Air coming out of electrical outlets when bathroom exhaust fan is running? I purchased a brand new apartment 6 months ago.

I have noticed this as soon as I moved in, there is cold air blowing out of two electrical outlets whenever my bathroom exhaust fan is on.

These two electrical outlets are located in my bedroom which is right next to the bathroom.

Does anyone have any ideas why it's happening?

Thanks

Without seeing it, it's hard to say for sure. However, the fan is creating 'negative pressure' inside your apartment (which appears to be pretty close to air tight), and so that wants to equalise with the outside any way it can. Thus, air is coming into the rooms by the easiest route it can.

I'd imagine the wall your windy sockets are on is either a stud+plaster (drywall?), roughly hollow sort of thing, or else the sockets have a channel in the solid wall through to the sub-floor, or somewhere else. The air is coming from there to equalise the pressure in your apartment.

As for solutions, they probably depend on your local building regulations and the rules for changes in your block. It feels like you could remove the socket, and the back-box that holds it in the wall and put some insulation behind (or in the channel for the cables). That would probably slow the airflow, but be aware it'll start coming through some place else in your property instead.

You may be better off investigating if you can put an air vent somewhere (your windows may have some at the top which you sort of slide to open and close?), or to put an explicit hole, grilles and maybe baffles somewhere (perhaps in the bathroom outside wall? or maybe the front door into shared areas?). The idea being that it creates a deliberately 'weak' point in the air-tightness of your property to allow the fan to suck the air out and for that air to be replaced relatively easily. It would probably increase the effectiveness of the fan, at the expense of letting (potentially cold) outside air in, but at least the air comes from a known source, and hopefully more easily than through random weak spots in unexpected places.


Can I use brake fluid or steering fluid to stop a fan from squeaking? Can I use braking fluid or steering fluid on my squeaking table fan? Are they safe? I'm just wondering if I can use anything that's already lying around the house.

Brake Fluid is not a lubricant, but a glycol based hydraulic fluid designed to have a high boiling point and to absorb water to prevent corrosion (why the brake system should be completely bled out every so often).

Power Steering fluid and Transmission fluid are petroleum based hydraulic fluids, more useful for their ability to transmit pressure, resist heat and work with fluid filled clutches (friction systems) and are not general purpose lubricants, except in the special case of the systems for which they are designed.

You'd almost be better off using engine oil, but its detergent properties are not useful for this type of operation.

Any box store will have 3in1 or turbine oil which are more appropriate for lubricating the shafts on an electric motor.


Well water sanitizing and ph balancing questions The water in our well is fairly acidic (PH 5.6).  The only filtration that it has is one of those generic single stage water filter systems.  We also have had occasional problems with heavy rain causing ground water contamination.  When it does this the water gets cloudy and tests positive for coliform bacteria.

I've been treating it with Chlorox when this happens and then drain the well for 12 hours or so, basically a couple hours after a pool test kit has shown no chlorine is present.

I looked into getting the well sealed, but a camera in the well showed there are big enough cracks in the drill hole that the well guy didn't think a liner would necessarily fix things.

I've looked at getting a better water filtration system including a UV light to kill any bateria.  I'd also like to neutralize the acidity of the well water.  I understand that one problem repeatedly chlorinating a well is that there are carcinogenic compounds this creates.  Does anyone know what the carcinogenic compounds are and if can I get them tested for?  I'm concerned that treating the well with a strong base will have a similar effect to chlorinating it.  Hopefully calcite won't generate these carcinogenic compounds.

-Eric

Clorinated organic compounds.  Some are carcinogens.  Some are nerve toxins.  That said, a well run chlorinator thatfilters the water first for organic matter then puts a 1-2 ppm residual chlorine level in the water is not very toxic.  Cities have done this for a very longtime.

UV treatment works too, and is the route I would go.

a pH of 5.6 isn't very acidic.  Remember that pH is a log scale. This is a level typical of eastern hardwood forests.

But I would get a full water analysis done.  Here (Alberta) we can get a sample bottle at our local public health office.  The analysis is free.

Take that and find out what needs to be done.


Running wire through sole plate and joist at an angle I am cutting a new outlet in the wall between my living room and dining room. Below is an unfinished garage with completely accessible joists where I can run wire. There are double joists directly below the sole plate behind the wall.

I will build a jig for the 3/4" spade bit at the required angle (I calculated to be 18°). At the top of the sole plate the 3/4" hole has the required 1.25" clearance within the sole plate.

The "hole" in the joist below is at the top edge so it ought to be considered a "notch". The height of the notch is, uh, some old horse... around 2.5"... which is more than 1/6 the height of the 2x12...

What do you think? Can I do this?

Top view:

Bottom view:

Edit:

Stepping away from the pen and paper for a bit, and thinking practically, I could easily cut a 2" notch in the joist, then my spade bit would fit in the notch easily and at a better angle. I don't have to cut the notch with the spade bit, you know.

First off that's an amazing question!

Most codes would frown upon touching the top or the bottom of a joist in this fashion.

That being said it's probably totally fine to make a tiny hole in the manner you are describing. I've seen some awful things done that caused no problems and if I saw your scenario on a job I wouldn't even notice.

edit

2.5" is pretty big I would definitely notice that.


Will changing 1/2" PEX from Main Line to 3/4" PEX increase flow to Sprinkler Heads Not sure the question reflects my question properly, but let me try and clarify:

Under my house (crawl space), I see where the 3/4" (cold) water line splits off into 3 directions to my outdoor water spigots.  Each line that comes off the 3/4" line is 1/2" Pex and runs from 15' to 25' to the spigots.  I am currently running between 75 and 90 PSI.

My issue is this; I had run Rain Bird 1/2" Swing Pipe from the spigots to my sprinkler heads (which are also split off using Melnor Sprinkler Timers) and the sprinkler heads farthest from the spigot have little to no output. I won't say pressure as pressure well, is pressure...

In one case, I have 5 sprinkler heads (on one line) within a few feet of the spigot (of which the PEX 1/2" pipe is roughly 15' to the 3/4" line under the house), and I get great output.

In another case, I have 4 sprinkler heads where the 1/2" Swing Pipe runs roughly 100' and I get very little output.

Since, again, pressure is pressure, I'm wondering if better flow is the answer.

If I change the 1/2" PEX under the house to 3/4" PEX coming from the main line (as described above), would this extra flow help to give me the output I'm looking for still using the 1/2" Swing Pipe to the 4 sprinkler heads, which are 100' from the spigot?

Sorry if this sounds confusing.  If needed, I'll draw up a schematic and attach later on.

Thank you in advance to those who can answer this puzzle for me...

Pressure is pressure when you eliminate flow, add flow and the distance and you will end up with a lower pressure and poor performance like you are experiencing.

On the long runs increasing the plumbing from 1/2 to 3/4 will improve the sprinkler performance.
This will be true as long as your pump can keep up with the demand.

If you have several different sprinklers / spigots running at the same time your usage may exceed the capability of your pump. With large systems we segment the number of sprinkler heads that are allowed to run at any one time and cycle them for best performance.

So yes increasing the supply plumbing especially on the long runs may be what you need.


What can I do about a damaged finish of Bruce hardwood floors? we recently contracted someone to help us remodel a home in Florida to fix and resell. As it ended up the contractor was not currently licensed. We should have known by the way he was working on things.

He put paper on my Bruce Hardwood floors and secured it with painters tape (blue) from HD. The project was supposed to last three weeks and ended up being 8 weeks. He added layer after layer of paper and tape.

When he was out of here, he and worker pulled up the paper and tape only to reveal long strips some with the grain of the board and some sideways over two or three boards where the tape pulled up the finish coat on the boards.

At first I thought it was glue, but H.D said that here in the south where it is hot, it does not take long for the properties of the glue to change. Thus pulling up the finish with it.

Please advise what would be the least expensive and less intensive way to repair these boards.

I hate the thought of spending a grand to have the entire floor sanded and refinished.

Here is a link here for the kit and instructions on its use, if you feel this may do it. Depending on where the damage is, once touched up, furniture placement or rugs may do the rest which I would not recommend, but it is a shortcut instead of the alternative.

The alternative is selective plank replacement. I have seen this done in a few different ways, brute force with chop axe and hammer, more delicate but the same with chisel and hammer which I have done a lot of repairs myself with a chisel. My preferred way now is to use a set to depth circular saw to cut the middle of the plank length wise with 2 cuts about a 1/2" apart. This will keep the blade away from nails or staples that hold the floor. Of course, do not cut into the adjacent pieces, unless they need replacement too. Then with a sharp, wide chisel, say 1-2" wide, split the ends the rest of the way to the neighboring planks. when making this cut, angle the chisel so the crack is wider at the top from both directions so the center piece is easier to remove. There will be a tongue and groove joint to deal with on the ends, so with a smaller sharp chisel cut the center rip in the middle to allow to draw the tongue and groove apart from the adjacent planks. This 1/2" rip from the middle when cut in the middle and lifted out will provide a good "handle to grab to remove the center. Once that is done the groove side of the damaged plank is easy to remove. The tongue side take a little finesse and a dull chisel.

To reinstall the new section, remove the bottom half of the tongue. You will most likely need to cut it to length also. Slip the new piece in and nail the back edge where the modified groove is and use a colored wood filler to fill the set nails.


Will a combo afci/gfci breaker solve my light switch neutral issue So I'm in the process of adding a smart switch to my exterior lights which is on a gfci protected circuit. With the way the house is currently wired the lights are wired upstream of the gfci(which I added before)
The issue is I believe is the neutral wire is after the lights connected to the line side of the gfci causing a voltage difference tripping the gfci. I've confirmed this is the case because the gfci only trips when the lights are turned on and by bypassing the current neutral wiring and connecting a new neutral wire from  the light(white wire) to the load side neutral wire. This works.
It's not convenient to run another neutral wire back the the load side of the gfci so I'm thinking if I replace the breaker with the gfci everything will be downstream on the load side and it should work.
Does this sound like a reasonable plan?
Thanks!
Edit: would this configuration work? I realize I should have made the lines coming from the switch to the lights red(hot)

You can't run cables "in a loop" like that
The root problem is in the way you have wired this.  The layout of the circuit describes a big circle (or possibly two circles), and you're just plucking the wires you want out of "whatevah" cable, as if this was DC wiring or something :)  It's not. AC behaves differently and you must follow different rules.
Code (NEC 300.3) requires your cabling to be in a "tree" topology, with unlimited branches but no loopbacks.   So you will need to modify the cable topolgy to be a tree by abandoning certain cables... and as necessary either change certain cables to /3, or change the smart switches to ones that can work without neutral.
The GFCI is "keeping you honest", and you should not remove it. You should correct the wiring defects.
Correct:

This assumes proper cabling methods are being used. Part of the problem here is you are drawing a schematic which is generally not helpful in AC mains wiring.  We need to see a wiring diagram which shows routes.  Note that here, I have altered the schematic to look more like a wiring diagram.
Now you're playing with power
"One of the great challenges in this world is knowing enough about a subject to think you're right, but not enough about the subject to know you're wrong".  - Neil Degrasse Tyson
That statement pretty much defines "electronics types" trying to do home wiring.
They are proud of their EE education and think that ought to make home wiring easy.   It's not.  You have to learn a whole new world that's all about stuff you are used to shining on: wiring methods, equipment certifications, route topology, and 1000 other rules.  And just the fact that AC power behaves differently in several aspects than friendly low-voltage DC.
This stuff makes the difference between a safe and unsafe installation.


What do the numbers on stick electrodes mean? I'm just starting out learning to weld, and decided to start out with stick welding. While digging through a pile of electrodes that were given to me, I noticed there are different codes printed on them. What do these codes mean?

Those are classification codes, the most common in the US being the American Welding Society (AWS) numbering system. You may see labels such as AWSE6011, E6011, or simply 6011. These values all mean the same thing, some just provide a bit of extra information.
Carbon Steel
{AWS}E6011
The first part simply tells you which standard is used. in this example, it's the American Welding Society numbering system. This value may or may not appear printed on the consumable.
AWS{E}6011
The E in this example, represents the consumable type.  E represents an electrode, which means an electrical current causes the filler material to be deposited. This value may or may not appear printed on the consumable.
Consumable Types
E - Electrode.
R - Rod.
ER - Electrode or Rod.
EC - Composite Electrode.
B - Brazing.
RB - Electrode, Rod, or Both.
RG - Oxygen.
IN - Insert.
EW - Tungsten Electrode.
F - Flux.
AWSE{60}11
The first two (or 3) numerical digits represent the tensile strength of the filler material, measured in thousands of pounds per square inch. In this example, it would be 60,000 psi.
AWSE60{1}1
The next numerical digit, represents the position the consumable can be used in.
1 - All positions (Flat, Horizontal Fillet, Vertical Up, Vertical Down, Overhead).
2 - Flat and Horizontal Fillet only.
3 - Flat only (deprecated).
4 - Flat, Horizontal Fillet, Vertical Down, Overhead.
AWSE601{1}
The last numerical digit tells you what the coating material is, and which types of current can be used.
0 - High Cellulose Sodium - (DC+)
1 - High Cellulose Potassium - (AC, DC+, DC-)
2 - High Titania Sodium - (AC, DC-)
3 - High Titania Potassium - (AC, DC+, DC-)
4 - Iron Powder, Titania - (AC, DC+, DC-)
5 - Low Hydrogen Sodium - (DC+)
6 - Low Hydrogen Potassium - (AC, DC+)
7 - High Iron Oxide, Iron Powder - (AC, DC+, DC-)
8 - Low Hydrogen Potassium, Iron Powder - (AC, DC+, DC-)

Stainless steel
{E}308L-17
The E here is the same as with carbon steel, see above.
E{308}L-17
The numerical value here represents the filler metal that the consumable is made of, and will be some grade of stainless steel. Note that the filler material, doesn't necessarily have to match the material being welded.
E308{L}-17
This character may or may not be present, and indicates the percentage of carbon in the filler material. If the character is present, it can be either L for low carbon, or H for high carbon.
E308L-{17}
The digits after the dash, represent the coating material and allowable current type.
15 - Lime based coating - (DC+)
16 - Titania or Rutile - (AC, DC+, DC-)
17 - Silica, Titania - (AC, DC-, DC+)


What technical reasons do builders use white baseboards over wood-woodstained? I am Italian and I live in USA since a few years. I bought house in Florida. Why in Florida everyone has a white baseboard (that seems made of a cheap material), and in Italy everyone has a wooden one (mostly solid wood)? I find the white baseboard not as stylish at the wood-colored baseboard, but I understand it is personal preference. I am redoing the flooring and I was considering changing the current white baseboards to wood color. Is there a specific reason I should not do that? Literally, every house here has a white baseboard. Never seen a white one in Italy in my life.

Painted white is cheap. That's really all there is to it, no reason you can't do it differently, and you can find plenty of non-white baseboards in the states - but a preponderance of Florida housing is mass-built developments that are going to run towards cheap and standardized.
Wood is common in older houses, but once some idiot decides to paint it, it becomes a huge job to strip it back to the original, and the paint companies ran successful propaganda campaigns (which had the delightful effect of getting a lot of white lead paint into places it might not have been otherwise) to sell paint in the 30's and 40's


When calculating circuit load, what should I add for outlets? I have a 15 amp circuit that powers 8 recessed lights running 8 watt LED bulbs, a bathroom exhaust fan, a bathroom vanity light fixture and a wall outlet.  In case this detail is important: the wall outlet is located in the room next to the bathroom and it is not a GFCI wall outlet.

When calculating the load on the circuit, what should I add for the wall outlet?  Do I imagine a worst case scenario such as a vacuum cleaner, space heater or a clothing iron being plugged in?  Or is there a generally-accepted load factor used for wall outlets?  Thanks!

In a residential load calculation, general-use receptacles are included in with the 3 volt-ampere (VA) per square foot general lighting value.

In other than dwelling units, receptacles are calculated at 180 VA.

If you wanted to use the 180 VA value, it would be 1.5 amperes (180VA / 120V = 1.5 A).


Using construction adhesive to connect 2 wooden panels I’m putting a sheet of 2-sided melamine particle board (which matches my desk) to a sheet of plywood (for strength) to build an electronics workbench. To do this, I’ve bought a construction adhesive which promises a bond strength of 20 lbs / sf.

To clamp the two sheets together, I will be using screws in an 8-inch matrix. The screws won’t be removed after, I will just leave them. I’ve pre-drilled the holes and placed screws in for speed. I plan to tighten the screws in from center outward, so that any excess adhesive has somewhere to exit.

But I’ve never used construction adhesive. I have absolutely no idea how much to use. The container says “coverage: approx 30ft using a 1/4” bead”, which I’m sure I’m misinterpreting.

I think waves make the most sense, but how far apart should they be?

I would run the adhesive bead 1” from the edge and then fill in with lines or waves (shape won’t matter) about 3 or 4” apart.

When putting together I would hold the edges open by 1/8” and work out from the centre as you plan.

You could get a similar result by working from one end along the length tightening from the centre out to the sides and removing spacers as you go - centre sag won’t be an issue as long as you get reasonable clamping. Putting bricks on the surface will help but make sure the support prevents bending.


Homebase extractor fan. How to remove the front cover? I bought an extractor fan from homebase. One of these: https://www.homebase.co.uk/humidity-controlled-extractor-fan_p594561 . I didn't get very far with fitting it though because step one is "Remove the front cover" but this is proving very difficult.

I have made a little video of me explaining the problem (with a bit of help from a 3 year old!)

On the top edge there is a clip which pops open with a screwdriver, and it start's coming open (I can pull it apart about 4 millimetres and start to see inside from the top), but at the bottom edge of the fan there is no clip, and the front cover does not want to come off at all. I can just about prise it apart by about a millimetre. I can push a knife blade in there along the whole bottom edge (see following photo), but something in the middle near the bottom (by the red light) is holding the front cover on tight.

There are various holes which look to be mostly for the screws which will hold it to the wall (from the direction of inside-out, meaning I need to get inside of course). Near the middle there's an interesting looking screwdriver-sized hole you can see in the photo, but solid edges all around. No clips or moving parts to poke at. I can't see any other clips or screws, but I feel like I must be missing something. I could just pull harder, but it feels like I'm at the limit before plastic starts snapping.

Oh I almost forgot the funniest part. The instructions have a sentence explaining how to do it! But it seems to be badly translated or something. Here it is word for word:

"Remove the front cover. To remove the front cover, first remove the hole plug than using screw driver to remove the self tapping screw, then cover can be remove unclip"

It's strange because the rest of the manual is well written. Just that one sentence... which is the sentence I need! Where is this "hole plug" / "self tapping screw"??

Maybe I could find out more from a manufacturer, but it's just generically homebase branded. "Homebase Extractor Fan. Humidity Control Model". There is a sticker on the fan itself with the numbers "SPA255 B141319"

Took me a while but the red light is just a cover for the screw, use a small screwdriver to lift it out.


How big of a Battery Backup or powerwall do i need to power 3 medical devices I have two CPAP's and one Oxygen concentrator.  I would like to power when the power goes out.  The sticker on the oxygen machine says 3.4 A.  The CPAP's are identical ,models and the stickers on the ac adapters claim 1 to 1.5 A apiece.  That's 408 w for the oxygen and 180 apiece for the CPAP's.  For a total of 768 W or 6.4 A.

My biggest concern is the surge capacity of the Oxygen machine as it has a compressor.  Everflow Q at 3 LPM.

Is it better to compare by their Kw or kwh or Ah ratings.  How big of a backup system do i need to power these 3 devices for a day week or month at 8 - 10 hours a night?

This is on part of this project.  I am considering a generator and solar to charge the batteries.  All the research i have done leads back to the batteries and size which means load and time.  So this part first.

The first rule of off-grid power is

Conservation first.

The second rule of off-grid power is

Conservation first.

You do not, do not, do not, under any circumstances, use an inefficient old piece of junk just because you already have it.  Nor do you spec and acquire new equipment without thinking hard about efficiency and practicality of battery power.

As an example, suppose you have a server you want on a long term battery backup.  You're using an old gaming PC with dual Radeon 980s and an 850 watt power supply (so 1200 watts practical).  Do you a) install $12,000 of battery and charging apparatus, or b) buy a Mac Mini for $1200 that draws 40 watts, and fit $400 of battery and charging apparatus?  $12,000 vs. $1600. Tough call.

But this is just the kind of blunder that people stumble into when they are new to the idea of battery backup/off-grid power.

So this is a frame challenge.  Stop wasting your money and our time trying to power the equipment you've got.  It's way cheaper to replace with efficient equipment than to power your old stuff.

The third rule of off-grid power is

Inverters suck. Get DC versions of things.

The best way to power equipment is straight off the battery.  This avoids power conversion which is extremely inefficient, forcing you to triple or even quadruple battery/charging. *

I happen to know many CPAPs are produced which use 12 volts natively.  They might plug into the wall, but it's via a "power brick" or "wall wart" power supply which turns mains voltage into 12 volts for the machine's actual use.    And by the way, 180 watts is a ludicrous amount of power for a CPAP.  There is something wrong with that spec - it may be the spec rating of the DC power brick.

Sometimes you cannot avoid running an inverter.  In that case, you manually spin up the inverter only while you are actively powering a thing that needs it.  That is the way to handle the oxygen pump if you can't get a DC version.  So in that case you do need to account for inverter losses, but only when the unit is running.

We're not a shopping site, least of all for medical equipment, so I leave it to you to do your research.

* "But surely inverters are more efficient than that!" Not when your loads are cycled off, they're not. You have a 200W load that cycles 10% of the time, like a fridge.  At that load the inverter is 80% efficient, so for 1 hour, it takes 250 watt-hours.  The other 9 hours the inverter draws 60 watts standby, or 540 watt-hours.  That's 790 watt-hours when you only actually use 200.  That's 25% efficiency where I come from.  That's why inverters suck.


What tool to tighten nut on kitchen faucet? I'm not sure what the name of this nut is, but it has come loose.  I have a "basin wrench ratchet head" that goes on my socket set ratchet with a long arm but it can't get purchase because it is too bulky.  I have had some success with my thin vise grips but it eventually comes loose again and the nut is starting to get scratched up from it all.

What is the correct tool for this job?

You should be able to get plenty of leverage on it with either a channel-lock pliers or an adjustable (Crescent) wrench. Both give you parallel jaws, which are key to keeping them on the nut.


utilizing 70 amp circuit breaker I'm new to "DIY home-electricity improvment", so I appreciate every detail that you provide.
I have a 70 amp circuit breaker that I want to use. How can I get three (15 amp outlets) from this breaker? For example, if I connect 6guage wire to this breaker, how can I connect that wire to three 15amp outlets? Looking at a picture of "6 gauge" wire, I see that it has multiple wires inside of it, does that means that I can connect an outlet to every single one of them?

Short answer, because there are a ton of details.
A 70A breaker does not connect directly to 15A or 20A receptacles (the "standard outlets").
There are basically two possibilities:
Subpanel
A 70A breaker can be connected, with appropriate wire, to a subpanel. A subpanel typically has a bunch of breakers, which can include 15A or 20A breakers that can be connected to 15A receptacles. This is commonly done either to serve a second building (garage, workshop, shed, barn, office) or to serve the main building if the main panel runs out of spaces for more breakers.
Beyond that, there are many details, depending on the specifics (type of panel, wiring method, power requirements, etc.)
Replace the Breaker
Sometimes you have an existing large breaker that is no longer in use but want to add a circuit for 15A or 20A receptacles. That is most common with, for example, an electric hot water heater that has been replaced with gas. But it can happen with other things as well. If that is how you ended up with a 70A breaker, you will need to replace it with a 15A or 20A breaker. The specifics will depend on the size of the wire and possibly some other factors. In addition, a 70A breaker would normally be 240V = 2 hots, so you would actually replace this with either a double 15A or 20A breaker or two separate breakers, again depending on a number of factors.


Are there screwdrivers that can hold an M1 slotted screw during insertion without being magnetic? I need to be able to insert an M1x2 slotted screw into a tapped hole upside down, and critically without dropping the screw. That rules out magnetic headed screwdrivers unless I can't find anything else.

I've seen some screwdriver designs such as this one from Wiha Tools (see p9) which would in principle work for larger screws, but apparently not M1:

I've got two problems:

I can't seem to find one small enough to work with M1 screws
I don't know the "standard term" used to describe these screwdrivers. I've seen "gripping screwdriver", "screw holding screwdriver" and others.

I think there must be some watchmaker's screwdriver that would work, but I can't seem to find any. Any help would be appreciated!

I managed to solve my problem by buying as small a gripping screwdriver as I could find, and sanding it down to fit the slot on my M1 screw:

Thanks for your help.


Can a ceiling light shade be replaced? Where can I find a replacement? The shade of a ceiling light in my apartment cracked and fell on the floor.  I started looking around on the web to see if I can buy a replacement but I'm having difficulty finding anything.  Can this be done, or does one normally have to replace the whole fixture?  It's  a circular fixture, about 8 1/4 diameter - three screws in the sides secure the shade to the fixture.  If the fixture has to be replaced, I'll have the superintendent of our building do it, as the apartment is a rental.

For the kind of light fixtures that you typically get in apartments (i.e. not terribly nice), you could look in the big-box stores.  If you're in the US, I know Lowe's has a selection of them (though admittedly not a huge one).

If you can't find one there, look for a specialty lighting store, where you should be able to find a much wider selection.


PVC solar 2" pipe joints degrading from ultraviolet...something I should anticipate more of? I've had leaks develop from the pipe joints on my 2" main PVC lines that feed solar network for pool heating. Tech pages say pipe should be painted white but will that do anything for the couplers? That's where the problems are occurring, so I imagine it must be something to do with the glue bond breaking down. System is tens years old...thanks for pondering this out there!

PVC (plumbing) is not rated for sunlight exposure and needs to be painted or otherwise shielded from sunlight.

PVC (electrical) is not rated for plumbing/pressure use, but is UV resistant.

So, if you have unprotected PVC pipe in the sun, expect more problems. And paint it, though already-damaged sections may still fail after painting due to existing damage. Paint should be applied after assembly, including couplers/joints.


How do I add 2 AFCI circuits to my panel? My electrical inspector told me I have too many devices on my basement circuit. Which is accurate :)
I need 2 additional AFCI circuits for: laundry room and basement receptacles. Problem is, my panel looks pretty full, and I don't think they make AFCI breakers for my panel...  inspector told me easiest way was probably to add a sub-panel.
Could you guys help me fit 2 AFCI circuits? or how to fit sub-panel for new circuits?
Some helpful details:
Main panel is ITE BL Loadcenter, 200A service. In the photos you'll see two 20A breakers switched off.  They are labelled A/C, but I don't have an A/C.  I haven't noticed anything missing power since switching that off. I have no idea where those wires go, so can probably use that spot.
For a sub-panel, I'd like to future proof with a 100A, but I haven't found a 100A breaker for my ITE panel. Let me know if you can find a compatible breaker!
Any alternative solution would be great too!
Current setup, all on one basement circuit:

8 general purpose receptacles (needs AFCI),
2 general purpose light boxes (does NOT need AFCI),
16 LED pot lights (does NOT need AFCI),
1 receptacle for kitchen fridge (does NOT need AFCI),
1 receptacle for laundry machine (needs AFCI) (and this one laundry receptacle apparently needs to be separate circuit :(

The current plan is to keep all basement lights and fridge receptacle on existing non-AFCI circuit.  Then add AFCI circuits for all basement receptacles + laundry receptacle.
I think 12 devices is max. Maybe I can just add one AFCI circuit for laundry and have all 16 LED pot lights count as 1 device since they are known, low load... will have to ask inspector, but that still requires at least +1 AFCI circuit.
Photos:

I think I just found a good solution!
from: https://www.diychatroom.com/threads/laundry-room-question-ontario-canada.684289/
Someone made the comment:
"My preferred method is come out of a panel KO with a short run of non-flex metallic conduit to a generous 2-gang box (e.g. 120mm if you have them in CA), fit your AFCI-GFCI there"
Genius! I can use regular 15A breakers instead of the non-existent AFCI breakers. Replace the two 20A ones not being used. Use "Blank Face AFCI" devices to add AFCI before heading to basement.  No more need for sub-panel!


What happen if misaligned connect 6 outlet Mistake can happen, so because the design. Will the electricity work okay?

Yes, it will work ok.  because only an ungrounded plug can be used backwards, and the wide pin stil goes into the wide slot etc.
Others have commented that this layout is non standard and it's unlikely that the device has been blessed by UL.


Can I use a 150A cable to feed through a 200A breaker subpanel? I am installing a 200A main breaker panel as my service disconnect. The Eaton BR816B200RF panel will have feed thru lugs on the bottom. I want to feed a 150A sub panel from those lugs. The subpanel will be 50 ft away and have it's own 150A breaker.

I would rather not run 4/0 Al SER cable if 2/0 Al is sufficient to feed the 150A subpanel. Not sure why the cable would have to be sized for 200A if it will never see current greater than 150A. This work will be inspected but in any case I want to follow the code. Can I use the 150A cable? Thanks.

The conductors will have to be full size to the 200A breaker. Remember what protects the conductor is the 200A breaker if you reduce the conductor size there must be an additional breaker to protect the the current carrying conductor. NEC does allow for the feeder to be reduced for the final 1/3 distance of a feeder which is probably impractical, but it does allow the subpanel to have 150A buss.


Should I install a gutter above my garage door? Should gutters be placed above the garage door? I have a roof that peaks like a mountain (hip?). Most houses I see have gutters around the house but the roof above garage is largely ignored. I will be installing gutters soon on my house (it has none) and I am curious on what others have done.

Roof

^^^

-+-+-+

Garage

Gutters are for water management. If you have a paved drive and it drains well then you don't need gutters in front of the door. If water tends to flow back toward the garage when it runs off the roof then you should put a gutter in. Having a gutter will mean less splash on the bottom of your garage door which may help the door last longer.

What others do with their gutters is fairly irrelevant to your situation.


Broken drill bit is stuck in DeWalt drill I know this may be a common issue.

I have searched the internet and  so far i am not able to get this broken drill bit freed from my DeWalt drill .

My idea is trying to hammer this bit down but it is very tight I'm not sure I'll be able to.

Any ideas?

edit:
here's a video of what happens when I try to loosen it with a wrench:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1cuyr79N5BPRCTg38

Remove chuck with strap wrench (preferable -less chance of damage) or some large pliers (more likely to have on hand)?

e.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVYLLDW7ScE


Can I install a new 30A breaker in an empty slot in 125A panel? I got one of these Wen #3403 Dust Collectors as a Christmas gift and I'm wondering if hooking it up is a matter of installing a new breaker and running a 10/2 line to the garage. I have air conditioners and pool equipment, etc. already hooked up, but no other appliances except smaller 15 and 20A things.

It says in one place that it needs 110V an 25A breaker, and in another that it needs a  30A breaker. It seems to run at 12-16A, but I imagine needs some extra for starting up.

I've read that code requires it to be hard-wired with a switch. Is that true? What's the harm in using the plug for occasional use, etc. Also, since it's a garage, do I need a GFCI outlet?

The first page of the manual indicates a CSA listing, which due to treaty bears the same weight as UL.  So you have to follow the instructions.  The listing is contingent on doing what the instructions say.

So yes, a 10/2 cable with 30A (greater than 25) breaker to a solitary single NEMA 5-20 socket, labeled for this one appliance, is what's called for.  This is a special socket that should not be used for any other appliance, unless that other appliance also specifies a "greater than 25A" breaker.

If you want to also support other circuits, then throw in a 10/3 and install a subpanel. Bonus points if it's a GFCI hot tub panel, because that will answer the GFCI requirements on any garage circuit.  Preferably a GE type that supports their weird 1/2" breakers because then you can use "double stuff" breakers for density and still customize the breaker size for each load.

By the way, you can't ordinarily bump breaker sizes in response to nuisance tripping.  You can do it here, because of a special motor rule, and because the instructions said so because of the special motor rule.


Is the recommendation for Gauge 14 cables with 13A devices overly conservative? I don't get it. Whenever I look at a corded tool at amazon, I see that people are buying the tool with a cable with an incorrect gauge. Here is an example:

In this example a 13A mower is "frequently bought" with a Gauge 16 cable. Gauge 16 cables are very clearly labeled as maxing out at 10A. Especially for a 100-ft long extension cord, at least a Gauge 14 cord is needed.

Are so many buyers clueless, or are the guidelines to use a Gauge 14 cable with 13A device (for a 100-ft extension) overly conservative and one can get away with a Gauge 16 cable?

Many buyers clueless.  Guidelines for extension cord wire size are only adequate for connected equipment and not conservative.

With an undersized cord for the load:

(1) The voltage supplied to a motor will be more than 10% below nominal, causing motor overheating and premature winding failure;

(2)  The cord will run hot causing the cord insulation to fail prematurely;

(3)  The manufacturer warranties of both equipment and cord will be void (if they know what happened);

However, if the utility supplies voltage at the high end of nominal (122v) and the mower is never used to cut thick grass then one will probably get away with using a #16 cord.  The #16 cord is cheaper and less weight to haul around in the yard.  Besides, someone is probably going to accidentally drive the mower over the cord in a couple of months chopping the cord to little bits...


Inground Conduit Box for Driveway Snow Melting I'm installing snow melting cables into a concrete and stone paver driveway.  It requires 5 mats rated at 25 Amps and 6000 watts. I also need a 6th small run of heating wire to cover the full area. The cold leads (non-resistive conductor cable) are 10/3 and 20 feet long.

So to get it to my basement I need an in-ground conduit box to run the 6 cables into then splice them with 10/3 NMWU in the box and run those through one or 2 conduits to the house panel.

So my first questions are about the conduit sizes and pulling the wires.
For the cold leads to the conduit box ...

Will 1/2" PVC conduit be to hard to pull through (3 to 15 feet, 2x 90 elbows)?

Is 3/4" overkill?

Can I get 6x - 10/3 wires easily through one 2" conduit?  (3x 90 elbows @ 15-20 feet).

Fill table says 63 max for 10/3 conductors and I will have 6x3 =18 plus ground and sheathing.

Ontario, Canada

If in only 1 pipe is there a derate for the number of current carrying  conductors? In the U.S. I would be using thhn/thwn wire, but with 25 amp actual draw I would need to upsize the wire to #8 because 125% of 25 is 31.25a . 1-1/2 rigid pvc would allow 18 #8 , i would not try to pull multi conductor cables through conduit it costs more and is not needed since you are running conduit. Thhn/thwn wire is rated for wet locations and would cost less than NMWU. And as Isherwood mentioned since the splices are going to be below grade they need to be listed for wet / direct burial.
On a side note are you going to put insulation under the mats? It will really help with power consumption that is going to be an expensive way to melt the ice and snow.


Water leaking behind gutters I'm a new homeowner and found that water is getting behind my gutters and was hoping someone may have a solution for me.

Here's the gutter:

Edit: Additional pictures below

Video here: https://imgur.com/a/S7xNalx

From my research I can't find anything obviously wrong with it.  Any idea what I should be looking into to see why it's doing this?

Appreciate any help. Thanks!

That is a lot of water pouring out of your soffit.

To find roof leaks, we use a garden hose and start at the eave and work our way up the roof.

Often we discover it’s not the roof membrane, (especially if there’s no roof penetrations like roof jacks, skylights, etc.), but rather the joint between the roof and an upper wall. It’s easy to accumulate a significant amount of water if it hits a wall, runs down the wall and then under the roof membrane. The water will run down the roof sheathing until it finds a gap...then flows out.


Why won't my heater fan come on? Central-air heater fan won't run, either in Auto or On mode.  The heat comes on, but the fan doesn't.  Even with heat switched off, the fan should run if I switch it On. The breaker is on, the wall switch is on.  I eliminated the thermostat by wiring R and G together; still no fan.  Next I'll look at the limit switch, but I'm wondering if a bad limit switch even comes into play if I turn the fan to On mode.  So that's my question:  is the limit switch used when the fan is in the On position?  Doesn't seem like that would be necessary.  It appears my fan motor may be bad (approx 15 years old).  Thank you.

If you tie the red and green together the fan should come on assuming the transformer wires are getting power (and it sounds like they are).  That's the only thing the thermostat does when you put it in "On" mode.  There shouldn't be and switches in the way.

The fan motor could have a start capacitor to kick it off, and those do go bad.  That's be what I would check next.  Also, the 24v current from the thermostat causes a relay to close which switches power to the fan.  Those relays can also go bad.  When the thermostat is turned to "On" mode, can you hear a click when you are right next to the blower (need a helper)?  All things to check...


garden spigot adaptor My house is ~20yrs old.

We're on well-water, so the outdoor water is pretty skanky (sulphur, iron, iron-eating bacteria).

Last October, in trying to disconnect the hose from the spigot, I ended up removing some sort of adapter-piece that had been "part of" the spigot.

(See photos.) https://photos.app.goo.gl/StogbWib8bacVUMp6

I bought something to "solve" the problem, and like an idiot threw away the gross end of hose.

Now I realize I can't figure out what size adaptor I need. I've seen some posts refer to "vacuum breakers", but this seems to be an anti-syphon spigot, which uses a different piece.

None of the pieces at the local hardware stores are big enough (see photos for those).

What can I do?

Is this question redundant to: Can't find a garden hose that fits ?

Your hose faucet came equipped with a vacuum-breaker (call it an "anti-siphon" if you will, it serves the same purpose: preventing dirty water from your garden from getting sucked up into the fresh water supply if there were a drop in line pressure). This type of spigot was likely required by code when your house was built.

The thread that the valve manufacturer uses to attach their anti-siphon device is not standard. In fact, it is deliberately not standard because "they" don't want end users to be able to remove the anti-siphon device and continue to attach a garden hose to it. YOU WILL NOT FIND AN ADAPTER to hook your hose to that valve. You will need to replace the valve.


Is there too much gravel under this deck? I had a contractor put a layer of gravel under my raised deck.  The deck is about 4 feet off the ground and the space underneath it is enclosed.  The ground under the deck was dirt with some landscape fabric over it.  I had made sure to remove enough dirt that the skirting had at least 3-4 inches of clearance above the ground.  The contractor was very generous with the gravel or there was less room than I thought so now some of the skirting and structure is buried.  Gravel isn't soil but this seems not right to me.  Is this a problem?  Not sure what's pressure treated and what's just cedar but I want it all to dry as well as it can.

This is from the outside.  The lower trim is in it.  The large stones are new and are there to keep the gravel in.  The dirt part will be finished later.

There is a slab under the gravel around the stair stringers.

Another view from the inside.  You can see the gravel now sits on top of the support structure for the skirting.

No problem with too much gravel. You could level it out toward the right a bit to get the gravel off the support structures for the skirting but i don't see that as a problem. The problems I usually see are not enough gravel.


How can I protect this plumbing in an exterior wall from freezing? We're converting an old bathroom addition in our house to be a utility/laundry room. The bathroom wasn't properly vented or sealed, so we are completely gutting the room to deal with mold and mouse damage.

We've already removed the old shower plumbing, which was behind a false wall, as well as the false and underlying interior walls as well. We've run new pvc supply and waste lines up through the crawl space and into the floor, where the washing machine will be located. The pipes are about 8 inches away from the sheathing of the exterior wall:

How can I protect this from freezing? We're in Bloomington, Indiana, which has gotten as cold as -12F (-25C) in the dead of winter. The wall itself is fairly exposed, as it is a corner room sitting on top of a half-exposed crawl space.

My initial thought was that, since this is effectively a double-thick wall, we could just use two layers of fiberglass and then throw our drywall on top of that. Alternatively, we could use some combination of foam, fiberglass, and pipe insulation. Would that be good enough, or should I create a more rigid barrier? If mice get into the wall again, they could damage any softer insulation that we use. Do I need to go through the trouble of building an entire false wall, or could I just build a little protective box around the pipes? Should I install an active heating element as a backup, like a pipe-heating cable system?

I've had this problem and it gets passed up in inspection a lot of the time.  I would build a separate box around these pipes, insulate and even use heat tape.  Plumbing on an outside wall like this will freeze!  Even a concrete outside wall 8" thick.  Put the heat tape on a separate line so that you decide to turn it on when necessary.  Insulation could be fiber glass, blown in insulation or even shredded newspaper.  Newspaper is great insulation.  I'd use something that is fire retardant for insulation if you use electrical tape.

How long ago was this installed?  In Washington State, there is 12 years for discovery and getting something fixed by the general contractor no cost to you.  There are ways for contractors to get out of this clause in Washington States laws but few understand the laws, even lawyers are clueless.

Check out the laws in your state.  If you did not sign a contract that says, "Indiana's State law for warranty is superseded by this contract declaring a one year warranty to include labor and material..." then that contractor is obliged and has to abide by the warranty law in your state.  Worth checking out.  You have to hire a licensed plumber to fix this, you should not do it yourself because it might VOID the warranty protecting you.

I would hire a free lancing home inspector.  Very reasonable costs!  They work for you!  Not the city or county.


How do I plug a leak in my refrigerator's water fountain casing? We seem to have developed a slow water leak at the bottom right edge of the casing for the water dispenser in the left door of our GE refrigerator. This is causing water to drip slowly along the front face of the door all the way down to the floor. The dripping water is stagnating on the wooden floor causing the wood to slowly warp. Here are some pictures showing this.

How can I stop this leak?

-- update --

The leak seems to be because of water under the drip tray, but this water is not overflowing -- there has always been a small amount of water stagnating under the tray for the last 4 years without this leakage.

Including picture of model number.

The root cause may be the closure flap in the ice hopper delivery chute. There is a spring-loaded flap up there which opens when you actuate the dispensing lever. Make sure it is closing all the way and sealing (there is a foam seal on the "ice" side of the flap, check it for damage) or the ice in the bottom of the hopper can melt and drip down into the tray. Also ice sometimes gets trapped in the chute and does not fall all the way down into your container, it then melts and drips into the tray.

Shine a flashlight up into the chute and check it out.


How do I use a hole cutter drill bit (ø 6.3cm) such that I get an intact wood disk? I want to cut wooden disks from a wood board. I bought what I thought was the right bit for my drill. However, the bit seems to be solely for the hole, not for the disk, as it comes with a centering drill. The drill will drill a hole in my disks, making them useless for my purpose. It tried to tighten the centering drill further in, but that did not work. The tightening screw seems to only work on the flattened part of the drill and (not surprisingly, when you think about it) on the thread part of the drill. When I push the drilling machine down, the cutting part will push up along the drill.
How do I solve this? Is there a spare part I'm likely to get at a DIY store? Do I have any chance of re-purposing some other drill bit for this?
Edit: I have a stand for my drill, so I don't think I actually need the centering drill.

Use TWO hole saws. One with the standard pilot bit and one with the standard pilot bit replaced with a much shorter bit such that it can drill the large hole without the pilot bit getting into your piece of wood.
Get a scrap piece of wood, at least 1/2" thick, maybe thicker. Clamp it on top of the piece you are trying to cut.
Start each hole using the regular hole saw. Drill into the top piece of wood until you have a good "starter circle". Switch to the second hole saw and drill through both pieces of wood.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Easier if you have a second drill. If not, be careful as hole saws can get really hot in use.


reuse padding when installing new carpet A new carpet has to be installed instead of the old one. Is it possible to reuse padding and/or tack strips, or this is not recommended?

To me, this seems like a "penny-wise, pound-foolish" place to save a few pennies. But then, I tend to rip out carpets and replace them with hard surfaces.

Consider that whatever spills, grunge or general nastiness that got through the old carpet are in the pad - and consider that the pad is already somewhat compressed in the wear areas. You're giving away a good deal of the "new-carpet experience" by leaving a dirty old half-flat pad under it.

Tack strips I don't feel as strongly about reusing.


How to install hydronic radiant heat over concrete slab I'm trying to figure out the most ideal way to install hydronic radiant heat in my basement over the existing concrete slab. I've looked at several products for heat distribution, like Warmboard, before settling on this: http://radiantengineering.com/tfinu

I'm trying to figure out the ideal way to install it with the minimal loss of height. I was provided a sample of the aluminum fin and its height measured to just under 3/4". In their brochures and pictures, the fins are shown attached downward but I'm thinking it may be better to face them upward. I'm also planning to go with an engineered hardwood floor atop.

My current best guess to the ideal way of doing this is to first start with a 6 mil poly sheet as a vapor barrier. Next, get ~1/2" OSB boards and cut 1/4" dado grooves 8" OC where the fins will be placed and make a floating subfloor out of it. Next, I'd cut the same kind of 1/2" OSB into sections just under 8" in width and place them in between the groves. This should provide enough height for the fins to fit in. Finally, I'll use 1" screws (still figuring out that part) to fasten the fins to the two layers of OSB. I've attached a quick and dirty picture to illustrate what I mean (screws are not to scale).

I'm hoping someone could chime and provide some feedback to this approach. Or am I totally missing something really obvious here? I don't want to lay the PEX down and pour concrete over it because that goes into a whole other topic about thermal mass and heat loss.

Thanks

From Radiant Engineering, thanks for discussing our ThermoFin U product. The preferred method is to install the plates with the fins down. For a ThermoFin U installation on concrete, you would build a surface to be able to screw the plates into by first putting down a layer of Atlas Rboard®, recommended 1/2", which you should be able to get from your local building supplier.
A Google search on Atlas Rboard® will bring up their site and the product info.

On top of the Rboard® you would put down a layer of plywood. The fasteners will hold best if you can use 3/8" plywood. It will work with 1/2" plywood if necessary.

Keep in mind that you want the heat energy to be going into the plywood sleepers and the finish floor, which is why we recommend the Rboard®.

The energy without the layer of insulation will be drawn into the concrete, and the response time would be longer in heating the floor. Heating up the mass of concrete is not necessarily a good thing when you want the entire surface floor to be warmed. The ThermoFin U heat transfer plates are easier to install if the fins are down against the subfloor and plywood sleepers on the fins. See the PDF multipage spec sheet that is linked on the U-fin page of our site. You are making a sandwich of aluminum and plywood to evenly heat the structure and provide a friendly surface for the flooring installation. You can call or email us for more help. We also have routed 180 degree return bends for the PEX tubing when using ThermoFin U.


Banging behind wall when heat comes on In the past day I started hearing a banging behind the wall of my house it seems when the heat comes on. We have water heated baseboards. We lived in this house nearly two years and never experienced this. No work has been done to the plumbing in the house in year when a pipe froze and burst last year in the garage and had to be replaced. What could be the cause of the sudden noise and what are possible ways to test and identify the problem?

The one thing that always bothered me about the system was you could hear the water traveling through the baseboards and lines when the heat comes on. Could both of these issues be related? Could air be in the system and does a baseboard circulation heating system require air to be removed from it?

What you describe is called water hammer and can have a number of causes.  Air in the system could be among the causes.  The system you describe should have all air removed.  I assume the system has an expansion tank...  I would also ensure that the tank is in proper working condition.


Is it unsafe to use an appliance that infrequently trips its circuit? In my apartment I have a freestanding electrical oven/cooktop appliance. It was there when we started renting the unit and it certainly looks old, but I don't know how old it actually is.

For two months we used it regularly and had no problems. Then, one night, all the power went out while we were using the stovetop. The "Oven" switch had flicked off on our board, so I flicked it back on... but still no power. We went downstairs beneath the building to the electrical room and saw the master switch for our apartment had also flicked off. Flicked it back on, power restored.

Another month passed with no further problems. Then, last night, we had the exact same thing happen again. Doesn't appear to be tied to a particular element on the cooktop as we always use the same ones.

Is it unsafe to keep using this appliance? We currently can't afford to replace it.

And, as a side question, why would it present a problem so infrequently? I've never seen this before.

My guess is that the range is tripping the main breaker due to a marginal switch.  Either that, or it depends on some combination of burners operating simultaneously in combination with some wiring fault in the range.

It probably is not safe, so I would discontinue using the range until it is fixed.


Framing basement bathroom: original builder didn't account for wall wrap when laying bathroom drains? Context: I am looking to finish my basement, mostly DIY.

The original builder installed what I understand to be a "wall wrap" on all exterior cement walls. This looks like ~1.5" of fiberglass insulation covered by a clear plastic sheet.
The builder laid three drain pipes where the bathroom would be. I'm looking to use these drains as-is without modification.
From what I understand, when framing a basement that has a wall wrap, you want to preserve the insulating value of the wall wrap by not compressing it. Start the 2x4 wall 1.5-2.5" away from the cement.

Problem: It appears like when the original builder laid the drain pipes, they did so without taking into account the width of the wall wrap. This means that all drain locations are off by whatever width I allow for the wall wrap to go uncompressed (or even exist). This is problematic for two of the three drains: the toilet and the shower, both of which need to be in specific locations.
Toilet:
This is a problem that I believe I've solved, but would like to confirm. Standard toilet drains are 12" off the finished wall, from the drain's center. In my case, the center of the toilet drain was placed 16" off the cement wall. When measured coming off the cement wall this means: 2" wall wrap + 3-1/2" stud + 1/2" drywall = 6 inches. This leaves 10" of space where I can install a slightly non-standard toilet that has a 10" rough-in size. Any issue you see here?
Shower:
This is where I don't yet have a solution. In my case, the center of the shower drain is 8-3/4"  off of a preexisting load bearing stud wall, and 17-1/2" off the cement wall. In looking around for basic showers, I have found a few similar to this Home Depot shower. When looking at dimensions guide from the manufacturer, I see this shower expects to be mounted directly to the studs, with the center of the drain being 8-1/2" off one wall and 13-7/8" off the second.
Herein lies the problem of the wall wrap. 13-7/8" + 3-1/2" stud = 17-3/8", which leaves no space for the wall wrap to exist, even compressed. And that is the confusing part; the builder appears to have perfectly laid out the shower drain as to fit some standard shower dimensions, except they forgot about the wall warp? The toilet is a simpler problem to solve, as 10" rough-in toilets exist. But I don't see the same for showers.
Potential Solutions:
As I see it, the following are options, but I may be missing something obvious.

Remove the wall wrap from the cement walls along the basement. Frame flush against the cement wall.
Find a pre-made shower with a drain closer to the side wall.
Spend more money and build a custom tile shower. Can't even use a standard pre-made shower pan.
Bust up the cement, and move the drain 2".

What would you do in this situation? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Is there a reason why you need a 3-1/2" thick wall? If not, the studs could be rotated so the rough wall adds only 1-1/2" in front of the insulation/wrap. It seems that would make all the other problems melt away.
You'd have to figure out what to do about top and bottom plates. You could rip a 2x4 in half and try to nail the studs to that, but it's prone to splitting. Another option is to position the bottom plate like normal, but cut or lift the wall wrap so that the bottom plate can be pressed against the concrete wall. The wall wrap would effectively be recessed inside the wall. The top plate might be done similarly, but it's also possible that this interior wall will be taller than the concrete wall such that there's no real conflict between concrete, wrap, and top plate.
Local codes might require additional insulation be added when the space is finished out. Generally it's allowable to use layers of different types of insulation so long as the total meets the R-value requirement, so if the wrap is left in place, its R-value contributes to the total. You'll probably find that the 1-1/2" cavity is thick enough to allow whatever additional insulation might be required.
Insulation doesn't perform as advertised when compressed, so if you prefer fiberglass batts, you might consider buying 3-1/2" thick batts and separating them to half-thickness for this job.


Why is sewage backing up from this outdoor pipe? I just recently moved into my first house this morning and when I went outside I noticed this:

What happened?  What should I do? I have no idea what that pipe even is. I don't believe there is a septic tank on my property because we use city utilities?

My guess, and it's only a guess, is that that pipe is where the downspout used to attach to the sewer system.  Until very recently, downspouts used to connect directly to the sewage system.  Many municipalities have passed laws mandating the removal of these connections because the treatment plant would often overflow during a storm, leading to the dumping of untreated sewage into natural waterways.

So what's happened, is there is a block downstream of the connection between this storm sewer and the household sewer.  Typically, if the blockage occurs on the road side of  the water supply cut off --

-- then the city is responsible.  If it's inside, then the homeowner is responsible.
In my city, they'll run a camera down the pipe, and charge you $300 for the scoping if the blockage is on your side.  I'm betting in the short term, you'd be better of to get a city licensed plumbing and drainage contractor to snake it out and absorb the cost.  Not a DIY job, because the city will make you pay for anything that goes wrong.

The next issue is how to stop it from happening again.   You'll probably have to dig down to the connection, remove the downspout and cap it off.   Again, since you're playing with municipal systems, this is not a DIY job.

You might get lucky with calling the city, but then again, they might inspect certain systems and order you to fix them right away, at a cost you likely can't afford if you just bought the house.


What distance apart should metal stud securing brackets be placed? I have hired a contractor to line the walls of an old apartment with metal stud and drywall as the walls are very uneven. The drywall is up but the walls have quite a lot of give in them, if I push against them with my hand the wall wobbles a little, is this acceptable?  I would expect there to be no give at all.
I suspect that this is because the contractor has not secured the stud to the wall with enough mounting brackets, either to save time or money. Is there a standard spacing for securing stud to the wall, my walls are approx 3 metres high and the contractor has used 1 bracket per stud, in some cases there seems to be no bracket, the stud is just screwed at the top and bottom.
Thanks a lot, I can't afford to have this fixed afterwards so need to make sure this guy does it right before it is plastered.

Typically the studs would be fastened to the wall with clips or L metal.
Spacing would be 24 inches vertical & 48 inches Horizontally.
Metal studs have a punch out for bridging typical 4' 6" vertical for cold rolled channel to be in stalled some bridging require clips screw attached and others just snap in place depending on the manufacture.
You also need to check on the Seismic rating as you stated plaster was being installed.


How can I repair a drain that won't stop leaking? I have a kitchen drain that won't stop leaking.  I've checked, and it's definitely leaking from around the joins in the PVC pipe.  I've replaced several of the o-rings (washers), as well as the P trap (bend).  The pipes are all joined with o-rings and lock-nuts and they're as tight as my programmers hands can make them.

Is there anything else I should try before simply replacing the whole setup?

Respectfully disagree with Shirlock.  OVER tightening of PVC joints damages them and causes leakage.

Hand tight is snug, not SO TIGHT YOUR HANDS HURT.

Take a look at this article for more information.
The "Do's and Don'ts" of Assembling Threaded Plastic Fittings


Best air conditioner for cold blasts? The old air conditioners I had could blow out snow literally that is how cold they got, now air conditions are only moderately cold. What would be the best system to get to just blast one giant vent of snowy air into a living room? For example buying a full size central ac system but only hooking it to one large vent or do I just want an overpowering mini split?

Specifically I am looking to blow a large quantity of ice cold air onto myself in a 500 sqft room and have it get to almost freezing temperatures.

The change is we are regulated in some cities and or states to energy star requirements, if I put in a massive system I can get in trouble, not true in all areas but this may be why. Can you have a split added to make 1 room a “freezer” sure.
Call your local HVAC company and tell them you want a split in your room that you want cold, tell them you have poor insulation and how many square feet and the number and size of the windows, and ask what is the size unit needed to really cool this room down (some controllers are limited to 68f) and let them know what your desired temp is for this room, if they can do it they would love the work, that or you get a massive window unit and put some insulation on the temp probe. That’s kind of how I made a walk in cooler in my garage using a portable ac unit.


Caulking Baseboards - Suddenly Spiders Appear We recently moved into our first home, and the previous owner had done some self-installed laminate floors to replace carpet. This left about 1/16" gap between the baseboard trim and floor.

We started to caulk between the baseboard and the floor to seal it all up, and we're about 30% done. Within 8 hours, we've found 5 spiders (Harmless house spiders) in the hallways that have been caulked!

Is this a new pest problem, or were these spiders likely always around, but we've sealed up their hunting paths?

Blocking their hiding spaces and places with air flow probably displaced them. With the area sealed up they won’t have food traveling that area so they are probably getting away from the smell and looking for new places to reside.


any way to repair marble tile over subfloor When I bought my house, its marble floors appeared to be in good condition. However, they have steadily chipped, fissured and fractured until reaching their current fragmented state. The picture shows where the gap in the subfloor directly aligns with the cracks in the overlaid tiles.

This post discusses improperly installed tile that was mortared directly over a subfloor. Some of the responders warn the original poster to redo the project immediately, and to install a backer board before mortaring the tiles.
Tile directly adhered to subfloor
Is there any alternative to tearing up the entire floor? I want to ensure that no other options remain before fully removing them.
Thanks in advance.

Natural marble is tough on a good base won’t hold up well at all in most cases with a substandard base. Since you have already started you might as well continue. Get a wider brick chisel this helps pop them off easier, that’s what I use like a Dasco Pro. If you stay with tile use a backer and use thinset to glue the backer to the wood then screw it down makes it much more solid base. If you have a air compressor here is where a air chisel can shine and pop the tiles really quick. I would verify that is tile below it looks like wood and may be the sub floor.  A better picture of the surface below may change the suggestion what year was the home built.


Doorbell button wiring no voltage? I have just moved recently, and I noticed that the doorbell does not work.
So I tried to troubleshoot it myself.
I use a multimeter and then

connect both probe to the transformer it gives 16V which I assume is a good sign
connect both probe to the chime, it also gives 16V (eventhough I dont press the doorbell button), so that means voltage is running through
open the doorbell button and touch the probe to the 2 wire inside the doorbell button (I meant I unscrew it from the button and wire directly to the wire). It does not give me any voltage, well maybe around (0.3 or 0.4V)

What could be the problem in this case? is it the wiring or the doorbell button itself?

I figured if it's the wiring that is broken, how can the chime and transformer have 16V because theoretically, nothing is connected?

Thank you

Generally the chime will have a solenoid that gets pulled or pushed when the circuit is completed. The solenoid bangs against the metal and you hear the nice chime. [I thought these were 24V circuits - so be sure you check your door bell system out and verify that first.

Check your voltage on the solenoid - you can check resistance with no power attached (should be some low ohms around 4 ohms probably.)
When your door bell button is pushed voltage will flow from the Transformer into your solenoid - so checking the voltage at the solenoid will provide an answer as to what is working and what is not working.

You should be able to measure your 'voltage drop' at the solenoid when the doorbell circuit is made. Use Ohms Law - the voltage you know is 16V, the ohms is the resistance of the solenoid. Your solenoid even though it is an inductor has resistance - so it is your equivalent to a resistor in the example link.

Here is a quick link:
http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Voltage-Across-a-Resistor

Some things to keep in mind:
1: Solenoid sticking - clean it and use graphite lock type lubricant.
2: Solenoid open or shorted..
3: Transformer not working or "Overloaded" - too much current draw causes the voltage on the transformer to drop and it will not be able to pull in the solenoid. This indicates either something shorted - or a wrong doorbell chime, or a transformer that is simply worn out.
4: Doorbell switch bad .. or too much resistance - simply put one wire to the other and see if the thing works - if it does the switch is bad.


Attaching a pergola (or deck) to vinyl siding Building a structure which is attached to a house usually involves a plate which is bolted to the existing building, typically a 2x8, or 2x10.  I understand how to structurally attach this, my concern is working with the existing vinyl siding.

If I just bolt my structure to the house, I understand I risk damage to the siding (shattering), leaks around the bolts, and it would just be unsightly to have the siding looking crushed around the edges.

But...  if I cut the siding back, I'm not sure how to install flashing under the existing siding.  Or will J-moldings be sufficient?  I'm also not sure how I can cut siding properly while it's in place on the house.

Are there any known (good) techniques for adding a structure to a building with vinyl siding?

You'll absolutely need to cut back the siding and attach directly to the home.  For the siding, you need two custom tools.  The first is a small hook for unhooking a piece of siding from the piece below.  Use this to remove all the pieces that are currently where you want to install the plate.  Get a role of tyvek tape to cover up all the holes left from removing the existing siding.  Then, snap a chalk line across the wall from screw to screw of the existing siding so that your reinstall will be perfectly straight.

And the second is a punch that is used to attach the siding to a special insert (undersill trim) that goes in the J-channel when you don't end at the exact top.  You cut the siding to the height you need (measure twice) and then the punch creates small tabs that stick out from the siding (only 3 sides of the small hole are punched).  The undersill trim goes inside the downward facing J-channel to receive this punched piece.

The top piece of J-channel (which is an inch or so long to line up with the side pieces of J-channel), you cut back an inch along creases to create a small tab that folds down into the J-channel on the sides.  This helps create a water path that hopefully doesn't go behind the siding.

The next tip, when cutting, you can either use tin snips or a circular saw.  We have a dedicated saw to siding on the job site and the blade is mounted in reverse.  I believe this results in less tearing of the siding giving you a nice smooth edge.

One last tip, don't over-tighten the screws, the siding should be allowed to float right and left for expansion.  The rule of thumb is that your fingernail should be able to get under the screw.

If this is confusing, go out and look at how siding is installed around a window.

Here are some of the tools that I referred to (I don't think you'll need the nail hole punch):

And a good description could be found at this site.


When do plaster cracks get bad enough to have an expert look at them Jumping off from Why does the plaster crack beneath the window sill? question, and the calm/collected answers therein.

When (if ever) should I be concerned about the absolute number of cracks around doors and windows, their appearance and growth.  I have cracks radiating from the tops of many of my doors and windows, and they have been becoming more noticeable AND numerous over the past couple of years.

Again referencing the above question, when/how would I know if I really do have a structural issue, instead of normal settling?  And if I do have such an issue, what kind of expert do I need (what keyword to search for)?

For reference my house is drywall with a complete skim coat of plaster (odd, yeah I know), not merely taped/mudded.  The soil when I dig down I would describe as clay-ish, but I am no soil engineer!

The important thing about cracks is not necessarily their absolute number or size - though if you've got a particularly long one it can be a sign of problems, but whether the number of cracks is growing and/or the existing cracks are getting longer and/or wider.

A new crack should be monitored over a few days/weeks to see if it gets longer and/or wider and how quickly. If it's changing quickly then call in an expert sooner rather than later.

Who's an "expert" in these cases? Well for less serious cracks a builder should be able to advise you. For larger, wider, deeper cracks I'd go for a surveyor as they'd be more experienced in this area and should look harder for the underlying cause. A decent builder should also recommend a surveyor if they think things are particularly bad.


Are the joist repairs in my home safe and correct? As the title says, I recently bought a home and am in the early stages of finishing the basement. However, after tearing down the old ceiling tile, I found that my floor had experienced water damage and that for some reason, the joists were cut and sistered using very short lengths (as seen in pics) My question is: how soon do I need to get this fixed and what kind of damage to my wallet can I expect?

I tend to answer in practical terms, and not in strictly code-compliant or legal terms. In cases like this, code doesn't really apply since it's old work and you're making improvements. We're only talking two joists, right? That's not so terrible.

No, this repair was not done well. Short joist patches only work if they're fastened really well. These aren't.
No, your floor won't immediately collapse (unless you store grand pianos or stacks of aquariums above).
Yes, I would seek to fix the situation. Full-length sistering isn't normally too difficult. I'd do that, and take precautions such as temporary posts if you're removing lumber to fit new. The sting in your wallet will only be due to the crazy price of lumber at the moment.


How can I increase the size of a subpanel to fit the breaker for a solar array? I am considering solar and the easiest place to connect the system for grid-tie is into a subpanel. With the 2013 CEC, this is permitted.  However, I have a slight problem.  I don't have any free space for the additional 2 (240VAC) breakers to be back fed by my micro inverters.  Fortunately, swapping out the subpanel for a new one is fairly easy to do.  However, I don't know the specifics of the code here.

The issue is this... The panel is a 100A sub and all work was done with permits. Installation of solar will also be with permits.  The question is what total amperage as a function of breaker specifications can I add to this sub panel.  The question is further clouded by the fact that the two new breakers would never be loads.  They will always be sources and hence would, I image, deduct from the aggregate value.

To be honest, I don't really see why there should be any load calc here (and possibly there isn't... I really don't recall that nuance of the code).  When installed, the breaker in the main panel that feeds the sub was installed and is 100A; the wire to the sub was gaged to carry that load.  So, the 100A breaker ultimately is protecting the sub.  Even if there were some 500A worth of breakers in the sub, the sub's breaker in the main panel will trip at 100A.  That comment applies to loads only.  The solar only "helps" here.

So, how can I increase the the size of a subpanel so that I will have space for the additional breakers?

Thanks!

That is correct. The 100A breaker in the main panel protects the wiring to the subpanel, and the subpanel itself.   The "main" breaker in the subpanel is nothing but a shutoff switch (unless it is also a GFCI or something, as in the case of a hot tub panel).

The subpanel must be large enough to be protected by either its own main breaker (if it even has one) or the supply breaker in the main panel.  In your case, a 60A subpanel would be wrong, but a 225A subpanel would be right.

The usual blunder people make is thinking the subpanel size must match the feed breaker, and thus they limit themselves to a panel with too few spaces.

So go for broke. 42 spaces is not too many.  (Spaces are not circuits; a 40 “circuit" panel is often a 20-space). Good sign when spaces are a multiple of six, that indicates a panel of industrial quality (also sold in 3-phase).


How would you frame this chimney chase? FYI: No inspections or permits, I live in the middle of mostly nowhere. But, of course want to do this "right".
Details:
While face on the right is 9/12, face on chimney side is 11/12. This is a hip roof, all framing sheeting is done (except Chimney). This chimney needs to be approximately 12ft taller than the eave to pass code ("10-3-2 rule" for chimneys). It will get a 6", double-wall insulated pipe with 2" clearance requirements. Thus, i plan the chase to be 1'x1'. I am NOT installing the pipe, because i'd feel more comfortable if a pro does that. I am an experienced framer, but have never framed a chase which extrudes this far atop the roof. I DO get strong winds on occasion and this house is already VERY tall (42' to peak). Needs to withstand wind gusts of 100mph (we never see more than that in 30 years)
My question:
I need a 12ft tall, free standing 1'x1' structure. Is this too tall to just do standard framing with post corners, double top and bottom, then screw on 3/4" sheeting all 4 sides? I could run a 16' 2x4s and fasten to the exterior wall + inside porch truss network. Am I in the metal / angle iron or even engineered territory considering height and wind shear?

I did something similar to replace a chimney that was damaged in an earthquake and had to be replaced. Instead of building a new chimney I replace the old removed flue with 10 inch inside diameter stainless steel triple wall insulated stack piping inside of a tall chase. I built the chase much larger than your proposed 12"x12" size. My chase was, as near as I recall as it was about 26 years ago, about 30 inches parallel to the wall and 16 inches out from the wall. My structure was 16 feet in height so I framed it in two ~8 foot sections with conventional double plate between the vertical sections of studs.
I see no need to sheet out the sides with 3/4 inch material. Whatever sheathing is currently on your house should be a guide whether that be 1/2" or 5/8" plywood or OSB. In my case I used 1/2" plywood because it was a good base for the stucco exterior that was applied afterward.
So the crux of my suggestion is that you go a bit larger than your 12x12 size. It will be stronger. It will also be better looking in my opinion than the tall skinny box.


Multiple recepticles in a circuit which covers multiple rooms, all controlled by a single GFCI receptacle I have a 120VAC 15 AMP Circuit that powers 2 receptacles on a back porch and 5 receptacles in a garage on the opposite end of the house. The first receptacle in the circuit is a GFCI on the back porch. This is very inconvenient it one is working in the garage and trips the GFCI on the back porch. Is there any way I can install another GFCI on the same circuit in the garage that will just protect the receptacles in the garage. I could put the garage receptacles on a separate breaker from the back porch but would be more costly.

You should never have more than one GFCI device on a single circuit, as they tend to interfere with each other and cause each other to trip.

I may be wrong, but I also don't think it's technically permitted to have outside circuits on the same line as inside (garage) circuits.

Regardless, your best option - especially since you're probably operating heavy duty equipment in the garage - is to put the garage on its own circuit.


Central air compressor fan reflects sunlight into house. What can I do about it? I have a new construction and for whatever reason the HVAC installers placed the compressor right in front of a bedroom window.  I don't have any complaints about the noise (it is actually pretty quiet).  Unfortunately, the fan blades reflect sunlight and it produces this annoying strobing effect within the room.

My builder was thinking about spray painting a black matte on the blade, but I'm wondering if there is something more "professional" that they can do to reduce or eliminate the reflection.

------------Edit -----------

Another idea which may be applicable , and avoid performing a paint , is using a piece of 3M membrane like this

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_EU/3MGraphics/GraphicSolutions/Products/Catalogue/?N=5799&rt=c3

------initial answer---------

I think that it is not appropriate to paint a brand new piece of equipment , painted with electrostatic paint and perfectly finished, for both the aesthetic part and for potential warranty issues.
If I had this problem I would order from a blacksmith a small shelter skeleton and I would put a polycarbonate sheet as a roof (this can be done by a carpenter as well without the need a the polycarbonate sheet).
To get a better idea here is a picture of the concept :

You will of course use  a much smaller size to cover only the unit.


Identify rocker switch I'm working on a custom switch plate/adapter thing to 3d print for my friend's light switches. He has several that appear to be some outdated rocker style switch, but I can't find them online to get specs for.

Here are a couple shots of them:

* The one on the left

Can you identify the model, brand, or even the proper name for this type of switch so that I might find information about it?

All devices in the US are required to have Nameplate information. If you have someone pull one out, it should have the name of the manufacturer, current carrying capacity, voltage requirement, and part number. It may be very hard to read but your picture shows 3 of them and I'm fairly sure that information can be gleaned from them.


Water on surge protector Sorry if this is in the wrong place.

A couple of days ago I spilled a cup of water on the ground, and some of the water landed on a surge protector I quickly unplugged it and dried it off. I have kelp it in a warm room for a couple of days.
Should I replace it, or is it safe to use it again?

From your description it sounds like a small amount of tap water landed on the exterior of this surge protector and not much went into the receptacle holes. If this was tap water, then the surge protector will be safe to use. If this was water with vinegar or salt added, then it might be different.


How well do metal inside corner beads work? I'm currently doing some drywalling in my basement, and the biggest PITA for me is always finishing the inside corners.

Recently I saw at Home Depot they have these metal inside corner bead pieces.  They pretty much look just like an outside corner bead, but smooth and with paper tape around the edges.

They certainly look like they would make things a lot easier, but does anyone have any experience with using those?

I've used them before and they do make it a lot easier, especially if you have trouble keeping paper still from moving in the corners, as I do. I don't think they have any structural benefits or anything like that so if you have trouble with paper tape, try them out in a corner and see if it's easier. You can always take it out and go over it with tape if you need to.


Dimmer switch gets very warm - almost hot I recently had a Z-wave dimmer switch installed. It is working fine and controls the recessed lighting in my family room. The lights are six 65-watt BR40 bulbs.

When the cover was off the switch (we were painting) I noticed that the outside of the switch (the metal tabs and screw) get very, very warm, almost hot to the touch.

Is that normal?
Additionally, if I replaced the bulbs with LED bulbs, which would use a lot less wattage, would that reduce the current going through the switch and make it not heat up as much?

Thank you for the help.

What is the wattage rating of the switch? Many dimmers are 300 watts (or less if they are trimmed to fit in crowded boxes). You are burning 390 watts. You may be overloading the switch.

Your instincts about LEDs is correct, assuming the switch is LED compatible. You also need to be sure to select dimmable LED bulbs.


How does a contractor determine the water performance rating needed for a sliding glass door? We had our home recently renovated, and after a large rain, during AZ's last monsoon season, we found a large puddle on water in the house back our new sliding glass door.  After determining we didn't leave anything open we figured out that the issue was due to water coming from the track.  After even more research, we found that the track our contractor install has no water rating.
Our contractor is saying that we approved the design of the door and they showed us that they were using the flush sill.  We were never told that the because they selected the flush sill that we may have water leakage or shared the image below.
My question is how is a contractor supposed to calculate the "PSF" rating for a sliding door?  Is there some sort of guide?

Generally speaking, there is no formal guide to choosing a door. However, a thoughtful contractor would have considered the potential for heavy rain and wind-driven rain (especially the direction weather comes from) when choosing a door. That said, it sounds like you did approve the materials, so this is partly on you.

Short of replacing the sill (which is tough), my best suggestion is to attach an additional piece at the bottom of the door that will slow driven rain down. This can either be a drip cap, a sweep, or a combination. Look at google images for "CR Laurence Door Rain Drips", for example.

Note that there might be factors that haven't come up that drove the choice: some homes don't allow a sill like that to be dropped enough that the lip at the interior isn't a trip hazard. Cost/timing may have played a role (ie, high lip = special order = $$$/slow delivery).


Ceiling Fan & Light, replacing 2 switches from ON / OFF to Fan / Light Dimmer control New to Forum...Thanks in advance.

I had my painters put in a ceiling fan / light in place of a standard light. The light and fan function fine. There are 2 switches, one on either end of room, to turn on the power to the unit. The 2 pull chains at the fan / light control the light (off/on) and fan (3 speeds).

Making improvements to this room the last couple months, I want to put this fan / light on a dimmer. Legrand makes a Fan / Dimmer control switch. I have opened the current switch, and it is connected with black, white, and red wires to a grounded box. I have not yet looked at how the carpenter / painter wired the fan.

Questions - the new switches are for either single pole or 3 way, but they have many wires coming out of the back- pairs of black, yellow, green, and red...how do i connect this? And...can i use this Legrand Fan / Dimmer switch at each switch? I have been reading that you can only use one dimmer for one switch in 3 way switch applications.

the yellow tags for the one yellow cable and one red cable with the yellow sticker says 'use this in 3-way installations only.

So I cut the diagram out of the PDF instructions

The reason for the red and yellow is that this is really two switches. The yellow is for your light and the red is for your fan. There's two for each, should you want to 3-way both.

The catch here is not the 3-way setup, but how you will get two hots to the box. You need one hot for the light, one for the switch and your neutral. Assuming you do, you'll take the yellow wires and attach them to the white and red that the previous 3-way used.


How to frame a floor in an unfinished crawl space? I've got a "crawl space" (really an unfinished space) under the main floor in a 2-story-with-basement house.  I'd like to build essentially a deck frame and cover it in 3/4" plywood so that we can more easily use it as a storage area.

Picture of the space:

I've been planning on attaching a band joist to the concrete foundation on the right side, and additional band joists attached to the support posts on the other side (left side of the picture).  I'd then run floor joists between them (approx. 7.5' in length) supported by joist hangers.

Is attaching to the support posts a bad idea?  Not being a structural engineer, I worry about the additional load, and the potential for weakening those posts by attaching the band joists with lag bolts.  Should I be worried, or is there a better way to support that side of the floor that doesn't involve digging down and pouring concrete footings?

Looks like you have concrete pillars with 2x's coming out of them. Perhaps you can frame a deck floor space, fastening treated lumber to them and maybe anchoring a joist to the concrete wall. If you anchored to the center posts at concrete pillar, there would be no support problems. Use 2x6, 2x8 should work. Good luck


Why would my two-pole arc-fault breaker trip when motors are used on other circuits? I have a two-pole arc fault breaker that is on its own. It’s used for a bedroom with one circuit used for a plug in wall heater. The other circuit is for the remaining outlets and lights in the room.

I get intermittent tripping of the arch fault breaker when the garbage disposal, which is on a completely different circuit, is on or an electric saw is plugged into an exterior outlet. Why would a separate circuit trip the arc fault?

My solution was to put both bedroom circuits under a single pole arch fault breaker. Did I not use the two pole arc fault breaker correctly?

Thanks.

Motor loads put a large amount of noise on the line, I have seen this on systems that are separate circuits just another weak point in the arc fault devices. Arc faults have trouble with motor loads, light dimmers that are heavily loaded and electronic ballasts. If the noise on the line is high the arc fault thinks it is part of the circuit. A quality whole house surge suppressor at the service panel may solve this problem.


Should there be standing water in the drain pipe under my second floor shower? When we put a tile floor in the shower we use a drain with a strainer. Screwing the strainer off to replace, I found 3"of standing water at the bottom of the pipe.  There was a little ring of mold on the vertical pipe, but the water was clean.  Was this 2nd floor shower plumbed correct?

Yes, it's a trap for your shower, just like you have a trap under your sink. The P trap prevents sewer gases from coming back into the home, which would smell, and possibly cause a methane explosion.


Can I use a paint & primer combo on new wood? I'm currently painting a window and door that are both new. Although I initially bought primer which I used on the window (but haven't painted over yet), when doing the door, I just used my paint/primer.

I only did the front part of the door this way, and then realized maybe I've made a mistake? Is the paint/primer not good enough on its own? Or can I continue painting the door with just that, and then do a second coat to ensure full coverage?

The paint/primer should be fine, especially with two coats, but I typically begin with primer, as it seems (in my experience) that primer holds paint better and lasts a bit longer before requiring touch ups or repainting, and it's often cheaper to do a coat of good primer (match latex to latex, or make sure you follow the label if you use a different combo), then two or three even coats of less-expensive paint (paint+primer is almost always 2-3x more expensive than paint alone.

I wouldn't sand and re-paint, of course. You should be fine with what you have so far.

[Edit: one other note on paint+primer paints; make sure you read reviews or ask others about their experiences with the particular brand you're buying. A friend ended up with a patchy-looking paint job when he used one of the cheaper brands. I don't know if it was an isolated incident or if the brand is normally bad (or if he didn't mix the paint well!), but research before you buy.]


What's the part of a lampshade that the finial screws into called? I inherited a floor lamp without a shade.  It has a harp, but there is nothing on the top of the harp to attach the shade.  If I have my terminology correct, I'm looking for the piece that that the finial will screw into.  It's circled in this photo.  What's this called, and can I buy one with a finial so I can buy a shade for the lamp?  Or should I just buy a new harp (that presumably will come with this piece)?

I just was looking for one a few weeks ago.  I saw them under a few names "harp fitter", "spider fitter", or "lamp adjuster".  I just got a new harp it was easier.


Difference between angle grinder and circular saw From what I've read on google, angle grinders and (portable) circular saws appear to be quite similar. Aside from a circular saw being perhaps a bit larger and maybe having some supports on the bottom, is there any major difference between an angle grinder and a circular saw? Thanks.

Different

power
gearing
speeds
collets
tool diameters
direction of forces
means of use
climb vs conventional
accessories
ability to sand or wirebrush

I think even if you managed to fit a sawblade on a grinder, you would have a completely uncontrollable tool that would be impossible to successfully engage to any work except for cars full of lost college students who make very poor decisions and scream a lot. While that may sound like fun, in the end Final Girl will kill you.


Do I need a back-flow preventer for a new water to garden? I am in the process of running a water line from my well pump a garden bed about 75 feet away. I will have a separate shut off valve for this water line.  At the garden end I will have two hose bibs. This will probably change eventually to drip irrigation or misting systems.  Eventually this line will continue to bring water to a green house and other outbuildings that require very little water usage.

Do I need a type of check valve or back-flow preventer at the start of my line ? Or will a back-flow preventer on each hose bib be sufficient.    Coming out of the well pump house I will 'T' the line with 1 line going to the house and 1 line going to the garden area.

I live very rural with no local restrictions.

You likely need a backflow valve to meet code regulations these days. That said, I don't see any reason to have two of them. Whether it's at the hose bib, or at the well, it's doing the same thing for you.

I suppose one argument for putting it closer to the well is that you block more of the water from back flowing, but if the pipe to the hose is rated for potable, that shouldn't matter.