How to stack 2x4 table legs? I have a desk made with 2x4 legs I want to increase the height for a work table. I'm thinking adding 5 1/2". How to I connect the new piece onto the original leg?
I've been looking at pocket holes but didn't know if this would be strong with the wood grain.

It would be helpful if you could add a picture of your desk to your question. The commenters are correct. A work table with 2x4 legs is probably not fancy, and doesn't need a fancy job to raise it. If it were my project, I would either replace the legs with longer ones, or add a 5-1/2" stub under the leg while scabbing a full length 2x4 leg to the inside of the original leg. Use 2-1/2 inch screws and horizontally screw the new leg into both the old leg and the stub. You can optionally toe screw from the original leg into the stub - just like a pocket hole, but less of a process.


In a brick layout for tile, how do I handle exposed cut edges? My second in the line of "redoing a bathroom" questions.  For our tub surround, my wife and I have picked out some very nice 16"x4" subway tiles, that we would like to arrange in a brick pattern.  To surround the tile, and finish exposed edges, we have ordered some 16x4 bullnose.  For example:

http://monty.princeton.edu/~mark/tile_layout.gif

However, in order to have a brick pattern, every other row will require a 16x4 tile to be cut in half, leaving an unfinished edge on the tile.  I have noticed that the tile we picked out has a very slight roundness to the edges of the tile.  Cutting the tile in half will cause a sharp corner where the cut tile butts up against the bullnose:

http://monty.princeton.edu/~mark/tile_layout_edge.gif

The top is a full 16x4 viewed from the edge (notice the rounded top edge where it butts against the bullnose) whereas the bottom is the cut tile (notice the sharp corner where it butts against the bullnose).  Now, in this image I have exaggerated the bevel on the top face of the tile, it is quite a bit more subtle than this.

How is this typically handled?  Is there a way to soften the sharp corner?  Or is it typically not noticed?

In my experience it's usually not noticed.

You'll be grouting as well and unless you're very precise with the grout there'll be some variation with grout depth and width which will "even out" the effect.


Do I need a new or a repositioned TV aerial for freeview? One of our tenants would like a TV in their room. The aerial in question hasn't been used for over 10 years, way before the switch over to digital. We don't even know if it still works. I was wondering would we need to have it repositioned in order to receive freeview channels? Or is it a case of sticking on a connector then connecting it to the TV. The actual antenna is just above the window of the room in question so the cable would be quite a short run; a few metres at the most.

The antenna should be fine, the frequencies are still the same, it is the format of the information being transmitted that has changed.

If that antenna is to be attached to a TV that hasn't been used for 10 years, odds are good that the TV will require a digital to analog converter box.


Circuit breakers in "ordinary" boxes In some buildings, I've noticed circuit breakers in what appear to be ordinary electrical boxes.  For example, in some musical practice rooms, the light, fan, and a receptacle are all switched by a breaker which is mounted in a way similar to a light switch, except for a placard explaining how to reset the breaker if it trips.  I would expect things were done this way so that someone who accidentally overloads the breaker would be able to reset it without having to find a custodian with a key to the main electrical box.

While I doubt that I'm going to rewire my kitchen any time soon, it is sometimes a nuisance having to go to the basement to reset a kitchen breaker if two high-draw appliances get used simultaneously on the wrong receptacles.  It would seem nicer as a design to have a master 40A feed to the kitchen and then have a 20A breaker near each receptacle so that any combination of receptacles could be used to draw up to 40A total, rather than to have to worry about which receptacles could be used together and then have to visit the basement in case of a mistake.  Would such a design satisfy code requirements (I would think having enough outlets total, driven through enough 20A breakers, and fed with at least 40A of capacity, should qualify)?  Would there be any problems with such a design?

Alternatively, are there any outlet assemblies with built-in breakers that would be approved for permanent installation (unlike e.g. power strips), and which could be safely fed from a greater-than-20A circuit?

What you may be seeing is a flush-mount version of a spa panel or enclosed breaker

From your description, I would reckon that what you are looking at is something akin to a "spa panel" disconnect or circuit breaker enclosure, only in a flush-mounted configuration (vs. the surface mounting typically attributed to spa panels and enclosed breakers).  These are usually 2-4 space loadcenters, with 70A to 125A bussing; larger versions use a breaker with line and load lugs instead, bolted to the box, and are called enclosed circuit breakers.


Natural Gas Ventless Fireplace fittings in a fire pit and switch it to LP I have an old Natural Gas ventless fireplace that I never used.  I now want to build a fire pit and am wondering if I could take the working parts out of the fireplace unit and use those for fire pit.  I have already disassembled the fireplace and have included a photo of the parts. I plan on covering the fittings with fire glass.

I have attached a couple of images, but, have more detailed ones too of the individual parts, if needed.

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You will need to change the gas orifice to a smaller size on the output of the control valve to the burner. You will also need to make sure the regulator from the tank to the control valve is 1/2 psi, other than that should work great.


Weapon for scorpion hunting? I'm a new homeowner, and I purchased in a low-price area in East Mesa, Arizona. It is a great house and I got a great deal, but I discovered some scorpions outside the house (see photo) while I was washing the siding. This is to be expected, after all we are in the desert, and they were here before me and will be here long after I'm gone. We can't do anything to eliminate them completely, and I accept that. I want to reduce the possibility of getting stung though, and mostly that means keeping them out of the house. I have addressed the issue with standard pest control and I'll be working on sealing the house over time.

However, a popular way to deal with the issue out here, is to simply go out at night with a black light, hunting the scorpions down and killing them, in person, if you will. I would like to make this fun, and I'm a little nervous about the common method of just stepping on them. So, I want to purchase or design some kind of weapon that will kill them from a short distance away. I'm a gun enthusiast so I would love said weapon to resemble a rifle, in usage anyway - I don't care what it looks like.

The popular product "Bug-A-Salt" does not work on scorpions, they are too mean and nasty. Nuclear weapons don't work on them. So, I need something with more power, like an air-soft shotgun or something like that. It needs to be relatively quiet so I can use it at night in my neighborhood, and needs to be safe to shoot at a downward angle into the ground.

Any ideas for some kind of "gun" to kill these suckers?

No, the home improvement answer was already provided - tamper would do a dandy job. You're looking for something that ain't home improvement, at all.


Optimal P Trap height I am removing a piece of galvanized drain while in the process of replacing the vanity.The galvanized is connected to the abs drain pipe entering the waste stack by a rubber connector. In order to reach the clamp screws, I’ve had to remove drywall from a basement wall, but at least I can now reach it.
Because the new vanity is taller, and since I’m removing the length of Galvanized pipe in the wall, I’m wondering if I should raise the ptrap. Other posts have made it sound arbitrary depending on the fixture height.

You cannot just arbitrarily raise a trap to whatever height you want, it depends on the configuration of the venting system.

For example, if your lav sink drains into a horizontal wet vent type the trap weir must be below the vent connection height.


Can I cut the protruding conduit to the floor level and cover it with junction box? I've removed the old island which had the electric range, with the conduit coming from the crawlspace:

The junction box was attached to the back of the cabinet holding the range. But the new island needs to be moved a foot forward, and this would make the conduit stuck right in the middle of the range cabinet.

What I'm thinking of is to cut this conduit to approx 1" above the floor and cover the protruding piece with the junction box placed horizontally on a floor. From the junction box I'd run a flexible conduit inside the cabinet, where another junction box would be installed which would serve as a connection point for the range.

My two concerns are:

Since this is kitchen, a minor flooding is a possibility. To counter this I could use a watertight plastic junction box, but unsure whether it could be connected to metallic conduit.
Is this kind of approach allowed by code? I don't need to pass inspection, but codes are generally written by those - or their descendants - who tried a different approach and failed, so I'd rather be code compliant.

It is allowable and you would not need to make it water-tight, however, there are neater ways to finish this job. If anything below seems too overwhelming, call an electrician.

Since you're going to cut the conduit, you'll want to locate the next junction box and pull your wires back from there before you cut. When you use a sawzall or conduit cutter, you should ream the pipe before putting on a new fitting (the wires will get in the way of this).

Here are my suggestions from easiest and least finished looking to hardest but best finished:

A) Use an LB to make a right angle at the floor level and then go flex into the cabinet.

B) If you can install a junction box in the crawl space or ceiling of the room below, do that, and run from that point to the range.

C) Use an adapter for going from metal conduit to flexible conduit, this may be buried.

If you have the ability to work under the floor, cut the conduit below the floor level, leaving yourself plenty of room for as gentle of a bend as possible. Plan a new route for your flex to come up from the floor under the cabinet and be installed in an accessible location within the cabinet.

If necessary, replace the existing wires with wires that are able to reach your new, concealed junction box location. Considering this is for a range, make sure your wires are the proper size (likely 6 AWG).

Pull the wires through the conduit, then slip the flex and fitting over the wire. Then pull the flex into the cabinet and install into the junction box.


how do I Replace a ceiling fan with dimmer switch for lights and on/off switch for fan I am replacing a ceiling fan+light unit.  It is controlled by a on/off switch for the fan and a dimmer switch for the light unit.  From the ceiling I have a bare wire, black, white, red wires.  The fan has a white, black, blue, and green wires.

I,ll describe the process of elimination that ThreePhaseEel describes.

First, you connect earth to earth, because it's a world standard that green, green/yellow, or bare is always earth.  So that's easy.

If neutral is present, it must be white.   Neutral must by nature be present on both sides here, so the whites must be neutral. Connect them, done.

That leaves two colors from the wall and two from the fan.  Colored wires must be hot.  There are only 2 ways to hook them up.  We're not sure, but it won't be destructive to try one way and see.


Can I use a different size post for gate than the fence? If I'm using a 6x6 post to attached a heavy garden gate can I use 4x4 post for the rest of fence?

Sure.  Just make sure the face where the fence attaches, is in line with the 4x4s.


How to mount handrail brackets to a concrete block wall? I'm installing a handrail for a short flight of stairs at the bottom of an interior staircase which is adjacent to a solid concrete block wall.

The options I've been considering for fixing the handrail brackets to the wall include countersunk sleeve anchors and concrete screws.

I was thinking sleeve anchors would be more secure but there's only a very limited range of sleeve anchor sizes with the smallest being 6mm so I'm not sure if I would be able to find a handrail bracket with screw holes to match.

Another potential problem with using sleeve anchors is that they have to be spaced a minimum distance apart although there are handrail brackets with a single screw hole.

I'd go with hex head tap cons.  Pre drill the holes.  If you are really worried then get some epoxy and put this into the hole before fastening - this is how rebar is inserted after the fact in structural applications.

If you want it to look perfect then probably choose whatever fastener look bests based on the bracket and drill a hole smaller than the fastener, ensure you blow the dust out of it and put structural epoxy into the hole.  For ~$150 you can get the two part caulk gun and the epoxy.  Something like this :

https://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/p/2464-SET-XP-22oz-Epoxy-Tie-Adhesive-with-Nozzle.html
https://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/p/468-EDT22S-22oz-Manual-Epoxy-Dispensing-Tool.html


How do you replace existing wires behind walls Existing wiring installed in walls. May or may not be stapled. Some of it is stapled with newer plastic staples, older runs with metal staples. I've had varied success with this by twisting and taping the new wire to the old wire together and pulling it through but in cases where there are staples, bends or tight spaces I've had the connection break. Wondering how exactly others accomplish this.

In most cases I'll be replacing one wire with a similar or thinner wire. Example, quad phone cable with Cat5e cable.

In some other cases I might want to pull 2 or more cables through runs where I know the holes in the framing are wide enough but there may be staples. Ex existing Cat3 cable, want to use it to pull 2 Cat5e and 2 Coax cables.

Is there a very strong way to connect the old and new wires together such that the splice will be strong enough to not break while pulling, thin enough to pass through existing fasteners or strong enough to pop out fasteners by yanking hard?

This sounds like an exercise in frustration. Even if you do manage to bond the wires together strongly enough, you will surely damage them by pulling them through staples or around corners. I have frequently seen damaged cables from being pulled through tight spaces. If you damage the outer sheath of a coax cable you will lose a lot of signal strength, and if you damage one of the wires in CAT cabling you will not get any signal at all (or it will drop down to 2 pairs instead of 4).

If you are really insistent on trying to pull the cables through without opening up the wall (which is probably what you'll have to do in the end), try this: get some tough wire pulling twine and tie that to the end of your old cabling. Then when you're pulling the old cable out you will pull the twine along to replace it. This will give you an opportunity to inspect the old wiring: if you damaged it pulling it out, you will surely damage the new ones going in. If you were able to get the old wiring out successfully, it will probably be easier to pull the new ones through with the twine since there will be less resistance. However I still think this is going to be very annoying and you'll never know the condition of the cables.


Wiring in unfinished garage What would be my best option for new wiring in my unfinished garage? It has concrete walls with trusses for the roof structure. There is currently MC cable ran. Would i be better off running THHN in conduit or just run new MC cable?

THHN in EMT is generally less expensive than MC, and much more capable as well (i.e. MC is what it is - cable, 12/2 or 12/3 or whatever, while 1/2" EMT can support up to 4 circuits on 12 or 14 gauge (more wires than that on 14 gauge but you run into derating issues which make sticking to 4 the safer bet for planning.)
If your needs are simple and you don't care to learn the fairly simple process of bending EMT, sticking with MC may be better for you, though personally I find the process of cutting it more annoying than bending conduit for most purposes, but when snaking through joists or the like, the flexibility of cable is a temptation.
Out on the face of concrete walls, or along/under/above trusses I'd choose EMT 10 times out of 10.


Wire with mysterious power I am currently swapping out my switches with smart switches and one of the switches had different wire setup from the usual.

Prior to taking out the switch I took picture of the "primary switch" I quated/ say that cause when removing switches wire both had power in both areas.

Main switch
Look closely as the white wire and i believe the line wire are combined.

Secondary switch:

I got the switch currently working and the on and off works on the light. But could some one tell me if you can make it out in the images what that red wire Is?

New Main switch:

That red wire is most likely part of a 3-way switch configuration, and not connected to the light at all.  Disconnecting it would rid you of the benefit of this configuration -- i.e. both switches would have to be on for the light to turn on.  With the red wire connected, either switch can turn on the light.

(A 3-way switch is an electrician's term for a single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch.)


Can I install a Subpanel (in a seperate building) using a 3 wire connection (2 hots and 1 grounded neutral)? Can I use a 3 wire connection (2 hots and 1 grounded neutral) to install a sub panel in a separate structure if I install a separate ground rod to the grounding bus in sub panel?

I have 8/3 w/o ground running from the main panel for an existing 240 connection in a separate shed. I plan on replacing the existing 30 amp double breaker in the main panel with a 50 amp double breaker and I want install a sub panel that would allow me to have a 240 and a 120 outlet running off a 30 amp double breaker and a 20 amp breaker in the sub panel.

If possible and appropriate, I would like to use the existing 3 wire connection (8/3 w/o ground) to make the connection from the main to the a sub panel using the grounded neutral wire to connect to the neutral bus.  I would install a grounding rod and connect the grounding rod to a separate grounding bus in the sub panel.  I anticipate keeping the neutral bus and the grounding bus separate in the sub panel and do not anticipate bonding these two buses.

Will this work or do I need to replace the 3 wire connection (8/3 w/o ground) with a 4 wire connection (8/3 w/ground)?

You can use a 3 wire feeder to supply a separate building, if...

The installation was in compliance with a previous edition of National Electrical Code (existing premises wiring).
An equipment grounding conductor is not run with the supply to the structure.
There are no continuous metallic paths bonded to the grounding system in each structure (bonded water, or gas piping, other conduit, etc.).
Ground-fault protection of equipment has not been installed on the supply side of the feeders.

  National Electrical Code 2014

  Article 250 Grounding and Bonding

  II. System Grounding

  250.32 Buildings or Structures Supplied by a Feeder(s)
  or Branch Circuit(s).

  (B) Grounded Systems.

  (1) Supplied by a Feeder or Branch Circuit. An equipment
  grounding conductor as described in 250.118 shall be
  run with the supply conductors and be connected to the
  building or structure disconnecting means and to the
  grounding electrode(s). The equipment grounding conductor
  shall be used for grounding or bonding of equipment,
  structures, or frames required to be grounded or bonded.
  The equipment grounding conductor shall be sized in accordance
  with 250.122. Any installed grounded conductor
  shall not be connected to the equipment grounding conductor
  or to the grounding electrode(s).

  Exception No 1: For installations made in compliance
  with previous editions of this Code that permitted such connection,
  the grounded conductor run with the supply to the
  building or structure shall be permitted to serve as the
  ground-fault return path if all of the following requirements
  continue to be met:

  (1) An equipment grounding conductor is not run with the
  supply to the building or structure.

  (2) There are no continuous metallic paths bonded to the
  grounding system in each building or structure involved.

  (3) Ground-fault protection of equipment has not been installed
  on the supply side of the feeder(s).

  If the grounded conductor is used for grounding in accordance
  with the provision of this exception, the size of the
  grounded conductor shall not be smaller than the larger of
  either of the following:

  (1) That required by 220.61

  (2) That required by 250.122

Changing from a 30A breaker to a 50A breaker can only be done, if you also change the wires to 6 AWG. In which case you'll have to follow current codes, and install 6/3 with ground. Breakers (and fuses) are always sized to protect the wire connected to them, so you can't change the breaker size without also changing the wire size (unless you're going down e.g. 50A to 30A).

However, depending on what you're doing, you may not have to change the breaker at all.  If the planned circuits in the structure are not going to be fully loaded, you may well be able to supply the subpanel with a 30A breaker. Just because the subpanel has 50 amperes worth of overcurrent protection, does not mean the supply breaker has to be 50A.  Whether or not you actually need a 50A breaker on the supply, depends entirely on what the subpanel will be powering.


Low pressure after water main pipe replacement I have well water and the main pipe bringing the water from the well into the house had  leak. The pipe was replaced with a new pipe about a month ago.

Since then, the water pressure has been dropping gradually. The well guy came in yesterday and he told me that it was the filter in the line that got clogged up with debris.  I replaced the filter again - I had put a new filter after the pipe was replaced-- and pressure is better that after the pipe replacement, but not as good as before. The well guy mentioned that if the problem persists after replacing the filter, it might be the tank might gone bad and it needs to be replaced. He looked at the tank which is 4 year old and there is no leaks, no rust, no scratches, nor any signs that would indicate a bad tank.

My question is: Considering the tank looks in good condition, how does the reservoir tank affect the pressure into the house?

I am by no means a plumber, but other than having leaks, I don't understand the role the tank plays on the water pressure flowing through the pipe. Or is the well guy trying to pull a fast one?

The tank has a bladder inside the bladder holds the water on the outside of the bladder( inside the tank is filled with air) . With the tank empty of water we normally pressurize the air to a few pounds less than the pump turn on pressure. So if your pressure switch is set for 40-60 it turns on at 40 psi and when it reaches 60 it turns off in this case we Would pressurize the tank 36-38 psi. This pressure pushes most of the water out of the tank with out the pump needing to start until the pressure drops to 40 psi. If the bladder had a leak and was not holding air the pump would short cycle rapidly and your pressure at your faucet has low flow. To check this turn your pump off drain the water out, using a tire pressure gauge measure the air pressure in the tank there is a small Schrader valve on the top of your tank.

if the pressure is below your cut in or pump on pressure by more than 5 psi it needs to be filled. A standard air compressor or bicycle pump can be used to pump it up. It may have a leak or got bumped when the pipe was replaced if it holds everything should be back to normal. Some manufacturers do make replacement bladders but seeing that they are not much cheaper than a new tank and a new tank will have a warranty I usually go new tank but have purchased bladders when they were reasonably priced. If the tank is holding its air charge the next thing is the pressure switch, I have had them freeze and not quite work correctly so it had to be replaced. If you don’t have a pressure gauge on your water line after the tank, it is a good idea to have one this way you can see when your pump is cycling and the pressure values.   This should help you troubleshoot the system. Your plumber should have checked the air charge especially since the tank is only 4 years old, bladder based tanks at normal pressures have lasted over 20 and some closer to 30 years so I would check it out prior to replacing.


Does voltage play any role in choosing the appropriate wire gauge? Online, most household wiring guides suggest 14 gauge wire for 15 amp circuits, 12 for 20 amps, and 10 for 30 amps. Do these assume the voltage is 120, or does voltage not come into play when choosing wire gauge?

For example, I have an appliance that requires a 240 volt 15 amp power source. (Its plug is NEMA 6-15.) If I dedicate a circuit to this appliance, which is about 25' from the panel, will 14 AWG be sufficient? Why or why not?

When 14 gauge wire is appropriate, I've seen 12 used instead. (My home has several circuits like this.) I realize 12 AWG wire may be more difficult to work with, and it costs more than 14 AWG. Beyond these, are there reasons not to do so? Are there any advantages?

The simple answer is you use the wire that your local code and the device manufacturer specifies for the situation.

But I think you are asking about how wire sizes are chosen for a particular application/current/voltage combination:

When choosing wire, current dictates the size of the conductor and voltage dictates the insulation.

Current causes the wire to heat up due to resistance. Metal expands and contracts when heated and cooled. This expansion and contraction, if too large, can loosen connections. Loose connections increase resistance, cause more heating, and will eventually allow a gap large enough to cause an arc or a high enough temperature to ignite surrounding materials or melt the insulation and cause an arc. A larger conductor reduces the resistance, which reduces these temperature changes. Therefore, using a large enough conductor keeps the expansion and contraction under the level that electrical fittings can tolerate without failing.

Similarly, voltage causes arcing so the covering (insulation) has to be designed to prevent arcing at the rated voltage. Usually you'll see common electrical wiring rated for 600 volts.

Another reason to use larger gauge wiring is to prevent voltage drop on long runs. This is generally not a problem when running wire in a house, but detached structures are a common place to see larger wire used.


Vacationing - water heater off? We're definitely not DIY-types in our household, so would love an answer from those who know the answer: We have a gas water heater in the basement, and will be traveling for over a month this summer. No worries about freezing at this time of year, but the water heater is aging and we'd rather not have a flood if it should fail while we're gone. Our thoughts are to turn off the water at the main, & drain the pipes to avoid any possible leakage problems. What do we do with the water heater? Normally we don't shut the water off, so we usually just turn the water heater to "pilot".
Suggestions?

If you're only worried about the water heater, then you can turn it off and drain it.
Shut off the gas
You should see a gas pipe connected to the unit. It will likely either be rigid black pipe, or flexible yellow pipe.  Follow that pipe until you find the shutoff valve. It should be a quarter-turn ball valve, so you'll only have to turn it a quarter turn to shut it off.
An easy way to tell if the valve is open or closed, is to look at the handle.  If the handle is in line with the pipe (parallel), then the valve is open. If the handle is across the pipe  (perpendicular), then the valve is closed.
Shut off the water
Since you're only concerned about the tank, you only have to turn off the water feeding the tank.  Locate the cold water supply pipe (possibly marked with a blue ring on the tank). Follow the pipe until you find a valve. In this case, it could be a ball valve or a gate valve.  As with the gas valve, a ball valve will only require a quarter turn. A gate valve, however, will require multiple turns to shut.
Drain the tank
Connect one end of a garden hose to the spigot at the bottom of the tank, and run the other end to a drain that's lower than the spigot.  Open the hot water valve on a few faucets in the house, to allow air into the plumbing.  Open the valve on the spigot at the bottom of the tank.
CAUTION The water draining from the tank will be HOT.
If you have time,  turn the tank off and allow the water to cool before draining the tank. This could take a bit, as the tank is designed to hold the heat.
When you get home
When you come back, make sure the spigot at the bottom of the tank is closed. Open the valve on the cold water supply line, and allow the tank to fill. You'll know it's full, when water starts coming out of the faucets you opened throughout the house.
NOTE: As the plumbing fills, air will come out of the open faucets. As the system nears full, water and air will spit and sputter from the faucets.
Once full, close the faucets.  Turn on the gas, and follow the instructions on the tank to turn it on (light pilot, etc.).


Is there a Dremel attachment for removing Gorilla Glue? I find myself having an on-off love affair with Gorilla Glue but can't quite commit to it.  It's the mess due to the foaming behaviour during cure.  I try to glue small things together with it and then clean off the glue during the foaming phase.  These items are a few inches across.

I got a Dremel (type) tool for Christmas.  I'm wondering if I could use it to surgically remove the cured foam.  I think that it's a polyurethane glue.  Is there an appropriate attachment for this?

It is polyurethane. Much easier to slice than to grind, as it tends to get a bit gummy, and the things that you glue (e.g. wood) tend to be softer than the glue itself, meaning  that you are risking damaging the workpiece.

If you had to, I'd use a vibrating oscilating mini-saw on a nultifunction tool but I generally just use a razor.


Best way to tear up half a concrete parking pad? I have a concrete parking pad in my back yard (butts up to an alley) that is substantially larger than I need, and I'd like to reclaim some of that space for my yard.  To that end I'd like to tear up half the pad but leave the other half untouched, preferably with a semi nice edge to it.

So what's the best way to cleanly cut a concrete patio in half, so that I can tear up one side?

The only way to do what you want to do is cut the concrete with a gear driven saw and masonry blade, then jack hammer out the rest of the concrete.  It really is not that difficult and you can rent all the equipment and do it in a day easy.  You don't have to cut all the way through the concrete, but at least 1/3 the way through. it should break off cleanly.  Even a small DeWalt hand held jack hammer will do the job, take a bit longer than a larger rental unit.


Mounting a Boiler when the studs are not 16 on center When looking for the studs to mount a boiler I found the studs are 18" on center. I even double checked my stud finder by using a magnet to find the nails in the drywall and they corroborate original findings. Now the mounting plate that came with the boiler is designed for 16" spacing, so it won't work as things are now.
My plan now is to mount two 2"x4"s, possibly a x6" on the top, across the studs I have and then mount the plate onto that.
Are there any codes or issues that could conflict with that?

Thanks for the clarifying edit.
Code is there to keep the structure safe. It doesn't care if the boiler falls off the wall. As long as you don't cut into structural components, like weakening studs, etc. any mounting solution should be fine on that front. Note that drilling into studs and attaching lag bolts is standard practice and should be fine.
As far as "issues" go, well…that's pretty open-ended. :) Sure, there could be issues if your solution isn't structurally sound. That said, a couple of boards spanning the distance which allow you to mount the plate to those shouldn't add much weight to the overall installation. So as long as you attach the boards using similar technique to what the mounting plate would have used (presumably lag bolts into studs), it should hold fine.
All that said, I'd recommend that you contact the manufacturer and ask them if they have a wider plate or other alternative mounting process. Adding boards to the wall is pretty easy, but it needlessly complicates the structure, and pushes everything an extra 1-1/2" from the wall. It'd be nicer to be able to put the plate right against the wall where it was intended to go. Manufacturers of wall-mount stuff often have optional components that they can provide to customers to allow installation in non-standard situations like this. It's always worth checking with them, in case they do.


Portable AC leaking water....how to locate problem? Have an older portable AC -- maybe 10 yrs old. Has been sitting in the garage unused for a couple of years. Gave it to my son to use and after a couple hours of running he reported there was a large puddle of water under it but the collection bin for the water (that needs to be manually emptied and sounds an alarm when it needs emptying ) was bone dry.
I tried 2 tests. First one i ran in the garage for a couple of hours. No leak...but also no water in the collection container. When preparing to bring it inside for test 2, I tipped it and water ran out, confirming that water was going somewhere....just not to the collection bin. I brought it inside and put a pan under the unit to catch any leaking water and ran it for a couple of hours. When i checked I found a puddle under the unit, no water in the tray I put under it, and the unit's collection bucket was bone dry. When i was taking the unit back out to the garage and tipped it to get it down some stairs, the collected water came out.
Any idea how i can locate the leak? Do these things operate if I pull the back off and try to run it for a couple hours? It's as if there is a hose inside the unit that is supposed to direct the condensate to the collection container but it has dislodged. Is that a possibility?  thanks.
More info + pics:

See info on top pic. It makes sense if the secondary drain hose has a plug with a small hole in it, water will come out. I tested this.But what is puzzling is this thing has never been opened up. This is all original equipment. And it has never  leaked before. The other odd thing is when i poured water into the condensate tray, it drained to the secondary hose first. I covered the hole in the secondary hose plug, and water eventually started flowing, as expected, into the condensate container. I figure the secondary hose just filled up, backed into the condensate reservoir, and found the drain hole into the condensate container.
So do I just plug the hole in the secondary hose's plug? At least that seems like a place to start I suppose.
It is just so odd as there are no issues or rotting hoses, yet this leaking has never occurred before. And why is there a hole in the plug on the secondary container if it isn't supposed to be there?
thanks.

Pull off the back. It serves as a grilled vent so critters don't crawl in there. The unit will work fine. Look for a pan right under the cooling coils and then look for some hole in the pan that would allow it to drain into the collection container. There could be a hose that disintegrated or maybe the hole just got plugged up. Don't forget, the unit has to be level for it to drain properly.


Can a dishwasher and disposer be on the same 20 ampere circuit? I am in the process of rewiring kitchen in a 1925 era farmhouse removing knob and tube. Have new 100 amp service and will soon pull 12/2 cu thhn to power .kitchen sink garbage disposer and dishwasher. Am considering placing these two applicances on one/same 20 amp gfci circuit. Would appreciate any thoughts as to propriety of doing so. Do these items need seperate circuits? Is it desireable to have these on own circuit or is that unnecessary. Thank you

In a kitchen there are a minimum of 2 20 amp circuits required. Where I live a dedicated circuit is required for dishwashers, Most of the houses I have wired have 4 branch circuits or 5. I usually put the fridge on its own circuit, a microwave and the disposal on Thier own circuit, if there is a trash compactor the disposal and compactor. In some cases where a 120 outlet is needed for a gas stove or cooktop I will put that on the same as the microwave. There is not a code requirement for this many circuit but the permits only cost a couple dollars per breaker and a few extra feet of wire. I have had to upgrade quite a few kitchens over the years and only one I installed as the owner was pinching pennies and it cost him almost 3k to do what my proposal was at a 400$ savings up front.


Will a make up air vent cause an issue in the winter? I recently installed a gas range and I will soon be installing a 300cfm range hood. Since I primarily burn wood in the winter for heat and I don't want any back-drafting issues, I am planning on installing a make up air vent in my cold air return ducting (I have a gas furnace I use as a back up for heat). However, I have a few concerns with the make up air. It gets cold where I live (think sub-zero) during the winter. Will the make up air bring noticeably cold air in through the vents? My concern is that it will make some of the rooms cold in the winter by counteracting the wood stove's heat.

The make up air would only be pulling fresh air in when your furnace is running unless you add a small powered duct. If you use the furnace to circulate the house air without the heat on yes it will be cooler but make up air is a good idea especially in winter when the house is closed up tight.


How to remedy noisy air ducts? I have forced air extraction with a duct running through one classroom then a second. The classroom which is ducted closer to the fan receives much greater air flow through its vents.

To combat this we have to use airflow regulators- basically metal shutters- to restrict the airflow in vents 1 and 2 in order that 3 and 4 receive flow. As these are classrooms a fairly powerful motor is used to renew the air around 15 times per hour so this is rather noisy with a horrible whistling noise.

In this photo you can see vents 3 and 4 with 1 and 2 behind that wall.

I have spoken with a ventilation contractor who says having larger vents would alleviate the problem but I imagine I would still need to close large vents in 1 and 2 as much as with the smaller vents and the noise would persist. In all honesty I have had a poor experience in general with ventilation contractors so I don't want to waste more money.

I would appreciate advice and imagine this is a fairly typical scenario. I hope so at least. :)

One option would be to reconfigure the ducts so that there's an independent run for each classroom, joining into a trunk just before the fan. This way you could use dampers in each duct run to balance the airflow between rooms. If you keep the dampers far away from the registers, you can minimize the effect of the turbulence (and associated noise) from the dampers.


Black gas pipe in unconditioned crawlspace? My GC used black cast iron gas pipe to connect from the PGE riser to the interior of the house. He wrapped the pipe from the riser, down into the ground, and up 10" above the ground where the pipe comes back above grade in the crawl space. Then in the crawlspace there is another 15LFT or so of exposed black gas pipe which is not wrapped. Is this ok? Do I need to be concerned about corrosion?

The crawl space is not conditioned, has many open vents, and has no vapor barrier (just dirt on the bottom).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Sewer pipe is typically cast iron ( or plastic). Gas pipe should be steel, ( may be called "black iron") many jurisdictions do not permit galvanized steel in gas service. In my opinion , a very misguided concern over corrosion by sulfur. Steel corrosion is often caused by water, especially with salts. If no water sprays in your crawl space you are very unlikely to have corrosion with the gas pipe. Good ventilation should prevent any condensation caused corrosion. In a similar situation , I had some corrosion of the galvanized electric conduit but not the gas pipe.


How can I stop this water from entering my basement? I have water issues in my basement - as you can see, it comes in via some cracks between my basement floor and the concrete pads that the washer/dryer sit on.

I am working on fixing the problem from the outside, planning to re-grade the land around my house and fix some gutter issues to keep more water away from my foundation.  Is there anything I can use on the inside here, to help keep any water that gets to this area from coming in?

For a complete repair there are 2 obvious directions to cover which you mentioned.  I'll go over what I would do in your situation.
Fix from inside
One product I would use is a hydraulic cement which can be found easily at your local home improvement store.  This stuff is great for fixing large leaks in the basement.... if you can find the source.  Hydraulic cement would be more permanent than a concrete filler or sealant and is commonly rated to 2000lb to 3500lb of hydrostatic pressure.  Stay away from your cheap concrete sealant you would find somewhere like Home Depot.  Most of these are water resistant, but not at all made for stopping leaks.  Assuming you do find your leak source and fill every hole, the main cause is still unaddressed.  For that we go outside.
Fix from outside
Fixing grading and downspouts will help a lot, however, in torrential downpour you may still get heavily saturated earth around your foundation, which is a bad thing.  Even worse, (depending on where you live) is water expansion as it freezes in the cracks.  This could seriously worsen the issue.
Probably one of the best (and probably the hardest solutions) is to use a polyethylene foundation wrap, something like this, in conjunction with a proper drain system at the bottom of the footing. Below is an example installation from the DMX installation guide found here.

A perforated drain pipe, crush rock, and proper drain or drainage field is necessary to keep the water moving.  Below is an example of a proper drainage system as provided by the EPA

Hope this helps, and best of luck!


What type of concrete sealer to use to prevent frost heaves in my driveway? I am about to put concrete sealer on a driveway and inside a garage. What sealer should I apply, if I am specifically interested in preventing water from  getting in cracks and causing frost heaves and less interested in aesthetics? Brand recommendations, as well as types (e.g., epoxy, silicates) are welcome.

Epoxy is not light stable (ie: it will discolor) and silicates are densifiers, but do not seal concrete.  It's likely that you have a broom finished driveway and machine trowelled garage, so whatever chemistry you use needs to be compatible with both types.  Most film formers (acrylic, epoxy, urethane, etc) will require an acid etching (at minimum) for proper adhesion on trowelled substrates.  Though film formers are usually preferred for their aesthetic qualities, and you've said that aesthetics aren't that important.

Bottom line is, I would recommend a penetrating sealer; either silane or siloxane.  You'll get maximum protection from freeze/thaw damage and deicing chemicals, and good longevity (about 7 years outdoors, 10 in the garage).  ChemMasters offers silanes with 40 % to 100 % active ingredients (Aquanil Plus 40, 55 or 100).  These are solvent-based products, and you may find the solvent fumes overwhelming when used in an enclosed area like a garage.  Spallguard WB is water-based (no solvent fumes) with 10 % active siloxane (siloxane is a larger molecule and requires fewer actives to seal concrete).  This may be a better choice for you.

*Please note that I am affiliated with ChemMasters (link in profile) and there might be similar products available from other vendors *


How to get rid of moisture in hardwood flooring? We have recently come to a halt with our building due to our hardwood floorboards cupping  and swelling in several places.(Boards were acclimatized for several months before installation)  They were laid by a so called professional installer, who sealed the concrete first then laid the boards, sanded and applied only one coat of lacquer.

Within a month we noticed boards cupping and swelling!! The installer has no idea of the cause and wanted more money to fix the boards, but not fix the cause of the problem. Since then we have given him the boot!! (unfortunately paid him majority of the money!! and heard nothing from him since!!)

My husband (handyman) replaced the popped up boards and sanded the entire area lightly at first waited another few months then sanded the entire area again. Now are faced with the moisture coming up through the joins as pictured.

Is there any solution? Our next step is an expensive inspector, but unfortunately money is an issue right now. If there's anybody out there that has had this problem or knows how to solve or point us in the right direction would be so helpful.

Beginning of problem.

Another pic, repair stage boards replaced and lightly sanded. Within a week of sanding Moisture coming up.

Your problem is obvious. Moisture is migrating up from the slab.   I don't imagine anyone suggested to do a moisture check on the concrete before you started?  There are meters that can measure the % of moisture in concrete. With that said, it is never a good idea to put wood or laminate directly on concrete slabs or uncured concrete upper floors. In your case, you said the concrete was sealed. How was it sealed and with what? One of the only products that seals and creates a vapor barrier is DryLoc. Even using DryLoc, some sort of underlayment should be used. The old way was to lay pearlings across the slab, put on a plywood subfloor and then your finish floor.  Today there are several subfloor products that resemble 2'X 2" or 2" X 4" panels with a waffled plastic base and a resin embedded or synthetic subfloor attached. These panels interlock covering the concrete and create a vapor barrier. The materials in these products resist mold and mildew and allow any water to escape if you have floor drains etc.

Unfortunately, once hardwood has cupped badly or water stained from the bottom up, it is usually junk and cannot be reused. Sometimes if the cupping is minor, exposing it to a very dry environment for some time will allow it to flatten out, but I sure would not count on it.  In your case, I fear you have no alternative but to rip it all out and start from scratch. This time, address the moisture or possible water leak in the concrete first. Use a proper subfloor, or select a different kind of flooring that is not susceptible to damage from moisture. There are several vinyl plank type floors that look like wood or tile that are good choices in a damper area.


How can I make an outlet controlled by switch always hot? I currently have a receptacle controlled by a switch that I want to make constant hot. There are other receptacles in line as well, that are constantly hot. I opened the receptacle and am lost (not much electrical knowledge/experience). Here a few pictures to show what is going on in the box. Any help is appreciated.

Let's take the better picture here

There's 3 areas in the picture

The Wire Nut - You have two black and a white. Whenever you see something like that it typically means the white is what's running to your switch. That means the other black wires are your incoming and outgoing hot
The black wire on the outlet - This is likely tied to the same cable as the white wire we just discussed, meaning this is your switched hot
The other white wires - These are your neutrals. It's not clear why you would have 3, however.

First off, let's get this basic outlet out of there. Do yourself a huge favor and go buy a new one. What you want is a "preferred" or "commercial grade" outlet (example) that has side plates. Expect to pay like $2-3 for this (you only need the one). While you're there, pick up some yellow wire nuts. It's not a bad idea to also have a contactless power tester and an outlet tester (buy the better one that also tests GFCIs). Now, let's rewire.

Take the wire nut apart and put one of your shiny new yellow wire nuts on the white wire, mark it with a black marker (just draw a band on the wire so it's obvious it's not a neutral), and shove it to the back of the box. Now, attach the two black wires to the brass screws on the left side (as you're looking at the back of the outlet)
Take the lone black wire from the outlet and stick a wire nut on it as well. Push it to the back of the box.
Attach the remaining whites to the other side (silver). These "side-stab" connectors support up to 4 wires, just make sure you get the screws tight

Obviously, remove and re-attach the ground wire, but that's straight forward.


Dimmer not turn the LED on I have install 2 Lutron 150W(LED) dimmer and connect it to 2 LED recessed light and 6 LED recessed light respectively, all LED light are 5W(6000K) with a driver of it own.

There are few problems after installation:

for the 2 LEDS:

There is about half second delay when I turn the light on.
If I turn the dim level to lowest, and turn on the switch, one of them will have difficult to be turned on, but then I can turn the dim level up and all of them will be on.

for the 6 LEDS:

There is about half second delay when I turn the light on.
If I turn the dim level to lowest, and turn on the switch, some of them will have difficult to be turned on, but then I can turn the dim level up and all of them will be on.
If I turn the dim level to highest, none of them will be turned on.

As you can see, they are having the same issue, my contractor told me to purchase higher wattage dimmer. But I am not sure how this will solve the issue.

Please help me :(

IME the half-second delay is typical of many LED Dimmers. It's unlikely that a higher wattage will help, but a different brand might. You already have 150W (I'm hoping you are giving the LED wattage here) connected to 10W and 30W LED respectively. In fact, you may be running into an issue specific the LED dimmers, which is that many of them don't work well without a certain minimum wattage connected. I need at least 4 9W fixtures for the dimmers I currently have; on a switch, the LEDs turn on instantly, and on a dimmer they have that annoying delay.

If a contractor, not you, did the job, the contractor should fix it.

The "lowest dimming level" can be adjusted, normally, and should be so that all lamps are on. The highest is also normally adjustable. THose will be covered in the dimmer documentation, as will the issue of a minimum wattage, if that is applicable.


How to measure electricity used by hot water heater I am debating the effort to save on electricity costs with my electric water heater.  Solar water panel heater, hybrid water heater, etc.  Before I go down that path, I want to track the cost of the existing setup by measuring the amount of electricity used by the tank over the next several months.  How can I do that?  I read I can have a sub meter/panel I, but then what?

I have a 70 gallon electric hot water heater, 5 years old.  The sticker says avg annual cost is about $550. The heater sits in an enclosed closet adjacent to the outside of the house, and it's shaded. Being in Arizona, closet temp is about 100F or higher in the summer and about 75F in the winter.

I have a hot water loop and circulator that runs 7am to 1am.

If you can afford the metering equipment then purchase and install that. Gives you the direct total energy use...

If not then you have to consider a different direction...

So, go the easy route: measure the hot water use over a week: measure shower times and take a suitable average then with the flow rate calculate how much hot water was necessary (gallons or litres... up to you - convert or use which you like). Measure all activities that use hot water and multiply by how many times per week.

Now you have the total hot water used and so you can use Q = MCp (T2 - T1) and get the total energy which leads you to the cost if you know how much you pay per unit.  You can take Cp to be 4.18 kJ/kg K for the accuracy you will be working with.

Also include an efficiency figure - the tank is not perfectly insulated etc...

The average hot water use is around 40 to 60 L/person/day  at 60 deg C - a European rule of thumb - may well be different  for other locations some places have larger bath tubs than others... Or take longer showers...


replaced ceiling light wont turn off I know there have been simular posts on this but I still cant make sence off my problem, my ceiling light won't.turn off.  I replaced all the oulets, light switch and light fixture in my bedroom . One  plug of an outlet is wired into the light switch with 2 red wires connected to the bottom post and 2 black wires connected to the upper post. The light switch has 2 pig tails, 1 with a black and red wire and the other with 4 black wires. The light wires are black and white same as the fixture but the old light didn't have a ground wire where the new one does  which is really the only thing that's changed. The light switch checks out ok with the ohm meter. All the outlets were swapped out wire for wire to ensure I didn't mix anything up which is why I'm  baffled. When taking ohms readings from the ceiling wires and the switch wires I get fluxuating readings.  With the breaker shut I have 120v readings from both pig tails using the common wire from the ceiling and there is obviously 120v between the ceiling wires.  Any idea as to what I'm missing?

My guess is that your outlets were wired as split outlets; the top receptacle was switched with the wall switch, and the bottom was always hot. By default, outlets have the top and bottom receptacles connected together, so when you hooked them up, you made the upper outlet (and the light) always on.

The fix is simple; remove the outlet, and on the hot (black) side, you will find a bit of metal that connects the upper screw to the lower screw. Break that off with some pliers, and things will be okay. You will need to do this on all of the outlets that are wired this way.


Finding the c-terminal on my furnace I have a two wire furnace. I’ve been doing a lot of research but haven’t found anything super similar to what I have at my house. I’m trying to find where to connect the c-wire. I have a couple of extra unused wires so I think I can just connect that to the c-terminal but I’m not 100% sure which one that is.

Based on my research it looks like maybe I could connect my Ecobee to the bottom 25V terminal?

Your help is incredibly appreciated in advanced!

From looking at your pictures I have extracted what appears to be the key parts. Please verify for yourself but it appears that the RED wire from the transformer goes off to the thermostat cable terminal block. If that is the case then the opposite terminal of the 24VAC transformer would be where the C wire would connect.

My suggestion for connecting to the transformer terminal, where there are presently a brown and a black wire connected, is to make sure the wires are terminated properly with spade terminals rather than trying to just twist a wire around under the screw.

If you wanted to make this a clean upgrade you would look at changing out the current terminal block with one that has three positions. This way the thermostat cable can just terminate at the terminal block and you can add an additional wire from the terminal block over to the transformer.

(Picture and Supplier Source: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bussmann-Eaton/TB300-03?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsntO7gZZwOWCUaS%252b%252blAGE8Ob7nLJyRNq0%3d)


How do I insulate interior basement walls that are not against the exterior walls? I'm in the process of building an office and family room in my basement and need some help with the walls and insulation.

There is a perimeter drain in the slab around the exterior walls that collects a small amount of water that weeps through the walls during the wet season. This perimeter drain will require me to place the studs about 4" from the wall.

In this scenario, with an airgap between the interior/exterior wall, should I use rigid foam insulation attached to the block wall, or traditional fiberglass insulation within the studs? Also, if fiberglass is used, should I include a vapor-barrier and on which side of the wall should it be placed?

I think based on the comments I better understand your scenario now.

Building Science has a lot of great information on basement insulation and the suggested method is to use XPS foam against the walls, optionally bats between the studs and no vapor barrier (since the XPS foam is the vapor barrier).

I would suggest that you use 1 1/2 - 2" XPS foam against the walls, and then space your studs another inch or so away from the wall (to allow your water to drain). If you need higher R values then the XPS provides you can use bats between the studs and I would suggest something like Roxul insulation which is stone wool instead of fiberglass since it is not affected by moisture like fiberglass is.

It would also be advisable to use steel studs so that they don't rot should they come in contact with moisture. You might also opt to put the bottom plate on top of a piece of XPS foam so that there is a less likelihood of the metal studs rusting.


Water won't come back on after turning main back on I turned off the water at the main cutoff valve in the garage to replace the gaskets in a single handle shower faucet.  I got it put back together but when I turned the water back on, I get nothing anywhere in the house.  Checked the meter and it is not moving at all. Anyone have any idea what is going on?

Further information.  It is a gate valve and I'm pretty sure it's the original that came with the house which is about 17 years old.

Is the main valve a gate valve?  If so, you'll probably have to replace it. These types of values often fail when not used for a long time, and either won't close or won't open again after being closed.

You may be able to repair the valve, but you'll have to shut the water off to do that, so you might as well just replace it with a new valve.  If fact, you should replace it with a ball valve (aka quarter turn valve). Ball valves are more reliable, and typically don't break from not being used.


what is the best way to restore teak outdoor furniture? What is the best way to restore outdoor teak furniture to the original or better looking color?  Teak is so beautiful when it has not been weathered.  But after a few years in the rain and sun, it just turns grey and gets very rough.  The wood is still in very good shape, not damaged at all, just weathered in color and texture.  You can see in the second picture on the base of the table, the original color as it is not exposed to the elements.

I suppose the best thing to do is sand it all down, and then apply teak oil to it.  But that would be very time consuming to sand between each piece of wood for the style we have.  Do you think power washing it would give it a light sand?  What about staining it to just get it to a nice color, even if it is not the natural color?  Anything other than this ugly grey would be good.

Basically, I am trying to balance the time and energy it would take with what it will take to make it look a little better.  Any other options to make it look and feel a little better?

In hind sight, i would never buy teak again.  We spent all this money to have basically maintenance free composite decking, and now we have to deal with!

UPDATE: After the answer below and some other research, I have come to the realization that short of a good sanding, you can't get it back to the original color.  Rather than restoring it to the original looks, could we stain (and then seal it) to a dark color to make it look better?  Would I just use a typical deck stain, or something special for harder woods?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no magic solution you can spray on and restore the original beauty. As an owner or an older Carver with lots of teak, the only solution is to sand it down.  We solved the every year restoral ritual by using Seatrol medium sealer by Sikens. (found in marine stores)  Couple of coats of this stuff and your teak will look good for years.


Can I use a single insulated wire to upgrade knob-and-tube? I took out a chimney, and this is what I'm left with. I'm considering putting a junction box in the attic, splicing in new wires to come down to the switch on the far right (I need it moved about a foot) and running a hot wire down to the replace the wire going between switch boxes.

Is this to code? Everything would be in junction boxes, but it wouldn't be new cable all the way to box. If I do it myself any considerations? I'm guessing it would be a single wire in between, as it's only hot (or neutral)

.

No, it's not to code to run a single insulated hot wire. It's also weird and confusing.

Instead, replace as much of this as you can. If you must keep some K&T, run it to a new junction box and change it over to NM-B (aka Romex) cable. Rewire these fixtures with NM-B. Looks like if you can do a new run from the attic for the switch box, you should be able to do the same for the other boxes nearby.

P.S. Removing a chimney gives you a great opportunity to change out a bunch of wiring throughout your house. Future you will likely appreciate it if you can modernize your wiring now.


How to pipe a propane kitchen correctly Just purchased a new house and found a great surprise, a 500-gallon propane tank buried in the backyard. Not sure how old it is, but it is holding gas, a gas contractor came out and checked and it still has gas. The previous owner was using it for the pool heater, but they switched to electrical, now it is unused.
We want to install a gas cooktop, we are remodeling our kitchen and our GC and the same gas contractor said that we should run a line from the cooktop to the outside of the house and said we could use copper. So my GC installed this 1/2 inch type L flexible copper from the cooktop area to the wall outside, (in the floor) wrapped it in a 1" electrical PVC pipe so it has long 90" elbows, and installed new tile on top.
We called a plumber this morning and he came out and said that we should have used a rigid pipe, and that he will not go near the flexible pipe. He also suggested that instead of running a line from the existing tank, to just had a new 100 gallon tank and place it near the kitchen wall and use a flare connector to hook it up.
Any recommendations on what I should do here?
Do i need redo the floor? Please say nooo

It appears that type L  copper tubing is used for LPG / propane "distribution" in the US,  but is not allowed for natural gas. https://findanyanswer.com/what-type-of-copper-tubing-is-used-for-propane-gas.


Cutting insulation of speaker wire without damaging inner wires I bought some speaker wire and an adjustable auto-stripper. I don't remember the gauge of the wire, but I wanna say it's 16ga. It's got a pretty sturdy plastic outer insulation and the speaker wires are twisted inside.

The outer wire is too thick for my auto-stripper and I'm afraid of damaging the wires inside when I'm trying to strip it. So, my plan has been to cut the outer layer by using just a dumb little craft scissors, because that's the only scissors I have right now, but it's obviously slow going. I've been cutting down the wire, being careful not to nick the speaker wires inside and then cut the insulation once I've exposed enough of the inner wires to strip them/fit them in my banana plugs.

My question is this: Is there some kind of specialty scissors I can get that is effective at cutting the outside insulation while also not really damaging the inner wires? Is there a recommended type of scissor, like a small but blunt nose, so I can fit it inside the outer insulation but not cut the inner wire?

For speakers, losing a couple of strands of the wire itself is irrelevant. I know that some of the wire mfrs hawk their "gold plated" wire and make a huge deal about conductivity, but in reality it's all bunk. 16ga wire is rated for 10A, even a typical 350W speaker is going to draw maybe 6 to 7A.


How does Underfloor Heating get the right temperature water via a Thermal Store? I am considering my options for a renovation project which will require substantial changes to my central heating and domestic hot water system. I was considering going a thermal store with a biomass boiler (wood pellet) and solar thermal, to supply:

domestic hot water
high temperature water for radiators
low temperature water for underfloor heating

While researching these options I've discovered that underfloor heating needs carefully controlled water temperature. Installation guides for floor coverings make explicit requirements about how the materials are commissioned with respect to the underfloor heating.

So I assume that the underfloor heating system, when used in conjunction with a thermal store has some method of modifying the available water, mixing hot with cooler if hot is too hot? If this assumption is correct what part of the system manages this and where does the mixing occur?

Update

Yes, this is supposedly possible with a thermal store. Quoting from a manufacturers' website:

  The Thermal Store can be used to capture energy from a variety of heat sources, such as solar, heat pumps, biomass and CHP, and is capable of providing hot water at varying temperatures to suit different heat emitters within a building. For example the Thermal Store can supply an underfloor heating system that may require 40°C, radiators requiring 70°C and hot water at 55°C, all from the same unit.

Yes, qualified engineers would be involved in the commissioning of such a system. However, there's an amount DIY in designing the system in the first place and I may take on some of the installation work myself (e.g. laying the pipework for the underfloor heating).

I'm seeking understanding in how such a system balances the temperature requirements.

This isn't a DIY project. You need to have someone who has experience engineering these systems give you input. Steam radiator systems are not something that a DIYer should be designing; there are a lot of design aspects that are not intuitive and need an expert's hand.

On top of that, the question that you're asking here is one that you need to take up with the manufacturer of the floor heating system that you're considering and the manufacturer of the thermal storage and furnace system.

Again, this is not a DIY project -- it's not something where you can head on off to your local hardware store and they'll have all of these products in stock. You need to at least consult with all of the manufacturers of the components that you're considering, or you need to have an experienced firm design the entire system.


Does this water heater pipe need repaired ASAP? I am pushing my basement finishing project off for a couple of years, so I will not be moving the water heater in the near future. Is this corrosion bad enough that I need to have it repaired before I end up with a flood?

UPDATE:

I cleaned up the joint with a metal brush. It looks like the buildup of rust and scale has actually sealed the joint up. Here are photos. I am not sure if I should just let it be now.  I am scared that if I take the joint apart, the nipple will be damaged.

Yes, I would replace that right away.  I wouldn't touch it without the proper replacement parts on hand, since you don't know the depth of the corrosion.

Agreeing with other answers, you need a dielectric between the tank and the copper.  Although they claim to be dielectric nipples (T-575 is apparently a dielectric nipple, and I think that's what the label says) I don't see how that is possible as it's directly connecting the copper to the steel.

The corrosion on the steel may also be indicative of the condition of the inside of the tank.


Why does faucet work one day and not the next? This American Standard faucet worked yesterday. But today, water barely trickles from it.
I can rotate it just fine and when I rotate it shut, the trickle stops. My gut feeling is that it catches in one rotation direction but not the other. Water from the adjacent sink flows fine.

Questions

Why would what seems to be a perfectly good faucet no longer work?
I've removed the bolt from the center but nothing comes loose. How do I disassemble it?
Any suggestion on how to get water flowing again?

2) The knobs should pull off. They may be glued in place by mineral accumulation over the years; try wiggling them to break that free.

1, 3) Depends on the type of valve; several are in common use. You won't know what you've got until you have it open.


What exactly is pitch in terms of nuts and bolts? Today I needed a nut and washer to hold my bike tire. I had one nut already which I was able to lock on there with a 15mm socket & ratchet. So I figured this meant that the nut must be a 15mm and a 15mm washer, if that makes sense? I only had one nut and washer so I took a trip to the hardware store today and I go hunting for that nut & washer. Soon I am overwhelmed with new terminology there were metrics and hex and some other stuff I figured I needed a 15mm so the metric section must be it. I go hunting there but nothing is labeled with mm it's all +1.50 pitch or M8 I don't know what any of that means or how it relates to the 15mm diameter nut & washer. Essentially I couldn't find the right one, an employee showed me what he said was the 15mm nut & washer was but it was way too big so I knew I'd have to go back to do more research. Please explain what pitch means for mm I am very confused here. And if a 15mm socket can lock the nut onto the bike does that mean the nut would have to also be a 15mm nut & the washer?

Thank you

Nuts and bolts start with two options, US or metric. US units tend to be in inches, metric units are typically millimeters. The size of the socket is completely separate from the size of the bolt and nut. The size of the nut/bolt is measured outside of the threads on the bolt, not the nut. So a 15mm bolt measured from the diameter from outside the threads, which would be written M15, could easily require a 30mm socket to install.

The pitch is how steep the threads are. On US nuts and bolts, they are measured according to the number of threads per inch. So a pitch of 20 would have 20 threads per inch. For metric nuts and bolts, it's measured in mm per thread, so a 1.50 pitch will be a thread every 1.5 mm.

The best option, if you can, is to take the existing nut and bolt to the store to find the replacement and ensure you get a proper fit.


What imperial machine screw has a diameter of 4.5mm and a thread pitch of ~1mm? I lost one of the screws of my grandpa's rocking chair. I live in Germany and cannot figure out which kind of nefarious imperial screw this is. According to my measurements, the diameter is exactly 4.5 mm and the length (head included) 30 mm. However, this is not M4.5. I measured a thread pitch of 1.04 mm which arguably results in a thread density of 24 TPI (threads per inch). I assumed it was something like #9-24 UNC but those screws do not seem to exist (at least Wikipedia does not mention them and none of the retailers specialized in imperial screws have them). Do they exist in the US?

A friend of mine pointed out that #9-24 UNC is actually a standard size – it is far from common these days (mind this is an old piece of furniture). Here is a table from 1916:

The listed diameter of 0.176 inch amounts to 4.48 mm – well within my range of measurement error.

Now that this is cleared up, the real struggle will be to find one of these ancient screws, with sufficient length, more than 100 years later… in Germany.

On a side note: I did read the other answers and I appreciate them. I got my hands on a #10-24 UNC screw, but it does not fit.


Does keeping downstairs air off at night force the upstairs hvac to work harder? We live in a two-story home in Florida, about 3,000 sqft. We have an HVAC for downstairs, and one for upstairs.

We typically will leave downstairs pretty warm at night (~80), and when we're ready for bed have the upstairs unit at ~74. Since warm air rises, is this actually making our upstairs unit work longer than it should?

I think the answer has to be "yes", but my question then becomes, is this any less energy efficient than keeping both units at the same temperature? It seems likely that my upstairs unit probably only has to compensate for the amount of warm air that makes it to the 2nd floor, where leaving both on would have both units accounting for the warm air throughout the entire house. Is this correct?

Let's change our nomenclature around to say your house has two zones and each zone has two states, occupied and unoccupied. Being able to adjust each zone so that it is only running while occupied is exactly what you are trying to achieve in Building Management System because there could be substantial savings to be gained.

This is just a fancy way of telling you that you are doing the right thing. If you're thinking about leaving them both on to compensate for warm air, it is not generally considered better than having them set as you originally stated. In my opinion, the important part would be to have your zone set at 80 to come on and cool down just before dawn during the cool part of the day rather to have it come on and try to cool when outside temperature is at say 100 and rising.

I don't think anyone can really put a fine point on this. Since there are a lot of factors to consider while trying to get the best efficiency from your system. It would be quite hard without a survey of your residence.


What type of key profile is this? I have acquired a chest for which the key was lost years ago. Since I don't want to destroy the lock or the chest, I try to find out what key I need. The chest and key are of german manufacturing as far as I know and as far as the previous owner told me, at worst 150 years old as his grandmother bought it new.

I took a few measurements:

Key shaft diameter ca. 9 mm
Key centering pin ca. 2 mm
Key bit length ca. 14 mm, biggest thickness ca. 9 mm
Lock is about 25 mm behind the brass plate

The brass plate seems fully ornamental - removing the screws did change nothing. It appears to me that the lock is mounted to the chest from the inside. It seems to follow some german standard that apparently is still used. Assuming there are no cuts in the key needed, what is the correct keyway numbering?

According to a german key manufacturer catalog, this is a Drilled, Corrugated bit (Buntbart) with about 14 mm bit length and unknown bit height. It seems to fit a larger variant of Keyway 7 of a "Möbel- und Truhenschlüssel":


What to do about holes in tile grout? In the bathroom of our new house, the grout between our tiles in the shower room seem to have occasional "bubbles" or gaps and I'm concerned that it might allow water in, especially since this is inside the cubicle and the shower blasts water right onto this area. The are dozens of these little holes all over the tiled area, but I've taken a photo and highlighted just a few as an example:

I'm guessing that this is a result of poor workmanship, but can this easily be repaired without re-grouting the whole wall, or am I worrying about nothing?

Yes, in all likelihood this can be repaired fairly easily. It is a good possibility that these holes are due to poor quality work where the original grout was not fully squeezed down into the joints. You may find other areas that are not yet broken open but also just a partial penetration into the joint.

You will have to work carefully to replace with like style grout material to minimize color differences of the repair.

If I was repairing this I would dig out around these breakout areas back to where the adjacent grout is sound and well penetrated into the joint. Also clean the edges of the tiles in the opened out areas too. Since there is also the possibility that water and soap scum have entered these holes you would want to take steps to clean away that as well before attempting to re-grout the repair areas.


User serviceable parts inside this CFL floor lamp? I've been asked to look at a CFL floor lamp. It's many (5-10) years old and one day stopped working; it simply didn't turn on. The fluorescent bulb (four short (5 inch?) tubes extending from a plastic base with a single four pin cluster) was taken to a store and it did work there, but the bulb's whereabouts is currently unknown.

Randomly probing between pairs of the four holes in the lamp socket at random shows between 5 and 15 VAC, but nearly zeros DC.

Is this lamp likely to have user-serviceable parts inside, like ballast for example? Or is the only course of action to buy a new CFL bulb and see what happens?

  click for full size

update: based on helpful suggestions from @ I've opened the base of the floor lamp and there's a whole circuit board full of components!

There's a small fuse(?) labeled F1. My low quality DVM reads 0.7 Ohms when I touch the probes together and the same 0.7 Ohms when I touch them to either side of the fuse. Yes it's still in the circuit, but it at least suggests the fuse might be okay.

click images for full size

There are several different sizes of lamps that fit that pin out. The ballast is probably in the base and will have a list of compatible lamps if that is lost, many times when a lamp goes bad it can take out the ballast, so the ballast probably is bad, the voltages you mention are two low to strike the lamp.


How to interpret UL listing for NM Clamps stating diameter? Most NM electrical clamps specifically list the wire combinations they allow, but others such as halex 90515 simply list a bundle diameter range (.835"-1.520")

Does that mean that I can use as many wires as I like provided they sum to within that range?

I would not interpret the catalog page that way.

APPLICATION: Used to connect non-metallic sheathed cable to a steel outlet box or othermetal enclosure. Dry location.
Fits NM cable, flex cords, multi-flex cords; fitting range .835 - 1.520” diameter or SE cable 2 conductor 4/0

That connector is made for a single cable.  There are small connectors that can be used to secure one or two 14-2 or 12-2 cables, and some specialty connectors that are made for more small cables, but these larger clamps are for a single large cable.


Can I reduce the width of a board half an inch by sanding? I am building a bed frame. Like a fool, I thought 2 x 4 lumber was actually 2 x 4 inches. Now I have a gap that is .5 inches too wide on either side of my frame. I'm wondering if there is a good fix for this without reordering more boards.

It is not feasible to sand down a wooden member by a whole half of an inch.

If something is too long then cut off the additional half inch using a saw.
If something is too thick (wide) by the half inch then rip saw off that extra thickness or use a planer to remove it.
If you cut something too short you will have to go get a replacement piece and re-cut that to the proper length.

You have learned a valuable lesson here. Plan out everything in advance carefully by making sure you understand what is needed and materials are available.


3-way switch and top only hot outlet troubleshooting We're trying to fix some electrical issues done by our house's previous owners and while doing so, somehow we lost the ability to control the top half of our outlets using a light switch. Long story short, this is an older house that has aluminum wiring but the previous owners had connected copper-only outlets, which had started to become corroded so we wanted to switch out everything to CO/ALR switches and outlets.

While switching the switches and outlets, I tried to be intentional about wiring the everything the exact same. When I finally got everything reconnected, every outlet in this room is hot all the time now (compared to the previous "top-only" set up prior to changing). I can't figure out what's different with my set up compared to the previous set up.

Today, it dawned on me that I didn't remove the tab on the bronze side of the outlets so I removed it on two of the outlets (see diagram). These outlets are still fully hot all the time.

Please see the diagram below (sorry it's so poorly drawn). This is how (I think) everything is connected, based on what I can see. The upper left has a single light switch that toggles the patio light on and off. Next to it is a 3-way switch which should turn the top half of the outlets on and off. Notice, I only cut the tabs as indicated in the purple text. The black wiring seems to be connecting each outlet's bottom together and the red seems to be connecting the top. There are white/gray wires connecting the neutral side of each outlet as well.

The empty box must have contained another 3-way switch at one point but it's capped off at this time. The black and white wires are connected together and the red is capped by itself.

Note: This is meant to be a top-down visual of the room's 3 walls, notice the "floor" text indicating where the floor is relative to the switch/outlet.

So my question is, what is wrong with my current set up that is preventing the top-only outlets from working? Do all outlets between both 3-way switches need to have that tab cut in order to work?

Sorry again for the poor illustration, I hope it's a little comprehensible.

---EDIT-----
I snipped the tab on the right and left wall outlets and also forgot to include the left wall as part of the 3-way switch scenario. So every outlet is snipped but the bottom wall (I think this was previously left tabbed because one of the old outlets still had their tab)

Here's a link to the photos:
https://imgur.com/a/4pZ0NeW

It looks like that final outlet did actually need its tab removed. The current was flowing through the bottom outlet, then connecting back to the top through that tab and sending the signal back to the source. Thanks everyone!


Can you use/store your air compressor (horizontal cylinder type) in vertical position? I have this Air Compressor. Can I remove the handle and store it and use it in vertical position (compressor facing me for easy access)

Storing a oil less compressor in just about any position will be fine but make sure to blow the water out of the tank prior to storing it.


Sloped Floor: Quick Fix for Bed and Desk The room I'm in is about 8' wide x 16' long.  It slopes fairly heavily, primarily width-wise. The bed and the desk both go against the long wall, meaning the slope either results in a raised head or feet when sleeping, and I'm either pushed against the back of my chair or to the front. I've tried to ignore it, but it's starting to do damage to my legs and back.
I'm going to buy a bed frame with adjustable legs and use a level to level out the bed.(unless anyone has any better ideas).
But what about the table and chair? How can they both be level and on the same level as each other? I can't redo the floor. Are there any quick fixes? Any kind of large, adjustable chair/desk mat I could put underneath?

Build a large "ramp" that has the same angle as the slope in the room. When the ramp is placed on the floor, the top of the ramp will be level. The high part of the ramp will probably be against the wall in your case, where the desk would sit. The low part would be out in the room and would be where your chair would go. You'll have to be careful not to wheel the chair off of the ramp, so you may want to add a small "curb". The tough part will be getting the angle right, but it doesn't need to be exact; in your case, any improvement may be better than what you have now


Is there a check valve in the bathtub valve that would prevent water from going reversed through the valve? New single handled type shower tub faucet in a new house in Mexico. 250 gallon gravity fed tank on roof. Has boiler. Water comes out real slow. Appears when in cold position no water comes out, only hot water. I'm assuming it's clogged.

Took off tub water inlet
Connected small pump
Shut off water supply
Took off the cold water line from hot water heater inlet
Turned on pump

No water comes out of the unhooked heater hose. Does this valve have a check valve built into the valve, which is not allowing water to go backwards through the valve?

I can't be certain without checking it out in person, but I would be surprised to see a check valve in that line.


Can Liquid Nails cover a small hole I'm installing some vinyl plank flooring. In one spot where a transition piece is going to go, there is a small hole that will expand under the vinyl. The transition piece is going to be installed with Liquid Nails or J.B. Weld.

Can I just fill in the hole with Liquid Nails/JB Weld or do I need to apply some type of patch first?

There are cementitious floor patches made for this purpose that will give you better results. Liquid Nails, indispensable though it may be, doesn't really harden enough to do a patch job like this. Here's a video of a guy patching a floor that's pretty thorough.Floor patch.


female thread repair: threaded inserts and hole-diameter required I need to repair a stripped female thread in a piece of aluminum.  Originally the thread was M7x1.0.   I can enlarge the hole a little, but it's close to an edge, so not as much as might be needed.

What diameter hole is  needed to support an insert capable of accepting an M6x1.0 screw?

For one of the best known thread repair inserts, Heli-Coils, (I've used them , not associated with them otherwise) an M6x1 insert has a maximum outside diameter of 7.95mm.
Data here.

A better repair in many cases would be to have a welder (person) with a welder (machine) plug the hole, then drill it out and retap it to the size you actually want. Of course, if the original part was under-designed and that lead to thread failure, making it the same as it was won't ensure that it won't fail again the same way. If it's thin aluminum you need to find a good/skilled welder. If the part allows, welding or gluing a nut to it may be a better fix for a too-thin design.


What cement board can I use for an outdoor bbq? So I've built a metal frame that is going to be used as my outdoor bbq. I am ready to install siding on it and I was told to use HardiBacker.

I googled it and apparently it isn't for use outdoors. What is a good cement board or other material that I can use as the sidings for my bbq?

It is on the edge of a patio and lawn so the sprinklers WILL get it wet about every other day. I am open to other suggestions

Edited to remove ANY subjectivity:

HardieBacker is made from wood (cellulose fibers) and cement and carries a limited warranty for exterior use and only in certain climate zones. See HardieBacker's 10-Year Limited Warranty for Exterior Use

Durock is made from cement and fiberglass mesh. Wonderboard and others are made similar to Durock.

Subjectivity Here:

Obviously, there is a reason for the substantial difference in warranty between interior and exterior applications. My belief is that the cellulose will eventually break down from the shifting between warm humidity/ and freezing temperatures, especially in applications that would limit the ability for the product to appropriately air out. Durock is cement and fiberglass, and while both products will react to hot/cold like poured concrete, I would prefer the product that does not use wood. Given that they cost about the same, I would rather use something that the manufacturer expects to be able to withstand the 10-year warranty, over one that doesn't expect it to in nearly half the U.S.

But again, that is my subjective opinion.


Starting row of laminate flooring Just wondering how to start the 1st row of laminate flooring.
I have a door to deal with right off the bat. Wondering which is the better option (see diagram). This diagram is not to scale. The wall is 20 feet long with a standard door opening.

Option B is a fine way to start, if possible check 2 things. If possible shift your row if you can to get a potential butt joint out of the doorway. It is always best to eliminate joints in the doorways since it is always a high traffic area.The elimination of the added piece in option 1 is the reason I did go for option 1.

Secondly, adjust how much you cut out of the start row to minimize the problem of having a really narrow strip to finish on the other side. A 1" strip can be glued onto the neighboring lap if need be, a 1/2" strip will be delicate but can handled with glue too. Just make sure you will finish well. you do need to leave a 1/2" room at all solid objects in the room to allow the floor to float within the room, it will move, it will expand and contract with seasonal, and changes in room humidity/conditioning.


Fixing cracked bathtub with hot glue I was cleaning my bathtub and noticed it's rusty around the drain hole, then I accidentally popped a hole through the bathtub. I am going to replace it next week, but is it possible to temporarily fix it with hot glue?

I know there are some shower repair kits or that I could use epoxy glue, but will hot glue be enough?

Thanks

No, hot glue is not enough. And I hope that by "replace" you refer to the whole bath.

If it's a super critical emergency sand away the rust around the hole, being careful not to punch another one, and use some kind of silicone based sealant.


What tool/method should I use to clean up this laminate edge? I just built my first laminate countertop yesterday and finished routing all the edges. Almost halfway through routing, my bit broke so I had to borrow  a beveled trim router bit. This bit left a mess with the backer from the top sheet exposed on the top edge as shown in the picture.
What should I use to clean up this edge, since all the laminate is on the surfaces now? Can I use a certain grit of sandpaper without damaging the laminate? Or is there a file that is fine enough? I am concerned because I will be scraping that residue off of the edge with the new laminate. It has the texture of cardboard, I think it's just the laminate backer.
Thanks for any advice

Personally, I would invest in a new laminate routing bit and go over that edge.  You could also a chisel and lightly score the edges. I'd put some masking tape on the laminate to protect it while your finishing the edges. A fine grit sandpaper would also work.


Can I ground a ceiling fan to another electrical ceiling box nearby? I want to install a ceiling fan where a ceiling light currently exists in my garage. The box for the current light has only two wires coming in however: a black & a white (no ground - looks like original wiring from 1950's). My question is how can I ground the ceiling fan if I install it in this 2-wire box location? Can I run the ground wire from the ceiling fan to a separate nearby ceiling light box which does have a ground wire coming into it? This nearby ceiling box is on the same circuit (i.e. both the ceiling fan and the nearby electrical box are controlled by the same circuit breaker). I realize I would of course need to first install a ceiling fan rated electrical box to attach the ceiling fan to, but can I ground the ceiling fan to this nearby ceiling light box which is properly grounded back to the circuit breaker panel?

Yes you can

Recent NEC editions allow you to run a retrofit ground wire (equipment grounding conductor) from an ungrounded box/circuit to a grounded branch circuit's ground wire, provided the donor circuit has a large enough ground wire to be a suitable ground for the circuit being retrofitted.  (For instance, if you are grounding a 20A circuit this way, the donor circuit would need to have a 12AWG or larger ground wire.)  The permission for this is given in NEC 250.130(C):

  (C) Nongrounding Receptacle Replacement or Branch Circuit
  Extensions. The equipment grounding conductor of a
  grounding-type receptacle or a branch-circuit extension shall
  be permitted to be connected to any of the following:

  (1) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode system
  as described in 250.50

  (2) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor

  (3) The equipment grounding terminal bar within the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or
  branch circuit originates

  (4) An equipment grounding conductor that is part of
  another branch circuit that originates from the enclosure
  where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch
  circuit originates

  (5) For grounded systems, the grounded service conductor
  within the service equipment enclosure

  (6) For ungrounded systems, the grounding terminal bar
  within the service equipment enclosure

  Informational Note: See 406.4(D) for the use of a ground-fault
  circuit-interrupting type of receptacle.

Furthermore, since ground wires do not need to run with the circuit they are grounding as per NEC 300.4(B)(2):

  (2) Grounding and Bonding Conductors. Equipment ground‐
  ing conductors shall be permitted to be installed outside a race‐
  way or cable assembly where in accordance with the provisions
  of 250.130(C) for certain existing installations or in accordance
  with 250.134(B), Exception No. 2, for dc circuits. Equipment
  bonding conductors shall be permitted to be installed on the
  outside of raceways in accordance with 250.102(E).

, you can simply run a bare 14AWG wire from the new ceiling fan box, through the ceiling, to the "donor" box, bring the wire into the box, and connect it to the existing ground wire bundle there.


Are there any concerns installing kitchen cabinets set away from the wall? I am a planning on installing standard cabinets in a galley type kitchen.

I want to the cabinets to be about 2-3 inches away from the wall. What are the concerns with doing this, and is there anything I should take special consideration of when doing it?

My reasons for doing this:

I only have about 6 ft long of countertop space, so if I push the base cabinets away from the wall I can gain a couple inches.
The old cabinets were installed before a new ceiling was put in; I had to add drywall to finish the ceiling and did an ok job at hiding the joint. The old ceiling has a texture but the new ceiling doesn't, so if I push the cabinets off the wall their tops will end at the older ceiling, hiding the joint and untextured ceiling.

I am going to install the cabinets between these two walls.  Therefore, the sides of the cabinets will never or hardly be seen.

If you look at the ceiling in the picture,  there is a purple drywall board about 13 inches from the wall.

I want the wall cabinets to sit flush against the old ceiling.

So I would like both the base and wall cabinets to be 2-3 inches from the back wall.

The upper cabinets usually carry a lot of weight, I would use 2+4 framing to extend the existing wall studs out 2 1/2 inches then cover with 1/2 inch plywood so you have a solid structure to screw the cabinets to.


Can I ignore the neutral wire in a switch box? I'm replacing a smart light switch with a regular rocker switch. It looks like the previous owners had a neutral wire pulled down for the smart switch, making a total of 2 black wires, 1 white (connected to neutral), and 1 bare copper (I assume ground). The rocker switch only has 3 inputs, can I safely ignore the neutral wire?

Also, does it matter which black wire goes in which backstab connector?

Edit, pictures:

wires https://i.stack.imgur.com/c8S3j.jpg
box closeup https://i.stack.imgur.com/GMcck.jpg

For an ordinary single pole switch, it doesn't matter which brass screw gets which wire

A single-pole switch just opens and closes a circuit -- it has no sense of polarity or "line/load" requirements.  As a result, the two brass screws on a standard snap switch are interchangeable with each other.

The neutral is easy to handle

A dumb light switch has no use for the neutral, so you simply need cap off the existing neutral pigtail with a wirenut.

P.S. your wires are in cables

What you see in the back of your box is a typical North American wiring practice in a house -- two two-wire-plus-ground NM cables entering the (plastic) box via built-in cable clamps that grip the cable sheathes, with one cable being fed from an always-hot power source and the other passing switched-hot off to the fixture, while neutral passes through the box without stopping.

Don't forget to attach the bare grounding pigtail to the green screw on the switch, by the way.


what is max distance between posts using 2x12x20 foot beams for a pergola What is the max distance to span between six by six posts using two by twelve by twenty foot beams for a pergola.

You can easily span 12' with a 2x12 for a pergola as long as your load is not crazy. What is going on top of the 2x12's? 2x2's? I would set my posts on 12' centers and cantilever 4' on each side. I would also sandwich a 2x12 on each side of the post. There actually is enough information in your question but  there are many online beam span charts. Here is one. Hope it helps. Make sure there is no earth to wood contact on your posts and you will enjoy your pergola for decades.
http://www.decks.com/deckbuilding/beam_span_chart_table