How can I make mortar adhere to smooth flagstones? I just started making a raised bed with flagstones that are relatively smooth.  After using nearly 160 lbs. of mortar, I find that more flagstones are not adhered together than are.  I paid attention to directions, particularly not doing the job when night temps would go below 40 degrees.  What can I do to make my project work?  I am thoroughly frustrated, but really want this to work.  Please help me figure this out!

Sorry but Tyler Durden is talking pure imaginative theory with no practical substance. Install drainage, which drains to where exactly. Install gravel and sand and put walls on it? Gravel, the roll around stuff? And sand the soft stuff?

Still sound like something you want under your walls? No.

Sure dry stone walling stands the test of time, provided there are zero, and I mean zero side thrust loads applied to the wall, ever. And definitely means no soil.

Mortar helps the wall absorb loads by simultaneously sticking the units together AND holding them apart. Probably the reason the mortar didn't stick (assuming you have proper/suitable mortar) is that your slabs were dusty/dry and the mortar was probably too dry.

To cure: Wash all dust off the slabs with a hosepipe and allow the surface water to soak in (the slab will still look dark/wet).  Mix the mortar using enough water to make a smooth, creamy mix that doesn't crumble.

Lay slabs using the nice and creamy mortar and tap into place, remove excess that squeezes out with a trowel and once the mortar has hardened off a little, tool it off with whatever finish you want (half round, struck with a trowel etc). Joint thickness shouldn't be too thin, aim for 10mm, give or take a few mm's either way.

At the end of the days work, cover down with fleece (or old blankets) and a layer of polythene. Keep 'green' mortar covered thus for a week or so.

At least thats how we lay brick/block/concrete stuff in the UK/EU...


After a minute running, dryer trips main breaker outside the house, but no internal breakers I recently solved (sort of?) an issue regarding my washer & dryer not getting power.  I consider that issue solved, but now I have a new one, possibly what caused the problem before.  Now that I have power to my washer & dryer, I did a small test load.  Washer did fine, but the dryer tripped the main breaker outside (100A), but none inside.  This didn't even happen when I started the dryer, but after 1-3 minutes (closer to 1 I think) it would trip.  I have tested that 4 times now and when I have the dryer off, nothing trips - but a couple minutes after starting the dryer, the whole house goes down.

The breaker panel shows no tripped breakers (all firmly on the ON side - I have turned them all off/on just in case as well).  The inside main breaker is fine too.  The outside breaker however is clearly tripped.  I clear it and turn it back on and everything is fine.  Both inside and outside are 100A.  Dryer is a 2-pole 30A breaker, which I just replaced today after noticing this new problem.

Previous post I had on my initial issue is here.  There are lots of pictures of my breaker and some other backstory on this problem.

Edit: Damn.  The outside breaker just tripped with the dryer breaker off.

Things I have on/plugged in/on: TV, router/modem, swamp cooler, fridge, water cooler/purifier, water heater, a few lights and a few things plugged in (biggest is my laptop here).

It is in the upper 90s here... could that be affecting something?

7:10pm (15 mins ago) happened again.  Did some deduction... When it tripped then, W&D breakers were off.  I left everything on the inside on and went to try and reset the outside, but it didn't reset.  Went back inside and picked the breakers with only numeric labels (1,2,3,4) and turned those off, and then the outside breaker would finally reset.  So by my logic, its one of these four.  Next time I'm going to turn these off one at a time when trying to reset the breaker, hopefully that will narrow it down more.

It seems to me, after reading all the stuff in your first question and on here that the problem is inside your cloths dryer. There is a good chance that some part of the heater coil is becoming shorted out and causing huge amounts of current to flow when the coil becomes hot.

The probable reason that it is the main breaker that trips is due to that breaker being the most sensitive to the sudden current surge short that occurs in the dryer. It may be an indication that that main breaker needs replacement but before even going down that road it is time to unplug the dryer and do a through investigation of its innards, particularly its heater unit and the wiring thereof.


How to Install Gutters Under This Roof Looking for advice on how to install (or if I should install) gutter under this roof.

This is a back porch that sticks out from the house. Unfortunately the basement does extend under the porch, so the main reason for wanting to drain away water here is to  keep the runoff away from the basement.

I already had issues with the basement wall being forced inwards by freezing/expanding water over the years (house was built in 1930). I would like to prevent this from happening again.

The roof doesn't seem to have a normal fascia board, with the roof edge sticking about 3 inches past the existing board. Maybe I should use hangers with straps? Or maybe I should use shims behind the gutter to position them in the correct place?

The other issue is where to put the downspout. The ends of the porch are away from any sort of structure to attach a downspout to. I think I probably need to wrap the gutter around the corner of the roof and have the downspout come down by the house. I would have a similar problem here: how to I hang the gutter?

Your situation is not that uncommon.

For the hangers, you may use roof mounted brackets / hangers or you may add blocking behind them as the other answer suggested.

You can also have a custom made gutter that has an angled flange that sticks under the shingles and sits on the roof, or just have a deeper gutter that sits against that fascia.

As suggested by @riseagainst using the columns or rain chains is your best bet.


How can I safely remove and replace a wall? The Wall:

This is about 25' long, and it separates my kitchen from my living room/Dining room.

Underneath it, we have a double 2x8 floor joist, which is supported midway on an 8 inch steel I-beam. (Joists are perpendicular to the beam)

The wall itself is normal stud construction, with a double 2 x 4 on the top.

The roof is a Cut-Truss construction.
The ceiling joists terminate at the wall I would like to remove:

This leads me to believe that the wall is not load bearing in a structural sense, but does support the ceiling joists and the plaster ceiling.

Is it safe to remove this wall, and what type of beams/joists/rafters would I need to put in to support the ceiling load?

UPDATE:   Used Simpson Strong Tie CC and ECC connectors on reinforced posts at either end.  Massive chunks of steel.

I did this before for a kitchen remodel, just as Mike mentioned, it looks like you have good access inside your attic. For the remodel I built a scaffold outside at the gable end that was closest to the work at hand, removed the vinyl siding in my case cut a hole in between the gable studs and pushed the LVL in from there. It took a second scaffold to get the end high enough to keep the LVL from hitting the roof before it went in far enough to re-handle from inside the attic
the remodel I did only had 18 1/2 ft of wall to remove, and it had the supplier of the LVL specify the size of the 2 LVL that would do the job. He needed all the particulars, span length, within a few inches, ceiling joist size and spacing, was the attic used for storage, ceiling finish/materials.
Before the LVLs were added the insulation was cleared back 2 ft. from either side of the wall (4ft. total). The lap of the joists in my case was very small 4" only so I added 32" plywood splice/gussets with the addition of 16" long 2X6 blocks to reinforce the splice, glued and nailed. The wall is still in place, it will not be removed until everything is in place After the beam is in place then you MUST ensure that the bearing points carry through to the foundation before the wall is removed and the hanger can be sized with all material, mine was 3 5/8" wide. The joists can be individually picked up a little to make a gap big enough to slip the hanger into, you will need to remove the nails into the top plate or cut them with a reciprocating saw.
Get an electrician to set junction boxes in the attic to rerun the electric that was eliminated by the wall removal, if needed.

I just read the note about preload that mike mentioned, I did that by setting 2 blocks cut tight between the ridge pole and LVL to bow the LVL down 1/4"to 1/2". each block was about 4 ft apart from the center. When I placed the LVL in the attic, I set it on short headers to disperse the load over the plate a bit more then I set a 1/2" piece of plywood over that so the LVL beam was above all joists by a half inch, hypothetically. The the posts in, it actually graduated down to almost nothing in the center to the 1/2" space the plywood created at the bearing ends.

If you look closely at the photo you will see the plywood and if you look really close at the joint of the top pate and joists, you will see the light color of the new blocks (short header) that carries the LVL to the jack studs below.


How can I mount a mailbox on a stucco wall? Been searching around and I have more questions than answers.  I'm not sure what kind of stucco it is, but it is very smooth.  The mailbox is a little heavier than you might expect (maybe 10-15 lbs).

Before doing any research I figured I would drill with a masonry bit and use some sort of anchor intended for stucco, and that would be it.  Unfortunately I am finding lots of contradictory information:

some things say to use a plastic anchor, some say never to
some say that the following photo is a stucco anchor, while some say it's a drywall anchor:
some say that I have to have a particular type of stucco
searching for stucco anchors at Home Depot, for example, just brings up different types of screws meant for concrete (some of which actually say "anchor" right on the package even though they are screws and not anchors - so maybe anchor doesn't mean what I think it does?)
some things say to use some kind of silicon sealant in the hole I drill, others make no mention of this

I did experiment a bit in an inconspicuous location and using a cement screw didn't work well at all (I drilled a hole with the bit size the instructions said to use, and the screw was completely loose).  Using the drywall (?) anchor above seemed to be very secure but it really chewed up the stucco as I was screwing it in (I drilled a hole first but just guessed at the size).

What's the best approach here and why is there so much contradictory information out there?

10-15 pounds seem heavy for a mailbox but even plastic drywall anchors are rated higher than that for so I don't think the weight is going to be a problem.

That's a drywall anchor.  A lead anchor look similar and is typically used on brick siding but depending on depth of stucco it is possibly you could rely on a lead anchor in stucco.

What you really want is to mount the mail box through the stucco to the sheathing that is behind the stucco.  Depending on your wall assembly details - year of construction / climate - the sheathing can be 1/2" away from the surface of your stucco or 1 3/4"+ away or anything in between.

The sheathing is going to be wood so really all you need is to pilot through the stucco until you reach the wood.  You should choose some corrosion resistant fasteners - deck screws #8 would likely be good.  Opt for 1/2" + thickness of wall before shealthing plus depth required to mount mail box (if metal 1/8" is probably fine).  If you've already drilled through the stucco then you can probably note at what depth the wood starts as the drill will behave differently as it goes through different material.  If you were using a hammer drill with a masonary bit that bit will likely stop when you hit wood.  This assumes a concrete type stucco and not an acrylic stucco which I haven't dealt with before.

It wouldn't hurt to fill the hole with caulking before mounting the mailbox to the stucco to prevent any water ingress.

Good luck.


Indoor sliding doors getting harder to open/close We renovated our house ~2 years ago and had some big full-height indoor sliding doors installed. Hardware for doors is:

A track recessed into ceiling, from which door is hanging (see photo, top half)
A track recessed into top of door (see photo, bottom half)
A track recessed into bottom of door
Peg in floor + plastic sheathing, fit into bottom track of door.

Problem: The door moves smoothly through most of its path, but as it gets close (~3 inches) to being closed, it is exceedingly difficult to move. I am concerned about someone getting stuck in a room. Seems like an obvious fire hazard, in addition to be annoying. The exact same problem has happened to two of the doors.

I've tried my best to figure out what's going on, but I'm stuck (just like the doors). Notes:

I was able to see that, even while at the very tight area, the wheel in the upper track is still turning when the door is moving.
Because these are big, full-height doors, I'm not comfortable removing them from their tracks. I guess if it comes to that, I'll have to get someone to come help.
I was considering using some WD40 or similar, but I fear that it would attract dirt and make the problem worse. Since I can't take the door of the track to clean things, I assume that this would be a bad idea?

Here is what the upper tracks/wheel look like:

Thank you!

I may have led astray with my photo as the upper track was unrelated to the issue.

It turns out that the peg+plastic sheathing was very tight when at one side of the lower track. Why? The only possibility that I can make sense of is that the door/track itself has contracted on that side. Putting a touch of lubricant just here helped an enormous amount.

Thanks all.


Wood slats for sound insulation I have a bunch of reclaimed wood of varying thickness, most are 1.5-2" thick.  If I cut them to fit between my studs, would that serve as a good sound insulator under the finished wall? Would I have to seal each seam? This is between a bedroom and bathroom.

Using wood for sound proofing sounds like a ton of work compared to the gain you would get from it.  The easiest thing to do (and likely more effective) would be to put in fiberglass batt insulation to fill the dead air space and then double up the sheetrock on both sides (or whichever side is open). Adding mass is the key, preferably at a widely different resonance level from the framing. Sheetrock fits both bills very well.  If you want to do a simple experiment, put your ear on a stud length 2x4 and have somebody tap lightly on the other end and you'll see what I'm talking about.  If you really want to cut down sound transfer, use a wider floor plate and stagger-stud the wall as well.


How to remove a gunite pool How do I remove a 20 X 40 gunite pool safely? I read the other answers and one mentioned being down in the 8 ft end and it could possibly fall in. It popped up out of the ground and I can't afford to pay to have it removed. It's been up for 3 years now. I'm planning on cutting it with a power saw and the proper blade. Starting in the deep end at the top and working my way down carrying up the pieces out of the shallow end. There is rebar and I'm concerned with the saw kicking when it hits that. Has anyone ever tried this? I can't hire this project done. I'm guessing a few hours every night after work and more on weekends to remove it, taking about 3 months to complete.

Rebar doesn't cause kickback with a concrete saw, but it does slow things down. What causes most kickback is binding, which will be somewhat difficult to avoid when cutting horizontally. My shoulders ache just thinking about it.

I'd probably stripe it vertically and cut off the bars at appropriate sizes to minimize horizontal cutting. You'll go though quite a bit of diamond blade, though. Consider renting a small backhoe with a jackhammer attachment.


How do I remove this shower handle so I can adjust the water temp? I am trying to adjust water temp, but I have to get the handle off first. Pix included.
I removed the hex screw; tried to pull the handle off; didn't work.  Do I just need to pull harder or am I supposed to turn it? counter clockwise is the only direction it will go, which turns on the water.
Pix:
1-handle+

2-Delta showing Delta SA below the handle on the 'backplate'

3-Pat. #3674048 - verified Delta's

4-faucet+ says just SA on underside near a set screw; thing to close the drain says PRICE PFISTER.

I found a pic with the same handle 'Delta Faucet T13290' at Amazon; the rest is different from mine.
https://www.amazon.com/Faucet-T13290-Classic-Monitor-Shower/dp/B001AECGHA

Your tub/shower valve is definitely a Delta unit. On their older valves with the "Scald Guard" feature that set screw is the only thing that holds the handle on. As suggested in the comments, spraying with penetrating oil and tapping around the edge of the knob will usually break it loose such that you can pull it off. It is not uncommon (or unwise)for plumbers to use a handle puller made exactly for this task to increase the chances of saving the knob/handle:

These are $12 - $20, maybe less for a cheaply made version. Readily available at the plumbing shop, which you should become familiar with for when the knob breaks during removal...
The temp control limit stop should be a plastic widget with teeth on the underside, just behind the knob, which limits the CCW knob travel. You should be able to pull it away and rotate it CW to give the knob more CCW travel toward the hot inlet port.


Need help IDing this gutter part this part that connects to the gutter downspout is a cap of some sort that goes over a receiving part that goes to sewer drains. I'm not sure what it is called. My home was built in the late 1920s. I'm wondering if there is a more modern replacement for this part or a better way to redo and seal this because I think it sometimes backs up during heavy rain and leaks into the basement. You can see it doesn't make a complete seal. Thank you.

You can find adapters like this example:  rectangular downspout to circular pipe made out of plastic.  Maybe cut the plastic flanges to fit your pipe.
But as commenters have said, seal the connection will only make the water back up the downspout.


New thermostat: How to wire it? My old air conditioner thermostat broke down, so I bought a new one. But when it arrived, I was horrified to discover that the terminal of the wires were not named the same.
Both thermostats have similar controls:

Temperature (wheel)
Fan controls: auto/cont on the old one; speed on the new one
Cool/Off/Heat

I have four wires coming out of the wall. In the old thermostat they were connected as follow:

Blue wire: R/1
Black wire: Y/6 :
Green-Yellow wire: W/7
Brown wire: G/8

In the new thermostat, I have the following terminals:
C, O, L, N, H, M, L

The old thermostat is a "T8376B1000 roca t40". The new one is a "dh 11.804".

I join some pictures:

The notice of the new one (don't have and don't find on the Internet the one for the old one)

The old one is below.

Does anyone know how to wire the new one? Are they compatible ?

Thank you, any help would be much appreciated.

Noting that the new one includes fan speed control and the old one does not, I'm going to say you bought the wrong model of thermostat.

Motor speed control isn't something that can usually just be added by changing the thermostat.  It would require specific wiring and motor change in the air conditioner.

Completely disassemble the old thermostat, and examine the circuit board to get its model number and order using that.


How to convince plumber that there is a gas leak? I had some gas lines replaced in the crawl space and the next day after the plumber left I noticed a minor gas smell.  I got into crawl space with a HomeFlex leak detector and it is clearly going off full blast around one connection. However, I couldn't see any bubbles with liquid leak detector.
I called the plumber back and he also couldn't see a leak with soapy water.
I am fairly certain that there is a leak because I smell it and repeated tests with the HomeFlex detector clearly show the area has gas present. It's a bit of a confined space but not completely blocked.
Why would soapy water not show anything?
Is there any additional way to test for leaks? Pressure test?

Resolution
I was able to get some bubbles as a proof of leak. Then plumber tightened the connection and said it's fixed. It was not and my HomeFlex meter was still going off like crazy but I couldn't get anymore bubbles. At this point plumber had more trust in the meter, took apart the joint and discovered badly cut edge on TracPipe and fixed it.
After that I demanded full pressure test at the meter which he performed to my satisfaction and there are no more leaks and my meter stays quiet on every joint!
I definitely think that this inexpensive meter does a good job.

The other answers here are good from a technical point of view about how to verify a leak, but to answer the question of "how to convince a plumber", I'll second a comment by @manassehkatz: call the gas company.
Any time I've suspected a leak the gas/energy provider has been very quick to send someone out with their own tester (not just a soapy water check). They are quite literally professionals at detecting gas leaks.
If they find evidence of a gas leak, that should be reason enough for the plumber to re-check and redo the work.


How do I add an exhaust fan to an old attic? Our house's attic retains a great deal of heat during summer.  While we now have a good layer of insulation between the attic and the rest of the house I wonder if it would be worth it to add some kind of exhaust fan.  We live in a mid-Atlantic state so we have to contend with both 100°F summer days and 0°F winter nights.

The house still has the original slate roof so adding a typical roof-based system isn't an option.  There are three small circular windows that provide some air flow, but not much.  My thought was to install a fan in one of those windows to force a cross breeze during warm days.

Is this likely to save us any energy (given that the fan will have to draw some power)? Are there options for solar-powered small window exhaust fans out there?

There are solar-powered gable fans - an Air Vent-brand fan can be picked up at Lowe's for just over $200:

The solar panel is on a cord, so it can be installed in the most sunny area while the fan sits in the gable.

From the Air Vent website:

  The Gable-Mount Solar Vent is an exciting alternative to traditional attic ventilation. That's because it is powered by a solar panel that collects energy directly from the sun and converts it into electricity -- naturally -- to power a durable, high efficiency 24-volt DC motor. As a totally solar-powered solution, it's also environmentally friendly.

  Painless Installation
  The best installation feature is that the fan requires no electrical hook-up. That means no electrician and no complicated wiring is required, making the installation of your attic fan fast and easy.

  It mounts in the gable end of the home, behind a decorative shutter (not provided, see below). The solar panel comes with brackets that allow for mounting on the roof.

  Smooth Operation
  The solar panel collects energy throughout the day under direct sunlight and converts it into "free" power to operate the fan -- providing ventilation during daylight hours, when it's needed most.

  It creates up to 800 cubic feet of air movement per minute to remove uncomfortable heat in the summer and damaging moisture in the winter. And, the solar panel is wind-, hail- and impact-resistant to stand up to the elements.

  Specifications

  Moves up to 800 cubic feet of air per minute
  Solar panel collects and delivers power under direct sunlight during the hottest part of the day without electrical cost
  Wind-, hail- and impact-resistant solar panel
  High efficiency, durable 24-volt DC motor
  5-year limited warranty

  (source: airvent.com)

  Model #SHT15W

  Plastic
  Sold in the color white only but it can be painted to match a home’s exterior
  Automatically opens when the power fan is running and then closes when the fan is not running


How to install and wire up a 30 amp breaker box acceptable to plug my RV in I'm trying to put my RV into the breaker box I've got a 30 amp breaker double pole I've got10/2 wire, do I use a single pole or double pole 30 amp breaker hand my RV plug is a 4 prong plug how do I make this work

RV's typically take 120VAC with an oddball 30 amp receptacle: this.

Note the center hole is not a terminal.

It will work fine with your 10/2 wire, but your breaker is 2-pole unnecessarily - a single-pole breaker would do.  (Though, a single pole 30A breaker is kind of an orphan, hardly used for anything - the 2-pole breaker is commonly used for several purposes.)

Neutral goes to your neutral bus, ground goes to your ground bus.  Hot goes to one side of the 2-pole breaker, the other side is unused.

If you wanted to use a NEMA 14-30 connection, you bought the right breaker but the wrong wire.  But it would surprise me if you wanted that since 240V/30A is not common with RVs, usually it's 50A if it's 240V.


What's the difference between these two types of compression fittings? In my piles of random hardware I have a pile of brass compression fittings for water lines. I have two different types of compression nuts. One has a sleeve inside it. The other doesn't. What's the difference?

They both do the same thing except the one on the left has an integral compression ring (ferrule) and the one on the right uses a separate ferrule (which is not in your picture).


Is a rigid gazebo roof less likely to be damaged by wind than a fabric roof? Issue Summary

Had a fabric canopy topped gazebo.
It was strapped to the railing and seemed very secure for 2 years.
One very bad wind storm (like a parachute) it tore off the straps and flew into the yard.

I am going to buy a new one.  Is a hard-top canopy more or less likely to act like a sail in high winds?

Structurally, the fabric will put more stress on your gazebo than a fixed panel for two reasons: 1) When the fabric “snaps” from the thrust of the wind, it creates an IMPACT load, and 2) A fixed (rigid) panel will DISTRIBUTE the load to other structural members.

Likewise, something that flexes and moves will tend to “wear” more than something that does not. Maintenance will be more in the long run.

For just simple enjoyment of the space, I’d think a rigid “roof” would be quieter too...best for conversations.


What kind of plumbing fixture or valve is this? It's on a residential water supply line immediately downstream of water meter and main shutoff valve.  I would guess pressure reducing valve, but it seems to small to be one, at least compared to the photos of pressure reducing valves I see online.

That's what we call a Ball Valve with Bleeder.

It's for when you shut off the water you can drain what is on the bleeder side of the valve.

Only problem with this one is it's missing the handle.


Must I completely remove tile adhesive before I paint my basement floor? My basement floor years ago had a tiled floor. Tiles were adhered with what looked like a black tar type adhesive. Tiles came loose and were removed. Even though the floor is smooth I am unable to get all the substance off the floor. Can this stuff be painted over or do I have to retire the floor. Prefer to paint if possible.

Rent a concrete floor grinder from a local tool rental. It should get rid of the majority of the adhesive and any other surface coatings. Then, you should be able to go through the normal process of proper concrete painting (make sure to read up on proper surface preparation for your selected product to ensure best adhesion and results).


How do I replace my electrical receptacle? There is 1 hot and 4 neutrals tied into one receptacle two neutrals on each screw with one hot on the other side. I want to put GFCI in its place on that circuit. I added a GFCI receptacle downstream.

The fact that four neutral (white) wires are connected is not a problem, but the method of connection is. Putting two wires under a terminal screw is not permitted (even if often done) and can lead to a bad connection.

The proper way to connect multiple wires in a box is to connect two or more with wire nuts or the newer push-in connectors (follow wire nut/connector limits on number of wires). While two neutral wires can be attached to the same side of an outlet and this provides connectivity, it is generally considered a poor technique, since a failure in the outlet may disable a downstream device.

In a box with two cables, the preferred way to connect the neutral to the outlet is with a pigtail. Join a short white wire with the two other whites and connect with a wire nut. An additional neutral can be added if there are three cables or a second outlet is present. For more wires, you can join wire bundles with pigtails so long as you do not exceed the required box volume limits.

Hot (black or red) wires can be similarly bundled with wirenuts and pigtails, but this occurs slightly less often because black wires are often separately routed to and from switches.

Connect your neutrals using wire nuts and a pigtail to the neutral side of the GFCI. Connect the hot directly to the outlet.


Polyurethane Curing - will blue tape or dropcloths damage it? I just sanded, stained, and polyurethaned the floors in a house I am refinishing. I put on 2 coats of Ultra-Fast Drying Polyurethane for Hardwood Floors on Monday, surface sanded and added a 3rd coat Wednesday morning. The can says 72 hours to return furniture but the surface doesn't feel fully cured yet (Friday). I am supposed to get a truck load of cabinet components delivered Saturday, with heavy boxes, hand trucks, and movers going across the floor.

Will taping down kraft paper with blue painters tape help save the surface or affect curing? What about plastic or cloth drop cloths?

The boxes will probably need to be stacked in a finished room, will this lead to damage or affect the finish?

I can live with adding a week to the final cure time as long as the floor will still cure after the drop cloths or boxes are moved, but I don't want tape patterns or box imprints in the finish.

I actually know the answer to this.  We have Bona Traffic on our heart pine floors.  They were finished years ago and the blue painters tape lifted the finish.  I would not use tape on any flooring unless it was a waxed or oiled finish.  Luckily the floor person that put the finish on was able to fix the finish we messed up by pulling up the tape.


How to bring up cable for an electrical outlet from floor to wall without access to the inside of the wall? I would like to bring up 12/2 cable to put a 110 20A electrical outlet on the wall.  The house is old and there is not enough space behind the drywall to put a box (it is an outside wall and there are not any outlets in it).  In addition, I tried elsewhere on this wall to drill a hole down to the floor below but was unable to get it.  So, I'd like to bring up a cable from the floor in front of the wall and install a surface mount box with an outlet.  How should I go about this?  BX cable? Conduit between floor and box?

The outlet will be for a portable air conditioning unit in the summer and space heater in the winter, thus the sole outlet on the circuit.

Red marking is where I'd like to bring up the cable and install the outlet.

I would use conduit for the run up from the floor

I would run a piece of EMT conduit myself, with a surface mount "handy box" to house the receptacle and a metal old work box with the conduit extending out a KO in its back for holding the junction between the 12AWG stranded THHNs in the conduit and the solid wires of the 12/2 NM-B that is the homerun for this circuit.  You'll need a strain-relief cable-clamp in the KO the NM enters the old work box at; inside the box, it's a simple matter of hot to hot, neutral to neutral, and ground to the box ground screw.  The receptacle wires up normally (hot to brass, neutral to silver), save for being grounded via its yoke instead of a ground wire as it's in a metal box attached to grounded metal conduit.  Drywall anchors can be used for mounting the conduit straps and handy box in this case, by the way.


Does water hardness affect the life of copper pipes? We have just completed the renovation works of our old home in Toronto. A short while later the pipes in bathrooms began to leak. The plumber may have used lower quality materials or lower class copper pipes for the work. Does  the hardness or softness of water actually  matter in the life of pipes?

Are you on a well? In remodeling a home a few years ago, the home being on a well with very hard water, we were replacing a kitchen sink and before we were done we had replaced over 50' of copper piping that was as thin as tin foil. The house was on a well and I wish we would have gotten some tests done for acidity. Mike


Can 12/2/2 cable be used with two circuits on the same leg with the neutrals tied together? I'm rewiring an old house. It has a mix of knob and tube and Romex cable. I'm planning to remove all the knob and tube. In the basement I found 12-4 cable (Black, Red, White, White W/Red Stripe and ground) all in one junction box, neutrals all wired together and supplying different branch 120 v circuits.   Inspecting it at the breaker box, it looks like both the black and red wires have been used as branch circuits on the same bus, but different breakers. From past experience I've learned 12-3 wire can share the same neutral but need to be on opposite bus. Is this the case with 12-4 wire?

This is an unfortunately-all-too-common wiring error, even without a 12/2/2 cable to further confuse things.  Most folks (even electricians) think "I'll just nut the neutrals together" since that's what works when everything in a box comes from one branch circuit, which is the case 99.9% of the time -- in the 0.1% case, such as yours, though -- this rule leads to a looped neutral, which violates 300.3(B):

  (B) Conductors of the Same Circuit. All conductors of the same circuit
  and, where used, the grounded conductor and all equipment grounding conductors
  and bonding conductors shall be contained within the same raceway, auxiliary
  gutter, cable tray, cablebus assembly, trench, cable, or cord, unless
  otherwise permitted in accordance with 300.3(B)(1) through (B)(4).

and 310.10(H)(1):

  (1) General. Aluminum, copper-clad aluminum, or copper conductors, for
  each phase, polarity, neutral, or grounded circuit shall be permitted to be
  connected in parallel (electrically joined at both ends) only in sizes 1/0 AWG
  and larger where installed in accordance with 310.10(H)(2) through (H)(6).

This is easy to fix, though -- make sure that the neutrals in your 12/2/2 cable (white and white/red striped, or "candy cane wire" ;), are not nutted together anywhere.


How can I determine fuse specs for the air handler's circuit board? where in the furnace does it say if it uses a 3 amp or 5 amp fuse for the circuit board? Or how would I know which is correct

It's usually indicated on the board itself as a consequence of the manufacturing process

look closely just behind the fuse 3A
[][]2www.amazon.ca

It should be documented in the service manual but this is a easier way to confirm. If you can't determine the size, always go with a 3A fuse. The difference between 3A and 5A on a circuit board is very significant. And a short on 3A board using a 5A fuse is very likely to blow a component.

second method

The board ID number is often specified and Googling the numbers on the board often takes you a valuable information source. This image shows a alternate location for the fuse size. www.amazon.ca


Are GFCI outlets allowed on new circuit installations? A comment thread on GFCI outlet on 2-wire ungrounded question led to a discussion of whether GFCI is better/worse or even permitted at point-of-use (GFCI/receptacle) instead of GFCI/breakers in the panel:

But regardless of how much people sing the praises of "point of use reset" in GFCI it's still going the way of the dodo bird since code is now requiring the panels GFCI.

and later:

It is simply no longer code for new installs for a reason, the NEC is not stupid. I've tried explaining why if you don't want to accept it that's fine but it is where things are headed no matter what you want. Sorry.

Presumably this is a non-issue for any existing installations as many panels are perfectly, legally, functional, but incapable of adding GFCI breakers due to technical limitations or simply because there are no listed GFCI breakers available.
Can the code experts please clarify whether or not, in new work with a modern, GFCI-capable, panel, GFCI/receptacles are permitted instead of GFCI/breakers? Reference to any such change in NEC 2017, NEC 2020, any officially proposed changes or specific jurisdiction code modifications are appreciated.

The Code doesn't specify location of protection.
NEC 2017

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel.
Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel shall be
provided as required in 210.8(A) through (E). The ground-fault circuit
interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.

Th 2020 Code changes (E) to (F), and reorganizes paragraphs.
The biggest issue is interpretation of "readily accessible".(e.g. Is the receptacle behind the fridge or microwave readily accessible?)


How can I add a second light to my bathroom circuit? I am new to the forum and this is my first major project.

I am looking for some help for adding a vanity light above my sink, and wiring it to the existing switch that controls the ceiling light so that both the vanity and ceiling light turn on at the same time.

I know that i need to run some cable and mount the vanity light.

My question is about how to wire the vanity light to the existing outlet/switch receptacle.

thanks

You're pretty close to color-coded here, so I'd get some colored tape and mark stuff up.

The cluster of 4 hots on the wire-nut is all always-hot.  It comes from supply, goes onward to some other outlet, and then there are two pigtails going to the 2 switches.  I like black for always-hot, but it's not mandatory.  I would change that red pigtail out for black, merely for OCD reasons.

The other wire on the existing switch is switched-hot to the existing lamp, and red is preferred for switched-hot, so recolor that wire red.

When you bring your cable down from your new lamp, also mark that hot wire red, since you want it switched also.

Now, you just join up all like colors.  Note that you can't put 2 wires on that kind of switch, so you'll need to pigtail that also, with another wire nut.  And look! You just freed up a red pigtail, how convenient!

Also, that switch uses backstab connections. Firmly pull while twisting those wires out of the backstabs, then never use backstabs.  Shaping a J-hook and using the screw terminals is harder, but 10 times more reliable if you take the time to learn it.  Backstabs are notorious for failing "open" and creating puzzling wiring problems that are very hard for novices to troubleshoot. Those problems get posted here every day.

Lastly, you can get a "double switch" that fits in the single gang, which would allow you to switch the two lights independently.  Then you put always-hot/black on the common (typically black) and then a switched-hot/red on each of the screws on the other side (typically brass colored).

P.S. Note how the warning tape has been left alone on the GFCI receptacle.  That is correct.  That is how every GFCI install should look (except when the installer actively intends to extend GFCI protection to additional points on the circuit).


Why would the light be on when the switch is off? I've found a lot of answers to this question after replacing a light switch but this has happened without any work done to the light.
I have a living room light that is connected to a standard light switch on the wall.  No dimmers or anything fancy.  Seems like a standard two-wire scenario in the box.  Last night when my wife flicked the switch on one of the two bulbs went out.  Not terribly unusual for a bulb to go out.  When it came time to go to bed though, she found that the switch didn't turn the light off.
I flipped the breaker off and the light went off but as soon as I flipped the breaker back on, the light turned back on as well.  I can replace the switch since it looks like it is very old.  My only thought is maybe the switching mechanism is no longer stopping the flow of electricity but the fact that the bulb also burned out at the same time has me concerned that somehow we have a short in the walls or something.
Is this as simple as hooking up a new light switch or does it sound like there's more going on?

A "short" as you call it seems unlikely since that should cause the breaker to trip.
As a next step, you should SHUT OFF THE BREAKER, and then check the switch since you already seem to believe that it may be bad.  Yes, switches do go bad and so your belief is reasonable at this point.  If you have a VOM (Volt-Ohm Meter) checking the switch is simple enough.  If not, you really should get one but another approach is to simply change the switch (new ones are inexpensive) and see if that resolves the problem.
If that turns out to be the problem, then you should be able to replace the switch and move on.
Otherwise, more troubleshooting is in order.


How can you open the top part of a double-hung window when you are old and short? How can you open the top of a double-hung window when you are short and elderly?  I have air conditioners on the bottom of the windows, but I would like some fresh air on cool days.  I am in no shape to remove the air conditioners. I thought perhaps something like a garden hoe might work.

Can you help?

Many air conditioners have a "fresh air" setting; at that setting, they blow air from outdoors into the house. Although it does cost electricity, it's better than opening the window because it moves are even on dead-still days.


Add motion sensor and timer so either can turn on front lights I currently have 4 fixtures, 2 recessed above the garage and 2 enclosed lamps near the front door.  They're controlled by a switch that has a builtin timer.  I'd like these lights to come on around sunset and go off at a reasonable time (like 11pm).

But I'd also like them to come on when motion is detected.  So if someone were to approach the house after the scheduled period ends, I want the lights to come back on.

I'm struggling to figure out how one might do this.  At the very least I'd need a few motion sensors, but how would that work?  Do the motion sensors act as a 3 way switch?

Or is this not possible and the only way to pull off a similar effect is to have separate motion activated lights? (Probably easier but not as pleasing to the eye)

That can be done, but it's not a standard setup.

The old-style solution requires a box somewhere with relays in it. The switch, timer, and motion detector are wired to the relays, and their controlled output contacts are wired in the appropriate combination to produce the behavior you want. That combination is then used to control power going to the light. You might have trouble getting a home inspector to approve this if it isn't done by a pro... and I'm not sure even then.

The modern solution would be to use home automation components.  Replace the existing switch with one that can be remotely controlled and that also informs the central control unit when it has been switched manually.  Install a motion detector that talks to the central control unit. Then set that controller's clock correctly, and program it to signal the switch to turn on and off in response to the proper combination of these inputs. Much easier to install, passes code, probably no more expensive after everything is accounted for, can be built upon if you want to do other fancy home  control later. RECOMMENDED  SOLUTION.


Best advice on Frayed, exposed wires on air purifier cord I was cleaning my air purifier today and saw exposed wires on the cord (photo attached). It's hard to see but it looks like this part of the cord has been flattened/run down and then popped open, but it has never been placed in between a door or in an area where it's stepped on. This has me thinking it might have been an issue since I've had it -- 2-2.5 years. Can anyone recommend the best way to replace this cord? Temporarily, I will cover it with electrical tape, but long term I'd want to replace it since I run it all the time.

FYI - I'm in the US.

Brand of Purifier: https://www.envionproducts.com/images/TPP230H_Mnl_3.15_R1.pdf

Photo of breakage:

It's hard to say how bad the wire is damaged but it could be dangerous so it's good you found out about it. Make sure you unplug it before wrapping electrical tape around the cord.

Replacing the cord is a necessity. I replaced a cord on a Sharper Image air filter and I had to just about disassemble the entire unit to get to where the cord was attached to the unit. Unless you're very handy I wouldn't advise you doing this. Take it to an appliance repair shop or check with the manufacturer about having them fix it. I know this is a DIY site but sometimes we just have to bit the bullet and recommend getting a pro involved.


Should I cancel our appointment with the repair tech for our washing machine? I have a 6 1/2 months old washing machine. Last week, we started having issues it. It would drain some of the water out, but not all of it. It also made a horrible racket all the way through the cycle. It was a continuous fast clicking sound. We unplugged it and did not use it for a whole week. The repair tech is supposed to come today, so, I tried plugging it back in and testing it last night.

I don't know what happened while it was unplugged, but the thing drained all of the water out, so that part of it seems to have corrected itself. What I am still worried about is that even though it is not pronounced, I can still hear a continuous fast clicking noise as it goes through its cycle, especially in the spin cycle, and it shakes and shimmies while it is going through the spin cycle despite being self balancing.

Should we keep our appointment with the repair tech or is there something we can do to repair it? Or is it normal for it to be shaking and shimmying like it is?

The first (and easiest) two things to check are:

Drainage hose  - Inspect for kinks or other obstructions.  Measure the max height of the pipe and verify via the manual that it is within acceptable limits.
Machine Level - With a long level, check the machine front-to-back and side-to-side for level.  Adjust the feet to correct as necessary.  Even if level, ensure all of the feet are making solid contact with the floor.


What could happen if I used 4 cycle fuel in a 2 cycle engine? So apparently at Home Depot in my area, pre-mixed 2 cycle fuel is in a grey bottle and 4 cycle is in a green bottle. And at Lowe's, it's exactly the opposite. The last time I bought fuel, I bought at the other store and picked based solely on color. This means I have now run about 48 ounces of 4 cycle fuel through the engine of my 2 cycle string trimmer. I know, stupid me for not reading the label.

As I was using it today, it would stop running if I let it idle. I thought that was weird but pressed on. Eventually it died while I was using it at full throttle. I have not been able to restart it at any choke position. It's currently cooling down in the garage.

Have I done permanent damage to the engine? What should I do?

There is quite the extreme possibility there has been permanent damage done. 4 cycle engines do not need oil mixed with the gas to provide lubrication, since it has oil in the crankcase.
Two cycle engines have to have oil mixed in the gas to provide the lubrication needed, since there is no oil in the sump. When you used the 4 cycle gas, there was no much needed oil mixed with the gas. There may be a small chance the engine has not seized, it may start again, but the life of the engine has been greatly reduced.


Can wood floors be refinished half a room at a time? I have a small house. I'm doing it. or would like to do it. my funds are all tied up and I have no help. can't afford it either.  can I just do 1/2 a room at a time?

No.  You really can't.

There are several reasons why:

Dust.  Sanding dust will get everywhere.  Ideally you want to move everything into one room, that will hopefully not be refinished, seal off the door and do everything at once.
Equipment Rental.  It is simply not cost effective to rent the sanders for multiple small periods of time.  If you try and do half a room at a time, you'll be paying many times the price over doing it once.
Finish Quality.  When painting anything, the general rule is to always maintain a wet edge.  That is, in the middle of an area, keep painting until you get to a wall or other natural boundary.  If you let the paint/stain/varnish/polyurethane dry in the middle of the floor, you'll end up with an unsightly ridge when you go back to finish the job.


why is my unfinished shower wet I installed a shower valve
I installed a custom mortar shower pan  (pvc liner with plastic vapor barrier behind the walls)
I installed cement boards on the wall

the area on the front of the cement board around the shower valve, a diagonal line (as if water was dripping down) going to floor and a larger area of the mortar pan in front of the drain are mysteriously wet. When I removed the cement board the back of the cement board was dry (however in between the pvc liner and the plastic was wet also some of the studs were moist) all the copper pipe, joints, and shower valve appear to be dry.

What is causing the moisture? can it be evaporation from the drain? condensation?

What can I do to fix this?

It seems like randomly(every 2 to 6 weeks) the faucet leeks(it turns on a little) and water was coming out the top of the pipe where the shower head was to be connected. If you open and close the handle it turns off. as a temporary solution I installed the shower arm so the water drips in the shower instead of behind the wall. I plan on contacting delta faucets.  If I installed the valve properly it must be faulty.


Repairing damaged fiberglass I know this doesn't necessarily apply to home improvement, but I figured the bit about fiberglass repair might be useful to others here. I have a paddle board that has several cracks or damaged areas to the. This is my first time doing any type of fiberglass repair. I've read several articles about repairing small damaged areas with epoxy instead of going through the process of applying new fiberglass. I've also watched a few fiberglass repair walkthrough videos on Youtube.
Can someone tell me what level of damage dictates whether to use epoxy or fiberglass? I've attached the images, so maybe someone can tell me what method I should use for repairing each of them. Thank you!
UPDATE: Thought it was worth mentioning that while I was researching repair methods I came across a forum that said to use an epoxy-base resin and NOT a polyester-based (Bondo). Not exactly sure why, but someone briefly mentioned it can attack the foam core pretty aggressively.

Of what I know about fiberglass, you will need to grind through the gel coat, which is the smooth color coating over the outside of the board, down to the layer of woven fabric that is under the gel coat. feather out the area a few inches on either side of the damage, being careful not to go into the core. If you do a little, no big deal, it just means a little more work to fix. When grinding fiberglass, it stinks and dusty, you will want a good respirator or at least a dust mask with a rating 95 AND do this outdoors.
Cut the fiberglass mat to fit over the dressed areas, and set aside. With the larger damaged section, you will need to cut it off and rebuild the core material before cutting the fiberglass mat. DO NOT use bondo for that or any repair on this board! It is not structural at all for this application, and it may damage the existing core material. Use the same material that has been exposed to rebuild the corner. You will need to research what adhesive it will take to apply the repair piece.
With all the fabric cut to size, mix the epoxy. It has a very limited time to work with, so you will need to move efficiently. Coat an area that has been prepped, you may want to mask around the area so the epoxy goes where you want it, not everywhere else.... Immediately, place the mat set aside for that area over the repair and add more resin over it. I forgot the mention, When the cut is made on the worst part of the damage, asses how thick the thickness of the fiberglass is. You will need to add enough layers of new fiberglass mats to build it up the same as original, alternating resin and matting. Make certain that there are no trapped air bubbles in the layers. Working with narrow strips of mat in all areas, will help the material conform to the roundness the board has.
After all the matting is done, let it cure for the recommended time and sand smooth. You can apply a layer of epoxy colored the same as the board. Whether it will need one coat or 2 of the color, I do not know, but it will help make the repair not so noticeable... perhaps....


New install: What's causing a tripping arc fault breaker? We remodeled our home and had all new electrical put it in to plan.

For rough-in, the electrician put in regular breakers instead of arc fault breakers. Arc fault breakers are required by code now in Houston, TX, so near the end of the project, the electrician removed the regulars and put in AF breakers.

(Note: GFCI breakers were of course also used, but they're not part of this question.)

Several AF breakers tripped immediately. The electrician fixed the issues on most of them, but the final two he just took the AFs out and put regular breakers back in. Our General Contractor gave the OK, and the city inspector passed it. But I don't buy that this is non-issue and plan to fix it myself.

(Full disclosure: I'm an electrical engineer and have done home wiring before, but I am not a licensed electrician and have no experience with arc fault breakers and how they work.)

Question:

What's the typical workflow to troubleshoot a tripping arc fault breaker for a newly wired home?

This behavior is because arc-fault breakers have an interesting quirk: they also provide a small degree of ground fault protection as well! (They are not GFCI's because their ground-fault trip threshold is set to the 30mA used for equipment protection (GFPE) devices as opposed to the 5mA ground-fault (differential) trip of a Class A personnel protection GFCI.)

You will need to contact your electrician and tell them to get their neutrals straight.  Tell him he violated NEC sections 200.4:

  Multiple Circuits. Where more than one neutral conductor associated with
  different circuits is in an enclosure, grounded circuit conductors of each
  circuit shall be identified or grouped to correspond with the ungrounded
  circuit conductor(s) by wire markers, cable ties, or similar means in at least
  one location within the enclosure.

300.3(B):

  Conductors of the Same Circuit. All conductors of the same circuit and,
  where used, the grounded conductor and all equipment grounding conductors and
  bonding conductors shall be contained within the same raceway, auxiliary
  gutter, cable tray, cablebus assembly, trench, cable, or cord, unless
  otherwise permitted in accordance with 300.3(B)(1) through (B)(4).

and 310.10(H)(1):

  General. Aluminum, copper-clad aluminum, or copper conductors, for each
  phase, polarity, neutral, or grounded circuit shall be permitted to be
  connected in parallel (electrically joined at both ends) only in sizes 1/0 AWG
  and larger where installed in accordance with 310.10(H)(2) through (H)(6).


220v outlet safety question - Circuit breaker not tripped after a fire An old oven (20+ years) plugged into an 220v 3-pronged outlet suddenly caught fire when we tried to use the oven a week ago. We replaced the appliance today but found that it would not power on when plugging it into the outlet. I took a look at the circuit breaker but there was no tripped circuits. I turned off/then on all of the circuits and, after plugging the new oven in again, I get power (clock on oven turns on).

My concern is that the fire was not caused by the appliance but faulty wiring and I was hoping to get some advice on whether this is safe or not. If it helps, the home is from the late 60-s and the outlet itself is not GCFI.

Thanks in advance!

Resistive heating elements (calrods), such as those in an electric oven, can break down and fail after a period of time due to deterioration of the internal insulation.  When they do, the results can be quite spectacular, involving arcing from element and shell to the oven floor and a resulting fire when the arc ignites whatever grease deposits are present.  However, this doesn't damage anything outside the oven, provided the fire itself stays inside the oven.

I would kill the power to the circuit and check the receptacle for any signs of damage (such as burn marks or metal spatter from arcing) anyway, though, just to be on the safe side.


Is there such a thing as an escutcheon that will fit at an angle? I have a stub-out for my bathroom which exits the wall at a 45 degree angle (roughly).   The trap used to be in a vanity, but it's now exposed.  Is there such a thing as an escutcheon that will fit at an angle?

I have seen escutcheons shaped like this but don’t know where to buy.

It is possible you could modify one to accommodate the angle. Make the inner circle into an oval.


Framing in a home's crawlspace Looking to take some time in the new year to frame out an area of my "crawlspace." It has about 7.5' clearance in height, so it'll be tight... but my goal is to make a workbench area for myself and would like the area to feel cleaner / less dusty and crawlspacey.
Here's hoping this drawing helps... the dotted lines are where I'd frame... the doorway leads to this unpermitted bathroom the previous owners built (whose sewer ejector pump broke and was installed under the tub, so that's for another post).

I mainly have two questions here as this crawlspace is shared with the water heater, the heater, and the foundation for our chimney:

Opening the door to the crawlspace the heaters and chimney are to the left. I'd like to frame around them but still leaving access (like folding closet doors or something) to get to the space. Do you think this poses any significant fire hazards? I won't be framing right up to the utilities of course.

Also, somewhat related, is it bad to frame around the foundation to the chimney too? It has an ash shoot that I'll keep access too, but just wanted to make sure there

Anyway, thanks for your time. Happy to respond with any follow-up questions. I imagine after framing the area will be long and narrow... maybe like a standard hallway, but wider. Hope that helps with imagining it.

Framing isn't the issue, airflow is. If you plan on enclosing both the hot water heater and furnace, use open slotted panels on a bifold door to allow air flow. If you have a fresh air return (from outside) for the furnace, this must be directed into the room of the furnace with sufficient space for air to flow into the the furnace, usually the face or a special opening on the side. For space you can use the wall cavity much like cold air returns are used in finished rooms.
There is no threat to framing being in contact with a stone/brick chimney, obviously keeping the ash shoot opening clear. With metal exhuast or AA and AAA steel chimney framing cannot come within 2" of the steel. Some building codes may exceed that.


How can I determine the cause of a noisy spin cycle in my INDESIT washing machine? My washing machine has suddenly started being much noisier during the spin cycle.  It doesn't seem to be vibrating or knocking/banging.  It's just got a much louder whine when spinning fast than it used to.  What preliminary checks can I perform to identify the root cause so I can decide whether it's worth paying a professional for a repair or if I should just replace the machine?

the motor has 'carbon brushes' which are spring loaded and transfer the mains power into the center of the motor.  When they get worn the motor starts to whine.

These are inexpensive to replace.

The motor in most machines is at the bottom. Making sure the power is off - tip the machine back and keep it safely located in that position.

Crawl beneath to get to the motor which is held in with 3 bolts.

If the motor has a large canister (capacitor) wired into it then it does not have brushes - the belt is then the culprit.

If it is a 'carbon brush motor' / brush motor then unplug the cable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush_%28electric%29

Motor out : at each side of the motor the brushes are held in with small springy clips, these can be tricky to remove. If the dark square carbon rod part of the brushes are less than 1.5cm then they are worn and need replacing.


Is there any reason not to use radiant barrier sheathing in walls of attic room I am finishing out an above-garage room that is currently attic space. The roof has radiant barrier sheathing (ie foil-lined OSB).  I have a few walls that are currently just studs open into the attic.  I plan to add OSB on the back of these walls and insulate them along with the outside walls.   I went to price the OSB and found I can get the same foil-lined stuff used on the roof, or regular unlined OSB sheathing.

Looking at the specifications section on the Lowes website, there is an X (as opposed to a checkmark) by the "For use with walls".  Why is this? Is there any real reason not to use this for the attic-facing walls?  If it is OK to use, should the lining face into the room?

This is in southern US.  The floor and garage are already insulated, and I plan to do blown fiberglass or cellulose insulation on the walls and ceiling.

Yes, if you don't have a way for the heat to escape rapidly. Radiant Barriers aren't insulation. So, if the reflected heat can't get away quickly, like in a wall, the Radiant Barrier won't do anything of benefit in your location since you would want it facing the exterior to repel heat.

It really would only be useful if it were installed as your exterior sheathing, like the roof, to reflect heat back out through your siding or finished surface. Up North it's used on insulation, not sheathing, to reflect escaping heat back into the living space during the heating season.


Venting the attic space during summer to cool the house The air in my attic gets superheated during summer, from the sun baking the (clay? terracotta?) roof tiles (I live in Sydney, Australia).

I have good ceiling insulation, and even put in some sarking (foil insulation just under the tiles) but some of the heat still penetrates into the house.

Also, we now have a ducted (central) AC unit in the attic which absorbs a bit of the heat and so cools a bit less effectively.

So I need to cool the attic (area about 100m2). I have 2 vents under the eaves (opposite sides of the house) and one small whirlybird (wind/convection powered thermal chimney).

Should I get more whirlybirds? They are about $100 each and I'm concerned they might not move enough air.

Has anyone used a solar or mains powered roof extracter fan? Can I get one for less than $300 or so?

How about heat-reflective roof paints, are they effective and cheap? (My roof is black and the house will lose a lot of resale value with a light colour)

Any other good solutions?

Given that hot air raises, have you considered a Passive Stack Ventilation system.  Basically:

A tall pipe coming out of the top of your loft so the hot air can raise
You must not have bends in the pipe or it does not work as well
The topping on the pipe must not add much to the flow resistance
The sizing of the pipe is important (sorry can’t help on this)

Too wide you don’t get fast enough upwards air movement.
Not wide enough, you get to much air resistance

The pipe must come out of the top of the loft and be high enough above the roof
Soffit venting of some type so the colder air can get in at the bottom

The system will only tent to pull air though the loft when the outside air is colder than the air in the loft (just what you need).

Given the correct conditions and design, a Passive Stack Ventilation system will work forever with no running cost or maintenance.  Get anything wrong and it will not work at all.

Also check that your ceilings are well sealed, otherwise all the expensive cold air from your AC will just go up into the loft and be vented out.


Can a stud have a power line IN it? I have an edge to edge stud finder with a power line detector.  It found the stud but at the same the power detector lighted up. Is it safe to drill that stud. I'm installing a wall mount for a 39" flat tv.

Power lines can be run either through a hole drilled through the stud (i.e. horizontally) or stapled along the edge of the stud (i.e. vertically).

Horizontal runs are generally used to connect multiple sockets in the same room.  For normal outlets at about 1' above floor level, the wiring will usually be a few inches above the outlets, but you could have them at other heights too, like if you have a kitchen or bathroom on the other side of the wall, or wall sconces for lighting.

Vertical runs of wire generally bring power into a room from wire runs (that eventually lead back to the service panel) in the attic, crawlspace/basement or the space between floors.

If it's running through the stud, there should be a metal plate attached to the front of the stud to prevent you from driving nails or screws into the power line.

Of course, things aren't always done the way they should be, so you can detect if you have these plates with a strong magnet.


How to hang a projector screen (cloth) with a few inches away from the wall? I have some odd fixture/design on the dry wall I want to hang the projector screen against, but if I were to fasten the screen on that wall, the crooked things on the wall will bulge through the screen causing breaks and distort the image.

Are there some sort of anchors that can extend an object away from the wall? I hope i'm making sense. Here's a scratch of what I mean:

I would fasten a "furring strip" (a piece of perhaps 2x2) to the wall at the top of the screen. Make it the same width as the screen, but screw it into the studs inside the wall (NOT just into the drywall sheet-rock)  Then hang the screen from that.

I would paint the strip black before installation to minimize visual interference. Depending on what kind of screen you are talking about (not disclosed?) you could put another identical strip at the bottom and actually STRETCH the screen fabric between the top "rail" and the bottom "rail". That would keep it nice and tight and wrinkle-free.


What could cause a foaming clothes washer standpipe? I'm a plumbing contractor and my customer called to say her drain standpipe had started to foam out of the top near the very end of the drain cycle, allowing time for the suds to build up I guess.She has been doing the SAME thing for over six months and this foaming just started a couple weeks ago.
It could be a main drain issue, blocked somewhere downstream maybe causing it, or perhaps the detergent has changed somehow.

HE detergents create very, very little foam. She may have switched detergent brands. Or there was a load done with a soapy car wash rag or something similar in it.


Re-Wiring to add new main panel and make existing panel a sub Our house is mid 1990's with 200 Amp service. The meter is on a garage wall (attached to the house) and the panel is in the laundry room about 20 meters / 60' distant. I'm not sure how the panel feed runs from the meter, but think it may be under the garage slab, entering the house via the crawl space. The panel is 100% used, although many circuits serve only one or at best a few outlets.
The issue I have is that the original owner only put 1 15 amp service to the garage.
I am a wood worker and plan to buy an electric vehicle in the next year or so, so want more circuits to the garage - 120 and 240V, but as the main is full and the garage is on slab, this is not a simple proposition.
What I would like to do is add a new panel in the garage, on the inside wall directly behind where the meter is located. My thinking is to make it the main panel, with the existing panel converted to being a sub panel.
In the new garage panel, there will be a need for 60-100 Amps to feed the new ccts for power tools and a vehicle charger. The rest of the power in the house will be unaffected.
The major power users currently on the main panel are a heat pump and electric hot water heater. The heat pump (60A) can be moved to the garage panel fairly easily, the hot water tank cannot.
My question, before bringing in electricians to quote on the job, is whether / how I can achieve my goal. Is it feasible to convert the existing main to a sub panel & bring all power from the meter to the new garage panel and then feed the existing panel from it or is there something else I need to consider?
Suggestions welcomed

This is a feasible undertaking. You should be able to reuse the existing run from the meter and land it at the new main panel. You can also have the electrician pre-run the wires for the car charger
For the new main panel, install a panel with more spaces that you think you'll need, you already saw the result of not having enough spaces.
The biggest thing to make sure is that the current panel has it's neutral and ground completely separated when it becomes a subpanel. Many times in the main panel the grounds and neutrals will be on the same bar, but in a subpanel they must be completely isolated from each other. How easy this conversion is depends on how much slack the previous installer left on each wire.


Replacing spout on irregular bathtub pipe I am trying to replace a bathtub diverter spout. When I took off the old spout, I discovered it was incorrectly installed. It didn't have the common plastic adapter, the shower spout was just slipped over the end of the protruding threadless pipe.

At some point, someone extended the pipe with a slip coupling, so the pipe isn't a standard 1/2" all the way down (see below). Because the coupling makes the pipe wider, I can't slide the 3.5" long plastic adapter over the pipe.

I assume the pipe will have to be modified to accept a spout correctly. What are my best options here?

You'll probably just need to move the coupler further back. It could actually extend into the wall, and you could sweat the joint from the inside.

You could also use an "inside" pipe extension (example). The reduction in diameter probably isn't a concern in this case.


smoke smell from the chimney/fireplace? With woodstove removed and not being reinstalled, how do we get rid of the burned wood smell in the fireplace/chimney?

Sometimes you've just got to roll up your sleeves and go to work...


Any rule of thumb about flagstone size? I understand that this is a mater of esthetics and there are different styles of flagstone patio layout - tighter, loser, more uniform, more natural, etc. I'm looking for any rule of thumb range for the size of individual flagstone pieces in a patio. It may be that larger patios can look good with larger pieces. I have been laying them out and I think they are too big. Part of the problem is that there are small pieces filing in gaps and the large pieces make the small ones look very small.
The whole thing is about 125 sq feet and the larger pieces are about 9 sq feet.

I don't think the size of the pieces matter as much as the uniformity in size between pieces. Granted, the smaller the space, the smaller the size I would use, but the uniformity is your current problem. I'd also recommend putting a weed barrier down under the flagstones unless you're planning on having moss or grass grow between the cracks.


What is this wall covering type? Can anyone identify what this wall is made of? It looks like some kind of plaster to me, but I'm not sure. Thank you!

It is a spray on texture that was knocked down. Basically this is Sheetrock mud that was thinned down and put in a special gun to “spray splatter” the mud on the wall, when I do this I use lower air flow and larger nozzles to provide a larger “splatter” then go back with a wide 12-18” mud knife and knock it down that’s why it looks flat, in stead of an orange peal that is smaller spatter at higher airflow and left to dry, these are very common surface finishes, both are difficult to match but not impossible.


My toilet backed up with no water I live in an old condo apartment.

My toilet just backed up. It backed up several times before and I managed to unclog it every time, but it's nothing like I've seen before this time because I don't see anything in the toilet and water is clean. It just takes about 2 minutes for water to go down the drain. And when it does, water is almost completely drained so that water level is below the hole and then it rises back just above the hole. This is unusual since the toilet is normally half full.

I tried a plunger, bleach, and baking soda + vinegar, but no luck. Any idea?

It's really cold here so toilet water is very cold, too, if that helps at all.

Those symptoms indicate that the blockage is likely beyond the trap that's built into the toilet bowl. It may be where the toilet meets the floor near the wax seal, or it may be even further down the line. If a plunger isn't dislodging the blockage (remember the goal is to suck up, not push down with the plunger), then you can get an auger that's specially designed for toilets (and I would recommend the longer version just in case your clog is further down the line):


Leak between copper and braided supply line Today I found a slow leak in my kitchen faucet. It’s a pull-down style faucet with small copper tubing going through the counter, and the leak is where that copper meets the braided supply line. I don’t see any way to put a wrench on the copper pipe, so how can I fix this? I’m not sure, but it seems like maybe this fitting is meant to be permanent from the factory?
I don’t know the brand of faucet. The stem is a square, and I took photos of some identifying marks. If anyone can identify this, that would be helpful if I need to order a part.

I figured it out.  I'm used to always holding the backside steady with a second wrench when tightening anything, so I was afraid to try this here.  But after reading @brhans comments, I tried it, simply holding the brass sleeve with vice grips and tightening the connector a quarter turn and that did the trick.  I suppose the reason this piece doesn't have wrench flats is it's designed to be just finger tight, but in this case it required a little extra.  This connector has two rubber O-rings inside, so the threads do not make the seal.


How to force installation of standard-width blinds for window with nonstandard dimensions? I want to install blinds on a window that has a 27.5-inch width. But it looks as though 27.5inches is not a standard width; it's easy to find widths of 23, 27, 29, 30, I don't see 27.5 inch blinds anywhere. I did just find these 27 inch blinds, however. Is there a DIY way to customize 27 inch blinds so that they can be installed on a 27.5-inch wide window?
Alternatively, would buying 28-29 inch blinds, and sawing them down to 27.5 inches work?

Please remember to keep answers specific to the problem at hand. Thanks.

Those 27 inch blinds you link to are top mount and will fit in a 27.5 inch opening without modification. But there are also side mount ones that would also work but you would need to add a 1/4 inch shim to both sides or a 1/2 inch shim to one side.

Most blinds can't be simply cut down in width except those that are designed to be cut to length.


Can you have different types of vents on a single roof? The attic of my house has serious ventilation issue and the sheathing becomes rotten.  The roofing contractor suggests me to replace the rotten sheathing and install some ridge vent. His plan will also keep two old vents on the ridge.  I once heard that the co-existence of different types of vents will cause the air flow formed among these different vents instead of a smooth flow from soft vents to ridge vents. Is that correct? How to insure the ventilation plan proposed by contractor is correct?

You should read up on some of the roof ventilation articles at Building Science -- they provide a lot of resources and actual studies.

While "adding more ventilation at the peak" is an "easy" thing for a contractor to fix, the first thing that your contractor should be doing if you have mold issues is to make sure the soffit ventilation is working adequately... or that you even have soffit ventilation. The way that most roof structures get ventilated is that air enters through the soffit and exits through the peak due to convection on the roof. The reason that mold is building up is because either air isn't exhausting or air isn't moving enough through all of your bays to dry it up. Just throwing another couple vents up won't necessarily solve this problem.

Where you run into problems is where you have vents of the same type on two different sides of the roof. Because of this, ridge vents aren't really a great solution -- call me a traditionalist, but my preferred attic ventilation solution is turbine or turtle vents on one side of your roof at the manufacturer's recommended distance from the peak, and more-than-adequate soffit ventilation.

Soffit ventilation often gets interrupted because it was installed inadequately in the first place or blown-in or even batt insulation gets shoved into a place where it blocks the flow of air in. You should have baffles in place in any of your attic bays (between the rafters) that have soffit ventilation. My personal favorite as far as operation and installation are Berger Accuvents. (Note: Link is to PDF.) I also prefer continuous soffit vents. If you don't have soffits, you should look into a product that you can apply to a roof without a soffit, such as a vented edge cap.

It would really help to know where you are, because attic ventilation needs are different in different climates. If you live in a climate that experiences winter weather a significant part of the year, you'll want to make sure that your attic ventilation remains clear.


Do I need to install cement backer board on the wall above a tile shower surround? We removed a tub wall surround and want to replace it with tile. We don't plan to tile to the ceiling.

Can we cut out only the drywall where the tub wall was and replace that with cement backer board? Or do I need to go to the ceiling with the cement board and paint over it?

Just to be clear, I am not talking about putting cement board on the ceiling. I am wondering if I can leave some of the drywall on the wall and only put cement board/denshield where I plan to tile. Leaving about 2 feet of drywall from the ceiling down.

For example, in this photo only the tiled area would have cement board and the tan area would have the original drywall.

http://www.mcadamsremodeling.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/738309_10_0_BEFORE.jpg

Alaska man's suggestion is a good one. However, it's not necessary to use anything other than drywall above your tile in my opinion.

Also, it's common to leave the drywall slightly below the top edge of the tile so that the joint between the backer board and drywall gets covered, saving finishing time.

Use high quality primer and paint. This assumes that you have adequate ventilation and are using it appropriately.


Tile border around one piece shower I'm building a new addition and I have a 1 piece shower, I think maybe 80 inches tall.  I'm about to start putting up drywall in the bathroom.  If I want to put tile around the top and edges of the shower, do I just mount it on the purple drywall board, or should I put up concrete booard?

At one time or another I've seen every type of drywall fail when it's used in a shower. Either because the grout cracked and went undetected, the soap dish leaked or water got behind the faucets. I'm a big fan of the concrete backer board. It's available in different thicknesses and many brands can be cut with a regular utility knife. Good luck


Would the service breaker or sub-panel breaker trip first if they have equal ratings? I've rented a space where the transformer and main panel are fenced off and I can’t access it without calling the landlord. He lives rather far away and is the only one with the key and that kind of potential downtime would be catastrophic for my business, however I do need to pull a lot of power consistently and will be pushing it as hard as I can which means I might occasionally trip on hot days.

The hypothetical setup is as follows:
A new 125 A cutler hammer breaker on the service side
A new 125 A square d breaker backfeeding our main sub panel (in our building)
About 120 feet of underground 3/0 aluminum between the two

My question is:
If our equipment pulls more that 125 A which breaker trips first, the one on the service side (outside) or the one on the load (in our building) or both?

If the answer is the one on the service side or both (or either depending on manufacturing tolerance variation or whatever) my followup question is:
Is there any way we can purchase or modify our inside 125 A breaker to flip at ~123 A so that it always flips first?

Your question depends on very many variables.

1) Are the breakers magnetic trip or thermal?  Which is which?

2) If you are using thermal breakers, which breaker is exposed to the highest ambient temperature?

3) What is the current profile of your high-current loads?  Relatively constant or fluctuating?

In general, it is a crap shoot as to which breaker trips first when two identically-rated breakers are in series.  The breaker with the smallest amount of internal thermal heat-sinking will usually trip first but there are no guarantees.

Your best bet is to either change the breaker that you have access to down to 100 Amps or increase the feed breaker to 150 Amps.  I'd have to check, but I think that your 3/0 feeder cable is rated for at least 150 Amps.  Check with a qualified electrician to make sure.


Is my switch grounded at all? This morning, whenever I tried to turn on my bathroom light, it would flicker, then die. From what I understand, the most likely culprit here is a loose connection somewhere.
When I took my switch out of the wall, I noticed that the ground wire was not connected to anything. I thought I'd reattach the wire by looping it clockwise under one of the screws coming out of the side, but I'm... less sure about that now that I'm getting a good look at things - I think those are used to secure the black cable and create contact.

When I took it off, the ground wire was just kinda chillin in the box, not really connected to anything. The box is covered in paint (or maybe just primer?), but even still, it doesn't feel like metal, so I don't understand how anything would be grounded.

The white neutral cables are all kinda tied together. The two black hot cables on the right side are connected via a nut, and the resulting cable out of that is what feeds the switch. The cable on the left is what heads up to the light in the bathroom (the light switch is outside the door - don't ask).
Once I get the flickering fixed, is it safe to put it all back in there with the ground wire just kinda... hangin' out? I don't see any way to attach it to this switch.

Someone was lazy and used the backstabs which are notorious for working loose over time. That would be your issue.
Use a screwdriver to take out the blacks stabbed in the back and instead connect those on the screws. That should fix your issue.
The ground wire should be connected only to a green screw or the connection marked as ground if present. But it doesn't look like yours has one. If you are worried you can replace the switch with a new one that will have the green ground screw.


Help with drain and vent configuration What to do with this drain situation? The kitchen sink drain shares the galvanized pipe there. Problems have been that the water from the kitchen sink backs up into the bathroom drain and there is always water in the bath sink drain up to the level of the sink. I don't know if this is a vent problem, a drain problem, or both. It looks quite a mess to me, but I'm not a pro. I am willing to jump in and do what it takes but not thrilled with the idea of messing with that cast iron stack.

There is no venting of these drains. Rather than run vent pipes and have to tap into the cast iron vent pipe on the adjacent wall I was hoping to install Air Admittance Valves under both the bathroom and kitchen sinks, but the drain pipe on the bath side is so high there isn't enough room for the AAV under the sink.

Just to clarify, the kitchen sink is on the wall behind and above about where the heat register is. The drain setup under the kitchen sink is pretty average with just a few inches of drain from the p-trap to the wall.

How should this drain set up be configured?

You're  going to need to replace the existing cast iron tee with an elbow (or just plug the top), and install a sanitary tee lower in the galvanized pipe to connect the bathroom drain. I probably just cut off the galvanized down near the floor and use a no-hub coupling to run new PVC to the sinks.

The next question is what to do with that HVAC register.


Black greasy specks in sinks, dishwasher, etc. at home We have been noticing black specks that leave a greasy trail when smeared in our bathroom sinks and on dishes washed in the dishwasher in recent weeks. After some research, I find that the 2 main reasons for this are 1) a deteriorating black rubber hose to/from the water heater, and 2) a deteriorating magnesium anode rod in the water heater. I pried open a bit of insulation on the pipes to/from water heater and found that they are either copper or solid plastic pipes. That leaves reason (2). How do I determine if the anode rod in my water heater is magnesium (as opposed to aluminum) without calling a professional? Is it typically written somewhere on the heater? Our heater was replaced in the past 3 years. I'm attaching 2 pictures below showing parts of the top of the heater, one of which seems to be the head of the anode rod (I don't know which one).

Also, are there any other major causes for the black stuff that I should be looking out for? I find that decaying black rubber hoses is another reason, but the hoses to the sinks in our house look like the picture below, which does not seem to be the flexible black rubber hose that decays. Can anyone confirm?

Yet another possible reason I find is the decaying inner lining of the water heater expansion tank. Below is a pic of the label on the expansion tank, which I believe was replaced when the heater was replaced in Dec 2017. Does it looks like the kind that has an inner lining that decays quickly?

Water heater anodes usually last about 3 to 5 years or so depending on the chemistry and hardness of your water, so chances are, if your water heater is only 3 years old, that's not the problem. That being said, it wouldn't hurt to take a peek at the anode and make sure it's doing OK.

The top of the anode rod is typically visible on the top of your water heater. It will look kind of like a bolt head on the top of the heater. You should be able to loosen it with a wrench and extract the anode to inspect it and replace it. If you don't see one of those on the top of the heater, the anode might be integrated with the hot water outlet pipe. You can disconnect the pipe and extract the anode that way.

From what I know, magnesium anode rods have a "bump" in the center of the cover nut while aluminum/zinc rods have smooth-faced nuts. I don't know if this is a "universal thing" or it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but that has been my experience.

Aluminum:

Magnesium:

Most water heaters have aluminum anodes installed by default from the factory, but it sounds like you may have a magnesium rod and high sulfates in your water. That combination can cause hydrogen sulfides to form as the anode reacts with the water and produces black, oily particles to settle inside the water tank and float through the plumbing in one degree or another.

You might be able to get rid of the black specks by draining or flushing out your water heater (there should be a drain tap a the bottom of the tank that you can hook a garden hose up to) and replacing your magnesium anode with an aluminum or aluminum/zinc anode rod.


Two pole breaker for 240v circuit loses one side My well pump is fed by a 40a 240v circuit. I noticed that sometimes when the power cycles, or I manually cycle the breaker, that the circuit is only getting 120v. If I flip the breaker a few more times this resolves itself. Do I need a new breaker, or is this likely something else?

Almost certainly a bad breaker.   Square D Homeline is the cheaper model than the QO breakers, but you'll have to replace it with another Homeline breaker since the QO breakers won't fit in a homeline panel.
BTW, I noticed that you are running 10ga wire.  That isn't rated for 40 amps.  And to be running 40 amps to a pump, it must be a heck of a big pump.  What's it being used for? Commercial irrigation?
Also, it may be a loose connection someplace, like the wires themselves or the feed to the panel.


Resting joist hanger on top plate? I'm building a lumber-framed office inside a commercial warehouse. It's essentially an 8' x 30' x 9' box with a ceiling and "second floor" made of 2x6" joists, with 2x6" rim joists resting on top of the two 2x4" walls. Note that the second floor will only be used for light storage.

Because one wall of the office is up against the wall of the warehouse, I can't end-nail the joists. I could toe-nail the joists, but I want to use metal hangers instead. Is there any problem with doing do, even though the rim joist and the hangers will be resting on the top plate?

Building Construction

The back wall of the building is a decorative cinder block. I’ll anchor the top of my walls to the back wall.

The front wall is large steel studs. I bolted the top of the outer wall to one of those studs (although it was out of plumb, so there's about a 1" gap at the bottom).

I’ll bolt the inner wall, too, but haven't gotten to it yet (have to find the stud behind it and drill, then use some kind of toggle):

I'm tying the rim joists to the top plate with Simpson TA9ZKT staircase angles every 5':

I see no problem with that.  The wall below takes all the weight. All you need is something to keep the joist in place and from falling over.  Hangers would certainly do that.


How can I filter iron out of kiddie pool water? Our well water is high in iron. In the house, we put salt with an iron remover into our water softener. The outside bibs don't run through the water softener, however. The other day we filled up the kiddie pool for the first time and after a while the water turned orange.

Is there any way to either filter the iron out or to prevent the water from turning orange?

I have this exact same problem. The only option I have found is to use a chemical additive to precipitate out the the iron and then do lots of filter cartridge changes. Luckily, the cartridges don't seem to be deteriorated by the orange stuff, and you can just swap two of them every 12 hours and wash them off with the garden hose. If you have a full size filter, you will just need to do a backwash every day or two.

It also helps to get in the pool and stir up all the precipitate off the bottom so that it can be captured by the filter...there's nothing in there that will harm you, it's just orange.


Thermal resistance of NM cable Can NM (AKA "Romex") cable reliably sustain contact with hot water pipe so that the water pipe never gets so hot as to melt the insulation and pick up electric current?

I'm crossing pipes and cable at 90° and it's hard to avoid contact.

NMB is rated for 90c so your water pipe should not be a problem, if running in close contact you would have to derate the ampacity but crossing at a 90 it should not be a problem, I would throw a chunk or piece of insulation in between just to be extra safe.


How to Insulate a Garage Ceiling I'm based in NJ and want to convert my attached garage in to a home gym.  I just started insulating the exterior walls and will plan on hanging drywall over them when I am done.  The shared living wall is already insulated and covered with fire rated drywall from the builder.
My question is about the ceiling of the garage.  There is a small attic space on top of the garage but I  want to begin to insulate the ceiling above it  however I am not sure what type of insulation to use.  I am not planning on drywalling the ceiling so can I use paper faced insulation?  If the paper facing if not covered is it a fire hazard? so do I just use unfaced?  If I used unfaced do I need to add a vapor barrier?
Many Thanks

When using fiberglass insulation, the conditioned space needs be air-sealed.  This eliminates drafts, losing heat, and reducing the amount of moisture going through the insulation.  This is why they recommend caulking all light fixtures on the top story of a home.  I am sure that using the paper-backed batts would help create a seal of some sort and offer some R-value, but you would be losing heat through all the little gaps between the joists and the batts.  Would stapling plastic up be possible?
Warmer air is going to rise and make its way to the attic space.  The air under the roof sheathing needs to remain cold, or ice dams is a real concern.  Are you planning on heating this area?  If so, the air leaving the attic space needs a way to be replaced by COLD air, not by pulling warm moist air from below.
I have my garage door and walls insulated, but not the ceiling.  I run a 240 volt heater in it so that I can play my golf simulator in the winters, here in Ohio.  I don't have any issues with moisture on the walls or ceiling and the attic above has soffit vents to allow cold air to get pulled into that space.  I plan on insulating the ceiling as well.
If you run a heater that burns a fuel, it will produce water vapor.  I advise against that.  I find that my garage is 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature as the heat from the one interior wall migrates into the space.  I would not doubt if insulating the ceiling would add another 10 degrees.
If I were in your position, I would use the paper faced insulation and an electric heater while I worked out.  Just keep an eye on the moisture in the air.  If you have an issue, you will see it condense on the walls or the facing of the insulation.


How can I tell if I have interior or exterior drain tile? Is it possible to tell which one you have? Here is a picture of my sump pit, the pipe is facing in towards the inside of the house:

Here is a picture of my foundation blueprints:

It appears the drain tile is on the inside next to the foundation wall footing. But I can't be sure because the blueprints also say it's a concrete block wall and it's actually poured. So I'm not sure how to tell. Is it possible to know?

Yes.  You can look for yourself!  Trim back the corrugated tubing a bit, then run a usb borescope camera down it.


Is my furnace fresh air intake correctly installed at my apartment? I have a furnace with an uncovered air intake. I cant imagine it is pulling very much fresh air in through the duct because it is uncovered. I am wondering, is this correct? I believe there should be some grill covering this. Should I cover the outside panel so that most air is being pulled through the duct?
Outside:

Intake:

Duct work:

Overview:

It's hard to tell from your photos, but I believe that duct is a passive makeup air system.
When the furnace goes on it needs to exhaust gasses out the flue. For it to be able to exhaust gasses it needs to recover fresh air.
Most buildings have plenty of little leaks which can let air get back in. But some new homes are built with sealed building envelopes, trying to keep the home bottled up. This presents a problem for gas burning appliances (or any exhaust appliance for that matter).
Ducting in from the roof will allow the furnace to recover air, but it's unlikely to seriously impact your thermal envelope.
If your home were "too air tight" then your furnace wouldn't work.


New Pressure Treated boards are wider than existing ones I am adding to a deck that is framed with 2"x10" beams and joists.
I bought new Pressure Treated boards to add to it, but have found that the new boards are 9-7/16" versus the 9-1/4" on the existing ones.
Is the difference because they are new?

That is because the new boards are still "wet" with the pressure treatment and are new. Once they dry out, in a few months, they will be the same size or close to it. Lay out the deck with the boards but don't screw them down yet. Let them dry out, flipping them over often. I let mine dry out for 12 weeks. Don't seal them yet either.