switch for the lights. The ceiling light/fan need GFCI because the manufacturer says so above the shower (broan 744).

Now the issue: The guy at (big box store) said you cannot have two GFCI on the same circuit at all because it will make neither of them trip and to just run the light/fan/vanity light all off the one GFCI. I feel like this is a big no-no because if anyone trips the GFCI while they are in the shower (like a curling iron left on sliding into the sink) the lights will be off and they will have to get out of a slippery wet shower in the dark or even if they were just using a curling iron while in front of the sink they wouldn't be able to see to set it down. I think my original plan would eliminate this because if the GFCI on the outlet plug blows then the lights (on a different GFCI) would not blow. He also said I cannot use canned IC recessed lighting in a bathroom at all without a glass shower trim ring. I was under the impression that you could use normal baffled recessed lighting in a bathroom as long as it was not above the shower.

Is my proposed setup unsafe? I don't care if I am wasting money on an extra dead-front GFCI if it means the lights stay on when my girlfriends ancient favorite blow dryer starts. Also, I know I could just run another 15A lighting circuit to the breaker box but I am all out neutral lugs (generator transfer switch install, it's a mess I didn't do it). Thanks for your time :)

The bloke at the big-box store is out of his mind.  Having multiple GFCIs fed from the same feed is not a problem whatsoever -- it's something that's done all the time (just imagine a panel loaded with GFCI breakers).  Furthermore, the requirements for fixtures in 410.10(D) only hold for a zone that extends 3' beyond the edge of the tub or shower stall and 8' high.  Ordinary fixtures can be used outside this boundary.

In your case, given that your choice of fan/light combination apparently must be GFCI protected in order for it to be used in a damp environment, your solution is a reasonable compromise given that you are using a dimmer here.  However, it is possible to make it so that the shower light is GFCI protected while the cans are not, while dimming them both synchronously, but that requires a fair bit of extra hardware.

In particular, you'd need to use a 3-wire fluorescent dimmer such as a Lutron Maestro MAF-6AM or Skylark SF-103, as well as two Lutron PHPM-WBX-120-WH units mounted in their own two gang or 4" square boxes to go with the 3 gang box you're already called for.  (Other manufacturers make similar products, but both the Leviton and Eaton/Cooper versions are FCC Class A devices i.e. not intended for residential use.)

If you're curious as to how such a crazy setup is wired up, see the wiring diagram below.  If you're not comfortable following the diagram below, ask your nearest electrician to follow it for you.


Can a septic system leach field be installed over clean fill? First off, this is my first post here, so I apologize in advance if this isn't the right place to ask this. Please feel free to move it around and/or re-tag it if you think it fits better somewhere else. Also, I can't imagine that nobody has ever run into this situation before, but after spending half a day searching the internet and StackExchange and finding nothing, I guess it has never been asked before:

My question is simple: Can a septic system leach field be installed over/within clean fill? Assume that the fill is about 4 to 8 feet deep and has been approved by the applicable regulatory agency in regards to compaction, setbacks, etc. Also assume that there is enough space to install such a leach field without encroaching into any setbacks, easements, etc. Furthermore, assume that the fill material will pass a perk test and is free of trash, large boulders, organic material, etc.

Some more background:

I am asking this question first and foremost from a theoretical standpoint. However, my specific situation is as follows:
I own a vacant one acre lot in northern Arizona that has approximately 12 feet of elevation change between the highest corner and the lowest corner. While I have not done any excavation on the lot or conducted a perk test I have gathered a small soil sample and observed a nearby road cut. Thus, judging by these observations, I presume that the soil is approximately 2 to 3 feet thick and is very clayey, expansive, and rocky. Beneath this layer of rocky clay soil is lava bedrock. I would not say this bedrock is impermeable, as it seems to be broken up into large chunks judging by the road cut. Furthermore, I have used the county's GIS system to figure out what type of septic permits were taken out by by my nearest neighbors. This showed that most of them required an alternative system if they had one at all. I don't plan on building on this lot for many years. However, in the interim, I plan on clearing a space on the property and grading a flat area where I can park an RV and dry camp occasionally. In the future though, I may want to build a small house on the property and live there permanently. Thus, while I am grading the flat area, I am wondering if I can do the following:
1. Strip away all of the existing soil from approximately the lower quarter of my property. (It is expansive remember.)
2. Create or bring in a new soil that is more suitable to septic system leach fields and building foundations.
3. Use this new soil to create a flat area for my camping purposes and then at some point later on, use it for a leach field and perhaps a small house.

Thanks in advance for any alternative ideas/thoughts/answers.

I have built on filled areas in the past, you have asked all the right questions the first being compaction. In the area I built we had added 4-6' where the house ended up and closer to 8' closer to the back half of a drain field we filled and compacted and met the code back then but we're still required to wait 1 year and repeat the 3rd party compaction test. After that perculation testing after we had 50% of our normal annual rain fall took 2 more years because of a drought. But then we were able to get permits to build. If you are going to be waiting a few more years you may not need the additional compaction testing it was a bit expensive but turning a worthless lot into one worth 80k for just the land it was a no brainer for us.
You have the soil to move around but you would be amazed how many quality loads of fill dirt can be had for a couple of cases of beer. May not be quite the same as this was many years ago at the start of mound systems and they cost up to 10x of a standard field plus the maintaince. But your plan sounds good to me.


Standing up extension ladder in narrow space I am painting a tall house using a 40-foot extension ladder that is composed of two 20-foot sections. So, in its shortest, unextended form, the ladder is 20 feet high.

The problem I'm running into is standing the ladder up. There are other houses on both sides of the house I'm working on, and only about 10 feet of clearance between the houses. As a result, I can't stand up the ladder using the only method I know, which is to lay it on the ground at the base of an exterior wall, then push the base against the bottom of the wall and raise the ladder up rung-by-rung with my arms until it's vertical. I can do this in the back and front of the house, where there is enough clearance to lay the ladder flat on the ground, but not the sides.

Because the ladder is so big, it's also not really possible to stand it up in one location and walk it to where I need, at least not by myself. (And even with two guys, it would be tough, I think; it's a relatively heavy ladder, and you just don't have much leverage at the base of something 20 feet tall.)

Are there any techniques I could use to stand the ladder up on the sides of the house without being able to lay it flat?

About 2-3 feet from the side of the house, lay the ladder down parallel to the house placing the feet of the ladder as close to their desired location as possible (the length of the ladder may not allow you to place it exactly where you'd like it at this step).

Brace or have a second person brace the feet of the ladder, and from the opposite end, lift the 'top' run over your head and walk your your hands toward the base (monkey bar style), until the ladder is fully vertical.

Once vertical pivot the ladder on the foot closest to the house, squaring the ladder to the house. If your ladder is not yet high enough you can extend it now. Walk your hands back toward the top of the ladder until the ladder rests against the house (usually only is about 1 rung).


Computing force over a range I'm building a murphy bed. I've build a box out of plywood that holds the mattress (the box is shaped like a sandbox. See image below). I plan on putting 5 different 25lb springs across the long side of the bed frame, but want to know if the frame can withstand 125 lbs of constant force.

So, what I did was build three different L-shaped test pieces, joined the same way I did the box (rabbit joints + dowels + screws + glue), to test their breaking force. (I'm going to use a similar setup to http://woodgears.ca/joint_strength/).

Here's my question. Does each of those L-shaped test pieces need to withstand 125 pounds of force? Or do they need to withstand only 25 pounds (assuming the L-shaped pieces are the same length as the average distance between springs)?

From what I can see the 2 corners are the only thing that need to hold the force. Each would hold half the 125 lbs. Not only that but the corners would have to handle the side strain, so to speak, that would be applied as the bed is turned from vertical to horizontal. Any springs you may have in the middle will still transfer their pulling force to the corners too. Maybe even bow out the side a little. I myself would not use springs in the center, just 2-75 lb. springs in the corner if available. Since the ends are really the area where all the force will be applied anyway (the corner joinery after all is what holds it all together, the bottom serves its own purpose). To contain the force needed to hold it together e.g., keep the springs from ripping the wood apart from the force exerted at the corners, I would incorporate metal to hold the spring in place and maybe even include the pivot in it. It can be installed on the inside the box frame and hole or slot in the wood frame will allow installation of the spring on the metal ring or whatever you decide to protrude through the hole or slot to connect the spring to.

I ran on a few times, I hope I got the idea across.


Which technique of wood joining is the best for joining these boards of a small table? I want to join these four 1.8 cm thick beechwood boards as one can see on the picture. My idea is to join at the B points with biscuits but I’m not sure what to do about the A points. It needs to be a very firm join so that the table is not wiggly. Besides that I’m not sure at which height (the questionmark) the middle board between the A points would provide best solidity.

Update

Photo

There it is! Thanks for your advices.

Biscuits for all joints will work fine. Across side panels to top. Along the two rails at the top and at sides.

Be sure to have a helper, and perhaps some extra temporary stretchers that match the rails (for the bottom).  That way you can clamp and square the sides first and put the top on last.


Convert 4 gang to 3 gang switch box I’ve a block of 4 switches in my house. One switch doesn’t work. Like it doesn’t do anything near as I can tell. How to make this a 3 gang?  There a thing as a 4 plate cover with a blank? May look silly to me.

Ok so my guess is the one switch went to an outlet in the middle of the icing room floor but I never checked it and I’ve removed the outlet a few years ago.

Unless you are planning to do some patching and painting I am afraid you are stuck with a 4G box. If you want to remove the switch because its just irritating you can use a switch blank shown below:

These can be found in most big box hardware stores and online. They come in different colors and can be found in decora style also.

Good luck.


Do I need to seal the rotating seams of a duct elbow? Kitchen range hood installation questions:

Do I need to seal the points indicated by the arrows?

Any opinions on mastic over foil tape?  I have some 3M 3340 laying around.

Can mastic be used inside the ducts or will that impede air flow?

You don't have to seal those but when I did mine, I did seal it simply to prevent it from turn and shift angle while I was working on it. I would use foil tape on the inside, foil tape is very thin. Also, wipe the elbow with some alcohol or some sort of degreaser as they most likely little oily.


How much water is too much water underneath the basement concrete? We are getting ready to install a new shower in our basement.  When we had our house built about 8 yrs ago we asked to have a shower & toilet drains roughed in.  I cut off the plastic cover for the floor drain to gain access to the drain pipe.  After digging about 13 inches I found the pipe.  We have been having some fairly heavy rains the last week & this weekend that has been keeping our sump-pump running.  But off & on I've noticed that there is water that is filling up the hole I had dug.  (The water doesn't stink, so I don't think it's water that somehow leaked out/over of the toilet drain.)  I'm guessing it's from the rain.  We live in a area that has quite a bit of clay in the ground.  The water doesn't seem to be reabsorbing into the ground.

What does anyone recommend to fill around the drain pipes when we get it all installed?

To answer "how much is too much," if it's causing dampness in the basement, wet concrete, efflorescence, etc. then it's too much. If the only reason you know about it is because of the new hole, then I would monitor it over a few months.  It should eventually dry out.  If it doesn't then you might look at a sump pump.

As to what to fill hole with, fill it with gravel to about 4-6" below the floor surface, then finish with concrete to match the surrounding area.

It's also worth taking a look at the grading outside your house, water show flow away from your foundation.  Also make sure eaves are draining far enough away from your house.


How should I unstick an old gas appliance valve? There is an old gas pipe for a dryer unit that hasn't been used in maybe 15-20 years. The pipe seems to be of good integrity (as good as anything else in the house) however the valve which is currently perpendicular to the pipe (closed position) is stuck.  It may be painted shut but I can imagine that there may also be corrosion at the pivot joint.

I have only tried moving it by hand. I plan to chip and scrub away any paint that I think may interfere with turning. Then wasn't sure what sort of lubricant to use and if I should try a gorilla wrench or avoid any tools?

I assume there is no flint and steel in the ball valve that I should worry about (kidding). But seriously, wondering if the ball itself could fail when I crank the valve if there is corrosion gluing it.  Currently in the closed position no gas coming out so it's doing its job.

There is not much to fail on that valve, i think you are correct that it is the paint.  Put a little paint stripper on and let is soak for while. Clean it all up and run the edge of a flat blade screwdriver around where the valve handle meets the valve body.
Find the closest or the main gas shut off and have the appropriate wrench ready at that location in case you need to quickly shut of the gas supply.
check with your gas company before you do this, some times they will have to come out to reset the diaphragm after a meter has been shut off
Get the appropriate size pipe cap and use a pipe wrench to put it on the open end of the pipe with pipe dope so you can work on the valve.
Get a pipe wrench in order to secure the pipe assembly from moving while you work on the valve handle. Take an adjustable wrench ( crescent wrench ) and adjust it so it fits over the handle, The longer the better for leverage. Have a helper hold the pipe assembly from moving with the pipe wrench and then try to gently get the valve handle to move, use caution and just try to move it a little.  IF it starts to move then gently make short movements in both direction until you feel that is moving freely. If you feel you are not getting it to budge then stop.
With all of that being said, i would  suggest you ( or a pro ) just replace it with a modern 1/4 turn ball valve and not mess with the old one.
If you do then have all of your new fittings, dope and valve on site and ready to install. You will also need a test solution of soapy water to test the connections for leaks once the gas is turned on. You can find a small bottle of the solution in the plumbing section of your home improvement center. ( a pro will have everything need to do this.)
Check with the municipality and see if you are allowed to work on gas supply in your town.
Find the gas shut off up stream or if not then at the meter and shut it off.
Check with your gas company before you do this, some times they will have to come out to reset the diaphragm after a meter has been shut off
You will need Two pipe wrenches. Take it off at the threaded nipple coming out of the 90 elbow. The nipple may come out, replace it if it does. Put  new nipple on the  valve and then the appropriate fitting for the gas appliance you will be connecting, Use pipe dope on all the connections.
Did i mention, check with your gas company?
Disclaimer: I am not a plumber i just play one on the intertubes, proceed at your own risk.


Switch to Outlet "Open Hot" Installing a few outlets in my basement. The 2nd of those outlets will be on a switch. I'm running into issues with that 2nd outlet, it has power but isn't working. Using a plug tester it says, "Open Hot". I wired it using 12/2 and honestly I need some help figuring this out. I've tied the neutrals and grounds together in "Box #2" and I'm running the hot to the switch then to the outlet.

See diagram below and ask any questions if needed. Thanks!

1: Do you have power at the switch (Line In) ? [test with a multimeter]

YES: go to step 2:
NO : See Answer A:

2: Do you have power at the switch (Line Out) ? [test with a multimeter]

NO : Flip the Switch and Perform step 2 again.
YES: Go to step 3
If after flipping the switch and still no power - the switch is bad.
Please verify if it is a push type - make sure your insulation is properly peeled back and the wire pushed all the way in.

3: Test inside Box 2 where the wire comes from the switch and goes to the outlet - is your connection there good ?

Make sure your wire insulation is trimmed.
Redo and recheck the wire nutting.

4: Check that your outlet wire line in is properly connected to the outlet - if it is a push type - make sure your insulation is properly peeled back and the wire pushed all the way in. (This is probably your issue)

Answer A:

You are missing power to the switch; there are two possibilities:

Box 1 Hot wire from electrical box to box1-box2 wire connection is not properly connected or the insulation has not been removed from the wire when it was wire nutted.
Box 2 Hot wire connection from box 1 to switch (Line In) is not properly connected or the insulation has not been removed from the wire when it was wire nutted.


Should whole house humidifier be draining when heater/fan is off? I have an Aprilaire 700 whole house humidifier with a manual mode humidistat on the return. I noticed that the unit was draining water even when the heater/fan was off. Is this expected? I just hear it constantly draining, which I'm guessing is due to low humidity in the return? What's the point of draining when the fan is off?

Additional details: If I lower the threshold on the humidistat, I hear the solenoid engage (or disengage?) and the unit stops draining. There are no noticeable leaks. The only water I see is what comes out of the drain pipe.

Sometimes the moisture drains when the fans and or compressor is no longer running, we would to know more about your system, it could be a bad valve in the supply to the humidifier causing the water but more information is really needed to provide a positive answer.


Noise reduction of a hollow core door versus a french (glass panes) door I'm planning to replace a door to our basement with a glass panes (french) door. Our current door is a simple builders' grade hollow core door. I'm planning to buy a cheap french door from a home improvement centre to replace it, to let some light into a basement stairwell.

My question is, how does sound blocking quality of a simple glass panes door compares to a one of hollow core door? I might scrap the whole project if glass is even worse than hollow core door...

Look at the STC rating of the door. The higher the number the better the sound proofing. Hollow doors well they work as good as drums and will probably amplify noise. Glass I do not think will be any better (I could be wrong.).
Solid doors are better.

Check this site out for more details.
http://www.trustile.com/technical-information/understanding-stc-ratings


How to hook up a 240V 50Hz heat pump to 60Hz I am facing a challenge:
Every EVI (-25C outside) air to water heat pump system seems to be 240V/1Ph/50Hz (and 1 exception I found so far: 240V/1Ph/60Hz, however with extremely limited information, and 1 option is not really an option).

My electrical panel however can deliver me 240V/1Ph/60Hz (30A). So how do I hook up a 50Hz system?

I searched for transformers, but can not seem to find one yet.

What is the best solution to get this heating system hooked up? Any supplier suggestions for transformers?

Thanks

Ask the manufacturer of the desired system how frequency sensitive their system is. Some equipment will work just fine at either 50 or 60 hertz with no adjustment, some will need some minor changes (move jumper or such), some will need major change (replace motors, or add variable frequency drive), some will not work without a rotary phase converter. Do not use a Variable frequency drive on anything other than motors unless endorsed by the manufacturer. Chances are you do not want to mess with a rotary phase converter.


Does a storm door help prevent heat loss? One person advised me that I'll cut down on the heat loss in my kitchen by installing a storm door.  Another said I'd get better results by replacing the door itself, and then I can either install a storm or not, it doesn't really make any difference.  I'm confused.

My existing kitchen door is well hung and with no drafts around the edges.  However, I think it's at least 40 years old, maybe more.  What is causing a problem is that it has some glass panels, and they are made of single pane glass.  My infrared gadget, and my hand, are both telling me I'm losing a lot of heat in those glass panels.

Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?

Yes, unequivocally. The closed storm door traps a pocket of air between the screen and entry doors. That trapped air significantly slows heat transference from indoors to the great outdoors. How much? From the ACCA Manual J, it looks like adding a storm to any door increases the R-value of the door by about 2.

Here are some better questions to ask:

Would a storm door or a new door prevent more heat loss? To answer this, we need to know what type of door do you have now, what type of door you'd replace it with (a steel or fiberglass insulated door?), and which storm door you'd choose. A typical wooden door has an R-value of about 3, whereas steel or fiberglass insulated doors are around 7. If your existing door is not insulated, you can gain about four R by replacing the door.
Which is the better value? This depends on your choice of doors. A good R-7 insulated exterior door with small windows can be had for about $250. Storm doors range from half that to twice that.
Which is the difference in cost between a storm door and a new insulated door with thermal pane glass? Use this to calculate the $/R of each choice.

I replaced one of my exterior wooden doors recently with an insulated fiberglass door. The before/after infrared photos can measure the difference. We can also hear the difference, insulation also blocks sound transference.

Depending on your climate, it might make sense to do both. In my climate (PNW), the convenience of not having another door to deal with upon every entrance/exit is certainly worth the potential loss of 2 R. Doors are a very small proportion of the walls so they don't make a huge difference in heating, unless they're not air sealed. In northern Michigan where I grew up, the winters are much colder and everyone has storm doors.


Build workbench against wall or free standing I am building a large workbench (10' x 3') and my original plan was to build it against the wall of the basement.

However, I have no width constraint, so I was thinking maybe it would be better to make it free standing so I could walk around it 360-degrees rather than build it against the wall. This would allow it to be bigger (10' x 4'), on the other hand it would no longer be anchored to wall, so it would be less sturdy.

Is the ability to walk around the bench something I will find very useful for general woodworking and machine work, or would it be better to put it against the wall?

If you have the space, a freestanding workbench away from the wall is a great thing to have. It is much easier to move your body around the bench and workpiece than to rotate the workpiece, particularly when you would rather not disturb its position. You can make it strong with heavy construction (big strong legs).

The drawback is the same as with any workbench, a large flat area upon which to stack stuff... making it unusable, lol...


Wiring on washing machine lock I'm trying to replace my washing machine (Haier MHS1000TVE) lock (in photo):

To do so, I have to determine the correct wiring, that is, which one is Common (C), which one is Line (L) and which one is Neutral (N).
I've found this photo in a service manual online:

According to this scheme, the C is definitely the middle one, but how do I determine the other ones?

C is definately number 2, check for markings on the device. My bet is on it being the one with the red wire (because the diagram shows 2 wires to "C")

for live and neutral measure the resistance from the plug.

Also look at where the wires go compared to the diagram.

But, if forced to guess brown is live and blue is neutral, it's an international colour code.


How to best fill in rat holes outside? We have a rental in a neighborhood with a serious rat problem.  Per the county, we can only hope to battle and contain the issue.

To that end, we've been paying for rat poison services for a while, but the county requires us to fill the holes, so that we can determine if the rats have been pushed back or are still active in the yard.

What is the best way to fill rat holes?  I have been going back and forth between pouring dry concrete mix down the hole followed by some top soil and allowing natural water fall to fill it, or by pouring down dry cement followed by water, or by mixing cement first and pouring it down.

Clarification: I haven't done any of the above yet - when I say I've been going back and forth, I mean in my head, thinking about it.

My concern with the last bit is - if I pour wet cement down the hole, won't it keep on flowing down the hole, requiring much more cement than if I use dry mix which can pile up and block the hole, which then when it gets wet will cure in place?

Personally I would just fill the holes with dirt, why does it need to be more complicated than that? Concrete isn't going to stop them any more than dirt, since presumably the yard is mostly dirt anyway.


Can insulation foam expand around window framing and cause warping? I was just wondering if insulation foam (I used regular Great Stuff from HD) can expand in dry conditions around a window (frame) and cause warping and damage to the window up to and including breakage.

I have personally seen it bow "trimmer" studs in a framed window opening. It could easily warp, bow, or move a window frame itself. Breakage would likely be caused by users messing with/forcing the out of plumb/square/true window?

Note: you can buy "low expansion" foam specifically designed to avoid this issue.


How do I buy raw filters that are the same kind as used in dryers? Do you know the kind of filter net in your dryer filters?

The filter material is dense enough to block any lint from passing through, but airy enough to not block any of the air pressure.

I'd like to buy a raw sheet of this kind of filter to build something. I have no idea how to even search for that. Does anyone have any idea?

My dryer its just a metal screen.  Wire mesh also would be a name to ask for.


What's the name for this piece attached to the kitchen faucet hose? Some time ago, I had a lot of rust and debris come into our plumbing due to some maintenance work my city did. Since then, my kitchen faucet cold water has been coming in pretty slowly. When I finally decided to do something about it tonight, I accidentally snapped off some tabs on this piece:

This was quick-connected on one side to the copper after hot and cold water join (and where the tabs snapped off):

The other side is threaded and screwed into the braided nylon hose that goes back up to the faucet:

Unfortunately, I have no idea what this piece is called, there's no brand name to be found on this or on the rest of the faucet, and looking at replacement faucet assemblies gives me no clue as to what this is. I'd like to replace just this piece if possible.

The inside of this looks quite rusty. I got the impression that it's some sort of a debris filter, but I don't know that it's actually the case. While I'm not sure what purpose this serves, I am now able to attach everything together, holding this piece firmly but manually in-place, and water comes out fantastic. But if this thing slides off, turning on the faucet will spill water everywhere since there are no longer tabs to keep it in.

Edit: Added picture of this piece as installed. Arrows show the direction of flow of water. Blue and red are cold and hot water coming in from the wall and up into the faucet assembly; purple is after these two join together and go back down, through the piece in question; yellow is through the nylon hose, which goes down and back up into the faucet head.

This is a proprietary part and versions of it are common on "pull out head" faucets.  I've installed them from Delta and Moen, and from what I remember they are slightly different. I've never seen them sold as a replacement part from DIY retailers.

Your best bet is to figure out what brand the faucet is and call customer support for a replacement part.  Sometimes companies send out small parts for free because they know they break easily and are proprietary, but usually there's a small cost but much better than buying a whole new faucet!


Is Solar Heating of Pool worth it? Especially after Time of Use (TOU) electric rates are introduced? I'm thinking of getting solar heating for my pool.  We're in San Diego and the cost would be about $6000.  Currently, I don't heat the pool at all as it's prohibitively expensive with natural gas.  I am led to believe that the cost of running the solar heating is fairly negligible.  Currently, I have to run the pump about 6 hours a day anyway to circulate and filter the water.  I would have to pump the water to the roof to get heated which requires the pump (variable speed modern pump - PenAir) to work a little harder and thus use more electricity.   However, this is all based on electricity being the same cost throughout the day.  Obviously, the water must be pumped to and from the roof when the sun is shining (the higher in the sky the better).  So my questions:

How well does Solar Heating work?
How many hours do you need to pump the water to the roof to heat the pool?

I'd hate to spend $6000 and find out that I can't use it.  If/when Time of Use (TOU) becomes mandatory, it will be much more expensive to use electricity during the day.  Right now, with no solar heating, that's not a big deal - I would just arrange to use the pump during off peak hours.  However, that's not an option with solar heating (hence question #2).  This brings me to my final question.

Are people worried that there investment in solar heating will be not very good once Time of Use (TOU) becomes mandatory?  It might be prohibitively expensive to pump water during the peak hours (typically something like noon - 6 pm).  My understanding is that TOU will become mandatory in much (all) of the U.S.A. (I'm in California and 2018 is talked about as a possibility) The reasons why are a separate topic.  I'm not sure if TOU already exists or is planned for the rest of the world.  I'd be curious (but it's off topic :) ).

Thanks,

Dave

Heating a swimming pool is pretty much an ideal application for solar water heating. Relatively small delta-t requirements in mild weather means you can get high output from low cost solar collectors, and you can make use of 100% of the output. Payoff times for solar heating relative to equivalent natural gas heating can be as short as two years.
You need to run the pump for most daylight hours, so in a San Diego summer, about 14 hours a day. You may be able to run your pump at a lower speed for circulation through the collectors, though, so this isn't necessarily a significant increase in operating cost
Time of Use billing will certainly increase the operating cost of a solar pool heater, although not to the point that they aren't cost effective compared to other options, but perhaps past the point where you feel heating your pool is affordable. However, this can be effectively addressed with solar photovoltaic; aside from your standard grid tie solar PV, a DC pump can be tied to a few small solar panels without requiring an inverter, which can be cost effective even without peak TOU billing.


Do I need hidden decking fasteners on both sides of a joist? I am thinking about using the below fasteners with wood planks. Do I need them on both sides of the joist?

Update: Deck framing layout below (height is 46") House located at the south east corner of the picture (along that side of the deck)

This instruction sheet from Deckmaster has you installing on only one side, but alternating sides for interior joists, and adding extra bracket sections for decking splices.

I suggest that you follow manufacturer guidelines for your product.


GFCI receptacle with a light fixture with an on/off switch in between We have a working GFCI outlet in the basement near a tub that the washing machiner empties into.

We'd like to install an overhead utility light, controlled by an on/off switch, protected by the GFCI circuit. I figured one terminal of the on/off switch must be connected to BLACK LOAD on the GFCI and one terminal of the on/off switch goes to the light fixture.  The light fixture's WHITE would return to WHITE LOAD on the GFCI receptacle. But this doesn't work. The GFCI always pops.

What is wrong with this diagram?  Thanks

P.S. The GFCI trips as soon as power is returned when the breaker switch is flipped in the breaker box.

P.P.S. So, I removed the light fixture and the GFCI still tripped when power was returned from the breaker, and re-tripped when I pressed Reset. However, I tried moving the WHITE wire coming back from the (missing) fixture onto the Line WHITE connector, from its previous position on the Load WHITE connector. And now, no more tripping. The whites could be pigtailed inside the box --right?--  so this is not unsafe?

GFCI devices work by measuring the current flowing on the ungrounded (hot), and grounded (neutral) conductors. They do this by running both the conductors through a current transformer (CT), which produces a current on the secondary winding whenever there's a difference in current between the two primary conductors. So as long as both the ungrounded and grounded conductors are carrying the same current, there will be no current on the secondary of the CT. If there was a ground-fault, the current on the conductors would be different and a current would be induced on the secondary of the CT.

If there's no current flowing on the circuit conductors, then there's no way to induce a current on the secondary of the CT. Therefore, there's no way to trip the GFCI. So if you've removed the fixture, the GFCI should not trip.

If this diagram is accurate...

The only way the GFCI could trip, is if current was being introduced somewhere.  Like if one of the conductors was shorted with a conductor from another circuit, or a different part of this circuit.

There has to be more to this situation, than the information you've provided.  Simple explanations might include:

If the switch is in a box with other switches, and the grounded (neutral) from the GFCI was interconnected with the other grounded (neutral) conductors in the box.
A couple cables are stapled together, and the staple has shorted some of the conductors together.

Since you say that removing the white (grounded (neutral)) conductor from the LOAD terminal fixes the problem, I'd guess that the problem lies with that conductor.

If you have a really accurate ammeter, you could clamp it on the white wire and see if there's any current on it. To do this, you'll have to connect the wire to the line terminal (as you described in a comment). You'll only do this temperately, while you're taking the reading.

Alternatively, you could trace the wire and look for damage, or interconnection with other wires.


Humidity sensing fan installation I am installing a humidity sensing fan (Delta GBR80H) into a bathroom where no fan existed before, only have a light switch. What is the best way to accomplish this?

You'll have to check the light fixture and the switch to see where the hot wire is.  It can be in the ceiling, with a wire running to the switch to break the circuit, or at the switch and a wire running to the light to power it.  If the hot is in the ceiling, you are in luck.  You can tie into that for power.  If the hot wire is at the switch, you'll have to run a wire down the wall and into that box.  Not impossible, but not easy either, it will be much easier if its an interior wall.  I am an amateur and have done it many times.

I would suggest cutting the power at the breaker, pull off the light fixture from the ceiling, and the switch from the wall.  Then turn the power back on and with the light turned off, carefully probe the wires with a contactless voltage meter to see where the power is coming from.


How to resolve vertical gap with newly installed double-hung windows We recently had new double-hung windows installed in our row house built in 1900. (The previous windows appear to have been done some time in the 1980's, so nowhere near original.)

We relied upon a well-reviewed-on-Angie's-List company to do the install. When the top sash is pushed all the way up and the bottom sash all the way down, there's a roughly 1/4" mismatch in the vertical alignment of the sashes (seemingly consistent across the width of the window). It's possible to align the sash and latch them, of course, but then there's a 1/4" gap at the top or bottom or distributed across the two, depending upon whether you push the pair up or down.

The company's proposed solution is to tack a 1/4" strip of wood to the sill under the lower sash. I think this looks preposterous. They're the ones that measured the opening, and it seems they made a mistake.

I could believe that there's a small fudge factor maintained for thermal expansion, but this is the middle of summer. Any gap we see now would only get bigger as it cools.

So, I'd love to know if this (tacking a strip to the sill) is common practice or if I should argue that the company should provide correctly sized windows. I could also imagine that difference could be made up by adding a strip at the top of the frame instead of the bottom where it wouldn't be visible from the outside due to the lip up there.

These windows must have been installed into window casements that were built in place or reused from previous windows. The reason I comment about that is that if the windows were new units with the windows themselves pre-hung in the casements it is hard to believe that they would have the misfit that you describe as delivered from the factory.

In any case you would do well to see if you can talk one or two other contractors to come out to look at the installation to see what feedback they would give to you.

Sounds to me like you need to argue the case for a replacement set of new windows. If by chance you have not paid for the job you should withhold such payment until the problem is corrected to your satisfaction. If you have already paid then you have lost a certain amount of leverage but threat of a civil suit may be in order if you do not get a suitable response from the contractor. Of course you have to weigh the cost of getting involved in litigation against the size of investment already made in the windows.


Splice in buried line to well I am faced with the possibility of replacing my well.  I'm hoping to not have to run a new buried power line from the house.  Can a buried cable be spliced?  If not, then a new well has to be located along the powerline to the house.  If so, how is it done?

(My thinking is that if the well is closer to the house, I only have to dig up from the old well enough cable to rebury it to route to the new well.  If I can't splice, then I have to put in a new power line from the new well all the way to the house, a distance of about 200 feet, plus weaving about a bunch of trees.)

A similar question was asked here: 120VAC buried splice
but received no answers.

Please see my comment on your original question but yes, direct buried cable can be spliced with the correct components.  Check with a local electrical supply shop (not a big-box home center) and get their advice on the correct product for your local area and the wire you are splicing.  Here is a link to an example of this type of product:

Direct Burial Splice Kit Example


Prevent hot and cold water mixing through kitchen faucet I have a kitchen faucet that allows water to back flow through the pipes.   The way that works is that you turn on the main faucet handle to warm water, then turn off the water at the at the faucet and don't use the sprayer.  The faucet in question is this one.

When the main faucet handle is on warm, but the faucet is off, it allows the hot and the cold water to mix.   I notice this for example when a hose is turned on outside.   I hear water flowing through the kitchen faucet.  I think that means that the hot water is getting to the hose through the kitchen faucet.

I can prevent it by turning off the main kitchen faucet.   I can also prevent it by having the water temperature set to full hot or full cold at the kitchen faucet, even with it turned on.   We'd like to be able to leave the water turned on warm at this faucet so that the sprayer is available easily.

I was thinking that the solution could be check valves.  Are there check valves I could install myself, like ones that screw onto the supply lines?

How do I solve the hot and cold water mixing problem at this faucet?

They make in-line "spring-type" check valves. Commonly found in 1/2" pipe thread, you may need to adapt to install on your hot/cold supply lines, but it certainly is possible to do.


Grading soft white sandy soil in central Florida with only a Bobcat? I have a 1/4 acre  vacant lot in Central Florida in an undeveloped area. Two of my neighbors are about 4' higher in elevation according to Google Earth, though I stood there and don't see it or flooding. Not looking to pay for a survey or build anything permanent at this time - I can build up with fill for a proper house pad later.  There is also apparently 2' dip in the center of my lot where I'd like to park my camper in the rainy summers.  The soil is a very soft white sand that is like butter for digging but compacts very well and seems to be very porous.

I was wondering if a BobCat Skit steer alone would be able to  grade the lot BY PUSHING my own sandy soil up from perimeter and front to a 50x50 elevated pad in the center back. I'd like to have a 5' difference between the plateau and ditch on the perimeter and the front and don't mind a ditch around the perimeter for security purposes either and would work it into my landscaping plans.

Possible and any idea what labor on a job like this might cost and take in hours  if no materials need to be fetched?

Not to scale and just to get an idea.. rough and exaggerated visual below. Gray line is where my level currently is, Red is my property line, green is finished product.

something like this in much softer sand: Youtube video

A bobcat can be used for grading. In my horse turnouts I use a bobcat as they are small enough to move around where I can’t get my big tractor in. I pull backwards this fills the tire trenches where pushing you will leave tracks or ruts. Remember a bobcat is a skid steer so if using a tracked model (it will need tracks in the sand) pulling makes a better surface and you won’t get stuck or bog down as often.


Why do my radiators need to be bleed at least once a fortnight? Last winter, our radiators regularly lost their heat and consequently needed bleeding frequently. I couldn't see any obvious leak. What could be causing this and what should I check for?

I had this issue too. Bled the system once myself, twice with professional plumbers who kept telling me that i didn't do it correctly. Cost me an arm and a leg. The worst part was when i asked a "plumber with 25 years of experience" where the air is coming from he couldn't explain it. Some people were saying it's because i have an old type of expansion tank with the air, others were saying that the water from the city comes with some air.

What solved it is installing "Spirovent Air Eliminator". Not a sound this winter and i could finally sleep without hearing a waterfall.

P.S. Got a few more opinions on this forum


Plumbers putty removal We had a granite top and a black stone sink installed in our kitchenette.  I installed the black strainer and disposal rings.  I used non-staining plumbers putty under the rings.  The putty that squeezed out around the strainers is a light color and is very noticeable.  After I removed the excess putty around each strainer a small amount remained in the groove around the outside edge of each strainer.  How can I remove the small amount down in the grooves?

If you don't already have one, go buy a box of wooden toothpicks or bamboo skewers. Very handy for getting into little crevices like that.


Should I clean my boiler room duct (ventilation)? Our boiler room in our house is in our half above/half below ground basement. We have a new 100,000 BTU boiler that was installed last year. We also have a gas hot water heater next to it. In the boiler room on an adjacent wall is a 6 inch duct that hangs close to the ground (but not touching it), which then goes up and through the wall. It vents to the outside on the side the house. The vent on the outside of the house has a metal grate on it. The metal grate has a significant amount of debris stuck in it which looks like it has been there for years. I am assuming this duct is there to provide a source of combustion air to keep pressure balanced in the boiler room, but I am hoping someone can confirm this?
If correct, is it a big issue if it is blocked/clogged? I also have a CO2 monitor right outside the boiler room door as a precaution. I was planning to clean out the grate and vent as it doesn't appear it has ever been done, but my concern is if I clean it out, should I expect a lot more cold air to enter the boiler room? I have a suite in my basement and I am worried that it might get too cold down there for our tenants. I have attached pictures below for reference.
I was also wondering if our new boiler might have a fresh air exchanger built in so I don't have to worry? But I am just guessing, I am not sure if this actually exists.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

I think you have a good handle on it.
"If correct, is it a big issue if it is blocked/clogged?"
Yes and no.   If blocked, air will be drawn into the house through chimneys, bathroom/kitchen/dryer vents, leaky windows, etc.  That air would be cold and uncomfortable.   But not dangerous.  It will eventually move to the furnace room.
Clean that screen and the air drawn in will be used by the furnace and water heater and not cool down the house.


15 amp gfci for garage outlets We have a buried electrical copper cables (about 35 feet to the garage or so)  that has a 15 amp breaker with 14 gauge wired to the garage.  Basically, since Im changing my old double duplex receptacles, I still can use a 15 amp GFCI receptacles since my home is over 40 yrs. old. Correct!! Just want to make sure that I'm in compliance with NEC standards. I don't want to have to reburied 12 gauge wire. Thank you again!

Receptacles rated 15 amps can be used on 15 amp circuits.

They can also be used on 20 amp circuits as long as you have more than one receptacle (one duplex or two single receptacles) on the circuit.

If you have a single receptacle on a circuit it has to be rated for the circuit, e.g. a 20 amp circuit would require a 20 amp receptacle. A single receptacle in this case is not a standard duplex receptacle. If you have a device with a 20 amp cord then you would need one of these. Otherwise, everything else is just fine with 15 amp receptacles.

Good luck.


Toilet started wobbling My brother-in-law (need I say more?) installed a new toilet over a ceramic floor. After a year, perhaps, the toilet wobbles a bit when you sit on it and, occasionally, you can hear porcerlain on ceramic grinding. I looked along the edge and noticed he used some nylon tile spacers, used for laying out the tile, underneath the toilet around the bottom edge.

I tried at first to tighten down the bolt on one side but it took more turns than I was comfortable making and it's still wobbling. I found some more of the tile spacers and put a couple under the same side but it's not a snug fit. So I'm not really sure how to proceed with this.

I could tighten the bolt some more but I'm worried I'll crack the toilet or, perhaps, the bolt actually came loose from the floor. I could also get some more spacers but I just don't feel that's the right thing to do. I'm not sure spacers under the toilet is the proper way to go about this in the first place.

The best approach here is (as @DMoore mentioned in the comment) to pull the toilet out and re-seat it.  Not only will this let you see if the ring is cracked, it will let you get the tile spacers that it is currently shimmed with out from under the toilet.  Also, once a toilet starts rocking it is only a matter of time before the wax ring get moved around enough that it will start to leak.  You'll want to replace it to ensure that it hasn't already been compromised.

I'm guessing that this is more a problem with the shims themselves than it is with the ring (but again, you need to verify this).  Most of the tile spacers that I've worked with when laying tile are made out of nylon, and they are slightly compressible. So, every time you've put weight on the toilet it has deformed them a tiny bit until they became flat enough to let the toilet rock. Once you get to this point, even if the rocking is imperceptible it lets them start shifting around underneath and it snowballs from there.

Once you get the toilet up and make sure that the ring and bolts are OK, re-seat it with proper shims.  You'll want something that can support quite a bit of pressure without deforming to shim it - I use composite plastic shims:


Mounting TV on a weird wall that has some material between the drywall and stud So I have a strange wall construction in part of my house. I'm mounting an articulating mount, up to 55", in a stud.

I took out a cable outlet and box to see the construction because I wasn't finding any studs.

Starting from the room it's 1/2" drywall, 3/8" drywall, 1" foam, 2.25" actual length stud, then gap, then I think furring, then masonry exterior.

I'm thinking some 4.25" lag bolts into the stud will hold, but it's so bizarre I wanted to double check.

Trying to mount an articulating arm that is designed to mount to a single stud will not stand up mounted to that type of wall construction. Even with long lag bolts there is just too much chance that mount will move around and cut into the drywall, become loose and make a mess of things.

What you should be doing is to mount a panel of good quality 3/4" plywood that is large enough to span across at least two studs with three preferred. Make the height of this panel at least three times greater than the arm's mounting bracket. Use multiple large screws to mount the plywood into place into each stud. Now you can mount the articulating arm to the plywood surface and be assured of a secure attachment that will stay tight and firm against the wall.

You can sand and paint the plywood to match the wall color and it will hardly be noticable behind the TV. If you use flat head screws to mount the plywood they can be countersunk and then spackled over to make a nice flat surface.


Can I connect a 12/2 wire to a 10/2 wire to operate garage openers? I already have 600V 10/2 Wire with ground into my first garage.  It is not connected to the electrical breaker yet. I would like to use it to operate my two garage doors and a few plugs. Am I able to connect the two and what size breaker should I use?

You can, and the combo requires a 20A, single pole breaker

You can always use larger require than the minimum required by Code for a given circuit ampacity -- given that the 2017 NEC now requires a 20A circuit for garage receptacles, your plan of extending this circuit with 12/2 is fine.  It will require a 20A, single pole breaker of a suitable type for your existing panel (we'll need to see the labeling on the panel if you want advice on what to buy for a breaker, though), and you'll need to use a torque screwdriver when installing the new wiring (with your main breaker turned off, of course) due to the requirements in 110.14(D) (again, new with the 2017 Code).

Garage receptacles (save for ceiling ones) need to be GFCI protected

The general garage receptacles will need GFCI protection as well -- I would run the wires to the garage door opener receptacles first and then to the first general garage receptacle's location; that way, the GDOs don't wind up on the GFCI rather needlessly while the general receptacles can all be protected by a single GFCI located at the first general garage receptacle box that has the incoming hot + neutral connected to the LINE side, and then you can take the tape off and connect the outgoing hot + neutral to the other receptacles to the LOAD side, thus protecting all the garage receptacles with one GFCI.


Fire hazard of exhaust fan with heating bulbs in bathroom? Our strata gave us permission to install an exhaust fan with 4x 250W heating bulbs into our bathroom. We are on the top floor and the roof cavity above us is the ceiling for the building. There are no firewalls in the ceiling.

I've been told by a friend who's a licensed electrician that these items can be a big fire hazard, as if something catches fire in the bathroom and the fan is on, the fire will be sucked straight into the roof cavity.

What are the chances of this happening? I can't imagine there's much in the bathroom that could catch fire.

Aside from the kitchen, I would say the bathroom is one of the most likely places for things to catch fire.  You have:

Water and electricity (never a great combination).
Curling irons and hair dryers (often cheaply made & get very hot)
Lots of flammable things (paint, wallpaper, drywall, cabinets, towels, etc.)
Things that go boom (hair spray, air fresheners, other aerosols)


Three sets of wires for two switches in bathroom Need a little help please!  I’ve changed every outlet and switch in this house except this one.  When I finally got to it, I got a surprise!  Sadly, I did not take a picture or remember how it was wired before, but I know it was wired incorrectly as one part didn’t work.

What I have > Three sets of wires coming in, two with just black/white/ground and a third with black/white/red/ground.

The B/W/R controls the bathroom light.  One B/W is the bathroom vent fan and the third is tied to a light/switch on the other side of the hallway.  When I reconnected what I thought was correct, when the hallway light is on, the vent fan wont turn on.

I’ve attached a little drawing of what I have coming in.  This is going to be connected to a double switch toggle where the light is controlled on top and the fan on the bottom.  No Idea what to do with the third set of wires and how they tie in.  Just want the single pole switch on the other side to continue to work for the light as before.

The switch they’re being connected to has four posts on it, two on left and two on right.  Ground wires are all taken care of, that part is good to go!

What I know so far.

LIGHT WIRING:  Black and Red make the light go on and off.
FAN WIRING: White from fan, black from light make fan go on and off.
THIRD: Wires didn’t respond to anything, however they were turned off at the switch on the other side.

F

I'm guessing the black from the light is always hot. So take that hot black and connect it to the black wire for the light in the other room. To that same connection, connect a 6" pigtail and the other end of the pigtail to the common terminal of your double toggle. The common terminal is probably the black screw but verify that with the switch diagram. Take the red from the light and hook it to the top switch terminal, usually a brass screw and hook the black from the fan to the bottom switch terminal, also usually a brass screw. Connect all your white wires together. Good luck and stay safe out there.


How do I hang a wall accessory fitted with 'Wall Grabbers' by Pinnacle? How is this shelf meant to be hung? Should I just use two screws into the drywall? It won't be supporting anything heavy, but screws don't seem like they would make the shelf mount flush to the wall.

The manufacturer has a video on their website that demonstrates how to hang their products that incorporate their Wall Grabber technology.

pinnacleframe.com -> Products ->  Gallery Solutions -> Click to watch video

or

http://blog.pinnacleframe.com/Pinnacle_Video/GallerySolutions_Pinnacle.mov


Should I wait for Spring to have my backyard deck painted? I need my deck painted. Should I wait until next spring or should I have it done during the month of October and November before winter?

There is nothing wrong with painting the deck this fall.  It typically has dry days with low humidity depending where you are in NY.  Just make sure the humidity is low so that the paint can dry properly.  This will get the wood protected for winter.  Just check the weather and plan well.


Will a water pressure booster stress my house's plumbing? If two taps are opened at the same time on the main floor, or if one is opened on the main floor and one on the lower floor, the water pressure seems to be insufficient for both taps. The house is a bungalow with finished basement.

I was told that one way to fix that is to install a water pressure booster. I am a little bit unclear on how this will affect my plumbing. I am actually not sure if the above is a volume issue or a pressure issue (I know they are correlated).

Since I have ½" pipes (copper) and the city connects the house with ½" main pipe, I guess it could be both.

So here are my two related questions:

Does the booster put additional strain on my plumbing? Can I expect weaker connections to crack and leak?
What is the way to calculate the correct size of the tank for this booster?

You indicated you're on city water. Even assuming it's only a 1/2" supply line into the house your pressure on entry almost certainly is over 100 psi. Most water companies deliver at 125 to 150 psi. Recommended pressure in homes is 65 to 70 psi.
You almost certainly have a pressure regulator on your system. I think it's required on all city supplied water systems. If it's too old or corroded to adjust you may have to replace it. You can also buy a pressure gauge at your local home center and measure the actual pressure at a spigot so you'll know what it is.
Also, your water company should be able to tell you what the approximate curb pressure is. It does vary depending on your distance from the water company.


Baseboard Heater-Trying to identify brand Need help in identifying brand of baseboard heater.  One is 8 1/2" tall and other is 10" tall.

Welcome to DIY Home Improvement Martha Mills!

Looks like it might be Sterling. Specifically their Kom-Pak and Senior series.


Ceiling fan light fixture not working On the wall we have a switch for the fan and a dimmer for the lights on the fan. The fan works great -- no issues. The lights randomly stopped working today, though.

Now when I open the the part that had all the wires for the light fixture it had 5 black and 5 white. The light fixture has 4 lights so there is one wire for each light and one is the hot wire coming from the top. Now when this wire isn't connected to anything it shows as hot, but once I connect it to one of the wires going to the light bulb it stops showing as hot. It's like it's grounding it or something. This happens to all of the black wires, if the hot wire touches any of the other wires it stops showing as hot. All of the white wires are still connected together.

Any ideas on why the hot wire stops showing as hot when it connects to the other black wire?

That's easy. The problem isn't in the fan at all, but rather in the dimmer switch (on the wall, probably).

Most modern dimmers use a kind of transistor (a triac) to regulate the amount of power (and therefore brightness) flowing to the lamp. Those triacs do fail eventually, and when this happens they normally fail "open" (off).

These dimmers will still allow a tiny bit of current through. Not enough to light a single light bulb, but enough for a sensitive voltmeter to detect. If you disconnect the light bulbs and measure the voltage, you'll get close to the normal 120 VAC; but even a single light bulb will "sink" the tiny bit of current leaking through the dimmer, and the voltage drops to near zero. (You could have done the same test by just unscrewing the light bulbs and testing the contacts in the bulb sockets).

Note that for some electronically controlled fans, the dimmer electronics can be in the fan housing and not in the wall switch. This would be particularly true for fans with a wireless remote.

Replacing the dimmer will almost certainly fix your problem. (If you want to test the hypothesis before buying a new dimmer, you could bypass the dimmer, which will, if everything else is good, result in the lights being "on" all the time).

Obviously, make sure the breaker is off before doing any of this.


Does my light switch have a ground? I just bought my first house and I want to replace this switch with
This smart switch.
The smart switch says it needs a ground wire, but when I opened the box up, it looks like there are only two wires here.
Is this box grounded? Would I need the ground wire?
See below for pictures:

Your light switch is not grounded and neither is the plastic box. You do have a ground wire in the box. It's the bare copper wires wire nutted together. To ground a switch, you'd need to get a piece of 14 AWG wire and connect it to the group of bare copper wires and then to the switch.
Most smart switches need a neutral, which isn't the same as a ground. The neutrals would be a group of white wires connected by a wire nut. Scrape some of the paint off the wires to make sure of the colors. Make sure the power's off before doing any work.


How should I connect a light to box with 4 black wires, 3 white wires? I'm trying to wire a pullchain fixture in a closet. There is no switch, that I know of, and no fixture currently. There are 3 black wires taped together and pigtailed with tape, no wirenut. There is 1 single black wire. There are also 3 white wires with a taped pigtail. How do I go about wiring a pullchain light fixture?
The closet is a small coat closet next to the front door. There are three switches in the box next to the door. One is for an exterior light. The second is wired to a wall plug. The third is a question mark. An electrician replacing plugs had no idea what it was for. Perhaps it's for the fixture inside the closet?
I have a circuit tester. Can I touch black to black and red to metal box since there's no ground wire?
Ok. Just checked with black to black, red to white and flipped the switch. No light on circuit tester.
Update. There are actually 4 white wires. Three are taped together and pigtailed with no wirenut.  The 4th is taped
to the pigtail. Looks like a mess. And yes, US, built in 1958.
I'm thinking I'll take the tape off and put wirenuts on. I'll update on what I find under the tape. May take a few days till I get to it.  And perhaps putting in a pullchain fixture is not that important after all.
I tested the single black wire based on your recommendation.
Final update: Problem solved. I had to call our electrician for a gfci issue on on of the circuits. He also wired the pullchain fixture. I unwrapped the tape on the pigtail clippings he left behind to find that they had been crimped originally. Thank you for taking the time to answer questions!

Final update: Problem solved, but not by me! Had to call the electrician for a recently installed gfci issue. He wired the pullchain fixture at that time.  I unwrapped the tape on the wire clippings he had left behind and found that they had been crimped. Thank you all for your responses.