I need a neat solution for lifting a floor boarded trap door I've just had a 'trap door' replaced in a floor boarded floor.

The previous trap door just had a couple of finger holes in it to lift it out, however:

This was not particularly neat
The trap door is a bit too heavy for this to be an easy task.

Now I have the new trap door in place (the floor itself has actually been replaced, hence the new trap door) I'd like to install a better way of lifting the hatch out.

The trap door itself is made of the same floor joists as the surrounding floor and has been floor boarded with the same floor boards as the surrounding floor.

I have looked at marine flush lifting handles, but my concern is that they would need a recess cut into the floor boards to fit them flush (I don't have a router, so it would be a hammer and chisel job!) and they would need to be installed directly over the joists that make up the trap door frame to give a solid enough fixing to lift the weight of the trap door.

I've also considered eye bolts that could be screwed in whenever I need access under the trap door (not very often). I'd need to find some kind of flush mounting nut or something that I could install under the trap door for the eye bolts to screw into, though, and I can't find anything suitable.

Finally I also thought about using manhole lifting keys or similar, and putting some kind of slot in the trap door. The problem then is making it something neat rather than just drilling a hole the correct shape for the keys to slot into.

I'm sure I must be missing something and there must be a better way of doing this.

You are looking for t-nuts

These would work with your removable eye-bolts

Personally I would use the marine flush lifting handles, but they are more work to fit.


Cable conduit catches water? Below is the picture of how the ISP cable enters my house. Just wondering where all the rain water that gets into the same conduit goes? Doesn't seem right that no measures were taken to prevent water from getting in.

It needs to have a cap to keep out rocks, not rain.

Outdoor conduit is supposed to be full of water. That is normal and you are expected to select wires which are designed for that.

To set expectations correctly, I recommend pouring a cup of water into every outdoor conduit! It will happen anyway.


Will this supply list work for a 60 amp service? I'm installing a 60 amp inside sub-panel roughly 65 feet total distance from the 200 amp main to my guest house. I will be encasing into 1" pvc conduit direct burial at 24" depth and with two 90 degree elbows.

The panel being used is a GE Model# TLM812SCUD1K 125-Amp Main Lug Load Center 8-Space 16-Circuit,
with a GE Model# TGK12CP Load Center Ground Bar Kit.
I will be using a GE Q-line-Thql Model# THQL2160 60-Amp 2-Pole Standard Trip Circuit Breaker.
The wire will be SIM pull-6-AWG Stranded White Copper THHN Wire 65 feet for neutral,
SIM pull 6-AWG Stranded Black Copper THHN Wire 130 feet for the hots and
SIM pull-10-AWG Stranded Green Copper THHN Wire- 65 feet for the equipment ground.

It will be used for lighting and outlets in a 1,224 ft area. Thanks in advance.

You can't have two same feeders to an outbuilding

To be more precise, you cannot have two feeders if the voltage is the same.  So for instance you are allowed to have a 120/240V feeder, and then a 120V-only feeder.  But not dual 120/240 feeders.

Check with your AHJ if you can have a 120/240V feeder and a 240V-only feeder and move all your 240V-only loads there, however there are scant few 240-only loads (water heater, A/C) and 240-only panels are very confusing to "the next guy" who is likely to not realize it's a 240-only panel and land a neutral on the ground bus out of habit.

Option 1, the "right" way:

Abandon the existing feeder, this may be for the best if it is 3-wire feeder.  Run a large 120/240V feeder that covers all the house's needs, and make the existing subpanel a sub-sub-panel of what you're installing now.  So 2 more spaces needed (see how fast they go?)

Option 2: The "cheap" way:

Downgrade this circuit to 120V-only, and wire the new subpanel as a 120V-only panel. You would run one single hot in conduit, and split it to land it on both lugs of the shutoff switch (which is probably a breaker of some kind).   It cannot support 240V loads and must not use MWBCs.

However at 120V, you need to flow twice the amps for the same power - so where a 60A/120-240V service is needed you need a 125A service of 120V only.  Or not, depending on your load calcs.   Also, at 120V, you have twice the voltage drop, which starts to matter at this distance, so if your expected actual loads will be within 40% of the breaker size, upsize your wire 2 numerical sizes. Also, with wire sizes larger than #6 you should really switch to aluminum feeder, which requires upsizing 2 numerical wire sizes.  "You're gonna need a bigger conduit!"

One more thing: if you a sending two feeders over, the old and new panel must be right next to each other.  This is due to the "Rule of Six": you must be able to cut all power to the building with less than 6 switch throws, and those must be obvious, and in one location.

The rest of this answer was written before I realized you already had a 120/240V feeder going to the outbuilding.

Reasonable, but... That panel is way, way too small

Far and away the #1 panel question we get is "I am out of panel spaces, what can I do?" The sad thing is, the price differential for larger panels is just crazy small - a couple of bucks per space.  Whoever installed their too-small panel, got a few pizzas with the savings.  Whoo whoo. And now the homeowner has a $2000 problem.

This isn't a tiny house with trailer wheels under it. At 1200sf it's a real, full sized house, and needs a proper panel.  My go-to panel is 42 space, but since you have a mind toward small, consider 30 space, but that is absolutely the smallest I'd go. Seriously.

"I can use thise 2 breakers/1 space double-stuff breakers". Not anymore. Almost every circuit these days needs AFCI, GFCI or both, and those breakers do not come in double-stuff.

Since it is an outbuilding, it needs a main shutoff switch, but does not need a main breaker.  The cheapest way to get a shutoff switch is use a panel with a main breaker, as you propose.  The main breaker can be of any size, and does not need to be the same size as the supply breaker. In fact, making it the same size is pointless, since it isn't really possible to "sequence breakers" so the local one trips first.  Murphy's Law says the main-house breaker will trip first anytime it is raining. :)

So I recommend a 30-42 space panel with a built in main breaker of any size (commonly 200A on a panel with that many spaces)... So the panel has an obvious main, unlike these backfed jobs where you can't tell which is the main. Nice if it comes with accessory ground bars so you don't have to buy those. Also look for packs that include "bonus breakers".  Larger panels come with more bonus breakers, that alone can pay for the difference in cost.

That panel you specced is actually a 6 space panel.  For your shutoff switch, you specced a retrofittable "main breaker", and that actually is nothing more than a backfed breaker, meaning it sits in the main breaker area, taking 2 of the 8 spaces (And must be strapped down with the THQLRK2 Retainer kit).  It would have been desperately small and you would have regretted it the first time you tried to add a circuit.  I get where that panel was $20, but not after you add the grounding bars, the "main" breaker and the THQLRK2 kit.

A too-small panel means having to double-up on circuits too much, and making sacrifices like having clump the fridge onto kitchen receptacle circuits, so being unable to dedicate a non-GFCI circuit for the fridge. (Another frequent question we get, "how do I stop my fridge from tripping GFCIs?"). There are so many ways to dramatically improve usability of house wiring and it doesn't cost more than a latte.

And think ahead on that conduit

1" will get the job done today, but will foreclose on ever upgrading the power or using cheaper aluminum wire.  It may also be a difficult pull, and where that gets ya is if you find the pull too difficult, you end up having to call the professionals.  They won't do just the pull, they'll insist on doing the whole job soup to nuts.  Suddenly you have a $1000 electrician bill, but grats, you saved $50 on pipe.

PVC is the cheap stuff, but price it several ways - I would prefer 2" because that is when the price increment starts getting steep. But as a bare minimum, 1-1/4 so that the service could be bumped to 100A in the future.

Do remember comms cable cannot go in the same conduit with mains power, so if you want comms out there, think about dropping a parallel 1/2" conduit into the trench.


Low water level in the bowl of the toilet after flushing I have 3 toilets in the house. The one in the basement I recently (about 6 months ago) replaced so that they are now all 3 the same (american standard low flow).  It was working fine until about 10 days ago.  When I flush it the water stays in the bowl and then fairly quickly drains out until there is not enough water to fill the bottom.  When it is draining I can hear the water draining.  I have added water to the bowl and it too drains quickly down to the point where the bottom of the bowl is not completely covered.  I have plunged it multiple times to no avail.  Every once in a while it will flush (somewhat) but not as it did when I first put it in.  I am the only one who uses this one (just the wife and I) and nothing fell into it.  I do use a cleaning tablet (Clorox cleaner) that is in the tank (it dissolves over time) and it is not obstructing the flapper.  We have owned the house for 22 years and this is the first time I have had an issue with any of the toilets.

If you have a plugged sewer vent or a plug in a line to the vent, then water can get sucked out of the trap in the toilet. I believe that this is the reason low water in the bowl occasionally occurs in plumbing that has no permanent fault.

I just poured a bucket of water into a properly operating toilet and the water drains down to a very low level in the toilet. So this is normal. The water supply system in the tank is supposed to continue a gentle flow into the bowl after the flush is finished to raise the level in the bowl to the height that the design of the toilet trap allows. In your malfunctioning toilet the water supply may not be directing the flow through the small flexible hose into the overflow tube. With the tank lid off compare a flush in the basement toilet to a flush in one of the properly operating toilets.


Old wiring - no hot in switch box - possible switch loop? I have an odd issue... hence why I'm here! I am replacing an old ceiling fan with a standard light fixture.  The house was built in 77, so there is a bundle of wires up in the ceiling j-box with one 2-wire run to the switch.  After removing the fan, I have NO hot wire in the switch box.  tying the third black wire to the load bundle in the ceiling pops the breaker when the switch is hit. I'm hoping one of you can help provide some clarity for me on how to wire up a simple light fixture to this complexity of wiring.

I think the problem is that you have the white wire which is the return of the switch leg tied into the neutrals. This creates a direct short when the switch is thrown.

Find the white that's in the cable for the switch loop, mark it with black tape (because it's technically a hot), and use it as the hot for your fan. Connect the fan's neutral wire to the white bundle. Then you can put all black wires together.

The third black wire is probably an outgoing branch for another light or outlets. I think this is your scenario (you can reverse black and white in the switch loop if you label the white with tape):

Image attribution


How can I get rid of the knocking sound behind my wall when I turn any tap in the house on or off? When we turn any of our taps on or off it creates a set pattern of three knocks behind the main bedroom wall. We have a steel framed house. How can we eliminate this sound?

the pipes are loose and you are hearing water hammer securing the pipes can fix the problem. another fix is to install a absorber link to one at home depot so you can see what I was referring to.


Caulk wont stick to baseboards I have used Sherwin William and DAP caulk but it keeps peeling away from my baseboards.
What is a good type of caulk that will not separate from the baseboards? The baseboards are painted with Sherwin Williams Divine White semi-gloss paint. This will make the 3rd time I've replaced the caulking.

If the caulking isn't applying to the paint, you can try scuffing the paint just below the top of where the caulking would affix with 120 grit sand paper. However if the floor is moving it could be pulling the caulking further than it is designed to stretch. For the latter issue, is your goal:

Aesthetic, you prefer to have a seamless transition between the floor and the baseboard

Sealing, you need a water or airtight finish?

For aesthetic reasons like an uneven floor with minimal vertical movement, you can try using quarter-round to follow the contour of the floor. Or remove the baseboard altogether and scribe the bottom of the baseboard to match the contour of the floor, then cut and sand to fit.
For aesthetic reasons like a moving floor that slips horizontally, or a need to have a watertight/airtight seal, remove the baseboard and use clear silicone bead against the wall and floor. Then apply a vinyl/rubber baseboard with some pressure on the bottom lip that will allow for flex. You could also use a rigid baseboard as pictured, that is scribed and cut to shape to match the contour of the floor, then reapplied as the silicone bead is still wet. Silicone has some flex in it and when done "blindly" will tolerate movement better than face sealing.
If the floor is meant to be floating, like many wood laminate snap together floors, and some linoleum floors, you may not be able to use caulking for a seal at all. If water/air tight seal is required, the floorboard may need to be raised slightly and a closed cell foam or rubber strip is used to make the seal, then concealed behind a quarter-round face at the bottom of the baseboard. This is why many commercial baseboard applications are done with vinyl baseboards, which can accomplish a degree of both water tightness and flexibility for floor movement.


How can I remove residue left from peel and stick tiles? I have old peel and stick vinyl tiles coming up off my vinyl flooring. I want to keep the floor underneath.

What gets rid of glue residue but is safe to use in house?

The approach is usually progressive. You try a less aggressive cleaner to see if it works, and if not, then move on to a more aggressive. At some point, you may find that the cleaner damages the surface, so test in an inconspicuous area.

I would use paper towels and a mild scrubbing pad, and I would use cleaners in the following order:

a soap based cleaner, such as Murphy's Oil Soap
strong household cleaner with grease cutter, such as Formula 409
a residue remover, such as Goo-Gone
a mild solvent, such as denatured alcohol
a stronger solvent, such as mineral spirits
a mild stripper, such as a citrus based product
a very strong solvent, such as acetone or lacquer thinner (but at this point you are almost sure to damage the surface of the flooring finish).


Wildfire smoke : old electronic air cleaner or normal pleated filter better? The house we live in has an old electronic air cleaner attached to the furnance. It's a Honeywell F50E 1182. We have lots of wildfire smoke in the PNW right now and am wondering if using this system or putting a regular pleated insert in like they do in this video would be better at filtering out wildfire smoke. I have a 20x20x4 filter I could put in if so.

Smoke particles are on the order of 1 micron.  A "pleated" filter is good down to about 3-5 microns so NO, that will not filter out the smoke.  Some will get through.
What you need is a HEPA filter, which usually involves adding a HEPA filter unit into your system and these are effective down to about 0.3 microns.


How to properly ground a subpanel in detached building? I Will be installing a subpanel in a detached garage. The subpanel will be 60 amp. The garage is about 30' from the main-panel in-house, and I will of course get an exact length before selecting the proper gauge wiring. I'll be using pvc underground for the wiring. There is already existing wiring going underground from the house to the garage, which will no longer be used. When it comes to grounding this subpanel, should I run a grounding conductor from the main panel to the new sub, or ground the sub to earth?

Reading this answer sounds like I would have to ground the subpanel to the main, primarily because in my situation this is a new install. All other variables I have control over.

If so, I would be running 4 wires from the main panel to the sub, 2 hots, 1 neutral, and 1 ground correct?
Then, at the subpanel, the ground bus bar and the neutral bus bar would not be connected, and the grounding screw removed from the ground bus bar?
Lastly, a GFCI Breaker must be used at the main, right? I believe this is true for any subpanel in a detached building, just want to be sure.

Pull 4 conductors (2 ungrounded (hot), 1 grounded (neutral), 1 grounding) (250.32(B)(1)).
Grounded (neutral) and grounding bus must be separate at sub-panel (250.32(B)(1)).
No need for a GFCI breaker in the main panel, unless your local code requires it.
A grounding electrode system is required at the second structure (250.32(A)).


Is there a way to remove the mildew smell from under tile without damaging the tile? We live in a rental.  The toilet was leaking when we arrived.  Landlord paid for a plumber to do a simple repair, but before that, there was definitely water pooling underneath the tile (and seeping through the grout in some areas when you stepped on the tile.  The correct thing to do, I suspect, is to re-do the tile and clean up the mess.  However, our landlord will not agree to this and I don't have the time / funds to do the project right now.  I'm wondering if there is a temporary way to get rid of the mold / mildew under the tiles.  You can guess what I'm thinking: pour disinfectant all over the grout and tile and hope it seeps backwards and kills all the mold.  I have enough sense, at least, to ask if there's a chance this may work (with the right product) and also whether there's a better temporary fix.  Thank you!

2013-12-10 Edit: Thank you to those who provided advice. I thought I would update: I took no action and slowly (maybe a month or two), the smell went away.

If your renting, your only concern, I would think, is the smell.  If there is a smell it will disappear as soon as the water dries up.  When I fixed my mothers house the smell was supposedly there for years. It was caused by a slowly leaking toilet. When it was fixed, it took some weeks for the floor to completely dry, and the smell went away.  You may have other problems later like dry rot, and mold dust if you ever remove the tile.  SO don't.  If the smell continues then there is still a leak somewhere. Tell the landlord to repair it again.


Shower light blinks immediately after vent fan is turned off When I turn "off" my bathroom vent fan, my shower light turns on momentarily until the fan stops spinning.

Both the light and the fan are wired in parallel on the same circuit.

If I drop the shower light (Utilitech 65-Watt Dimmable LED Recessed Retrofit Downlight) suspended in the air (i.e. the three prongs no longer touch the can), the problem goes away.  If I push it back in the can, the problem returns.

At this point I've ruled out everything but paranormal activity.

First, "until the fan stops spinning" is straightforward enough — a simple AC motor that is spinning but without power applied will act as a generator, supplying the electricity that the switched supply isn't any more. The higher efficiency of LED lighting — and the electronic LED driver circuits used — mean that they can run from lower voltages where an incandescent bulb would be too dim to see.

If your light and fan were on the same switch, this would be enough to explain things. But you imply they aren't because you say the light turns on rather than that it was already on.

There must be something electrically weird going on beyond what I've described so far, to completely explain things. I would suggest updating your question with photos of the interior of the fan and the light pulled apart, and if you have any type of “smart” switch rather than a simple toggle, give the details of that.


Temperature stabilizer problem In my 1 room + bathroom apartment in Germany, these mechanisms (searching Google by them didn't name them) exist:

in bathroom, and in the room, there is this:

When I am taking a (long?) shower, these mechanisms seem to communicate and exchange air, in order to balance the temperature between the room and the WC, I guess.

The problem is that the mechanism in the room is above the desk with my laptop, and outputs cold air, making it dangerous to sit in the desk just after the shower, since I might get cold. I have to wait ~10mins, and the mechanism stops.

Can I minimize the time the mechanism emits air in this specific scenario?

If yes, how? The key parameter in this, seems to be the door of the bathroom. Leave it open after exiting the bathroom, or close it?

My few experiments show that closing the door makes the mechanism stop earlier, I think... However, this contradicts my assumption that the mechanism exchange air (since leaving the door open should help in balancing the temperature)..

Hello to the community! I read the Help Center, and it seems that my question is OK for here-if not, please let me know!

My guess is that it is an Air Conditioner being used as a dehumidifier to prevent the buildup of moisture in your WC. That is why you are feeling a cold air stream on the other side. Modifying it would likely be cause for eviction as it could allow mold growth in the wet areas. I would look into fabricating some sort of deflector to keep the air stream from coming right down onto your desk. Cardboard and duct tape would suffice, just don't actually block the air flow, all you need do is direct it elsewhere.


How to eliminate odor from crawl space I'm trying to eliminate damp odor originating from a crawl space.

Here's the situation:

Half of the house has a basement.  The other half is a crawl space   accessible from the basement through an access opening.  The access opening and another "vent" opening share the crawl space air with the basement.
The crawl space is surrounded by foundation walls with no windows.  The floor is stones covered with overlapping heavy-duty plastic sheets (nothing is sealed).
There are two HVAC zones.  The basement has one air handler for that half of the house, including air vets and a return in the basement.  The crawl space has an air handler for its half of the house.  It, too, has vents and a return in the crawl space to ventilate the crawl space.
The house is adjacent to a community water catchment area and the water table gets high during rainy periods.  There is a sump pump in the basement that is fed from the gravel layer under the basement floor, and it runs continuously in periods of wet weather.  There is a foundation wall and footer between the basement and crawl space, so I suspect the crawl space doesn't drain to the sump pump.
The house in in good shape in terms of exterior water (the rain gutters are good and discharge far from the house, and the grading is OK).  There are no signs of water in the basement.

Here's the problem.  During wet weather, the crawl space gets a "wet ground" smell that wafts out of the stone floor.  The HVAC return picks it up and adds it to the household air on that side of the house.  So half of the house gets the aroma.

I stuck a dehumidifier in the crawl space but it doesn't affect the smell.  The air handler has an electrostatic air cleaner, but that doesn't filter smells.  So I'm looking for a solution to keep the aroma out of the household area.

What I've considered:

I could seal the crawl space return, but that would starve the air handler of 1/3 of its air volume.  Or I could duct it to the vent hole in the basement wall and pull better air.  However, I would need to close the vents in the crawl space or it would just circulate the crawl space air by a longer route to the return.  So again, there's an air volume problem.
If I isolate the HVAC from the crawl space air, the crawl space will no longer be ventilated.  I assume the odor would become worse in the crawl space, possibly even a mold problem.
I'm not sure how practical it would be to seal the floor.  There is no way to get concrete or any heavy material into the crawl space.  Maybe adding another layer of plastic sheeting would help if there's a way to seal it and seal it to the walls (duct tape?).  The floor area is on the order of 1,400 sq. ft., so it isn't a trivial area to seal.
I thought about putting a sump pump in the crawl space.  However, There is probably 3 1/2' to 4' of gravel to get below the basement floor level to where the water actually is, and the sump pit would go below that.  So it would be more of a well than a sump pit.  I can pump the water out, but the ground will still be wet, so I'm not sure that would affect the odor.
I've seen various deodorizer products you stick in the ductwork.  They get very mixed reviews.

Any recommendations on how to solve the problem?

A similar problem in my home was resolved by installing a small muffin fan to exhaust the air outside. A 50 cfm was more than adequate, so I added a series inductor (ballast) to reduce electrical usage and noise. A timer was also tried, but running full-time at low speed was more effective in reducing odors. If you live in an area where radon is an issue (e.g. over granite), this also reduces the amount getting into the house.

Wire through a GFIC, since this would be a wet location!

Disadvantages:

A hole is needed for mounting the fan.
The fan uses a small amount of electricity continuously.
The fan may make noise.
A small amount of air may be pulled into the house, raising HVAC costs.

So far, this has eliminated the smell in the house and has reduced humidity in the enclosed area (storage room rather than a crawl space), without noticeable impact on utility bills.


Clamp meter with armored cable I am considering a purchase of a clap meter but its initial purpose would be to test a circuit branch that is an ancient armored cable without ground, aluminum wire, cloth insulated (the house was built in 1909).  I am curious whether the clamp meter will work through metal sheathing.

Clamp meters need to be clamped around a single conductor, they will not work if clamped around the entire cable.  You would need to clamp around a place where a single conductor is exposed without the metal armor, usually in the main breaker panel or at a receptacle, switch or junction box.


How can I install a regular light fixture where a ceiling fan used to be? Removed an old ceiling fan. There was one wall switch that only controlled the lights. The fan portion could be on regardless of wall switch position (by pullchain on the unit).
I'm left with two bundles of black-white-bare 3-wire hanging out of my ceiling (one is labeled "sw", for switch, I assume) The bare ground wires from each bundle were twisted together, but I'm not sure anything else was.

I untwisted the ground wires from each other.

Now, attempting to wire the new fixture, the bundle labeled for the switch won't power the fixture when I wire it up. When I wire the fixture to the other bundle instead, it is just on full time and I can't turn it off.

Recommendations?

You probably should have paid more attention to what was connected to what. In all likelihood, the "sw" bundle has a wire that was carrying hot (power) from the unswitched wire at the fixture to the light switch, and the other wire was returning that power from the switch. The switched wire should be but often is not re-colored red in that application (ie, a back/white/ground cable running to a switch should have red tape or paint on the white wire ends if it's a "switched hot" rather than a neutral.)

That does not meet current code (which requires a neutral wire at the switch) but met older codes and was very common (a switch loop.)

As such, the expected configuration that will probably work if things are wired normally would be cable blacks together, white from unswitched cable to white on fixture, white (recolored red for clarity) from switched cable to black on fixture, and grounds all together.


Adaptor for 6-awg wire to wire receptable I need to wire in a receptacle for a sump pump,115v, 15 amp. The run from the fuse box to the receptacle is 200' so #6-2 wire was used. The #6 wire is too thick for the terminals. What do I us to make this work??

Wire nut a #14 or #12 pigtail to the incoming wire and screw to the receptacle. Just make sure to use the right wire nuts. A quick look at the Ideal catalog and it looks like typically these will be Blue or Blue/Gray, but check the specs to be sure.


Remodeling 1950's home This is a single story home with a gable roof. I went in the attic and do not see a beam over the wall in question.  The wall in question is in between the kitchen and living room and there also is a fireplace on that wall.  I want to remove half of the wall, to the fireplace, to open the kitchen up.   There was a pocket door, hence the header mid way in the picture. Do you think it is load bearing from the construction behind the plaster?

If the roof trusses run parallel as that wall it's most likely not load bearing.
if the roof trusses run parallel to that wall and there is not a truss directly above the wall, it's not load bearing.
If the trusses run perpendicular to that wall, then the wall might be load bearing.
If the trusses run perpendicular to that wall and end directly above it or overlap slightly directly above that wall then it's definitely load bearing.

Based on the info you've provided, that's the best we can do.


Priming for smudge coverup I have some deep toned stain smudge over semigloss white. Should I just

paint white semigloss over it, or
Prime regular white primer, then paint, or
Prime gray primer, then paint?

Or something fourth?

If you  can't clean the smudges off I would seal the stain. I would use Bin or Kilz or other similar product. They are a shellac like product that seals the stain. This is important to keep the stain from bleeding through the new paint. After the sealer has cured you can prime and paint.


Wiring embedded at the bottom of a wall The white wall is a party wall in a row house - my plan was just to repair the plaster on the wall.  The other wall is an exterior wall that is plaster on brick and mortar. I plan to put up some 2 polyiso board with the wiring underneath as well.  Also I will put a new hardwood floor after it is all done.  Just want to make sure I am not doing a major no no in regards to the wiring.

If not is the some I can do with the wiring before I finish the walls?

You see that 90 degree bend the wire takes in corner?  That would be cause to have the wire rerouted.  If the casing shows any sign of having been crimped that would be cause to have it replaced.

Since we know the wire needs to be rerouted, how it is rerouted should take care of the issue of protecting it from nails and other sources of damage.


High elevation non- pv Burnham boiler with Tejurland powerventer installed at sea level I have a 203ncl-tei2 boiler installed in danvers Massachusetts. This town is at sea level, not 2000k miles up. This boiler also has a failed tejurland (universal control) powerventer motor on it that is only humming, not spinning. I Looked for a dead animal, or nest that would stop the squirrel cage connected to the motor from spinning freely and it was clear. Ontop of the boiler we have a factory automatic damper assy. Johnson controls or similar. I call burnham and ask what the original power venter model number is and they tell me what some pros may already know, (i didnt), that the tei2 in the model number is actually (t)taco, (el)elevation, (2) 2 is 2,000 ft

.Note:he was not.100% sure about the el. He was definetly sure PV would be in the model number and it was not tejurland. There is no chimney on this house, never was. The Power venter wall thimble outside is very old definetly older than the 1 year old motor that failed. Burnham also said this is not a boiler that can be converted to a powerventer which is something i do not understand because he said if it does not have pv in the model number it should not have one. Period. I am not questioning Burnham they help me out on a regular basis but no one is perfect. I have in the past converted a boiler with a factory reccomended power venter after a customer lost the chimney. I called burnham and got lucky they had an option for that specific boiler i was working on that day. i also remember seeing it in the install manual as an addendum or seperate manual, but i am not 100% sure if it was burnham or U.S. Boiler.

Is this a fact with U.S. Boiler?

Anyone have experience with this?

What are the ramifications of an elevated boiler installed at sea level? Other than it taking longer to produce heat? , burnham said the elevation was not a big deal as its been working fine for almost 20   years.

If i can not find another awnser, i will have to tell the customer they need a new boiler or i will have to walk away. Thank you in advance for your help.

I'm not clear on what you need repair help or a help deciding how to deal with the situation. Any burner, be it oil, propane or whatever at high elevation needs to be derated. So for gas, smaller orfus sizes. So if the boiler was designed for 2000 foot elevation it should be under firing at sea level. But in this case with your 203ncl-tei2 it's up to 2000 feet elevation most gas burners are factory 0-2000 feet from the factory including this one.

Boiler information

Www.ecomfort.com

The guys at Burnham are telling you that it is not approved for power vent. That just means that it was not tested for the application, which means it's not to code, no matter what. That also means you are liable for any harm or damage if you are aware of the issue. That doesn't explicitly exclude a aftermarket add-on power ventor. The aftermarket manufacturer can give approval for the specific model and assume liability, but you would need documentation. If I'm ever in that situation I will inform the customer and depending on my gut feel about them (or how well I know them) I will red tag it and give them a couple of options for replacement or do the repair and tell them that I was never there. I would only do the latter if I really know them well and I'm confident that it's safe. So basically, tag it. If the motor is humming and has the right voltage and the cap (if equiped) is good it's the motor. But I wouldn't change it. I'm in Canada and our codes for HVAC are more strict than in the US so it's hard for me to say to you that you should decommission the unit in the middle of winter but if the s*** hits the fan you don't want to be holding the bag.


Please help me with temperature alarm system I have a temperature alarm system in my office store room installed approximate 10 years ago by Siemens. This system gives a phone call to my mobile phone when the temperature goes above 25 degree Celsius. We have a dedicated land phone connection for this purpose. It stopped working a couple of days ago. I contacted Siemens, but they quoted me an unaffordable amount just for inspecting it (repair cost extra). So I want to repair it myself.

This system has an electronic mother board, which is connected to a modem (US robotics 56K message modem) through a 9 pin to 25 pin parallel cable (usually found in old printers). This modem is connected to a telephone line. I checked the telephone line with a normal phone and there is dial tone and I can make call from that (I have paid the bills). When I checked the modem all the lights are off. I planned to change the modem but shop keepers are telling me that this is model is discontinued and no longer available in the market. But one of the shop keepers told me that he can arrange it from abroad but for a very high price.

My question is that, do you think that simply changing the modem will help? Do modems need programming like we do with home internet routers? (If yes I can’t do it myself). Where do you think my mobile number is programmed? (on modem or on the Siemens controller).

If the modem is the only problem, replacing it might well solve the problem. As for finding a particular model of old modem at a non-outrageous price - ebay; sometime patience is needed for a very specific model or to get it at a non-absurd price, but generally modems are pretty cheap there.

Where the number is programmed - to be certain, you'd need a serial cable splitter so you can see what's going to the modem (connecting a computer so you can view the traffic between the modem and the controller.) Most likley it's in the controller, and a dialing command is being sent to the modem, but some fancier models of modem did have number-storage abilities, if I dimly recall the state of 15 years ago correctly.

You might very well find that you will be better able to solve the problem with a complete replacement using newer (and currently documented) hardware (telephone dialing temperature alarm or similar for a product search) rather than patching together old equipment - these things become obsolete, and one way to detect that is the absurdly high charge to even look at it.


Setting tack strip in concrete I would like to have carpet installed in the bedroom of my basement apartment which now has a concrete floor. I don't trust the carpet guy with this part because he suggested cutting corners and just gluing it and I don't trust the glue for this application.

I was thinking to drill small holes in the strip, use it as stencil to project spots in the concrete, then drill holes with my jackhammer, set lead anchors and then attach the strip with screws into the anchors. That way the strip is as firm as it would be against an OSB subfloor.

But it also seems a bit labor intensive. Is there a better way to attach carpet tack strip to a concrete floor? Like maybe drilling holes and filling them with some kind of epoxy that nails can be hammered into? That's a little easier but not much.

I have used a combination of construction adhesive and concrete nails. Doing it by drilling and an insert or a concrete screw would be awesome but that is really going to take some time


Placement of inducer for gas hot water tank My sister has lived in her house about 3 years, inspection was fine and no issues since. Hot water tank started leaking, the installer for the new one says that the inducer with double wall b venting is incorrectly placed, because the HWT and furnace vents tie together, then the inducer is next in line. He says he can't fix it, is only a plumber not HVAC, but the inducer should be before the furnace and HWT vents come together. CO detector across the room has never gone off. Opinions appreciated.

Regarding the picture below, if the air flow and identities of everything in the picture is correct, then it looks fine.


what is the best low maintenance finish for a hardwood floor Home made mesquite flooring.  What is the best floor finish?  Low traffic but subject to spills...this is for the man cave.  Installing diy mesquite floor tiles, 4 - 6" width, random lengths.  Aprox 1/4 inch mesquite glued to 3/4 inch construction grade plywood....avoiding voids.

It's hard to beat Polyurethane for durability.  I have had good success with both water based and solvent based versions. Get the stuff made for floors, probably two coats would do you.  You don't want it too smooth or you'll die when it's wet.

That is, unless you have small children, then I would suggest poured concrete ;)


How to remove carriage bolts from a basketball backboard? How can I remove these carriage (or perhaps round head) bolts? (How were they ever tightened to begin with?)  There seems to be no way to access behind the backboard.

There's either some space behind there, or they go right through the wall and the nuts are on the other side of the wall. There may be a compact/flattish bracket (not requiring removal of these bolts to remove the backboard), these pictures are not helpful in assessing that possibility. If there's really no space, get behind that wall and look.


How do I remove the water/temperature control faucet if there are no visible screws? My Delta branded shower faucet doesn't have any screws besides for two that hold the panel independently to the wall.

The handles have no apparent way to be removed.

Can anyone suggest a method that may be used to remove the handle?

I repeat, there is definitely no hole, screw or anything of that sort anywhere on the controls.

Pull the outer temp control knob off, or pry it gently with a pair of non-marring tools from each side.


Replace buried polybutelyne/Qest with Pex Would it be possible to somehow replace buried polybutelyne/Qest with Pex without having to dig?

It would be amazing if I could connect the old Qest to the Pex and pull it through into the house. I would have to loosen the slab around the Qest where it came through the cement but would it be possible?

Is something like this possible for residential use?
https://www.pollardwater.com/pages_product/WW50050.asp

I really don't want to dig up a section of our interior slab just to lay this new pipe.

This is related to this question: Can I avoid the slab and run the new PEX through walls and interstitial space?

That tool you're looking at works in soil. I doubt it would be able to break up a concrete slab as you pull it.

I didn't realize that you were talking about just the main water line. It is very likely that the main runs under the slab. The piping to your fixtures is probably in the slab.

For your main line, the simplest solution is to trench in a new line, but find a more convenient way to get it in to the house, and run the rest of the way from there through walls and ceiling. That way you only have to drill a hole in your slab near an exterior wall.

Or, depending on your climate and local code, you can come up the side of your house and enter through a wall. Here in central Florida, this is a perfectly acceptable solution.


Blockage in bendy pipe I have a problematic pipe that has a blockage.  Problematic for three reasons:

I could not snake through it (I have a 25 feet snake with a manual spin, spent a good while spinning trying to snake through, could not :(
it builds up blockage very quickly (2 months) - now can have only about 5% water in shower than usual to avoid flooding
no clean out cap/access point around the bendy area (red circle)

Can someone please suggest:

a) short term/quick fixes I can do?

b) solutions (expensive/inexpensive) that a plumber may be able to do?

Note that there's not much of a drop from shower drain level to the soil pipe level (because of the storage door and where soil pipe is located).  See below.

Note also that the pipe is all glued up. Can't disconnect anywhere in order to take out the blockage.

Very many thanks for any comments/answers,

Ben

I'd suggest the following (apologies for the crude drawing).

From left-to-right:

extend pipe out past the black pipe
attach yellow clean-out elbow (not 90 degree!...use a sweep (yellow))
this will be angled down aiming towards the run along the other wall
connect the sweep to the other pipe using two 45 degree elbows (purple)

Sweep with cleanout:

45 degree elbow:

That should:

remove any 90 degree turns (never a good thing in a drain)
reduce turns in general (from 5 to 3)
give you a 'snake-able' cleanout entry point.

While you're at it, I'd also move upstream to that inside corner 90 degree angle and replace that with a 90 degree sweep as well.


Garden hose pressure relief valve? For many reasons I have a long run of garden hose exposed to the sun. The  water source is always on but the outlet opens and closes intermittently. Some times the water doesn't flow for many hours.  On really bright hot days the hose sometimes bursts. Is there an inline pressure relief valve I can put into the hose to prevent the raised pressure from bursting the line?  This has happened several times to date.

Summing up some comments so this question has an answer.

If the hose valve is always on there's no way for pressure to build up inside the hose.  If there was an increase in pressure, water would back up into the house plumbing to equalize the pressure.  If there was a backflow preventing valve an increase in pressure would cause that valve to drain water until the pressure equalized.

So, the water increasing in pressure is not the issue.  The hose material heating up and becoming more flexible is probably the cause.  If that is the cause, installing a pressure regulator on the hose could help because it would reduce the starting pressure of the water.  In other words, if your hose pressure is at 50psi and that is fine for a cold hose but causes fatigue in a hot hose, then a regulator could bring that pressure down to 30psi.  Maybe a hot hose can deal with 30psi just fine.

This would mean less pressure at the point of use and probably less water flow but you didn't state what the hose is for.  The best solution is going to be to replace the hose with something more suited to heat and sunlight like an outdoor PEX or UV safe PVC.  Something like irrigation pipe is not that expensive.


Alt hot white and red wires, neutral black? How to connect motion detector switch I'm replacing a standard switch with a Hubbell ws2000w. The light is on a 3 way, I'm only replacing one of the switches.  The hubbell switch has a black (line), red (load), green (ground) and yellow (traveler) wire.  My switch seems to be off.  It was wired white (alt line), red (alt line), black (neutral??), and copper (ground).

I used my multimeter to read 120 voltage on the incoming line. That's how I got the 0 reading on the black wire when the second switch was in both positions. The white and red would switch hot based on switch two's position.

Nothing is marked on the line for the switched neutral but I'm curious if I need to do more than just tape/mark the hot lines. Also, how exactly would I connect this hubbell switch?

Hubbell red to Line red?

Hubbell black to Line white?

Hubbell green to Line copper?

Hubbell yellow to nut or Line Black or??

Also the hubbell switch had a hole for neutral but nothing to connect to.

I'm hearing a lot about the traveler.  3-way switches don't have a traveler.  They have two.

This is what a 3-way circuit looks like:

As you can see, one of the travelers is hot and one is not.  Throwing the first 3-way switch switches which one is hot.

So anytime you have a 3-way switch, notice the two wires that are on brass screws, or not on the "common" terminal.  Those are the two travelers.  What I do is go straight for my roll of yellow tape and tag both of them yellow on both ends.  In your case that is the red and white wires.  They are not neutral or hot or anything else you want them to be, they are travelers.  But depending on your smart switch they can be re-tasked to be something else.

Since you are operating in 3-way mode, you must read the Hubbell documentation for how they want you to wire the circuit.  It also depends on how the 3-way complex is wired.  Sometimes you do not have a choice and are not able to install the smart switch in the location of your preference simply because there needed wires are not present in that location.


Noisy exhaust fan starting itself Our bathroom exhaust fan is located on our second floor bathroom.  It's the original installed in 1986.   Suddenly, it started to make an unbearably loud noise upon operation.  So loud that the sound made a downstairs kitchen sink faucet fixture shake.

An additional unsettling thing about this fan is that this horrible noise starts up spontaneously.    We are not in this bathroom and the sound starts.

We think we've discovered a way to curb the horror once it starts:   Strongly depress a light switch (which has nothing to do with this fan) --and the noise stops.

Please help!   This is scaring me!

If the switch that you are depressing is in the same box as the connection (or switch for the fan), then perhaps your pushing is causing wires inside the switchbox to wiggle; if there is a bad connection or short for the fan in the box, the partial current to the fan could cause the motor to make a buzzing noise.

A good thing to do is, first turn off the breaker, and open the switch box. Check for signs of damage and check/tighten the connections.


Replacing Rotted Deck Footings Afternoon, folks. I have a deck that I am re-decking. Easy job, until I found that all of the footers were rotted out. The deck is bolted to the house on two sides, and the remainder of the deck is supported by 4x4 posts in concrete footers. The deck varies by between 4" and 12" off the ground, so getting new footers under the beams is not an option. I've had several thoughts:

1. Somehow remove the rotted posts from the concrete footings, fill the void with concrete and anchor a post base in there. Jack up the deck, insert new post, and then lower deck back down.

Problems: Not all posts are fully rotted and removing the remaining 4x4 has
been difficult. I have almost no room to work under the deck due to it being
just a few inches to a foot off the ground, so burning or pulling them out,
even if possible, is not an option. I don't think that I can do this.

2. See "OFFSET1."  Dig a new hole, drop in concrete tube and fill to 2" above grade, set post base, attach post, and connect to the beam from the side using carriage bolts.

Problems: I don't think I can get the auger close enough to the beam to be
close enough for this to work. Not enough room to get the auger under the
beam.

3. See "OFFSET2." Dig a new hole as close as I can to the current beam. Drop in concrete tube and fill to 2" above grade, set post base, attach post, sandwich in additional 1x12 to take up remaining distance btween post and existing 1x12 beam, and connect to the beams from the side using carriage bolts.

Problems: Does this put too much strain on the post base?

4. Demolish deck and start over.

Problems: Hell. No.

So that's where I am at the moment. OFFSET2 seems like the only viable option. But I'm concerned about the stress on the post. Maybe if I stagger the offset posts on alternating sides of the beams the stress will be dissipated? What are your thoughts?

You can dig out the old footing where accessible even if means digging an "offset hole" to get it out. place a sonotube back in the hole, 6" above the bottom and fill the tube either 2" above grade for a short post or mount the clip to the deck after the old post is removed and run the concrete up to the clip. Place a wood form in the bottom of the hole if the offset is too much.

To get access to the other holes, remove 4  to 6 decking boards the get access from above, and do more of the same there.

None of it is going to be easy, but it is possible without tearing out the whole deck


Are ppr pipes not worth the money? I installed PPR pipes in my house for water supply and now after investing so much of money and time a person today told me that plastic pipes are not good enough as they burst in freezing temperatures( we live in freezing temperatures and normally it dips 5 degrees Celsius below zero in winters).  And also said that if hot water from a geyser(a water boiler) passes through them then the water stinks of the plastic!
From listening to this I'm very anxious and depressed. Has the money been wasted?
I've added a picture which has the details written on it, the right one is more detailed.
Any help is appreciated.
God bless you.

I'd insulate the pipes and move on
PPR, like PEX and unlike PVC, is a freeze-tolerant material; however, that doesn't mean that pipes made from it should be allowed to freeze on a routine basis.  I would start by adding pipe insulation (foam pipe insulation is available as prefab, "peel and stick" pieces) provided these are not irrigation pipes, which should be drained/blown out for the winter season anyway.  I am baffled as to how you wound up with plumbing runs on the outside of your house, though...


No shutoff valve for tankless hot outlet I just had a tankless water heater installed and I noticed that although it's recommend by the manufacturer, the installer did not add a shutoff to the hot water outlet. Will this cause any problems when flushing the system? It seems like the pump used during flushing might not be able to build up as much pressure within the unit itself if water is allowed to flow out. Not to mention the possibility of any loosened sediment getting pushed up instead of flushed.

The first thing I would do is check if a permit is required for this job. You can look in the plumbing code for your city, but it would probably be faster and easier to just call the inspections department and ask them (and then you'll be 100% sure). If the work required a permit, find out if the installer pulled one (and check your invoice to see if you were billed for it). Also confirm if it required an inspection (some work does, some doesn't).

If a permit was required but not pulled, get on the phone with someone at the company and figure out why. This needs to be done urgently and they should treat it as an urgent problem. Do not wait and see, do this immediately, while you still have the option to stop payment on the check (the absolute last option, but one you want to have available just in case). Press them hard and don't let up until they fix it.
If a permit was required and one was pulled, first call the manufacturer and explain the installation to them. Send some pictures in an email if necessary. They will clarify exactly what is recommended. Next, get in contact with someone at the inspections department that deals with plumbing. Explain your concerns and see what they have to say. Usually inspectors want to see things installed in accordance with manufacturers instructions, at a minimum. Any deviation will generally need to go above and beyond what is called for; leaving out a valve that is specified in the instructions doesn't do that.

At the end of the day, you need to comply with the inspector, and the best way to do that is to make sure the manufacturers instructions were followed. This will also be an issue down the road if you ever need warranty service on the unit, so get it sorted out ASAP.


Will a double pole, 240V thermostat work here and here? Wiring for 1.5v old brain Facts: Existing heater circuit, 30 amps, 240V has two WALL HEATERS AND two thermostats in two different rooms. (For the furnace-focused,  milliamp minds, you can move on to another question). ;)
Thermostats have been removed from their box locations.
In dining room I had a 240v thermostat,similar to the Honeywell TL8230A1003. This junction box contains three romex cables: 10-2 w ground for all. Line in is upper right black wire pigtailed from twisted blacks. Load #2 goes to living room thermostat and load #3 goes to the King EFW2440, 240V dining room wall heater. The thermostat was installed by an acquaintance a decade or so ago with neutrals not tied together but used as separate returns for the two black wires. I was concerned about this...Box may need to be redone as it is recessed 1/2" into the wall and there is no contact between box and drywall.(Will look into an extension ring but just want a bigger box). New 240V King EFW2440 wall heater under warranty just installed.Its wattage can be adjusted. Were the neutrals supposed to be used as two sets of wires in this installation?
(Insert picture here) doesn't work on my cell phone...brain has 0 volts again.
In the living room junction box, it had a similar 120v thermostat there that lights up. Think the two thermostats got switched by mistake at installation. There are two romex cables, 10-2 w ground. This thermostat controlled an old but good 1998 240v king electric EFW2440 wall heater, whose wattage cannot be adjusted per King. I will be changing this from a 120V thermostat to a new, 240V, 2-pole, Honeywell (same model). In this box the 120v thermostat red wires were nutted one each to each of the white neutrals also. Black to blacks. No o issues despite it being a 120V...
Is a 2-pole, 240v thermostat appropriate for this location? I wanted 2 poles to be able to fully shut off the power in summer. Wiring here seems straightforward.
(Insert picture of brain in frying pan with wires coming out). ;)

You don't have any Neutrals - you appear to be working in North American 120/240 VAC and for a 240V heater setup you have hot, ground, and hot - whites should have been re-marked (red, or black, or any color other than white, grey, or green.) You should do that (I reach for red first in this case, but it's not required to use red, just one of the hot colors.)
You mention 10 gauge wires, and that sets off an alarm bell since typical 240V heater circuits are 20A, and the usual reason you see 10 gauge in that case is that you have (the bad kind of) aluminum wiring. If your thermostats are not specifically rated to connect to aluminum wiring, and the wires are not copper, you may have some additional work to do. OK, you did say this is a 30A circuit, which might make finding suitable thermostats difficult, but should mean the wires are copper.
So, at the junction box where power comes in, in the dining room, you need to join the black wires from the feed and the black wires leading to the living room, and a pigtail to connect to one line side of the dining room 240V two-pole thermostat. If the wires are aluminum, use one side of an alumiconn to connect the two aluminum wires, and the other to connect a copper pigtail. Then you also need to join the whites (remarked red) from the same cables in the same way, and a pigtail to the other line side of the dining room thermostat.  The dining room heater connects to the load side of the dining room thermostat - again, use alumiconns to transition to copper if needed.
All the grounds should be joined, and connected to the box if the box is metal.
That gives you unswitched power to the line side of the thermostat, and unswitched power to the living room thermostat location, so that the heaters work independently.
In the living room, connect the cable from the dining room to the line side of that 240V two-pole thermostat, and the cable to the heater to its load side, again, using alumiconns if you need to transition from aluminum to copper.
In the summer, you might as well shut off the circuit breaker feeding this circuit. That kills the whole thing, while the two-pole thermostats only kill the wires from the thermostats to the heaters.


How can I combine two switches on two circuits on 1 timer switch? I just purchased my first house (new construction) and I got tired of remembering to switch the outdoor lights on/off every day. So, I got a Honeywell solar econoswitch, which is essentially a timer switch that knows when the sun goes up and down through long/lat.

There are 5 lights total outside, 2 connected to one normal switch and 3 connected to a 3-way switch. Each switch is on a different circuit. I have already successfully connected the econoswitch to the 2 lights on the normal switch. But ideally want all 5 lights connected to this econoswitch. I'm a new comer to DIY electricity so I'm a little nervous and want to make sure I do it right. I drew a diagram how it's connected right now-

The parts that i'm not sure on are:

1.There are two neutral lines on different circuits. Do I connect them together if I combine the switches?

2.How do I connect the three way switch? I understand I'll probably lose functionality on the other switch the 3-way is connected to and that's fine but I want to know best way to do this.

Since you have two circuits (i.e. two home runs from the electrical panel) in play here, you can't "combine" the switches in the manner you're thinking of.  This leaves you with two options:

You can buy a second RPLS540A EconoSwitch and install it in place of one of the 3-way switches for the outdoor lights as per the instructions.  This is the simplest approach, but leaves you with two EconoSwitches to program and the possibility that your two sets of lights will wind up "out of sync".
If you have a neutral in the box for the single pole EconoSwitch, this also raises the possibility of a setup using a SPDT relay in place of one of the three-way switches with its coil controlled by the existing EconoSwitch; this would require running an extra cable from the box with the single pole switch to the box with the three-way switch for the outdoor lights, though.  You would also need to swap the existing EconoSwitch for a RPLS740B: the RPLS540A you have passes the power it uses to operate through the load, while the RPLS740B uses a neutral wire of its own to get its operating electricity "back home", so to speak.


What is the risk of using tandem breakers in a panel that doesn't allow them? I have a PoN Square D QO 200A rated panel with a 100A main breaker. Model QO154M200P
This panel allows 10 tandem breakers, but as some of you know the older QO double breakers (without the hook) fit anywhere just fine. I used two but I wonder about risks of using more.
Assuming no shared neutrals or mwbc what are the risks of using a few double breakers?

The problem isn't what you think it is
As you have noticed, your panel is not Circuit Total Limiting (CTL) as Square-D has dropped support for CTL from the QO product line.  This was done in response to a 2008 NEC (and corresponding UL 67) change that permits panels capable of providing more than 42 circuits.  However, unlike Homeline panels which, save for a couple of oddball models, support being fully double-stuffed, QO panels still state a limit on the number of double-stuff (tandem) breakers you can install in them, despite no longer using the CTL QO tandem breakers (QOTxxxx).  (They use the old, non-CTL QOxxxx tandem breakers instead.)
This limitation still remains because while your panel can accept 54 breakers, it doesn't have the neutral terminals to support landing 108 circuits.  According to the Square-D drawing for your panel, your panel was designed to accept 18 tandem breakers for a maximum of 72 circuits; however, according to the photo you posted in chat and I'm reposting below, you only have 55 neutral terminations available.  While this number can be increased using QONK neutral kits, those aren't compatible with "long body" breakers (xFCI, SPD), which limits where in the panel they can go.
As to positioning, that's not too hard to fix.  I'd start by swapping the handle-tied pair of doublestuff QO breakers in spaces 17 & 19 with the two-pole 20A breaker in spaces 47 & 49, which takes care of the right side of your (inverted) panel.  As to the left side, I would remove the SPD from 38 and 40, then take the double-stuffs out of 6 and 22 and the AFCI out of 8.  The AFCI then goes in space 22, the SPD in spaces 6 & 8, and the tandems we removed are reinstalled in spaces 38 & 40.  However, due to the lack of CTL support in this panel, and the fact you haven't exceeded the circuit count the panel supports by any stretch of the imagination, I would rank this as a "nice to fix" problem since you don't have the normal risks of neutral terminal shortages and damaged stabs to concern yourself with.  (QO CTL worked through a cam that engaged in a slot in the outer backpan mounting rail, so it never had problems with oafs damaging stabs to begin with, even.)


Ok to paint Kilz on wooding flooring with faced insulation beneath? My livingroom carpeted floor has some pet odors and cigarette smoke smell from a previous tenant. I'm replacing the flooring with laminate and the installer recommended painting Kilz on the floor prior to installing the new flooring to seal in the smells. He said that the laminate and underlayment might be enough, but to be sure I should go with the Kilz.

This is the ground floor with wooden flooring above a crawl space -- the floor is insulated from the bottom with faced insulation with the vapor barrier on the insulation bats facing the floor.

Will the addition of Kilz (and the new laminate flooring) on the floor cause vapor problems since we'll have 2 vapor barriers facing the floor -- the Kilz on top and the insulation below.

Or is Kilz not a true vapor barrier?

If the batts have a paper facing, that's not actually a vapor barrier, it's vapor retarder, and you'll be fine.

If instead, the facer is plastic or aluminum, or there's a sheet of polyethylene sealing the floor, then yes those would be vapor barriers and you would have a problem. Solution: remove the vapor barrier.


replace Leviton outlet Trying to replace an old outlet wired 12 gauge.  I have encountered problems keeping the wire on the Leviton screws particularly when putting new outlet in the box.  I read one posting suggesting a larger box may be needed, is this the only option?  The house was built just prior to 1980--not sure if that is relevant.

C Scott (DIY newbie)

You are generally not allowed to use backstabs with 12 gauge wire.   If solid wire is falling off the screw terminals, tighten the screw a lot harder.

If stranded wire is falling off the screw terminals, a lot of people have trouble with that.  There are techniques which help, like twisting the strands as you shape them, and making sure you are hooking in the clockwise direction.  But here's another option.

This link here mostly compares screw terminals to backstabs.   However, it mentions a third type, which they call "screw and clamp", and UL calls a "screw actuated clamp".  That's the one.

Instead of a backstab, it provides a hole (often, 2 holes) almost immediately behind the screw.  You loosen the screw, stick the wire in the hole and turn down the screw tight. The screw is threaded into a clamling plate, which squeezes down on the wire, clamping it firmly.  Check the listing on each outlet but generally they are OK for stranded wire.

Last time I priced these outlets, they were in the $4 range rather than the 75 cent cheapies you can also get.  Of course they are a much higher quality outlet throughout.


Unknown rubber piece on electrical box Last night my wife turned on a recessed light in the shower. Shortly after, the light buzzed, got brighter and started smelling so she turned the light off.
I took it apart today and see something I never saw before - a black rubber piece attached to the metal electrical box. I originally thought this was perhaps a sacrificial thing if a wire touches the metal box but the breaker didn't trip. This was the cause of the smell - it was burning.
Will end up replacing all this stuff just in case but what's the black rubberish thing called and what's it's purpose?
My house was built in the US in 1985.

"GTE RP"

To me it looks like it could be a thermal cutout switch, which is designed to interrupt the circuit if the light fixture overheats.


attaching floating shelves to solid wall with anchor screws I'm currently attempting to install a couple of Ikea 'LACK' floating shelves, but am having difficulty with the screw fixings (metal anchors) not sitting securely in the wall, and could do with a bit of advice.

The shelves are intended to be fixed to the wall by securing a bracket to the wall with screws, with the shelf then slotting onto metal tubes projecting from the bracket.

The wall I have chosen is a dividing wall between two adjoining houses (i'd guess 1960s built, in London UK). It's clearly a solid wall, from the feel and sound when tapping it, however I'm not sure what the specific structure is. - it's covered in quite thick wallpaper, and seems to have a fair depth of plaster before encountering brickwork.

I bought some metal anchor screws (see images linked below), which I planned to secure the bracket into.

having drilled a small (4mm) pilot hole, I screwed in the anchor screws, and despite going in flush to the wallpaper, they never get even slightly tight and are both able to spin in the hole, as well as being easily pulled straight out.

it appears that what I'm screwing into is very soft plaster, which is just being torn apart by the screws. Drilling the holes was pretty easy most of the way, but I definitely hit brickwork at the back.

I'd be very grateful for some advice on:

are these the most appropriate fittings for this application?
if not, what should I use to attach something to this wall?
do I need to use something longer, and go deeper into the brickwork? (I'm not sure how easy this will be with the drill I have, which is not a hammer drill / ideal for proper masonry work)

I don't have a great deal of experience with this sort of thing, but I think the problem is the amount of 'soft' material in front of the solid wall - the red-ish plaster seems to be very crumbly and loose.
the opposite wall is clearly hollow (although I haven't drilled it yet, and am not sure of its exact composition) - might it be easier to fit these to that wall? - it's not my preference, but if it's infinitely easier I'd consider it.

If i need to give up on the current wall, any advice on filling and finishing it to get rid of the holes I've created is also very welcome!

The link below includes a few pictures of the screws, the wall and the hole they have created, which hopefully will help someone to work out what the composition of the wall is!

http://imgur.com/a/spwaV

Many thanks for any advice.

Paul.

The anchor screws you show are simply too short for that type of shelf. They seem to be designed for anchoring lightweight objects to plasterboard. They are not suitable for plastered brick walls or for shelving that may carry heavy loads like books or heavy ornaments.

I would go out and buy some long screws (say 5cm) and conventional wall-plugs. You will need to drill-out the holes to a wider diameter to suit the wall plugs you buy.

You will probably need to buy a normal length masonry drill bit (probably 7 or 8 mm diameter depending on wall-plug)

Use it in a drill that has a hammer action (a combi-drill will do - borrow one if you don't own one)

If you need to buy a combi-drill - you'll find that wired drills are cheaper and more powerful - much better for drilling into brick.

If money is an issue, buy one from a local Wilco, it will likely last long enough to get this job done :-). B&Q sometimes do a special offer on the halfway-decent Bosch PSB680RE


How can I remove automatic temperature adjustments in a house heating control panel? In a White Rodgers 1F87-361 house heating temperature controller there are several programs for automatically adjusting temperatures for several timings in each weekday. I was wondering how to remove all or some of the settings.

Starting on page 6 of its manual, I don't find a way to disable or remove all or some setting.

Thanks.

@PhilippNagel pointed out the hold function, which is fine if you want a constant temperature 24/7.

I think your question is more of having fewer than 4 periods per day. You cannot. What you can do is have two or more consecutive periods set the same temperature. This is the closest you can get.


What do I need to do to safely reconnect an A/C-powered smoke detector? In an unfortunate incident, the plastic plug for one of my A/C-powered smoke detectors became detached from the wires coming out of the ceiling.  My ceiling now looks like so (click for full size):

The detached connector:

My question is:  how can I safely reconnect the plug?  Can I just stuff the wires back into their respective holes in the plastic connector?  And, if I turn off main power to my house in my the circuit breaker box, that should be sufficient to ensure that I do not electrocute myself, correct?

I don't think you can.  I can't say for sure without seeing the part that the wires pulled out of, but I'd expect that originally those wires were soldered to a terminal block, then that terminal block was sealed inside the (probably sonically welded) plug.  Without opening the plug to re-solder those wires, you won't get a secure connection.

TL;DR: Don't mess with it; just replace it.  Smoke detectors are not that expensive and it's better to have a new one that you can rely on than one that's been broken and repaired.


Is 90mm x 45mm a metric 4x2? This is similar to this question about metric measurements. In Australia, a common measurement is 90mm x 45mm for timber. A 4x2 would be (approx) 100mm x 50mm but, as I understand it, that is the milled rather than final measurement. Does the smaller metric size refer to the final measurement or does have nothing to do with a 4x2?

It's a bit wider than a typical US 2x4, but likely equivalent.  A 2x4 that you get for building is 3.5"x1.5" so that would equate to 89x38mm.


How do I repair laminate damage on a kitchen cabinet? We have a kitchen cabinet that we accidentally attached a calendar to using tape.  When removing the tape the surface came right off with it.  My question is how to best repair this damage?  It appears this material is paper backed.  Will we need to remove the rest of the wood looking sticker?

One idea to consider is to re-cover the whole side with an adhesive contact paper. With careful selection you may find this to look better than the way it does now. If you do elect to go this route I would recommend a step to even out the surface where the existing laminate was torn away. You may be able to sand the edges of the ripped area so it is a smooth transition as opposed to an abrupt transition. Another approach may be to try filling the torn out areas with spackle or dry wall compound using a six inch wide blade. This leveling is needed because any surface irregularity will show through contact paper.

Contact paper is available in wood print simulated coloring such as this example from Amazon:

Amazon Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Honey-Adhesive-Contact-Paper/dp/B000KKIR0A


How should I clean my slate and stucco outdoor patio area? I have a patio with a slate floor, with (what used to be) a bright white grout of some sort, surrounded by stucco half-walls that are topped with additional slate. The stucco has a rough surface. There is a buildup of dirt and mold/algae on the slate, grout and stucco.

I think that I want to power wash the area. I'm concerned about damaging the slate, grout or stucco. I'm also clueless about aftercare. A bunch of questions:

Is powerwashing appropriate? Is there a recommended PSI or power level?

Other than using minimum pressure, is there anything special I should do to avoid damaging the patio?

Is sealing slate and/or stucco recommended after power washing? I prefer a natural look. I wouldn't want the slate to be shiny. Are there classes of sealant products I should stay away from or gravitate towards?

If you are not sure about whether a  your paving is capable of withstanding the jet of water from a power washer, test a small hidden area first.

Natural stone and slabs have the highest resistance to power jet water stream. It is not uncommon to see small pieces of stone or slate taken of by the water stream. You should wear glasses because this can ricochet and get lodged in your eyeball ... ouch.

You need to take care with "wet-cast" slabs and paving.

I would recommend using karchers dirt blaster ...

It has a weird cone shape on the end that actually spins the water at high pressure making the cleaning much more effective.

You should then regulate the distance and angle at your own consideration.

I usually pull away when cleaning the concrete joints as the water stream can easily rip them out. Then do a quick sweep on the tile and only concentrate on areas where tough stains are left. There have been times where small pieces of stone were forced out of the slab and nearly blinded me -- Wear safety goggles!

There is also patio cleaner that does not spew water and debris all over the place and is a bit safer to use on sensitive material.

  Power-washing is particularly effective at removing mosses and algae
  that seem to thrive on certain types of paving, most notably
  'textured' patio paving and clay brick pavers. We find that the
  addition of Jeyes Fluid tends to inhibit the return of this type of
  vegetation for a short time, whilst not affecting the pavement
  surface. Certain quality sealants are also reputed to inhibit or
  prevent algal growth, but are an expensive way to eliminate a minor
  problem.

You would need to find some local advice on sealants that you can use on the particular slabs you have got. They can work well sometimes -- but also can be a waste of time the rest of times.


Only one side of 220V Outlet has power. Dryer shuts off after 5 minutes Two weeks ago I fried the dryer outlet and plug and replaced both.   I made a short 90 second video explaining the problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55AfK_y1RGo  Here's the background: We ordered a new dryer and when it arrived the plug was not connected.  I wanted to check to make sure it was the right outlet for the plug before I connected the plug to the dryer, so I plugged in the (disconnected) dryer plug to the outlet.  It sparked and I turned off the electricity.  I realized this was because the dryer plug connection points were all crossed in the packaging.  So I changed out the outlet and ordered a new plug (also fried).  I tested with electric meter ONLY on one side of the 220V and it had power so I thought I was good to go.  The dryer turned on and we looked like we were headed for the promise land  only to find out that the dryer ran for 5 minutes and shut off.  This happened 3 times.  So we unplugged, and I rechecked the voltage and only one side (THE BLACK WIRE) had power (120V).  The other side (RED WIRE) did not.   What's strange is we checked the breaker box and BOTH sides had power. hmm...  Could the RED wire in the plug have gotten damaged?  Do I need to replace the entire cord running from breaker box to outlet.

First, you need to change that to a 4-prong socket (NEMA 14-30) and cord (and I bet the dryer came with a 4-prong cord).   The 3-prong type is obsolete and dangerous.  If the neutral wire loses contact, it will energize the chassis of the dryer - and I bet the washing machine is grounded, isn't it? :)  It's a matter of time before you touch the equipment in the wrong way, and blammo.
How likely is a wire losing contact? It's happening to you right now.
That plug has been retired for decades - it's only sold today as unit replacements for houses which can't use a 4-prong.  You definitely can -- there's a ground wire inside that junction box.
Now, if the ground wire is already tied to the metal box, then you will not need to run a ground wire to the 4-prong socket -- it will pick it up automagically via the hard flush contact with the metal box.

As far as your immediate problem, it's not defective wires. It's unbelievably unlikely for a momentary surge to destroy a wire.  However, it's very common for surges to take out wire connections (where they meet the screw).  We presume the dryer end is good because you just redid it...
... so that leaves the breaker end.  Your test measured voltage to the breaker screw, not the quality of the wire connection at that screw.
Don't forget to check the neutral wire inside the service panel... everbody forgets that one.  Remember, a loose neutral with a 3-prong socket creates the condition that will kill you so treat that dryer with fear and respect until you have either installed a 4-prong outlet, or have positively cleared this problem.


How to Change this Burned Out Light Bulb Does anyone know how to change this strange light bulb in this “recessed” light fixture? I tried rotating the bulb counterclockwise but it doesn’t turn/unscrew. The bulb can be pushed up but I can’t get a grip around the perimeter to see if it will pull down. The ring immediately surrounding it can pivot to change the angle of the light but also does NOT rotate. Help!

If it's a GU10 base or similar it's like a bayonet fitting. Push in then twist (usually anticlockwise) and it should pop out.

https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/article/gu10-lightbulb-guide/

To grip the bulb use a sucker or removal tool, eg

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wolfcraft-wfc-5499000-gu10-lamp-removal-tool/6084k


What is the best way to move this electrical box a few inches? I need to move an electrical box up about five inches from where it is to mount a light fixture. The wall is drywall covered in plaster. The original box was nailed to a stud. Originally I was going to patch the old location with drywall and install a new plastic electrical box in the correct location. What I'm running into is the old wiring, which isn't Romex but rather cloth wire run via flexible conduit screwed into the old junction box. It's about one inch too short to make the move.

I can get the original conduit installed into a new "old work" metal box, but it won't stretch to the new location. I understand there are couplers to extend the length of the conduit, but the length I need to extend it by is so short I feel it would make fitting it difficult. My initial thought is to simply rerun the wire from the outlet to the switch with Romex so I can clamp it into a new box and not worry about the conduit, but I'm no expert at this and don't know if there's an easier way.

Thanks for any advice!

EDIT: @ThreePhaseEel pointed out that this may actually be BX wire, not simple flex conduit, which I imagine changes things up.

If you don't object to having a junction box cover below your new light fixture, consider leaving the original box right where it is. Install the new box above it, and connect the two boxes with a short conduit nipple in a pair of knockouts that line up (or if there's a bit more space than shown, use an offset nipple if that helps to line things up.)

Wire as needed, put a plain cover on the original box and the light fixture on the new box.

If going with the conduit extension approach, consider an FMC to EMT transition rather than FMC to rigid - a 90 degree EMT bend would do the job nicely from the new box to where the FMC ends, and in general EMT is a lot cheaper than rigid (or flex) even comparing a 4 inch nipple to having to buy a 10 foot stick (though by the time you put connectors on the ends you are closer to the same price, but you have more than 9 feet of EMT left for your next project...

If you don't have a bender or a friend you can borrow one from, you can find pre-bent EMT sweeps to purchase, though they may cost more than 10 feet of straight EMT.


How to remove interior stone wall facade What is the best way to remove the rock wall facade around the fireplace and on the whole wall?
The floor in the room is currently old vinyl that we are going to rip out and replace.

I use an air chicle with a wide blade but a hammer and wide chisel will work.
Start at a grout line and hold the chisel at a 45, one or 2 good wacks and you will be to the base lay the chisel as flat as you can maybe 30 degrees for the first one and many times a good sharp wack will pop the stone in some cases it will shatter after a few adjustments of your angle you will start popping larger chunks.
I have a tile chipper on a pole it can be used but is harder on a wall than on a floor.
I find the trick is getting the right angle so 1 wack will take a stone at a time with a 6” or 8” chisel.
On ply wood sometimes can be tough.
When it ends up being Sheetrock after I punch through I tear the entire wall out.
When backer board and thinset it comes off mastic can go either way.
Wear safety glasses or a face shield some pieces do normally shatter.
A dust mask can also be a good idea lots of dust doing this.
I put tarps down or a wheelbarrow in the room and get good at piping right into the wheelbarrow, with the tarp 2 people grab the ends before it gets two heavy and take it to the dumpster.


Best way to fix gate post over foundation that extends 1930s brick house.
Foundation at ground level extends 8 inches out.
Want to put a 3.5 x 3.5 post right next to the wall and have these ideas(post will have gate latch):

Build a form next to wall that extends over edge of foundation.  Think upside L.  Cons: lots of concrete. Pros: ?

Affix anchor on foundation, affix post to anchor.  Cons: weak?  Rust?  Pros: probably best looking

Affix post directly to wall.  Cons: weaken wall?  Pros: ?

?

I'm thinking this community will go with 2, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on whatever you think would be the best way.

It's very common where I come from (New Zealand) to Dynabolt the gate or fence post directly to a brick, block or rendered wall.
I have about 4 of them in various places around my 1960's render over concrete block house
As long as the size of the Dynabolt is appropriate there should be no significant weakening of the brick(s) you drill into. There are variations of these Dynabolts that are chem-set into the wall/brick/block with Epoxy, one of these would in theory further reduce any negliable impact in the integrity of the brick.


Replace 3-way Dimmer with Timer Switch I have a 3 way setup, with a Dimmer Switch and a simple switch. I want to replace the Dimmer Switch with a timer switch.

The dimmer switch I'm removing has 4 wires: Black (hot), Green (ground), and two red. One red looks like it's going to a black wire in the system (load?).

The new timer switch has 4 wires as well, Black(hot), Green(ground), Red(labeled Load) and White (neutral).

How can I wire the new timer switch in place of the old dimmer switch.

House was just built last year.
Thanks!

The dimmer you are replacing is a 3-way dimmer, but the timer is a single-pole.  They both have 4 wires because the dimmer doesn't need a neutral, but the timer does (to power the timer).  You'll need to get a 3-way timer.


Is the light intensity from inverter type welders different from transformer type welders? I have tried researching this, but cannot find any supporting information.

I would like to know if the light intensity from inverter type welders is different to transformer type welders, and if so, what is that difference. I can definitely feel the difference between the two when welding so there must be a difference in their light intensities.

My father, is old school and does not like inverter - his reasoning "it gives arc eyes". I did not believe him at the time, but through many years of trial and error, I do find that even the slightest flash on inverter results in arc eyes, it even got so bad at one stage that I was convinced I was getting flash through the helmet - as a result I added more glass and thicker shades.

I generally even use less amps on the inverter welder, so its definitely not more power = more flash. Could there be a difference in the two light outputs?

I've seen this myself and agree, yes, there is a difference in the light outputs between inverter and transformer type welders (even at the same amperage setting). I also have seen a difference between different models of inverter MIG welders.  I don't precisely know what makes the difference, but I am guessing it has to do with differences in the switching characteristics. Also, different types of welders have different output... e.g. a stick welder, IMHO, seems to have much more UV output (at least the ones I've used).  I can get a bit of a "sunburn" from only a couple of sticks if I don't make sure to cover up.  I've never had that happen for an equivalent amount of welding on a MIG.

But we need not rely on anecdotal evidence...  The link below is to a paper published by the German equivalent of OSHA, where they actually measure the light output from various welders at 180 Amps.

http://bit.ly/1zKakL1


No studs just furring strips on brick for cabinet install 1961 kichen remodel-and the exterior wall is brick with furring strips with drywall. This is the longest wall and will have the majority of wall cabinets (old cabs were nailed into the ceiling). Ripping out and framing flat might be possible, but the door to the garage is also on that wall-really don't want to reframe the door in the brick. Kitchen is already pretty narrow, so losing space to a framed wall is not ideal, makes the passage less than 3 feet). Any ideas for safely hanging upper cabinets?

Cut horizontal areas behind your wall cabinets for new 2X4 or 2x6 nailers set at the tops of the wall cabinets so they are in line with the screw rail of the new cabinets. Cut out the firring strips too. Cut the where the ends of the 2x will be an inch or two behind the edges of the cabinet, so if the wall paint chips or paper tears, it will not show.

When you cut out the wall, the 2X material should be very near the thickness of both the firring strips and drywall, 1/2" drywall plus 3/4" firring strips, should mean you will need to thin down the 2X material a bit. A table saw can do that with care.

To install the 2X, you can use flat head expansion anchors and construction adhesive

Place an anchor on each end and through the rest of the length of the 2X, about 8-12" apart. Place a few large beads of construction adhesive on the back of the 2X after you drill all the holes in the 2X, but before you drill the brick. It is important to get the anchors in the brick, not the joints, although the horizontal  joints (bed joints) may work, surly the short vertical joints (head joints) you need to stay away from. If the brick is a "core brick" a term used for brick with holes in the inside, do not place any anchors in the middle of the brick, only near the ends. If you know them to be solid brick, then it will not matter.

After the blocking is in place, secure the cabinets with what should take 2" screws, if your cabinets are made with 1/4" backs and 3/4" screw rails and 1" to go into the new blocking you just added. Ideally the screws could be 2 1/4" but typically are not available in that length. 2 1/2" screws could work, but you are taking the chance that the point would "bottom out" on the brick surface before the screws drew the cabinets tight to the wall. I have had screw points dig into the brick a bit before they started shoving the strip off the wall, but that is the chance you would be taking. IMO, not worth the chance....


Should I install my split AC outdoor unit further away so it's in the shade? So i just got a 1.5TR split AC (LG LS-H18VNXD) and i have two options.

Install the otudoor unit (ODU) just behind the indoor unit (IDU) on the outer wall, so piping distance would be minimum possible,
But the ODU faces the sun directly.
OR
Install the ODU 12 feet away from IDU (pipe will have two 45 degree curves), but ODU will be cool and shady place.

Which one will be more efficient and by how much ? Please advice.

Optional questions:
If the answer is shade one, do i need additional gas recharge (the ac comes with 1kg r32 prefilled).
Also I am planning to make a air filter for the ODU as it comes with naked fins and there are lot of bugs around, will it be fine ?

Don't know the installation guy will be honest so asking it here. Thanks :)

Most of the splits I have installed are pre charged for approx 15’ of line set. I looked on line and did not see much in the way of assistance.
 1kg is a small charge  I would be expecting closer to 2 kg based on the systems I have installed. I usually suggest the easiest location for maintenance is there already a receptacle mounted in either location this could save some $ as a receptacle is required by the national electric code. If you plan on issuing your system for heat in the winter the location really will not matter a large amount because any location effect gained in summer may be lost in winter.


Lights randomly flash I just moved in into a rented house. Suddenly, usually a few minutes after being turned of, a light bulb goes and flash once.

They're fluorescent and LED lights that flashes once after a random time period (I didn't see any regularity).

It happened at least once on every light.

Any ideas on why it's flashing?

A possible explanation: there is something wrong (or intentional) about your wiring such that there is a very weak (high resistance) path for current bypassing the switch.

In some designs of power supplies, the small current will charge an internal capacitor, and when there is sufficient charge it will assume it's been turned on and start supplying power to the LEDs — which then immediately discharges the capacitor, resulting in the brief flash you see.

Perhaps your light switches are illuminated, or they have some sort of special function beyond being a simple mechanical toggle switch. One common reason for this sort of leakage is devices inside the switch which need power and (since there may be no neutral wire at the switch, at least in US wiring) get it by letting a small amount of current through the switched circuit.


Can I replace a bit of a cinder block wall with wood post to support a deck? We're in the process of replacing some deck boards, and are wondering if we should replace a section of the cement block wall. We're also not sure what the best way to go about it is. It's apparent from feeling where the block has deteriorated at the bottom, that it was not attached to the concrete floor. Replacing the block is one option. If we go that route, should we attach the blocks to the floor some how so that the same thing does not happen again?

What I was thinking I wanted to do, was remove the wall W1 in the picture and replace it with a wood post P1 that gets cemented into the floor. Is this a good idea? I don't think the wall is serving any function and all it's doing is keeping water trapped behind it, though I may be wrong?
We're In Minnesota so the snow and freezing  temperatures are something to consider.

As mentioned in the comment above, the post which is all you should need on the corner, needs to be mounted on a concrete pier that goes to the frost line for your area. If there are other areas of your deck that are supported soley by a post or block on the slab that will rise or fall as ice forms and melts under the slab, needs to be resupported by concrete piers that go the frost line


How does high static ductwork ( Mobile home) affect AC Seer rating? I was told that mobile home ductwork affects the seer rating of central air units. So if a 13/14 seer or higher  is installed what is the usual seer rating if installed in a mobile home?
I was also told if you want to use higher seer equipment to get the rated seer rating you must have ductwork added to the current high static ductwork , to lower the static pressure closer to normal levels like in a regular house.

The statement is not accurate.
The seasonal energy efficiency ratio is how efficient the system is at converting electricity into cooling.
The biggest gain is with variable speed compressors that run at a low level with very few starts.
The worst efficient systems 13 seer are the ones that the compressor starts pumps to a high level and shuts down then restarts in 5 minutes.
1 inbetween is a 2 stage compressor that can pump at a lower level and change to a high level without stopping.
The inside unit the air handler may have a higher static pressure but if the duct work can handle the pressure the flow can be increased without affecting the heat transfer at all.
One thing to look at is the payback in some cases the additional cost of a 24 seer unit VS a 16 seer may not be worth the cost!
What is the warranty length?
Higher seer units have more active components and fail more frequently (they usually won’t tell you that) but they are getting better.
When comparing a less expensive 16 seer to a 24 seer unit the cost can be 30% more will it save that additional 30% cost in power consumption in my experience no but it’s better for the planet.
So just making a statement because you have a type of home you would need your duct work replaced I would challenge that.
Ask to see the flow curves and the size of the evaporator housing. If it is the same size as your existing system there will be no difference.


How can I build a cheap, do-it-yourself dance floor? I would like to make a cheap DIY dance floor and I attained a roll of 3.5 ft x 6 ft vinyl linoleum for free.  Can I use this in making a dance floor?  Has anyone built their own cheap DIY and what materials did they use?  Has anyone failed at doing this and what should I avoid?  Are there any good guides to doing this on the internet?

Would a bamboo rug work?

It'd be easy to roll up when not in use. I don't know if it's a great dancing surface, though.


What is this stranded silver ground wire in 40 amp circuit USA Home, built in early 80s.
I was looking at my homes oven wiring and noticed the 40 Amp circuit has a special ground wire.  It appears to be twisted/stranded silver wires.
I could not see if a neutral was also included in the same cable.
Is this a common type of cable and what would it be called?

Noting the irregularities in the way the strands are spiraled, that is certainly SE type cable, or "Service Entrance" cable.  Service entrances (weatherhead to main panel) are run hot-hot-neutral with no ground, so naturally, SE cable provides exactly that.  The bare wire is neutral, not ground.
Use of SE cable for ranges was legal in the 1970s, and as such, it is "grandfathered" today.  It is neutral, not ground, which means your range has a 3-wire ungrounded connection, also legal in the 1970s.
While it's grandfathered to the inspector, it is not grandfathered to the reaper.  3-wire connections have a fatal flaw: in this setup, the chassis of the range is bonded to the neutral wire.  If it  has a simple and common contact problem, it energizes the chassis of the range with lethal voltage when the oven light is on (i.e. door is opened).
When fatalities happen this way, it is reported by the press as miswiring which is untrue: it was wired correctly but neutral had poor contact. Which happens.
The new doctrine is to provide a separate ground wire; or; fit GFCI protection at the breaker.  Both of these solutions require removing the bad-news bonding strap inside the range that ties the chassis to neutral.
Merely removing the bad-news bonding strap is not enough; now the chassis will be energized by any ground fault (which grounding or GFCI would have detected).


Should pegboard be part of the workbench or attached to the wall behind the workbench? Is it better to buy a workbench with the pegboard back included or to buy an inexpensive workbench and install the pegboard back on the wall?

Pegboard attached to workbench will likely vibrate like crazy while you're trying to file, sand, saw, route, or hammer anything.
It's safer to just put the pegboard on the wall.