Working furnace but smell like electrical fire My furnace started to smell electrical fire once in awhile (not consistent). I guess it happens when we run the heat for a long time (many continuous days during cold weather). However, the furnace still works while smelling. I also notice sometime it has weird noise, like stalling "beeeeeee" noise. Here is the recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84lXuwHdMPk

I am not sure if it's like that before or now I am starting to realized.

The filter was new and I installed it with exact airflow direction (left-to-right). When I smelled the first time and started to open the cover, the old filter popped out from the metal engage ring thing. It didn't fall off completely or touch any metal part to burn or anything (meaning the smell is not from the old filter).

Also while the burner is firing, I saw a metal stick at the direction of the fire and it's turning red. I am not sure what is the purpose of that stick (temperature sensor?).

I did some research from https://www.angieslist.com/articles/whats-funny-smell-when-heat-turns.htm and blog.snyderac.com/blog/be-cautious-of-these-3-furnace-smells so I came to some initial thoughts:

My capacitor is probably bad and needs replace? Where do I find it?
I might have install the filter in the wrong airflow direction?
Some other electrical or crack inside that I don't see?

Before I call some contractor, I'd like to see if I can easily fix this. Please let me know your advise.

Top left

Entire furnace open

Red circle is the burner. Blue circle is the metal piece sticking out.

Bottom part with new air filter (installed with arrow left to right)

Just a view into the bottom (fan on right)

Electrical switch

Label

UPDATE 1

The make and model of this furnace is Bryant Plus 80t

http://www.utcccs-cdn.com/hvac/docs/1010/Public/03/01-8312-402-25-111212.pdf

I am wondering if the red circle is the capacitor? It's next to the big fan in the bottom

More photos

I don't see anything here resembles a capacitor!

UPDATE 2

I realized when I turned the temperature to 75F and I smelled electrical burning. If it's 71F and below, it seems to be OK. So for some reason, I guess the furnace overworked itself? Is it possible?

UPDATE 3

I also noticed small red LED light flashing fast 3 times and slow 3 times. I am sure there is something wrong electrically. The noise seems to come from the blower motor below and not the inducer motor on top.

The filter placement looks incorrect to me. Every furnace I've seen has the filter on the other side of the venting into the fan box, causing the filter to be pulled tight against the opening. With the amount of air my furnace pulls, it would pull the filter away at the top and bottom allowing unfiltered air into the system.

My theory would be that the unfiltered air is allowing dust and lint into the heat exchanger and when it builds up enough it is burning off.

A quick image search should give a better visual of what I'm describing.


How can I install a ceiling fan with an extension kit that doesn't have a ground wire? I bought a ceiling fan and it came equipped with the standard three wires sticking out of the motor. The instructions said the ground wire must be wired to the ground wire of the ceiling wire box. But there is no ceiling wire box, so I bought a fan extension kit to wire up to the fan and plug it into a wall outlet.

The extension, which I bought at Home Depot, was clearly marked "Ceiling Fan Swag Light Kit" but it came with NO ground wire, just the standard two-wire plug. Both the sales assistant and I looked everywhere for a ceiling fan extension kit that had the three wire ground arrangement, but none was available anywhere.

How can this be? How can ceiling fan extension kits be sold without a ground wire, when all ceiling fans, indeed most appliances today, require a ground wire connection? And is it possible to wire up the fan to an ungrounded extension so that the shock hazard is still eliminated?

Code doesn't require grounding for the fan because you're not really installing permanently in the structure, you're using it as a removable appliance.

If you want to ground it anyway, buy high quality aesthetically pleasing braided copper grounding wire, and weave it through the chain along with the original cable.

Connect it normally at the fan box, and at the outlet, either cut the plug off and add a replacement plug, or terminate the ground wire with a spade connector and use the outlet's cover plate screw to secure it in place.

You could improve the situation by replacing the outlet with GFCI or using an inline GFCI protector.  Both overkill if you ask me.


How deep should liquidtight flex conduit be burried? How deep should liquidtight flex cable be burried for a 75 ft run for an outdoor circuit? I see pvc conduit is at 18 inches.

356.10 Uses Permitted. LFNC shall be permitted to be used in exposed or concealed locations for the following purposes:
Informational Note: Extreme cold may cause some types of nonmetallic conduits to become brittle and therefore more sus-ceptible to damage from physical contact.
(1) Where flexibility is required for installation, operation, or maintenance.
(2) Where protection of the contained conductors is required from vapors, liquids, or solids.
(3) For outdoor locations where listed and marked as suit-able for the purpose.
(4) For direct burial where listed and marked for the purpose.

Notice number 4.
Here is an excerpt from the UL Whitebook concerning LFNC

Flexible Nonmetallic Conduit, Liquid-tight (DXOQ) USE AND INSTALLATION
This category covers liquid-tight flexible nonmetallic conduit, in trade sizes 3/8 in. to 4 (metric designators 12 to 103) inclusive, for installation in accordance with Article 356 of ANSI/NFPA 70, ‘‘National Electrical Code'' (NEC).
This product may also be used for installation of conductors for electric signs and outline lighting in accordance with the NEC.
PRODUCT MARKINGS Liquid-tight flexible nonmetallic conduit suitable for direct burial and in poured concrete is marked ‘‘Direct Burial,'' ‘‘ Burial,'' ‘‘Dir Burial'' or ‘‘Dir Bur.'' Liquid-tight flexible nonmetallic conduit suitable for use outdoors is marked ‘‘Outdoor.''

According to Table 300.5 column 3 you would need 18" of cover. If you have a 120volt circuit that is GFCI protected you can reduce the cover to 12".
Notice the table reads "minimum cover requirements" NOT burial depth. With small raceways this is insignificant but larger raceway should be measured to the top of the raceway not the depth of the trench.
[Note: I had previously cited Article 350 which is LFMC not LFNC and referred to manufacturers information for burial depth which is actually covered by Table 300.5 of the code. Upon re-reading the Code I edited this answer accordingly adding the citation to the UL Whitebook. Hopefully this clarifies some things.]
Good luck and stay safe!


wiring size to storage shed Florida..Have storage shed approx. 60' from house. Have a gfci box on front porch, was planning on connecting to box for pwr supply w 14 Ga.. planning on wire in elect. conduit, wire run will be about 75'. lighting is ( 4) 500 watt shop lights ( not on at same time), maybe two at same time.

With just 1000w total 14 awg the voltage drop would be 2.85% at 75'. So you could do it with 14awg. 2000w the wire size would be 10awg. For some reason I was thinking 1000w or 2 lights. Going to LED may get you the needed light and not have to go to the larger wire.


How do I connect a ceiling fan without a light kit? I'm trying to install a new ceiling fan that is controlled by one wall switch.  The fan came with a pull-chain that controls the 3 speeds;  and also comes with an optional light kit.  But I am not using the light assembly  and have removed it from the fan.  However, I noted that there is still one wiring harness that must be connected within the fan assembly...presumably  in order for the pull-chain assembly to work.

The fan comes with a black, blue, white and green wire.  The wiring at the ceiling box consists of one red, one black, one white and a green wire.  I think I know what all these wires represent in terms of the current carried in each.  My question is:  given that the light is not going to be used, do I need to connect only the black to black, white to white, and green to green wires (and cap the red wire), or do I still need to utilize the red and/or blue wires--and if so, in what way?  Thanks for any insights.

Personally, I would follow the instructions for wiring it as if it did have a light kit. You, or someone else, may someday want to add one, and that's far simpler if you can just remove the cap, plug in the connector, and bolt the light fixture in place. They may still want to rewire in order to put the lights under control of a wall switch rather than or in addition to the pull chain, but if not...


Does this look like a termite? I found a suspicious looking insect in my kitchen counter top, and I'm wondering if it was a termite. Can anyone who are familiar with termite confirm whether or not the insect in the picture below is a termite? I recall that the length of the insect was about quarter inch (~ 6mm.)

I also noticed small white, almost transparent wings floating on top of the pool in my backyard after a couple of rainy days. I guess probably there were a swarm of those insects in my backyard a couple of days ago. Should I worry about any potential termite infestation?

By the way, for anyone who are curious, I live in northern California (Bay area) where termites are common problems.

It looks like a termite to me, The body is thick all the way back. Ants have a narrow body in the center. Make sure to check around your foundation and look for evidence especially where the dirt is close to the wood. It is possible that a swarm just arrived and that one came into the house through a door or window. With Termites and Carpenter ants it is best to be proactive because they can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. If you are not able to do the inspection under the house it might be worthwhile to hire a pest control company to do the inspection.


Measuring Incoming Gas Pressure to Stove I have a new BlueStar Platinum range that I'm trying to hook up.  I am wanting to make sure everything is connected per their instructions.  They mention the following regarding the incoming gas line:

Incoming gas pressure should be checked with a manometer. The correct manifold pressure for natural gas is 5.0” wc.  Incoming line pressure upstream of the appliance should be 1.0” wc greater than the operating manifold pressure.

I currently have a 3/4" pipe stubbed out behind the stove with a shut-off valve.  I would think testing the pressure would be as easy as connecting a gauge to this fitting and then opening the valve but I can't seem to find evidence of this being the case.  It seems like most of these manometers are designed to connect to appliances themselves or something.

If anyone knows how I can test this it would be much appreciated!

The standard gas pressure supplied to houses is 7" WC. Go to the website of your gas supplier and find out what they supply.

If you want to test this yourself, just connect the manometer to the tap and see what you have. This will be a static test and the pressure could drop when the gas is flowing, but probably it won't drop significantly. It is marginally better to use a Tee and test the pressure under flow, but for a minimal verification a static test is sufficient


How much do holes in metal shrink when it is galvanized? I'm going to have some mild steel tubes with holes drilled on it hot-dipped galvanized. I need to know how much tolerance or how big the holes should be when I drill them so that they would be at least an inch in diameter after the galvanization process. Of course, I don't want the holes too big too afterwards.

I tried Googling the answer to this question but failed to see usable numbers. This is most probably because it depends on the size of the holes and the type of metal being galvanized. So if anyone can give some numbers based on their experience, that would help a lot.

The vendor will be able to give you this information based on the thickness they apply the material and any specs you gave or requested when they quote the job.


Is it OK if I can feel fiberglass cloth texture after curing? I'm restoring a popup camper (not technically home improvement, I guess, but the question overlaps just fine) and I covered up some holes in the aluminum roof with Bondo-brand fiberglass cloth and resin. The repair went pretty well and everything seems structurally solid and well-adhered (I ground the area around the holes down to bare aluminum and cleaned it with acetone afterwards, so it should be solid). However, in a couple of places, I can still feel the texture of the fiberglass cloth on the exterior of the repair, whereas other places had enough resin on top to be smooth.

I've sanded everything down so that it should be fairly smooth and well-feathered once I put some paint on there. However, I'm wondering if there's any reason to put another coat of fiberglass resin on top of the places where I can still feel the texture of the fiberglass cloth?

I don't care about the aesthetics so much, it's more of a longevity/structural question.

I've tried Googling, but I haven't found anything specifically mentioning this.

Perfectly normal, and unless you have some need for it to be smooth, not a problem. Many less-fancy fiberglass products have the fabric texture exposed.

The bigger concern for longevity is then covering that material (which is highly subject to sun damage) with an adequate layer of paint to protect it from the sun.

Since you mention that you are preparing for paint, sounds like you'll have that covered.


Filling wood voids in siding I would like to fix up my wood siding before primer and paint. Some areas are chipped, some areas have holes.

Deciding between outright auto bondo and DAP product

the Bondo suggestion came from one of the home depot reviews on their website against this product, one of the reviewers said it's basically the same product as Bondo, except you get more product with Bondo for less price:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-12-oz-High-Performance-Wood-Filler-21600/100376245

DAP product:

http://www.lowes.com/pd/DAP-Plastic-Wood-White-Solvent-Wood-Filler/4013493?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA--Paint--WallRepair-_-4013493:DAP&CAWELAID=&kpid=4013493&CAGPSPN=pla&store_code=102&k_clickID=1c87de18-4c0b-49c7-8c50-ba33a4d3f640

Can someone with experience give me thoughts or suggest a 3rd product?

Thanks ahead

PS -- I hope I'm not breaking any rules by trying to fit in a 2nd question, but please also advise if I should primer and then paint or can just use a paint with primer built in that they sell now-a-days.

I have used all three products. The bondo is the exact same thing as the Miniwax product, with the exception of the color. The cream hardener is the same the smell is the same, the handling properties is exactly the same. The painters in the high end company I used to work for used bondo in the appropriate places. As in not large areas, but for screw holes and perhaps a knot hole but no bigger.

The Dap product is good but you will waste a lot since it dries out incredibly fast. You MUST keep the top on at all times. Keep the lid between the fingers, hinge it back, take a dip of the filler, place it back, and hope you still use it before it dries. It will dry fast on the knife as well, so keep scraping it off as you go or your filling will take a lot of sanding. Personally, I prefer not to use it, although for small projects and availability I have used it recently. Neither the Dap, Miniwax or Bondo is easy to sand.

If all your repairs are small, the bondo will work very well for  you. If the repairs are large, say bigger than a quarter, the wood will move and crack around practically any repair you make. With any product you use. You may be able to go a little larger than that, but it depends on the siding and how the wood is cut, as in flat sawn, quarter sawn or rift sawn, but that is another lesson.

7/8/2016 Edit

The picture tells another story, it helped a ton. You do not need filler, except for the knot hole in the second picture. Either product will work there, otherwise the wood needs only to be properly prepped for painting. Resetting the nails that have popped out a bit and maybe filling those with with an exterior grade filler. If they were just set flush and painted over them has been the norm for ages.

The finish is cracked due to the expansion and contraction of the seasonal changes. That is the biggest problem. Getting the surface sound enough to take a latex primer that will give and take with the movement of the siding will be the first step then a latex paint for the finish coats as well. I used to use only oil based primers back in the day, but they are a brittle finish and will crack again just like the finish you have on the siding now. The thing is, no matter what you use, whether it be bondo, or the dap product,or even something as mundane as caulk in the knot hole. make sure the wood is sound and primed before you apply any caulk in any place. Bondo needs bare wood in my opinion to hold, as does the Dap product, If that is used, be sure to prime and paint ASAP.

In my opinion, I would prep the siding for paint, remove all old caulk, prime everything, fill the knot hole with caulk as well as all the joints to the brick, except for the joint at the bottom to the sill ( caulk holds in water as well as hold it out) DO NOT caulk the wood panels together since it looks like you have a board and batten siding detail, and finish paint. Wood needs to move, and it WILL move, caulk will try to hold it in place and cause cracks in the face.

The nails need more attention than I explained at first but it is a matter if the nails that are "proud" are actually holding anything. They either rise off the surface by everything shrinking away from the nail head or the nail point is not in anything substantial and therefore loose and not holding anything. Some of the nails in the siding are overkill, it only take 2 nails in any nailer in the wall to hold siding in place. The third one in the middle gives reason for the siding to split, you are lucky in this case.


Filling and recreating toilet bolts in concrete The two bolt holes for my toilet are crumbling and I need to fill it in and make new ones. What's the best way to do it so it won't shift?

You should be able to remove the ring and replace it. This is true for most steel rings but not necessarily for some plastic or brass rings. It is possible to add a stainless steel replacement ring over the top of the old ring if it's not already more than 1/4" proud of the floor. You should be able to find replacement rings and flange repair kits at your local hardware or builders supply store that will work for your specific situation.


What is this plastic strip inside my laminate flooring? I'm installing this laminate flooring and noticed a plastic stirp in the groove of each plank. What is it for and should it stay where it is or be removed during the installation?
Laminate brand: Kronotex Raven Ridge Estate Grey Oak

The 5G locking system uses a set of plastic clips on the inside of the
groove to hold the attached plank in place. You will hear a slight
audible click when you’ve installed the planks correctly. See the
installation video demo below for a visualization of how to install a
5G locking system flooring.
https://www.bestlaminate.com/blog/the-difference-between-5g-and-megaloc-locking-systems/

The panels use a tongue-and-groove “Clic” system that lets you simply
snap panels together...
https://m.kronotex.com/Laminate-Flooring-Guide/Installing-snap-together-laminate-flooring-1419384348.html


C-Wire Williamson gsa-125-n-ip Looking to install a C-wire for my power stealing nest. I have 5 wires up at the thermostat and same at the boiler. I am using red and white at the thermostat however it looks like blue and white it’s being used at the boiler. enter image description here
See below.

enter image description here

The soldered C terminal is labeled on the transformer board. To confirm you should be able to follow that wire to a ground terminal. You might have to cut and splice that wire.
That being I'm not convinced from the blurry diagrams that the standard furnace wiring setup will work with your boiler, after connecting the C wire you may need to connect the R from the boiler transformer board to the Rc terminal on the nest and use the Rh/W1 on the nest as dry contacts for the two wires currently connected to the old stat.


Horizontal fire blocking when using rigid foam in basement? There are lots and lots of how-to's out there on how to put rigid foam against a concrete basement wall before putting up 2 X 4 framing. Seal the joints, etc...doesn't seem to complicated. On to framing...it also seems easy (and stupid not to) to get the required fire blocking at the top...below your joists...in the vertical direction. What I'm really scratching my head over, and I haven't see ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE of how to do this correctly in all of the so-called "Internet How-to's"...is how do you achieve horizontal fire blocking every 10 feet when you've got rigid foam between the concrete and the framing? Picture this...concrete walls covered with rigid foam floor to top of concrete wall. Now throw up your framing. Let's say I'm using 1" foam (southern climate zone, above grade). As I interpret the rule, you need a framing member DIRECTLY against the concrete...so do I rip a 2 X 6 to 4.5"...carve out 1.5" wide of foam at that spot? Doesn't make sense...not supposed to put lumber against concrete, and I'm pretty sure you can't have PT every 10 ft in an interior space. Yes, I did check with the AHJ, and the answer was "Yes, you need fire blocking and no, rigid foam or fire-retardant great stuff does not qualify" which makes sense...that stuff melts if your hot breath gets on it. Would would help me get my head around this would be a example photo..which I've spent hours searching for.

You don't need to interrupt the foam insulation with fireblocking, but if there's a gap between the foam insulation and your framed wall, then you'll need fireblocking across the gap every 10 feet.

IBC 2015, 718.2:

  In combustible construction, fireblocking shall be installed to cut off concealed draft openings (both vertical and horizontal) and shall form an effective barrier between floors, between a top story and a roof or attic space. Fireblocking shall be installed in the locations specified in Sections 718.2.2 through 718.2.7.

While 718.2.2 designates a "concealed wall space" as requiring fireblocking, 718.2 (quoted above) prescribes the nature of this fireblocking: It interrupts "concealed draft openings." Building your framed wall tight to the foam will avoid any draft openings, but if you've got a gap between the framed wall and your foam, then that's a draft opening that will need a fireblock every 10 feet.


without damaging metal, how to attach metal house numbers to metal sheathing I am hoping to find a way to attach my metal house numbers to facia clad with metal sheathing without damaging the metal. the

Automotive trim tape.

For example, 3M 38583 (I'm not in any way associated with 3M, but I did just buy a roll of the stuff for the automotive purpose it's intended for.)

Weatherproof, lasts a long time, and if you need to remove them you saw them off with a section of fishing line and then rub the remaining adhesive off (they even make a special tool for THAT job for the automotive application, but I haven't bought one as I doubt the scale of my job calls for it.)


what steps to take after removing a cable from a breaker box? While building some shelves in my basement, I noticed an electrical cable than ran along a joist and dead-ended.  I tested it and discovered it didn't have power.  As the dead-end is not particularly far from the breaker box (~20 ft of cable), I'd like to remove it entirely just to be tidy.

I haven't yet removed the front panel of the break box to investigate because I wanted to do some reading first to make sure I feel comfortable doing so.  I see plenty of articles and videos on how to replace circuit breakers (though I don't believe I want to replace or even remove any existing breakers).

However, what I do not see in those articles is what I should do to the breaker box after removing the cable.  I assume I should replace the knock-out so that there isn't a hole in the side?  Is there a recommended way to do so?  Anything else I should do?  Apologies that this is likely a very simple question - I'm just not sure on the terminology of what I should be searching for.

In the photo below, the cable I wish to remove is in the second black hole from the bottom (just above the yellow cable).

You can plug the knockout hole with a knockout seal (or knockout plug).

(source: homedepot.com)

You'll likely need either a 1/2" or 3/4", depending in the knockout size.

WARNING: When working in the panel, take your time, be careful, and manage loose wires and hands to keep them away from energized parts. Be especially cautious of the main lugs, and the ungrounded (hot) bus bars. Use insulated tools, and wear appropriate safety equipment.


No power to a branch circuit We lost power to a branch circuit that supplies power to a bar fridge and some lighting. There is a gfci on it as well. No breaker was tripped further I tested all breakers as good. How can this be?

Updated based upon comments.

This type of failure could be attributed to any one of the following:

The GFCI tripped.
The GFCI has broken and stayed in a fault off state.
There is the possibility of there being multiple GFCIs in series on the circuit and one that you have not located yet has tripped.
Something changed in the area of the abode such as drilling holes into walls or pounding nails or driving screws that have resulted in damage to a wire in the wall.
Some part of this particular power circuit was wired up with poke in wire terminations on the back of the receptacle(s). One of these connections has failed.

Note that item number 5 has a pretty good chance of being the problem if you cannot account for any of items 1 to 4. Replacement of outlets with newer better quality ones and using the side screws is the much preferred method of securing the wire connections.


Outside dryer vent clogs with lint A few days ago our dryer started complaining about a blocked airway, so I went up on the roof to check out the vent and sure enough the screen was completely clogged with lint.

It's a new vent that was installed along with a new roof in November, so I imagine I'll have to go up there and clean it out every 3-4 months.

Is this really part of regular home maintenance?  Neither my wife nor I recall our parents ever doing this sort of thing.

Your parents did not have a screen at the exhaust vent terminal either. Somebody installed the wrong type of vent cap on the dryer vent.  Dryers are particularly dependent on much free flowing air for proper operation.  All dryer exhaust air is full of fabric lint. Fabric Lint will always clog a screen.  Either replace the existing cap with the right one, (screen free) or jerk the screen out of that thing and live happily ever after!


How do I shut off the ceiling fan without a pull chain? So, I move into my new house.  The first hour, my mother-in-law decides to try out the ceiling fan.  She turns the unit on at the lightswitch, then pulls the chain right out of the unit.  The fan is now on at max whenever the unit is turned on.

I still have pull chains to turn on and off the light, and a chain to reverse the direction.  Those two switches however do not stop the fan.

I may replace the pullchain in the future, but for the time being, is it possible to shut off the fan somehow without the chain?  Would it be possible to, for example, bridge the switch connection, then flip the breaker a couple times to switch the fan off?  Any other ideas?

Here is a good diagram that shows how a 3-speed switch works.

To control the fan speed without the switch, you'd have to apply current to the proper wires to get the speed you want. Since this is likely a mechanical device (not electronic), the only way to change the setting is to physically move the switch to another position.
A tiny bit of chain is visible
If even a small bit of the chain is left, you may be able to pull it using needle nose pliers. If the fan is connected directly to power (not controlled by a wall switch), you'll probably want to shut off the breaker to stop the fan while you do this (so you don't loose your head). Most fans have the same click pattern.

1st Click = High.
2nd Click = Med.
3rd Click = Low.
4th Click = Off.

So be careful to count your pulls, or you'll be making another trip to the breaker.
The chain is just GONE!
If the chain is completely gone, the easiest option would be to replace the entire fan.
If you like to tinker; and have a bit of knowledge about this stuff, you could take the fan apart and replace the switch. It's probably a good idea to have the old switch in-hand, when you make your trip to the hardware store for a replacement. Don't forget to label the wires when you remove the broken switch, you won't remember where they all went.
Note: Flipping the breaker on/off a couple times, will do nothing but turn the fan on/off a couple times. It is possible to control the speed of the fan by continuously flipping the breaker on/off, but your arm would get tired pretty quick.


How to remove shower drain My shower drain is clogged.  I want to open the drain cover, but I can't get it off (see picture of drain cover)

How should this be opened:  prying it off or unscrewing it?

Regards,

UPDATE

This words on the cover are: "florestone madera ca"

The lettering on the drain cover leads to a number of similar (but not exactly the same) products all over the 'net. What is consistent about this particular company's line of products is that the words "snap-in" appear frequently.

The image above differs from yours in that your "tab" area is much thinner and does not show clearly any tabs. If you are able to shine light into the area of the slots and are able to see tabs, one can expect that it too is a snap-in cover.

Even a rather comprehensive installation document for plumbing a Florestone shower pan includes nothing about the drain cover. This is consistent with one being able to see the removed cover and recognizing that it is a snap-in type. In place, it's not so easy to determine that aspect.

Image courtesy of Decour Glamour web page.


Taco SR503 switching relay and common wire? I just bought a home with a three-zone radiant heat system controlled by Nest thermostats. There's only two wires (red and white) going to each thermostat. This works, but is problematic — in the past two days, I've had to charge two of the three thermostats via USB in order to get them back on the wifi. It's going to be a long winter if I have to keep doing that!

It looks like the wires straight drops through the wall to the basement, so pulling a new one shouldn't be hard. I'm worried about where to hook it up, though. I found this article from Ecobee support: Taco SR503-4 Three Zone Switching Relay which.. is not encouraging. It suggests that I need a separate transformer and then should control the actual switch with an isolation relay.

  But with the power requirements of one or more ecobee3 thermostats this transformer will be insufficient in capacity. As a result another external transformer will be needed to power the thermostats and an isolation relay per zone to connect to the R & W terminals of each zone.

However, I found this newer diagram directly from Taco, which has  a common terminal clearly marked (where the old one just says "24 VAC Power"). And it doesn't have any warnings about capacity. So........

Maybe this was a problem with older SR503s but not newer ones? If so, how do I tell?
Is this a problem particular to Ecobee? Will I be okay with Nest?
Currently these are gen 1 and gen 2 Nest thermostats. If the current ones okay, might future ones not be?

Anything else I need to be aware of?

Use a separate transformer, across Rc and C on the Nest

What I'd do here is have the Rh and W terminals on the Nests connect to the zone R and W terminals on the Taco zone board, while the Rc and C terminals on the Nests are connected to a 24VAC transformer (a standard 40VA one should be ample to power 3 Nests) that is independent of the Taco board.  This way, the Nest will turn off its internal Rh/Rc bridge and should power itself from Rc and C at that point, while it switches Rh to W to turn on the heat zones.  It also avoids overloading the internal transformer on the Taco, and should eliminate the need for isolation relays from the system.


Tree growing into gutter. What's a good strategy? I'm wondering what is a good long-lasting strategy to deal with it in a way that is respectful of the environment, i.e. the city does not allow cutting any trees.

It's hard to say from that photo, but it looks like that bulge is the stump of a limb that could be trimmed back further. Really that's a question for an arborist, though. If you do so you'll want to pick the right time of year to help prevent fungal infection.

I agree that you're probably misinterpreting your city's ordinance, though. No sane city government would prevent a homeowner from protecting his dwelling from invasive plants.


Why is one radiator TRV in the house missing the control? My house had a new gas central heating system fitted, with new radiators, before I moved in. One radiator (in the tiny downstairs WC) is missing the control knob for the TRV, and is set to the highest setting. I vaguely remember seeing somewhere that this is desirable for some reason, but it is far too hot for such a small room.

I haven't been able to find a replacement control without the entire TRV, so is it safe to lower the heat using an adjustable wrench or something?

I think on some systems at least one radiator should remain open to provide some circulation - maybe for the sake of the pump. This valve wouldn't have a TRV or the setting would be very high so it wouldn't ever close fully. Would that be why it's covered up?

The tiny radiator would be a good choice as it would dissipate and waste least heat.


Is my repair to this plug safe? The red copper wire was burned so I took out the burnt part of the wire and reinserted all the wires by myself.

That plug needs redoing. Urgently. It is unsafe.

  Make sure the clamp is on the covering for the cable not the
  individual wires

This is a correctly wired UK plug... different live & neutral colours and there's a fuse, but you get the idea that the cable grip goes over the outer covering of the cable and is properly tightened. The exposed power wires (red and black in your picture) should be only as long as they need to be to reach the plug pins, no longer. The earth/ground wire (green & yellow) should be a little longer, so it gets pulled out last if the cable grip fails. The bared copper should also be the minimum length needed to get under the screws, which should be fully tightened.


Can I run 90 feet of 6/3 NM-B, carrying 220 Volts/50 Amperes, in schedule 80 PVC? I am adding a 50amp, 220v receptacle to my garage.  I am mounting 6/3 wire with ground (NM-B).  The run is approximately 90 feet long and it passes through one wall.  It will be out of harms way at the top of the wall at the ceiling.  For aesthetics I propose to put it in schedule 80 PVC.  Is this permitted?  For a run that long do I need junction boxes along the way?  It involves four 90 degree turns.

Your voltage drop is less than 4V so that is good. With 4 90's it would be legal to do it without junction boxes(360 max - then boxes are required). Soap the wire when pulling it will go much easier. We used to use Dawn dish soap but they also make "pull soap" that wont dry out and get sticky like Dawn.


Name of door/cabinet knob that operates two bolts at once I've seen knobs that when twisted operate two bolts, however I can't find them online because I don't know what they are called.

An example might be on cabinet where a knob in the center of one door has a bolt to the top and bottom. I think I've seen it usually where the bolts are surface mounted on the inside of the door.

Search for Cremone Bolt. They are a type of cabinet surface bolt latch that operates two rods or bars, usually oriented vertically with a latch bar throwing to the top and the bottom.

Thanks to Van Dyke's Restoration for the pic.


Do I need steel beams (rebar) for a very short block wall (on top of Do I need steel beams for a very short block wall (there is an existing poured cement wall and we wish to raise it by about a foot or two) to raise the height of the wall around the stairs. On top of this will be a wooden handrail.

The reason I ask is because I see the contractor has done the bricks together with cement but no steel beams (rebar).  Is this secure or will it eventually topple over?

TIA

Yes, you should add rebar across the joint between to old and new block wall.   Do this by using a masonry drill (preferably a hammer drill) and drill 3-6" vertically down into the existing block wall top where the hole / rebar dowel  will not be in the way of adding the next row of block.  Best to use 1/2" or #4 rebar for this purpose and use the same size masonry drill bit to do your drilling.  It's best to get the block cut and placed into position before you do the drilling to be sure there's no placement conflict between the intended new block layer and the rebar dowel holes to be drilled.  Once you have them laid out on the wall then you can mark the hole's placement. I'd use a dowel in each corner hole and at least every other hole in the new block's run.  Cut your rebar dowel length the depth of the drilled hole plus the block layer height minus 1-2" so they don't stick out of the new walls top.  Fully insert the dowel into the drilled hole by hammering the rebar into the hole with a 2-3# mallet until they hit then end of the drilled hole.

*Rebar is meant to provide stability for the rigid concrete matrix or material.  The reason you see rebar in bridges is that while the concrete provides a platform to drive on it's very rigid and will break apart if stressed past it's physical abilities.  The rebar in the bridge keeps the concrete or matrix or material together and aligned in case of cracks in the concrete and strengthens the overall concrete structure with much less steel than in a conventional steel only bridge structure.


How many concrete piers do I need to support a 10 x 10 wooden floor supporting a 1600 lb shed? Aptos, CA, United States.

As you've probably noticed from my prior post, I'm in the process of building a foundation for a garden shed.  My specific county/region does not have strict restrictions/requirements on shed foundations or concrete use.  Good news: I'm on my own.  Bad news: I'm on my own.  At this point, I'm pretty sure I want to go with a concrete pier foundation.

The floor measurements are as follows:

I was originally planning to set three rows of 8 inch piers (three piers per row) with a pressure-treated 4x4 lining each row... but now I'm wondering if that's not enough or too many...

My questions are:

How many concrete piers would you suggest I use in order to support a floor of this size and an empty distributed building weight of 1600 lbs (without people standing on it).
Do piers always need to be at the very end? Or can there be a small overhang of wood? Ideally I'd like to have the piers away from the edges of the perimeter so they're not as visible.

As with any advice you get here, keep in mind that you must stay within the bounds of IRC building codes adopted by your local municipality.  Obtain a building permit and a local inspector will give you guidelines on minimum requirements for posts, beam spans, joist spans, etc...
Your concrete piers must be a set depth to go below the frost line in your area.  You must set the posts on top of concrete with a post base to protect from rot.
When in doubt always make it stronger!  Increase to 12" piers with 6x6 posts.  Consider using 2x10 or 2x12 beams doubled or tripled on each row.  Make sure that each beam span is no longer than 7' if you are worried.  When you submit your plan for the permit then the inspector will point out any flaws or deficiencies that you need to address before you start.
NOTE: Any specific sizes I use are merely examples of how one can increase the strength of a structure.  Nobody can say for sure without more specifics about the shed design.

Do piers always need to be at the very end? Or can there be a small overhang of wood? Ideally I'd like to have the piers away from the edges of the perimeter so they're not as visible.

When the beam extends past the last post this is called a cantilever.  IRC building codes specify the maximum allowable length for live load for different types of lumber, and different sizes.


Seal crack between brick wall and drywall I've had an extension done a year ago and the builder did a wonderful job, but now after the winter the drywall is pulling away from the brick wall and there is a slight crack. The brick wall has been plastered and painted as well, just for the record.

I can paint it over but the crack will reappear, so I'm thinking about something more elastic. What is the best way to fix this?
Would silicone work? Or what about gloss paint, does that have enough elasticity in it?

This question is slightly different from this one which is more about a ceiling.

You don't fill in the gap between drywall in brick.  Caulk, mud, plaster, whatever will not keep this area from having problems.  I have done tons of drywall to brick and there is simply a small gap there.  Anything else doesn't look right.

I have also seen small t-molding placed there and it looks... OK but not right.

I have seen caulk and it just looks bad because the brick isn't a flat edge against the drywall.  It has valleys for mortar and these take a lot of extra caulk.

Then you can plaster over the entire brick or backer board to get rid of gap but you are losing the brick.

I have brick fireplace right next to custom shelving in my house and really glad I didn't caulk it.  The key for your situation is a nice straight thin drywall line.


Single pole to three lights I have a single pole switch that is hooked up the three lights.  The lights will work just fine for about 3 minutes then will flicker.  The first of 3 lights will turn off and the other two will flicker.  If I unhook the first light, the second and third will stay on no problem.  As soon as I hook the first back up the same problem occurs.   Any suggestions?

It sounds like a led problem to me also, although LED’s draw very little current arcing on the circuit can cause other lights on the same branch circuit to have problems. I would check the connections at that first fixture, worst case swap the lamp from the first and the 2nd or 3rd fixture a lamp with a problem might cause problems similar to bad connections. Give that a try. With LED’s I have have lots of problems with lamps and fixtures from overseas. I found out about DLC listing and have not had any flickering problems with them and the few that have failed were promptly replaced 2 different vendors. DLC is design light consortium, they require A 5 year warranty on most fixtures, they cost a bit more but I have installed over 300+ with only a few failures , non DLC lamps I have had close to 100% failures within 1 year and the warranty did not cover anything longer than 90 days. So it could be the lamp or the wiring both are possible, swapping them may fix the problem or verification of the wiring.


How should I restore these cames in leadlight window? I would like to restore the cames in these windows.  I am unsure which metal they are made from. How do I go about this?

This is a picture from the outside which has been exposed to the weather (including salt air):

This is a picutre on the inside:

Should this be polished or painted or sanded back?

In my honest opinion, I would not do a thing to them. Sanding will scratch up everything, paint will get on the glass, polishing will ruin the patina, besides the polishing agent will get around places that will be hard to get out, taking away from what you are trying to accomplish. Let alone, all these procedures making it possible to crack the glass


Are these small bubbles on the base of the toilet tank normal? I just replaced the fill valve and flapper in my toilet. Everything looks fine but after a while I see that there are bubbles that accumulate around the flapper and the rubber washers in the toilet tank.

There's no dicernable leak. Is this normal?

It's fine. That's just air dissolved in the water forming on the nucleation points of the rubber.


Should I set wood fence posts in quikrete with no supplemental water? Setting wood fence post---I've heard to set wood fence posts using quikrete dry, allowing it get moisture from the ground. Is this a good idea?

No. Unless you live in a swamp, there won't be enough moisture, and even if you do it won't be mixed with the cement properly. The concrete will be dry, crumbly, and have no strength. Just mix it like the directions say.


Rotating a staircase and making a new landing. How do I support it I am looking to rotate this staircase. Instead of descending in a southerly direction, I would like them  to descend to the east. To do that my plan is to make the top step (step 5) into a landing and take move/rotate steps 1-4 to be toward the camera.

The thing I am concerned about is the fact that column A (the column supporting the handrail) is not particularly structural. It's just screwed into the floorboard.

Column A would need to be moved much farther east, and replaced with a "structural" column for the south east corner of the landing, as well as a new handrail column.
My question is about the new "structural" column. How should I make it structurally sound?
My initial thought was to cut a hole in the floor and lag bolt it to the joist, but the joists are engineered and I'm not sure if they are rated for that kind of attachment.
My second thought was to drop the column all the way to the floor of the crawl space and pour a small concrete pad in the crawlspace, have the column sit on that, but frankly that  sounds awful.
Is there an option I am not thinking of? Is there a safe way to attach a vertical column to an engineered joist? Is it legit to attach a column to a joist?
I have plans to move the intake or make the stairs "floating" and move the outlet.

You've asked some good questions.  However, your project is going to be a bit easier than you think!  You won't need a column & footing just to erect a small landing to re-route your staircase.  If you have any doubts, you can consult an engineer, who will accept your money and then tell you the additional dead load from the landing is no big deal.
So how do you support your new landing?
You can frame it directly on top of your plywood sub-floor.  You'll be building a short L-shaped wall to enclose the new landing.  This is accomplished with ordinary 16" on-center 2x4 framing.  Support your relocated 5-step staircase the same way.
Blocking between the I-joists
You should install blocking between your I-joists to provide additional support for the wall(s) which will support the landing.  Do that before erecting the walls, that way, you can nail the bottom plate of your new walls, through the subfloor, and into the blocking.
More resources
My guess is you may not have much experience with framing.  Check your local library for a book about framing walls.  I like the Black & Decker Complete Guide to Walls & Ceilings and it should be easy to find in many libraries and home improvement stores.  Also, the book Building Stairs by Andy Engel is really great, with lots of illustrations, and I think it will help you a lot with your project.  In particular, it may give you some extra confidence when building your new handrail posts.
I hope this helps.


What direction should laminate flooring be placed in? I'm thinking of installing laminate flooring and have a question: If I'm installing laminate throughout the house, should ALL of it be going in the same direction?

Say for example, let's say I have a hallway that is perpendicular to a large living room.

---------------
|             |
|             |
|             |
|             |--------------------
|
|
|             |--------------------
|             |
|             |
---------------

In the layout above, would all of the laminate be installed "left to right" for both the living room and hallway? Or could it be installed in one direction for one room and installed in a different direction for the other room?

Strip flooring can be installed in any direction in any room, however the convention is to run parallel with the longest wall in most situations. Rarely is this type of flooring run perpendicular to walls in a hallway. Not only does it tend to make a hallway look narrower than it actually is, but can cause a lot of waste of material when installing. Don't be afraid of changing directions from the room to the hallway if your using a good wood product that can be cut cleanly on a table or chop saw. You simply need to make a very straight and slightly back angled edge (maybe 2 degrees) so the adjoining 90 degree slats are tight with no open gaps. This is extremely difficult to do with cheap laminate, but not so much with a good wood product.

There are transition pieces available for both styles, but they usually involve a change of floor level like a threshold and are not a good idea to use on open flooring, as they can create a tripping hazard, however they are fine to use in doorways etc.  If you really want to have different directions between spaces, consider using a darker color "frame" around the room. This can make a very attractive transition to a large hallway or separate use area in an open design.

Let me add that I am NOT a fan of laminate flooring. Laminate flooring comes in a wide variety of quality levels, from extremely poor to fairly good, but share a common trait. They are always a "picture" of wood on some pressed paper or synthetic backing. They can be miserable to work with, easily damaged and almost impossible to repair after installation. Consider an engineered wood "click lock" instead. Pricing is very close and the engineered products usually are much more stable due to having a solid plywood backing, and somewhat refinish-able with a true hardwood veneer. They also handle the occasional water spill much better than most laminates that usually swell, bubble and blister at the site of water!

Another serious consideration is what type of flooring to use in a large high traffic area vs a smaller room. Laminates are almost always floating and will invariably sound hollow and creak as the temperature changes. For instances, walking across a cold laminate floor first thing in the morning can be like entering a haunted house at a fun park! Seriously investigate the advantages of a better quality engineered product.


Newly installed 3/4 ball valve is slightly leaking between the stem and nut A 3/4 ball valve just installed in the basement of a 2 storey house is leaking about 1 drop of water a min where the arrow in the picture is pointing. Is the seal going to swell, of will the valve have to be replaced?

The valve is Watts, from Home Depot. It was soldered with lead free solder. It shuts off water with no leaks.

You could try tightening the packing nut (just about where your leak is - the one under the handle - probably easier with the handle off.)

Very unlikely that the packing will swell, as it's typically teflon or similar plastic.


Can porcelain tile planks be installed in a crawl space house? My home is a single story, about 1200 square feet, and is built on a crawl space foundation with a plywood sub-floor. The people we bought the house from had flipped the home after a foreclosure, and just put in some cheap carpet for most of the house and cheap vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms. We'd like to put in new flooring, and aren't too picky on what it is exactly. I've installed several DIY vinyl and laminate floors, as well as some hardwood a while back. I've also tiled several showers/bathrooms.

My main question is about porcelain tile in a crawlspace home though - I've heard mixed answers from different people who were experienced at flooring. Some people have told me porcelain tile planks cannot be placed in a home with a floor like this because it will flex too much and crack the tiles. But then others have explained that as long as I install cement board before laying the tile, it will be fine.

TL;DR: Is there any method of installing porcelain tile planks onto a plywood sub-floor that will prevent the tiles from flexing?

EDIT: I’ve included an image of under my house, showing the cinder block supports and the wood supports. I think they’re 2x12s at the point where they intersect the blocks, I’m not sure what the size of the perpendicular beams are, but underneath the insulation I think they may also be 2x12s. I think they span a good 12' or 15'.

I fully agree with Isherwood that it depends on the stability of the floor. I have attached tile directly to T&G flooring but it was a bit tighter or more solid looking than yours looks like. I would put down backer board in your case I would trowel a layer of thin set with a large notch trowel put the backer board down and screw the backer to the flooring doing the entire floor with backer.  This will make your new floor +1/2” thicker but it will last a lifetime. If your floor is really solid you may be able to use larger tiles without backer and not have problems but I would caution not to use less than 2x the width of the existing boards to prevent problems with slightly uneven boards larger tiles are better in this case. After many years of putting tile down I almost always use at least a thin backer with the above method.


Nail sticking out other side of wooden door - how do I remove the sharp end? I've hammered two nails into a wooden door and approx. 2mm (the sharp ends) are sticking out the other side.

What's the best/easiest way to take the ends off the nails?

Thanks in advance,
Stephen

You can spend 30 min ( or much more ) filing them down and who know how much time repairing the file mark on door or you could spend 10 min removing them and replacing them with an appropriate size SCREW.

Tap the point of the nail until the head of the nail is out far enough to get a pry bar or the claws of a hammer on it and pull it out (gently and protect the door from the hammer or bar with a scrap of wood).

Install a screw that has a larger diameter that the nail and is shorter. If the door is hollow you may need an anchor for the screw and if it is hollow a nail is not the appropriate fastener.


What are some materials that I can use to build a chalkboard? I want to make a chalkboard wall in the house.
I want it to be black or dark, not light colored
I want the best chalkboard surface
I want it to feel very solid/immovable when installed

What do you recommend?

So far I've found

Marsh Sheet Material - Porcelain Steel
Marsh Sheet Material - 1/4" Composition Chalkboard
One of the comments mentions using slate

Hmm..

EDIT

It needs to follow these instructions

It's an authentic chalkboard coating on a piece of metal so it's also magnetic. Specialty product. Not paint.

However for my use, magnetic is not a requirement.. but it is nice.

What about chalkboard paint?  Would that be a good solution?  Something like Rust-Oleum Brush on Chalkboard?


How can I pass cables vertically through walls that contain fire blocking? How can one pass (speaker) cables through walls from the floor to the ceiling.
I am assuming that drilling a small hole at the top, dropping the cable I want to pass through and catching it at the bottom will not work because the wire being dropped would encounter a cross-beam?

Are there techniques to accomplish this? I am in California, so I basically have a house made of cardboard (no bricks) but what I assume is drywall.

Any tips are appreciated

There are a variety of methods of fishing wires through walls.  The most crude being brute force with some cable types.  Coax can often easily be pushed down walls.

The most common way to fish cable is a fish tape:

(source: homedepot.com)

This is a flexible steel or fiberglass line that is wound up.  You extract it by holding the reel and pushing the handle.  To wrap it back up, you do the opposite motion.

In some cases (most often in drop ceilings) you can use rods to pass the cable around:

(source: homedepot.com)

If it is a short distance, the cheapest and easiest thing to use is a metal coat hanger.

With all methods, you feed it from one area to another and then pull the wire back out.  It doesn't usually matter what direction you go, but you will find that with some routes, approaching it from one direction is easier than the other.  If the route doesn't match up with how you are feeding the wire (ie: it is coming from one side, but for whatever reason you need to fish from the other), you can pull a temporary line (nylon string) through with the fish tape, and then pull the wire back through with the temporary line.

Plan your routes well using a stud finder and other visual hints.  If you are lucky you will only need two holes.  In some tough scenarios you might need to cut another hole to allow you to pull the wire through.

A flexible drill bit can also be useful:

(source: homedepot.com)


Why does one outlet trip the breaker, but not others? In my spare bedroom, there are four electrical outlets. If I use a vacuum cleaner in one of those outlets, the breaker trips. However, if I use any of the other outlets, it works fine. Is the outlet itself bad, or is there some other kind of wiring problem?
This breaker only powers the four outlets, a ceiling fan and light. I had the light (7W LED) on, and everything else off or unplugged.
All outlets show 120V Hot-Neutral, and 0 V Neutral-Ground.
The breaker is a 15A Combination Type AFCI Type BRAF.

On the contrary, that outlet is probably the one that has the most direct connection to the breaker. The additional wire between that outlet and the others is what reduces the current that the vacuum cleaner draws just enough to keep the breaker from tripping.


Replace insulation in a Trane HVAC? (TWE030C140B0) I found a little mold on the foil covering the insulation in my TWE030C140B0 air handler/ AC/Heater.  I am 95% sure I have the moisture problem resolved and now I need to replace the insulation.

Does anyone have any advice for this?  It looks like the whole thing, blower and coils and all, has to come out to get to some of it.

I'm in a bit of a financial pickle, and if this can be DIY'd at all, it'd really save my bacon.

If the evaporator has to come out, you'll likely have to recover the refrigerant first.  Unless you have the proper equipment, you're not going to be able to do it yourself.  Even if you have the equipment, you may also need to be certified to complete the work.

If you can replace the insulation without removing/damaging the refrigerant lines, then you might be able to do it yourself.


What type of wire should I use for about 80ft run to a She Shed in 1" conduit for a 60 AMP subpanel. Can I use 6-6-6-6 Gray Stranded AL SER Cable? I want to run electric to my wife's She Shed. I am thinking a 60 AMP service is what I want. What type of wire should I use for about 80ft in 1" conduit. Can I use 6-6-6-6 Gray Stranded AL SER Cable ?

SER cable is no good underground
NEC 338.12(A) point 2 prohibits the use of type SE (style U or style R, it doesn't matter) cable underground, even when in a conduit/raceway.  Besides, you really don't want to be pulling that alligator of a cable down a 1" conduit to begin with, as it won't fit very well at all, leaving you calling the electrician in to bail you out.  In particular, a typical 6-6-6-6 Al SER cable has an OD of 0.717" or 18.2 mm, which means it takes up 260.5 mm2 of fill area.  This barely fits into 1" conduits of most conduit types, a bad omen for a multiconductor cable to begin with, and does not fit in the worst-case scenario of a 1", Schedule 80 PVC conduit.
Furthermore, 6AWG Al is limited to 50A when landed on the 75°C capable terminations in distribution equipment, not the 60A you were hoping for.  As a result of all of this, I'd put in 3 6AWG copper THHN/THWN wires instead (two blacks and one white), with a bare 10AWG copper ground wire.  This takes up a mere 103.4 mm2 of fill area, less than half of the space the cable takes up, while being a far easier pull through the conduit, and fully Code-legal in this underground application.
Once you get to the shed....
Once you reach the shed, you'll need to install a subpanel there.  This is where most folks screw up; they chintz out and put in a tiny panel, thinking that's all their feeder can support or simply looking to shave a few bucks off the project cost, when they're really setting themselves up for an expensive panel swap down the road.  Instead, I'd put in a 24-space or 30-space, 100 or 125A, main breaker panel.  The oversized main breaker in the subpanel is no big deal as it's simply serving as the shutoff switch required for the structure by NEC 225.31, and the extra spaces provide plenty of expansion room for whatever crazy tools your significant other decides to get into.
Because you're putting in a feeder and subpanel, you'll also need to run some 8AWG or 6AWG bare copper from that subpanel to a pair of 8' ground rods driven a minimum of 6-8' apart.  This provides natural electricity, such as lightning-induced voltages, a path back to Mother Nature, while the equipment grounding wire in the feeder provides an easy route wayward utility-generated electricity can take to get back to the neutral-ground bond in your main panel and thus back to your utility.  As a result of this, you'll need to make sure the bonding screw or strap in your new subpanel is removed, or simply left uninstalled to begin with, when you install it.
TORQUE ALL LUGS TO SPEC
Last but not least, 2017 NEC 110.14(D) requires that all breaker and loadcenter/panel lug-type connections be torqued to the labeled torque values using an inch-pound torque wrench or torque screwdriver.  Even if your jurisidiction hasn't adopted the 2017 NEC, this is still a good idea anyway, as this Code change was made because of studies that were done that showed that the electrician's office manager (or a DIYer) was as equally unlikely to torque a connection correctly with regular hand tools as the electrician was!


Latching interior café door In my 1924 house, I have a swing door between the kitchen and the dining room.

We use the dining room to contain our dogs on rainy days when we don't want them in the rest of the house. The problem is that one of our dogs has figured out that the door does not latch, and then gets out to roam the rest of the house.

I'm trying to find some kind of double sided latch so that the door will latch no matter which side we push.

It seems like my searches always bring me back to regular door handles with one-sided latch, or dead bolts that can be unlocked only on one side.

I don't want to lock the room, like with a key. The latch or bolt must be operated from either side. And it can't be a fence latch, not for a door in my house. The problem is, I don't know if this exists, and I don't know how it would be called.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about or have a practical solution?

Thank you,

Steven

I am assuming that when you say you have a "swing door" you mean that it swings both ways. That would be called double acting, and most that I have seen in residential settings use an adjustable-tension ball or roller catch:

These are catches as opposed to latches, there is no positive connection. The tension is adjusted by screwing the ball in/out which changes the force the spring behind it applies. A smart dog with a head of steam might be able to head-butt it open, but if adjusted right it might knock him silly unless it's a bulldog.


Appropriate register for duct size? So I asked a long-winded version of this question in another thread, but haven't really received any good responses yet. I'm going to condense and try again...

There is an 8" duct feeding a 6x12 register in my kitchen, that I need to relocate. By doing nothing else, will changing the size of the register to say a 10x10 or 12x12 provide more air and/or better distribution at all? I am pretty sure I need more "washing" of the exterior windows/doors in the area, so I am relocating the register to the center of the room (and will get a 4-way type as well), but I also wondered if going any bigger would help any too. And if so, what would be the biggest size?

Just speaking in generalities here and it doesn't have to be exact...

Given a circular 8" duct you are dealing with an airflow area of about 50 sq/in.  You currently have 72 sq/in opening.  I haven't seen a picture of your register - some are not as open as others so it is hard for me to know for sure but... with 72 sq/in opening the air would just dribble out.

This is fine for a floor vent that is unobstructed by walls and furniture but usually not what you are going for.  You are usually looking to push the air out a few feet out into the room.  A smaller register does this.  Also somewhat closing a register does this - however this could push air at unadvantageous angles and you don't want air hitting walls and furniture.

Most registers I size are about the same sq/in's as the duct or a little less.  I am looking for the air to be pushed out hard so that it creates airflow in the room.  Big rooms with oversized registers can have hot spots away from the register.  Now the downside of going to small with your register is that it is too loud.  Unless you are severely undersizing your register, the noise is really the only issue.

So a bigger register will not help cool or heat your room better.  Putting the register in a better location and making sure the air is shooting out in an efficient manner and at an efficient angle is key.


Can a one way lamp swtich be converted to a 3 way switch? Curious if I can convert a single turn switch on a lamp to a 3 way switch?  Thank you

If you look inside the lamp-socket for a three-way lamp, you'll see three contacts, rather than two. Replace the existing two-contact light socket with a three-way socket and switch.

However, there are few three-way "bulbs" available, and very few energy-efficient LED or CFL three-way bulbs (which are a bit pricey), you'd be better off using a small dimmer switch in the base of the lamp, or using a remote controlled LED bulb.

All links are for reference-purposes only.


Why is part of my home electric going out? At times my thermostat in another room, oven, clothes washer, dishwasher, and two outlets in the kitchen go out for no apparent reason.  The breakers don't trip.  The GFI receptacle doesnt trip.  We have a coffee pot plugged into one outlet, and humidifier plugged into the other.  An electrician was out when the power came back on and could not figure out why the power goes out.  He said he would have to see it when the power was out.

Could the problem be a result of a daisy chain?  One half of the receptacle do not work right.  How do I fix it if that is the problem?

With both 240 and 120v devices having a problem I would first call the power company and report the problem to them.
Usually they will preform a service safety inspection for free (they don’t want a fire in their gear).
Then I would check the type of panel there 2 brands known to have these problems the first is federal pacific (FPE) the stablock model of breaker is known to fail (to the point I will only remove them). The other is zinsco , I haven’t seen the extent of problem on these but others have reported.

If neither of these brands one thing I will do is turn all the small breakers off, then cycle the main breaker on and off 10-20 times. This cycling the main breaker can clean carbon off the hammers in the breakers and reseat them For a temporary fix.

If you feel comfortable remove the dead face or front cover from the panel and look at the main feeds looking for overheating damage (I would expect your electrician at least did this).

Providing us with a photo of the panel and model number we may come up with additional possibilities if the utility comes up with nothing, but most of these failures I have seen have been on the utility side other than a few main breaker problems or rule of 6 “main” for the lower section.


How do I join pieces of wood tiles, 12" by 12" pieces, to make a larger slab? I have a project to work on that requires me using larger pieces of planks than what I currently have. I have square planks all over the porch that would suffice if only I had a good way of fitting pieces together.How can I join these individual pieces 12" by 12" tiles to make longer or larger planks for my project please?

Use a biscuit joiner.

Then glue and clamp to dry.

But depends what you using them for.

There not going to be heaps strong if the timber spands over a distance.


How can I repair a slow drip at the main water shutoff valve? I noticed a slow drip and wondering if solution is to turn the nut clockwise to solve. I normally would give it a go but since this is the main water shutoff I figured it'd be smart to get some confirmation before I flood my house.

Another question is what's a good way to enclose/hide this. It's a eyesore just hanging out of the wall in a bonus room.

Have you tried gently tightening the gland nut? It's the hex cap under the handle and squeezes some sort of packing against the valve stem. Tighten only in 1/16 turn increments and only if it moves with minimal force. If it acts in any way like it's tight, somebody else may have already compressed the packing to its maximum and no further seal is possible.

This is a globe valve and its design dates from the days of steam for a good reason. Globe valves usually have arrows on them to show proper installation, the inlet should always be the pressure side with the valve closed.

If properly installed so the pressure comes in on the bottom of the valve, with the valve fully closed, the stem is on the pressureless side and allows you to remove the handle and the gland nut to replace the packing without taking the system fully out of service.

Packing is available at any plumbing store, take the gland nut and what you find under it with you so they can identify what was used.


Clogged downspout pipe My downspout, next to a stucco wall, used to go into a cast iron pipe. Recently, the water must have gotten behind the stucco and in the winter, the stucco wall collapsed, pushed the downspout out of the way, and filled the cast iron pipe with stucco debris. I was able to clean up the vertical part of the pipe (about 2') with a shopvac. But then the pipe turns the corner and I can no longer reach past the corner.
I know that it's still completely clogged. When it rains, it instantly fills up. Also, the shopvac hose gets sucked in when I put it down there, confirming that it's clogged. I imagine that there are large chunks of stucco past the turn.
A roto-rooter type company is coming out tomorrow to take a look at the issue. Before I spend money on whatever they propose, are there diy things that I could try?

If you used flexible hose only for the shopvac (ie no rigid straight sections) you might be able to pick up more debris inside and beyond the elbow in the iron pipe. Suction tube such as that used in pools might be useful, and replacement shopvac hoses (possibly longer than the original) may be available for your vacuum. It might even be cost effective to cut off the rigid coupler from one end of your existing hose so that it can go through the iron elbow further (and buy a new hose to replace the "customized" original hose).
A hole two feet deep isn't an awful thing to dig. If this drain pipe is not covered by concrete or other unremoveable surface you could dig down to the elbow. It should then be relatively easy to remove the elbow, clear the debris, and vacuum into the horizontal section beyond the elbow to remove more debris.


Why do the lights turn off when I turn off the fan portion of my newly installed ceiling fan? I installed a ceiling fan a while ago, Hunter brand. My room has two switches; one for light, one for fan. When I turn both of them on, but I just want to have the lights on, the lights go off when I flip the fan off. This is driving me bananas because I rechecked the wiring on the ceiling. Please help.

If the lights don't work at all, when the fan is not on: (and assuming the incoming power goes to the switches and does not come from the ceiling)

The switch for the fan, powers the switch for the lights. Instead, the incoming power at the wall switch's J-box needs a pig-tail, to feed the two switches.

Beyond that, I'd need a detailed description (preferably pictures) of the ceiling box and wall box, noting what goes where and which ones are the incoming.


How to patch a hole in stained wood (oak) so that the patch material matches the wood as close as possible? I drilled a 1/2" hole into a stained oak board and I want to fill it so that it's as minimally noticeable as possible.  Here are the three options I've found so far:

Wood putty.  This means I'd have to stain the wood putty after it's dry, but I have no idea how to go about matching the stain since I bought the wood already stained.
Insert a dowel into the hole, cut it off at the surface, sand, and stain.  Again, though, I don't know how to match the existin stain.
Mix saw dust from the wood I am patching with wood glue.  Other people have said this was successful.  It obviously wouldn't preserve the grain and would have to be stained again (provided that the hardened glue would allow for that).
Use a plug cutter to create a plug out of the same wood that I am filling.  I really like this idea, but I imagine this would be very difficult to pull off because I'd need to make sure I cut the plug perfectly level (ie, go straight down) so that the exposed surface of the plug is perfectly flush to the wood it's going into.  I asked this question and am still waiting on a solution.

Overall, I like the plug option the best, but getting it straight could be a problem.

Any other solutions for filling a hole such as this?

Using a plug is your best option.  Getting an exact match is pretty much impossible.  A drill press is the tool of choice for a perfect plug if is conjunction with a good hole saw bit or plug cutting bit.  If you can cut the plug from the same stained material in an out of sight location, this would save a lot of time.  Color matching is tough to do. Keep in mind that nobody will be looking for the hole after you patch it like you do.  You would be surprised how little people notice unless you point it out :)

Good luck.


Asbestos in 2005 pellet stove? After removing the brick liner for cleaning, I found a rectangle of white insulation behind the center liner panel.  The manual says removal of the panel and vacuuming behind it are part of annual maintenance. Is it possible that the insulation is asbestos? See attached photos.

It doesn't look like asbestos; it also does not seem likely that a stove manufactured that recently would incorporate asbestos in a "user serviceable" area. Problem is that some countries still do not regulate asbestos. The only way to know for sure is to ask the maker or have it analyzed at a lab.

It does look like it could be refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) wool, which is also used as insulating material and is a suspected carcinogen when airborne particles are inhaled. I think it's mostly a problem with chronic industrial exposure in the workplace, and is not an issue unless/until it has been "fired" above certain temperatures.


Moved into an older home and found plastic sheeting was applied to cinder blocks in basement How do we know if we should be redoing all the drywall (on exterior walls) in the basement or leave as-is?

We just moved into an older house (1970s) that was mostly sitting empty for about 6-12 months so everything does have a slightly musty smell to it and there was a leak in another part of the basement (since fixed).

There isn't clear evidence of mold, besides a few spots on the surface of the drywall in one of the basement rooms, but that could have been caused by something in the room that has since been removed.

When we cut an opening in the drywall we discovered that there is a layer of plastic, then insulation, and then plastic right against the cinder blocks. We are assuming that all the finished exterior walls have been done like this. We will be using the basement regularly for office space, laundry, and rec room and we aren't planning on moving in the next 30 years.

We are wondering what the risk is of just leaving everything as-is.
My husband feels that if this was like this for years, then we can just leave it. I feel that since we know that plastic right up against cinder blocks is a recipe for mold, we should redo it all.

The plastic will reduce the moisture, bare cinder block walls are almost always damp, there may be a drain tile at the base of the wall to take the moisture away, I would leave the plastic in place. I have rarely found dry cinder block basements so this will be something to watch. A dehumidifier will help dry things out and prevent mold growth. Making sure the gutters drain away from the home and the ground graded so any water drains away from the home will help to reduce chances of moisture making its way through the walls.


What's a good way to support a freestanding chimney? I'm working on adding a woodstove to a yurt. The chimney will go out a sidewall and then head up. There is not a good way to brace the chimney to the yurt itself.

Here are some options I've read about, but don't know how to judge:

Use a pair of 4"x4" treated posts. Bed them in the ground in concrete. This is what the yurt manufacturer recommends:

Build a wooden frame to support the chimney. Pairs of 2"x6"s joined in L-shapes as the corner. Attached to a poured concrete footing w/ 2"x6" treated "sill plates". Could be covered with sheathing & siding.
Build a masonry column to support the chimney, like this:

Put a metal pole in the ground, strap the chimney to it. Not sure what kind of pole, or size. Here are some pictures of this:

Any other suggestions?

My first inclination would be to install a concrete footing 3 or 4 feet deep by maybe 1 1/2 to 2 feet square. Put a concrete block or paver in the bottom of the hole to support the pipe. Plumb the pipe (2 or 3 inch galv should work well) with some temp 2X4 braces, then pour concrete into your hole.  Be sure to crown the top of the footing a little so water will drain off and not pool around the pipe. The reason I like a large footing is to supply good ballast and avoid any frost heaves.(if you get ground freeze in WA.) Also, don't forget to put a cap on the top of the pipe so water will not fill the pipe. You may also want to paint the pipe with Rustoleum before attaching the stainless straps to the flue. This will help avoid any reaction from dislike metals in contact with each other.


Would my fridge be causing the 20amp gfci to trip I recently bought a house and when I went to plug the fridge in it worked fine however the next morning. I wen to check on it and found that the circuit had been popped as well the ice machine was on at during the night. The I turned the ice machine off and reset the breaker and plugged the fridge in and it worked for a while but it eventually tripped the 20 amp gfci this time and as well as the next time. I Will note that the fridge I self not plugged into a gfci but is wired from one could this be causing the problem or would there be other reason for the fridge to be popping the gfci?

The fridge is most likely tripping the GFCI. Most folks recommend not plugging refrigerators into GFCI circuits, for this exact reason.

Refrigerator manufacturer's still have trouble controlling current leakage, and most of them are basically ignoring the problem. One day the manufacturer's will be forced to address the problem, but until then they'll likely keep tripping GFCIs.

Either run a non-GFCI circuit to plug the fridge in, or find a manufacturer that doesn't have the problem, and by a fridge from them.


Replacing Bathroom Vent Fan Looking to replace a bathroom vent fan in a property that is being renovated. The exhaust fan was not working, upon further inspection it seems to be the motor that is causing the issue.
I want to replace it, but I am not used to seeing bathroom fans that vent out like this. The hole is a circle, not a square, and has one long duct going straight up and out of the roof. The entire fan housing is small and sits in the middle of the duct opening and held in place by two screws on each side. I'm having trouble finding a replacement for this, and cannot find a model number on the motor.
Attached are the photos of the duct and the entire fan.
If possible, it would be great to find a replacement fan/motor unit for this, but that is proving difficult.

It should be replaced with a modern exhaust fan. The roof vent should also have a cap or shield to keep water from leaking down the duct. I would recommend removing the entire exhaust system and start anew.
It will take less time than trying to adapt a fan motor to a outdated and unprotected roof vent than installing a new system. The roof is already opened as is the ceiling. You'll need to cut the drywall to accommodate the new fan box.
Installing a new duct to the roof and connecting it to a new roof vent  is not hard.


How to prevent washing machine drain overflow I have a washing machine upstairs.  The discharge hose is placed in the top of some 2" ABS pipe.  That pipe then drops about 14' to my basement floor, then runs along the floor for 5', ending in a hole in the floor. (The house is from 1955, so that hole in the floor is almost certainly intended to be used as a washing machine drain).

When the washing machine empties, the water properly flows through all the pipe and into the drain. Eventually though, the water starts to back up onto the floor.  The floor is sloped towards the drain, so this isn't catastrophic, but I'm wondering if there is any way to reduce the flow rate of water entering the floor drain?

I've considered:

increasing the pipe to a 4" or 5" pipe, then reducing the pipe at the drain end down to 1/2" or so - using the pipe as a sort of basin.
Emptying the pipe into an actual basin that can hold the water, then having a smaller hose/pipe drain from that basin into the floor drain.  Pretty much the same as option #1.

Any other suggestions?  Is there any way to change the rate at which the washing machine pumps out water?  I think if I could cut that in half, the problem would be solved.

Well... you've got 22 gallons coming out of the washing machine each cycle. You've got about 2 1/2 gallons in the vertical pipe, and another gallon in the horizontal pipe, so you'd need to store another 20 gallons to be reasonably safe if you go down that route. I wouldn't advise it -- drain water has all sorts of junk in it.

Personally, I've never heard of a floor drain that is 2" or less, so your drain should have sufficient capacity to drain the water thrown off by the washer.

So it sounds like there's some back-pressure causing the water not to flow through the drain pipe as fast as it should. I'd start by snaking it, and if that doesn't work, I'd extend the PVC pipe through the hole and fairly far down the drain; this should reduce the pressure drop and force the water through the drain faster.


Why is my tall fescue wilting? I currently live in North Carolina and this past fall I had tall fescue sod and an irrigation system put in my backyard.  This spring I used Scotts fertilizer (in March).  Since then I have been watering my lawn twice a week for 25 minutes each session (unless it was already raining).

I was cutting my lawn once every couple of weeks for the past couple of months.  In the last two weeks I have started doing it once a week (I learned that you do not want to cut more than 1/3 of the blade with each mow).  I use a bagged lawn mower and take the grass clippings away from my yard.

A couple of weeks back I noticed that my fescue was starting to wilt (see attached pictures).  I have tried doing some research online but the only information I can find points to Brown Spot disease.  Looking at my grass it does not appear to match the description of brown spot disease though.

Why is my fescue wilting and what can I do to make it green again (and stay green)?  I am considering consulting with TruGreen but figured I would seek advice online first.

Have you had the soil tested?  I think you can find places on the web that you can send samples to.


Foundation pier repair I have a rather unfortunate problem, rats got into my crawlspace and managed to tunnel directly underneath one of the internal piers(there are quite a few down there, maybe every 8 ft square?

I am in the process of collapsing their tunnels but this will need to be fixed, the pier isn't very deep(maybe 6 inches in ground?).

How would you recommend fixing this issue?

If I could build a form around the pier and inject concrete into the tunnel I suspect this would be sufficient but I don't know. I don't know of any mini concrete pumps though.

Suggestions?

I should also say this is a 1 story house built in the 70s, pretty low load.

Don’t collapse the hole under the pier fill it with sand use water to flush the sand and pack it, I have found adding lime to the mix keeps them from tunneling.


wiring 220V GFCI in a subpanel with only 2 conductors we are updating a subpanel near a little pond. the installation is fed by only 2 conductors (L1 and L2) from the main panel 200Ft away. THERE IS NO NEUTRAL OR GND conductors here and it would be prohibitivaly expensive to retrench wires.  Of course we sunk a grounding bar here for the subpanel.

the 220v pumps of course only need L1 and L2 to run. I want to put a GFCI 2pole breaker for them . Can I wire the GCFI pigtail to gnd bar since I dont have a neutral?   I think that pigtail is just needs to provide a 110v path for the internal circuit of the GFCI ?
If I wanted to run a low voltage transformer here (for led lights), would it function (assume its a 110v to 12v ac xfmr) if I used L1 and the GND bar.  Please dont just say its against code without explanation.  my thinking: it will work since the current will flow into GND rather than back thru a neutral but its against code to have current running to GND for safety reason. Also ... it would trip my 220V GFCI since the current in L1 and L2 will be different when i have those led lights on.   does that make sense?

Earth is not Ground

Ground is the safety and equipment protection system.  It should absolutely never have current.  For the sake of discharging lightning, they bond it to earth.

Earth is an absolutely terrible conductor.  That's why, when manufacturing wires, they use copper instead of dirt.

Neutral is not Ground

US/EU electrical is wired pretty much as an isolated system with a ground shield. Neutral is just another conductor.

Neutral is called such because it's the center point. (If you're in Europe and don't agree, ask for more phases.)

One more wrinkle confuses the heck out of people.   To prevent the conductors from floating or rattling at crazy voltages, they bond it to earth.  They bond at the middle. Which happens to be where neutral is.  Also ground.  OMG neutral=ground=earth!  No.

You don't have a ground

With no ground wire going back to the main panel, you have no Current path back to source.  Earth won't cut it, it's made of dirt.   What happens if your equipment has a hot-ground fault (only kind it can have)?  Your laughable "ground" is overwhelmed by the current and it floats all all the components of your grounding system to near 120V, which makes it deadly.

To be clear, current is trying to return to source (ground/neutral connection back at the house via all available paths at once.  The earth is a lousy path.  So is a human... so current will split and travel all ways, and with 20+++ amps of flow, at least a fraction of 1 amp will go through the human, killing or stunning.  "Stun" causes falls. But when the fall is into water, they drown.  Hundreds of pool and lake drownings happen this way exactly.  They are unexplained because they leave no evidence, so investigators check any power circuits near a drowning.

What happens if you hook a 120V load between hot and ground? That's a hot-ground fault, so the last two paragraphs happens immediately. Super super bad plan.

In other words that stunt with the grounding rod is worse than useless, it creates safety theater while actually making more surfaces dangerous.

240V GFCI (no neutral) is easy

Check the documentation, it'll say to either cap the neutral wire or loop it back onto the neutral terminal on the GFCI.  Do not attach it to ground.

A GFCI is a good way to compensate for the deficiencies of this ugly  system. Better in the main panel.

240V lighting/supply are readily available

If your LED "transformer" is an electronic power supply, it's probably already 120/240 dual mode.  In any case, there's no trouble getting ones that are.   5 out of 6 continents have only 240V mains power, and everything is built for world markets now.

You can retrofit a ground and be legal and safe

It is legal to retrofit a ground path.  You simply trench/slot/bury a bare or green wire listed for underground use.  Bare wire must be copper.  Or, as an alternative, lay RMC conduit at a shallower depth, don't put any wires in it, just use the pipe as the ground. 344.10A.  It does not need to follow the same route as the conductors.

However, you cannot retrofit a neutral; neutrals must be in the same sheath or conduit as the conductors.  I don't care about neutral; I totally endorse the idea of 240-only on long/distant circuits.  Saves a wire.  If you later need 110, do this:

Best of all worlds: add a supply transformer

Adding a transformer to make this a main service would be like making Pinnochio a real boy.

The two wires would become acceptable, and feed the transformer primary.  The split-phase secondary would provide 120/240. The subpanel would become a main panel.  The joke ground would become a real ground.


How to support a partially demolished chimney The chimney on my house used to be one of those old brick ones that goes all the way down to a fireplace on the ground floor. The previous owner of my house removed the fireplace and almost all of the interior part of the chimney. The only parts left are the actual chimney on the roof, with a large, partially removed part dangling under it in the attic. This has proved way to heavy for the roof to support, so I initially wanted to remove it but the brickwork is in such a bad condition that I'm afraid hacking away at it would cause the whole thing to collapse, damaging either my attic floor, the wall, the roof, and possibly hurting people outside. Also removing the chimney would leave me with a hole in my roof that I am currently unable to repair.

I'm now thinking of rebuilding part of the chimney on a strong surface that can carry the load.

Here's a diagram of the current situation:

There are two sturdy beams supporting the roof near the partially demolished chimney. I was thinking of bolting two perpendicular support beams onto them, with a layer of concrete forming plywood resting on top of them, below the chimney. I figured I could then build up a brick support that the chimney could then rest upon, distributing the weight through the support onto the roof beams, like so:

Is this a sound strategy, or am I likely to run into trouble?

I would remove the remaining chimney. Having a massive chunk of heavy brick and mortar suspended from the upper part of the structure is not something I would want hanging over my head.

If you live in an area where there is any chance of an earthquake would put more than triple concerns and impetus to get it removed.

You do have real concern that the thing could come crashing down if you start trying to remove it so you would really need to devise some decent support under the thing to prevent it from crashing. Such support can be temporary. After proper support removal should be done from the top down a brick or two at a time.

I removed part of an old chimney this way and found it was easy to dismantle because the thing was originally made with sand/lime/horse hair for the mortar. It was a simple process of just unstacking the bricks.


How to child-proof a floor vent? Our upstairs playroom has a floor vent leading to the furnace that children like to throw toys down. Is there any kind of vent cover that can be substituted that is less likely to  result in this activity?

It sounds as if the vent is completely open - hope that isn't the case. It could be dangerous.
Assuming you have some type of vent cover on it I would cut and attach a piece of wire or even cloth mesh over the top or just under the vent cover. The wire would probably work best under the vent cover. You could attach it to the cover itself or the ductwork.


What are the current and voltage limits when determining low vs. high voltage wiring? I'm trying to figure out what is considered a power line( for outlets) and data communication line.
What are the qualifying factors here.
I know
outlets have 120V AC at 60Hz
and data lines have anything around 0 to 12V, but I don't know how much current that allows.

so

What is the current limit for the Data line?
What is the voltage limit for the Data line?

I would expect that results can vary based on where to you live.
I live in Utah, USA

National Electrical Code (Article 250.20 section A) defines "Low Voltage" as it applies to home distribution systems as less than 50 volts.

  (A) AC Systems of Less Than 50 V. Alternating-current systems that
  operate at less than 50 V are not required to be grounded unless:
      (1) The primary exceeds 150 V to ground
      (2) The primary is ungrounded

This includes systems such as cable television, network and telephone, doorbell, etc. Note that standard telephone wiring can typically "ring" at 48 volts and still provide an electric shock.

The reason the code makes the distinction for low voltage is so that some types of wiring can be exempt from additional safety requirements such as conduit usage, breakers, installation method, etc. Even so, there are still violations where installers confuse the issue (Top ten violations in low voltage systems PDF).

There are (to my knowledge) no current limits for data lines, except for the rating of the cable itself. Since most UTP network and telco cables use 24 or 26 gauge wire, this would theoretically be around 3.5 amperes, but you have to consider length, temperature, etc. to properly determine current load (discussion at allaboutcircuits).

EDIT

Guessing that you might be wanting to use data lines for higher power applications, I thought I'd add some additional commentary. If you are wanting to use Cat5 for power-over-ethernet applications, you'll probably want to stay under 1A or less per conductor. This is because of the voltage drop and resistance on longer distances. Keep in mind that higher voltages are more suitable for transmission (longer distances) as long as you stay under the 50V "low voltage" specification. Even though charts show that 24AWG can carry 3.5A, I wouldn't consider this safe unless working with a very short cable. Power-over-ethernet standards are confusing, but generally they are 48 volts or less at 600mA or less.

Electrical characteristics (at Wikipedia) for UTP Cat5E show a max current of 0.577A per conductor and a max voltage of 125V.

EDIT 2:

In case the linked list of top ten low-voltage violations dies again, here they are in a nutshell:

Audio cables run in cable trays with other low-voltage cable. [725.56(F)]
Power cords run above ceilings. [400.8(5)]
Cables suspended from a cable tray system. [392.6(J)]
Unlisted broadband backbone cables run inside the building for more than 15 m (50 ft). [820.113 exception 2]
Secondary protection used in lieu of primary protection. [800.90(D)]
Patch cords run in plenum spaces. [800.154(A)]
Low-voltage cables run from multiple output power supplies with outputs not classified as Class 2 installed in the same raceway or cable tray with other low-voltage cables. [725.55(A)]
Ungrounded or improperly grounded primary or secondary protectors. [800.170(A) and (B)]
Unlisted communications cable coming into the building in EMT conduit and extending beyond 15 m (50 ft). [800.2]
Insulated grounding backbone cables run in air-handling spaces in the cable tray. [800.154]


Separation with luxury vinyl plank flooring I put down this click lock type LVP.
So I’m starting to get a TINY bit of separation along the long edges of my LVP. It's only like this in a few places, the rest of the floor looks great. Is this something I need to worry about, or is this normal with LVP because of the hot/cold weather swing?
I'm worried my whole floor is gonna get messed up, but I think I may be overthinking it.

Such a minor amount of movement is, as you guessed, likely related to seasonal temperature swings. Vinyl does shrink and expand.