2 black and 2 white wires, but one black & one white are on the same side of a switched receptacle I'm in the process of replacing old electrical outlets and switches to more modern Decora type outlets.  I've done a few so far with no problem, however, this one has a different configuration that's got me stumped.
I've attached a few images.  The duplex outlet is switched and there are the normal 2 black and 2 white wires plus a ground wire.  But as you can see in the photos, there is one black and one white wire attached on the same side of the receptacle, not the normal 2-black-on-one-side-and-2-white-on-the-other-side configuration.  Also, the B&W wires that are next to each other on the receptacle are twisted together from different strands farther back in the box shown in the picture.
How would I wire this to a standard 15A outlet with 2 screws on each side?  I know that I need to break the tab on the new outlet and black goes to brass, and white goes to the silver screws - I'm just confused at the B&W wires on the same side of the outlet.
I've also attached a picture of the breaker box.  The one breaker switch that's turned off is the one powering the outlet in question.  All blue breaker switches are 15A and this is a blue breaker BUT it's got an orange tape on it.  Another orange tape is marked to a 20A breaker.  (An electrician must have done this some years ago when I had a kitchen remodel).
How do I interpret this marker on the breakers?
BTW, this particular receptacle was never touched during the remodel.

What's going on here?
The switched outlet is controlled by an old-style switch loop.
A "switch loop" is a spur line that goes to the switch (and nothing else).  It has 2 wires: always-hot, and switched-hot.  As you can guess, switched-hot is hot when you want the lamp to be on.
Today switch loops must be /3 cable, and  you use black for always-hot and red for switched-hot, which works out pretty nice.  Historically, switch loops used /2 cable. When you do that, Code requires you use the white wire for always-hot.  That is to make it more obvious that it has been re-tasked to be a hot wire.
However, Code also requires that a white wire used this way  be re-marked by wrapping it with black tape (or other methods).  That wasn't always required.
That means the black wire is the switched-hot.
To aid newcomers, I strongly recommend obtaining both black and colored electrical tape (also some wire nuts and pigtails should be part of your personal "kit"). You must mark the white wire with black tape.  I also advise marking the black wire with red tape, so it is more clear what is going on.  I'm not saying this because you're novice; I do it.  Some of my work is very complex and without color coding, it'd take me 20 minutes to figure it out every time!

Isn't that better? Black to (remarked) black, easy peasy.
"Why don't I just remark the white wire red and switch their roles?" Because Code says otherwise.
Now it's just down to "how do I put 2 wires on one screw".
The simplest way is to get the $3.00 spec-grade outlets that accommodate "screw-and-clamp" to accept 2 wires in a clamped back-wire underneath each screw.
However if you want to stay with the 75 cent outlets, then you use a pigtail.  Join the 2 "black" wires to a third black pigtail wire that's about 6" long; join them with a wire nut or other splice.  The pigtail goes to the 1 screw.
The trick with wire nuts is to tighten HARD, and do a "pull test" afterwards by holding the nut and pulling each wire firmly. If any pull out, that's bad technique; iterate until you get it right.  That's not perfectionism.  A splice that falls apart is a splice with poor contact that will arc and start a fire.


What parts are needed to add a shutoff valve to 1/4" refrigerator water supply? Background: We recently had to replace our refrigerator. During installation, we discovered two problems - first, there was no shutoff valve to the water line that fed into the fridge; second, there was so much extra water line that the pipe was becoming tangled and kinked in multiple locations. The result was that the water pressure going to the fridge was so low that the water dispenser did not work until we had untangled it.

Plan: I want to trim down the extra water line to what is needed to pull the fridge out for cleaning and no more, secure the rest of the line along the top of the cupboard it runs through so it's out of the way, and what the heck, while I'm at it, install a shutoff valve.

I have...: 1/4" plastic tubing with a brass nut at the end to secure it to the refrigerator.

I need: To figure out what kind of shutoff valve to select, and what other materials I'll need to do the job, and any other tips or suggestions to keep things running smooth.

Saddle valves normally have a T handle that acts as a shutoff:

These are notoriously troublesome. The original one in my home crusted shut, as did the replacement by the previous owner.

In any event, you'll give yourself a more reliable service and vastly improved pressure with a proper valve at the supply pipe, such as those found near toilets:

Of course, you can always add an inline valve if you wish to keep things simple:


Drywall and tile to top of shower Looking for some tips on how best to install. Read a few different things but nothing that seems to fit this scenario.

Few pictures at what I am looking at are attached. Not sure weather to go over the lip with the concrete backer board or fill the gap somehow as I need something to hold the tile. Thanks for your help![![enter image description here][1]][1]

[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/o24qZ.jpg

It looks like you have drywall attached to the studs above where the tub is attached.

You should remove the drywall entirely. Then put concrete board or something like densglass or kerdiboard and bring it butted to the tub.

Then your wall sheet and the tub ledge should be nearly flush. Finally, install the tile covering both the wallboard and the tub lip.


I have CITY water. When I turn on my garden hose I have plenty of pressure, but after a few seconds the pressure drops substantially only outside I turn on my garden hose and I have plenty of pressure for about 15 seconds, then it drops substantially.  I have city water and I don't experience this in the house.  Any ideas?

There is a substantial restriction somewhere - partly-closed valve, over-soldered fitting, something like that. Your 15 seconds or so of good pressure is probably from the hose itself storing water - the slow trickle past the restriction gradually pressurizes the hose to full line pressure - as soon as you start using water, the hose contracts, and when fully contracted you are back to the flow past the restriction.

Check any valves on the line to the hose fitting, first. If it is an over-soldered fitting, those are somewhat of a pain to find, as you basically have to disassemble the pipe to look for them.


How to go about staircase drawers and drawers below stairs I would like to utilize empty space in my house and there are two areas I would like to add extra drawers for my family.

First area would be the actual staircase.  It would be optimal to cut out a hole in the step and add a drawer but the execution is complicated.  The finish result

I would imagine a possible soft pulling cloth on the top or bottom of both sides to pull open so it wont hurt or cause you to fall when you walk up the stairs.

Another area I would like to use space is below the actual steps such as this:

Now for my questions.

How can I structurally and efficiently execute this improvement in the steps?
Should I reinforce the steps to accommodate for the weight of the drawer, contents, and slider?
I debated to save time and hassle to go to Lowes/Home Depot and buy unfinished kitchen drawers and remove the drawers with the hardware and create a template for the opening.  Would that be a good idea?

I have searched for many tutorials and DIY projects but nothing that discusses structure, orweight popup. I have debated buying unfinished kitchen cabinets and muddying them in.  Any advise or guidance would be great.  I mentioned both the steps and underneath because I thought the focused on both areas which may result in similar answers.

EDIT: another design suggested in the comments:

Stringers are the zigzag style angled beams that hold up conventional stairs.

They are used on each side ot the staircase and sometimes in the middle as well.  They hold up the treads and the risers (the vertical boards) are attached to them.

Image 1 is basically floating treads on the stringers and using the risers as faces of drawer fronts. As the comments reflect, this is easily done when building a staircase, but quite difficult to retrofit. It also won't work if your treads are wider and there is a stringer (or the need for a stringer) in the middle.

Image 2 is a hybrid.  There are no stringers on the near face of the staircase in the area of the drawers, and none in the middle. There may be conventional stringers above that level.  It appears that there are horizontal and lateral supports built around the drawers and supporting the treads in place of stringers. Again, something that can be done when building a staircase, but not practical as a retrofit.

Image 3, based on a comment by John Smith, leaves the staircase intact, preserves the supporting stringers and gives you flexible storage possibilities.

The weight of materials in the drawers is not really a consideration unless you plan to store gold bars or some other really heavy materials. The weight of people on the stairs is much greater than any strain from linens or even books.


What is the best sander to use on oak stair treads? I'm about to start a stair refinishing project.  The stairs are 100 years old, red oak.  My plan is to stain treads and paint risers..

Question - what is the best sander to use on the treads?  Is an orbital (palm) sander good enough?  I want to minimize any swirl marks.  Any advice on grit level would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

A random-orbit sander has proven to be one of the most versatile tools I've used, having put hundreds of hours on them for projects of many types. Obviously they have limitations, but with a range of paper grit on hand they're invaluable. Note that this is not the same as a conventional "orbital" sander, which can be a dangerous and damaging instrument in the wrong hands. RO sanders are very forgiving to the novice.

You may also need a detail sander to get into the corners. These have pointed plates of various shapes that allow very close access, but they're much slower due to their more limited range of motion.

Finally, your hands. Sometimes the right manufactured tool simply doesn't exist, and a folded up sheet on your highly-evolved digits is the best approach.


Can I cap off a gas line and leave it inside a closed joist space? I am renovating my kitchen and will be switching from gas stove to induction cooktop. The gas stove is currently hooked up to a 3/4 inch iron pipe coming through the subfloor (below it is a drywalled finished basement). The wall where the old stove is located is coming down, so I cannot have the pipe sticking out.
Can I simply remove the valve, cap it off with a 3/4” iron cap and Rectorseal, and then 1/4 turn the whole assembly at the lower elbow so it is tucked away into the joist space? Or should I remove the pipe down to elbow and cap it with an threaded plug? The subfloor will be patched and then covered with a new hardwood flooring. Thanks.

Either of the solutions you mention will work, but I recommend, if you have enough room, completely removing the elbow and installing a cap on the horizontal line in the floor. This way there are fewer connections, therefore fewer leak points. Of course, make sure you leak test any joints you move or work on.
There is nothing wrong with a gas line terminating in a floor, other than the difficulty of trying to use it for something in the future. But it's no more dangerous than having any other gas joint in the floor.
The ideal solution would be to find where that branch line begins, and cap it there. That way you remove all potential leaks after the origin point. However, I'm not sure that would be easy for you, as you stated that the basement is drywall-finished.
For your reference, here's a link to Minnesota's gas code. It says nothing about gas line terminations. It mentions that gas valves must be accessible, but that doesn't apply to your situation, as you will be removing the valve.
https://up.codes/viewer/minnesota/mn-fuel-gas-code-2015/chapter/4/gas-piping-installations#4


Installing a ceiling fan in a house built pre 50's If I am installing a ceiling fan w/lights to an old house with only 2 wires coming out of the ceiling a hot (black) and white (neutral) is it necessary to connect the green ground wires from the fan to anything or can I just tape those off and call it good or do I need to put a cooper wire in. I only see 2 clothes wires that come from the ceiling there is not a box. I know the blue and black wires from the fan are connected to the black from the ceiling  and white to white.

First order of business: install an old work ceiling fan box!

(The linked box is the first one that turned up on Google -- there are several makes and models of old work ceiling fan boxes available, all of the basic design depicted.)

Right now, not only are you violating NEC section 300.15,

  Boxes, Conduit Bodies, or Fittings - Where Required. A box shall be
  installed at each outlet and switch point for concealed knob-and-tube wiring.

  Fittings and connectors shall be used only with the specific wiring methods
  for which they are designed and listed.

  Where the wiring method is conduit, tubing, Type AC cable, Type MC cable, Type
  MI cable, nonmetallic-sheathed cable, or other cables, a box or conduit body
  shall be installed at each conductor splice point, outlet point, switch point,
  junction point, termination point, or pull point, unless otherwise permitted
  in 300.15(A) through (L).

including the exceptions in (B),

  Equipment. An integral junction box or wiring compartment as part of
  approved equipment shall be permitted in lieu of a box.

(E),

  Integral Enclosure. A wiring device with integral enclosure identified for
  the use, having brackets that securely fasten the device to walls or ceilings
  of conventional on-site frame construction, for use with nonmetallic-sheathed
  cable, shall be permitted in lieu of a box or conduit body.

and (H),

  Insulated Devices. As permitted in 334.40(B), a box or conduit body shall
  not be required for insulated devices supplied by nonmetallic-sheathed cable.

you have created a very nice falling ceiling fan trap!  Ceiling fans are heavy and require solid anchorage to two ceiling joists, or at least the solid-enough anchorage provided by a properly installed ceiling fan box.  Furthermore, without a box, an overheating or arcing splice can proceed to directly light your ceiling on fire!

Once you rectify the lack of a suitable box to mount the fan to, you can then wire black&blue to black, white to white, and leave the bare (or green) wire from the fan unhooked (or terminated to the green screw in the box if you're uncomfortable leaving a wire end floating -- it makes no difference electrically in your case, but may be preferable for mechanical reasons).


Are there any cordless power tool systems that offer a corded option? Are there any cordless powertool systems (e.g., drills, drivers) that have a corded battery option (i.e., an adapter that fits where the battery would normally go that can be plugged in)?  I've used other electrical equipment with this arrangement (e.g., video cameras), but have never seen it with power tools.  If it doesn't exist, is there a practical reason why?

Believe it or not, they do make such things.  For example the Greenlee AC Adaptor for 18V Cordless Tools.

I have not heard of a "system" like that though.  I suspect that's related to the fact that I've never met a pro who used or even wanted one.  When battery-powered tools finally became usable, we all pledged our firstborns to whatever god made that possible and we never looked back.

Cameras, laptops, etc. can all stay in one spot for extended periods as they do their job.  Power tools (at least the kind that come in cordless varieties) are in constant motion.  Dealing with cords and sockets is a major time, safety, and infrastructure disadvantage.

If your tool stays in one spot enough to where you ponder an AC backup, you're often better off just buying an AC-powered tool for that job.  It will: be cheaper, have more power, and be more energy efficient than jacking AC to the cordless tool.

But, if you're really jonesing to do the 60 hertz shuffle ;) and you have some electronics skills, you can rig up your own AC system, a little like this guy did -- Except I would use a proper-sized DC supply and wire it to an old battery pack (¡with the battery cells removed!) instead of hard-wiring it to the tool.


OK to forego vapor barrier under concrete slab if pressure-treated sill plate is used along with sill gasket? Is it OK to forego installing a vapor barrier beneath a concrete slab (garden shed foundation) under the following set of circumstances?

there will never be any flooring material placed on the slab and  the only concern is the possibility of moisture damage to the sill  over time because the soil is frequently sodden and very slow to dry after a heavy rain

an EPDM sill gasket will be installed under "MCA" pressure-treated sill plate lumber

Our garden shed and greenhouse are built with pressure treated plates over gasket on concrete slab without vapour barrier.
The soil underneath was compacted well in order to avoid contamination during pour.
This seems to match your proposal.
It rains a lot here, and this set-up was specified by an experienced carpenter.


How do I seal a basement cinder block wall behind a shower? My wife and I have a basement bathroom that I gutted: back in 1980 someone decided to put tile directly on drywall and not properly seal anything, with the obvious moldy result. So I ripped it down to studs and concrete.

My question is about the shower area. This is in the northern U.S. for code purposes.

The wall with the window is obviously an exterior wall. The wall on the left is an interior divider wall. The space on the right will be framed out with cement board and tile on it.

What is the proper way to seal the cinder block walls considering this is a shower? We were going to put on two coats of Drylok, but this does not actually seal anything. If we put cement board and furring strips on top of the cinder blocks, do we even need to seal it? We are not completely sure if we want to spent the time, effort and money on tiling the whole thing, so I would appreciate advice both for the tile route as well as bare cinder block walls. At the very least though we will be building a base including a lip around all three walls and the open area so water does not go wandering out of the shower.

My wife is convinced we need to paint with Drylok and then epoxy floor paint (but on the walls). Is this a good idea?

The cinderblock walls are fine. Its the 2 other walls you need to worry about with sealing the wall to floor.  I always talk my customers into shower pans so i dont have to deal with that.


There is a red wire in my ceiling junction box. What does it do? Where would I hook the ground wiring from the fan? I am installing a vent fan in my basement bathroom.  I am ready to wire it in, but I do not know what this red wire is for:

https://imgur.com/a/uSnRLuv

I also am not sure what the green ground wire in the fan is supposed to be attached to.  I saw on some other posts here that you shouldn't wire the green ground to the white because you can shock yourself when you turn on the switch.  That was in reference to a ceiling fan, so I would imagine an exhaust fan would be the same.

I appreciate any clarification :).

Edit: added some more pictures for clarification.

Grounds are super simple.  They are all green, green/yellow or bare.  They should all be connected to each other and to nothing else. Ever.  EVER.

This is one of the few really hard-and-fast rules in electrical, and it applies everywhere in the world except some old Soviet installations.

If you have connected all the grounds that are present, that is all you can do.

If a site doesn't have any grounds, you can ignore it, or if code requires, you can retrofit a ground wire.  This process has rules which are, again, unique to grounds (far more permissive, actually).


Which side up on installation of Fesco Foam Insulation? I’ve got a stack of Manville Fesco Foam insulation boards salvaged from a commercial installation that I’m repurposing for the inside of my garage roof. I’m planning on machining them to fit around the joists in order to preserve some headroom without sacrificing too much performance in terms of LTTR.

Since I didn’t salvage them myself, I didn’t see how they were installed. So the questions are:

Which side faces the interior of the building - The black side or the perlite?
Can I use screws or nails with washers to attach them to the joists, or would that sacrifice too much performance? I.e., should I use something like construction adhesive?

The J-M Fesco data sheet shows the black TopLoc layer on top, with a glass reinforced facer on the opposite side.

The data sheet I saw didn't give many installation details, but I doubt a few fasteners with large washers would have a large impact on your thermal performance as long as they only cover a small percentage of the total surface area. Focus more on getting tight connections between the sheets and eliminating air leaks.


Stone surround repair advice We have a stone surround to our fireplace. I have noticed stone/cement dust often around it. about a week ago this stone came loose when my son hit it with a toy car. I have now noticed at least one more loose stone. This surround goes up to the ceiling and I want to fix this and strengthen stone that has not yet loosened. I am not sure what to use and should I first remove all old cement?
Thank you

I would not remove any of the cement, except for vacuuming and brushing to make sure the surfaces are clean so the stone can be glued back in place with construction adhesive. Keep the glue far from the edges so it does not show, should any try to squeeze out. Prop it in place until the glue dries, a day or two will do and it will stay.


How would you build a well cover for a dug well? The well is about 3 foot square, made out of cinder blocks.  The blocks stick up out of the ground about 1 foot. I want something simple and light to keep rain, dirt, animals out. The well is in heavy forested area.

The asphalt roofing material was disintegrated and now disposed of.  A tarp is over the well temporarily.  This well is not used for potable water.

First and foremost, "sturdy" matters more than "light" - in fact, a "standard design goal" for a standard well cover is that you should need at least two people to remove it - helps prevent Timmy from popping it off so Lassie can go get someone to rescue the idiot boy again when he falls in the well, again. That poor dog...
Likewise, if a fat person or whatever your largest local wildlife is (so if your bears are Grizzlies rather than Black Bears you need to plan for more weight) decides to climb up on the cover for a look around, it needs not to collapse and dump them in the well. Nothing like rotting meat to spoil your water supply.
So, if going for a "flat" roof (please actually give it at least 1/4" per foot slope) you want something like a small deck. It's only 4 foot span (or perhaps 2 foot 8 inches if 4 feet is the outside dimension and it's 8" block) and "it's not a deck, so it doesn't have to meet actual deck codes" but it does have to hold up a person, bear, whatever. So you can use 2x4 framing, or perhaps skip framing if it's only a 32" square hole, but at least choose thick enough exterior or marine-grade plywood to unquestionably support your largest load with some safety factor.
An alternative is to use a "non-flat roof" as they are easier to waterproof effectively, and may be less attractive as a climbing surface. If 4 feet is the outside dimension, a "5/12 pitch roof" only needs to be raised 10 inches in the middle (2 feet of run each way), and will shed water far more effectively than a flat roof.
You can also go all the way to a "well house" built on top using the well as a foundation, but I suspect that's not a direction you are interested in.
Any well cover, particularly if it's "tight" (as it should be to keep critters out) is normally vented (with screened vents to keep critters out) so that air can get in as you pump water out.


How do I put a recessed light in a wet location, where the can itself will get wet? I have an underdeck porch that has a ceiling made of metal roofing panels, that diverts deck drainage into a gutter. I would like to install recessed lighting in the ceiling. However, the cans will exposed to water from the deck drainage.

Is there a way to install a can light in such an environment?

The cans themselves are not wet rated.

You should install a fixture that is. Such as a strip light that is sealed and gasketed. Something rated for outdoors.

Good luck!


Rating for the outlet does not match the breaker. I have an outlet for an air conditioner that is rated at 20a 250v. The breaker has 2, 20amp breakers. Should I be concerned?  Should i replace this outlet?

That's fine.  The two breakers offer either 20 ampere protection to two 120 volt circuits, or 20 ampere protection to a single 240 volt circuit.


2 GFCIs out of one box to different circuits I just rewired my garage using what was there and have non-functional brand new GFCI outlets. They both come out of one box and feed separate circuits in my garage (one to a wall and other to my openers). They worked before supplying one circuit to my openers. Is having 2 GFCIs in parallel causing this? There is also a mysterious ground coming into the box feeding them that I tied together with the incoming ground.

"mysterious grounding" may be the problem. A GFCI is very sensitive to grounding problems - by design. A few questions:

1 - Do the GFCIs trip and not reset? Or do they NOT trip but simply "don't work"? There is a big difference. If they trip and won't reset then there is a real grounding problem. If they don't trip then they may be bad, though unusual to have two brand new bad outlets.

2 - I'm a little confused about the circuits. "feed separate circuits" implies 2. "They worked before supplying one circuit" implies 1. Do you have 2 separate circuits - i.e., two separate circuit breakers in the panel? Or do you have 1 circuit that originally supplied the openers and now also supplies an outlet? If you only have one circuit then you should only have one GFCI installed.

In addition to any other "mysterious ground", it is possible you have a problem with the openers - i.e., a fault that is minor enough to not trip the regular circuit breaker but is enough to trip the GFCI.

I don't know whether an opener circuit by itself (i.e., no outlets on the same circuit) needs GFCI protection according to code or not. Harper or ThreePhaseEel or one of the other code experts can answer that.


How to even floor varnish without sanding the whole floor We rent a flat with a rustic Victorian look. They've removed the carpets and varnished the wooden planks under them. Looks very rough but also nice. The problem was that they also varnished over some shoe marks. I wanted to remove those so I sanded parts of the floor and varnished again. Unfortunately, I did not measure the amount of varnish to apply. So now there are places on the floor where the varnish is quite thick and glossy.

My question is how do I reduce that thickness without sanding the whole floor again? Can I sand partially and apply something else? Or just sand with something less invasive?

You should sand those thick spots including some of thin spots. If your shoemarks are size 5x5", lightly sand around such as 10x10" and re-varnish again all over the sanded area. You'll even it out.


How to get rid of spilled olive oil on teak table? Yesterday a flask of olive oil accidentally dropped on our teak dining table. My spouse quickly used some paper towels to soak up most of the oil. The rest was evenly rubbed in to prevent spots. Naturally the wood now has changed color, it's gotten more reddish. Now my question is: will the olive oil smell after some time? Should I remove it? If so, how? Wood soap?

It could go rancid and smell for sure since it's a vegetable oil.  It's definitely not used for finishing things like cutting boards for this very reason.

Soap and water are useful in getting oil off of things that are sealed, but if it's discolored the table I'm guessing it's not very well protected.  That makes the problem difficult since any kind of oil seeps deeply into wood fibers.  I'm not sure how far oil penetrates into Teak since it's a naturally oily wood in the first place.

If you do manage to get it cleaned up (which probably involves sanding and refinishing at the very least), it might be worthwhile to build a nice protective finish next time.

Check out this post for more information:
How do I fix up an unfinished, oil-stained pine table?


Where did all the 80 gallon water heaters go? My 20 year old State brand 80 gallon electric water heater is going bad finally.
I went to the big box store and found they no longer carry a 80 gallon standard type water heater. The plumbing supply house said they are no longer making old style heater over 55 gallon, something about government pushing for more energy efficient ways to heat water.

What happened to them?

What you heard at the plumbing supply house is correct -- single conventional electric water heaters are no longer being made in sizes larger than 55 gallons for energy-efficiency reasons.  However, you do have options here.

Shrink the tank, boost the first hour recovery

One option would be to look for a tank in the 50-55 gallon class that has very high first hour recovery capability (equal to or better than the first hour recovery of your current heater).  This would probably pull more peak power than your existing State, but could easily match or beat it for total energy consumption by way of being better insulated than the old heater.  However, finding high first hour recovery electric water heaters may be difficult unless you look at commercial units, and your circuit may not be large enough for this.

Go with a heat pump water heater

Over-55-gallon electric tanks are being replaced with clever little devices called heat pump water heaters.  As their name implies, most of them use an air-to-water heat pump to heat the water using heat from their surroundings (this is called a unitary configuration), instead of an electric heating element.  This is your best option provided you have a waste heat source in the room; otherwise, the heat pump water heater may drive your heat bill up/struggle to produce hot water during the heating season.  Some heat pump water heaters are known as "hybrid" heaters and have electric elements that supplement the heat pump in high demand situations.

If a unitary HPWH is unsuitable, even with outside air ducted in for supply and return, one other option that can be explored in this space is what is called a split system heat-pump water heater.  Instead of having a small heat pump atop the tank that draws heat from ambient air in the space the unit is installed in, these units use a mini-split-ish outdoor unit that heats water in much the same fashion as a tankless heater, then pumps it into a tank for storage, with cold water being drawn off the bottom of the tank for reheating.  While expensive to buy and install, they provide excellent first hour recovery performance for their tank sizes, while both being highly efficient and capable of operation in a wide variety of climates.

Use two smaller heaters

You can connect two smaller tank-type heaters in series or parallel (either works, although both configurations have advantages and disadvantages) to meet your hot water needs.  This allows you to use standard tanks to fit the bill, but requires two circuits.  You can also use a tankless heater as a booster feeding a tank-type heater, but electric tankless heaters have extremely high instantaneous power needs, so it's generally better to use two tank-type heaters instead unless you are dealing with extreme hot water loads that exceed the first hour recovery capability of any other configuration.

Going tankless

A fully tankless setup can be used as well; however, electric tankless heaters are monsters when it comes to peak power consumption, pulling over 100A compared to the 30A draw of a standard-issue residental tank.  As a result, electric tankless heaters are probably not the best choice unless you have a large electric service (upwards of 200A) and are not going to get dinged by your utility with peak charges, either.


Can modern surge protector strips still catch fire? I bought a 120 volts Leviton 5100-PS Surge Protector Strip. I'd like to know if all surge protector strips contain thermal disconnector inside already (like Belkin, APC, Eaton, Leviton)?

What would happen if you plug one of those 120 volt unit into 240 volts ac outlet (say accidentally of course).. would the thermal disconnector activates preventing the burn up of the MOV element or would the MOV and plastic casing catch fire. What do you think?

And how does the behavior compares to when the MOV suffers maximum surge of its surge current rating.. would it also catch fire?

If there is not a thermal disconnect (many do not have) the MOV can catch fire, the way MOV's work is once a spike is of sufficient voltage it will break down and dump the excess voltage to ground or neutral depending on how it's wired. If the spike is large enough or having a long time duration the MOV over heats and usually blows itself apart. The case of the device usually contains the electrical fire as required by UL to be listed. Higher end units do have thermal protection but when these devices open the circuit the protection is usually gone. MOV's can take thousands of hits but go beyond there ability to dissipate the heat and they need to be replaced. This is why most whole house protection units have lights to show if the unit is still functional. Some of the larger models have replaceable blocks that are Basicly large MOV's with a temp sensor that opens once the heat exceeds the mfg rating (think of a thermal fuse like on a dryer or coffee maker)


How should I install a signal cable duct from new home office to a wiring closet? I'm constructing a new home office and rather than having fixed cables from the (existing) wiring closet, I want to have the flexibility to add/remove/change cables in future, so I've been looking at solutions for having a duct.

The closet is partially below (split-level house) and horizontally offset from the home office. There is a reasonably accessible void between the two rooms that could be used.

What I need is:

a ducting product which will allow new low-voltage cables to be pulled with relative ease, given a couple of wide radius turns
a WAG-friendly (i.e. neat and tidy) way to finish the ends of this ducting, particularly at the home-office end.

I would be open to solutions/products/ideas that terminate either on the wall or down through the floor (the home office is above the void I mentioned and is floorboards, with carpets to go down soon.)

For the duct work, since we don't know how many cables you are talking about, I suggest ENT (Electrical Non-Metallic Tubing).  It is flexible, corrugated and comes in a range of sizes, same as PVC.  You can even use PVC connectors on ENT if in a bind.

For termination, you can either use a box / terminating structured media center or make your own with a J-Box, but I suggest the SMC's.  The SMC's come in different sizes, depending on the manufacturer, and different modules and a surge suppression power system made for the box.

The SMC's are for RG6, or quad, Telephone, Cat5 and or Cat6, speakers, IR, securitry and the list keeps getting bigger.  This is a link for Leviton, and there are many more manufacturers of these.

Remember, no tight turns or hard pulling, these cables are not made to be tugged at real hard at, like stretching the twists inside cat5 cable.  If you can make the bend in ENT your wire radius will be OK.


How to properly vent attic in windy/snowy areas to avoid snow infiltration? To ask the other part of question: How bad is it to have wet insulation? that didn't get asked... How do you deal with homes that are in high wind and snowy areas which are susceptible to snow infiltration?

To give some background. Some time after the house was first built (it is about 35 years old), the previous owner had some problems with "leaks" in the house due to snow infiltration through vents in the soffits. It would just pile up in the attic. Later it would get warm, melt and end up as a leak.

The previous owner solved this by closing off the soffits on one side of the house where the wind typically blows the hardest. There are still some vents on the other side.  After doing some reading, it seems that this might not be an optimal venting solution (possibly not even code), since a cross ventilation is desirable/required.

Some other notes:

Roofing was replaced after about 30 years. At that time there wasn't a sign anywhere of rot due to moisture buildup.
House is in NYS. So we get plenty of snow, cold, and wind (50mph isn't crazy).
In my time there, I have witness snow piling up in other places, such as coming in the little cracks around/under the garage door. Get a small snow pile inside in the morning.

This is a common problem here in the north country. Normally, soffit vents are fitted with Styrofoam tunnels called "proper vent" that rest on the soffit vents and snug between the rafters and extend apx 3 feet up the roof. Your insulation is then placed around the bottom of the proper vent. Snow rarely will make it all the way up this Styrofoam vent extender. Does your roof have a ridge vent? Most houses that have soffit vents also have a ridge vent. The idea being that the cool air enters at the soffit and warm air exits out the ridge.  The only other suggestion I would have is to buy a few rolls of ridge vent filter material. Cut this material into pieces to fit over the exposed soffit vents between each rafter.


Basement shower tiled floor not sealed by builder what now So I have recently had a tenant move out and have found water damage around the basement shower floor.  Looks like black mold so I started ripping it out.  Now I am at the point where I have found what looks like a undersized water barrier but not sure if I need to bust out the concrete or just remove the perimeter and pour over the entire thing... if I do need to remove the shower sub-floor what the best way to do so with out damaging the foundation. Also notice how it looks wet, yet it hasn't been used on 25 days.  There was a tiled corner chair I have since removed, thats what was in the corner.

Thanks for you help

The tile adhesive is not bonded to your foundation.  The rubber membrane is installed between the foundation and adhesive.  You definitely want to remove/replace.


Why is my remote control not opening my garage door? I'm having garage door issues. My opener model is a Genie H6000A, the following symptoms are happening:

Garage door opens/closes fine when the wall button is pressed and hold.
Garage door closes fine when remote control is pressed.
PROBLEM: Garage door will only open about ~10 inches when remote control button is pressed.

I will appreciate any ideas or suggestions.

TIA, Angel.

The fact that you have to hold down the indoor button to keep the garage door moving strongly suggests that the controller is detecting a problem. The fact that the problem only happen when going up strongly suggests that it's the opening tension which is mis-set. Get the manual and see what you can find out; it probably spells out handling just such an occurrence.


Why is my plaster covered ceiling magnetic? tldr; Why do magnets stick to my ceiling?

I have an old house, built in 1905 in the Boston area. I want to install a light fixture in a room that does not currently have one. I tried using my stud finder to find the joists, but it proved futile.

I switched to trying to use some neodymium magnets to try to find nails in the ceiling. Right off the bat, the magnet stuck. Thinking I was lucky, I grabbed a second magnet and started hunting for another nail. That magnet also immediately stuck.

I started hunting around and found that the magnets stuck to my ceiling virtually everywhere that I put them.

The ceiling has a textured plaster finish on it. There are no vents running through the ceiling that I am aware of.

I would assume it's because you have plaster ceilings that use metal lath.


how do I increase natural gas pressure on outdoor fireplace I just built an outdoor natural gas fireplace.  After construction I found that the flame gave off hardly any heat.  After checking the gas pressure I found that I have less that 1 pound of pressure not the required 3-7 psi which would explain the low flame.  Is there a way to increase the pressure in the gas line.  Or is there a way to disassemble the gas line under the house to remove unneeded gas pipe, thus increasing the pressure?  All of the appliances in the house are ran off the same gas line but are working optimally (including stove, double sided wall heater, on demand hot water heater)

If the pressure you're measuring is the static pressure, that is the pressure in the line with no gas flowing, that pressure is the same everywhere in the line. You cannot increase that pressure by removing unneeded gas pipe. Instead, you can try having the gas company adjust or replace your regulator.

If you're measuring the pressure while gas is flowing, you might have lines that are too small, long or bendy. You might also have a gas meter that's undersized or defective. I again suggest calling the gas company to see if the meter needs to be replaced.

It's really in everybody's best interest to just call a pro. But the gas company should be happy to at least answer your questions, since you're trying to use more gas. If the meter or regulator needs service or replacement, they should do that for free.


Toilet gunk from clean water hole There is black gunk coming from toilet hole that clean water comes from sometimes its chips & spots that just look like bacteria or growth. Any ideas?

Sounds like deterioration of major rubber stuff, so get a plumber to entirely replace ALL of the toilet's components. Noticeable chunks typically indicate your tank gasket is going quick & not just the tank needing to be cleaned. These particles can collect & clog the toilet's functions if not addressed.

This requires removing the tank & you may as well replace the bolts, their washers, the flapper & the fill valve along with the new tank gasket. Probably $400 in parts & labor for a Handyman or Journeyman Plumber ($20-$30 if you do it) & good for at least a decade, so consider doing all toilets to ensure all water wasting is stopped.

However, getting a new toilet(s), that may work vastly better, might be the same Pro price & of course would fix the gunk problem. So, ask the Pro about this option as a quicker & better alternative. Lowe's cheapest Project Source toilets ($100-$130) were wonderfully welcomed replacements for my place when I did them.


Add LEDs to ceiling fan My baby seems to love watching the ceiling fan spin. Not sure if he is retarded, bored or just super fascinated. Anyway; I was thing, perhaps I could add a few LEDs to the fan blades.

My question to the group:

Could I replace my blades with acrylic blades, then wire up LEDs at the start of each blade? My fan doesn't have a light on it.

Or...I don't know, add some kind of self powering LED, that's powered by the motion? I imagine I could drill a hole for the LEDs, place a coin holder battery pack on each place and that would last some time.

Any ideas on the best method?

Maybe you would be better off just getting a lighted mobile. Leave the fan alone. Just a thought.


PIR Wall Switch Occupancy Sensor not working WSP-250 Good evening. My wall switch went from not working at all to now staying on. I removed it from the wall and it is now working but won’t shut off. I can hear something rattling on the inside as we were having to use a pencil to turn it off and on. Should I just replace the switch as I think the sensor is bad. Thank you as any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Unless the directions state that the use of a pencil is the proper way to operate the switch, you should replace it. The rattling sound would also be a reason for replacement. Don't chance it arcing because the internal contacts aren't connecting right. Take some pictures of the switch before disconnecting any wires. That way we can better assist you if you have some trouble. Many questions on this site are because someone disconnected something and cannot remember how to reconnect it. Pictures are worth a thousand words. turn off the breaker to the circuit before doing anything. Good luck.


How to wire 4 nm into 2 separate light switches and 2 lights? I removed a light fixture, box and octagon to install an led recessed light that doesn't require a jbox. There were 12 wires crammed in there and when removing the box the tags I had to keep track came off (r.i.p. my DIY soul...)
I can't seem to figure out how to add the light fixture to this mix of wires and keep the switch for it working.
If I wire the black wires from nm1, nm3, nm4 and the neutrals from the same, the light in room 2 functions properly with its switch. How do I add the light fixture and nm2 into this and keep it's switch functional?
I assume nm4 is to the panel because of its older sheathing and also because wiring just nm1 and nm3 didn't complete the circuit. Nm1 and nm2 together didn't yield anything either.
edit 1

So you currently have the black wires from NM4, NM3, and NM1 connected together, and similarly the white wires from NM4, NM3, and NM1 connected together. What you probably have is power arriving via NM4 and being distributed to other rooms via NM3 and NM1.
You can verify this by temporarily disconnecting NM3 or NM1 and observing what parts of your house go dark. (You have already done this for NM3.)
It is also possible that NM4 and NM1 are on separate breakers. Investigate this possibility by temporarily separating the bundles of three black and three white wires, temporarily connecting a load (such as NM3) to each of NM4 and then NM1, and observing which breakers control NM4 and NM1.
NM2 seems to go to switch #1. You can verify this through contact testing, or you can just assume the cable doesn't make any other stops along the way. If this switch formerly controlled the light that you removed then this is a safe assumption.
Now -- to connect your new light and switch #1.

Connect the white wire of NM2 to the bundle of three black wires at the light. Color the white wire black (or any color other than white, gray, or green) with paint or a bit of tape.
At switch #1, color the white wire in the same way. This marks the white wire "reused as constant-hot" at both ends.
Back at the light, connect the black wire from NM2 to the black (hot) wire of the new lamp.
Connect the white (neutral) wire of the new lamp to the bundle of three white wires at the light.

Please be aware that this installation, while safe, is not up to current code, because there is no neutral connection available at switch #1. You are carrying a technical debt, i.e. the future installation of a smart switch at the location of switch #1 might require replacing NM2.
I believe it is proper to replace your ceiling lamp in this way because, in terms of code compliance, you are at least not making things worse.


Boiler Won't Fire after adding Taco Relay 506-4 to Existing HW l8124a,c setup Boiler: Tranco (can't find model or other info anywhere on it)

Relay: Taco 506-4 (using Taco 007 calculator pumps)

Aquastat: Honeywell l8124a,c

I just finished installing two new zones and a new relay controller on my Tranco boiler and am now in the testing phase. When any thermostat calls for heat through the relay control the isolated end switch does it's job properly and closes the connection (as a dry contact). On the a'stat TT connections I measured that the connection is closed properly and the switch at the top (metal plate that clatters on and off- not sure on the name) closes correctly. At this point I would expect that B1/B2 would be energized and send some power down to my burner, but nothing is happening. I see a measly .05 volts on B1/B2 and even less on the burner contacts.

I know it's a possibility that my aquastat burner control is fried, but I'm hoping it's something more simple. The a'stat worked fine last winter and kicked off properly as expected.

Pics of the setup... Ignore the Hi/Low settings. I messed with them to see if the temp sensor was the issue.

The issue ended up being that my aquastat was busted. After exhausting all other possibilities I bought a new one and hooked it up and everything works fine.

I have no idea how the original broke, but it's safe to say that it did.


What are the pros and cons of LED lighting for home use? I'm interested in installing LED lights in my home, and I'm having a dilemma between buying LED bulbs and rolling my own solution. I have some questions on how to DIY:

How efficient is it?
  Single 1W led can yield about 90lm which sounds impressive, but when coupled with rectifier losses, dimmer, and resistors, what lm/W should I expect for 8 * 3 leds on 12V transformer?

Quality of light?
  How comparable the warm white is to fluorescent light-bulbs? Would mixing few yellow LEDs yield nicer color?

Other things to consider?

Many issues here. Let me go over in as much detail as possible:
Background: I love energy efficiency, and when doing my kitchen researched this LED Vs CFL vs incandescent lights extensively. Notice there are also permit (legal) implications, depending on which state you leave (CA has Title 24 for example).

Connector types: There are several connectors that make the decision of which light you can use tricky. the main ones are

Edison: The screw type, accepts CFL, Incandescent and some LED bulbs

Pins (2 or 4): Accepts florescent. Was invented mostly so that for permits purposes, they can make sure you are installing an efficient light and will not go and replace the CFL bulb with an incandescent one after you pass the permit.

GU10: mostly used for high voltage halogen

GU5.3 Bi- Pin: mostly used for low voltage halogen

High level rules:

You never go with incandescent when it is incandescent Vs CFL (Edison, screw system). LEDs are getting there, but not enough to justify the price and their light output is very low.
You can only go with pin florescent if you have a florescent "hw". that is the only thing that you can plug there by design.
Never use Halogen. If it is a GU10 (line voltage), get a $20-$30 LED (MR16). you get 4W Vs 35W. Light output is lower, but you can get HW with simply more heads. Replace 3 halogen with 5 LEDs and you are fine in terms of light and energy savings
If the halogen is a low voltage, things get tricky. You can just replace the head with a 3-5W bi-pin LED. they run $10-$20. They problem is that you need to make sure your low voltage converter will work. converters have what's called "minimal load". For most of them, they expect a 35-50W halogen so they have a minimal load of 10-20. That means that when you plug a 3W LED, they may not kick in. you solve it by either using a remote transformer that feeds "enough" LED bulbs, or get a transformer that is "led" designed, but really all it means is that it has a minimal load of 3w and goes all the way up to something (I have a 3-60W for mono-points).

Lat general tip: do not mess with dimmers. Just on/off.

My personal choices:
For kitchen recessed light I got LED LR6-GU24. It is 12W, think that the florescent way would suggest I put a 23W bulb for each of these (I have 7). That means 50% saving. Same light output (they say it is 65W equivalent, but it feels like closer to 90W). No one can tell it is LED BTW, it is bright and even (not a "pin" of light, and well spread).
Cost efficient: great! less energy, and upfront cost was the same as getting a florescent can combination. (you may get cheaper florescent if it is not for a permit and you do the Edison type)

For a bat lights I went with 3 mono points. Each has a transformer built in. I did not (suggest you never) buy "LED" lamps since you pay a huge premium for getting the LED HW. I just got the transformer with minimal load of 3W. I then threw away the GU5.3 Bi- Pin halogen and got Maxxima LED MR16. They are very good price (value) company. I compared the light to a $30 GE and these one are just as good. Notice that at 3W it is indeed just ambient light. good for over the bar in addition to some other light in the room. If you need more power, get 4 or 5W bulbs. see maxxima site

For spotlight lights in the center of medium size room, I went with much cheaper "line voltage" fixture from Lowes. These fixtures expect GU10 halogen (25-50W). I got in this case a the more expensive $30 LED GU10 bulbs (GE, at home depot). They are great, but I hope you can do better on the price. I have 5 and for medium size dining room, correctly targeted, it is nice light to use while eating.


Joining two 10mm twin and earth cables I've had an electrician install some new wiring for me for our new electric car charger. It is 10mm twin and earth. He's had to join two of these together, he hasn't fully finished yet, but I'm wondering if the join he has made is sufficient. I've attached a photo of his work.

The join is inside a void under our stairs behind some plasterboard. It will be taking a current of 16A for approximately 9 hours at a time. In the future our new car will be taking 30A. I'm a little concerned that this tape job isn't right. Any advice would be great.

Edit: Here is picture without the tape

I've never seen a qualified electrician leave twisted and taped up wires in 30 years on the job. And that is because it is a ridiculous way to form a connection. The tape will degrade over time and turn into a sticky mess. Put the connection into a proper junction box rated for the job, they cost pennies.

p.s. I could nearly live with it, if the wires were soldered and then the whole thing put into a box, but even then the tape won't last forever.


How can I mount a 2" mast to the side of a utility pole? I need to mount a 2" diameter mast to the side of a utility/telephone pole and am having trouble locating a mounting solution/hardware that will work.

My big problem is that I'm not sure what the name of such hardware is and that is making it tough to find using Google. Searching for "pole mount" just returns hits about mounting the pole itself, not mounting TO a pole. I've thought about using some kind of clamps around both poles, but ideally I'd like something that provides a little bit of offset between the poles. Maybe there is come kind of adapter hardware that would allow for a flush mount against a pole?

Can anyone provide some advice for the name of the hardware you'd use for this, or just general advice on how to securely mount a mast to the side of a telephone pole with a bit of an offset and flushly?

Try searching for "utility pole standoff bracket" and you'll find things like this Garvin bracket. Also check if the Band-It Company has something you can use.


Where do I connect the ground wire in the disconnect? I had to put a disconnect after my meter, and run 4 cables to my main box. I had to remove the bonding screw in the main box, and separate the white and ground wires onto their own bars.

The 2 hot wires connect on the disconnect breaker, the neutrals connect on the side of the disconnect breaker.

What do I connect the stranded ground wire to, from the main box into the disconnect box? To the neutral? To the box? To a ground rod?  I know where it goes in the main, but not in the disconnect.

If you only have three wires coming from the meter, and four going to the "main" panel. Then you're going to bond the neutral in the disconnect enclosure, so the direct answer to your question is all 3.

If there's a grounding bus bar in the enclosure, you'll terminate the grounding electrode conductor (the other end of which is attached to the grounding electrode) at the grounding bar. Otherwise, you'll just pull it into the box.

Next you'll bond the box itself, by connecting a conductor from the box to the grounding bar (or grounding electrode conductor, if there's no bus bar). This may be done already, depending on how the bus bar attaches to the box.  If the bus bar is bonded via the attachment method, you're done with this step.

You're also going to bond the service neutral in this box.  This will be done via a bonding jumper between the neutral bus bar and the grounding bus bar, or by connecting a conductor between the neutral bus bar and the grounding electrode conductor.

You'll connect the grounding conductor going to the "main" panel, to the grounding bus bar or the grounding electrode conductor.

When you're done the service neutral will be bonded, so it should be isolated from the grounding conductor everywhere else in the building.

You'll end up with something that looks like this.

Click for larger view


What can be done about a vanity top not flush against the base? I am installing a new vanity / top combo in a bathroom I am in the process of remodeling.  I leveled and roughed the base and placed the vanity top (provided with the base) on to check the fit and align it with the p-trap.

Everything was fine following the Instructions until I got to step 5 (installing the top).  While attempting to center the top on the base and get it flush (ish) against the wall, I noticed that the top does not appear to "sit" correctly on the base, a subject about which the instructions are noticeably silent.
The front and back of the vanity top appear fine, but the sides of the top that would normally touch the base appear to extend too far to the sides of the base for the silicone adhesive to be useful.

Should I use shims (or some other technique) to bring the base in contact with the top or is everything here in order and I'm over thinking it?  Could this be a defect?

I purchased the vanity from Home Depot.  I can add additional images or information if needed.

Details

URL:  http://www.homedepot.com/p/St-Paul-Madeline-24-in-Vanity-in-Chestnut-with-Composite-Vanity-Top-in-White-MD24P2COM-CN/204718251
Model#: MD24P2COM-CN
Top Material: Engineered quartz composite
Base Material: Particle Board
Additional Images: http://imgur.com/a/Vr1pv

Pictures

It would not be uncommon to install blocking around on the inside top edge of the vanity cabinet to butt up against the top assembly to hold it level without the top rocking around. Such blocking could be pieces of wood 3/4" thick that you glue or screw to the cabinet sides at the necessary height.

As far as that edge along the sides....only you the installer is apt to be looking up under there to see that. I would think that you can just leave that area open. For sure I would avoid the temptation to smear it full if caulk or sealer.

Another thing. You probably want to get the sink top all installed without general regard to where the drain down spout is located relative to the drain piping. The P-trap and the drain piping is all designed to be adjustable to fit to the sink installation and not the other way around.


Replacing floor boards, then sanding and varnishing etc We've recently bought our first house (yay!) and are looking to have exposed floorboards throughout. However I realise it's a big job and due to work etc I'll probably have to tackle this one room at a time.

I'm going to start in the upstairs spare room (3m x 3m) and I was initially just going to replace the floorboards that needed replacing - i.e. the broken/cracked ones but I've rang 3 local timber merchants to discuss replacement boards and each one has told me that the existing 18mm boards are too thin to be exposed and I should look to getting at least 20mm. One also said that the ones at the moment will be 18mm softwood(?) which is rubbish quality, never designed to be exposed and therefore won't come up that great if I do sand & varnish them?

So basically I have a few questions....

If I'm going down the route of replacing all floorboards is it worth treating both sides of the boards with something before I actually fix them? They come untreated from the timber merchants and while I realise I won't need to varnish both sides is it worth putting some sort of treatment on the underside too?
Do you think I'll still need an industrial sander if all the boards are new and therefore not paint-stained or anything else? Or will I get away with just giving them a quick going over with an electric hand sander?
How do you know how tight to clamp the boards together? It's summer here at the moment so the boards will obviously be at their largest - Because of this I was thinking I should probably do them quite tight because they'll shrink over the winter which then means gaps could start to show. Or am I just overthinking the expansion/shrinking situation (I have no idea how much to expect see!)
Is it worth/can I put some sort of underlay between the joists? It's a first floor room and so I'm thinking of noise below it might be worth putting something inbetween the floorboards and the ceiling below? Or am I just talking rubbish here?!
Any other hints / tips before I start would be massively appreciated.

If you're staring with raw planks... PLEASE apply the same finish to all surfaces (underside as well as topside). Otherwise, the surface with the lesser finish will tend to absorb/lose moisture much more quickly than the surface with the heavier finish, and the planks will "cup", "bow", and warp with seasonal humidity changes.

Better than starting with raw planks would be starting with tongue-and-groove planks. The tongue/groove joints helps lock each pair of adjacent planks together so they commonly bear the weight of people & furniture. The T&G joint also helps prevent dirt from dropping down between dried/shrunken planks, preventing the joints from closing again in humid weather & causing buckling of the floor. Last, it helps stop breezes from blowing up through the floor from the space below.

It's possible to install the new flooring as a "floating" (not nailed down) floor over foam insulation (mostly for thermal insulation, but there IS a little sound insulation value)... but that's a whole different type of floor and really begs for a completely different approach. If you try to install any resilient insulation under nailed planks, you'll just get "nail pop", where the nails pop up through the surface of the floor and trip you, possibly tearing bare feet. There are completely different materials available (google "pergo") for floating-floor applications.

If it were my floor... I'd leave all the original floor planks in place regardless of condition, and cover them with all new flooring, diagonal or perpendicular to the original planks' direction.

EDIT: ALWAYS allow new flooring to "season" in its destination room for several weeks prior to installation so it's in humidity equilibrium with the room, preferentially always install during the period of highest humidity and make all joints TIGHT, and ALWAYS leave at least 3/4" (18mm) gap around all edges. You'll probably need to remove any existing mopboards/baseboards & trim before flooring, then cover the gap with them after flooring.


Why is my new water heater making a clicking noise? I have a relatively new water heater (installed by previous owner). I've only been in the house a few months and did not notice this noise until after being there a few weeks. What happens is after any amount of hot water has been run, a loud snapping/clicking noise can be heard from the water heater. Could something be wrong with it?`

Being that it is an electric water heater, I am wondering if it's the heating element turning on. However, like I said, I didn't hear it the first few weeks we were there

You probably have sediment buildup in the bottom of the hot water heater.  Pockets of water get trapped in the sediment/scale at the bottom of the hot water heater, turn to steam when it heats up, then "explode" causing the noises you are hearing.

You could try draining the water heater to get some of the sediment out, but honestly it's probably too late for that - might want to have a pro come out and take a look at it.  It's not likely a critical issue, but it would be best to get that scale cleaned off to prolong the life of the unit.


How flat does a subfloor need to be for laminate? My kitchen floor is dished.  The middle of one interior wall was set on a pier without sufficient compaction. The settling was rapid, as the upper cabinets are set level, while the floor is 2 inches lower in the middle of one wall.

Imagine child's saucer sled writ large.  It's 24 feet across and 2 inches deep.  A support wall runs along the 24 foot dimension across the middle of the dish.  So I have a dining room and a kitchen each dished toward the middle of one of the 24 foot walls.

The floor is smooth.  If I use a 4 foot level at no point do I get a 1/8" gap.  But it is not flat.

A 2" dish over 24 feet corresponds to a .35" sag on 10 feet or a .06" (1/16) on 4 feet.

Can I lay laminate on this?

Please do not say, "fix the house first" to do so would require shortening the support wall.  Yes.  The 2nd level floor is flat.  Go figure.

That the upper cabinets on the lower wall are straight, makes me think that the bulk of the settling took very early, perhaps as early as during the completion of the decking on the bottom floor. Given the geometry for this to NOT be a support wall, then the floor above is cantilevered out 12 feet. (Half loft ceiling.) –

Check the specifications for the particular laminate you are planning to install.  For example, Armstrong Flooring specify:

  Variations in subfloor flatness should not exceed 3/16" in 10' (4.76
  mm in 3.05 m) or 1/8" in 6' (3.17 mm in 1.83 m). Level floors with a
  suitable cement-based self-leveling underlayment following the
  manufacturer’s recommended guidelines.

If you do have to level the floor, you are going to need a lot of fill.  You might want to use something other than self-levelling compound.


Furnace fan starts slow and is getting slower here is a sound clip, start at about :55 or listen to whole thing!

https://clyp.it/3h54oe2q

model is tg9s060b12mp11 luxaire, which comes up as York most places.

Anyhow, what's the best way to diagnose if this is a motor problem or a capacitor or whatnot.

Here is how much I know about furnaces - I found out how to take the panels off. And there is a kill switch on the wall.

Sounds like the capacitor is dead/dying.

If you have a capacitor tester, or a multimeter with a capacitor test feature, you can test the capacitor. There should be a micro farad rating on the capacitor (e,g, 10µF), and a variance percentage. When you test the capacitor, it should be withing the variance percentage. If it's not, then it's bad.  For example a capacitor rated 10µF ±6%, should test between 9.4 and 10.6 micro farad. If not, then it should be replaced.


Concrete driveway cured too soon and surface cement washed away I had someone pour a concrete driveway for me.  About 6 hours after it was poured it felt like it had solidified and was now only a little damp so I wanted to start curing it.  I used a hose to spray it using the finest mist setting on the nozzle.  In one area I noticed a few spots where the misting left a darker color and texture from the rest of the slab. When I touched these spots they were not as hard as the rest of the surface and some concrete would come off on my finger. I am guessing in these spots the concrete had not completely set yet or didn't set right and just the misting washed off the top layer of cement.  However on all the other areas of the driveway I tried turning up the water to a full spray and really soaked it without anything like that happening so I don't know why in those few spots just misting would cause problems.
The next day the concrete had dried and these spots had a big difference in color and some difference in texture than the rest of the driveway.  Is there any way I can get this area to look like the rest of the concrete?

Go back in time and wait 24 hours before using the hose. Then use it a couple of times a day for a month.

Other than that, or replacing the whole driveway, probably not. You could do various things to the surface spots, but they are exceedingly unlikely to match the rest of the surface.


How to level two different floor heights to prepare for carpet? We have a second floor bedroom that was added onto the old house a long time ago and it is 1.25" lower than the hallway.  The bedroom currently has hardwoods.

What is the best way to raise the floor to meet the hallway hardwoods and install carpet?
--- 2 layers of OSB plywood? is there a weight issue with this?
--- Install sleepers and then a layer of OSB?
--- leave the hardwoods and install a transition piece

I'd probably do 1/2" sleepers (could be ripped from plywood or OSB) directly over the joists, then 3/4" t&g subflooring with construction adhesive between everything to prevent squeaks. Use screws or ring-shank nails long enough to penetrate the existing subfloor and joist at least 1-1/2".

Weight shouldn't be an issue, but I know nothing about your home's construction.


Bank of wall outlets not working I have a bank of wall outlets that are not working. I have checked the fuses and found all of them check ok at 120 v ac. I then replaced all three outlets with new ones and still have no power. I did check the power on all of the lines to each outlet and found no power to every socket. (There are three). I then went to the attic where the line goes into the wall and traced the line to the power source and found no breaks that I could see or identify. So now I am stuck????

If the line from the wall to the power source is good, and the power source is good, then the problem will be in the wall.  It's hard to imagine how something could go wrong between the top of the wall and the outlet, but I had this very problem once and traced it to a mystery, unclosed box with the two unterminated wires in it in the middle of the wall for who-knows-what reason, completely hidden by drywall.

Is there a switch on this wall as well?  If so, the outlets are probably connected there to the power source.  If not, your best bet may be to start at the outlet and trace the wire back to the source through the wall.  This will involve removing wall covering, and the repairs and cleanup that that entails.


Can I cut into concrete floor in kitchen? I need to run a gas line for a new stove. No room in the attic so need a 3x3 inch, estimated 12 foot trench in kitchen concrete floor. Wondering if anyone can offer advice.  I'm just concerned about cutting into the floor. Any concerns or issues I should be aware of and is this normal practice?  My gas guy suggested this as no other way to get gas line to new stove location. Thanks.

Yes, of course you can cut a trench through your concrete floor.

Be sure that you locate any existing wires or pipes that are in the path of the cut. A concrete saw with water will keep the dust to a minimum. Using a wet/dry vac to immediately suck up the water/dust will also help.  Be sure to seal off the space as best you can with plastic sheeting to keep the concrete dust out of the rest of the house.

You will likely want to dig below the concrete to make a space for the new pipe and then back fill to the level of the bottom of the concrete with sand or pea gravel.  Finally fill the cut with concrete and trowel it level with the uncut part.

Is it a lot of work?  Sure, but there is often no other way.


Do water lines that contain lead need to be replaced if it doesn't flow out of a valve that I normally drink out of? A plumber had came to my house to sweat pipes to install a water valve which controlled water going to the garden spigot.  Upstream to the valve is a t-joint.  The other output to the t-joint went to the kitchen faucet.  Now, he suggested to me that if the water line to the garden spigot on the output end of the t-joint contained lead solder or lead pipes, it would not contaminate the flow of water going to the kitchen.  Instead, all of the water-contaminated lead will be used to water the grass.

Is this true??

The water supply piping in our house is copper sweated with lead-tin solder in 1971. We have lived here since 1978. Dallas water is slightly basic (ph 8 or so) and has some minerals in it that I believe would react with the lead to form an insoluble passive surface. We drink water from the taps.

I  don't think you have anything to worry about.


Is it safe to connect two extension cords to reach 75 feet to a generator? For my generator? It's a duromax xp4850eh with one of those 240v L14-30 outlets. The inlet is about 75 feet away from where I want the generator to sit outside. Because of voltage drop concerns, I thought maybe I could connect a 8/4 extension cord to the generator first, then connect my 25 feet 10/4 cord to the end of that. I really don't want to deal with a full on 8 gauge 75 foot cord.

Yes, you can run extension cords in series.  The wires have to be sufficient size for the ampacity from end to end.  The cords and in particular the junction between the cords would have to be rated for the environment, they'd have to be weather proof if they are outdoors.

The voltage drop would be additive, you'd calculate voltage drop from the source voltage on the first cord, then calculate the drop of that adjusted voltage on the second cord.

There is no issue with a 10-4 cord at 30 amps for 75' - that would be less than 2% at 240V and less than 4% at 120V, which should be no problem at all.


Is a back flow valve needed to attach a washing machine? I want to attach a washing machine to my apartment's water supply.

The washing machine is simple and has one inlet and no internal heater. The apartment has both hot and cold water.

I plan to attach some extra pipes via T connectors after the cut-off valves which connect a faucet to the hot and cold pipes. I plan to mix the water using something like this two-inlet valve.

The question: do I need to add back flow / check valves to prevent the flow from hot pipe to cold, or vice versa? If I do, what kind of valves these should be?

Update: this device looks purpose-built for that.

One way to accomplish this is; You can add one Inline spring check valve to each supply line.

After the check valves you can tee the hot and cold together with one 1/2" copper pipe out into a 1/4 turn valve  and then to the correct threaded piece to accept the washer supply hose.

The check valves will prevent water from one pipe from pushing into the other.

To regulate the temp of the water you could use 1/4 turn valves BEFORE each of the check valves and close them partially to adjust the temp of the water.

Or just plumb in mixing valve made for the job of mixing and not allowing back flow. I have seen shower mixing valves used for washing machine supply in older homes.


How can I trip a breaker from the outlet One time at my job we had some electrical work that needed done.  The electrician had a small homemade switch box with a 120v mains plug running out of it and a switch on the front.  The device basically threw whatever breaker that plug was attached to so he new which one needed work on and made the circuit safe.  Where can I get one of those boxes, or a way I can trip the breaker from the outlet?

That box should have been a warning that the guy was incompetent; it's a very bad idea. If the breaker malfunctions, it can start a house fire.

There are cheap devices available in most home centers and hardware stores which can put a signal onto the wire and pick that up at the breaker to identify which breaker controls that outlet. There's a better version that a pro should have which can do a few other things.

Or there is the traditional homeowner solution: plug a radio into the outlet, turn up the volume so you can hear it from the basement, and try breakers until you find the one which silences the radio.


Safety differences between the various types of outlet (two-/three-prong, grounded/ungrounded, with/without GFCI) I am an ordinary person with absolutely no knowledge regarding electricity and how it works (things like circuits and such) and I never really cared before until now when I sense potential safety issues in the place I just moved in. I really hope you can explain things in a way that's easy for me to understand. I did some research about "ground" and "neutral" concepts and now I have a bunch of questions about safety. I'm in California, US. My apologies for the super-long post ahead.

Basically I recently moved in to a relative's house. This relative had done some DIY electrical improvements or whatever and I'm not sure if I can trust his "improvements" so I'm asking questions here. From what I know, this house's electrical situation is as follows:

There's no wire/system for ground

All receptacles (outlets) are three-pronged (each has two three-hole smiling face to plug stuff in) (pretty sure this is the standard outlet used everywhere)

Some of the outlets when plugged in, my surge protector says "Protected" but not "Grounded" (meaning light is on for Protected but light is off for Grounded) while the rest all have both lights on

The relative told me that he knows it's better to have a ground system but upgrading this house's system to have that would not be possible due to the wiring in the walls or something like that so he connected the ground and neutral together in the outlets because he saw that these two are connected together at the main panel (I'm not even sure what "connected together" means - again I have no knowledge regarding circuits/electricity). I looked things up and this is supposed to be a dangerous bootleg ground

The reason we have 3 prong receptacles for all outlets instead of 2 prong is because our devices use 3 prong plugs

I looked things up even further and found a bunch of terms like GFCI, etc and then I got confused so my question is:

How and in what situations are the following outlet setups safe or dangerous?
(For each of the 3-prong setup, does the plug of the device (3 or 2 prong) matter? if so how?)

I'm willing to learn a physics lesson to be able to solve this myself but if it's too hard I'd like to just have the answers with explanations. I'm trying to not get electrocuted

1 is against code
2 is allowed provided the correct stickers are applied ("GFCI protected" and "no equipment ground")
3&4 allowed and safe provided it is not a bootleg ground.

Ground and neutral is only allowed to be connected at the main panel. Disconnect all those bootleg grounds from the neutrals in all other places.

You can put the GFCI protection at the panel by using GFCI breakers. The other option is GFCI receptacles and if you do things right you can protect outlets downstream.


Mounting outlet on drywall furred out from cement I am in the process of adding an outlet to a wall in a previously renovated basement.  The wall is drywall, mounted to furring strips which are attached to the cement wall.

My two options as I see it are:

Externally mounted box run horizontally like wiremold or EMT and a handybox, or
Cut a hole in the drywall, mount a handy box directly to the cement. Fish NM down vertically between the drywall and cement wall into the handybox.  It leaves about 3/4" of the box jutting out from the wall.  Patch around it, paint, good to go.

Which would be more "proper"?  Any code concerns?

Edit: added image of the completed project.

You have three choices here:

Run the NM cable in-wall with a sheet steel protector at least 1.6mm thick between the cable and the wall surface (to keep those pesky nails away)
Run conduit in-wall -- a 3/8" trade size EMT should squeeze down there OK although you'll be tight on wire fill with that.  You might be able to fit 1/2" EMT -- I'd try it at least, and use the 3/8" if 1/2" doesn't fit in the gap.
Run surface raceway or conduit, if you'd rather the industrial aesthetic.

All three will meet Code -- it really depends on cost and what skills and materials you have available to you.


Corded vs Cordless Drill I have the intension of buying a Drill, At shops, I see the corded and cordless Types, Although the cordless drill is more handy and portable, I always have a little doubt about that it's effectiveness and efficiency might not be as the corded type.....Is it true and also is choosing a cheaper manufacturer going because they are cheaper going to affect the quality of the Drill?

Go to any site where they are building homes.  80-90%+ of drills there will be cordless.   Until the past 5-10 years most consumer cordless drills were almost worthless for heavy duty jobs.  But that simply isn't true anymore.  The big boxes carry good brands and you can get more than enough power from a $200 cordless drill that comes with two batteries and a charger.

The downfall of the corded drill is you need electricity.  I would say 1/3 of the time I am using my drill I have no or poor access to electricity.  If you are drilling on a bench next to a socket then this shouldn't concern you.  Also if I am working around a house it is rather annoying having to plug and unplug drill or keep it from getting caught on something.

I have a corded drill.  It has two uses.  I use it when I am mixing cement/thinset or something similar.  Doing this with cordless isn't a great idea.  The other is when I forget to charge my batteries.

Note: one negative is that I misplace my makita almost daily.  Doesn't happen with corded.  But then kids don't get to play "find dads makita".


Can I use a single cable for cable rails? I'm looking at redoing our stair railing and going with a more modern look with cable rails. 'Proper' cable rails, however, seem to all come from perhaps one factory. All the options I can find look exactly the same and fall into roughly the same ballpark prices.

For the 5'-ish span we're looking at, I can get a kit that includes two pivoted ends, the turnbuckle and 5' of cable. If I want 6 cables, I get six. At about $40 a kit, that's about $240. Not a crazy price, but got me thinking as to why I'd need 6 individual cables. Why couldn't I just get one cable and weave it in and out?

The idea would be to use only two eye-bolts for the entire set of rails. I'd then weave the one cable in and out of both ends and add one turnbuckle somewhere in the middle.

As you can see, this is a lot cheaper--especially when you put it into the context of say a full deck installation.

The idea would be something like this:

(Illustration just to show the 'weaving' concept. If I were to do this, I'd route the ends through curved channels so that the cable wasn't attempting to make a full 90 degree turn at any one point.)

However, I never see it done this way. I can't find any examples using just one cable--all cable railings I see use individual cables and attachments for each line.

Question: Is there a reason for this other than perhaps habit/preferred aesthetics? Is there a structural/installation aspect I'm maybe not considering?

UPDATE:

After more web surfing, I came across this blog post where they had the same idea I had--at least in terms of using off-the-shelf hardware:

Note the turnbuckles are almost closed, so even with one turnbuckle per-cable, a lot of slack needs to be taken out to make it taught. MIGHT Be doable with one cable on my short interior run, but anything bigger, I suppose it does make sense to go with one turnbuckle per cable.

That said, I personally think it looks great--but, admittedly, likely best as an outdoor solution on a large deck. It's probably a bit too 'industrial' for my interior short-run.

I dont know how you would make curved channels. But anything short of installing pulleys in the posts I don't think the wires would be tight enough. With the codes 4" maximum opening the wires need to be extremely tight to prevent a child from spreading the wires apart.

Plus the turnbuckle and screw eye  contradicts the clean lines of the wire.


Is it ok to use caulking instead of tape and mud on my new drywall ceiling? My contractor told me it's much cleaner to use caulking instead of mud/tape on my new ceiling.
He's not talking about the corners. He's talking about where the seam of the drywall sheets meet. I've never heard of this method. Is this acceptable?

No no no no and NO.    You need to fire this guy immediately.   Anyone who even brings this up is beyond reproach as far as incompetency in this area.

Caulk is expensive.
Caulk cannot be smoothed to seamlessly fade into drywall.   Even if you took days/months to flatten caulk it would still have seams and ridges.
Caulk will not look the same when painted as drywall.   That is the whole point of using mud/joint compound... when you paint it, it looks the same as drywall.
What is he supposing for any nicks or scratches?   More caulk?
Caulk will dry out over time and harden and loosen.

However... I have started using caulk for ceiling cracks that keep appearing.   It is a good binder for seasonal contraction - but I tape and put joint compound over the caulk!
Edit: I have a small room in my basement to finish in 2-3 months... Thinking about giving the caulk a go.   I don't mind the caulking but to get the pictures right I would need to put on a little primer and paint and those steps are a PITA to do over again...   I will try to do a couple feet of a seam like this.


Joist not reaching the end We are redoing a wet room on the ground floor and we have uncovered the floor boards.
I'm looking at this and I'm totally baffled.... the joist doesn't even reach the end of the room... what's supporting it is a mystery to me...
What's the best way to fix this?

Example of the far left joist as well below - this one looks a bit rotten and has a much better joist connected to it that runs to the other end of the bathroom I believe.

Aah, plumbers.
Google instructions on 'framing an attic hatch'. At a minimum, you want the cut joist to T into something across the two good joists.
You also want to put short joists (going in the same direction as the rest of the joists) as close to the plumbing as practical to support the edge of the flooring.
If you already have a compressor available, a palm nailer will drive the joist hanger nails in tight spaces quite nicely.
Edit----
Here's a bit of a diagram to show how the new parts should go. It's probably best to assemble them with joist hangers (ie, Simpson LU28, if the joist is a 2x8). You'll have to notch a little for the plumbing on the right. (These notches are perhaps the worst type of notches you can put into a floor joist, so make them as small as possible.)
If the joist on the left is rotten all the way along, I'd sister an additional joist through as much of the length as you can manage. (Glue and screw.) If it's just the very end, you could extend the perpendicular joist to the next good joist, but in that case, double the perpendicular.


Rewiring socket for lamp question I was dismantling a lamp to make sure everything was alright with it after two bulbs died very prematurely. Found it was a bad batch of bulbs thankfully, but now I'm unsure of how I rewire it together. I know I need to screw the cord on but I don't know which cord should go where. Should have taken photos as I dismantled it!
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Assuming that the lamp cord is polarized you want to make sure that the hot side of the two wire conductor is attached to the center (copper) terminal on the socket. The common side of the cord is connected to the outer (silver) terminal.
The hot side is the one that plugs into the narrow slot in a polarized receptacle. The wider plug blade can only fit in the wider slot on the receptacle and is the common or neutral wire. You can also tell hot from common by feeling both sides of the lamp cord. One side is smooth (hot side) the other side is usually ribbed (common or neutral side).
You also want to make sure that the the screws are sufficiently tightened.
If the plug on the lamp cord isn't polarized with a wide blade or prong on one side and a narrower blade on the other you should replace the plug or the entire lamp cord with one that is polarized.


Wire ratings in very hot attics, e.g. Phoenix where they go to 180F? Someone asked a question about wire damage in an attic in Phoenix, Arizona.  Links on the web confirm attic temperatures go above 180 degrees F, or 85 degrees C.  Most wires have a 75C or 90C thermal limit.

NEC seems to say the thermal limits for wire start with its column in the usual ampacity chart we use, NEC 310.15(B)(16) -- and by the way, it  says it is based on ambient temperatures of 30C (86F).  That will come up later.   Confining ourselves to wires actually rated for 90C, such as THWN-2, you get, say, 55A for #8 wire and 75A for #6 wire.

Then, following what it says in NEC 310.15(A)(3), it says you use the tables such as 310.15(B)(2)(a) "Ambient Temperature Correction Factors Based on 30°C (86°F).  That says for 90C conductors operating in an 81-85C environment, you must derate to 0.29, or 29% of nominal value.  That means 15.95A in a #8 wire, or on a #6, 21.75A.  *And mind you, that's using THHN, not UF (60C) or THWN (75C).

NM (Romex) is a strange one: NEC 334.80 allows NM a 90C rating for the purpose of calculating derates like this, but the final, practical number can't exceed the 60C rating.  Thanks Ed Beal.

I just can't believe that all attic wiring in Phoenix is laid with #6 and #8 wire.   How is this done in actual practice?  What do Phoenix, Riverside, Tuscon and other sunbelt inspectors approve?

Fix the issue at its source: the deficient attic

An attic that is hitting those temperatures throughout, even in a hot climate such as Phoenix, has a design flaw.  Either the ceiling plane needs to be air-sealed and insulated to allow the attic to be vented at the soffits and ridge to provide convection cooling of the space, or the underside of the roof deck needs to be air-sealed and insulated, forming a hot roof, to allow the attic to be conditioned and treated as interior space.

With proper venting, the attic should stay closer to 120°F (~50°C) worst-case at the top of the joist space, which is where most of the wiring lives in any case.  Of course, in a conditioned hot roof system, the attic will be kept at living-space temperatures instead; this is vastly superior to even a vented attic when there is equipment and ductwork in the attic, not just the occasional cable or vent pipe.  "Hot roofs" do have the downside that they can put more stress on temperature-sensitive roofing materials in hot climates, though, so there is that to keep in mind as well.

If fixing the attic isn't an option, then one could bury the wires in insulation given that they are at or near the joist space, but this does pose downsides for future maintenance.


Refrigerator making loud clunking sound My refrigerator recently started getting to warm.
We blew out the condenser coils and refrigerator section is working ok but freezer will not get below 18 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also there is  a loud clunking, rattling noise when fridge is moved sideways. This sounds like it may be  the compressor  bounding around.

A large clunking sound could be many things,
Since Refridgeration equipment is a licensed trade we can look at a few things. But with the available information it is hard to provide a proper answer.
Two long for a comment so here are a few things to check.
Blew out the coils, is the fan clean and functional if it has one.
With out a proper air flow on the condensing coils the heat exchange is limited. I ask about the fan because it can be the sound hitting something or clunking
Next I would look in the freezer section is it a frost free model? Again is the fan working, coils iced up? Usually with frost free you have to remove covers or defrost if it works for a while after defrosting it could be the fan or the defrost timer/ heater to thaw the coils.
If the above all check out we are to a pressure check.
Most refrigerators do not have a service port so one has to be added to check the charge and if needed recharge the system..
there are mechanical port / valves that can be added for under 20$ but these are questionable in my opinion but may be an option for a less expensive repair if the system just needs a recharge.


How can I use a switch for outlets to control a new overhead light? I am trying to rewire our bedroom so that a wall switch that turns on/off half of all receptacles in the room will instead control a ceiling light and leave the receptacles (both halves) always hot and add a dimmer switch to control the overhead LED light.

I have two cables coming into the current switch box, a 3-wire (black, white, red and ground) and a 2-wire (black, white and ground).  The current light switch is wired the following way on a 2 screw switch with a ground:

Both whites from the 2- and 3-wire cable are together (wire nut) not connected to the switch.
Both black wires from 2- and 3-wire cable are together on the power screw (darker) on the switch.
The red is connected on the same side of the switch on the lighter screw.
Both ground wires are connect to one another and pig tailed onto the ground screw of the switch.

To answer this question, a short description of the components is probably needed.

The 2-wire cable is the "Lead", meaning it is the hot side that provides power/neutral/ground to both the switch and always-on outlets.

The 3-wire cable is the "Load", meaning it is the delivery of power/neutral/ground to the outlets. The black wires that are connected to each other and the switch Lead lug (the darker screw) are always hot. The black wire that is combined in the 3-wire cable provides the power to the always-on outlet. The red wire in the 3-wire cable is the Load wire that is controlled by the switch.

To use the switch (or a dimmer-type switch) for a ceiling light, install a 2-wire cable from the new ceiling light to the light switch box and connect the neutral (white) with the other white wires (use the correct sized lug) and the ground (bare) with the other ground wires. Then re-work the existing switch (or replacement dimmer switch) so that the existing black stays on the Lead side (the darker screw) and the black wire from the ceiling cable is connected to the Load side (the lighter screw).

You didn't say how you wanted the outlets to work but in the scenario above the lower outlets (previously switched) would be dead. To correct this, you will need to replace the switched outlets with new ones. There is a connection between the switched upper and lower outlets that has been cut, separating the power feed, and the only solution is to replace them. It's a fairly simple process and the outlets are inexpensive at your local hardware store (HD, Lowe's, etc.). Lastly, the red wire would be abandoned and should have the stripped end cut of, wrapped with insulating tape (black electrical tape) and labelled.


How can I discourage mud dauber from nesting at my entrance? I just learned that the wasp nest pictured is a mud dauber.

This is the second such nest I have on two edges of the same outside wall on adjacent years. I'm either inattentive, or they are particularly fast: the nest is built before I notice. One idea that worked with the first one was to spray shaving foam over it. Luckily the foam stayed there long enough, and the entrance was no longer menacing. The second one, pictured, seems to have served its function and is now empty.

The wikipedia page linked above suggests they might reuse a previous nest, and so I'll pull this off soon to avoid a recurrence.

Apparently they find something particularly attractive at this location. The color of the bricks? That the spot is shielded from rain? Is there a way to dissuade them from building in this particular spot?

I have also had yet another wasp nest below a layer of leaves in a bag near this entrance. Is this the same species? Might the presence of leaves act as an incentive to build the "organ pipe" mud dauber?

They build their nests in the late-summer to fall and I've found the best approach is to remove the nests as they build them.  You'll hear the characteristic high-pitched buzzing as they deposit the mud.  Scrape the nest off the wall or spray it off with your hose.

Mud daubers are not very aggressive, they can sting but usually don't and they don't swarm like hornets do.  Their nests make a real mess, however.  I have never noticed them reusing the same nest although they may build more mud tubes adjacent to old ones.

They tend to like shady spots like you have there on your porch.  The nest is filled with spiders that are paralyzed by the venom and are used to feed the youngsters when they hatch.


Is this a gas leak from back the back of my oven and is it dangerous? https://youtu.be/FQXYIAQ7ywA

This is a video of the gas connection on the back of my oven. I covered the connection with soap water. It is bubbling. I do not smell any gas. Is this a problem and is it dangerous?

Yes it is a leak, a slow leak but a leak nonetheless and it does need to be addressed.

Any leak no matter how small is potentially dangerous. You should turn the valve off And address the problem.

Some jurisdictions require that all gas connections be handled by a licensed contractor but if you are allowed then you could turn the gas off, use two adjustable wrenches to disconnect the supply line from the fitting,  clean it up with a brush and apply pipe dope to the threads and reattach.

Retest with soapy water after you have finished reconnecting.