Can an electric water heater and electric air handler/furnace be installed in the same closet? I'm working on designing a small cabin that is slab on grade with no garage and I need to place the air handler (with electric furnace) and the electric water heater somewhere. There are all sorts of codes about gas units since they use combustion, and require venting, etc. But I haven't been able to get a clear answer on what the requirements of such a utility closet would be, often with conflicting information in online searches.

I'm thinking it would be most economical to build one utility closet for the electric water heater and electric air handler/furnace and put them in there together if permitted. I know you can't do that for gas, but with both appliances electric...? Does anyone know if this is allowed? The code is IRC 2012 with no local modifications.

It shouldn't be a problem, as long as there's enough working space around the units. See this answer for more details on how much working space you need, and this answer which includes a good graphic.

Here's a PDF from Mike Holt, that describes the requirements for space around the equipment (starting on page 16).


What purpose does this PVC pipe in my crawlspace serve? I was cleaning the crawlspace under the house
and discovered two 3/4 inch white PVC pipes
that run across the crawlspace buried under
ground (4-8 inch deep) and terminate at the
perimeter foundation footing.

One of the pipes has a T-connection in the
middle facing upwards, the top end
is not capped and is filled with dirt.

I wonder if this was done on purpose
(for some kind of drainage or something)
or this is a part of abandoned yard irrigation
system left by when they build a house addition

Does anybody know any method that would require
such PVC pipes underground in the crawslapce?

Pipe:

T-connection:

Pipe ends at foundation footer
(next to the pipe is a big root that goes under foundation as it seems)

Since its under an addition I think your guess about being part of an irrigation system that was abandoned is the most probable.


What is the best way to hang a weight lifting pulley system in my detached garage? I want to hang this pulley system in my garage (partially pictured above) and probably will be loading it up somewhere between 100-200 lbs of plate weights:

https://www.spud-inc-straps.com/econo-triceps-and-lat-pulley.html

What is my best option? Putting a 2x4 across multiple trusses with lag screws and hanging from that?  Doubling up some studs and building out some kind of arm support system?  Some other option I am not aware of?  I am not familiar with how much additional weight (beyond keeping the roof up) either of these two options can support and don’t want to cause any kind of structural damage, to the garage or myself!  Thank you.

I'd go with the 4x2, those trusses each look sufficient to hold a 100kg or more,

Spreading the load won't hurt,  place the 4x2 above the bottom chord of the trusses and use nails or screws to hold it in place,


Do I need to upgrade my branch circuits to CAFCI/GFCI if I move my electrical panel? I'm moving my main panelboard as part of a service upgrade.  The panelboard is brand new (i.e. I'm not reusing the old board).

Do I need to add CAFCI/GFCI breakers on the old branch circuits (as would be required for new construction/new branch circuits)?  For example, there's no GFCI on my washing machine branch circuit, but Code requires this circuit be GFCI protected for new construction.  Other examples: there's no AFCI anywhere in the house.  I could go on.

The house is located in Seattle, USA, was built in 1927, and contains a mix of knob and tube, NM (original), and NM-B wiring as well as a bit of armored cable here and there.  Eventually, we'll completely rewire the house, but the previous homeowner just added outlets wherever he saw a "convenient" place to tap into an existing circuit.  That's probably good reason for adding CAFCI/GFCI protection, but I'm concerned I'm going to be fighting nuisance trips until I can do a proper re-wiring job.

Answers that cite the relevant Code are appreciated!

Depends if by moving the panel requires replacing any wires.

For example, if you're simply moving the panel up a foot without having to replace wires then no, no GFCI or Arc fault protection required.

On the other hand, any time a wire is replaced it generally is required to be brought up to code.  This is common rule for not only electrical but all forms of construction.


circuit breaker issue I'm trying to figure out why my circuit breaker keeps tripping.  This is for the garage door opener.  It is the only thing that is on the breaker. I have lights in the garage but they are
rarely on. What are the potential solutions?

The simple answer is that the breaker is tripping because two much current is flowing through it.

Here's a list of some possible causes for over-current:

Faulty wiring may be partly short-circuiting
Faulty appliance is drawing too much current
Too many devices on that circuit, in total drawing too much power

I would start by proving to yourself that there is definitely nothing else on that circuit other than the opener and the lights. Turn the breaker off and then go around and see if anything else is off. Outlets in the garage? Chest freezer? Sump pump?

Second, see if you notice a pattern of when the breaker trips. If it trips when you flip the light switch, then maybe the switch is faulty or maybe the lights are the extra current.

If you're positive there is nothing on the circuit, then you're looking at a defect. Finding it may or may not be in your skill set, but you could start checking the voltage at the opener with a multimeter. Then start opening outlet covers to see if there are any lose wires. Check for signs of arcing (which may leave black sooty marks around the outlet terminals.

FYI, the time it takes to trip a breaker depends in part on how much over-current there is. It may take several seconds or even a minute if you're only just barely over the circuit breaker rating.


Connecting Washing Machine Outlet Box to copper I've done a search and nothing particularly relevant came up so...

I'm in the process of moving the washer and dryer in our new house and trying to figure out how to mate the valves in the connection box to the copper lines. I have a box similar to this where the values are attached via a single shut off:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_596141-138-38568___?productId=50163629&pl=1&Ntt=washer+box

The ends are threaded, so I guess I just need to add a 1/2" to female threaded fitting like this?

I don't currently have the part sitting in front of me, but I don't recall the male threads being turnable to screw into the fitting (I'll have to double check). Is there a trick to it, or do you screw it in and then sweat it? But that seems like a terrible idea given that its right near the plastic enclosure.

If you look closely at the valve inlets, they are designed with a 1/2" male iron pipe thread (MPT) for a threaded connection, OR you can solder 1/2" copper pipe directly to the inside of the threaded fitting. It's made to accomodate either method.

You do not need any additional fittings.

You need to be careful though, there are o-rings and teflon seals inside the valve that can be damaged by the heat from soldering. You need to take it apart by removing the large screws next to the handle, solder the included fittings, then reassemble.

See this schematic.


Cutting sink boss from granite composite sink We have a Swanstone composite granite drop in sink. We have a very narrow counter. The sink fits but the sink boss extensions in the front will not be used and I would really like to cut them off to gain the extra half inch plus in the back so we can position the sink out from under a window sill and I can install a tall faucet.
Just don't know if I can just saw them off or if there are considerations for safety and durability that I need to consider. Also what would be the best tool to use for this?
Thank you for your input.

If you mean the tabs for the brackets to attach?, cut them off with a 4" diamond cutting blade; have eye protection and shop vac hose tied off near cut to cut down dust; hold up on very slight angle to avoid cutting into rim edge of sink top. Silicone that edge down with some weight on top until silicone sets up.


220 wiring old to new I have two lines, one with two bare wires red and black, the other line has a red a black a white and a ground wire. How do I hook them together? I know I'm not supposed to put a neutral with a ground wire; what do I do with the neutral wire?

What you have in these pictures is a massive code violation, fire hazard as well as an electrocution hazard. This must be rectified first. Leaving this mess intact is negligent even if you cover it with a mile of electrical tape.

You need to put all of this cable into a listed electrical box. Since we cant see the conductor size, I'm just going to recommend a pull box, something around 6x6x3 inches to make life easy. Each cable must have at least 6 inches of jacket/sheath removed and the individual conductors must be able to extend 3 inches form the front of the box. So 6 inches is plenty. The cables must also be held securely to the box with proper cable clamps. Buy properly sized wire nuts or listed splicing device to make the connections between conductors. The ground conductors must also be securely bonded to the junction box as well. Multiple individual wire nuts designed for smaller conductors is begging for trouble. The cost of these materials is negligible compared to a fire.

Until then, I am not going to help you any further and neither should anyone else.


Fixing broken piece of concrete We have concrete stairs leading up to our front door.  I noticed today that a medium-sized piece of concrete is cracked & broken off at the corner of the stairs.
I don't really care about the look of it, I just don't want to lose the piece and have to deal with 'filling in' for it.  Is there a quick fix I can do?
Pics below

The cheap way is to just go the local Big Box store and get a small bag of mortar for concrete.  Mix it up apply to the bottom and in the crack.  For mortar, setting times is in hours.
A better way, is to use a concrete epoxy like this. For the epoxy, the setting times may be as short as 15 minutes.  The epoxy is also mixed, but time between mixing and setting up is short. So make sure you have remove all the loose dirt, dust, etc from the stairs and you are ready to apply the epoxy after mixing.
Apply with cheap plastic putty knife.  The epoxy will be thick and heavy.
You might do this in two session.  Do the bottom first to set the piece in place and level.  After the epoxy has dried.  then mix a second batch and apply to the crack on top and side and bottom seam.


Should I Add More Static Vents On My Roof I want to add insulation to an old ranch house. However, the insulation contractor wants to add static vents (2 turtles and 2 pipes). He says I don't have enough ventilation in my attic.
The roof already has a ridge vent. It also has a gable vents but no soffit . The attic seems fine to me. The attic temperature is always within +/- 10 of the outside temperature.
The house is in MA; so we have extreme weather. Even in the coldest winter, there has never been ice damns. There is no known mold issue. The shingles have aged well, the roof is almost 25 years old. I think it's time to start thinking about a new roof.
Should I think about changing the roof or keep it as is? I'm a big believer in "If it's not broken." Was the insulation guy misinformed?

I would not anything more to the roof.  You probably have enough flow through the ridge and gable vents.

If you're really concerned, soffit vents should be next.  But a lot of them I've seen do not have enough free space area, or net free area to be effective.


How big a problem is wood embedded in a basement concrete floor? We purchased a home where the previous owner did a lot of home improvement himself.  The house has a finished basement and I believe the previous owner mentioned something about him digging out and finishing it himself.
The basement recently developed a mildewy smell so we pulled up a corner of the basement carpeting.  We discovered two things that really worried us.  First, we discovered that the padding and carpet were placed directly on the concrete without any sort of moisture barrier.
But my question related to the second thing we discovered.  The concrete slab in the finished part of the house has wood dividers embedded in it (they look like 2x4s but I can't be sure).  See pictures.  It's almost as if he framed out the flooring for pouring the concrete but then left the wood. Some of the wood is damp to the touch and seems to be starting to deteriorate.
I guess I'm looking for some confirmation that this is wrong and problematic. Am I wrong?  Is there any legitimate reason for that wood to be there? I'm assuming I'm going to have to dig it out and fill the voids but would love to be wrong. (Not only does that seem like a big job, but some of the wood goes under the wall frames, so I may have to cut into the walls in order to get to the edges of the wood).

The concrete floor shouldn't be effected by the embedded lumber even if it should deteriorate. If the concrete floor was poured to an appropriate thickness and mixed correctly it's best to leave the wood in place. From your photo the first thought I had was they were used as striking boards when the floor was poured, but most people remove them after the concrete is leveled. On the positive side; they can be used as attachment points if you ever decide to install sleeper's for a finished floor.


How practical is it is use a 6 Terminals junction box to extend a ring main? Logically I can use 2, 3 terminal junction boxes, or a single 6 terminal junction box to extend a ring main (inserting a loop to the new socket(s) I am installing).  However are there any practical issues with a 6 terminal junction box – e.g. space for the cables?

What would anyone inspecting the wiring expect to see?

(Note ring mains are not normal outside of the UK)

I don't know about the inspection issue, but personally I'd be wary about using a single 6 terminal block to extend the ring.

I assume you are breaking into the ring at a single location and inserting a loop to the new socket(s) you are installing. In that case I'd use two 3 terminal boxes at each end. Depending on the length of cable and number of sockets I might be tempted to install spurs, but that is just me.

However, I would suggest that you consult an electrician to see what the approved method is. The last thing you want is to have to redo the wiring when you come to sell the house. The easiest way is to get a quote and have the electrician explain what he's proposing to do.


Should there be standing water in this part of my dishwasher? I took out the filter of my whirlpool dishwasher to clean it. The filter and the well were coated with soft gunk, even tho I cleaned them about 2 months ago.  I noticed that the well that the filter sits in was full of water. (Photo 1 shows the well, Photo 2 gives some perspective, and Photo 3 is the label showing the model number, after much cleaning.)  Is water in the well normal or a symptom?  If a symptom, what should I do to get the dishwasher to drain it out?
Thank you.

It's unintuitive, but understand that it's relatively easy to get most standing water removed, but very hard to get it all removed. A major reason for this is that you generally have to drain uphill. Dishwashers do that to prevent sewage from siphoning back into the basin. It's just not possible to empty that hose 100%. As such, some water from the rinse cycle (which should be relatively clean) will remain the dishwasher.


Removing attic house fan and adding subfloor I'm going to help a friend remove his whole house fan in the attic. Since the attic space is walkable, we need to patch the subfloor where the fan was. There is currently 2x6 joists exposed that can be seen from the 3'x3' hole where the fan is installed.

I was thinking about putting some 2x6 framing together with a framing nailer and using lag  screws to tie into the existing joists on all sides. Is this the right way to go or should I be using joist hangers?

It would be very useful if you could post a picture of what the existing framing looks like around the fan opening.

Since it is unlikely that the joists are three feet apart there is a good chance that there are already framing headers across between two existing joists that take care of supporting the stub joist that was cut off across the fan opening. If this is the case then just one piece of 2x6 and a pair of joist hangers would be the simplest thing to add needed ceiling support back across the fan opening.

On the other hand if the opening is different then this is where a picture comes in valuable as to offering you the best advice.


Fixing Spray Paint Texture I am working on a project and spray painting smooth composite wood pieces with a glossy paint/primer combo (specifically this).  I sprayed outside (at night) and there was a slight breeze.  For the most part, the texture is glossy as it should be but, some areas have a slight texture to them (likely due to improper coverage).

My question is, what is the best way to fix these areas.  Should I spray another layer of paint over them?  Should I sand them down with fine sandpaper?  I've done some Googling but, I've been unable to locate a solution.

Any help is appreciated.

Sand evenly across the entire board to make it smooth.  Clean and remove all dust from sanding.  Respray as evenly as possible.  If you can get away with doing it indoors (a garage for example) that is recommended to reduce the number of airborne particles that land in the paint before it can dry.

To ensure an even coat my personal method is to gauge the coverage by sheen rather than color.  Meaning that if you view it at an angle the wet portions will be shinier than the less covered portions.  Color can be deceiving, look at the sheen, if the sheen matches (as you spray) across the piece, the final product will be more even as well.

Keep in mind that with spray paint it takes less time to do extra coats of paint than it does to put on too much and fix a poor result...tempting though it may be to try.


What should I do about a receptacle with 2 circuits going through it where white wires are hot? I have a receptacle that has 3 white wires and 1 black.  The black wire is hot and 2 of the white wires are hot but on a separate circuit than the black one (2 bedroom's outlets on separate circuits but tied to this one receptacle).  This doesn't seem right to me.  All 3 white wires are hooked up to the white side of the receptacle while the black is on the hot side.  It takes 2 breakers to turn off the entire outlet (I was shocked when I found out). Really, I was shocked, that's how I found out.  I thought I had shutoff the breaker but didn't know the white wires were hot and part of another circuit.  It appears I should bracket the two breakers for safety.  My real question is "Is it o.k. for the two white wires to be hot and hooked to the white side of the receptacle?". Additionally, when this outlet is apart the second circuit does not work.  The whole setup just seems odd.  As a side note, the house was built in '63.  Maybe different regulations then.

Is it OK? No. Aside from the dangerous confusion you experienced there is an ongoing safety problem here. You have hots from two circuits going into one receptacle, but you only have one neutral. By placing load from two circuits onto one neutral wire, you have the risk of overloading that wire without tripping the circuit breakers for either circuit.

It's possible to safely have two circuits feeding one receptacle, if you have a hot/neutral pair for each segment. Additionally, current code requires dipole breakers in this case, so overload on either circuit shuts off both.

To fix this, you need to determine which hot is associated with the same cable back to your circuit breaker as your effective neutral, and disconnect the other hot. (One of the black wires may be feeding another receptacle; make sure that receptacle has a correct neutral.) You should also trace the cables to adjacent receptacles/junctions and check those -- this isn't a good sign about the quality of electrical work in your home. If you're lucky, the fix is just a matter of a few changes in receptacle boxes. If you're unlucky... well, it's better to find out through inspection than through a fire.

You'll want to get a non-contact voltage tester. Be safe!


what kind of amperage does this heater draw? I can't make sense of this chart.  For the column "Drop 9" with 9kw output, what kind of amperage does the heater draw?

Here's another diagram if that helps.

Your device has 3 heater elements - so for the 9kW version, each element produces 3kW of heat.

Your drawing indicates that each element is fed with a 230V supply - so 3kW from 230V requires 13A each.

Now if you refer to the "Circuit breaker" column you'll see that your 9kW device can be supplied by a 3-phase supply with 3 x 16A breakers, or if you connect all 3 elements together to the same single-phase breaker then it must be 50A.

The "Power cable" column appears to be telling you what size cables you need, and the numbers given include the Neutral and Earth/Ground wires.
So if you feed your 9kW device from a 3-phase supply, you need 5-wire cable, each wire 2.5mm2, or for a single-phase supply you need 3-wire cable, each wire 10mm2.


Why won't my new refrigerator water line valve turn? We recently purchased a side-by-side refrigerator. Prior to product delivery which took a while, a plumber installed the required water line kit and valve, and told us we just need to turn the valve on after connecting the line to the fridge. The problem now that the fridge is delivered and the line connected, is that the valve does not turn at all.
I have taken a picture of the valve, hoping someone could shed some light on the issue.

That "plumber" did you no service by leaving you with old fully rotating valves that are likely to break if you force them open! They break easily without force! He's just waiting for you to break it, flood the place and call him back. I'd call him back and first ask him why he didn't install "quarter turn" valves. Get him to install quarter turn valves which are much easier to turn on and off and don't break as easily as the older, fully rotating handle kind that you have now. Was there no access to the water main to turn off the water and so he couldn't/wouldn't do this?


Pipe on the wall. Water keeps running Please help me to figure out about this pipe.

In our hosue, We have the water pipe coming out from the wall right next to the A/C unit. Recently, the water start running constantly, and I have no know what it is.

The following points are something I am sure about.
 1. The water stops running if I turn off the main valve.
 2. Water was actually dripping very sometimes like 3, or 4 years ago.  It is now running 3 gallons / hours.
 3.  It is cold water.
 4. There are two pipes and joined by some kind of a T socket.
5. The pipes are nothing to do with the A/C unit; it is coming from the ground.

Please anyone give me ideas what it is and how to stop the water.

Looks like it could be a flow activated trap primer:

  A trap primer (or trap seal primer) is a plumbing device or valve that
  adds water to traps. The water seals in traps are needed to prevent
  sewer gases from entering buildings, but because this water is exposed
  to the air, it is subject to evaporation over time in infrequently
  used floor drains, leading to the release of sewer gas into the
  environment. The trap primer mitigates this problem by injecting
  water, either directly or indirectly, into the trap to maintain the
  water seal indefinitely. - Wikipedia

Example of one here and as well as the source of the above image (link is to a PDF, only picked this one as it was one of the first search results).

Look to see if you can find a make and/or model number on the 'Tee'. You may need to use a small mirror or camera to see the backside.

If it is now constantly flowing, there may be on obstruction inside the valve preventing it from functioning correctly. It could also be broken and in need of replacement. Depending on the valve, you may be able to just replace the internals.


Should an exterior door frame always be flush with the interior drywall? I just had my basement door replaced. The close-to-finished product looks something like this picture;

Note that this door is inside a "tunnel like" frame (which means the door can only open 90 degrees). From some searching online I believe this may be referred to as an interior extension but I'm not sure. Does somebody know what this would be called?

More importantly, is this OK? If not what is the proper way to handle thick walls? We have brick veneer, concrete block, 2" XPS, then the framed wall and drywall. I believe the contractor did it this way so as to start the door where the brick veneer ended (how the previous door was setup, but the basement was unfinished before thus it wasnt a problem).

EDIT -- FWIW, I just found that diynetwork.com is ok with doing it this way, but I dont see how they can even install a decent amount of trim around the door to make it look ok in this case...

OK I run into this 3 or 4 times a year.  I like putting doors on basements.  For 7-10k you can get 1000 sq/ft and 2 extra bedrooms in a house.   I won't answer this for just basements though so let's go over the options.

For minor issues you can add a jamb extender.  More often than not I like to use strips of plywood (it doesn't split like solid wood).  So if my door is right on the wall and I need to add drywall I would use 3/4" plywood (which is less than 3/4").  Then trim around the jambs with that.  Then once drywall is up (1/2" true) plus mud you are probably even or damn close.  And certainly nothing caulk wouldn't fix.
We would make the door opening bigger.  Maybe add some sidelights or maybe just some rustic wood that is cool.  We often do the wood because we can run electric through this and then boom, we have outdoor lighting.  With an extra 12-20" a door can open plenty enough.  Now let's talk about the reason why you want to do this.  A basement door that sits below ground level is the perfect example.  I want to create one edge for the basement that is a good 3-6" higher than the pad next to it.  I don't want my door sitting inside where water may get into and leak into the house.
And for your case the fix is easy.  Take the door out, jambs and all, and then install them on the inside part of the thick wall.  This should take an hour max.  Now the only thing extra that needs to be done is to finish the exterior parts of the wall now.   When I am in France doing houses about 90% of new builds are insulated cement blocking.  Doors are installed on the interior edge and then almost all will get a storm door on the exterior edge.

Let me know if you have anymore questions on this.


Can I have a wand installed in tub in addition to a 3-hole faucet? I have a new tub being installed that takes a deck mounted faucet. I found a faucet I like which is a two handle, 3-hole type. However, it would be nice to have a wand mounted on the deck as well. Is it possible to add it? How do I control the water temperature on the wand if it is not integrated with the faucet?

In order to have an integrated wand attachment you have to have an integrated wand setup if you only have three holes there are options available. If you're set on the fixture that you found it may provide much trouble to add a wand attachment. Try looking up the part number for the one that you have and see if there's an attachment available for it. Retrofitting a third-party wand attachment depends highly on the configuration of the faucet that you have in mind.

Here's an example of a 3 hole setup

from The Home Depot


Front yard flooding, drainage help needed [Front yardThe front of my yard faces the main road, which is on a higher grade than my driveway. My driveway dips for the first approx. 5 feet, then dips back up towards my garage, this causes water to pool all along the front of my yard and driveway. Here with TS Colin going on, it made it quite apparent that a good hurricane and I will have some flooding issues. Does anyone have any idea as to what I could do to channel or get rid of the water? My thought was placing two dry wells, one for each side of the yard. On the side where the fire hydrant is "which is the largest part of the lawn" , I was thinking about running two drains to a dry well, as well as having a emergency overflow pipe running to the other side of my house which will allow the water to run downhill from my house.

A lot of the water is coming from the road.  I would recommend raising the grade closer to the road so the water pools along the edge of the road instead of on your property.  That is the road slopes to the side and continues sloping down on your property.  You need to change it so the grade levels off on the side of the road and then slopes back up a small bit to catch the water from the road before it pools on your property.

Or just raise the grade at your driveway only requiring a new section of driveway be laid after you raise the grade and get the water to pool on either side of the driveway in the same locations it pools now, but at least get a clear driveway.

A common hidden draining solution used is something called a seepage bed; essentially a big hole, lined, filled with permeable material like round rock, and then covered on top.  Then run drains as needed to the seepage bed.

The size (volume) of the seepage bed varies based on fill material, area to drain (including the road), percolation rate of the soil, and the amount of rain you get over a given time period based on the percolation rate of the soil.

It is commonly used under parking lots to drain water from the parking lot without taking up any more area on the lot.


wiring furnace draft inducer fan I replaced a draft inducer fan on my furnace, the two wires in the furnace that connected to the old fan are black and white. The wires from the new fan are both black. How do I know which to connect to which?

As a general rule, if the device has two wires that are indistinguishable, it won't matter. Where there's some physical reason in the construction to differentiate between "hot" and "neutral" on the wiring, the distinction is made - and sometimes it's made on things where it really doesn't matter to keep questions like this from arising.

But it's essentially the same as any non-polarized two prong plug - flip it over, plug it in, it works just the same. In this case, connect black to black and black to white and don't worry about "which black wire on the fan" if they are indistinguishable black wires - it does not matter - either can be "hot" and it will make no difference.


is it safe to remove soil from basement footing? I'm planning to renovate my basement so that I can use it as additional storage room and access for internal stairs. My basement is half concrete and half soil covered. I'd like convert the soil area to concrete so it will be cleaner and bright. I've got a question around the basement footings as I noticed they're covered with soil that's fenced around them. Is it safe to remove the soil around the footings ? does the soil provides additional protection to the footing? what can I do if I want to tidy my basement and also still maintain the integrity of the footings?

The footings need to stay on the originally compacted soil, if possible, surrounded by several feet of soil for support, which is also supported against subsidence.  They have uniformly settled to where they now sit. If you disturb any of them, you may end up replacing all of them and having to jack your posts (if not floors) to get everything back into level, plumb and square (as if).

I have an old (1920s) country house in which the original fieldstone fireplace pedestal was left surrounded by three feet of undisturbed soil, supported with a wall of reinforced concrete, with everything else in the basement excavated 8 feet deep for a new slab and all new footings and posts.

A structural engineer explained why we have to sacrifice those 120 sq ft of basement floorspace "forever".


Disassembling a faucet to replace its cartridge I am trying to disassemble a faucet to replace its cartridge. However, after taking out a metal button, there is no way to further disassemble anything.
I could not see into the hole because of the angle, so I just tried different hex drive  but I could not hold onto anything at all in the hole.
Am I doing it wrong trying to disassemble it with a hex drive?

[Edit]
Here are pictures taken with a mirror and a flashlight. They are not of the best quality. Can anyone identify a nut or screw or anything?

You need to get a small mirror and bright flashlight and reflect the light into that hole so you can see what you're dealing with. Just about every screw in those handles needs an Allen wrench to remove it. It could be SAE or metric.
Once you get that handle off, you have to loosen the chrome collar at the seam you can see in your photo. A strap wrench or leather belt (Thanks Ed) works so you don't damage the surface.
These faucets are tricky so don't get too discouraged if things don't go right the first time.


Seeking advise on replacing light switches (1-way, 2-way, 1-gang etc) (UK) I would like to replace   some wall switches ("like for like", circled red in the picture below) These are for overhead lights but i have confused myself with whether I need 1-gang, 2-gang, 2-way etc...

There are 3 bulbs, lets say bulb 1 (hall), bulb 2 (landing) and bulb 3 (office).

There are 3 switches:

Switch A with 2 switches on, which respectively control bulb 1 and 2
Switch B with 2 switches on, which respectively control bulb 2 and 3
Switch C with a single switch, which controls bulb 3

The 2 switches for each bulb work together in the way that if the bulb is turned on by one switch, it can be turned off by the same one or by the "other" one.

Which type of switches do I need to replace A and B?

The reason I am wanting to replace them is primarily cosmetic. They are working fine as-is but have become very discolored, full of paint etc over time, and I have a range of 'nicer' ones in mind as part of an overall redecoration.

NB: The wiring is such that they are only earthed to the 'box' that the switch is in, not to the earth circuit, so I know I can only have plastic-type and not the nice metal ones :)

You need

2 x 2-gang 2-way and
1 x 1-gang 2-way

A faceplate with two switches on is two-gang.

Note that 1-gang 1-way switches are also available, slightly cheaper; this will not work in your application.

Switches that can be wired to operate from two locations is a 2-way.

(This is UK terminology. USA terminology is different.)

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/2_Way_Switching


Installing Nest Thermostat. C Wire not hooked up inside furnace Good morning. I am looking to hook up a Nest 3rd Gen thermostat that I purchased. I noticed I had a C wire upon pulling the old thermostat. Problem is it is not connected inside of the furnace. I have a Goodman 60k furnance. Model-gmpn060-3 . I originally connected without the C wire and had cycling issues and immediately removed it. Looking for help. Thanks

Here are a few photos i took. Just need to know where to hook the blue wire up inside of the furnace. Also as you can see the blue wire coming out of the brown sleeve is not hooked to anything inside of the furnace

Theres also some wires hooked up outside of my furnace on the side of it

Add it to the wirenut with the fat blue wire in it

On a typical split-system with air conditioning, there will be a two-wire cable running out to the air conditioner with one wire connected to the yellow Y wire and the other wire connected to C; this cable carries the call-for-cooling signal from the indoor unit to the compressor unit's contactor.

As a result of this, we start our trace at the Y wire, and trace the wire connected to it back to the outdoor unit's control cable.  From there, we can deduce that the other wire must be connected to C in order for the air conditioning to work, so we can simply add the blue C wire going to the thermostat to that wirenut.  This is confirmed by the fact the wiring diagram you posted shows that connections to the secondary-side ground (C) are all blue wires, and the wire nut in question has a fat blue wire going into it.


Why is my A/C drain line not draining at all? I have a unit that is installed in the attic and is about 10 years old. My problem is I normally have to go up and empty the drain pan every month or so, but lately it's been every 3 days.

I have cleaned out the drain pipe, poured bleach in it and still no luck. I have checked the outside drain and nothing. It seems to be just draining in the overflow pan under the unit which is a pain because it fills up and hits the overflow switch then I'm back up in the attic with the old ShopVac.

What is my next step? I really don't want to call a repair guy cause of the cost but I am stumped at this point.

Take your shop vac outside and hook it up to the drain line to suck out whatever gunk is in the drain line. If that doesn't work, you can also use an air compressor at the air handler end of the drain line to push out the clog. Or get a helper and do both at the same time.

Once it's running clean, you'll want to flush out the drain line with some bleach. Mix a 1/4 cup of bleach in to 2 liters or a gallon of water, turn off the air handler, and pour the bleach water in to the drain. Let it sit for 15 minutes or so, and pour fresh water in to flush out the bleach.


Why is my toilet not flushing completely? I have reviewed the other questions here related to this. I'm pretty sure it's not clogged because it doesn't back up and usually only takes 2 flushes to get everything down. Usually it seems to be paper that's left after the first flush, which seems odd. The water does swirl, but it does seem to be kind of a weak swirl, for lack of a better term. The water and paper just doesn't go all the way down.

Here's what I've tried already:

used a plunger
used a snake/auger, going down from the toilet
used a snake/auger, from the roof, going down the vent; it was maybe 15 feet long; it came back wet but clean
held down the handle to make sure the entire contents of the tank is emptied; this didn't have any effect, it still didn't flush completely; although I did notice that when I didn't hold it down, it did seem like the flapper closed early, so I should probably try a new flapper
took out the 'filler' in the tank; there is a large plastic spacer thing in the tank which I assume is there to take up volume and save water; I removed this so that the tank was completely full; still no change
we have hard water, but we've had a water softener for the last 12 or so years we'e been in the house (out of 15); so I'd think any mineral deposits wouldn't be there, or at least wouldn't suddenly appear; I haven't done the CLR scrum around the rim jets yet
I tried pouring in a couple gallons of water from a bucket to see if it goes down, which it started to and then stopped; I don't know what this may indicate

This is in an upstairs bathroom. I don't hear any gurgling out of the sink or bath when I flush.

This is the original toilet, or at least since we moved in 15 years ago; the house was built around 1988. I have replaced the flush valve or whatever you call the main mechanism inside the tank a few or several years ago.

It has been doing this for a few months now (yea I'm slow getting to it); I mean it's basically functional with a 2nd flush, just kind of gross.

EDIT: I finally pulled the toilet, after trying everything else (except CLR); I tried to snake/auger it from the bottom and didn't find anything there either; I couldn't get the snake all the way thru, but I feel like this is more due to the sharp bend; it just completely stopped; everyone will probably say this obviously means you have a clog, but it felt like it just wasn't turning, rather than hitting any obstruction. It's an older auger from my father; kind of spools out of a funnel shaped metal container, rather than the closet augers I've seen in related youtube videos

So now what? Might be easier at this point to just replace it, since I didn't change anything after pulling it, and I'm afraid if I put the old one back on I'll have the same probably since nothing changed

What you might try is getting a new flapper since it is closing too soon anyway, also get the filling mechanism/float which will rush water into the tank quicker..they sell both items in a kit..and make sure the water level is high enough in the tank. You can even adjust the float a little higher. That will give the water more force from the added weight.   It sounds like all you need is a little extra push to get a complete flush.


Are air coolers as effective as air conditioners? I'm planning to buy an air cooler as it is less expensive to purchase and operate than an air conditioner.
Are there any air coolers that can achieve same, or close to, the cooling effect that an air conditioner can achieve?

Those air coolers or swamp coolers as they are sometimes called, will only work in an area with very low humidity. They use what is called "evaporative cooling" to achieve a lower air temperature and while operating produce a lot of humidity.  They will not produce air temperatures that are as cold as an airconditioning unit but they will lower the room temperature somewhat.
About 55 years ago, my soon to be "father-in-law" bought one of these units for use in Pittsburgh, Pa. His unit could be filled with both ice and water. He turned it on and said, "look how cold the air is". Yes, it was cold but the walls had streaks on them from the water that was condensing and running down the walls. Enough said!


How can I remove wax spilled on a painted wall? There was an accident where a non-extinguished candle spilled wax on a drywall. I removed most of it gently with a blunt knife, but there is a big stain left from the candlewax. Since this is an apartment on rent, is there a solution to my problem where I won't have to pay an insane amount of money to my landlord for a repaint?

Generally spilled wax can be wicked up with a brown paper bag or newspaper and a clothing iron or hair dryer. If it is on a painted surface, I would try that or even hot water. If it is on an unpainted surface, then it will need to be wicked up as much as possible and then repaired.


Can electrical cables in wall cause the wallpaint to change color? I live in an old house and I painted my kitchen light blue. After several years I noticed that there are strange white line-like patterns on the wall. They always run in right angles and seem to align with electrical wires behind the wall.

I am wondering, is it possible that somehow the electrical wires have caused the wall paint to pale? If so, what is the underlying mechanism? The only thing I am aware of is heat, since each imperfect conductor emits heat with passing current.

One other possibility would be an electro-magnetic field generated by the current interacting with iron particles in the paint, but I am not competent enough to tell if this is plausible.

EDIT

The walls are made of brick and the wires are covered by plaster. I am not sure what kind of wiring is inside.

Most probably from temperature. Electromagnetic fields usually do not change plaster or color in that way.

If your installation is old and plastered in, and undersized, the wires would beat up and the wall material would e.g. loose some Cristal water over time and thus change color.

If you can verify your hypothesis with some metal or wire detector. If you think it is best, try to find the consumers for the wires and turn them on. After some time you should be able to notice a difference. The ideal way would be a thermal camera, but they are quite expensive and you probably cannot easily get one.

If it is temperature induced, you should consider replacing them with an up to date Installation and make sure you are not overloading them.


Corroded Sink Drain Cover Removal Suggestions I've pretty much taken my entire old faucet apart except the last piece, the Sink Drain Cover.

I've put WD-40 on it, didn't help much. I've read about different products that help with corroded metal, but i'm assuming you have to actually apply them where the thread meets.
Any Suggestions?

Use a "mini-hack" saw, they work great for actually slicing the drain spud then grabbing it with Channellocks, crushing it, then pulling it out.

Or you could attack from below with a long-shank sacrificial slotted screwdriver and bust the corroded nut off by pounding the screwdriver with a hammer and using it like a chisel.

Brute force carefully applied will do the trick, I've done it many times.


Removing plug from receptacle kills whole room circuit New home blues.  Just bought a house and finding all the bugs.  In my master bedroom there are about 6 plugs on a circuit.  I have a couple lamps, a fan, and my phone charge plugged into the circuit, but into different receptacles.  I noticed that my phone charger was not working (though the lamp in the same receptacle was working), and when I unplugged it, the whole circuit died.  The lamps turned off and the fan stopped. Again, the fan and other lamp were plug into different receptacles.  After a while everything works again, but if I remove a plug from the receptacle the issue returns.  If I jiggle a plug I can see the lamps dim. I don't even know where to begin on trouble shooting this.  I do have a light switch in the room that appears to do nothing.  Was assuming this could control outlets, but doesn't appear to.  Help.

First, post a TaskRabbit to get a handyman out to replace the defective socket.  One hopes the handyman knows to check the break-off tabs.

The light switch does nothing for a reason such as

When you checked receptacles, you only checked one socket per receptacle, because you didn't realize receptacles could be split.
In the past, someone replaced receptacles, and didn't check the tabs.

You can find the undiscovered socket.  A competent handyman can find the mis-replaced receptacle.

But have the known-bad receptacle fixed first.


how to hook up 2 thermostats in series? I have a tenant on the 1st floor who controls the thermostat. It's constantly on 80 and the 2nd floor is dying from the heat. Can I install a 2nd thermostat in the basement and limit the heat output?

If you install two thermostats in series, they'll both have to be calling for heat for the heating to come on.

For example if thermostat 1 is set to 80, and thermostat 2 is set to 75. When the temperature drops below 78, thermostat 1 will close and call for heat. However, the heating will not come on.  When the temperature drops below 73, thermostat 2 will close and call for heat.  At this point the heating will come on, and will stay on until thermostat 2 is satisfied.

In a situation like this, thermostat 1 will never be satisfied, and will always be calling for heat.  You'll basically be bypassing thermostat 1. So the temperature near thermostat 2 will be comfortable,  while the temperature near thermostat 1 will likely be somewhere less than 80.

Keep in mind, however, if the user of thermostat 1 figures out what you've done. They could turn their thermostat way down, and the heating would never come on.


Separating recessed lighting and Ceiling Fan I have Recessed Lights and a Ceiling Fan with light (remote controlled no pull chains) on one single light switch. Usually, just unscrew the lighting so I can just control the fan. I wanted to split the devices. In same box my fireplace fan goes to a single switch as well. I planned to put lights on a signal and the fireplace fan and ceiling fan on a single pole double switch.

All grounds already together, all whites already together...Fan Black i ran to top of double pole switch, fireplace fan to lower part and ran one single hot to the double pole switch and did not break the tab.....fireplace fan worked but ceiling fan did not. I switched them, again, the fireplace fan worked and the ceiling fan did not.

I can't decide if i'm doing something wrong or if the Ceiling fan black needs cut back since it is old and was soldered with the hot in the original setup or if I blew the receiver in the fan possibly.

Thoughts on trouble shooting?

You do not need a double pole switch.

All you need to do is make a connection on the hot wire of the fireplace and the hot wire of the ceiling fan AFTER a single pole switch. So you feed the switch hot, and then join the switched hot to the hots of the two devices. Then whenever you flip that switch both devices will come on.

Good luck and stay safe!


Looking for a dual thermostat for a combination furnace I have a Continental Hybrid 150 Propane/Wood furnace and at present have two separate thermostats for the system. One for the gas side and one for the wood side. The system itself decides where to source the heat so that's not what I need the thermostat to do. I would like a single wall mount thermostat that allows me to set both side independent of each other. I’ve considered building a unit using a Raspberry Pi board along with Wi-Fi capabilities but am hoping perhaps there is something already available in the market to suffice.

TIA!

The simplest, and likely the most flexible is what you have already, is a two separate thermostat solution. The main reason is that you can locate the thermostats in two separate locations so that different factors in the dwelling can be taken into account for controlling the furnace unit.

Getting back to your specific question about a dual thermostat it would seem that a two zone thermostat may be what you want. These, and there a plethora of various types available, are normally used to control temperatures to different rooms or floors of a multi zone heating system. They should be able to control your dual fuel furnace as well just by not using the part of the system that controls zone valves or zone baffles.


How to bore a hole from inside the crawlspace? I need to drop some conduit in my crawlspace and run it under the brick skirting in order to install some conduit.  Once outside the skirting, I plan to rent a trencher to do the majority of the run, but I'm having some trouble figuring out exactly how I can get from the crawlspace under the house to the trench I'll be cutting later.  There isn't all that much room in the crawlspace - perhaps 36" vertical when positioned between the floor joists.  Obviously the conventional posthole diggers (the powered kind) wouldn't work in this situation because of the lack of room to maneuver.

One thought I had was to use a garden bulb augur:

However, some of the reviews of these that I read described people trying to use them to dig holes in a non-gardening application like mine.  Those reviews indicated that either the augurs or the drivers used to power them may strip or otherwise not be able successfully dig the hole.

Beyond this, I haven't thought of many alternatives.

Update:
I tried the bulb augur idea and discovered, somewhat embarrassingly, that the brick skirting extends down below the surface at least 18" and very probably a good bit more than that.  Busting out subterranean masonry under the foundation of a house is a bad idea, even if I could do it (and I'm pretty sure I can't).

@Craig's answer was right: I'm going to use an LB and run the fiber out the same hole being used by an outdoor power outlet.  The fiber is a multimode 50/125 OM3.  The bend radius is unspecified in the documentation for the cable, so I've contacted Tripp Lite's support to get that information.  In the meantime, I found a comparable cable with a long-term radius of 5cm, and the LB will allow for that.

Also, on the augur itself: it performed admirably.  I didn't have any trouble digging the hole it claims to be able to dig.  It did bend at the chuck somewhat when I tried to ram it into the underground masonry, but that's pretty stiff abuse and I wouldn't expect it to do better than it did.  Also, using a hammer driver was pretty important too, or the augur bit might have stripped.

An electric chipping hammer makes short work of difficult soil removal in tight spaces. It can also chip rough holes through masonry.


How do I secure an open-backed set of shelves to the wall? I read this guide on how to anchor furniture to a wall but it assumes that you’ll need to drill through the back of the item, attach something to the inside, and connect this to the wall.

I have a couple of sets of shelves that have open backs. One, an Ikea Vittsjö, has unused screw holes near the top of the unit:

(Unusually for Ikea, this item didn’t come with any wall-anchoring hardware.)

Another bookshelf has a bar running along the top back (on the left in this photo):

I could secure these to the wall by running some kind of strong cable through the screw hole (for the first shelf) or around the bar (for the second shelf). Can anyone recommend some appropriate equipment? If it matters, my main concern is keeping these shelves upright in an earthquake.

If IKEA is nearby just go to the customer service (returns) section of the store and ask for a couple wall anchor kits. Otherwise, there are any number of kits available to order online or pick up at a local hardware store. I prefer the kind that use a flat nylon strap. Then you don't have to align everything perfect between wall and shelf. You attach one end to the furniture and the other end to the wall.

Attaching at the top is always preferable because it gives you the most mechanical advantage. If the open-back shelf is tall attach to the top of the top shelf as it won't be easily seen. For the shelf use a wood or metal screw as appropriate. For the wall use a wall anchor.

Keep the connection reasonably tight (don't go wild here) and the furniture can't exert much force on the anchor due to gravity when it tries to tip over.


Best way to mount a wooden tabletop to a flat surface I am in the process of building a new desk for myself. I have already built two drawers that will function as the legs of the desk, and I have the tabletop itself. Now, what would be the best way to attatch the flat tabletop to the flat top of the two drawers,without visible screws?

A relatively unattractive method would be to use small right-angle brackets. You could also attach a cleat to the sides of the drawer assembly, driving screws into the drawer assembly horizontally and into the desktop vertically. Less unattractive that way. The more expensive and more sophisticated method would be to use a pocket hole drill jig:
Lowes Pocket Hole Drill Jig
which would require sufficient thickness of wood in the drawer assembly sides.

There are ramifications to each of these methods depending on your restrictions regarding visible screws. Even a simpler method of drilling into the desktop, fastening vertically, then installing a plug and refinishing the surface will mean screws that are not seen, but may not meet your requirements overall.


Tub faucet pipe too long I'm trying to replace my tub faucet because the old one sat about 1/8" away from the wall and felt loose.  As it turns out this is most likely because the pipe coming out of the wall is 1/8" too long.  It's a 3/4" pipe threaded at the end and it seems like most faucets using this connection require that pipe to be exactly 4" out of the wall (or probably slightly less to be honest) but this pipe is 4-1/8".
I want the new faucet to fit snuggly against the wall but it has the same issue as the old one, fully threaded on it's still about 1/8" away from the wall.  I do have a pipe cutter but I don't think it would work very well on the threaded section of the pipe, however I was thinking if I just extend the threads on this pipe another 1/8-1/4" I should be able to thread the faucet on further because the female threaded section of the faucet looks significantly longer than the male threaded section of the pipe.
Is that a bad idea, and should I just cut the pipe somehow to be the correct length?  Also if I do end up needing to cut the pipe is there a correct way to cut cleanly through the threaded area?

pipe threads are tapered so cutting the pipe shorter (eg use a hacksaw) would likely not result in the faucet going on any further, instead you'll probably need to have the threads on the pipe re-cut deeper and longer.


How much difference does hot vs cold air make with regards to an Aprilaire 600 furnace humidifier evaporation rate? If I run the humidifier only when the heat is on, I get good evaporation.  However, I want to consider also running it with just the fan running because our furnace doesn't run all that often.  Will I still achieve reasonable evaporation in this case?

I ran the following tests with an ambient temperature of approximately 70 degrees F.  I measured the (hot) water flowing into the humidifier and the water flowing out of the drain to calculate the % evaporation in each case (there is a reasonable margin of error).

Furnace running in low stage.  Approximate air temperature coming from register is 120 degrees F.  Humidity was 25% @ 70F.  Measured 24% evaporation rate.
Furnace is off, fan running on low setting. Approximate air tempertaure coming from register is 70 degrees F.   Humidity was 25% @ 70F. Measured 19% evaporation rate.
Same setup as 2, but humidity was ~32% @ 70F.  Measured 14% evaporation rate.

Unfortunately, this indicates a large amount of water being wasted, especially with the heat off.  Aprilaire advertises that it uses 3 gallons per hour with a 0.7 gallon/hour evaporation rate (24%), which matches with my test for #1.


Is is safe to deal with wiring after only shutting off the room's fuse, but not the main switch? I think the question title says it all:

Given a distribution board in the house (220 VAC), is it enough to shut off only the room's fuses, or must one shut off the main switch for the board before safely touching wires?

Does the answer depend in any way on the fuse type?

And here is why you check it before hand, even though you have turned off that room.  People get into Junction boxes and re-wire - joining two separate circuits into one - in that case one circuit in the house can be fed from two breakers (as long as they are on the same phase).  Always check with testor - and NOT JUST  a proximity induction testor - but an actual touch the wires testor.  OK.  Be safe.


Will concrete poured over wet ground be more likely to crack and disintegrate? What if you’ve had lots of rain & humidity. Our area is slightly sloped. The ground is clay, rocks & some sand. I’m concerned about having concrete poured on a wet ground. We need to have the area graded and sloped slightly in the opposite direction, away from the house. If it’s too wet, will the new patio be unstable? I’m worried about cracking & flaking if the ground isn’t dry enough.

Civil engineer here.  The concrete needs to stay wet in order to cure properly. As noted before, concrete doesn't dry out to harden, it cures through a chemical reaction that needs water to facilitate the reaction. If the ground is dry, the ground will absorb moisture from the concrete and it won't cure properly.  The ground should be very moist and compacted as well as you can manage.

Also, wet clay is notoriously weak and you may end up with uneven support under the concrete, which will then lead to it cracking and settling after it's cured.  Hard to say without seeing it but if you can remove as much clay from beneath the concrete slab, you'll have less chance of it settling and cracking.  This is especially true if the clay is expansive.  It will expand when wet and shrink when dry and your concrete slab will be a disaster. Best to get as much clay removed as possible, compact the sub-grade evenly, and make sure to water the ground before placing the concrete.

Have you thought about proper joints?  Concrete will crack.  If you can get it to crack along a joint, no one will see it. Look at some professionally done concrete flatwork and you'll see what I mean.  Good luck.


Can this drain pipe service two bathroom sinks? we are in the process of modifying some rooms and we have an existing 3" pipe with a 1 1/5" drain pipe as shown here:

We're trying to add a sink on the side currently not serviced by the drain pipe and as far as I can tell we have a few options:

The most difficult option, but probably best, would be to cut it all out and at the bottom, use a wye with a 2" coming off it do service two sinks but that would be really difficult at this stage of the project.
Outlined in red below: 1 1/2" pipe for all connections, add a double sanitary tee at the top of the pipe, optional mechanical valve.
Outlined in blue below: 1 1/2" pipe for all connections, replace the top tee with a double sanitary tee.

We're in Michigan, is any of this is good or up to code.

additional diagram from comment:

I can't speak to code, but what you'll want is a sanitary cross, or sanitary tee to do this. It should be legal in most areas.

The real trick here is you really need some way to allow air in. The best solution is to cut a wye or tee into the main stack further up and run pipe up back down into the new sanitary tee for your sink drains. If you can't do that, it should be acceptable to put an air admittance valve into the wall and add a vented access panel on one side (they should have had one on the sink you removed).

From this PDF


Do I need to sister this ceiling jost? A plumber came to push my DWV pipe back so I could decreased my soffit/bulkhead. In the process, he cut a bit into one of my 2x8 ceiling joists. Not ideal. Wondering if I need to sister the whole joist, or if I can just glue/screw a sistered 2x8 for a 4 ft run or so.

The notch at the bottom is fine - not even close to hitting code requirements... which gives you 1/4 joist and that is the best place to notch - near the edge.
You get 1/3 the joist height for holes.   I don't think yours meets that even if you add the inch shaved off on the bottom.   You could sister something over the hole but for something that small your sister would be for aesthetics as the joist is not going to feel any tension near the end like that.


Can I use the metal cladding of a cable as ground for this range installation? I have a pre-existing #6-3 cable (without ground) with metal cladding on a 50-A two-pole circuit that was wired into a range. As shown in the photo, this cable has only black, red, and white conductors, plus a thin bonding wire.

I am replacing the range, and would like to provide a 4-wire connection, including ground (I'm aware that the 3-wire connection is legal, but the grounded option seems far safer to me).
Can I use the metal cable shield as the ground, even though it won't be nearly as conductive as a separate #6 (or at least #10) ground wire? If so, would I do that simply by making sure that the metal shield and bonding wire are securely attached to the metal box where the receptacle is installed? For easy installation of the 14-50R, I am hoping to use this product, which has a metal back with punchouts.

If not, what is the simplest way to safely install the range? Can I run a #10 ground from the subpanel along the outside of the existing BX? Or would I need to replace the breaker with a GFCI in order to achieve the appropriate protection?

Go ahead and install your receptacle, as you have a legal grounding path present
Since that "bonding strip" (bonding wire, really) is present in your cable, you have current-generation armored cable (Type AC), and the combination of armor and bonding strip is your grounding path provided you use an armored-cable fitting (with "redhead" insulating bushing or insulating liner) to attach the cable to your surface-mounted receptacle.


Repairing a Bosch 400W mixer I broke my mixer a few weeks ago while preparing soup -- I guess I went a bit too hard on the motor, and a fuse must have burnt. This is exactly the model shown below over there, except that it's 400W, not 600W: http://i.stack.imgur.com/xSnnk.jpg

Is there any hope I can repair this by myself? If so, how exactly, and will it be worth the effort (in particular, will this be cheaper than buying a new one?)?

Thanks for your help!

On topic or no - rebuilding a hand blender like that is generally an exercise in futility.

Based on my experience trying to fix small items like that - replacement parts for small appliances like that are non-existent.


Light fixture buzzing sound Today I replaced our dining room's old 70s chandelier. When I opened it up I noticed pretty quick the rubber shielding on the lamps cords had been melting a bit towards the tips as it got all over my hands while taking down the old fixture. I just discounted it at age since it wasn't overly significant and the fixture had been up for years before we moved in a few months ago.

So I installed a brand new updated fixture and also replaced the existing single pole dimmer switch with the same model single pole dimmer I've installed elsewhere in the house.

Here's my problem:
When I turn it on to full brightness, it works fine but there's a subtle buzzing noise coming from the switch and the fixture by the bulb(s)

When you dim it down it flickers.

Now, I've probably literally changed out a hundred fixtures over the years. The only thing different about the way I installed it was the new single pole dimmer had a ground wire I just hooked to the bare ground wire that was already there. Whereas the old switch didn't have one.

I'm pretty positive all the connections are fine and I used new screw caps on the twisted pairs.

I'm no electrician but it's not rocket science, however I could use some education from someone a bit more experienced than myself troubleshooting this weird behavior. If I have to pull it all back down and investigate a hint at what to look for in particular would be awesome.

EDIT ADDITION: Replaced it with a Leviton Cat. No. 6672-L "Universal" that's even has on the box advertising it for the bulbs in use. It still buzzes at the switch, the dimming is a little cleaner to a point before it flickers again. I can pull down the fixture and double check everything but I'm pretty sure it's not the culprit.

Any advice?

Cheers

the 3 bulbs are 60W equivalent ecosmart compact fluorescent's

This may be your problem. Many CF (compact fluorescent) bulbs are NOT designed to be dimmed.

Try changing out your bulbs with "Dimmable" CFs.


Why am I not getting enough gas pressure for a BBQ and generator? The house we bought in Nov 2014 was plumbed in for LP gas. There is a 500 gal tank outside with a regulator connected to a 1" supply to the house. Once at the house there looks like what would be another regulator the in-ground pipe connects to, just before it enters the house. In the crawlspace the piping is done with the Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) The 1" line in the crawlspace is branched off with 3/4" lines that feed to a fireplace on the first floor, but is capped off. It feeds the Rinnai Tankless heater on another 3/4" branch. Another two 3/4" branches feed the oven and a gas fireplace on the second floor. The last one, also 3/4" is brought up into the outside wall and turned out to supply, at the time, a future BBQ grill, or so I presumed.

Any ways, I set out to complete the hook up. There is the typical red handled valve on the end of the line on the outside of the wall. It is fitted with 1/2" IPS threads to fit it to the CSST in the wall with the proper adaptors I also presume.  It was capped with a plug which I removed, brushed out the dried pipe dope and fastened a Flame King connector with Teflon tape on the treads.

Before I did the install, I removed the connector with the black hand nut and set it aside for use on the generator. That left the remaining part, after it was installed on the line, for the part that goes to the LP tank on the BBQ to hook right up to the in-house propane, which I did.

When I turned on the red handled valve that charged the line to the newly installed connector to the BBQ, I did not see the indicator gauge move a speck. I did hear the regulator on the BBQ make the soft click when the line is pressurized, so I turned on a burner, which did fire up. Turning on the other 3 burners reduced the flame on the first one as each one turned on. Just as a mention, the one burner, while it was the only one on, did not seem all that spectacular, even less so with the other burners working. The needle on the gauge has still not budged, still below the empty mark.

So I moved onto the generator I wanted to adapt to this too. I took off the old school connector and installed the new part with the black nut with the Teflon tape. The install was a snap. Brought the generator over to the outside connector that I just tried the BBQ on and tightened the connector. I did test ALL connections/threads with soapy water in a spray bottle. No leaks anywhere.
I attempted to start the generator, a Honda 6500 watt twin cylinder 17 hp motor converted to run on LP gas, that ran great on the little tank I had. It would only fire intermittently when I had the choke out. As a note the BBQ and generator, also have regulators too.

I know I am not getting enough propane to the engine, and perhaps the BBQ when it is hooked up. With everything else working fine in the house, what is the issue with the 2 items I am trying to hook up? Are all the regulators choking the flow? I figure the gauge would show something after it had a chance to build up, but there is nothing. Still showing below empty.
I am going to guess the gauge only shows pressure on the non regulated side, so it is moot to even have it, but I could not find one without it, oh well.
To reaffirm the question, why am I not getting enough pressure through? My gas oven, or at least ones I helped install on jobsites have there own regulators too, but the ovens and cooktops worked fine.....

Make sure the output on your regulator is set correctly -- probably about 10" WC.


Is my plan for wiring ethernet reasonable? I would first of all like to start off by saying that I am a software developer by profession, so my networking knowledge is relatively basic.  My question is therefore aimed at figuring out if I am on the right track, or if there are better alternatives to what I want to accomplish.

I am about to set up a home network for a new place that I bought.  I have been giving it a lot of thought and would like to be connected in a wired manner as much as possible (I want wifi throughout the house, but only for mobile deviced - my PCs must be wired).

I have identified that I have 3 rooms in total which require ethernet jacks in them.  The first room is a study which will have 2 PCs and a network printer.  So as a minimum, I require 3 points in that room to be able to connect an ethernet cable directly into PC 1, PC2 and the printer.

I then want 2 other points in the spare bedroom, and one more in the main bedroom (incase I would like to put a wireless router in that room just incase the wifi from the source will not reach there). So the point in the main bedroom will be plugged into a wireless router for wireless devices to connect.

So my reasoning is the following (please correct me if I am wrong):

The source of the internet from my ISP is in my living room, where this will go into the WAN port of my router.  From the router I will then connect a network switch into one of the available LAN ports (with around 8 ports or so).  The other ports in the router will be kept free for any network TV devices I may need in the living room.

The network switch will then have an ethernet cable plugged into each ports, where each cable runs to the points in the other rooms.  I am assuming that each point in a room will be connected directly to the switch with one long cat5e cable.  So when I plug the ethernet cable in the study into PC 1, that will be a very long cable running all the way to the switch.  Same applies to PC 2 and the printer - these are two separate very long cables.

So in total, I would be having around 6 very long ethernet cables running from the switch into the other rooms, where one cable is used for just one device.

Is this all valid reasoning? Am I doing something fundamentally wrong? My electrician who is wiring the place suggested that I use one ethernet cable and loop it for all devices, but he said he does not know anything about networking so has instructed me to seek professional advice.  What I am writing here is basically what I have come up with.

Any advice is appreciated!

(Lots of) Home runs are good

You are correct that you want to run a cable to each room from the central switch. In fact, I would run at least 1 more cable than you think you will need to each room, and consider running a line or 2 to other rooms as well - especially if your walls are open. Cable is cheap, and pulling 4 cables instead of 3 is no more work when done at the same time. If you decide later that you want a 4th jack, you either need a small switch (which does limit bandwidth, not really increase latency) or you need to open walls again to pull that 4th cable.

Use a patch panel

Rather than run the cable from the big switch to each room, you should have a patch panel in between. Patch panels basically change the type of connection on the cable (the back is a 110 punch down block, front is an RJ-45 jack), and are a simple pass-through.

This is to ease installation. Pulling cable through walls is best done when the cable is un-terminated. Terminating the cable (i.e., putting the RJ-45 jacks on the end) can and is done, but punching the cable down into a patch panel is so much easier, especially for someone who has never done it before (and it sounds like neither you nor your electrician has). The cost is marginal (again, go bigger than you think you need now), but you save on headaches during installation.

You would then get keystone jacks that allow you to punch down the cable on the other end:

You shove these into wallplates on an electrical box or low-voltage plate:

They make wall-plates with different numbers of openings (usually 1-6), so you can get what you need for each room.

Finally, you would need short (1-2 ft) "patch" cables to connect the patch panel to the big switch. Buy these cables pre-made, as you won't be able to make your own for less. These are typically stranded cable, as it's more flexible.

Your final setup would look something like this:

(the top-most device with jacks is the patch panel, the middle on is the switch, and the bottom would be your router)

Buy solid copper UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cat5e or cat6 cable, rated properly (usually CMR for typical in-wall installation, but you'll need Plenum if you plan to run it in HVAC ducts), and buy multiple boxes if possible. Standard is 1000 ft but smaller lengths are available, and they come in all different colors. A decent-sized house could take 2000-3000 ft of cabling or more, depending on how many runs and where the network closet is. Again, the more boxes you have, the easier installation will be (you typically pull 1 from each box at the same time, so if you want 4 runs to a single location, having 4 boxes is easiest).

If you want things a little cleaner, you can get a wall-mounted mini rack as well:

Just make sure to get one that has the depth and vertical space (measured in "U") you need. They also make ones with hinges that make patch panel installation a bit easier.

Most product images taken from monoprice.com


What's best to stick granite backsplash to granite countertop? Forgive my lack of knowledge here.

New bathroom vanity. Black granite countertop and 3" tall backsplash.
Countertop, and will-be-visible faces of backsplash, are polished and factory sealed.

** Backsplash will be about 2" from wall **

What specific product is best to use to "glue" the backsplash to the countertop?
(googling seems to suggest some sort of epoxy, but wondering if that might be too brittle, or discolour...?)

Do I need to sand the polished & sealed countertop where the backsplash will sit?

Do I need to caulk when the "glue" is set, and with any specific caulk?

Here's the relevant bit of the "installation guide". There is no text...

Thanks in advance...

**** EDIT ****
For clarification, the backsplash won't be against a wall but it will be near it. About 2 inches away. And we have little kids so I'd like to use the backsplash to stop stuff running down the back of the cabinet where it will be hard to clean.

Clear, slow (ie, not 5 minute set time) epoxy is what I'd use. Apply masking tape on the countertop exactly at the seam line. Same for the backsplash. Glue and set the backsplash (clamp gently in place), and wipe the joint clean of the excess. (Disposable gloves will be your friend, here, as epoxy is hard to clean.) Pull the tape and wipe the joint one more time. Have whatever recommended solvent on hand for cleanup in case you get any epoxy where it shouldn't be.

My gut feeling is that this sort of setup is usually used against a wall, so they aren't expecting the backsplash to take a lot of abuse. Since you aren't against a wall, be careful in the future.

I don't think there's a need to rough up the mating surfaces, but it can't hurt.

And since you have a perfectly waterproof joint, I wouldn't bother with caulk.


What's the best way to adjust a leaning gate post? I recently built a large double wood gate using 6x6x8 posts.  Each post was set with concrete in a 26" hole.   After some settling, one of the posts is now leaning about 1/4 inch toward the middle.  This is causing the gate to not open/close easily.  What is the best way to adjust the leaning post?  Or do I need to redo the post setting entirely?

My first thought is a guy wire from the top corner of the post, with a turnbuckle in the middle to tension it up and pull out that lean in the post. It seems that if you don't do something like this, the only alternative IS to reset the posts, which is a lot of work.
Hope this helps.

This is what a turnbuckle looks like:


How can I fix this hose winder? I inherited one of those nifty hose winder reel things that make storing your hoses really easy. However, this one seems slightly broken. There's a black plastic part that you screw your input hose into that fits onto the reel, like so:

However, it pulls right out; there doesn't seem to be anything actually holding it in place.

The black plastic thing that you connect the hose to says to "pull tabs on out tube" but I don't see any tabs anywhere to pull.

Here's the thing the black plastic part fits into:

Is it just broken? Would it be the end of the world if I superglued or epoxied the black plastic thing into the unit itself to prevent it from coming out?

It appears as though the portion that pulls out has sheared off from the inside. If you inherited this piece, I'm assuming you don't want to put much in it.

Clean it VERY well with some alcohol or similar (not acetone) and a brush. I'd try some J.B. Plastic Weld, let it setup and cure overnight and give it a shot. You've got a 50/50 chance it will either fail incredibly or someone will inherit it from you.

I've never had much luck with repairing things like this, but the J.B. Plastic Weld (and similar "plastic weld" products has fixed a veritable stable of Fisher Price toys, Big Wheels and similar.

Good luck!


remove plastic film off porcelain tile I just had "marble like" porcelain tile installed.  the plastic film over each tile is too had to get off. The installer gave up and left it on, said he never seen plastic film so hard to come off.  So far tried a glass scrapper, hot rag, and just manually picking it off by hand... it comes off but too time consuming.  What are some other efficient AND safe methods of removing it?
thank you

You could try gently warming up the plastic film with a hair dryer. Sometimes the adhesive attraction between the plastic and the smooth surface of the tile will begin to let go as heat is applied making it easier to peel. Use care not to get it so hot that you melt the plastic film.


What are the consequences of building without a permit? Suppose someone decided to build a house without getting the required permits. What are the possible consequences?

I'm not talking about slipshod workmanship, or ignoring safety of structure, fire, and sewage. I'm talking about doing good quality work that generally meets or exceeds code requirements, but without going through the "proper channels".

(I'm sure you'll want more context; ask and I'll edit later.)

This wil depend on where exactly you live. There're many possible outcomes, including the following:

nothing bad happens
you can be fined
the house can be demolished and you'll have to pay for that
you'll be forced to go through the "proper channels" later
you'll face minor or major problems when you try to sell/lease/insure the house

Also don't forget that the codes can impose some limitations that are specific to your exact location. For example, the maximum height or pressure onto the ground could need approval from some certified state organization.

So if you ignore the procedure the following could happen. You will not know that you house will be limited in electric power or pressure onto the ground (since that data is not obviously available until you contact the organization responsible for that) and you'll only face problems when it is too late - so you will be unable to heat your house properly or it will excert too much pressure and collapse and even damage the surrounding buildings. Or your neighbours might file a lawsuit agains you because your house casts too dense shadow on their land.

The bottom line is - consult a qualified specialist in your location. Building without permit might be a Very Bad Idea™.


Suds accumulating at the base of a tree Today is cool and rainy and I noticed suds accumulating at the base of a tree. They seem to be oozing out of the tree (on one side only) and dripping down from a height of about four feet. There is some sort of lichen (?) growing on this side of the tree, but I don't see the same suds on nearby trees, some of which have the same lichen growing. Any idea what this is, and whether I need to take action?

Update: Today it's not raining and the "suds" are totally gone, so it was definitely something caused or made visible by the rain.


What can I do about minimizing small shards of ice shooting out the ice dispenser on LG refrigerator? Ever since we bought this fridge it's been doing this with the ice dispenser.  It's only 3-4 months old and I've tried cleaning out the tray where the ice is made but to no avail.

Looks like its the quality of the produced ice which is easy to break up, try cleaning the ice tray with vinegar then soapy water,  that may reduce the mineral deposits on the tray and reduce surface resistance.

I don't have a direct answer, only suggestions, since this is quite a complicated question.

Firstly, if you look at the new ice, fresh from the ice maker, are they solid?, then take one out and see if the ice block is very cloudy, this would make the ice slightly more fragile, since it contains many air bubbles.  you could try turning the freezer to a slightly higher temperature to get the ice to freeze slower.

If the ice is falling out of the tray already flaky, then the problem is in the tray

I would suggest taking all existing ice out if the unit. cleaning everything then checking if there is a change.

as a second experiment, you could wait for an empty tray, then manually pour distilled water into the ice tray and see if you get better ice. in that case your water has too many minerals etc.


Is my outbuilding wired correctly? I have a 3-wire source power wire (red/hot, black/hot, white/neutral and bare copper/ground) leading into an outbuilding to a light switch and GFCI outlet 4x4 metal box. This 3 wire provides power to multiple lights, multiple outlets and a security light in an outbuilding.

So I just want to make sure I hooked it up correctly.

Incoming or source wires:

Black wire- I connected the source black wire to the line in on the GFCI
Red wire - I connected to the source red wire to the line in on the light switch
Neutral wire- I connected to the line in on the GFCI opposite side of the black wire.
Ground wire- I connected to a pig tail wire connected to the screw in the back of the box and also to the ground screw on the light switch and the ground screw on the GFCI.

I have 3 romex wires coming into the top of the box leading to other lights, outlets and a security light.

Out going Lights romex wire:
Going to my other lights wire I connected the black wire to the load side on the light switch and connected the ground wire to the pigtail with all the other out going ground wires and connected it to the ground screw on the back of the box. I wasn't sure if I needed to pigtail all the outgoing neutral wires and connect them to the load side of the GFCI? I believe I pigtailed the two neutrals from the outgoing lights and outgoing outlets wires and connected them to the screw on the load side of the GFCI. For the security light wire I used the push in on the load side of the GFCI. Everything is working but I'm not sure if I should have connected the white neutral going to my other lights to the load side on the light switch. Anyway they are all working with it connected to the GFCI load side for the white wires.

Outgoing outlet romex wire:
I connected the black outgoing wire to the load side of the GFCI. I connected the ground to the other outgoing grounds on a pigtail and connected to the ground screw on the box. I connected the white wire to a pigtail with the other white wire going to my lights and then connected them to the load side opposite my black hot wire on the GFCI.

Outgoing security light:
I connected the black wire for the security wire to the push in on the load on the GFCI and the white wire is also connected to the push in on the load side of the GFCI. The ground is connected to all the other outgoing grounds in a pigtail attached to the ground screw.

As stated everything is working and I have constant power to my outlets and all my lights turn on at this switch. Everything is working so I must have done something right but my only real question is should I have attached the white neutral wire going to my lights to the neutral on the light switch as well as the neutral load on the GFCI? I didn't connect the neutral back to the light switch I just put it back on the GFCI because that's where the line in neutral was. Maybe I should have pigtailed the incoming neutral and connected it to both the line in on the GFCI and the light switch? Now that I'm typing this that sounds like it may have been a better idea. Any help would be appreciated.

You should have only attached the white grounded (neutral) conductor from the cable leading to the other receptacles, to the grounded (neutral) terminal of the GFCI.  The white grounded (neutral) conductors for the lights should be connected with at pigtail to the neutral feeding the building.

Unless you want to provide GFCI protection to the security light as well, then you'll connect the wires feeding that to the load side of the GFCI.


Help with Receptacle Inside Cabinet I'm trying to create a giant medicine cabinet here on this wall, and hoping to put a receptacle on the inside of it.  I don't want wires to channel inside of the cabinet itself.  Right now, I have a receptacle to the left of the stud.  What are my options?  Located in USA, Nevada.  THanks.

I just did this on the medicine cabinet I installed in my bathroom. The issue I think you are going to face is the depth of the wall - at least looking at the picture. I mounted a box on the side of the cabinet in mine but I had a full-depth wall. In your case I would tap into one of your 20 amp GFI protected outlets next to the cabinet using BX cable. Put a knockout in the side of the cabinet. Connect into the cabinet with a BX connector. For the receptacle I would use a narrow, grounded power strip mounting it on the back of the cabinet hard-wired with the BX cable.
I checked in my area and this met code when I used an outlet box. I'm not sure about hard-wiring a power strip but I'm sure one of the electrical experts here on Stack Exchange will educate us.
Edit

Here is one sample of a hard-wired power strip from Amazon. There are others available.


How do I remove water marks / stains from a marble countertop? Our marble bathroom countertop has a few problem areas - most are water stains, but a few are marks on the surface, and it's hard to determine the source.

Looking for best tips/tricks to treat & clean the surface.  I'm not certain that it was ever 'sealed' properly as we weren't the initial owners.  Is it recommended to regularly seal or treat marble counters?

The water 'stains' on the surface of marble are often etching from acidic chemical reactions. There are special marble polishing compounds that you can buff the surface with to restore it.


Best way to bring power to a moving garage door I'm planning a project to add RGB lighting to the inside of my garage door.  It will add white light to the garage when I need it, as well as visually confirm door motion and position, and clearance of the doorway when complete.

One aspect though that I'd like suggestions on, is how to physically electrically connect the large moving door to the stationary house.

1) The three options I've seen so far would be a horizontal cable festoon:

2) Curly cord flat against the wall from the midpoint of the door to the corner of the ceiling.

3) Using non-conductive roller wheels for the door, and using the two tracks themselves as conductors with 'brushes on the door' that would ride in contact with the rails.  I'd be a little concerned about corrosion over time if this was DC, and the effect of a large looped field if it were AC.

With any of these I will almost certainly be using current-limited 12 or 24v, so that when it eventually breaks I don't have to worry too much about an electrical hazard. Perhaps tension rated break-away connectors would be a good idea to to avoid damage.

The control module will probably be a raspberry pi, mounted on the door. It will probably use wifi for its data connection.  But it would be nice to use hardwired ethernet if that wasn't much extra hassle.  A festoon for example could accommodate power and ethernet with little extra headache.

My primary concern is physical durability and the likelyhood of cables getting snagged and breaking or blocking the operation of the automatic door opener.

Actually the door opener itself, having a rail and a plastic trolley, might serve as an electric path without having to add any physical objects that could add a snag hazard.  As could the torsion spring wires....

Anyway. What other means can you come up with to bring power to my garage door, and what method do you think is the best and why?

You have two components which may be electrically isolated from each other if the door itself is not metal:  Tracks and spring/counterweight mechanism; and The opener track. You can make one positive and the other negative.  You will have trouble electrically separating the tracks and springs from each other. Keep in mind that spring preload is dangerous, cannot be reasoned with, and does not know pity or remorse or fear.

However, I would be more inclined to use induction, or "two halves of a transformer".  Place one half on the door. Place the other half where the door is in the down location.  If you only need the lights to to work in that position, you are done.  Otherwise either a) have a second "transformer" primary in the open position; or b) install a large enough battery on the door. NiCd D-cells are a good choice, because it is not expensive and rides through abuse better than most.  A protected lithium might also do.   Presence or absence of AC would also be a means to detect door position.

Keep in mind with transformers, the carried wattage decides the mass of copper, but the frequency decides the size of the iron core.


Grounding for sub panel breaker We have an old cabin with 4 fuses in the main 60 amp panel, and a sub panel with a handful of breakers. The sub panel is fed by 3 wires instead of the modern 4. The 4 fuses are all wired with 2 wire aluminum wiring.
I know that code allows you to add one grounding wire to serve multiple circuits. I had one open spot in my main panel, so I added a 10 gauge solid grounding wire. My question is if code allows me to ground receptacles on a breaker in the sub panel with the grounding wire from the main panel. I just did this (Grounded some outlets run off of the main panel fuses and some off of a sub panel breaker) with my one grounding wire and my circuit checker said the open ground was gone and showed proper wiring, but then I read that a single ground wire can only be used for multiple circuits that terminate at the same panel.
I can read that to say that my sub panel that the breaker is on terminates back at the main panel as do the fuses, or that the breaker terminates at the sub panel, and the fuses at the main panel so it is not ok. (At least I am not bonding neutral and ground at the sub panel)
I would appreciate any help I can get on this.
Edits:
So it sounds like what I did does not meet code. Is this kind of grounding dangerous? Ineffective? Just less effective than proper grounding? Basically I am wondering if I should take it out. Also, given the 2nd photo below, I am not sure if I could run the grounding wire to the subpanel as suggested, or if I would need to add a grounding bar to do so. We will eventually need to bring someone in to straighten all this out, but I am trying to make things better, not worse, until then.
As requested, I have added pictures below.

The first is the main box. There was one grounding screw available in the middle on the top that you cannot see here behind the wires. It is where the green wire on the top connects.
Here is the subpanel. I don't think the ground and neutrals that are here are separated. Given there is no grounding wire coming in from the main panel, I do not see how these can be separated bars (upper left), but I am no expert.

The ground retrofit rules say you need to take the ground back to the same panel the circuit comes out of.  So maybe this ground you just installed actually goes to the subpanel, and the subpanel has its own ground wire back to the main.

Also, I would flip that around, and make it so the fuse box is a subpanel of the breaker panel, and have it be powered off an AFCI breaker.  That will be a good hedge against most aluminum-wire troubles.


Can you use a router like a saw to cut wood? Can one use a router to cut wood in a similar way that a jigsaw would cut wood? What are the upsides and downsides of using a router to cut wood?

It seems simple enough, but then again, I've never used either machine. I would think that you could just set the router to a deeper threshold than you usually would, in order to cut through the full depth of the piece. Or perhaps you could flip the piece over after routing one side and finish the cut by routing on the underside.

I ask because it's of course less costly to have one router than to have one router and one jigsaw, particularly for a sporadic user like myself.

It's entirely possible, and often reasonable. Without going as far as buying a CNC router (handy, but expensive) simple jigs and sleds permit cutting precisely circular holes (eat your heart out, jigsaws) and precisely straight edges (like a tablesaw with no need to use a jointer afterwards - indeed, many people with tablesaws use a router jig to joint boards if they don't also have a giant jointer.) A different sort of sled allows a router to act as a surface planer, as well, and a variant allows use as a curved surface planer.

There are, of course, compromises. You give up more waste in "saw" kerf. You may need to take multiple cuts at increasing depth or you risk overloading, bogging down, and snapping the bit.

From personal experience, you don't want a low-quality router with poor bearings. This is a tool where cheap can be expensive and expensive can be cheap. And it is certainly true that having more money in router bits than even a good router costs is perfectly normal.


40 to 50 Volts on Generator (Neutral to Earth) "Normal"? We recently installed a new generator (Mosa GE6000SX) and during the troubleshooting process for something else, the electrician noticed that when the generator was running but disconnected with no load (just the meter), he observed 40-50 volts between the neutral and the earth (it is a 240 Volt AC single phase generator).

The electrician seemed to think it was a fault with the generator that should be rectified by the manufacturer.  However when I spoke with the supplier's technical support today, they informed me that a 40-50 volt reading between the neutral and the earth was "normal".

According to the manufacturer, it supports 110 V and 230 V modes.  In 230 V mode, the windings inside are connected in series, while in 110 V mode, they are connected in parallel.  As the generator offers split-phase 110 V, the earth is centre-tapped on the 110V windings. i.e. in 110 volt mode, it produces 110v with a centre tapped earth

Should I be concerned about this?

The generator ultimately powers an off-grid home when the renewable power system is low on battery and recharging (inverter bypass).

My understanding is that in a UK home, neutral should be tied to earth at the generation source, as safety features (such as the fuses in the plugs) don't operate on the neutral, so according to the electrician, this is a potentially unsafe configuration.

It turns out that the OP's model of generator is peculiar -- its 120V is set up in the UK jobsite fashion (i.e. two 60V hot legs and a neutral), which when combined with the way the 120/240V switching works on the 120/240V models of this generator, yields a neutral at an odd spot.

The only fix is to use a 240/240 isolation transformer to establish a new neutral point, or to rewire the generator (which'd void its NRTL listing).