Attach XPS to back of stud framing? In the basement that I'm finishing I have an irregular, rough stone foundation wall, pretty dry. I'll use 1" XPS foam insulation, then drywall. Can I build the framing on the floor, attach the XPS to it directly, and then just raise the whole assembly snug against the foundation wall? Seems easier than attaching the XPS to the stone foundation.

Thanks for any insights here.

Jeff

That's how it's done, don't forget to apply chemical tape to the seams and seal the areas around the wall prior to installing it. You won't have another chance with out removing the wall first.


How much clearance do I need above a floor vent? I am building a custom shelving unit that will sit over an inconveniently located floor vent/diffuser. My thought is to raise the bottom shelf up on stubby legs so that it does not block the vent. The question is, how tall do these legs need to be to gain sufficient clearance?

The register itself is a standard 4" x 10" opening. It seems to me that the space I am creating under the shelf is functionally equivalent to if I were extending the vent with a 90 degree turn. By this logic, I believe I should only need 4" of vertical clearance under my shelf. As long as I do not create a bottleneck that is any smaller than the cross-sectional area of the vent itself, it should be fine, right?

Is this reasoning correct? I've read various recommendations, some saying that I need as much as 18" clearance. This seems like ridiculous overkill to me.

You don't need nearly 4". You can basically take the width and height of the gap on three, or even four sides of the floor vent into consideration, depending on how much of the undershelf area is open to the room. The air that comes through the grate can distribute to the sides as well as the front, and eventually make its way out from under the shelf.

Air movement looks something like this (assuming that that shelving is tight to the wall):

|               *               *               |
|               * ############# *               |
|               * ############# *               |
|               *****************               |
|_______________________________________________|

| : shelf perimeter
* : outflow area perimeter
# : vent area

The math looks like this:

original vent area (disregarding the grille) [av]: 40 square inches
distance between the vent and the wall (hypothetical) [dv]: 2"
outflow area perimeter length [op]: 2 * (4 + dv) + 10 = 22

required height: av / op ≈ 1.8 (1-13/16) inches

With that in mind, an inch may be enough if the vent is further from the wall than I've assumed, or if the rear of the shelf is open to the room (up behind the shelving unit). It would be different if it was a return, where vacuum pressure is low, where resistance due to airflow path bends is a more significant factor.

If the shelving unit has side panels that reach to the floor, you can simply calculate the entire frontal area of the void below the bottom shelf. If it's over 40 square inches, you're probably golden. The exception would be if the vent is very close to the wall, wherein you'd go back to the math above.


I have loose screws - how can I tell a drywall screw apart from a wood screw? Say I have a bunch of screws. Say they are all flat (countersunk) head, phillips drive. They can be different shank/root diameter, with or without a smooth shank, different thread coarseness, color, etc.

They all have a pointy end, about the same angle of point with maybe a small difference in how far from the point the threading ends. They are all magnetic.

Exhibit A:

I know screw #1 is a decking screw and I know that screw #7 is drywall, because that's what the packages said. #6 is brass-color and #8 is gray (and rust), the others being the color they look to be.

Wood screws will generally have a smooth shank at the top, being wood screws, but some (like #9 I think) don't. And a lot of drywall screws are black.

I have a lot of loose screws. How can I determine the types of screws?

Drywall screws have a “bugle head”.

Flat head wood screws have a “tapered head”.

This may help:
https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/type-chart.aspx


Ventilation when using water-based stain & finish With oil-based stains and finishes, reading SDS safety sheets makes it clear that safely using the products requires nitrile gloves, serious ventilation, and a respirator that can handle VOCs.

With water-based stains & finishes, safety lines are more blurred.

Most SDS safety sheets for water-based stains classify their products as non-hazardous substances (but still say to use gloves/ventilation/respirator).

Some water-based finishes are classified as hazardous substances by their SDS, like Minwax Polycrylic. Other water-based finishes are listed by their SDS as being non-hazardous, like Varethane Water-Based Polyurethane and General Finishes High Performance Water-Based Topcoat

For water-based stains & finishes listed as non-hazardous, what is the real situation with safety? Can I brush this stuff on indoors without a respirator? What about with a respirator, but no/little ventilation? Is an open window considered enough ventilation? If there is practically no odor during or shortly after, am I still inhaling VOCs that are harming me & my family?

*Edit I should specify that this question specifically refers to brush application

The application instructions on the can include safety requirements. Do not reference the SDS for common use application safety considerations, just follow the directions, which incorporate the info from the SDS, but in terms meant for the consumer in the practical world.


How should I extend a concrete patio under an existing deck? I have a 18x20 second floor deck with three 6x6 support posts. Under the deck is a 40-year-old, well-settled, 12x20x6" concrete patio. The deck posts are set outside of the patio, set on footings underground - so the posts are buried. I'd like to extend the concrete patio so it matches the dimensions of the deck.  That makes for a 6x20 extension.

One of my concerns with the concrete extension is that the new pour would surround the posts and I want to take the necessary precautions so I don't cause any future problems.

As for the extension, my plan is to implant short lengths of rebar into the side of the patio to help keep it and the new pour even.  I will make sure the new pour is deep enough keeping the frost line in mind and using compacted aggregate underneath.  Any thoughts or concerns with this approach?

I've read where I should use a 1/2" rubber wrap around the posts to accommodate post and/or concrete expansion.  Is this advisable?  Can I (or should I) seal the area with silicone to prevent water from seeping down?

Just to make it more interesting, and another of my concerns, is that the old patio drops about 5-6" over 12'.  I'd like to reduce that slope.  I was thinking of pouring the extension higher than the old patio and having it feather up the slope.  Probably using an aggregate-less mix for the area on top of the old patio.

To finish it off, I'll either paint it or cover it with pavers - with the preference being the pavers.

I'd rather not demo the old patio, as some may suggest, but I'm open to all advice.  The desired end result is that I want a more level, larger patio, under my deck, that will sit several inches above ground at the far end.

I have considered decking over the concrete but I have concerns with airflow, critters, and maintenance that I believe to outweigh the concerns of a concrete extension.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and for responding.

Sounds to me that you have covered all the bases. Maybe you should pay attention to few details:

Connecting old and new concrete; you have mentioned that you plan to do it, make sure that they are well stuck inside of old concrete (you drill slightly smaller hole than bar and hit the bar it with hammer when placed inside a hole. Also, you can chip old concrete (inch or two) so it will connect better with new one.
When it comes to posts I haven't seen the picture so it's hard to tell, but if you want to separate it from slab, you can do it by placing thin Styrofoam around posts before pouring concrete. Later on you can leave it or take it out and put some commercial products (make sure that those are for outdoor usage).
When it comes to changing the slope I really don’t see why would you do it? Accept if you don't like it. Anyway, if it's not causing any problems my advice is not play with it....I’m not sure it can be done properly.


why would overflow tube fill with water after flushing After flushing while thank is filling the overflow tube fills up with water coming from the refill tube. I know it's not supposed to do that. What could cause this? Should i change the flush valve?

It is normal for the refill tube to put water into the overflow pipe. It fills the bowl with new water.

The tank is filled by water coming out of the fill valve near the bottom of the tank.

It is not normal for the overflow tube to fill up with water. If it is filling with water, it is clogged. Run a wire or fish line or zip tie down the overflow tube to try to dislodge whatever is clogging it.


Shear and Point Load rules of thumb for maximizing window area? Scenario: One-story ranch house, 25 feet front-to-back, on a concrete perimeter foundation, in California (seismic loads). T-111 plywood exterior.

I would like to maximize the glazing area of the back wall for at least a 20 foot stretch, starting near one corner.

I know how to install headers and windows, but I know that headers move continuous loads on the foundation to be point loads at the sides of the windows... and I know that windows don't have the shear performance that plywood sheathing does.

I'd like to install a series of sliding doors and/or windows with minimal gaps between them, but I don't want to pour additional foundation to pick up the loads created by wide header spans, and I'm concerned about the shear capability of the wall once that much plywood is removed... not sure which becomes the limiting factor here.

So, for starters, is there a rule of thumb for how wide each window in a series of adjacent windows can be before a foundation upgrade to handle the transferred loads is required?

And second, is there a rule of thumb for how much area can be sliding glass doors vs. wall for shear performance? And/or can I use Simpson Strong-Wall the way garage door shear is handled at the ends and/or middle?

(Even if this requires structural engineering, a rough idea of what can/can't be done impacts a whole lot of other design work for a kitchen remodel, so even rough answers are helpful)

Yes, there is a rule-of-thumb for determining shear walls and how wide windows should be to have the posts between the windows transfer the loads adequately to the foundation.

You're in one of the highest rated seismic areas in the U.S.  Critical loads are moving the building up-down and side-to-side. We try to tie the roof to the walls and the walls to the foundation for vertical and horizontal loads.

I don't know the width of your house (I'll explain why that's important later), but as a rule-of-thumb, for seismic loads, you need a minimum of 4' of shearwall at each corner (before any windows) and you want no more than 60% of the length of the wall for window / door area. This allows you about 40% of the wall to tie to the roof and foundation.

For your 25' long wall, without structural calculations, I'd use :
25' x 40% = 10' of shear wall (Sorry, I know you want about 20' of window area.)

As a rule-of-thumb, the house length to width needs to be no greater than 1:3. So, if the 25' is the width, then the length should not be greater than 75'. Likewise, if the length is 25', then the width will be no greater than 25' (1:1) and no less than 8'-4"...you don't want it too skinny either.

Now the width of windows: As a rule-of-thumb, the width of each window should not be greater than twice the height of the foundation wall (stem wall plus depth of footing). So, if the stem wall is 18" high and the footing is 6" thick, then the windows should not be any wider than 4'. (As a rule-of-thumb, loads transfer from the wood posts between the windows to the concrete foundation at a 45 degree angle. So you don't want to be further apart than what can be transferred through the foundation to the ground.)

Yes, you are correct, Simpson has some great holddowns and pre-made shearwalls that we often use for garages because the garage doors exceed the 40-60% rule-of-thumb. However, they're expensive and you'll need to calculate the tributary loads. Keeping your house fairly rectangular, installing 4' shearwalls at all corners and keeping window widths about twice the depth of the foundation, you'll be safe.

By the way, use 1/2" minimum plywood (not OSB board for wall and roof sheathing) and nail at all supports with 10d at 4" o.c. at all supports...roof and wall. (If you nail any closer, you'll split the studs and have no resistance.) This all assumes the shearwalls are no less than about 1:2. If you have a vaulted 16' high wall, then the corner shearwall needs to be about 8' wide.

If these rules-of-thumbs don't work for you, you'll need to get it calculated. I'd get a hold of a structural engineer (NOT a civil engineer) in your area. Tell him you just want the calculations, not the plans. It'll cost you about 4 hours of his time (assuming he's got the software) and you can install it as per his design.


What power tool is the best and fastest to take up floor tile? I need to pull up the floor tile in my kitchen. i've tried using a hammer and chisel and the tile pops up easily, but it's too slow.
what power tool is the best and fastest to take up floor tile?
is there something with a spade that works well?

A rotary hammer with sds plus attachments will likely serve you best.  These tools usually have three functions:  hammer (with a chisel bit for your purpose), rotating hammer (for drilling through concrete), and drill.  The tool plus the chisel attachment will run you about $300.  I've found mine very useful for the odd jobs of removing tiles and drilling for anchors.  They can be found widely at home improvement stores and online.


Can't reattach rail onto Hunter Douglas bracket My bedroom window has a Hunter Douglas Vignette shade. Since I bought thr place the shade has fallen occasionally and it's always a pain to get back up. Is there a trick to reattaching? Right now one is solidly in, two are loosely in. First picture is secure, second is not.

It doesn't seem to be about force, but finesse. I'm afraid the lightly attached bracket will fall again tonight, or even worse in the middle of the night.
Thanks for your help.
Edit:  I found the manual online (should have been an obvious first step but I didn't even know it was Vignette until just now).  It shows a rotational action to get the piece to snap into place.  In the meantime it's firmly wedged in there and won't come out, so it's good for now, until it falls again, at which point I'll try to fix it properly.

I found the manual and it included this diagram.  I'll try it next time it falls.


Semi-outdoor kitchen with metal studs I'm going to be building a semi outdoor kitchen; outdoor but under a roof. Please note I live in a tropical country.

The kitchen I'm looking to build has an L shape, won't have much equipment in them and will only have a base and countertop. No cabinets need to go up. I've been thinking about using metal studs for the framing.

What I'm thinking is to build simple frames and space them apart every 16 inches. I use drywall to close the whole thing off, and buy a countertop. If I can't cabinets below, I would hang a wooden door from the metal studs and create a box inside with its own feet for weight support. To me this seems like the fastest way where termites won't eat my kitchen.

The only two concerns I have are this:

1) can the metal studs carry the weight of a countertop and the work that happens on there? They're designed to hold up walls after, which creates different forces.

2) how do I handle the drywall to be able to withstand being exposed to outside air? It won't be in direct rain or anything, but temperatures swing from 70-120 (20-50C) with high humidity.

1) can the metal studs carry the weight of a countertop and the work that happens on there? They're designed to hold up walls after, which creates different forces.

Depending on the material of the countertop and it's span, sure. Metal studs should have no problem supporting a plywood with tile countertop. If your going to go with a stone (granite, marble, etc...) you may want additional cross bracing - again, depending on the span.

  2) how do I handle the drywall to be able to withstand being exposed to outside air? It won't be in direct rain or anything, but temperatures swing from 70-120 (20-50C) with high humidity.

Don't use drywall. Find concrete board or similar. Looks like drywall (in America, it's generally 3 ft x 5ft) and cover the concrete board with your material of choice - tile, some sort of vinyl material, etc... The concrete board will give the metal studs rigidity and stand up to weather better. This is how outdoor kitchens are built in NY where it snows and it stands up just fine.


Half my house losing power, HVAC the key factor For the past couple of weeks I have been losing power occasionally to half my house. My central AC goes out, half my kitchen, living room and my kids' rooms. There are no tripped breakers though.

I have noticed that when the AC finally turns back on, so does everything else. It will be that for a while, then all of a sudden everything goes off again. Once I get the air conditioning running, everything powers up again. My house is only 13 years old and have never had this problem.

What is the likely cause of the issue, and what can I do to fix it?

If you're in the US, my guess is that you're losing one leg of your incoming power somehow.  Power comes into your home as split phase 240 volts - there are two 120V "legs" that are 180 degrees out of phase.  Typically one leg goes to each side of the breaker panel.  I bet if you trace the circuits that are down, they all go to the same half of the panel. When the air conditioning, which uses both legs, turns on, it bridges the gap and backfeeds power to the other half of your house.

Now, how you're losing a leg of your power is another question entirely.  This is likely a utility problem and you should call them ASAP. The utility will check things out and if it is on their side of things then they will fix it for free. If they determine that the problem is in your panel, they will let you know and then you need to call an electrician for a repair. This is an unsafe condition and can cause all sorts of problems, so get it checked out ASAP.


Resurface uneven stone fireplace We owned this house for about 3.5 years and really interested in refacing this fireplace. Curious, can this be done? What are my options?

The stone sticks out at different angles and depths, our next challenge is a slanted ceiling. These two scenarios make it really difficult to figure this one out. Any advice, see pics. Thanks in advance!

Can this be resurfaced, Yes.  You have several options but first we would need to know what kind of finish you desire. If it is a smooth surface removing the stone is not really that hard but very messy. I use an air chizzle with a wide blade to pop the stone off. In some cases there is brick behind the stone in others just the wall. I have done both in the past. Once the stone is down it can be sheetrocked or a different surface like tile. The last couple I did were large like this and both were removed and sheetrocked making a smaller area and mantle just around the fireplace the look was more modern than the 60's era wall. One in my home I put up cement board over the brick with a concave shape floor to ceiling ~8´ wide and used terracotta square tiles cutting the stone /tile area to 1/3 the original width I thought this looked , still looks nice, so it comes down to what do you want. The sheetrock remodels were less difficult on the brick I installed furring strips to attach the sheetrock the area connecting to the fire box I used large 18" slate slabs around the opening, on the other was porcilin that the owner ordered both looked quite nice 1 with collums to support the mantle made of wood the other mantle was supported by the brick work behind the wall.so it can be done, but it is a messy job to remove I would recommend getting a large painters tarp to put down to protect the flooring and in the area you are working I put down a sheet of plywood for the stones that pop off that you don't catch hit the plywood and further prevent damage to the flooring during the demo work.


Do I need an enclosed wall box for a cat5e cable? My home builder gave me cat5e outlets in the wall (near the ceiling, for cameras) with just a plain white wall plate. Behind the wall plate is an open back wall box (I think), the cat5e cable and a whole lot of insulation (the pink puff balls kind that go between walls to retain heat). I replaced the wall plate with this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DL93SLU

I heard somewhere that all holes in the wall with wires/plumbing coming out should be closed with fire insulation foam. Should I get some fire foam and seal it up? Or should I replace the open back wall plate with a close box? Or do I replace the wall plate I have and install an ethernet interface?

For mains electrical power, you need fully enclosed boxes, to reduce chance of fires from electrical arcing.

You don't need that for low voltage wiring.  An open back box or "wish box" is just fine.  Weirdly, I priced the two types of box yesterday, and the "wish box" was 40% more expensive.

Do not under any circumstances fill any electrical junction box with foam.
You weren't saying you would, but somebody is going to read this and maybe think that.  Anyway, most foams are fire accelerants not retarders, and it is easy for even professionals to make Very Big Mistakes in this area.

I don't like the starburst shape "gasket" either.  I would install a listed wall plate receptacle so you have a proper Ethernet socket in your wall.  A listed receptacle will be tested for fire safety. Amazon tends to be glutted with Cheese junk and counterfeits, so watch out.


Feeding 125 sub-panel from 200 amp main I have a house that has a 200-amp box, with only the 200-amp disconnect, at the pole.
This feeds a 200-amp subpanel, with its own 200-amp disconnect, in the main house.
We're building on a 200 sf bedroom addition.  I anticipate 3 new circuits, but the subpanel is maxed out in terms of available space.
As I see it, I have two options: A) rebuild the subpanel or B) feed from the outdoor main.
Concerning Option B, can I run wire from the main lugs in the outdoor main?  If so, what wire would I use for a 100 or 125 amp sub?
Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Option A is necessary if your present panel is Zinsco or FPE Stablok, but we can do that in a sneaky way that isn't so impactful.  Otherwise, option C.
Option A-1 is to install a replacement panel right next to the defective panel, fit double-lugs in the original panel so you can daisy-chain the new panel off the old -- then cut over one circuit at a time at your leisure.  Once all the circuits are gone from the old panel, bypass and remove it.
Now I'll discuss why option B is out of the question.

NEC: There must be a main disconnecting switch installed at every building to disconnect all service wires, either underground or overhead, and that it be located in a readily accessible place as near as possible to the point where the wires enter the building. This disconnecting means must be arranged to cut off the entire current.

This referred to DC power; the Code edition was 1897.  Current code says the same but splits it up, all in Article 230. Nonetheless, its terse language implies several things.
Only one set of service conductors per building.

230.2 Number of Services. A building or other structure served shall be supplied by only one service unless permitted in 230.2(A) through (D).

And those exceptions call out fire pumps, generators, apartments, too-large services, and different voltages/phases.  There's some blather about 230.40, which is full of very confusing terms and you will need to keep referring back to Article 100 to clarify them  - but there's nothing there that helps you.
One shut-off switch per service, practically

230.70 General. Means shall be provided to disconnect all conductors in a building or other structure from the service-entrance conductors.
230.71 Maximum Number of Disconnects. (A) General. The service disconnecting means... shall consist of ... a combination of not more than six switches and sets of circuit breakers, mounted in a single enclosure, in a group of separate enclosures, or in or on a switchboard. There shall be not more than six sets of disconnects per service grouped in any one location.
230.72 Grouping of Disconnects. (A) General. The two to six disconnects as permitted in 230.71 shall be grouped. Each disconnect shall be marked to indicate the load served.

This is no good at all.  It means even if you can snake two sets of service conductors by the inspector by snowing him with 230.40, the panels need to be right next to each other.  The service conductors would be uselessly doubled, lay right next to each other.
This "Rule of Six" is a liberalization of the 1897 rules, often seen in obsolete split-bus/"Rule of Six" panels.  Note that if your service panel is a split-bus/Rule-of-Six, a second panel would be a seventh throw, violating the Rule of Six.  The exception "6 per service" doesn't work because you have only a single service.
Option C
Being out of space is an intolerable situation.  We constantly advise people to get the largest panel they can bear to get, and then some. I aim to finish projects with 50% of spaces unused. Where we see full panels, we often see twin/duplex/"double-stuff" breakers, which have hazards of their own, not least, they actively impede upgrading circuits to AFCI/GFCI.
So right off the bat, I recommend a subpanel right next to your "main" subpanel, and cutting over circuits from the main to the new sub, as convenient. This will free up spaces at your leisure and at a scale that is DIY viable.

As we've discussed, double-feeding it is utterly futile.
You could daisy-chain it off the lugs of the "main" subpanel, but second main breakers aren't free.
Or you could wire it as a sub-sub-panel off the "main subpanel", using, say, a 100A feed breaker in the main-.  The sub-sub-panel must have an ampacity rating at least that of the feed breaker. It does not matter whether this subpanel has a "main breaker" or not**.

As we will always recommend, go really huge on the panel.  Space is cheap, regrets are expensive.
You can move circuits at your leisure from the main-sub-panel to the sub-sub-panel.  Right away move enough circuits to liberate two spaces for the sub-sub-panel's feed breaker.
My recommendation for the addition is a second subpanel, so liberate 2 more spaces.
Option C part 2: Service to the addition
I gather from your question that you'd rather have a panel in the addition serving loads there. Just another sub-sub-panel.
If you can accomplish this with only the addition sub-sub-panel and move enough house circuits to it, that will suffice.
Again, the addition sub-sub has its own feed breaker in the main-sub.  The wire between the two decides the size of the feed breaker (and this is picked out of the tables for branch circuits, 310.16, not for service drops).  If you're looking at #4 or larger wire, seriously consider aluminum, it works extremely well for feeders like this, and the lugs are aluminum anyway.   Again, the sub-sub-panel's rating must be larger than the feed breaker. (or equal).
I recommend two subpanels to make it simple to describe, and because being out of spaces is a major annoyance.  If you can reroute enough circuits from the main-sub to the addition sub-sub, then perhaps that is the only one you will need. Regardless, don't scrimp on spaces.  A 42-space subpanel is not excessive at all. Doing all the work to install a 12-space, and then running out again, is excessively wasteful of your time.

** However, if your main subpanel is old, and maybe worthy of replacement, it would be clever to choose a sub-sub-panel which is capable of performing all the functions of the main-sub. Then you can slowly migrate every circuit over to the sub-sub, and one day, switch the service conductors over and eliminate the old main-sub entirely.


California code requirements for electrical panel placement height I'm trying to get some wires to reach the bottom of my electrical panel. How high off the floor can I put my panel and still meet code requirements... or what section of which code can I find this? I'm having trouble parsing the legal nightmare.

There's no minimum height in the National Electrical Code, that I'm aware of. The maximum height, is based on the maximum height of the breakers that are contained within the panel. NEC says the center of the grip of the handle of the highest breaker, can't be higher than 6'7".

Contact your local government to determine if there's a local amendment, that sets a minimum height.


How can I fill two or more adjacent spaces on a QO panel? Is there a better way to fill two or more adjacent spaces on a Square-D "QO" panel than to use two QOFPs side by side?
I am aware of the QOFP from Square D but it is just for a single space:

That's all I can find.
I would have thought a 2-space blank would be an obvious thing to exist... and possibly SqD makes something else which is harder to find information on. Or could there be plates from other sources that would work?
I know there are very clear rules on which breakers could be used in what panel, but I'm not sure if a "non electrical accessory" (if that is a meaningful distinction) would also be as carefully regulated, so maybe something from another manufacturer could be used (or not).
I can presumably place several of these single plates next to each other but my recollection from another project is that even in a single space they don't fit particularly well (too small / sloppy).

That's a common complaint. Every maker's filler plates are a) flimsy, b) expensive, and c) hard to find.
Fortunately, Square D also sells a much more robust filler plate which solves all these problems, called the QO120.

They're sold everywhere, latch onto bus stabs, and aesthetically look - well, they actually are breakers!
I'm not joking.  "Actual breakers" really are my go-to for filling empty panel spaces, because it solves the flimsy problem, and they're just more available.  My local lumber supply stocks these, they do not stock blank covers.
As for cost, since I'll probably be fitting a circuit in the future anyway, 120V/20A breakers are a pretty safe choice because if you're adding a circuit you can always choose to use #12 wire.  And they can be handle-tied for 240V/20A circuits which do not involve neutral.  (though a handle-tie is another procurement bug-hunt).


Can a butcher block countertop be rounded with a router? Looking to build a custom workstation and I wanted to use something thick as my top so I thought about using a butcher block countertop from a chain store, along with an inexpensive router bit set to round the edges.  Would this work?

Any common butcher block countertop can be cut and rounded to fit.  You'll have to refinish the sections you've cut, but there are no other special considerations.  Cheap tools are often OK for one time jobs, there are also tool libraries where you can rent or borrow better tools.  Some home stores offer rentals.

For finishing butcher blocks, the traditional materials are some form of food safe oil.  For a desk you have the option of sanding and using any sort of furniture finish from a wax to a varnish to polyurethane.  It's best if you buy the butcher block unfinished, so you don't have to match finish.  An excellent discussion (focused on food uses) is at http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/cutting-board-finish/


Microwave Door Twisted I accidentally ran into my open microwave door and I think I twisted it.  Ever since then I have to slam the door (more than a few times) and push in the upper right part of the door by the latch for the light to go out and start.  I do hear like a distinctive click that seems to be coming from the other side (hinge side) when it does get properly seated and start.  It is a Kenmore model 665.69682992.

Buy a new microwave.

It sounds like your microwave door is pretty cattywampus.
Microwaves are carefully engineered and undergo extensive testing to ensure radiation is kept in, and are typically not intended to be user serviceable.
Even a very small leak could have serious health consequences over time. Finally, if you are able to replace a door, you still don't have the equipment to verify that there are no leaks. In short: it's not worth the risk!


Are foam brushes suitable for applying wood stain, or is a cloth necessary? Is "rubbing in" required? Before staining a hardwood floor, I sampled the stain on a scrap to test the color.

The floor is oak, but the sample I had was birch.

The oil-based red mahagony stain appears far darker than I expected, and far darker than I recall the sample in the store looked (though I'm not doing a side-by-side comparison). Since oak is darker, I expect the final result to be even darker.

But I used a foam brush, not a cloth, to apply the stain. I find a foam brush a bit easier (and faster) to handle than cloth.

Do foam brushes soak up too much stain and inherently result in darker tones? Is a cloth really necessary to apply wood stains to produce the "official" tone?

A foam brush doesn't really allow for "working it in". You soak it and swipe. If you attempt to rub it in, the foam will shard quite quickly. By comparison, a cloth could handle rubbing. I can't quite appreciate whether rubbing will insert more stain inside the grain, or will spread the bit of stain on a larger surface. I'm wondering: is rubbing in the stain required?

Or might the issue be simply one of perception, and once an entire room has the tone it will no longer look quite as dark?

Most stains don't need to be "rubbed in" but of course that depends from can to can. Read what your can says for how to apply. If it doesn't mention rubbing in then don't do it.  Almost all stain (unless otherwise stated on the can) has to be removed shortly after it has been applied. The longer you leave it on for before you wipe it off, the darker it will be. Try to be consistent on your floors for whatever time you choose to keep the color consistent across the room.

Using a cloth or foam pad doesn't really matter for the applying part. Of course it will be much easier to remove the stain with a cloth. I personally like using Viva brand paper towels as they are very rugged for this but you can choose whatever works for you.

As an aside, if you are staining floors, you may want to look into water popping as I feel it produces a much better end product. :)


Which home automation standards will work with Apple and/or Google's forthcoming sofware? On one hand I'm happy that Apple and Google are getting into home automation, because the existing software and control apps seem to be uniformly atrocious. On the other hand, I've been planning a big home automation purchase all year, and now I'm nervous because I'm sure their products are going to take over the market and I don't want to get hardware that won't be compatible.

Have there been any announcements about which existing home automation hardware is going to work with Apple and/or Google's software? Are there any standards that are more or less likely to survive?

I'm mostly interested in lighting and generic outlet automation.

All that Google has, from what I know (and googled to double check), is that they own Nest.  They apparently had an "Android @ Home" project a few years ago, but I couldn't find any recent news on it.  Personally I'd bank on Apple moving in on your home before Google-- simply because they already have their framework public, so developers can already start creating apps

https://developer.apple.com/homekit/
http://9to5mac.com/2015/01/22/apple-details-homekit-compatibility-with-competing-home-automation-platforms/

Apple's HomeKit framework will only be compatible with "MFi" (made for iPhone) hardware.

Here is a nice article that recommends some hardware that will already be compatible with HomeKit apps, and claim they should also be "future-proof"

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/future-proofing-smart-home-apple-homekit-compatibility/

Of course all of this also depends on what phone you have as well.


How to choose floor insulation? My question is about insulating the ground floor. I have a crawlspace under the floor which is vented and therefore quite cold (average temp in the winter is 4 °C and in the summer 13 °C plus there are loads of cold winds).

I think I would like to do it without stripping all the flooring - I would like to use the crawlspace to insulate it from below.

I have spoken to some 'well versed colleagues' and there is no consensus - options that have been suggested so far are

Squeeze blocks of styrofoam between the joists from below
'Hug' entire floor with insulation foil from below
Take glass wool and 'hang it' between the joists with some foil or panels

Now I am not sure which method is best (or none of the above?).

Can you please suggest best course of action?

There's nothing wrong with fiberglass insulation beneath the floors.  It will be, most likely, the most cost-efficient solution.

If you have a situation where critters like the insulation, well you have a vented crawl space! Critters get in there.

If you have an issue where the insulation gets moist and sags, the problem is not the insulation, it's a moisture/humidity/temperature issue!  If you have, especially during the summer, humidity circulate beneath the home and begin to soak into the insulation, you have a more serious problem and using a different insulation only ignores or covers it up.

Not knowing exactly where you are, putting plastic sheeting on the bottom of the joists is a potentially dangerous idea!  You are setting up a temperature difference between subfloor and bottom of joist, and then trapping moisture in that area.  A plastic 'vapor barrier' in this area can cause a substantial amount of condensation on the joists leading to wood rot.

Plastic on the soil.


Tub overflow elbow standard screw pattern; 2 or 1 screw? Is there a standard screw for tub overflow elbows?  Or most popular?  I am installing a new tub and looking for a overflow elbow with a screw pattern that will lend itself to a stylish overflow now, and replacement parts for when it gets rusty and grimy down the road.

I've included a picture of a one-screw overflow and two-screw that I have available to me.

Get the 2 hole one; it'll work for those, and single screw overflows almost always come with a bridging plate.


How do I get 2x6 and up pine, or a close alternative, in California? I am building ana white style farmhouse tables with planked tops. Most people that I see building these online are using 2x pine. It is cheap and drier than some wood. Here in Northern California, the only pine I can find is in 1xs or 2x4. I am wanting to find 2x6 and up pine for planked tables.

The only wood source I can get in 2x6 and up is douglas fir. However, it is wet wood, even though it is kiln dried, and worries me to build table tops out of it.

How can I get 2x6, 2x8 and 2x10 planks of pine in California? Or, what is a good alternative for cheap dry wood that will be stained?

If you want it affordable, you're going to have to dig around. Up north in Washington, the majority of dimensional material is Doug Fir, but if you dig through the piles, other species do show up. Spruce in particular may fit your bill, it's very light, and has less pitch than Doug Fir. Boards in each lot will be stamped with a code that typically includes the drying method (KD for Kiln Dried) and species (Doug F, SYP, Hem, etc).

So if you are really attached to using dimensional lumber, go ahead and dig through the stacks. Spruce, Common Pine, Hemlock, and Southern Yellow Pine should all work fine for you, if you can find them.

The difference between Douglas Fir and stuff like Southern Yellow Pine in practice is fairly minimal. Even if the wood "feels" wetter or dryer, it's all going to move. Any dimensional lumber will have a good chance to exhibit checking, curling, and splitting. Pick your pieces carefully at the store, and either build it quickly with some heavy duty fasteners, or let the boards acclimate first and re-mill them.

Further Reading about wood codes on lumber: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1639800,00.html


Is there a name for thin (3/8") redwood/cedar boards for basketweave? I have to replace a "basketweave" style fence section on my property.  The horizontal fence boards in the existing fence sections are 3/8" thick redwood boards (approximately 4" high, 3/8" thick, 8' long).  The thin boards are easy to weave in and out of the pickets, resulting in an opaque fence with a lovely basketweave effect.

I've tried all the lumber stores nearby (San Francisco Bay Area, north Peninsula) and nobody seems to have heard of anything like these.  I suspect this is a classic case of my not knowing exactly what I'm asking for.  I know I could produce them by ripping Redwood 2x4s, but the prospect of ripping down 100 or more of these on my poor little table saw just isn't very inviting.

Anyone know what this kind of board is called?

This is called bender board. Typically made of Redwood for rot resistance.

It is used as edging for gardening and lawns, forms for concrete walkways and base material for making lattice.

Available on the US West Coast either direct from Redwood products mills or from Lowe's or Home Depot in thicknesses from 1/4" to 3/8"


Want to update insulation in knee walls. Pictures of the inside. I think it might be worth taking the old out and redoing it all, thoughts? I purchased a house in the Metro Detroit area. 1943 built. Cape cod bungalow, pretty sure. Last winter, I had pretty bad ice dams and would like to re-insulate the knee walls before it gets too cold. I have one in the back and the front of the house. I've attached pictures of the roof / vents. I don't have an opportunity to add soffit vents with the gutters being right up against the house, but perhaps if we live here long enough, those smart vents or drip edge vents might be added.

So, without soffit vents, if I went up right against the inside of the house with insulation, that should be okay, as there's no air flow coming and I don't need to add baffles, correct? Additionally, the insulation as it exists is pretty old and I feel like pulling it all up, air sealing, and then putting new down might not be a bad idea. Please let me know what I'm incorrectly thinking about, and what might be the best way of preventing ice dams. I may do edge heating / coils and get a roof rake for the edges of the house.

https://imgur.com/a/3aWcoZI

You would do well to adjust the insulation on the knee walls but you also have to place a decent amount of insulation in the ceiling joist area as it looks to be nearly non existent in the pictures. That could save you on your heating bills some but it is not likely to have a significant impact on ice dam formation.

The nature of ice dams forming is due to building heat passing through the roof and melting the snow. Water from the higher warmer parts of the roof runs down to eve area where the roof area is colder and allows the water to freeze. The fact that you have heated living space up to the roof peak (as evidenced by the gable end windows up near the peak) it is likely that the ceiling materials inside are nailed directly to the bottom of the rafters. This leads to minimal insulation in that area allowing the upper roof to be warmed by heat from the upper room.

You should definitely prepare, before snow flies, to invest in a roof rake. Plan to get it now before they get all sold out and are then not obtainable. These things help you to safely scrape the snow buildup off your roof before it has a chance to thaw/freeze and form ice dams. It does require some commitment to ensure that you rake the roof every time that snowfall occurs.

Note that it is best to remove all the snow from the roof to prevent the ice dams. If you just rake the lower edges of the roof and leave the snow up toward the peak that upper snow can still melt and the water run down the roof slope and freeze.

It can be valuable to watch the behavior of your roof after the first light snowfall in cold weather to note where it starts to clear first. If you have a lot of heat leakage on the upper roof it will be very obvious that that part of the roof clears first. Sometimes it is even possible to note where the space between the rafters is warmer.

(Note I used a conventional roof rake when I lived in snow country. I recommend the ones with the plastic rake blade because they are lighter and will potentially do less damage to your roof than a metal one. I have noticed in some Google picture searches that there are new types of roof clearing devices which consist of a long plastic sheet that is pushed up under the roof snow via a specially configured handle. The plastic sheet allows the snow to just slip down the roof. I have never used one of those so cannot vouch if the web site advertising is really as great as they make it sound).


Help replacing old fan switch I'm trying to replace an old fan switch in my bathroom. The top two switches don't even work anymore. Here's a picture:

The three switches on the left are the ones that need replacing.

And here's what's behind the switch:

I'm trying to replace it with one of these three switches (A Leviton 1755, 15A-120V):

Before giving up and calling an electrician, I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. There are three things throwing me:

What's going on with the small black wire connecting the two switches on the right hand side of the old setup?
What is the small black wire connecting the left hand side of the old switch to the right hand side?
There's no grounding wire that I can see on this setup. Is this normal?

In general, step by step instructions on how the wires in the old switch would correspond to the new switch would be much appreciated.

Update: Here's a picture of the inside of the box:

The black wires from switch to switch are power jumpers. The power is fed to the upper switch by the black wire on the top left. The jumpers then carry the power to the other two switches. The switches have an internal connection between the two terminals on the top edge of each switch.

The wires in the lower left terminal of each switch is the switched power to the each fixture.

In your new combination switch unit, there is a common power feed, eliminating the need for jumpers to the three individual switches. They are connected internally. You connect the incoming power, the black wire on the top left of the old switch, to the common. Then the three output wires from the old switches go to the three terminals on the right.

Many older switches lack a grounding terminal, which is now required on most new switches. If you have a ground in the box, it should be connected to the ground terminal of the new switch.

The new switch may or may not solve the don't work problem, but it's a good place to start. If it doesn't solve the problem, you need to find out what else is disconnected or non-functional.

Note: The incoming power wire looks like it might be 12 gauge. If so, you can't use the push-in connectors (they only work with 14 gauge), but must wrap the wire around the screw terminals (clockwise). Most practitioners consider this to be a better connection than push-ins, so you may wish to do this regardless of wire size.


How to shut off water valve to outside faucet? I mentioned in a previous question that either our pipe burst or our outdoor faucet broke. It leaked into the house. Our main water line is shut off currently. We can't locate a shut off valve to the outside faucet.

The main water line comes into our utility room. It branches off into 3 lines(2 cold and one hot). Is there a  chance that one of the colds is for the exterior faucet only? Is there a "typical" scenario?

In colder climates where freezing is common, there is typically a valve to shut off outside faucets just before the plumbing exits the warm interior.  If there is not a valve in that location, you'll have to trace the plumbing back and look for a valve along the way.

It's impossible to tell where the 3 branches go, without actually being on location. You'll just have to look around, or hire somebody to do it for you.

It's defiantly possible to install your own valve, and while the main is already shut off is a perfect time. As Fiasco Labs has mentioned, quarter-turn valves are much nicer than gate valves.


Tankless hot water heater cycles on without any water running Why does the tankless hot water heater cycle on even when no water is running?

Tankless water heaters have a flow switch and temperature sensors.  Flow switch activates the water heater when water is flowing and the temperature sensors control the amount of heat delivered.  Perhaps the flow switch is stuck on.


How can I test whether my furnace issue is the limit switch or the thermostat? I suspected this issue during the winter and confirmed it now in the summer. Regardless of the temp in my home, the blower motor runs non-stop.
In the winter this must have been causing my home to got through a permanent heat/cool cycle as the blower would bring cool air in after the home was at the right temp. Then the temp would get low, the furnace would kick in to heat the home and on and on.

In the summer now it seems to be doing the same thing but with the A/C. Once the home is cool enough, the blower keeps bringing in outside air with the A/C off now. This causes the home to heat up and on and on. The adverse effect at night is it's making my home too cold since the outside air is already quite cool.

I check this question.
Why won't my furnace turn off?

I can manually turn off the limit switch and the blower stops.

How can I test whether the problem is the limit switch or the thermostat?

If the high limit switch was bad, the furnace should not fire. When the high limit switch trips, the flame/heating element will be shut off and the blower will continue to run to clear the heat. The blower will continue to run until either the system is reset, or the limit switch closes.

I believe high limit switches are normally closed, and they should always fail open. Which means when they go bad, or the temperature gets too high they open the circuit. To test a limit switch, you'll want to check continuity to determine what state the switch is in.

If there is a serviceman switch, turn it off. If not, shut the power off at the breaker panel.
Open the access panel and locate the high limit switch. It should be somewhere on the hot box.
Disconnect the wires from the switch (don't forget which goes where).
Using a multimeter, test for continuity between the leads on the switch.

There is an easier test to check limit switches, but it should only be performed by HVAC techs. So I will not discuss it here.

If the circuit is open, you'll want to replace the limit switch.

If the limit switch is adjustable, make sure it is set properly according to the manufactures specifications.

If the limit switch tests OK; or you've replaced it and still have the issue, you'll want to focus on the thermostat.

From your description, it sounds more like a problem with the thermostat.  Most safety mechanisms in furnaces do not let the furnace fire if there's a fault, so if you're getting flame I would not suspect a limit switch. I would suspect either the thermostat has gone bad, or it is miswired. If the fan is always on I would suspect either the fan switch has failed closed (is always in the ON position), or the fan wire was incorrectly bonded to the voltage feed line.

Thermostats are basically switch boxes. They'll have one live wire [R] (usually 24v in the US, or line voltage in other parts of the world), one heat call wire [W], one blower fan call wire [G], and optionally a cool call [Y], and/or C wire. When the thermostat wants to warm up, it will connect the R to W and G which tells the furnace the thermostat is cold and needs heat. If it's hot it connects the R to Y and G, to tell the furnace it's hot and wants to be cooled down. If you have a FAN control and you turn it to ON, the thermostat connects R to G and the blower fan turns on.

The easiest way to rule out the thermostat, is to replace it.  Troubleshooting thermostats is a pain in the ass, so it's much easier to simply switch it out.

If you've changed the thermostat and you're still having the problem, call an HVAC tech.


Outdoor concrete repair/resurface/sealing and painting We have an outdoor patio at my house which was made of concrete, but I don't think it ever got the finishing coat (it was supposed to be tiled but never happened) nor sealed and it has been there for 10 years or more.
The concrete is really damaged in some spots, we already knew that. Today we decided to power wash it so we removed the damaged concrete which was already only sand in some places, so we can later resurface and fix it.
Before power wash:

After power wash:

As you can see the concrete is really really damaged in some places. Here are some close-ups:

How can we repair the holes?
My plan was to use a concrete repairing compound on the holes like this one:

Would this be appropriate to repair the holes? Should I add some kind of glue around the concrete holes before filling it with the compound? (I saw some video of one guy doing this)
After the holes were repaired the plan would be to resurface the whole concrete. How could I do this and leave a smooth finish? I was thinking of using this product: (sorry it is in Portuguese)
https://secilpro.com/upload/documents/5cd04d0e01b89.pdf

Would this work? If not what do you advise?
After resurfacing we wanted to seal it. Which sealant could I use? We wanted to paint over it if possible.
I read about a liquid membrane sealer but I also think that you can't paint over them, am I right?
Also the concrete is a bit slopped so the water flows to the center drain. Resurfacing wouldn't ruin this right? In my view the resurface compound would just follow along the profile of the pre-existing concrete. I guess I just can't use self-leveling compound or I would ruin this slope, right?
Thank you everyone for the help, looking forward for answers :)

Thin coatings placed on top of bad concrete, especially slabs that already have numerous significant cracks, and is outdoors will rarely, if ever, be successful. You will spend a lot of time and money to bandaid it up only to have it fail in the next series of climate changes.
Best suggestion for the mess showing in your pictures is to:

Rent a jack hammer and break up all of the existing slab into manageable sized pieces.
Clear out all the old concrete pieces and haul away.
Evaluate the old base materials. In all likelihood the base there is totally inadequate as evidenced by the major cracking in the old slab.
If necessary dig out the old base materials and follow regional recommendations to lay in proper base materials appropriate to your climate zone, soil conditions.
Prepare the site with new edge forms to define the periphery of the replacement slab.
Lay in a combination of mesh wire and a grid of tied together rebar to hold the slab together in the event that small fracture cracks occur. Make triple sure that the mesh and rebar is properly positioned so that it is within the thickness of the slab. It does no good if it is left laying on the base material with the concrete just poured on top of it.
Pour the new slab. Highly recommend that the poured mix come out of a delivered redi-mix truck so that you get a professional mix appropriate to your area / project. A home mixed or small wheelbarrow mixing done from pre-mixed bags will not yield a quality job that will last for years. The existing old concrete and how it is failing seems to indicate that it was done in the way I am recommending that you avoid.
Properly screed and finish the concrete after pouring. Professional tools should be used.
Apply proper post pour care for the concrete slab while it cures. This may include wetting it down and possible even covering if there is a lot of hot sun that can make it dry out too fast.

For the steps outlined above numbered 4 through 8 you may want to really consider hiring a professional crew to come in to do the work. Unless you have good experience with concrete this may not be a project to tackle as a DIY. If you do hire a professional crew make sure that you check out references and look at similar projects that they have completed before. Also make sure that you work with a contract that includes some responsibility on the part of the contractor to repair or replace the project if it turns into a mess like you currently have on your property within 1 or 2 years. (It is highly unlikely that you can get any type of contractor warranty for any more than a year or so).


Can a garbage disposal handle waste from both a sink and a dishwasher? Can't decide whether to put garbage disposal on the dishwasher drain or sink drain. Is it feasible to install single garbage disposal to handle waste from both?

Many disposals have a specific connection for a dishwasher. If yours has one you can use that, or if you haven't bought one yet, look for a model with that feature.

Note: This may no longer be up to code in your area: see Why does my dishwasher back up into the sink, but running the disposal allows it to drain?

That said, many dishwashers have macerators built-in, which is effectively the same thing. I'm not really sure how useful it is to have a disposal downstream anyways. A dishwasher has to pump the waste water up to the drain. If you have anything in there that the disposal would actually chop up, it's probably going to jam the dishwasher pump before getting to the disposal anyways. In fact, this is why dishwashers have strainers and built-in macerators to begin with.

If you're still intent on having the dishwasher go through the disposal, and you don't have a built-in macerator or a dishwasher inlet, then it's just a matter of physical space. Can you fit a connection for the dishwasher between the disposal and sink? (although again, note this may not be up to code anymore).

If I had to choose only one, I would definitely choose sink. Most dishwasher drain hoses are 5/8" -- anything that doesn't clog that isn't going to clog the 1 1/4" sink drain. (I'm not sure if there is some other motivation for doing this besides avoiding clogs, though?)


What to paint a rusting metal roof with I have a bump out in front of the house with a sloped metal roof on it that is rusting.  I want to fix this before it becomes a problem but I can not find reliable advice for my particular situation.  The roof is sloped, painted white and made up of many 1.5 x 3 foot flat metal sheets whose seams are covered in some substance, not welded, that looks like thickly laid caulk but not soft like caulk.  The roof is starting to rust bad, maybe 40% is now rusted, and I don't know if I can just sand the rust off without disturbing whatever the seams are covered with or if removing the rust is even necessary.

My question is, what should I use to "repaint" the roof and how should I prep the roof for said "paint"?

Edit 1 here is a pic of the roof:

First: yes you need to remove  all the rust before repainting, or the paint will just flake off as the rust continues.

Next: you need to make sure that there's some "body" left after initial sanding/scraping of rust, or you might as well replace the sheets.  You also need to verify that all rust is on the top, i.e. there's no leaking and bottom-side rust (or you'll need to fix the leaks).

Assuming all that went "ok,"  then sand & scrape all the loose rust off, and do your best to sand off the rest.  Paint all exposed areas (with rust pits or not) with a "rust reducer" paint, available at any hardware store.  Typically these go on white and cure black; they both reverse the oxidation (rust turned back into iron) and provide a good surface for painting.   Then put down whatever color of metal-compatible paint you want.


How to uninstall shower knobs I am trying to change these shower knobs/valve/stem as they are leaking from there base and there is so much salt stains.
I live in a condo where there is no access panel. To get water supply turned off, to try anything, off whole building supply needs to be off. This gives me anxiety as I can't request for longer shut off time for trial and errors. I can't seem to find any brand name. Please guide me in any way possible. Thank you!

enter image description here

remove the control handle then unscrew the octagonal cover this should reveal the valve top.
take photos and measurements. go to the hardware store and buy as washer kit to rebuild the valve
Now turn ff the water supply (or supplies)
turn the valves on and make sure that the is not a fast stream of water.
now remove the top part of the valves (it unscrews)
screw the control stem into top part of the valve stem in until it come out through the back and replace the O rings.
this is a good time to also replace the washer that controls the water.
lubricate and reassemble using a new fibre washer where the valve body closes.


What can I use to seam a quartz countertop besides epoxy? Is there something else that can be used for  a quartz counter top seam without using strong epoxy or chemicals. I am very sensitive to chemicals. Or can silicone be used instead?

Find an adhesive that is Greenguard Gold Certified

GREENGUARD Certification  helps buyers identify interior products and materials that have low chemical emissions, improving the quality of the air in which the products are used.

GREENGUARD Gold Certification (formerly known as GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certification) offers stricter certification criteria, considers safety factors to account for sensitive individuals (such as children and the elderly), and ensures that a product is acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities.

If there is a specific chemical that you are sensitive to you can get the data sheet for the adhesive to see if it contains that chemical.


Where to start repairing furnace that clicks when running? My furnace makes a clicking sound when the heat is on. The heat works well though, and If I turn only the fan on there is no clicking.

When the heat turns on, the clicking starts out slower and after about a minute it gets much faster and louder.

I have pinpointed the sound to this part:

I’m not sure if it’s the small black wheel or the part it spins further back. What is this part called? I would like to at least have some idea what the cost of the part is before calling anyone

That looks like the inducer motor.

If it's making a clicking sound, that could mean that the bearings are bad, and/or that there's something physically coming into contact with the spinning bits of the inducer.


How can I determine if my neighbor is hooked into my meter? I have several reasons to believe somebody is stealing my power. I decided to flip all the breakers...  and behold my next door neighbor's exterior garage light turns off then comes back on but significantly dimmer. Now since I can't see the front from the back of my house where the breaker is, I had a friend help me have eyes in both places by posting up front or flipping the breaker and vice versa.  We both saw this light do the exact same thing.

The questionable part about it is that it only behaves this way concurrently to my breaker when this light is super bright, white. It doesn't even flicker when dimmed low yellow. It is NOT a motion light, and before all of this I never paid enough attention to know if the fluctuation in brightness is abnormal but I want to say I thought it was usually if not always very bright.

Now maybe we tipped the neighbor...  but the last time we  attempted this experiment, the light literally flipped itself off and went to dim seconds before we could turn the breaker.  Then it stayed dim as far as I know for the rest of that night. The very next day the power company cut my line because I haven't paid up the nearly $2,000 due now. (2 months usage with only 2 people).

My property consists of two detached houses on the same lot, separate addresses and same meter. I purchased 2 years ago, live in one, rent the other... I evicted the tenants in the front house because they couldn't pay for all of the energy I thought they were using. Then my first bill without them was more than double and has been nothing but random since.

I don't want to start a problem with my neighbor unnecessarily.  How can I determine if the power usage is due to my neighbor?

You have a tough bit of detective work to do, but it should be possible.  The good news is a very large load is likely to be a continuous load, so it shouldn't be too hard to catch.

First check for weird outside wires.

The usual drill with pot growers is to bury Romex (NM) cable just enough to conceal it. This shabby workmanship is usually fairly easy to spot. Proper underground cable is at least 12" deep, rigid conduit can be 6" but that's because you won't damage it with a shovel.

A sneaky cable would explain all this even if they took away their grow lights. (you have inspected the unit, yes?) Imagine they were stealing power from the neighbor, then also stole it from you but hooked it up backwards. It would be a dead short, limited by the long wire run, and that might be enough to not trip the breaker.

OK, no luck?

Next, get educated.

I know some people don't like learning and don't want to be seen as smart. But frankly, the alternative is pretty expensive.  Upside, this is a big enough deal you can afford a few toys to make learning easier.

Learn how pressure (volts), current (amps), power (watts and VA) and energy (watt-hours and kilowatt hours) all relate to each other, because you'll be using them a lot.
You need to be able to multiply and divide.  It doesn't get any harder than that.
Get a book on wiring a house and read it through.  There are a few things you can skip but the main thing is you need to be comfortable working around wires and inside panels.
Figure out how to get instantaneous kilowatts out of your electric meter. (smart meters should cycle to display it, old meters are trickier.)
Toy: a $20 "Kill-a-Watt" meter which will let you measure most of your 120V loads.
Toy: A $100 clamp ammeter which lets you clamp around a single "hot" wire and see what current it is drawing.
Toy: A "whole-house power monitor" which wires into your panel and analyzes your power consumption.  It shows you exactly which appliance uses how much power, and give you a very complete picture of your power usage.  These are in the $300-500 range and permanently install two clamp ammeters in your service panel.

Once you are able to easily read your instantaneous watts (e.g. at the meter), you can try flipping off one breaker at a time and try to narrow it down to one breaker.  If your two units have separate panels but are fed off one meter, you may be able to use a clamp ammeter to measure both main hots (one at a time) to see which house is the source of it.

If an answer doesn't become obvious at this point, you'll need a more methodical approach.

Map your circuits

This is tedious but very useful to know. You know about all  your hardwired loads (lights, oven etc.), get some dollar store night lights for testing receptacles.  Shut off one breaker at a time and see what got turned off.  Mark the service panel with what things that breaker controls, and mark each device, switch or outlet with the breaker number.

Next, use the Kill-a-Watt to measure the actual power draw of everything that plugs into a receptacle.  I have been known to measure fixed loads also, by opening up the box and using a stinger extension cord.  You cannot measure 240V loads with a Kill-a-Watt, but then you don't have to - 240V loads have nameplate labels which state their power usage.  You just have to figure how often (percentage of time) the big load is on.   By now you should have a notebook or excel of each of the circuits and the Kill-a-Watt power usage of each of the devices on that circuit.

Look for anomalies

Now put the clamp ammeter on each of the "hots" coming out of a breaker.  Compare that to the Kill-a-Watt data from your known loads on that circuit.  It can help to just turn those off while you're measuring.  The goal is to account for all the power exiting every breaker.

For 240V loads, measure both hots separately.  A significant difference in amps should raise alarm bells.  Dryers have been known to be unequal, turn the dryer off and see if it all goes to zero.

The goal is to narrow the unexplained draw to a single circuit, then tear into the circuit to find exactly where the draw is.  You can follow the circuit down the chain of receptacles and put the clamp ammeter on the hot wire in each receptacle until you find the leakage.

Be prepared for the possibility that it isn't any sort of theft, but something left on (heater in vacant apartment?) or just appliances that take a lot more power than you thought (air conditioning).


What is needed to fix or replace a cracked old seal on a refrigerator door? I'd like to replace or maybe just gum up the seal of my 1990's Maytag refrigerator. It's really quite a beast and the last time a repair man came (to extract a receipt which made its way into the motor) he said that we'd never be able to replace the fridge with another one that would work as well for so long.

The only problem is it leaks water every time we put sweet corn in (my wife didn't believe me, but I proved it via the scientific method).  And if it  leaks water when we put sweet corn in, then it probably leaks air all the time.  There's lots of cracks in the top of the seal.

Is it possible to replace the seal of a refrigerator?  What tools and parts do I need?

The refrigerator gasket is replaceable, but you'll need to find an exact replacement, possibly from the manufacturer.

Before doing that, make sure that the door hasn't warped, which would cause one of the corners to not close tightly. To straighten a warped door, loosen the screws that are beneath the current gasket (when you open the door, you can pull the gasket away to expose the screws). With the screws loosened, you can pull or push on the corners to get the door back to straight, and then re-tighten the screws.

If you decide to replace the gasket, then the process is to remove the existing gasket by loosening those same screws, and then installing the new gasket, starting at the top and working your way down and around the door. Designs may vary, but it should slide behind a metal or plastic clip/gap that is tightened via the screws. When you're done, verify the gasket is straight and tighten the screws in each corner. Check that the door isn't warped, and correct it now while it's still easy to fix, and then tighten the remaining screws.

When finished, double check for any gaps. I've seen suggestions to use a flashlight inside the refrigerator, close the door, and see if the light can be seen with the room dark. I've also seen suggestions from talcum power to a thin coat of petroleum jelly to lubricate the seal and/or prevent sticking. Follow your manufacturers suggestions or use your own best judgment there.


How do I identify and replace unusual screws? I've got a desk held together by these really strange screws below. The tapped end goes into one end of a joint, the plastic piece goes into the other end of the joint, and then the head of the screw goes into the plastic piece, with an additional screw (shown in bottom picture) to hold it in place. The pen is for scale, with the screw about 1.5 inches / 4 cm in length.
While I'm not optimistic that someone here would recognize these two pieces, is there a general process for identifying parts like this? I'd 3D print a copy of the plastic piece if I had some way of reproducing all the grooves inside it and getting a matching screw, but I have no idea if these types of pieces are standardized, and if so what they're called and where I'd look.
Thanks in advance for any help here, you guys are awesome!
Edit:
It’s not IKEA. I brought it to them and they said they’d never seen the parts before.

A well-equipped hardware store will have a drawer with many common fasteners used in this type of flatpack furniture.
I mean well-equipped.  Home Depot is not a hardware store.  ACE or better.  Preferably that family-owned hardware store that has been there for 80 years and has creaky floors and weird little mezzanines with things just crammed everywhere.
Anybody who's enough of a Maker to be 3-D printing things, honestly, ought to make themselves familiar with the 3 nearest such hardware stores, if they aren't already :)


does anyone know this bug? I found these bugs in my bathroom in New York City. I can't find them on pest control websites. They don't look like roaches. Any ideas of what they are and how to get rid of them?

Found it. It's a brown-banded cockroach

  The life stages of the brown-banded cockroach, Supella longipalpa
  Fabricius, showing an ootheca (first row), five instars of nymphs
  (second row and first individual in third row) and both sexes of
  adults (third row). Photograph by Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida.


How can I open the front of my dryer? Here is a site with exploded diagrams of the unit. If I need to oil the main bearing on the on the drum or one of the roller guide wheels of the drum, do I need to undo the back assembly, or can I access it from the front somehow?

I am worried about any disassembly involving undoing the seals (as I don't  want to disturb them if they are still working), but if it would be possible to go through the front it might be simpler.

Despite the hassle of pulling the unit out, I would say back, bottom, or top access is better. Front access is possible, but the whole shell (outer box) of the dryer is built around the front, side and top panels connecting together, and in the end taking the front panel completely off is going to be more hassle than it is worth. Usually a smaller bottom portion of the front panel comes off, and if that gives you the access you need then that is an easy place to start. Otherwise, again, go from the back, or bottom, or even from the top. On my dryer, the top swings up on a hing at the back, swinging up the whole top section and control panel. Look to see if yours similarly has a hinge at the back, about 6 inches down from the top back edge of the control panel. If so, that tells you the top does swing up. The trick is there are no screws holding it, it is held by metal clips. You use a metal putty knife or screwdriver inserted in the crack between the top and the front, at the right and left corners on the front. Push the putty knife in until it stops, then bump it in further with the heel of your hand to depress a clip mechanism that will free that corner. Do likewise on the other corner, and then the top should swing up on the back hinge.
Hope this helps.


Should I use tandem breakers or upgrade my panel? I am adding 5 20 amp circuits to this breaker box that will power different parts of my basement.  At first review I did not think there would be any issues seeing there were only 18 out of 24 slots being used. Once I opened the panel after roughing in the electrical for all of the outlets and I don't see how I can add any more than 2 switches to this box. The center bus ( I don't know if this is the correct term) only has prongs for 20 switches. How would I add 5 additional switches to this box?

Well first off - it really depends on what you are doing. Adding 5 Breakers sounds like a remodel operation and not a simple replace operation.

Given that context - you need AFCI breakers to be up to code and AFCI breakers do not come in Tandem Breakers - you will need a new panel for that - look for one that has at least 40 Slots and more than 40 Circuits.


How should I label and organize my home electrical circuits? I am looking to make the wiring updates in my home extremely simple to understand while doing so in a code-approved manner.

I cannot find anything against wrapping a thin band of colored electrical tape around the outer sheathing on NM-B wire such as a small band of red tape around the yellow jacket of the wire below at each junction/fixture to help identify which circuit each wire belongs to.

A colored electrical tape pack is what I was thinking of picking up:

Basically, I was thinking of adding two thin colored bands to identify the main runs of the branch circuits (using up to six colors for each band: black, white, red, blue, green, and yellow). And then I was thinking of adding two more thin bands to identify the branch connections to receptacles off of the main runs. However, I am unsure if labeling the sets of 3 wires (for 12-2) with a couple small bands of electrical tape would be against code (such as wrapping the sheathing with green electrical tape since green is typically used to mark ground wires) or actually make it more confusing. Answers that include best (or typical) practices are very welcome (even if the typical practice is to not mark the wires at all).

EDIT: While I agree with the update to the title to make the question a little more general, I am still interested getting an answer to my proposed solution about using colored electrical tape bands from  the perspective of the NEC (2008 or later). I certainly appreciate the answers that suggest labels on the wires, but case in point, my hand writing is terrible and I think color is a lot easier to identify at a glance than trying to read little numbers. The way my home is currently wired with knob and tube inspired the thought because the original wiring truly was in an extremely structured, well-crafted manner and is really a work of art to look at (each hot wire for each branch circuit of the existing knob and tube wiring is a different color that is both easy to understand and follow throughout the house). I plan to create a full set of "blueprints" (in color with color-coded wiring) and keep an updated printed copy of the diagram with the electrical panel so I am still favoring the idea of color-coding the wires if it is NEC-compatible.

I spent a couple hours this past winter mapping out my entire house.

The fields on my spreadsheet are as follows for each box in my house (lights, outlet, switch, garage opener, anything):

Panel Breaker (examples A1-10, B1-10)
Drop # - the first box on the branch is simply labeled 1, second box 2
Notes - if I know how things are wired in the wall I will put a note like "wire goes straight up to attic from outlet"
Room of the outlet - each room with unique name (Bedroom 1, family room, den...)
Location of outlet in room - I use actual navigation directions and go from left to right on each wall.  So an example would be "West wall outlet #2" - meaning there was outlet #1 to the left of that on the west wall.
What the outlet does.
Other notes - I have aluminum in some of the house so I marked these here and marked if I have an extra wire for fan.

I could see wrapping the branch with yellow tape with BRANCH written.  You could also give every wire a unique code A1-4 = branch off of panel A1 and outlet #4.  This becomes hard to conceptualize if your branches aren't daisy chained but still works with notes.

My wife thought I was nuts spending a few hours doing this but I have already saved a ton of time.  If I need something off, I just pull up the spreadsheet.  Also this allowed me to transfer some of the outlets to other circuits or to new circuits - I had 4-5 circuits with way too much on them.  I am now down to 1 circuit that only has a little too much and would have never realized without the spreadsheet.


Should I remove 4" of cellose insulation before adding fiberglass insulation? My attic currently has 4" of blown cellulose insulation (to the top of the 2x4 joists). I plan on sealing air leaks and adding R-38 batts. The home was built in 1977 in zone 5.

Should I remove the cellulose and use faced batts or should I top with unfaced? Is there anything else I'm missing?

I would leave the cellulose in place and use unfaced batts so moisture is not trapped. A couple extra inches over the top would help reduce the heat from conducting through the wood.


Comparing table saw motors with same hp and different amperage I am considering replacing the motor on my Inca table saw (Dayton 1.5 hp 115v/16.4amp) because I only have 115volt/15amp power in my new shop.

I have found a Baldor 1.5 hp motor with 115v/12.4amps. Should I expect this motor to have appreciably less power than the 16.4 amp motor it is replacing?

In the vast majority of 120V-land, this is an easy problem to solve. Way easier than the $543+tax+shipping a 51-pound motor that will make your saw underpowered.

Many circuits with the familiar receptacle are actually on 20A circuits

Because there's an exception in Code that allows the familiar NEMA 5-15 recep to be used on 20A circuits (as long as there are 2 or more sockets in the circuit).  The point of this rule is so the builder can just use the same recep everywhere.

If the breaker is 20A and the cable is 12 AWG copper, then you absolutely can just change it to a NEMA 5-20 20A receptacle.  And, it's backwards compatible with NEMA 5-15, so your old stuff will still plug in.

Changing the receptacle is such a simple and straightforward job (well, mostly) that inspectors exempt it from the usual rules about pulling permits, tenants not being allowed to do it in rental properties, etc. You still need landlord permission.

A new dedicated circuit is fairly cheap to put in

A new circuit to serve any of the above-pictured receps can be run for about $40 in materials, + labor.  $550 is a lot of labor.  In fact, if you have any notion to do this with 240V circuits, now's the time before your state enacts NEC 2020, which will require a $80 GFCI breaker on 240V circuits.


Can I use cement backer board as a subfloor? Would it be correct to tack HardieBacker to the floor joists directly or is it necessary to lay exterior plywood when renovating/installing a new bath floor? my home is 140 years old and the floor joists are massive. My fear is that the plywood will attract termites as I have had issues with them attracted and devouring new wood used in the house and they have cost me thousands in damages.  The old wood is generally left untouched by the termites since it is old growth cypress.

No, Hardie cement board is not meant to be structural, and it will not work in place of a subfloor.  The board is very strong in compression and very stable so that the tiles applied to it do not crack, but it has very little shear strength.

There are treatments you can put on wood to make it less attractive to insects.  I would recommend approaching the problem from that direction and use traditional, proven materials for the subfloor.


Using 6x6 beams for roof joists I'm designing my new home. I live in the desert southwest (Nevada). The house will have an adobe style, i.e. it will be 8" cmu's covered with stucco.

I will have an essentially flat roof (1/2:12). I would like to use 6x6 yellow pine beams as joists for the roof with about 18" of each beam protruding from the walls.

The floor plan is rectangular. with the rooms being 12x12, 16x16, 12x16, 8x12.... I'd like to place these 6x6 roof joists 48" OC with spans of 12' and 16'.

From an engineering perspective, is this feasible?  The county I live in goes by the 2006 IRC, which does allow for unconventional spacing IF properly engineered.

Probably not.

Without any particular input from you on actual required loads in your area, I tossed a 16 foot span and 48" spacing at the Wooden Beam Calculator here:

https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/arch264/calculators/example8.1/

And it spat out 4x16 and 6x16 as options (for defaults of 50 PSF live (snow, etc) and 20 PSF dead (structure). Thus, a 6x6 is going to be FAR less beam than needed, probably.

Beam strength goes as the CUBE of beam depth, so that's in the range of 12.5-19 times less beam that you'd need. Going to a 30 lb live load (which is the ICBO minimum if memory serves) only shrinks it to a 4x14, (a beam 8X stronger than a 6x6, roughly) and at a 1/2:12 slope you will need to be very concerned with roof deflection in rain events, however rare they are - once the roof deflects enough that it does not drain, the roof load can become quite extreme on the day it does rain, if it's a gully-washer.

You also add the problem of what you are spanning the 48 inches with - plywood alone won't be happy, so you'd need additional framing (purlins) to get the deck span in range, or you'd need to use a material that can span that distance at load, such as stressed skin panels.


How can I remove this tile window stool without compromising the installation of the vinyl window? I'm planning to replace the tile window stool below this window with a piece of quartz countertop. In this picture, I have already removed part of the thick tan tile the stool is made of.

It looks like the window might be sitting on top of the tile, in which case removing 100% of the tile will remove support from underneath the window. Is the window actually supported by the tile? How can I prepare the area for a new window stool without compromising the installation of the window?

All windows I've seen were supported at least in part on the sides by nail fins or directly through the frame. Even if your window is technically bottom supported (I can't imagine there is such a vinyl window) there should be enough support from surrounding finish materials to remove the tile and fill in the gap with another material without the window moving in the short term. It may eventually settle if it were intended to be bottom supported and left without support, but it would take a while for the surrounding materials to give up their grip.

You will not have a problem removing material under the window.


Addressing un-level floor when using ceramic tile I am refinishing my bathroom, and a near-future task is flooring. I'm going to be using the Schluter Ditra product rather than hardiboard and I've built up the floor and subfloor for a combined thickness of 1-1/8" (or so). There is a small dip toward the middle of the floor of roughly 1/2" that mostly levels out by the bathroom door. Should that dip be leveled out with a leveling compound before applying the Ditra, or will using thinset to compensate be sufficient? The span of the dip is around 5' long by about 3' wide (width of the wall to the tub), with the deepest part being about 1/2".

If you have a good solid base, you can use a modified thinset, the same material to lay the Ditra into. Use a straight edge to screed the thinset over the low spot of the floor, do not sweat the "rake" marks left by the screed. If any "tags" occur from using the screed, they can be scraped off and vacuumed the next day. Then set the Ditra. The Ditra otherwise may not sink into the depression of the floor and get a good bond to the substrate. Also, the flatter you get you floor to start, the easier it will be to get the tile to lay in plane with the surrounding tile.


Orientating a pressure gauge I am installing a whole house water filter system to an existing loop and I am going to add 2 pressure gauges, one on the input and the other on the output side.
The loop pipe is 1" copper and I have 2 - 1" x 1" x 1/2" tees to which I will sweat a 1/2" x 1/4" C x FIP Copper Female NPT Adapter to accommodate the 1/4" gauge.

What is the trick to orientating the adapter before sweating to ensure that when I screw the gauge in that it is facing the correct direction when tightened. (I don't want to sweat the adaptor with the gauge screwed in)

Alan

Imagine, if you will, that your whole plumbing system was threaded pipe. Which was common in many places for a certain time period...

With pipe fittings, you don't get a choice of orientation on threads. You just work with them as they come, and there is some practical leeway between "so loose it leaks" and "too tight" which is how you get things to align - proper use of decent pipe dope helps with this.

So, solder it in any which way. Tighten until the gauge faces the way you want, without leaks.

If you are super-fussy and like overly complex and expensive solutions, you can insert a union between the gauge and the rest of the system.

There are other options, such as using a compression fitting where the threads and the seal are separate functions, and the fitting does not turn as the nut is tightened. You could think of those as "fittings that act like a union."


Used wood stain on a coffee table and it dried with spots? I read the instructions on the can and it said to let it sit for at least 8 hours.  I stained it last night and when I checked this morning it was looking great.  But I just checked now and it appears that there are a bunch of small dark spots that have appeared.  The only thing that I can think that would have caused it is that I left it in my hot garage all day.

Is there anyway to get rid of these?  How can I prevent this in the future?

Staining can be a very fussy process.  It's not as easy as they make it look in the commercials or on those DIY shows (if you want it to look good).  Preparation is key.  Any defects in the wood like knots, checks, sanding marks, etc. will only be exaggerated by the stain.  You should sand to at least 220.  Keep in mind that some woods, like pine, just don't take a liquid stain well at all.  For those, a gel stain would be better.  In general, a gel stain is a lot more forgiving for an even color appearance.


Suitability of disconnect switch I visited a multiple dwelling house today that had two service panels and two meters connected on the same mains entrance. Each dwelling is wired as such:

Bus (common) → Meter → Fused switch → Conduit to dwelling → Breaker panel

The fused switch is connected to the meter via a short length of EMT conduit, providing ground to the switch box. The circuit that leads to the breaker panel is just armored cable (BX) without dedicated ground.

The breaker panel is your typical Square D QO Loadcentre with a 100A main breaker. The fused switch, however, is rated 60A with two 60A fuses in it and a neutral lug. The meter box has markings for 120V/240V 60A. I understand that the purpose of the 60A fuse is to protect the meter and possibly the circuit that feeds the breaker panel.

Is it normal to have a 100A main breaker installed in a panel
that is fed from a circuit with a 60A fuse? If not, should the
main breaker be replaced with a 60A breaker?
If the breaker panel had a 60A main breaker, would having the fuse be a requirement? i.e. could the switch be replaced with a non-fused, 60A switch?
Is it possible that the circuit leading to the breaker panel is rated for 100A (plus safety margin), but the 60A fuses have been installed only to protect the power meter rated at 60A?

#1 is it normal to have a 100A-breakered panel  downline of 60A overcurrent protection?  Totally legal. But I'd use a 225A panel.  One thing many of us here agree on is running out of panel spaces is bad, and panel spaces are cheap.  Both better and cheaper to get a 42-space panel today and only ever use 18 spaces, then get a 12-space panel today have to retrofit a 20-space panel tomorrow and a 30-space panel later still when you add an electric car -- that's just dumb.  The big panels we prefer come with big 150-225A breakers, and they often come with "bonus breakers" and ground bars included, so the extra cost can be a wash.

#2 Breakers and fuses protect wiring downstream. Without the 60A fuse, the jumper into your house (#6?) would have no overload protection at all, and if the cable became shorted, nothing would interrupt current and it would burn your house down.

#3 If you want to increase service above 60A, talk to your power company  Your service capacity will be limited by the lowest of

what the power company is willing to provide
the ampacity of your service conductors (frop top of service-drop pole to shutoff switch, which size using the service-conductor rules).
the ampacity of your feeder from shutoff switch to main panel (using feeder sizing rules).
the max ampacity of your meter pan
the max ampacity of your shutoff switch.

It's possible to get combination meter pans/main breakers, with the main breaker serving as the shutoff switch and replacing the fuses.  The main breaker and the feeder rules decides the wire size downstream of that breaker.

As far as where is the main grounding point located, some sticklers say the grounding point must be the outside fusing/shutoff switch.  However that is awkward in your situation, and for ground-siting purposes I am very comfortable disregarding the outside shutoff and putting the grounding hub in the main panel.  They're built for that, and shutoff switches are not.

This presumes there is one main panel. If you fork lines to two panels off that outdoor switch/breaker, things get really complicated.


How do I install an outdoor receptacle box on vinyl siding? Any tips for adding an outdoor receptacle box onto a house with vinyl siding? Shouldn't the box be attached to a stud? How do I seal around it? J Channel? How can I accomplish this without tearing off large chunks of siding? I can handle the electrical.

You can probably get away with a weather proof box on top of the siding, but here's the full procedure to make it look nice.

Vinyl siding can be pulled off and later reattached. To remove it, you need a siding removal tool that has a flat blade with a small hook on the end. You shove it up the gap between two pieces of siding and then pull to separate them. Start with the top edge that you want to remove, expose the entire piece, and then unscrew it from the wall.

There should be tyvek or similar weather proofing material under the siding. Repair the screw holes and any tears with tyvek tape.

Locate your new outlet installation location. More than likely, you'll need to remove the drywall inside to feed the lines to this outlet, so find your stud there and drill a small test hole. Make sure the hole is near where you want to place the electrical box, cut back the tyvek in an X shape with the, and then cut your opening with a drill in the corners and a reciprocating saw.

Install the new junction box to the stud. You may find it easier to screw it in since hammering requires space to swing the hammer and the vibration could cause damage to the surrounding drywall. Caulk all gaps around the box and the outside sheathing. Cut back any excess tyvek and tape around all 4 sides to make it weather tight.

Run your wiring. Don't forget to staple it to the center of the stud. Install your outlet, making sure it's GFCI protected since your outside. Use a weather protective cover over the outlet.

Install J-channel around the outlet. Install from the bottom up and overlap the joints so any drips go outside of the J-channel. Begin reinstalling your siding from the bottom piece working your way up. Measure twice around the outlet and cut your siding with tin snips (it will go through like butter and leaves the best edge for small cuts). Remember to measure so the cut is inside of the J-channel and you have a 1/4" of play to each side (siding moves with temperature changes). Don't forget to account for the overlap with the adjacent pieces when measuring, and when reinstalling, the overlap should be such that you aren't looking into a gap from the predominant view of your home. When reinstalling the siding, give it a good shove against the track on the piece below until you hear or feel it click in all the way across.

When screwing back in, I'd use different screw holes and new screws. The screws should have a flange so the siding can't slip over the head, wide threads to bite the wood, and be relatively shallow so you aren't going completely through your sheathing (1/2", maybe 5/8"). When screwing in, put your screw in the middle of the slot at the top of the siding so the siding can move from side to side. And leave the gap of a fingernail under the screw head, don't tighten it all the way down. For the last piece, after you've screwed it in, pull down the siding above into the track, and snap it in with a firm shove. The siding removal tool can help you line this up.


Low water pressure locating regulator Replaced shower faucet. Now whole house lost water pressure. Replaced the main didnt fix it. 80psi on water gage but when two things running pressure drops completely. Plummer told me to replace regulator but cant find regulator. Not anywhere around main unless its covered by drywall. Suggests on where else the regulator could be?

I agree, it's very puzzling that your entire house would lose water pressure after replacing a shower faucet. I'm putting this in as an answer instead of a comment so I can include a picture of the pressure regulating valve (PRV) so at least you know what you're looking for. It should be on the main line, usually after the meter and before any lines branch off.
It's possible that corrosion could be restricting the flow of water into your house which could result in a drop in pressure when more than one faucet/shower is operating. You might check with your water supplier to have then check pressure at the curb compared to the 80 psi you're seeing at the gauge. Typically pressure is 120 to 140 psi at the curb and your PRV should be bringing it down to 60 to 75 psi.