Is it possible to make my own solar water heater? After blowing (what I consider) a lot of money on 2 residential solar water heaters, over the last 6 years, dealing with 3 set of rather expensive inner-tank replacements, evacuation pipe changes I am considering a DIY approach, using good quality materials to make one on my own. The water we use is underground water, and it is hard water.

Having never attempted something of this sort, I was wondering if anyone has tried to make a Solar water-heater, successfully that would work (almost) as well as the factory produced ones ?

My requirements are about 100 liters per day, of hot water. What I am thinking of doing is buying a good quality parts (casing, PUF insulation material, inner steel/copper tank etc.) of regular electric water heater, of about 100L capacity (which costs about a third or fourth of what a solar-heater costs), remove the electricals, and make my own heat-collector using copper pipes, painted black, within a suitable enclosure (perhaps wooden), with glass top and 3 inner sides painted black, to trap heat. The hard part, for me, would be the copper pipes, i.e. cutting and fitting the collector arrangement.

Could this be something that might work ? I expect this DIY to cost about half of a factory made Solar water heater.

EDIT:

Here's some material I found on the subject here. Looks like it is doable and other have done it before, though not necessarily using the regular electric water-heater parts.

Yes, of course. There are a huge number of well-tested DIY projects you can find here: http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm

I would heavily recommend browsing that site and learning from the experience of others who have already done what you're interested in doing so you don't burn even more money.


What is a good option for raising my kitchen sink? We just moved in to a new-to-us house (build in 1986), and I feel like the kitchen sink is "too" low. I've just learned that "standard" counter height is 36 inches; I measure 35 1/4" from the floor to the top of the counter/sink. I'd like to replace the sink and faucet, but I don't need to replace all of the cabinets (so no need to raise the rest of the counter height). What is a good option for creating a slightly higher sink?

how about measuring the height, width and length of the bottom of the sink (and of course the height of a plastic container which is used in the sink to wash dishes), then finding a flat rectangular piece of plastic with that width and length, but the height will be the height of the sink minus the height of the dishwashing container.
just measured for mine. have no idea what it's called or where to find it, but it will be 5 1/2" x 7" and about 1 1/2" high. not much of a difference.
take care.


Large vertical crack at end of concrete block wall I'm thinking of putting an offer in on this house. It is 40 years old and a lake front property (Kentucky).
This picture is from the basement and you can see a large vertical crack at the end of a concrete block wall which has been poorly filled in the past.
This is literally all the details I have right now. I'll get more pictures and details shortly, and will have an expert out during the inspection period if I offer and it is accepted. In the meantime, I'd love to know if this was clearly a sign of a serious problem, because then I'll save myself some trouble and pass.
It's location both at the end of a wall and under that large support beem seems important, but I don't know if that makes it less serious or more.
Any thoughts?

Concrete cracks. The fact that the crack reappeared after a cosmetic repair attempt is no surprise. If the wall was reinforced properly when built I wouldn’t be too concerned but you definitely want to get a structural engineer’s opinion. The only part about it that causes me pause is that it’s so close to an outside corner with a potentially heavy bearing load on it.


Will humidity hurt my furniture and paint/fixtures while on vacation? Note: I left a few windows cracked before I left for a week I am on vacation for a week. I left a couple windows cracked in my 2 bedroom apartment. I also left all the doors inside the apartment open. I thought air flow would be good while I'm gone, but now I'm worried that some rainy days while I'm gone could cause the humidity to go up and down. The tempurature will be between 50 (at night) and 70 during the day, but the humidity will rise and fall quite a bit. Should I be worried about damaging the apartment? I could try to have someone come and close the windows for me but it would be really difficult to do this - so unless it's critical I would rather just leave them. Thanks for any advice.

Normal humidity should do no harm to anything that's been properly made. Remember, humanity has lived with poorly sealed houses in humid climates for centuries, and our belongings have adapted to deal with that.

Woodworkers, for example, are very aware that wood expands and contracts as it gains and losses moisture, at different rates along and across the grain. That would cause trouble if everything was firmly held in place, so some connections are actually designed to slide a bit.

Other things make other adaptations, but o in general as long as materials aren't going to be soaked they will do OK.


Power supply installation for storage water heater Country: India.
Appliance: Domestic storage water heater; AO Smith HSE-SAS-006 specifications: 6 liters/2000 watts/230V~/50 Hz.
My electrician has asked to procure wires and sockets for the electric/power socket installation.
I have calculated the amperage requirement as 8.69~=10 amps. He has also asked for 2.5 sq mm wire to connect mains to 10 amp electric/power socket. Is this ok?
My calculations: storage heater specifications: 2000 watts, 230 V. So power socket should be 2000/230= 8.69 amp. So I need a 10 amp socket. The wire gauge for the circuit should be #16~=1.31 mm= 1.5 mm. The strange thing I noticed, that the plug that came attached to the appliance is rated at 15Amp! So I will need to get `15Amp socket. But is the wire gauge ok, or should I get 2.0, 2.5 mm(wires in India are available as mm)

Ampacity, IECland style

The IEC equivalent to the North American NEC for low voltage (<1kV) installs is IEC 60364, and its ampacity tables are in part 5-52, Annex B.  Since we're dealing with multi-conductor cable, we make the conservative assumption that it's installed directly into an insulated wall i.e. condition A2 (any other condition, such as a cable in a surface raceway, yields better cooling of the cable i.e. higher ampacity in the IEC world).  Also, since the water heater in question is cord and plug connected (vs. hardwired), we assume no ambient correction from 30degC ambient is necessary.

Since this is a 15A circuit, copper wire is recommended -- aluminum is a bit fiddlier to terminate (even if it's a good alloy i.e. AA-8000 series) and offers no real cost savings for a wire this thin.  PVC-insulated cable is fine here as well, unless local regulations require rubber or XLPE (i.e. thermoset) insulation instead.

Given all this, we get a rating of 14A for a 1.5mm^2 cable.  If this was a hardwired heater, we'd be done.  However, the heater uses a BS 546 equivalent (type M) 15A plug, so a mating 15A socket is needed, and the ampacity of the wire feeding the socket must be greater than the socket.  Hence, we go up to 2.5mm^2, the next standard wire size, which gives us an ampacity of 18.5A.

So, get the 2.5mm^2 multi-wire cable.


Can I stain wood in sub-optimal temperatures? I intend to stain a piece of smooth timber to use indoors as a mounting board for some coat hooks; something I've never done before. The instructions for the stain I purchased suggest not to use below 10°C, and it's currently 7°C here during the day. I have a garage I can use to sand the wood, apply and dry the stain out of the rain, but it is unheated.
Will I run into problems if I use the stain in sub-optimal temperatures? Advice websites advise against it, but don't go into the specifics. An answer to another question suggests leaving an exterior fence stain until warmer weather in spring:

Didn't stain my new fence this summer: do it while its cold or wait until next year?
Definitely wait. The temperature will be dropping low enough during the stain's curing process that many problems could present themselves.

but I'd like to do this while I have the time and inclination! This answer doesn't elaborate on what these many problems are (stain taking 10% longer to dry? stain not staining at all? wood spontaneously combusting?!) and how problematic they would be.

I haven't seen anyone test 'how do bad conditions affect staining?' Usually what you'll see is someone posts a picture of a bad stain job and they ask 'what did I do wrong?' The answer is typically temperature, humidity, or technique.

Stains work by penetrating into the wood, getting absorbed into the pores of the wood. Anything else that gets into those pores will hinder absorption, and you'll end up with a blotchy inconsistent stain. That's why you want your wood dry.

Low temperature is less important than moisture, with the exception that if there is frozen water in your wood, that'll mess up the stain as well. If the wood is cold but stays dry, you should be ok.

In ideal temps, the stain should dry in 1-2 days. Low temps will slow the drying process, and if snow/rain gets on the wood before it's done drying, you're in trouble.

If you can keep the wood protected from rain while it dries, you should be fine.


Polymeric sand bonding to wood I have steps about 4ft high built of interlocking pavers leading up to my front door.    The sill on my front door is a nice piece of 2" oak.    When I had the steps rebuilt about 4 years ago, I didn't notice that the contractor had raised the steps about 1".   This means that the interlocking brick now butts against the wooden sill (instead of underneath the sill), and polymeric sand has bonded between the wooden sill and the brick.
The paint on the sill is beginning to peel, so it needs to be repainted.   But what do I do where the polymeric sand is bonded to the sill?    Should I dig out the sand, repaint the sill and replace the sand?   I'd like to be sure the oak is sealed so that I don't have problems with the wood rotting.
I suppose another option would be to rebuild the steps to lower them back down 1" so that the sill will be clear of the brick.   This seems like an expensive solution!

Dig out the sand, paint the sill, then use sanded-grout caulk. It is caulk but with an aggregate in it to make it look like... well like a polymeric sand joint. It will be waterproof and flexible and it comes in many colors so you can get a close match to your sand joints (which I assume are either tan or gray).


Suggestions for securing the garage I need to upgrade my garage, because there's been a break in and there sure as duck be another one soon (typo intended, no profanities here, even though I'm entitled to it as a victim of my bike being stolen twice this summer).

So, I'm thinking like this. The thieves will break the lock and manged to force the door and there's nothing I can do about that. What I can do, though, is a combination of two things.

Slowing the stupid #¤%&s down.
Making noise and/or signaling the attempt silently to my phone.

I need suggestions on the setup of such thing so I can present it to my super. They've promised to fix it but I fear that it will be even better if I help them along.

We can't have just the alarm go off as the door opens, because I'd set it off myself too. And it's probably a good idea not to have external panels for blipping in because that might be vandalized.

The garage is a small, room for a single vehicle with walls and roof, so the only possible entry point is the door. If I can slow the thieves down by a few minutes, I'll hear the sound and/or be alarmed and can call the cops.

Slowing the [thieves] down.

I guess this is mostly a matter of fitting better locks, and/or a stronger door. You might be able to reinforce a flimsy door. You might be able to add an extra lock.

PIR triggered lights may have a slight deterrent effect.

You might contact the crime-prevention officer in your local police force. They may be able to provide advice and guidance.

  Making noise and/or signaling the attempt silently to my phone.

I would consider fitting an alarm. A typical alarm will make a beeping sound when the door is opened. This gives you ten seconds or so go to the control panel inside and enter the disarm code. The warning sound will startle an amateur burglar and they usually won't have time to do anything to disable the alarm before the full alarm sounds.


Can I frame over an existing deck with a new deck to raise the level? I was looking at below photo and realized they basically put the trim joists of the platform on top of the bottom joists / beam. Is that allowed? I thought you have to actually put footings for the raised platform.

Anyhow, if this method is OK, is there limitation on how big the platform could be?

Credit: centralctdecksandporches.com

UPDATE 1

Sorry for being unclear and the photo example above is not a good representation of my question. So here is a drafted plan for my deck that I just drew in Google Sketchup:

There are more on the right side of it. But it's the idea. I basically have 4 beams. Joist span is 9 feet except the middle, which has 2 beams spacing of 7 feet apart because of some trees.

Now I want to build a raiser like below:

I assume it will be 7" high. My question now becomes:

Can I just put a new 2x6 joists on top of the 2x8 joists below but running 90 degree across?
Or is it better NOT to run joists underneath but create separate set of footings?

If both are OK, I think #1 is easier to do but costly. #2 is a bit harder due to bunch of cutting but save some materials!!?

Please help.

UPDATE 2

So I did some more search and found this http://www.diydeckplans.com/tags/framing

I was trying to use similar idea. Basically, look like it's OK to have upper beam and lower beam. But in my case, I won't put the beam on the side of the post but it's directly on top of the 4x4 post.

UPDATE 3

This is a new design I just came up with. Basically, starting from the left, I will have 2 joists hanging (left red circle). Then 9 joists laying on top the beams to act as the raiser platform.

On the right side of the deck, there is a large area that is 7" lower. Here are a few points:

I will make the 4x4 posts 7" lower on the right side.
That makes the joists hanging near the house but laying on top of the 3 further beams.

But I have a question about the right red circle area. How should it be connected to the post?

Option A: Can I nail or hang a "beam" to "post"?

Option B: Or do I have to make the post closer now (instead of 5 feet spacing) and that part is an overhang?

Thank you for your patient.

Not sure what you are asking, but the footings supporting the deck structure are in the ground under the posts that hold up the beams. Footing size, post size, beam size, joist size are all engineered to support the weight of the structure,and any distances spanned.

If you look at some of the other photos on the website they show posts under the outer edge of the octagonal section supporting it, its not a cantilevered section if that's what you're wondering. You just can't see the framing involved hidden under the ipe decking.


How can I change the lighted area on my restaurants refrigerator? I'd like to change the area that's lit up on this refrigerator so it has my coffee shop logo:  https://www.restaurantsupplydrop.com/collections/refrigeration-units/products/atosa-bottom-mount-two-section-sliding-glass-door-reach-in-refrigerator-mcf8709

I want to put my business' information on it, this way it's not advertising the manufacturer.

You will need to contact either the manufacturer or a company that make back lit signs, since the panel comes with that design already and putting something in front will only block the light.


Did my home sustain lightning damage due to inadequate grounding rod installation? I have a home that has been a victim of lightning strikes to electrical sources with in our home. The most recent chain of events is my furnace & Electric hot water heater both malfunctioning on the same day a day after a group of storms came thru the area. Our house was built with I. Very close proximity to underground ledge. Is it possible the grounding rod is not doing proper grounding because of the  closeness to the ledge where the ledge may be absorbing the hit & transferring to the electrical grid of the house.

Even with a good solid ground a strike on the grid can damage equipment to the point of blowing the breaker panel to pieces with a hit that is close to the house. For indirect hits a whole house surge suppressor (the largest you can afford) may reduce or eliminate damage to home equipment. I state to use the largest you can afford as when these devices take a hit over their ratings they are damaged, sometimes wiping out the varistors in the device so it has to be repaired or replaced (larger units usually have replacement modules for each leg or phase depending on the service type).


Ground preparation for deck pier block I am planning to extend my deck, which uses pier blocks as below photo

I cannot tell what's underneath this pier block because it was just dirt. There was no pour concrete for certain.

So my question is: if I extend my deck and use the pier blocks, do I need to prepare the ground with anything special? I live in Seattle area. My plan to just dig about 1 foot deep and lay 4-5 inches of aggregate 5/8" minus like from http://www.pacifictopsoils.com/products_all.htm and the pack it.

My neighbor did the same and his last for years. I just want to check for your opinion!?

As requested,,,,It is hard to say how deep to dig down. When houses are built the contractor levels the ground and fills in shallow spots (much of the time). The trick is to dig down below the top soil it may be deeper. I usually find 6-8" gets me below the top soil but there have been a few that were closer to 18". I back fill the hole with crushed quarry and pack it so there is close to 1/2 the pier block above the ground level (home owner inspection flags if the post are within 6" of earth ). I live in Oregon so your inspection rules may be different. don't use crushed river rock as it really never locks – Ed Beal Apr 29 at 13:05   delete


Rewiring a lamp, finishing wire ends I bought a lamp kit to rewire an antique lamp that was not working. Basically replaced everything except the base, neck and lampshade. This is my first time doing any kind of electrical work.
The wires came with metal end caps. I had to shorten the cord, which cut those ends off. Then stripped the casing off to expose enough wire to attach to the socket screws.
My question is, how should I finish these wires before attaching?  This doesn't seem to be discussed in any of the diy articles I've found, except one which mentions that you can solder the end yourself or just twist them tightly. I don't have the means to solder, but is it really safe to just twist the ends and then wrap them around the screws in the socket? Do I need to buy and attach some kind of cap?
Thanks.

You can twist them tightly and be fine. Just be sure that there aren't any "hairs" (individual strands) that are loose.   If so, just clip them off with a pair of scissors or nail clipper.


Two Lutron occupancy dimmers for one light My setup is as follows.

Hot -> occupancy dimmer 1 -> traveler 1 -> light load
Hot -> traveler 2 -> occupancy dimmer 2 -> light load

It works ok, if they are both triggered at %50 dim the light turns on 100%. My question, is this safe/ok wiring. While one dimmer is activated the other will be hot on both line/load. Is that ok?

Using maestro MSCL

Note: can we all agree that Lutron documentation is atrocious?

The MSCL isn't quite smart enough to manage this sort of thing

The Lutron MSCL was designed for applications where a single sensor can cover the entire space, but multi-way dimming control is still necessary (say, a modest-sized room with multiple entrances).  As thus, there's no way to use a "remote sensor" with the MSCL, just a standard Lutron Maestro dimming remote, which isn't quite what you want.

However, there is a way to do this

Fortunately for you though, with the use of two gangs of junction box space at each location, it should be possible to do what you want in a smoothly integrated way.  As it turns out, the Leviton Vizia dimming system interoperates with the Leviton IPP series occupancy/vacancy sensors -- this not only allows Vizia remotes to be used to provide multi-way switching with a single occupancy sensor, but allows the IPP0R remote sensor to be used as a matching remote in the Vizia system.

In this setup, the box with the load wire in it gets a Vizia dimmer (VZM10 depicted, but any Vizia dimmer will do) and an IPP0R remote, while the box with the line wire in it gets a Vizia matching remote and an IPP0R remote. Keep in mind that this cannot be extended to a 3rd location without sacrificing dimming or motion sensing at that location (the Vizia system supports 4 matching remotes on a single master, maximum), and that the neutral wire needs to be present at both boxes for this (it is possible to wire this if line and load come in at the same switch box by making the white wire neutral once more, but not if power comes in at the light fixture).  See the diagram below for details -- note that the dashed red lines in the diagram represent the red/yellow wire pigtails present on Vizia dimmers and remotes that use wire pigtails, or a field-fitted pigtail (of any suitable color) connected to the terminal marked RD/YL on Vizia dimmers and remotes that use screw terminals.


What is the minimum size conduit/mast required for a 100 amp overhead service? What is the minimum size conduit/mast required for a 100 amp single phase 240 volt overhead electrical service?

Although you're probably safe by using the NEC as a minimum, this is going to vary somewhat based on jurisdiction and power company. You should contact your local inspection authority and your power company.


Best way to do some tile floor repair So the house I bought had a guy who wishes he was good at doing renovation work but really just sucked. And cut a lot of corners. He didn't put any cement board down under any of the tiled floors.. ie second floor wash room, hallway full bathroom and master bathroom.

End result: my floors are audibly cracking from the thin set cracked underneath the tile and grout is falling out from between the tiles. There are areas with no grout at all because of the floor movement.

Are there any ways to do anything about this, other than just regrouting the entire floor? Or pulling up all tile, installing cement board and redoing all the floors?

My experience has shown me if the mortar is crumbling and tile cracking the base is not thick enough to start with. Even a perfect mix cannot stand up to flex!

In existing structures my normal plan is to remove existing flooring. Next I put down backer board first with thinset under the backer board and screw it down. Next I put the tile down again with thinset, the additional level of backer board with thinset on each side has not failed be in 40 years,

First I must say I check the Base , if I walk on it and it feels solid I STILL add the backer in most cases. I am 6’5” and a big guy and at 250 as a skinny guy if I see or feel any flex I add structure and that is the reason I have not had a tile failure similar to yours.

I can say most DIY tile jobs that fail because the base ( sub floor two thin, no backer) mixing is easy , if two wet it is not as strong  and ends up two thin.  but not usually a problem, under mixing with dry clumps is really to spot as big chunks flake with no base problems.

I would be looking at the base on a first floor and especially on a second floor with the problems described.


Wood laminate floor wont snap together can I just nail it down I bought a whole lot of this snap together wood flooring, thinking I would just snap it together and be done. The store was closing out all different styles and colors.
I was going to just mix and match. they are all the same height but the lips don't all match up so I can't get them to snap together.
Can I use it as wood flooring, just cut the lip off and butt the sides together and nail or screw it down. I guess I could even just use liquid nails. I just need to get it done.

Without more specific brand information my definitive answer is likely not. The reason being that most prefinished lock together flooring is designed to float. By float it should be able to expand and contract independent of the base layer or sub floor. Since you have at least two different types it is likely they will expand and contract at different rates. This may result in buckles in the floor or splits.


New sink drain not aligned with trap Just had a new sink installed in my bathroom and the drain hole on this new sink is centered compared to my old sink which was off center and further back. When I look underneath the sink the P trap is now sitting about 5" farther back and slightly to the left side from where the sink hole is now.

Is this an easy fix that I can do myself with just new parts or is it more complicated that will require a professional? Do I need some sort of extension or new P trap? Can I turn the pipe counterclockwise to try to get it closer to the sink drain and then add attachment?

You should be able to turn the clamp nut by the wall...

...which will allow the horizontal portion of the drain connection to pull out of the wall. It may have enough slide connection so it can be reclamped to use the existing pipe to reach the new down spout on the sink.

If it is not long enough then you will need to purchase new parts to achieve a longer horizontal portion. Do take the old pipe with you to the store so you can see what type and size of parts to place in your shopping basket.

Note that it is quite common to use a combination of the back wall slide connection and the rotation of the P-trap joint to achieve getting the pipes perfectly aligned with the sink drain. The following picture is an attempt to show how this adjustment works. There are only really two positions where there will be perfect alignment when the horizontal positioning from the wall causes the sink drain center to intersect with the arc of swing of the P-trap.

Note that if the center of the drain hole is farther from the center line of the wall pipe than the radius of the P-trap arc then there is no position where you can get things to line up. In that case then you need to use additional fittings to angle from the wall connection more toward the new drain location.


Lost skeleton dresser key I bought a dresser from someone and they said they lost the key.  What is the best way to open it?  It would be ok to force it open but don’t have any idea how to do it.

If you can't pick it yourself, or find a key that works, make an appointment if needed & carry it to a locksmith with a shop (avoiding the usually expensive part of having the locksmith come to you) and they can almost certainly do it.
The usual latch arrangement (a latch bolt going straight up into a hole/catch in the frame, from the key area) will cause significant visible damage if you force it open.


How can I attach an air compressor to the pictured sprinkler system I bought a house that has a bad DIY sprinkler system.  I am trying to figure out how to attach an air compressor to the system so I can blow it out.  The below photo is the only external place on the house where it appears it would even be possible to attach the compressor.  The cap appears to be something you could unscrew, is about 2" in diameter, and says something on it about "Max pressure 150 PSI".

Any ideas?

That is a Vacuum Breaker which is in place to prevent water from siphoning back from the sprinkler system into the water supply. It closes under water pressure and opens to the atmosphere under vacuum.

You theoretically could spin the top off and using a rubber ball fitting, use an air hose to apply pressure, however; the inflow side of the circuit will have a manual or electric zone control valve preceeding it that could be damaged by air pressure being forced into its outlet. They're usually a rubber diaphragm servo action valve that is only meant to block pressure on the inlet side and probably won't take kindly to having it forced through them backwards. So, it would be best if you could arrange an adapter that would seal against the inlet seat and the top so the air pressure only gets applied to the outlet of the vacuum breaker.

Zone Control Servo action diaphragm valve.


Kitchen Fan extraction not working as intended After a long time suffering of sub-optimal fan extraction in my kitchen, I decided to go to the root of whatever was causing it. I have a Zanussi ZHC60136X. I clean the filter grids every now and again (~6 months?) but haven't done any other maintenance on it. I had the impression that the fan was blowing, instead of sucking, and after removing the filters, it's quite obvious that it's venting air out. I did the usual test for this, placing a pot of steaming water on the hob and see if the stream of steam gets sucked when the fan is on: there is not much difference between turning the fan on or off, and some of the steam escapes the hood without being sucked by the fan.
After checking the manual, I saw that there were meant to be some coal filters attached to the air inlet. I thought that the filters must have been saturated and needed replacement, but after disassembling the inlets, I realised that there were no carbon filters at all! There has not been any since I moved into the house (two years and a half ago) and I doubt they were before (the house is around 4-5 years old). The fan seems to work nicely, so the grease has not affected it much even with the absence of filters.

Could it be that the lack of carbon filters is affecting the way the fan works, making it blowing instead of sucking air? Is it too late to fix now, could the vent be blocked somewhere upstream, where I can't clean it? I don't run a chicken shop, the motor assembly was dirty, with some grease as you would expect, but is not a clusterf*** of grease.
Thanks!

buy yourself an endoscope and send it up the vent so you can see what is going on. probably clogged


How do I prevent masking tape on paintwork from pulling off paint? When painting, I often use masking tape, however, when I pull it off paintwork it sometimes pulls off some of the paint with it.  Is there a way to prevent this?

EDIT:

A few people have said: "make sure you take the tape of after painting".  But this was happening as I was putting the tape on (to get it straight, I had to remove it and re-apply in a couple of places - which is where I noticed the paint coming off).

Are you using plain brown masking tape, or the slightly more expensive painter's tape?  I've had the best luck when I've spent just a little bit more to get better quality tape.  It comes off easier, and leaves behind less residue.

No matter what kind of tape you use, I also agree with Niall C.  Definitely remove the tape as soon as you can after painting.  You don't have to wait until the paint is dry.


What's going on with this lightswitch (two wires to bottom connect, not connected on top) My parents inherited a house and I'm just kind of cleaning it up.  It's old -- Edison fuses and other things that I have to puzzle over.

Replacing a damaged beige four-outlet thing in a bathroom, one of the switches is weird.  Beyond the already seemingly unreasonable gauge of wire being used (that can barely fit in the screws without popping out), the switch for the fan has two wires connected to the bottom.  And the other wire goes into a hole at the top instead of the screw:

What... is this about?  The nice new white switches to match the new ceramic faceplate do not have the hole at the top; just the screws.

The electrical "loop" from switch to switch is actually common when the black wire (on a white neutral wiring setup) is used to power several switches in a box (lights, fan).

It prevents connecting each one separately via a marette (pressure wire connector).  Some will argue that it's a better way to connect them since there is no risk that any wire is badly seated in the marrete.

It's also much easier to replace switches individually this way.


How to safely use an installer bit between floors? I have a finished two-story house which has two interior walls vertically stacked.

I'd like to run ethernet from the top floor to the bottom, by:

cutting out a square for a wall plate on the top floor
use a flexible installer bit (3') to drill through the bottom plate of the top story frame via the small access hole of the wall plate.
continue downward and drill through the top plate of the bottom floor frame (still inside the wall)
drop the wire down inside the wall to the plate on the bottom floor (no fireblock in the wall)

This allows me to run the cable with no drywall repair.

However, the space between the floors is unknown to me. The long flexible bit allows for drilling through places where you cannot reach or see, so I can't be sure there's nothing between the floors that could be damaged by the drilling.

How do professionals safely use this long bit and avoid hitting joists, electrical lines, pipes, etc.?

I thought about a borescope but I'm not sure if I could stop the drill before hitting something after punching through the first bottom plate, if there was anything directly beneath it.

Picture of scenario: http://www.licensedelectrician.com/Store/ET/Images/Tip2.jpg

Some cowboy it and hope they don't hit anything.

Others cut enough holes in the drywall  (and/or floor, if carpeted) to see what they are doing. If using a camera system, those can be pretty small holes.

Drywall repair is a heck of a lot cheaper than plumbing and electrical repair.


Changing a Dimmer to Single Pole with Three Black and Three White Wires I have done basic electrical work in my house. I am trying to replace a dimmer with a single pole switch. The setup, as I know it, is this dimmer controls the fan and light. Why the previous owners did this is beyond me. It actually hummed when turned on and if the dimmer was adjusted it would hum oddly. It never felt safe to me.

I figured this was going to be simple, but once I opened the the switch up to expose the wiring I became confused.

It is unclear to me how this should map on to a single pole switch. I don't believe this is a three-way as I've never seen it control more than just the fan/light. Perhaps I could control the fan from the light, but I installed the fan several months ago and don't recall that kind of wiring there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Pigtail the 2 blacks going to 1 side of the switch to 1 side of the new switch, remove the red wire and connect that black to the other side of the switch,  it is a metal box if metal with the ground screwed to the box mount the switch and you will be good to go.


Why might my water (hot and cold) be discolored/brown For a couple of months, we've been noticing that our water is brown or discolored.  It comes from both faucets. This morning I had run nothing but cold water and noticed it had a brown tint to it.

First we thought it was only hot water, so we replaced the hot water tank and expansion tank which were filthy.  But the brown water has come back.

I've called neighbors and they don't seem to have an issue.  One neighbor says his water is slightly off color every once in a while. But I don't think it is as bad as mine.  He's knowledgeable and hasn't seemed concerned about it.

Since its hot and cold water, it has to be a shared line right? Which would be between the street and the house, right?
But it comes and goes which seems strange.  It seems like if there was a crack in a pipe, dirt couldn't get in due to the water pressure, but I don't really know. We did have heavy equipment on the lawn last year and we do have a sprinkler system. But we haven't run the sprinkler in weeks and we're getting brown water today. I also called the town water department a while back and they said no one else has reported an issue.

I really don't want to have a plumber come and just start replacing everything and tearing up my lawn just to rule stuff out. So any advice, input, or personal experience would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I would install a house water filter before it branches off to any faucets or the water heater.  This should capture any dirt/sand/rust in the water.


how to identify lumber grade of unmarked ceiling joists I have a detached garage that I'd like to finish the attic space to make into a office like workspace.

The garage ceiling joists are 2x8x14' (unnotched) with a 13'6" span on 16".  The joist appear to be SPF but are unmarked.  I suspect #2 or #3, but if #3 then I should probably increase the strength.  Any good way to identify the grade?

If #3 then AWG.org reports that the L/180, w/25 psf max span is 13'6". With #2 >40psf for the span is allowed.

The attic floor would be 5/8 OSB and the garage ceiling either 1/2 drywall or  OSB sheeting.

I'll post some photos shortly.

Code requires a Live Load of 40 lbs. per square foot plus a Dead Load (flooring, joists, insulation, etc.) of 15 psf (probably) for a total load of 55 psf.

#3 spruce/ fir (fb = 1200 psi & fv = 95 psi) spanning 14’ will support about 40 psf at 16” oc.      #2 (fb = 1750 psi & fv = 120 psi) will support about 60 psf. The main difference between #2 and #3 are knotholes. If you have loose or missing knotholes, then it’s probably #3.  If the knotholes are less than 2” in diameter and “tight”, then it’s probably #2 and better.

Code requires 1-hr. fire protection between a garage and “habitable space”.  Therefore, you’ll want 1/2” Type C or 5/8” Type X gypsum board on the bottom of the floor joists, wall by stairs, etc. for protection.

The door leading to the upstairs needs to be rated: 1) solid core, and 2) frame needs to be solid material (no applied stop), 3) weatherstripping around on 3 sides... but consider threshold too due to fumes.

If you use L/180 the gypsum board will crack under deflection. I’d use L/360...then, no cracks.


How to waterproof siding repair? I have replaced some windows and bad trims. The new windows have different sizes so now I ran into few challenges.

If I put small pieces of siding to patch that area in red circle, (1) how do I "seal" in between the siding, and best with nice cosmetic fix? Another option is to replace the entire right side of the new window (but then I need to buy more sidings).

There were lots of places like below photos where the siding does not meet the trim completely. Some are 1/4" wide. (2) Do I just caulk it? What type of caulk is best for such gap?

The original trims oddly placed on top of siding as below. I need to cut back the sidings a bit and put new trims. (3) But do I need to wrap the corner with waterproof wrap or something? There are some water damage visible inside.

You have to chose between cosmetics and functionality. Either way you're still going to need some more siding.

Functionally, you need like 2 pieces worth and you could remove and then stagger the existing. Cosmetically, you'll need most of a box.

There's supposed to be a metal shim and caulking in between butt joints. Without entirely removing or prying away (can of worms) the siding at the corner, there's no way to waterproof it.

Super awesome exterior caulk is made by Vulkem. Which obviously works pretty well because it's known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.


Connect two pipes that do not line up Not a plumbing whiz, so I thought I'd pose my issue here.

I have a 12in Shark bite sillcock that runs through my brick foundation for an outdoor hose. Once inside, it connects to the existing copper line, which is immediately to the right.

Problem is that the sillcock is a bit too long. The faucet sticks out about two inches from the brick foundation. Obviously, if I try to push it closer towards the foundation it puts pressure on the copper line.

Is there anyway to work around this? My only thought would be to take the sillcock out, buy a shorter one, and install it with just enough copper line on the end to enter the basement. But would that defeat the purpose of the "frost-proof" sillcock?

Change/turn the T fitting 90 degrees so it's directing the water perpendicularly away from the wall, then 90 degree elbow towards the faucet, then 90 again.


Attic Insulation (floor or ceiling?) Is it better to insulate in between the slanted ceiling joist Or floor joists in the attic if you have a whole house attic fan?

Or both?

In long: Out of budget reasons I was thinking of leaving the old insulation between the floor joist for now and add insulation in the ceiling joist. Or is it wiser to replace the old floor insulation and not bother with the ceiling (leave for later).

Don't think it will be a bed room someday (ceiling to low), but used for storage, maybe the kids can sleep in there sometimes - camping style...

Do I also need to get a cover for the fan during the winter? Or do they normally stay 'open'?

Thanks

Since the ceiling in the attic is too low to make it into a living space, you should only insulate the floor. Insulating the ceiling will create a new heating zone, and essentially you will be paying more to heat your attic.

Another reason you wouldn't want to insulate the ceiling rafters is that you can wind up with ice dam issues. The roof could get too warm and cause the snow to freeze more rapidly than normal and then refreeze into a sheet of ice when the weather gets colder such as in the night. This melting/freezing cycle could eventually let ice seep under your shingles and enter your home. It is a very common issue in homes that are in cold climates.

You should top off the insulation in the floors if it is cellulose, or replace it with new fiberglass batts if what is there isn't adequate. If you want additional insulation, you can cover the entire floor of the attic with rolls or batts of unfaced fiberglass insulation. When you are done, you should have a "carpet" of insulation on the floor. When selecting insulation, also look for the highest 'R' factor you can find in your area.

As far as the storage goes, you can suspend some shelves from the rafters by chains to avoid disturbing the insulation. If you do this, avoid storing heavy objects from them such as air conditioners etc. The shelving should be adequate enough to store boxes of holiday decorations and other seasonal items. Just be aware that the items up there are not going to be in a conditioned space, so don't store items up there that are sensitive to heat or freezing. I would also recommend storing any of these items in plastic storage bins to help deter any critters from nesting.

I definitely would not encourage children to go into the attic. There are many dangers up there which you would not want to subject them to. Depending on your attic there could be exposed wiring, poisons, toxic chemicals and fumes, etc. They can also get splinters, or be cut by exposed nails.

There are products on the market which can seal off the whole house fan for the winter. Since the attic is not a conditioned space, there probably isn't much of a need for it.

You would also want to look around your home for air leaks which lead into the attic. Access panels, etc. should be sealed for the winter. You can also use expanding spray foam in a can to seal up any gaps you find.


How do I repair this rot/insect damage on my wall plate? I am removing the lath and plaster (to add insulation) in my 1929 bungalow that I just bought in Portland, Oregon.

Along an exterior wall, the last piece of lath and a little bit of the plate were mostly wood powder.

I scraped away about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of the soft stuff around the corner of the the plate, after that it's solid. The studs also appear to be solid.

My question is, what is this, dry rot? Insect damage?

And what do I do with it? Should I replace this section of the plate? Spray some kind of anti-fungal agent on it? Leave it alone?

If it matters, the house was empty for at least a year (maybe two) before I bought it.

Update: I've found this in another room too, in a corner. My best guess is that it simply was dry rot, caused by moisture trapped in the corners. The moisture, I think, was left over from the original plastering of the walls. What I didn't show were large blobs of plaster that had fell behind the lath, and dried on top of the rotted area, getting trapped in the wall. I could be wrong, but everything left is solid and dry, so I assume the rot died a very long time ago.

Pacific Northwest here Corvallis/ Springfield resident for 35 years , I don't see any evidence of ants, termites or beetles our areas chewing pests, it looks more like a fungus or dry rot but is very limited , I would take a screwdriver and press to see if the damage is only on the surface if the screwdriver doesn’t go far it’s only surface damage and a fungicide then a wood treatment to harden and seal the surface should be used. I have found homes that have used the wood Treatment on spongy dry rot , the area sealed and it passed inspection but was noted as a concern, I would probably shim the stud but nothing other than that is really needed from the photo, I might leave it open for a few weeks to see if you do have a small leak  and any leaks would need to be fixed but after treating the wood with a fungicide and adding a shim or 2 , I would probably button it up once I was sure there are no leaks into that area if the wood is solid.

I do not believe it is pest based because in all 3 of our normal pests they chew channels and holes not just surface damage that I see. Do this is why I would treat the wood possibly saturate with a hardner based on the screwdriver test.


What header joist sizes do I need for a loft bed? I've decided to design and build a king-sized loft bed for our bedroom. Basically, I've got an 80" x 89" frame, 54" off the floor, covered with slats instead of plywood (see image, below).

I'm sure I'll have other questions (and I haven't dealt with lateral stability and a few other issues yet), but for now I'm just trying to size the header joists correctly.

I was able to use the AWC span calculator for the joists, themselves, and I should be clear with 2x4 No 2 Douglas Fir. I intend to use mortise and tenon joints to attach them to the headers.

My question is: What calculations or tables can I use to size the headers?

Considering that you have a relatively high sideboard/headboard and footboard arrangement, that can be used to help strengthen the headers around the perimeter. The strength of a piece of 3/4" plywood, 21 plus inches tall on the sides alone with a small ledger to support the joists and bed slats is sufficient if all is glued and screwed together and has a sufficient bearing surface, 1" is ample.

Since it is for sleeping, typically at most for two people, and if you have kids too, the bed would need to hold say only the weight of 4 to 6 people, then add a little more to cover murphy's law so the weight of 2 adults and 4 kids may run about 700 lbs., let's take that to 1000 lbs., kids jump up and down.

The bed you have at nearly a 7 ft average on both sides will yield 49 sq ft, multiply that by 40 lbs/sq ft and it will carry 1960 lbs. a little overkill but ok. So the live load using the AWC calculator at 7 lbs dead load and 30 lbs live load at 16 inch centers you can use 2X6's and still carry a 10+ span with SPF or 8+ with D Fir, plenty strong.... The same calculator gives a recommendation for the bearing ends of .30 or so of an inch, Don't be fooled on what an inch of bearing can do. I would expect if you mortise the ends in and secure it with a screws (gauge your screw length properly for end grain) It will do all you expect.

The matter at hand is the headers at either end, I had supposed the side boards etc., were to be fixed permanently to keep the occupants safe, therefore I was going to use that as part of the structure too to keep the bulk of everything down. If they are to be hinged or drop down then the header will need to work on its own, I would suggest using a 2X8 for the perimeter, mortise and tenoned for shear strength and use a captured nut with bolt to draw the joints together. That with the face of the 2X8 against the faces of the legs will give a lot of lateral resistance. For your own investigation, and practice on making this critical connection, make a sample joint and put it to the test.
I have used this type of connector to hold a 7 ft wide 4 ft tall gate out of 2 inch thick solid mahogany using standard bolts and site made washers to fit the slot for the nut- Four 1/2 inch bolts were used for this, still hanging after eight years outside
Just as a mention, and you may know this already, the AWC calculator is for home building, quite the different animal than furniture making.

Reread your comment and missed a point, if the mortices were not all the way through and the bottom of the mortice was 2 inches plus above the bottom of the header with no knots or curly grain, it will not weaken the header enough to cause concern. Give a look at some of the beds at places like Ikea or Crate and Barrel, or something like that....


Problems with oil furnace Why does my oil furnace keep triping reset after 10 sec of running i have to have thermostat all way up for it to run i changed primary control box, nozzel, electrodes and thermostat any ideas

There are many reasons an oil furnace will trip out. The control box is looking at Flame, draft, fuel supply, water levels in a FHW system, heat exchanger (water) temps, fan function (FHA)  fyreye, etc. A problem with a circulator pump will cause an water high temp shutdown for example.  A one hour service call from a licensed tech probably would have cost less than replacing a bunch of parts that are not the problem.  My advice is always to consult a pro unless one is equipped with the knowledge and tools to do the job.


Macadam driveway losing rocks My 3 year macadam driveway is losing rocks in spots (forming little potholes, little because they are the shallow depth of lost single layer of gravel, see picture). The problem is that other rocks are now easily coming off around these spots.

Couple of questions - if you can tell from my photo:

Is this anything to worry about? or is this normal wear and tear
Is there anything to be done maintenance wise to avoid big repairs later?
Is macadam and tar-and-chip the same thing? Is it possible to tell from my photo?

Thank you very much for any tips on above.

That doesn't look like asphalt or what you called macadam, it looks like what we call "modified" which is progressively smaller stone chips usually slag or limestone containing a top coating of a fine layer of the same material. After the modified stuff is compacted and weathered and run over with machinery the material resembles an asphalt or loose concrete product that is great for driveways and walkways but will become somewhat loose with age and use.


Why are the lights and fans in my home flickering and varying in speed? I have very weird electrical behavior in my house. Fans will suddenly slow them speed up. Lights flicker randomly for for random times. 2-10 seconds. Everything in my home is wired with 12-3 wiring. Could different currents interfere across circuits?

Boy, that installer just loved his multi-wire branch circuits.  That's fine; I think they're awesome and my CH panels are full of them too.  However, there are rules you must follow in any MWBC installation.

The #1 thing you must watch closely is neutrals.   On a normal circuit, a neutral problem just shuts off the circuit.  But on a MWBC, it creates a "lost neutral" situation where the two half-circuit voltages are higher and lower than 120V,  but add up to 240V. The high side can fry equipment and start fires, and the voltage will teeter-totter depending on the load on each leg.  So as, say, a freezer starts up, it will wibble-wobble the voltage on the other leg (and its own leg).

I would normally blame backstab connections.  However, one of the rules of MWBCs is that neutrals must be pigtailed anywhere both hot legs are present.  You can't use a piece of equipment as the neutral path (as one normally does with receptacles in plain circuits).  So no backstabs should be involved.

Now, if the whole house is doing this, it may have nothing to do with the MWBCs, it may be the same problem - a lost neutral - at the whole-house level.  If so, this is an emergency -- call the power company and report an outage because most likely, the problem is at the pole or service drop, and that's their bailiwick and they'll fix it for free.   You can also check this by measuring voltage between the main breaker lugs and neutral.  If it is lopsided and gets more lopsided when you turn loads on, that's it!

Now another rule I see your installer did not follow is that whatever means of maintenance shutoff is used, it must shut off both legs of the MWBC.  Here, you use breakers, so the breakers need handle ties between them ($3, but hard to find) or change the 2 breakers to a 2-pole breaker.  That is to protect workers,  but it has a side effect: it makes sure both legs are on opposite poles.  In fact, for each of the cables, follow the red and black back to the breakers to make sure they are on opposite poles (occupying the same 2 spaces that a 2-pole breaker would use).

If both wires were on the same pole, current from both sub-circuits would stack on the neutral wire, overloading it.


How to stop Central Air unit from freezing over inside and outside Today I noticed the AC wasn't working. I checked the unit outside and saw the line freezing. I checked inside and it's frozen as well.

I turned the AC off and fan on. The ice is melting now.

I suspect it has to do with poor air flow. I bought this house 3 months ago and the pleated air filter was missing. I put one in and the AC continued working fine. It stopped working one time a few weeks ago. I turned it off for a bit and back on and it worked again. I didn't think much of it.

After the ice melts, what should I do before trying to turn it back on? I'm going to clean it as best I can. I'd like to avoid further damage and calling a professional.

This is inside the house. Looking up into the AC. Normally there is a pleated filter coving this but I removed it to see:

This is right below the above picture. The ice is melting into the buckets:

Edit: After the ice melted. Hard to tell but I cleaned it using a mop. A lot of dust fell from it. I turned it back on and it's working well so far.

Edit: Same issue happened again. Had to call an AC repairman for $135 to add refridgerant.

There are a few causes for this, and the most common are in two categories - bad air flow and low refrigerant.

Bad airflow can be caused by a dirty filter, clogged ducts, or a poorly performing fan.  If the (relatively) warm air from your house isn't blowing over the coils, the condensation they normally create starts to freeze.  Once they start to freeze, airflow is reduced, the coils get colder, and even more ice forms.

The other common problem is something a technician will have to check.  It sounds counterintuitive, but low refrigerant can end up making the coils too cold.  The results are the same runaway reaction described above - lots of ice, reduced airflow, and a compressor that never stops because the house isn't getting cooler.

Once the system thaws, check all your filters and make sure the blower fan works fine.  You can check the coil temperatures with an IR thermometer while the system is running.  If it gets below freezing and airflow seems good, it's probably time to call a tech.


Is it okay to not varnish wooden furniture before use? I recently bought a bedframe, but due to budget constraints, I didn't choose the varnished option, just 'unstained raw timber' - which is smooth, but not varnished or stained, as described.

I'm just wondering if this will be alright, unvarnished, for general use? I assumed because it's not flooring or visible furniture, that having an unvarnished bedframe will be alright.

There won't be any worries about it coming in contact with water spillage, etc. And will be mostly away from light sources.

Not finishing wood is perfectly fine.

It will be more prone to collecting dirt and stains than finished wood, but if you don't mind that, it's still fine.

If your budget allows, you can also apply finish yourself, some of which are quite inexpensive and relatively easy. But you don't have to.

If at some later point you feel that the dirt and stains acquired are annoying, you can sand the wood to remove them, and apply finish then if you want to; or simply repeat as needed.


Realistically, could you build a useful built in closet in a space that is 77.5in x 9.4in? I have a part of a wall in a room that is deeper than the rest of that wall and measures exactly 77.5 inches across and 9.4 inches deep (196.9 cm x 23.9 cm).

I would like to make that space a built in closet so that that "dead space" is made use of and the entire wall is perfectly flat rather than having a part that sticks in.

Realistically, is it feasible to build a built in closet in such a space?  If so, how should I build it to ensure it has a similar proportion of shelves, drawers, and hangers as a regular closet?

For example, I know I would not be able to hang clothing perpendicular to the wall as is customary with most closets, but couldn't I have a rod protruding from the back to hang clothing parallel to the wall?

This would be a closet for 2 people in our guest room.

Is this feasible or not recommended?

That is a very shallow space. I think you'd need at least a couple of inches for your doors / front wall, so you're looking at less than 8" deep for the final closet.

You might be better off just installing built-in shelving and/or hooks on that part of the wall to serve as storage space. You could make the shelves 8" deep and then put a sheer curtain over it, if you want to avoid looking at it.


Can a thermocouple be partially bad? My hot water tank pilot light would go out. I could relight it and the burner would come on and heat up the water tank, but then later on, I would find there was no hot water again and find that the pilot light was off again. It was doing this for a week.

I replaced the thermocouple and all has been working fine for over a month now.

If I could light the pilot light and have it stay on and have the burner heat up the water tank. The thermocouple seems like it worked. I didn't think a thermocouple could be partially broken; I thought it either worked or didn't work.

So can a thermocouple be half broken?

Or is it more likely that replacing it fixed another problem, like a partial blockage in the gas line or something?

The solenoid will require a certain voltage range from the thermocouple in order to operate.  If the thermocouple fails to produce that voltage range, then yes it could be considered partially "broken".  You can probably find the expected output in the service manual and test it with a multi-meter in order to rule this in or out.

It could also be an issue with the position of the thermocouple, a problem with the valve, low pressure or some sort of safety mechanism.  Does your water heater provide any indicator lights to help you diagnose what is going on?


HVAC Adding a Common Got a new Honeywell WiFi thermostat and need to add a common.  Currently the 3 common wires per the diagram (BL, BK, GY) are wired to one side of the AC Unit.  Is there an issue if I piggy back a common off those wires (add a new wire to the wire nutted bundle).

Thanks!

Go for it man

That's precisely the right move in your case -- that's where the system wiring diagram expects you to tap your C wire at.


How can I install a wired smoke detector without compromising the fire rated sheetrock? We have a connected garage with a bedroom above.  It has proper fire rated sheetrock and a fire rated door.  We use it for storage (including some paint and other normal chemicals).

For this reason I'd like to install a hardwire smoke detector at the same time I install three others in adjacent rooms.  But I'd rather not create an opening in the fire rated sheetrock.

What are my options, other than a battery powered wireless detector?

I am aware that normally garages get heat detectors, not smoke detectors... but remember we use it for storage.

I take it the detector is mounted in the ceiling, and a cut-in 3-O or 4-O (plastic) boxes have a 2 hour fire rating.  If this is not enough then you can use metal ceiling octagon box (2 hour fire rating) and use something like a 3M Fire Barrier Moldable Putty Pads.  Most companies that deal with fire related caulks and putty make these.  A lot of states require these in fire walls and ceilings, especially in multi-family units.

These pads are intumescent, which means that it swells as a result of heat exposure, thus increasing in volume, and decreasing in density.  Wikipedia.

If I were you I would take it a step further and install a 120V with a battery back-up smoke/carbon monoxide combo units.  You can also pay more for the detector and get either optical or ionization styles.  Ionization detectors are more sensitive to flaming fires than optical detectors, while optical detectors are more sensitive to smouldering fires.  Wikipedia again.   Electrical supply stores should have all this or Amazon.  I suggested 3M only because that is what I am used to.

Also, since the electrical boxes are fire rated, you might just use a fire caulk  around the box.  Caulks are intumescent also.


convert 220v range outlet to 110v standard converting old electric range to gas range, and need a standard 110V outlet - can I re-configure the existing 220V outlet and existing wiring, replacing only outlet and breaker in a legal (code compliant) manner?

Yes.  Due to the wire size you will likely need to pig tail (with appropriately sized wire nuts in both locations) to fit into the new breaker (20 amp) and outlet. Since you'll be removing a 2 pole breaker and replacing it with a single pole breaker, you'll have an exposed slot in your cover plate on the panel. Some ppl around here suggest putting in a "spare" breaker to fill the hole, but you can also buy an insert to "plug the slot".
EDIT:  Just saw "NoSparksPlease" comment and agree.  Let's get a peek at the boxes before we go too hog wild here.


Kitchen light wiring Just moved in and there is no kitchen light. There is a ground, two whites nutted together and two blacks AND a white nutted together. My new fixture has a standard hot and neutral. How do I connect?

A lamp connects to switched-hot and neutral.
The two blacks and a white nutted together are always-hot.  This is not of interest to you, unless you want the lamp on 24x7. Leave it alone.

For your information, there is an obsolete wiring technique called a "switch loop".  This is where power comes into the lamp, and the switch is a spur branch.   It carried 2 wires to the switch: always-hot went to the switch, and switched-hot came back. It goes without saying these two wires are in the same cable.
Since only 2 wires were used, they used common /2 cable, in which the colors are black and white.  White is usually neutral, but not here.   To reduce confusion, the rule is that the always-hot must be white, to make it more obvious to people with voltage testers that this isn't neutral.  The black, then, is switched-hot.

The white in the black bundle goes to a cable.  The black in that cable, which you have not mentioned yet, is the switched-hot.  That connects to the lamp's black wire.
The group of all-white wires are actual neutral.  Those wires are doing important tasks.  However, your lamp needs neutral, so its white needs to be added to that bundle.


How to fix hardwood floor with wear from an office chair I currently have a hardwood floor that is worn down by an office chair and it needs to be fixed, optimally without having to do the whole floor with a floor sander.
As you can see in this photo:

the area to the top right is worn, in some places down to the wood. This is a close-up photo of the center:

It's 80% bare wood with little stain.
(on a side note, if you have an office chair on a hardwood floor, you should probably get a floor covering of some sort)
My objective is not necessarily to fix it perfectly, but to get it to look good enough to satisfy the landlord when we leave. I was planning on: buying a very light stain and applying it via light spray to the central area, repeating until the color was uniform with the rest of the floor, and then coating with some semi-gloss.
Is this a feasible solution for my problem? Any ideas or suggestions?

Before you apply any stain, try dampening the area with mineral spirits (which will evaporate off fairly quickly, unlike water). That will give you some idea of what color the wood will be if you just apply a clear varnish over it. Also remember that oil-based finishes will tend to add some yellow to the hue (as will shellac).  It's possible that you don't actually need to do anything more than giving it a light scuff-sanding and a new coat or three of whatever's already there.

Remember to do something to keep the chair from wearing thru again too quickly... felt pads on the chair legs, an area rug or chair mat, non-marring wheels...


Why is getting a chimney sleeved such a hassle ... and expensive Possible Duplicate:
  Installing a Chimney Liner a DIY project?

This seems to be an ongoing theme, and quite annoying I might add.

When I first went looking for this to be done, I found some WILDLY different quotes.  One guy said the materials -start- at $3000.  Another 4-7k, a 3rd said "2 grand tops".  So smelling a rat, I went looking and found this... http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimney/Champion-EasyFlex-316Ti-Chimney-Liner-Kits/316Ti-Chimney-Champion-Easy-Flex-Chimney-Liner-Kit-55in

Ok, so 1300 bucks MAX (sleeve and insulation) and it's rated for any fuel I could throw at it (it's going to be wood) and there's no way this can be complicated.  Run it down the chimney, connect it up, done.  Oh, I forgot to mention, this is a house that's had a chimney for almost 100 years and appears to be used all the way up though the 90s then the fire place was walled off (why do people do this?!).  I can see daylight at the base of the chimney.  It's around 45' high.

I called some place today, 300 bucks to come out, clean and inspect my chimney, ok that's not too bad ... but got the sticker shock again "$2,000 to $15,000" for the sleeving ...what?

So my question -- why is doing it myself 1300 bucks and a 6 pack for a friend and if I hire some place, it's going to be a TON more than that?  Is this like a 5 day job or something is amazingly hard that I'm not seeing here?

Just for a little perspective, I have a ~100 year old chimney (no fireplace, just a vent for the gas appliances in the basement).  There was no sleeve and no chimney cap when I bought the house.

Recently, I had someone come out to fix everything before I had the roof done.  He removed the existing cap along with all the exposed brick, rebuilt the whole exterior chimney, installed a ~30 foot liner, installed the new chimney cap, and hooked up all the vents in the basement.

All of that ran $800 (in Chicago).

Given that, the $2000 estimate does not sound out of hand (considering the 45' height)... but ranging up to $15000 seems suspicious.  Perhaps someone will have a little more insight on why there is such a wide range.


Is conduit required when running a short distance to an adjacent 60 amp subpanel? I am installing a surface mounted 60 amp subpanel 5 inches to the right of my current surface mounted main panel. For the short run, can I use 6/3 non-metallic cable w/ground between the two panels using two clamp connectors and staple it to the plywood or do I have to run individual #6 THHN conductors and #10 THHN ground in conduit instead? I only have smaller size holes available on the side of my main panel, which makes attaching larger conduit to accommodate the 4 wires more difficult.

If you use cable, you are limited to the 60°C rating, so 6/3 isn't big enough for 60A - you'd have to go with 4/3
If you use conduit, and the terminations are rated for 75C, 6 (THHN) is fine. Also, if you use metal conduit, you don't need a grounding wire. The metal conduit is the grounding conductor.
Since it's less than 24 inches long, (a "nipple") you can fill to 60%, so 1/2" EMT, or IMC, or RMC will fit the 3x 6 AWG THHN wires you need (since you don't need a grounding wire, the conduit does that) - no large hole required. 75°C terminations are normal on service equipment, but do verify that yours are so marked - otherwise you are limited to 60°C ratings, in whch case you'll need the "larger of the small size holes" to take 3/4" conduit for 4AWG.


Installing of Honeywell Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat I need to install new wifi thermostat but I don't have the C wire. There are G, W, Y and R wires attached to my old thermostat. There is also one blue wire not connected on the wall.

You'll have to connect the blue wire in the thermostat cable at both ends.

Start by connecting the blue wire in the thermostat cable to the Comm terminal in the furnace.

Then connect the blue wire in the thermostat cable to the C terminal on the thermostat.


Is a P-trap required for a shower drain? I take care of unwanted and abused pets, and occasionally I have to bathe them in a bathtub. Sometimes they go poop and it breaks up in the water so it cannot be scooped out. When this happens, I have to spray it down the tub drain with a hose.
Over time, the drain clogs, and I have to use Liquid Plumber to clear it out.

Could a shower / bathtub be connected with a direct drop like a toilet instead of a p-trap or would sewer gas come back up since there would be no water in a p-trap to stop it?

You need the trap, for precisely the reason you guessed.  Toilets have the trap built into the toilet itself.

What you could do is get a strainer made to fit under the plug - often used in kitchen sinks.  They are easy to find at most home stores or even dollar stores.

That will stop any big stuff from going down the drain, and give you a chance to pull it out.


What exactly do the range of numbers (1 to 7) mean on the temperature knob/dial on a basic window air conditioning unit? I just purchased a new, very nice and basic (5,000BTU) in-window air conditioner and it does the job for my basic needs. But I have a question I probably have had for years but never had a proper venue to ask it: What the heck do the seemingly arbitrary numbers on the temperature dial mean? See picture below.

I completely understand how a value of “1” is the lowest (warmer) setting and “7” is the highest (cooler) setting, but what relative temperatures do these values relate to? And heck, why does the dial go from 1 to 7 instead of something more seemingly commonsense like 1 to 10?

The numbers are completely arbitrary, and are whatever the product manager or artist at the manufacturer decided they should be.  They might be standardized within a company's product line.  If these are private-label units, all bets are off.

Numbers instead of real degrees means they used a thermostat too cheap to be consistent from unit to unit, so they couldn't print degrees and have that be meaningful.

Alternate explanation: they market the identical unit in several countries, and one of them uses Fahrenheit, so rather than have 2 scales, they have none.


2 HOT wires together from the same breaker source I was replacing all fluorescent light fixtures with pot lights and when i removed a fixture, there were 2 14/2 cables connecting with the light.
I thought one was the power coming in, and the other was the power going out to another fixture.
Turns out that when I separate them, cap them off, and turned on the breaker, both had power after I tested with a NCVT (both are from the same breaker source).
Now I am confused as it means that both 14/2 are for power coming in? For the time being (I'll put in a junction box), I finished the job by keeping the two cables connected as it was initially, but i am not sure I understand why they were both hot when i separated them.

You could be seeing a false indication from the NCVT. It happens. Re-check with a volt meter, or try powering the light fixture from just one cable and then from just the other cable. If you find that this light, and perhaps others too, remains off when it's connected to a particular cable that's a good sign that the cable isn't truly powered.


Do I need to get an engineer for badly poured conctrete basement floor? I am having a new home built on Cape Cod. The day they poured the concrete floor a storm was predicted and it rained and snowed that night. The floors are a mess, pitted, uneven etc. The builder finally looked at them after the house is framed and enclosed and said they were not acceptable and they would have them fixed but probably not for several months. I am enclosing pictures (the best I could do). I am very concerned that they might do some quick fix that will not last more than a couple of years. I don't know how I should proceed.! Should I get an engineer to look at them? Ever since there has been standing water in the basement and I'm not sure what harm that has done.

If it would ease your mind, hire an engineer to look into it. Of course, having built a house on top of it, it's a bit late to do over.

However - if this is a typical New England house, the floor (that looks horrible, yes) is not holding up your house. The footings and foundation walls, which are normally poured before the basement floor, are the support structure. The basement floor is just a floor.

Water and concrete have an interesting relationship. Excess water in the mix does make the concrete weaker. Once the initial set has taken place, there is no such thing as too much water - one method for making high quality concrete runways is to flood them for a month after they are poured. Wet-curing concrete makes it stronger.

In your case, I suspect what you have is a little bit excess water on the surface before the initial set was complete, and a lot of letting the concrete freeze before it's cured. The surface damage is called "spalling" if you want to look it up. That does not say very nice things about your general contractor or your concrete sub-contractor, in my opinion - they should either choose to work in a weather window, or be prepared to protect and heat the concrete for a proper cure if working in the winter. The document linked above from the Portland Cement association specifies that fresh concrete should be maintained at or above 50F until it is cured (and curing takes longer at that temperature than the "standard" 73F.) Unless you are planning to put a machine shop in your basement (a good thing to have, IMHO) a self-levelling top surface will probably be adequate for most normal household uses. But you almost certainly don't have the floor you should have.


Should I scribe a floor reducer over an uneven floor? I have a tile to hardwood transition and I have my reducer cut and ready to go.
The problem is the floor is not quite level. Should I just glue it down and put some heavy items on it while the glue cures or should I scribe it?

If I should scribe it, what is the best way to go about it? How do I transfer what where to scribe and do I use a belt sander for those areas?

Alternatively, I could just put more adhesive on the parts that are lower... but that feels hacky.

If it's flexible enough to bend without too much pressure, just glue it, close the door and wedge a few shims in to keep it down.

If it's really resistant to bending, you could cut a few invisible kerfs on the underside.


Lennox air conditioner capacitor and compressor ohm readings I have a Lennox 2.5 ton a/c unit, model 13ACD-036-230-05, with a blown dual run capacitor (the run terminal for the compressor is burnt off the can, the fan and common terminals are still intact, fan still running).

I had the cap replaced a couple years ago when the fan quit working.  I remember the 5/45 uf, 440 volt cap that was installed was close to the original cap that failed, but not exactly the same.

I ohm'd out the compressor and got 1.4 ohms S-C, 0.9 ohms R-C, 2.3 ohms S-R.  These values seem possibly reasonable to me, but according to LennoxPros, "The resistance between start(S) to common(C) is typically three-to-five times higher than run to common winding..." but they didn't state what resistance is actually expected.

What is the original cap rating (uf and voltage) for this a/c unit and what are the normal compressor resistance measurements?

I went through the Lennox web site to find a "store" near me and found an actual Lennox service center. They confirmed the 5/45 uf 440v dual run capacitor was correct. They didn't have any specs on the compressor coil resistance.

The service center didn't have any caps in stock but I found one at a local electrical supply house for under $10. It can also be ordered from Home Depot online (not available in stores) for about the same price.

I checked the resistance from each compressor terminal to ground (29-30 meg ohm each), re-checked the coil resistances (no change), put in the new cap, and turned it on.  I noticed the current draw is lower than expected (9.2A @ startup, 8.9A running @ 230V supply vs. 15.4A nameplate) but It's working fine so far.


What are some tips/tricks to garage door lubrication? Are there any gotchas to garage door lubrication?

I have found the Prime Flo product on Home Depot's website.

Can I lubricate the large spring at the top of the garage door? What about the garage rails? What about the rail from the garage opener that makes it all work?

The rail from the garage door should be lubricated with White Lithium Grease, whether it's a chain or a screw type. Run a bead of grease along the top of it, then run the garage door up and down a few times.

The wheels, track and spring should be lubricated with your favorite lubricant oil -- not WD-40, which is a cleaner and penetrant, not a lube -- but an actual lubricant. I think I usually use silicone liquid wrench.

If the garage door still does not operate, check the alignment of your tracks to make sure they aren't binding. The spring might need to be re-tensioned, which is NOT (in my opinion) a DIY project.


What was the standard size of drywall panels made around 1960? I need to remove an old ceiling and I am told that the older drywall panels did not use to be 4'x 8'.
What size did they use to be ?

Drywall has always been 4x 8 or 12 as long far back as I know it was first used in the 20’s . By the late 40 and 50’s it was the preferred method it las less expensive and easier to install but the size has been similar to plywood 4x8 sheets has been the standard.
Demo of old sheetrock is much easier than today’s screws, knock a hole stick the framing hammer in the hole turn 90 and pull down the sheetrock will break on the nail lines sometimes sections of the nails come out some not but they come out easily except on oak 2x4. In my youth I could strip an entire bedroom in a little over an hour and a half including pulling nails with a framing hammer and wonderbar . It was more work to pick up the peace’s and toss them in the dumpster or if close to the dump in a truck. But you do not cut the nails.


A wall oven with a regular power cord, is it normal? Just got a new NV51K6650SS Samsung wall oven on eBay. The oven looks new but I'm puzzled with its power connection. So far every single oven I seen had either a 4-wire conduit or a 4-prong plug, and was supposed to connect to 240V. This one seem to have just a regular 120V plug:

The label inside the oven says "120/240V 60Hz 3.8kW"

The original installation instructions don't make it clear at all as they talk about 3-wire and 4-wire connections. Is it normal, and if yes, how is it supposed to be connected? Just into a regular US plug?

I think everyone commenting on this question agrees it is not the correct cable. I am assuming that what you call a label is actually the nameplate rating of the oven. The 120/240V rating means it operates on both voltages. 240V requires to phase conductors A & B and the 120V operates on a single phase and a neutral, and the you have to include a grounding conductor. So that would be 4 conductors two would be any color usually black and red, and one white for neutral and one either bare or green for ground. 3.8Kw means it needs at least 15.8A to operate or a 20A Breaker.

You don't state whether you are installing this oven at a new location or replacing it so I am assuming it is a new installation. If that is the case you will need a NEMA 14-20P for the cord cap and a 14-20R for the receptacle. You need to feed the oven from a 20A 2 pole breaker with minimum #12 conductors. If you are using NM the it would be a 12/3 cable with a ground.

For the record, I would never recommend to buy this type of appliance from ebay. Don't be surprised if you did all of this work and it doesn't work. You might take this to someone and have it tested before installing it.

Hope this helps and good luck.


What should be the maximum PSI on the cold water line while the water heater is heating? I have installed a pressure tank and the PSI is still about 90 PSI . Is this normal?

The maximum PSI for a home water line is 80PSI. Low water pressure is below 40 PSI. You typically want 50-60PSI for your home. If the water pressure is rising while the water heater is running, you need to install an expansion tank (as Wallace mentions, +1). If the water pressure is always high, then you need to install a pressure reducing valve in addition to the expansion tank. It's possible for both of these to fail over time, so if you see symptoms indicating that you don't have one of these, then consider replacing it.


what mil thick plastic to hang for dust management I'm planning a chimney demo and planning to hang plastic from floor to ceiling to section where I'm working from the rest of the house. What millimeter thick plastic would be best? I want something thick enough to work but not so heavy I can't tape it up with 2 inch blue painters tape.

I can comment, from tons of experience, that trying to secure the plastic with blue painters tape is highly likely to lead to a great disappointment in performance. Taping up even the thinnest plastic sheeting is so easily torn down by any pulls and tugs on the plastic. Heavier plastic is even worse.

My recommendation, if you have to use tape, is to use something a lot more aggressive such as Gorilla Tape.

Even better is to drape the top edge of the plastic over a thin board strip such as a 1x2 and prop that up against the ceiling with additional 1x2s that are cut to the proper length to wedge in from floor to ceiling. Then run painters tape along the edge to seal the plastic to the ceiling if needed.

Note that professionals use a product that has adjustable spring loaded posts to hold up plastic in the same manner that I described with the 1x2s above. One such system is described here.


Do I need to cover an unused punched out hole in a junction box? If so, how? I removed a Romex cable that was going into a junction box top middle opening(you can see in the picture).

There is still an opening at that punch out.

Is it okay to leave it as is? If not, how do I cover it?

A "knockout fill plug" - costs a few cents (depending on supplier - some are over a buck, I'd keep shopping), snaps into the hole (take the clamp out first.)


Close up stucco or drywall first? We're having work done at our house, and things have gotten behind. It's now at a point at which they're wanting to put in the drywall and paint before the exterior wall has had any stucco work done (it's now just OSB screwed onto framing).

Is it ok to do drywall before the exterior has been completed? It feels like we're asking for leaks if we do it that way.

Sure its logical to have the exterior of the walls finished before the interior work. But if the house has a roof, and the exterior walls are covered with OSB, its hard to image drywall getting too wet. A severe hurricane type storm might be able to do it. If you experiment with some gypsum board and a spray bottle, you will see that drywall has to get a pretty good soak before it is damaged. I know because I've hung a lot of rock that was unloaded outside.


How would I identify the grounded (neutral) conductor when using URD cable as an underground feeder? I have a line on a length of URD 2-2-2-4 at a local electric supply house. The smaller conductor, which I gather is intended as the neutral in some cases, would be my ground. One of the unmarked larger conductors would be my neutral.

Firstly, is this legal in a 100A, 80' sub-panel feeder situation in 1-1/2" pipe, and secondly, how do I identify and mark the neutral conductor?

The AA-1350 here is legal, but tricky

URD cable is also known as type USE (Underground Service Entrance) cable, not to be confused with type SE style U (Service Entrance - Unarmored) cable. As a result, NEC 310.106(B) permits AA-1350 alloy to be used for it:

  (B) Conductor Material. Conductors in this article shall be of
  aluminum, copper-clad aluminum, or copper unless otherwise
  specified.

  Solid aluminum conductors 8, 10, and 12 AWG shall be
  made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy
  conductor material. Stranded aluminum conductors 8 AWG
  through 1000 kcmil marked as Type RHH, RHW, XHHW, THW, THHW, THWN, THHN, service-entrance Type SE
  Style U, and SE Style R shall be made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material.

Since it's AA-1350, though, you need to be picky about your terminations.  Torquing the lugs at each end to manufacturer specifications with a calibrated torque wrench is essential here, and so is the proper use of anti-oxidant grease.

The neutral should be the striped wire

It appears that one of the wires in the cable should have a striped jacket.  If so, that is your neutral wire -- there is no need for further marking.

If such a marking is absent, then since you are dealing with 4AWG or larger wire, you can mark the neutral wire at each end using wraps of white electrical tape (phase tape).  (4AWG or larger wire puts you under 200.6(B) instead of 200.6(A) in the NEC, by the way.)

As to fitting it down the pipe...

Type URD/USE cables, as a rule, lack an outer jacket.  As a result, they are governed by provisions in Chapter 9, Note 9, that allow you to use the sum of the individual conductor areas instead of the cable area for fill calculations:

  (9) A multiconductor cable, optical fiber cable, or flexible
  cord of two or more conductors shall be treated as a
  single conductor for calculating percentage conduit or
  tubing fill area. For cables that have elliptical cross
  sections, the cross-sectional area calculation shall be
  based on using the major diameter of the ellipse as a
  circle diameter. Assemblies of single insulated conductors without an overall covering shall not be considered
  a cable when determining conduit or tubing fill area.
  The conduit or tubing fill for the assemblies shall be
  calculated based upon the individual conductors.

As a result of this, the cable you have comes up to 77mm2*3 for the 2AWG USE-2 insulated conductors and 21mm2 for the bare 4AWG ground, or 252mm2.  Given that the smallest 1.5" conduit in terms of usable area (Schedule 80 PVC) can accommodate 442mm2 of fill, you should have plenty of space for this pull.


New exterior line when fixing existing 20 amp in our new house, there's a 30 amp RV outlet with an attached standard GFCI outlet on the side powered by a 20 amp breaker. The RV box has been cracked open and the GFCI receptacle is dangling off the side, wires rubbed open. Obviously, it's now off at the panel and I plan on replacing it.

While doing so, I'd like to run a wire back out of the replacement RV box and 20 feet over to a large, currently unwired shed. From what I can tell, I can run bare UF-B wiring at only 12 inches deep, assuming it's <= 20 amp (true), no more than 120 volt (true), and GFCI protected(more on that below). The last part is what I'm not sure of. The panel does not have a GFCI breaker and I'm not sure how it would be possible to introduce GFCI protection on the line to the shed. So that's my question - is it possible to have GFCI protection at the box for the replacement outlet, with the replacement RV receptable, AND INCLUDE GFCI on the line going to the shed?

I would like to be safe and run it 18 inches and in some PVC conduit. I've read various things about condensation, etc, but I can't find anything explicit forbidding this, just that THWN-2 is usually used instead.

Thanks!

That's kind of a Code mess.  The biggest problem is that your receptacle size must match your breaker size, with an exception that allows 15A or 20A receptacles on 20A circuits (due to a design exception in UL standards which require 15A receptacles to be rated internally for 20A).

So you have a 30A TT30(?) RV socket on a 20A breaker. Can't do that.

What you can do is whistles dixie get an adapter cable from TT30 receptacle to NEMA 5-20 plug, and fit a 5-20 receptacle (5-20 is the usual receptacle, with an extra little sideslot on the neutral.)

Now it's possible your electrician ran two separate cables, a #10 for the TT30 and a #12 or 14 for the GFCI.  In that case nevermind.

Also if you have a NEMA L14-30 connector (twist lock) instead of a TT30, everything in this answer is out the window.

Feeding GFCI protection downline

Every GFCI+receptacle combo device has a pair of terminals called LOAD, that you normally do not use (or rather, should not use unless you intend to do the following).  If you connect hot+neutral to that LOAD pair, and continue it to another outlet point, that outlet is also protected by the GFCI.  (grounds you just continue through, GFCIs don't use ground for anything.)

So you can continue off the LOAD terminals of that GFCI+receptacle device, on to the shed.  That meets the GFCI requirement.

If you place the NEMA 5-20 outdoor receptacle downline of the GFCI, that will also inherit GFCI protection to the RV.  They also make 5-20 GFCIs so you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

I'm a big, big fan of putting GFCI devices not outdoors. I would site the GFCI+receptacle combo somewhere in the dry, then feed the outdoor receptacles, RV, shed, etc. off its LOAD terminals.

You cannot feed a 30A receptacle from a 15/20A GFCI.  Adapter cables are not part of the house or RV, so are not subject to NEC rules.

Rigid only goes 6" deep but is expensive

"Rigid steel conduit" is magic conduit that only needs 6" of cover, whether it's GFCI or not. It involves a little bit of threaded pipe fitting, so you may need a trip or two to the building supply to have threads cut unless you have a friend with a Ridgid (no relation).  Rigid is pretty expensive so it's best if it's not far.  Cable in conduit isn't illegal, just really hard to pull. Better to use THWN-2 wires in conduit. Menards won't sell you by the foot, some others will and your friendly neighborhood electrical supply will certainly be happy to, and if you diagram out what you're doing, they'll give you correct advice.


Need advice on moving a cable with a steel beam and stairs in the way I live in a tri-level home. I am on the bottom floor and trying to run a cable from the wall up into the ceiling of the lower floor to put lights into this room. The way that it is currently done is not okay. Looking at my picture, the cable comes up and then it runs horizontally into the open space in the steel I-beam. It then hits a junction box (guessing the cable was too short) and then further down it runs up into the ceiling basically on the face of the stud. The drywall on the wall was notched to allow clearance for the cable. I know that is no okay, which is why I am trying to move it.
The beam runs the whole length of the wall, so I cannot just go further down to go up into the ceiling. And it is my understanding that I cannot drill a hole through the top flange of the beam.
So I think my only option (and not even sure if it is an option) is to go through the wood that is to the left and above the beam. Instead of the cable that is circled in red going through that stud, I need it to go up and come out above the wall where I have the purple circle. Not sure what is okay to drill through since there is so much going on here.
In short, how do I get a cable from red circle to purple circle without compromising the structure of the floor above or the stairs?

Edit to add picture where existing cable goes into ceiling on the surface of the studs.

I'd be looking at a larger re-run to address the illegal junction box. You might be able to avoid this hurdle altogether. Aside from that, I'd do this:

Open up a little more drywall so you can get your drill and a drill bit in each of those openings.
Drill from below at about a 10 degree angle to the right, and to a depth of about 3" into the triple beam above. Roughly center the hole in the wall depth and keep it centered on that plane.
Drill from right to left through the triple beam, 2 inches up, intersecting the earlier hole. Angle slightly downward to ease the bend where the bores intersect.

I'd use a 3/4" or 7/8" bit. That should be forgiving enough yet not be absurdly large in terms of framing damage. It's important that you align the holes carefully. Then pull a light wire or string through as a fish line. Feed the cable gently though the bend to avoid sharp kinks.


How to seal molded plastic shower when repainting In preparing to repaint my bathroom, I noticed the paint around the molded plastic shower stall was peeling and exposing the joint compound underneath. There doesn't appear to be any caulking around the seam.

After I've removed the loose paint and touched up the joint compound, what should my next step be? Should I add some caulking and then prime + paint, or prime + paint and then add caulking after? Or both?

On a side note, do I need to add anti-mildew additive to the primer, or just the color coat?

The seam between the surround and the wall should be sealed with caulking. You could repair and paint the wall, then use clear caulking at the seam, or repair the wall and seal the seam with paintable caulk then paint. Your choice.

Use a high quality paint and ensure adequate ventilation and no mildewcide is necessary. If you must use it, add it only to the topcoat.


Do vinyl planks need an expansion joint between rooms? I'm installing about 1,000 square feet of Trafficmaster Allure Ultra vinyl plank flooring. The instructions say to leave a 1/8" perimeter gap but do not say anything about an expansion gap at a certain maximum run length or between rooms. My installation area is roughly L shaped and the long runs will be on the order of 40 - 45 feet. Is it really safe to not put a transition between the rooms as the instructions seem to suggest? I can find almost no info searching. My understanding is that the vinyl doesn't really expand or contract but the house may, so the perimeter is what really matters. However it still makes me nervous.

Definitely check with Trafficmaster for their suggestions, they're really the only ones that know. But, I'd suggest back-beveling your cuts in the middle (or more places) of the full run to avoid any transitions. Back-beveling is just a 1 or 2-degree pie slice cut to the bottom...the top is tight but the bottom has a minor gap.

This way, if there is movement just the top would buckle & can be re-cut or trimmed in place, to fully remove the 1-time buckle permanently.


Reconnecting Rigid Dryer Vent Line I was doing my annual dryer maintenance, when I noticed that the main dryer vent line has fallen off. Looking to reconnect without putting a large hole in the floor.

In detail:

We have second story laundry with a 19' rigid dryer line to the outside.
There is ~60° bend where the line was attached to another flanged rigid piece (about 1') which was mounted to the floor.
From there there is a short Al flexible connection to the dryer (a 12" rigid pipe out of the back of the dryer).

When I disconnected the flexible portion, I noticed that the rigid piece in the floor opened up to the sub flooring as the line to the exterior had fallen off.

I was able to pull the piece in the floor out, and expanded the hole slightly to be able to manipulate the the exterior line. I put in a brace to hold it up (which was hard) but I really can't get a hand plus the rigid pipe in the hole.

There are joists about 6" apart limiting horizontal expansion of the hole, but I could continue to expand it vertically (not that I really want to cut through the subflooring).

Are there any tools, tricks, or special connectors that would make it easier to reconnect the line?

It was originally done during the construction of the house before the 2nd story flooring was put in.

Photos:

Ah, how I hate people who build things designed to last forever, or rather to need the house ripped apart when they don't.

I'd try a loop of wire (galvanized steel or aluminum, whichever the duct is, so they don't corrode each other over time) wrapped around the pipe in the hole to allow you to pull on that while shoving the stub pipe into the elbow. Look down through the stub so you can see what you are doing. Attaching that wire to the stub would then hopefully keep the elbow from falling off again. You would need to seal the joint with duct seal since there's no way you can tape in there.

Alternatively, figure out where the access panel for this job should have been put, buy an access panel, cut a hole in the ceiling (below the pipe), and put the access panel there. Or do what too many folks do, and simply cut a hole in the drywall, convince yourself this will never happen again, and patch the hole in the drywall.

If you are having trouble mating the male and female bits, bend the male bits inward a bit more than stock.