How do you know when you need a new water heater? Our hot water is hot sometimes, but not always. For example I might be able to fill up a tub with hot water one morning, but the next morning the water might be cold. This is our first home and when we bought it the water heater was already old. If we need a new one is it hard to install?

For starters, check for leaks. A hot water heater that can't consistently heat water is likely either a) leaking or b) has a faulty heating element.

Hot water heaters typically have a 10 year lifespan. There should be a date somewhere on the tank. If you're handy with electrical (or gas) and plumbing, it's not a big deal to swap out. If you're not, you'll want to bring in a plumber.

If you do want to bring in a plumber, then hire one BEFORE the heater springs a major leak. Emergency rates for a plumber are not fun. ;)

Note that all hot water heaters have something called a 'sacrificial anode' that you can replace regularly to extend the life of the tank. It's a rod of metal that will corrode saving the tank, itself. That said, very few replace them...even people like me, that know I should. ;) But it is a relatively cheap way to extend the life of the tank.


Do I need soffit vents when I have 2 gable vents and 5 normal peak vents? We are in southeast Idaho, have a plain simple gable roof on a 1,050 square foot floor house; the roof's pitch is not great, probably 3 or 4/12 but normal for our area.

We have 1 vent at each gable end (so 2 total), rectangular and about 12" by 24" in area. We have five vents spaced evenly along the roof, about a foot down from the actual peak.  Inside the attic I see the vent holes are about 12" in diameter.

I keep reading that my square inches are probably good for air flow, but I'm wondering if I still need to put in some soffit vents and baffles for good circulation. The people before me vented the bathroom fan right into the attic so I want to avoid installing a new roof again (it was replaced last year-shingles and all plywood panels).

Given this, yay or nay on needing soffit vents and baffles?

In a nutshell, yes, soffit vents prevent moisture from doing bad things to your home. Greebo is spot on, you want soffit vents for your air intake.

Without a continuous flow of outside air, the attic heat in the winter will melt ice and snow at the top of the roof, which will flow down and refreeze when it reaches the cooler bottom of the roof. This forms an ice dam, backing water up into your shingles and roof, resulting in some potentially expensive damage.

You also want to draw air in from the soffits which are on the underside of the roof and exhaust it at the top, which requires at least the same, if not more soffit vent area than you have ridge/gable vents. This prevents wind blown moisture from being driven up into a ridge vent and into your attic. If there is a positive flow of air out the ridge vent from the soffits, this minimizes the risk of the ridge vent becoming an intake vent.

And finally any moisture that does accumulate in your attic will be quickly vented away by the airflow from the soffit to the ridge vents. This includes any moisture from the outside reaching the dew point and from any moisture from your home that escapes into your attic from any cracks.


What could cause my in-wall air conditioner to blow 3 power boards? I've had my house for nearly two years, and suddenly my in-wall air conditioner stopped working. I replaced the main power board, and it worked again...for a week. I replaced the main power board again again thinking maybe I'd gotten a dud but the new board lasted less than a day.

What could be causing these repeated failures and what can I do about it? Nothing should have changed from last summer to this summer in my wiring.

If it matters, it is a Kenmore model 58076129300.

There is a distinct possibility that another another component of the AC unit has some how gone bad and is overloading or injecting bad signals back into the control board and in turn burning it out.

It would take local diagnosis - along with a service schematic of the unit - to be able to isolate the faulty component. But your repeated replacement of the control board pretty much indicates that some other thing as gone wrong with the AC unit.


I do not have a main breaker in my breaker box My house was built in the late 1970's.  The breaker box does not have a main breaker but it does have a double throw with two 60 amp breakers which kills power to everything in the house except for the electric stovetop.  The stove top is controlled by a double throw with two 30 amp breakers.  It this normal or do I have a problem?

You likely have a "split-bus" panel. The NEC allowed no more than 6 switches to disconnect all power from a building. The top of the panel has space for not more than 6 two-pole breakers, one of which fed the lower section of the panel. Was legal.
Bigger issues are brand, age, and capacity to add circuits.
First brands. Zinsco and Federal Pacific have history of defects, you should consider replacing ASAP.
Second, the 2nd law of thermal dynamics, everything goes from order to disorder, things wear out. Your panel is aging to the point that a critical failure could happen at any time.
Third, many split bus services were only 100A, it sounds like you have some capacity (if you described all the significant breakers accurately), but adding a EVSE or air conditioner may be out of the question.
Also it is a bit odd to have a range on a 2p30 breaker, may be inadequate supply to Code standards, but not likely to cause any damage, just limited power available to be used at the range.


Will an in line water regulator fix my tankless water heater trade off between pressure and hot water? I had a contractor install a Rheem electric tankless water heater in my casita. I initially wanted a much larger one but he talked me into the Rheem 13 KW 2.54 GPM. When the unit was installed the water was luke warm at best. The only way to get the water hot was to turn the ball valve down but then the pressure was too low. He then installed the 18kw Rheem3.51 GPM tankless heater and had the same problem.
I called Rheem today and they mentioned that an inline water regulator could solve the problem. The contractor did not seem to think so though. Honestly, I'm starting to question if this guy knows what he's talking about and would like some advice from someone who has experience with these types of water heaters. Do you think the water pressure is the problem and will an inline water regulator likely fix the problem?
I live in Santa Fe New Mexico so the ground water is probably in the 40's?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike

You need a water heater unit with a higher flow rate to bring the water temperature from 40 degrees to 120 degrees. Here in the Pacific Northwest, with year round water temps of around 45 degrees, it is advised to buy a MINIMUM of 7.4 gallons per minute flow rate in a tankless, whole house unit. At 2 or 3 GPM, your purchases are incapable of doing the job. (A 75° F shower is too cold for most of us at 98.6° body temps).
Flow rates out of showers and faucets have little to do with this. They are regulated by the government to save water from, for example, around 1.0 GPM at faucets to 2.2 GPM for a shower. I am referring to the flow rate of water through the tankless heater.
Many people think they can buy and install what is essentially a point-of-use tankless water heater (serving 1 shower or sink, for example) for whole house use to save money and get into trouble.
Is your fixture intended for whole house usage? (Serves all water heating needs in house, showers, sinks, dishwasher etc.) The answer to this question will guide my additional advice.


Can I add a dimmer switch for lighting to a GFI circuit in Kitchen? Goal:  I want to add some under cabinet lights in my kitchen and control them all from an in wall dimmer switch.

Problem: I have 3 outlets in my kitchen.  One is a GFI outlet, but the other two are on the same circuit.  I was assuming I could just add the dimmer switch by tapping off one of the normal outlets for power.  I have done this before (in a bedroom) and in that case, the outlet had an empty set of top lugs  that I could use to tap off of.  However, in the kitchen all the outlets (GFI and normal) have connections at all 4 lugs (white and black on bottom lugs - white and black on top lugs).

Question:  Can I/ How do I tap off of one of the normal outlets to add my dimmer?

Well, to stay complaint with code you cannot do this. You cannot tap off a kitchen receptacle circuit for lighting. Is it done, yeah, I'm sure it is. Is it correct or code complaint, no, not at all.
You need to find another circuit to take power from.

BTW, the fact that the screws are all used on the receptacles does not mean anything.


How can I use a WeMo controller on a non-standard outlet? I have an older A/C unit that uses a 6-15p plug. I want to be able to remotely control the unit with a WeMo, but it uses a 5-15r receptacle and plug. The A/C unit says its rated for 208V, and I believe the WeMo is able to support this much as well. How can I best convert the plugs to accommodate the WeMo? I'm thinking of something like this that the WeMo will plug into, that can then be plugged into the wall. What can I put between the 6-15p and the WeMo though?

Adapting a 120V controller for a 240V (208 is unlikely unless you have 3-phase power) plug seems remarkably foolish...

Quoting wikipedia: "NEMA 6 devices, while specified as 250 V, may be used for either 208 V or 240 V circuits, generally depending on whether the building has a three-phase or split-phase power supply, respectively."

To Quote Belkin, Wemo ratings: "Max 120V~/16A/60Hz/1800W"

Either educate yourself far enough to use a 240V relay with a 120V coil to control the A/C (plug the COIL into the WeMo) or forget this as baaaaaaad idea.


Eliminating plumbing vent pipes Can you eliminate a vent through the roof using indoor cheater vents under the sinks including tub and shower

Can you? Sure. Should you? Nope. It's probably not legal and there's a good chance you'll end up with a poop-smelling house and a completely explicable headache.


Nails for deck framing I was told (as well as read online) that I should use 16d nails for deck framing.

However I have been using nails labeled "Grip-Rite 5-lb 16D 3.5-in Hot-Dipped Galvanized Smooth Box Nails" in the last couple days and honestly they are terrible. The nails are so easy to bend when I hammer 2x8 to 4x8 treated lumber.

Am I using the wrong nails?

Those are not the correct nails, period.

A "Box" nail is thinner than a "Common" nail, and unsuitable for framing.

Per chart found here, 0.162" .vs. 0.135" which is 144% more steel in the common nail (review geometry if you don't get that.)

Box nails, being thinner, are easier to bend, as well; but predrilling can help if you are not a skilled framer - however, the fact remains that box nails are not suitable framing nails. You may find pre-drilling the 2x8 for 16d common galvanized nails to be beneficial, depending on your hammer skills.


Connecting water tankers at different levels I have 2 water tanks installed in my 3 story building. 1st one is on top of the 3rd floor, the other one is on top of 2nd. The pump is installed at Ground Floor. Now I  made one outlet at 800 lts of 3rd Floor tank of 1000 lts capacity as inlet for 2nd floor tank. However the pressure was very low and before 2nd floor tank filling, 3rd floor tank was getting overflowed. How to address this problem

The solution is to mount the tanks so the filled surface of each tank is or will be at the same level.

That means some tanks will be mounted on supports at different heights to others.

if These tanks are to stay on separate floors, then the second floor tank will need a one way connection to the outlet to stop the top tank filling it.

Both tanks need a fill control valve.


How to determine what type and gauge of wire should used for underground wiring to a detached subpanel? I Will be installing a subpanel in a detached garage. The subpanel will be 60 amp. The garage is about 30' from the main-panel in-house, and I will of course get an exact length before selecting the proper gauge wiring. I'll be using pvc underground for the wiring. There is already existing wiring going underground from the house to the garage, which will no longer be used.

I trying to determine what gauge and type of wiring I need. I'm not sure if this is a duplicate of this question or not, but I'm looking for information what gauge wiring I need. The chart linked to in one answer suggests looking at ambient temp ratings. I'm slightly out of my element there as all of the amp/gauge charts I've looked at in the past only considered length of conductor, because when length increases so does resistance, which means there's a drop in voltage. Since that was for DC circuits mostly I have to ask why is AC different?

I suppose I'm mainly asking how to figure this information out and not just gimmie the information. Teach someone to fish, so to speak.

From researching it appears I should use individual THWN conductors, or an x-x-x-x cable, x being the gauge, I don't know the benefits or drawbacks to either one. Same goes for copper and aluminum.

You're in conduit, use individual wires - they are cheaper, they pull easier, and the conduit fill on cables is terrible.

Typically we shoot for less than 3% voltage drop at rated current. Less drop is OK.

I'm fairly sure you need 6Ga wire minimum for a 60 Amp feed - given a short 30 foot run, this is also probably perfectly adequate. I'm getting 1.8% drop for 60 amperes at 240V on 30 feet (one way) of 6 Ga. Edit - Copper!

The limiting temperature rating if using THW, THHN, etc wire is generally the temperature rating of the connectors on the service equipment (breaker or panel) which is usually 75 C - even if using 90C wire, you have to follow the 75C section of the table due to the connections.

Copper .vs. Aluminum.

Copper (Cu) costs more, Aluminum (Al) less.

Copper has better conductivity - effect being, smaller wire to carry the same current. In this case, 6 gauge copper .vs. 4 gauge aluminum.

Copper oxides are conductive. Aluminum oxide is an insulator, forms quickly, and sticks very tightly to the wire. Aluminum connections need special procedures and materials to make a solid connection that won't get loose over time and overheat. These include things like brushing the wires with a stainless steel brush and an aluminum wire connection compound that coats the wire to prevent contact with air. The connections themselves must be rated specifically for use with aluminum, but most large ones will be (generally marked Cu-Al meaning they work with both, where unmarked connectors are assumed to be copper wire only.)

Aluminum connections are further complicated by cold flow, but that gets long and complicated to get into, and is supposed to be addressed by using the proper connector types. Essentially the connection gets hot, the wire swells, the swollen wire deforms, the wire shrinks, the connection gets looser, so next time it gets hotter, repeat until fire.


home inspection for a condo I am trying to purchase a condo in a three-story building. The condo is located at the third floor. During the home inspection, I would like to know what are the issues that I should pay attention to. Are there any specific items need to be carefully examined for a condo? What are the difference between inspecting a condo and inspecting a single family house? Thank you very much.

Are you having a home inspector do the inspection? if so make sure they are certified. Look for any signs of moisture stains, settling cracks (its common for there to be minor cracks depending on your location and materials used. Drywall at vaulted ceilings expand and contract naturally to temperature, but at tape lines) Most condo's and townhomes have an association that are typically responsible for the concrete, exterior and roof.  Just make sure you know what you are responsible for. Test all plumbing fixtures, let the water run for a while to expose any leaks.  Test outlets with an outlet tester.  IF you have any concerns make sure you kick them back to the seller for further disclosure. It's always smart to document. The inspector will probably not talk a whole lot about things that are cosmetic. Make sure they check all appliances, HVAC system and electrical panel. Attic will tell you of any moisture concerns and  inform you on the amount of insulation.


New GFCI to replace one that was in the subpanel of a hot tub I have a dedicated 50 amp 240 v circuit to a hot tub.  Had it over 15 yrs no problems.  Recently the GFCI that was in the sub panel would buzz and then trip or sometimes work just fine after resetting.  The GFCI was an old one that had the 240 v wires running through a hole in the back...these are not used anymore.  I bought a new one that goes into the main panel that feeds the sub panel.  It has a center white ground wire that goes to the main ground.  The circuit going to the hot tub has red, black, and white.  In the main panel the white wire is connected to the main ground bus.  When I connect the white from the new GFCI it trips the breaker.  Is that because I need to take the white wire from the hot tub and connect it directly to the center lug in the new GFCI circuit breaker instead of the bus and then the pigtail from the GFCI to the ground bus?  To me that makes sense and would stop the tripping.  Please advise as these new GFCI are a bit different than 20 years ago.

Yes, you need to connect the white from the hot tub panel to the gfci breaker, and the pigtail from the breaker to the neutral bus.


how to get 240V to 4 wire 240V thermostat I have a 2 pole circuit breaker in the panel with a 2/12 cable connected to it. Black wire is connected to one pole, white wire is connected to other pole and  bare wire is connected to ground bar. This cable runs to a wall mounted box where a 4 wire 240V dpst thermostat will be installed.

Testing, at wall box, black wire is 120V and white wire is 120V. The thermostat has two load wires and two line wires and it seems that connecting the 120V black wire to one of the line wires and the 120V white wire to the other line wire is how 240V gets to the baseboard heater via the two load wires. Is that correct?

Yes, in North America our 240V power is center grounded, with neutral added.  That means it is 120V from any pole to ground or neutral, and 240V across the two poles.

Now sometimes in your situation, someone confuses a 2-pole breaker for a twin/duplex/tandem/double-stuff.   Those only have access to one pole, so in that case both wires will be the same pole.  That will provide 120V from either pole to ground, and 0V between them.  This won't work for 240V loads. The giveaway is that the double-stuff can be switched separately, but the 2-pole is ganged.


New washer overflows from the stand pipe I just got a new washer and it’s overflowing from the stand pipe. My old washer was in the same stop and the standpipe never overflowed. I took a garden hose and put it in the drain and let it run for like 5 minutes and it was draining fine. I’m wondering if the new washer ( Samsung WA45K7600AW) is outputting the water too fast for my drain to handle it. Is that even possible? Just looking at the drain pipes of the old and the new washer, I can see the new one is wider. Please help!

This situation indicates that there is a plumbing drain problem. The easiest thing to try is adding some height to the stand pipe with a coupling and a pipe section.
If you can add some detail and maybe a picture we can advise you further.


Is it safe and within code (1970 US) to permanently wire a 20' cord to a garage door opener? A new garage door and opener will be installed this week. The opener has a short cord. The outlet is on the wall rather than in the ceiling. This is typical of my area for 1970s construction. The installer said he would install and test on an extension cord, but once he left he would unplug it and the rest was my problem.

I would like to install a longer cord to the garage door opener. This is how the current one is wired. Is this safe?

How do I appropriately select the cord wire gauge? Can I just get a heavy gauge extension cord, cut one end, and hook it up?

The new opener is a LiftMaster. It is one of the manufacturers making like 10 different brands of opener.

I frequently post about electrical issues. I have early aluminum wiring in my home which always adds cost and complexity to any electrical project. In this case I do not think this is relevant as the existing wall outlet is wired safely and correctly. I just need to get from that outlet up to the ceiling and over to the opener.

My goal is to have that cord wired in for a few months while I save up to have the entire garage rewired. I want more lights and more outlets in the entire space. I am looking for a longer-term but still temporary solution.

Both an extension cord and a properly-installed replacement cord (possible built from an extension cord) are viable, temporary solutions in my experienced but unlicensed opinion. You will not overload a 14 gauge cord with a typical 1/3 or 1/2 hp opener. (I'd avoid the lighter 16 gauge cords even if your current plug cord is 16 gauge--you're adding length.)

These solutions will probably not meet building code and will not have UL approval. If it was my home, I'd disregard those things in your situation.

In either case, secure the cord such that it's not likely to be damaged. That's the primary concern with exposed wiring of any kind.


Fluctuations in electricity use while we are on vacation We went on vacation for two weeks recently and I noticed that our PG&E bill had some unusual behavior.

Our overall bill wasn't that much lower than it was when we were home.
Different days had very different amounts of energy use. One day (63 degrees average temperature) had 5 kWh of energy usage and a few days later (65 degrees average temperature) PG&E reported 15 kWh of energy usage.

What could cause such fluctuations in our electricity use? We closed the windows and blinds and unplugged most disposable electronics except the TV (which was turned off), refrigerator and a small Coway air purifier (left on by accident). The refrigerator was installed within the last five years.

A smart home app sends alerts any time the doors open or close, and it did not fire for the entire vacation, so there's no chance family members or kids were secretly home.

We have a gas heater, no A/C and the we set the thermostat to "eco mode" = 50 degrees = while we were gone.

edit Here's a photo from the low energy day, 5kWh of energy use:

And high energy usage - note the different scale on left hand side.

No one was in the house on either of these days.

Do you have any electrical convenience outlets on your house ? While your home's inside is secure, what about the outside ?

I would look into the possibility of the above.


Only 2 wires! - Replacing old 240v double pole t-stat with new digital double pole I'm replacing a old Eaton M402 mechanical 2-pole 240v thermostat with a Cadet TH114A-240D-B double pole, 240v DIGITAL tstat.
In the junction box, I only have 2 conductors plus ground.  I was expecting 4 conductors.  See attached picture for how the M402 is currently wired, note that the black and red wires on the M402 are connected to each other:

Here is my double pole breaker (off):

The new Cadet TH114A-240D-B looks like this:

So the wiring for the new T-stat looks much different than the original.  Can you help me understand what I need to do?  I saw somewhere that in order to get a digital double pole tstat working I need 4 wires?...
The voltage at the electric baseboard is reading 240v.
Thanks,
Ben

You can't get there from here

That thermostat simply will not work in that location.  The wiring to that thermostat is wired as a switch loop.

This is the 240V version of "no neutral wire in the switch box, so no smart switch".

Back to the store it goes.  They probably get 30% of them back this way.

Go 24V system

Fuel furnace thermostats run on 24 volt DC low voltage.  Your best option is to install the ~$25 worth of parts needed to convert this to a 24V thermostat system.   Go back to the heater (there's usually plenty of room in there) and fit a 240V-24V transformer and 24V-240V contactor.  Have the contactor switch current to the heater (preferably both legs).

On the 24V transformer, you define the two terminals as R and C.  The ideal color for C is blue, so get a multi-color pack of electrical tape to make this clear to yourself and the next guy.  R is ideally red.

On the contactor coil, one terminal is C and the other one is W (ideally white).

On the cable to the thermostat, those are R and W.  Don't use the ground wire.

So now you just connect them up: R to R, W to W etc. You'll need a jumper wire from thermostat C to contactor C.

At this point, it should work with the old thermostat, because the old thermostat is dumb, and doesn't care if it's switching 12A@240V or 0.05A@24V.

Now you can change it to a "smart thermostat" of the 24V persuasion, which is a huge variety including the Nest. I recommend one that is capable of functioning without a C-wire.  If the contactor doesn't flow enough current for that to work, the factory can instruct you how to connect a special resistor module in the heater between W and C.


Water pressure needle broken? The needle on my water pressure has moved beyond the maximum measure, and I haven't checked it in several weeks. Does this mean it is broken, or do I need to let some pressure escape?

The inbound mains supply is not of a particularly high pressure given that I live in a remote area.

"Let some pressure escape" would be happening every time you open a tap downstream of your pressure limiting device (regulator), if there is one on the system. That pressure reading (which is quite high, by the way) means one of the following:

your pressure limiting device (regulator) has failed and your mains pressure is currently quite high
the pressure gauge has failed
your pressure limiting device (regulator) has failed and there was a period of time that your mains pressure was high, but downstream pressure has not yet been relieved.


Can you run earth ground thru conduit into home? I have a detached garage that I am running coax and cat6 to. Running pvc conduit underground from house to garage. My question is when the conduit comes up out of the ground and into a 1 gang pvc box before continuing upwards to penetrate into a/v enclosure.

Can i use 2nd open inlet on the bottom of the 1 gang box for earth ground to connect to coax ground block inside the 1 gang box. And then the ground continue up and into the garge a/v box to ground the box inside?

All A/V equipment should be grounded at the main disconnect via a intersystem bonding terminal block attached usually to the grounding electrode wire right below the main disconnect.

Unless your detached garage has it's own main disconnect, which you'd know what to do by the above paragraph, then you are really only bonding the coax at that stage which is probably not hurting anything unless the detached garage is not grounded/bonded properly itself.

Intersystem Bonding Terminal


GFI Outlet Tripping (A/C and Extension Cord) Looking for any insight on my situation:
I have an A/C unit that is rated 15A, 1240W, 115V. Since all of the bedroom and living room outlets in my apartment are all on the same 15A breaker, I decided to run a heavy duty extension cord to plug this A/C unit into one of the few outlets that is on its own breaker. It's a GFI outlet in the kitchen and the breaker is rated at 20A. In order to reach the kitchen from the bedroom where the A/C unit is, I ran a 10-gauge, 30A, 50-foot extension cord.
After the A/C unit runs for about thirty seconds, the GFI on the outlet trips and the unit shuts off. I did some research before purchasing the extension cord and felt confident that it was a high enough gauge to not cause an electrical hazard; I also figured the 20A breaker would be sufficient since the A/C unit rated at 15A. However, I never considered the GFI on the outlet. Is the outlet possibly faulty or 'extra sensitive', thus the break after I turn the unit on?
Any help would be much appreciated!

AC units and GFCI’s don’t always plat well together. I would bet you could plug this directly ac directly into the GFCI and about the same cycle would occur.
This happens all the time with Refrigerators and freezers , just search the site for proof. The GFCI receptacle should be unaffected by a 50’ extension cord of that large gauge. not much difference than using the load terminals on a GFCI circuit.
The manufacturer says not to use extension cords to limit their liability but 1200w would work fine on a 14 awg cord.
Why is the GFCI tripping out after a few seconds?
The electronics first turn on then the fans then the compressor itself.
The compressor is likely causing enough of a phase shift at startup to trip the GFCI.
The reason is motors are inductive devices and when they first start their ac resistance is near zero as the high current incoming is almost pure inductive there is a 90 degree phase shift in voltage and current. Most use a capacitor to cancel the shift and provide true power for starting. This phase shift is seen on inductive devices and most likely the cause for the tripping.
You can prove it’s the AC and not the cord by plugging directly in to the outlet.
There are many such questions on this site.
The phantom voltages mentioned by others has voltage but no current it takes current at 5ma to trip a GFCI. The instantaneous load of a 1200w system will be close 4000w and the large phase shift due to inductance causes problems.


Laminate Flooring fixes Within the last year I remodeled my house and a contractor put in some new laminate flooring. It was great because it was very dense, heavy quality stuff that didnt scratch at all. We really like it.

We decided on laminate instead of tile or wood because of the cost and the durability. We are living here now but when we move we will turn it into a rent house so didnt want to invest a whole lot of money into the floors.

The only downside that I've experienced is that when dropping items sometimes the floor cracks or chips. Honestly I think I've just been very unlucky recently as I never dropped anything on the old laminate floors I had before the remodel but since we remodeled I've created four chips/cracks from dropping things.

So the question is what are the best fixes / methods to fix small cracks or chips? I know I can just replace the board as I have 2+ boxes of extra boards but would rather just patch it up instead of having to go through pulling a bunch of boards up to replace.

Picture of the biggest chip attached.

Years ago there was a product for wood working that was like a stick of plastic that you melted into gouges.  It had multiple colors and if it is still available you could probably find it at a woodworking site.


Do you need to service air conditioning units? We recently had an air conditioning unit repaired.  When had done the job, the guy asked when the last time was that we had our units serviced, and looked shocked when we said we never service them; all we do is clean out the dust filters.  He says we should service them at least once a year, otherwise parts are liable to get damaged. Of course, the fee is no small amount; it's a significant percentage of the cost of the unit itself, and we have 8 units in the house.

We've had our units for several years, and none of them have ever been serviced, nor have they ever broken down for lack of servicing.  Have we just been lucky, or is there no real need to service these things?

Annual maintenance is recommended by the manufacturers, and installers of the systems. The majority of the maintenance time, will be spent on cleaning the unit.  Keeping the unit clean will help keep it running more efficiently, and can increase the life of the unit.

The technician will inspect the unit to insure it's still in good condition, and will look for parts that may be near the end of their life.  Replacing parts before they fail, can save you the headache of replacing them when they fail (which will surely be on the hottest day of the year). Replacing part before they fail, can also help prevent damage to other parts of the unit.

Depending on which company does the service, they may actually measure the amount of cooling the system is providing. They may also check for refrigerant leaks in the system, but likely only if the refrigerant level is low. If you have any questions or concerns, they'll likely address those at this time.

While these units can run trouble free for many years without maintenance. Keeping them clean and in good repair, can save you money and reduce the chances of a failure. Of course you can do some of the work yourself, but often it's easier to pay somebody else to do it.


How can I lighten plywood to a finish that resembles pine? I need ideas for making some plywood attractive. Ideally I want to lighten it and then varnish it, so it ends up with a pine finish. Is this possible? Alternatively I might stain it with a diluted white paint before varnishing. Is this a good idea? I want to avoid a plain color: leave some visible grain if possible.

Edit: a hardware store suggested I try applying some bleach. I will try that on an offcut and report back

I would use Oxalic acid (in deck "brightners") before using bleach. Bleach not only breaks down color, but accelerates wood deterioration.

Be sure to neutralize as directed; with borax diluted in water or bicarbonate of soda in water.


How can I take out dog diarrhea stain from unfinished pine floor? My fog had an accident a few days ago on the unfinished pine floor we have in the living room. After cleaning it wish basic cleaning products it left quite a stain.
I would appreciate any kind of help into what products I should use and buy as soon as possible to restore the wood at least close to its original state!
Thank you!

Unfinished wood is tough because the nasties in the diarrhea have soaked into the wood fibers. to get the stain out you might end up bleaching the wood. I would try a weak hydrogen peroxide and water solution. Peroxide may take some of the color out but I think it would be less harmful than bleach and water. The products that take pet stains out of carpet probably won't work in this case. Another possibility is a real steam cleaner, my wife has a lady bug steam cleaner and it is amazing how well it works, a steam iron with a damp towel may work similarly. I think any stronger cleaners like trisodium phosphate will also bleach the coloring, since the floor was unfinished the stain might be fairly deep so I would try hydrogen peroxide 3% to water or steam cleaning prior to anything stronger.


Height of gang boxes for entertainment center Wall mounted televisions are supposed to be at a comfortable viewing height when sitting down, according to most television and wall mount manufacturers (standard -- 42"). Now I'm working on new construction and the electrical contractors installed wiring boxes 5' off the floor. It's ugly as hell, and mounted visibly ABOVE the 55" flat screen.
My question: Why would they mount boxes 5' off the floor when they should be only 3' or 4' off the floor? Is there an NEC code that justifies this or is it some convention?
NOTE: Realizing wall-mounted TVs are set at different heights, especially in bedrooms, a higher height could make sense, but 4' mounts would cover all bases better, I think, so it's still confusing.

The height location of your entertainment system power outlets is not regulated by code with the exception if they are above 5-1/2’ they do not count to the required receptacles in the room. If you want them located in some fancy base board molding they can be there up to 5-1/2’ or height in between. If higher additional receptacles may be needed depending on the others in the room.


How do I clean oil stains in yellow marble? How to clean oil stains from yellow (its natural color) marble?

Marble can be easily stains because of its porous nature.
Try covering the area with corn starch for about 24 hours. It will absorb any excess oil. Then, wash the area with more hot water and detergent. If you still see the stain, dampen a paper towel with acetone. Leave the dampened paper towel on the stain for about an hour, and rinse with water. Repeat this process untill the stain is completely removed.


Skim coating over cigarette stained walls We are moving into a house with yellow stained walls from the smoker who lived there for 40+ years.
On top of that, every single wall is textured.
We already plan on skim coating to cover the texture.
Should we use kilz or zinnser prior to doing the skim coat Or will the skim coat cover the stains/odor?

Should we use kilz or zinnser prior to doing the skim coat Or will the
skim coat cover the stains/odor?

You want to seal the stains first and then skim.
In my experience cigarette stains will bleed through most primers and paints.
The most effective way to seal them is to use a shellac  based primer
I would give it at least two coats of the shellac primer. (Maybe three)  It is very thin but when it dries it will create a good seal.
Once your have sealed the walls you can proceed with skimming. Use a good primer on your skim coats and then paint.
AS Harper states it may be worth it to pull the old dry wall off and put up fresh. Skimming it will be as much if not more work then replacing.


What are the proper steps needed to install a grounding rod? We had an electrician friend upgrade our service panel and install grounding rods. I've read that you have to drive the rod flush to or below ground. Please see these pictures. Is this okay? Do I need to be concerned?

The conduit has copper on the inside and there is bare copper at the connection point of the grounding rod.

Also, do I need to find the water meter so that I put a jumper across it?

The rod must be at least 8 feet in the ground, and should be below or flush with the ground level.  If the electrode is above the ground, it has to be protected from physical damage.
So if the rod is 8 feet in the ground, you'll simply have to protect the aboveground portion from physical damage.

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
Article 250 Grounding and Bonding
250.53 Grounding Electrode System Installation.
(G) Rod and Pipe Elecgtrodes. The electrode shall be installed such that at least 2.44 m (8 ft) of length is in contact with the soil. It shall be driven to a depth of not less than 2.44 m (8 ft)... The upper end of the electrode shall be flush with or below ground level unless the aboveground end and the grounding electrode conductor attachment are protected against physical damage as specified in 250.10.
250.10 Protection of Ground Clamps and Fittings. Ground clamps or other fittings exposed to physical damage shall be enclosed in metal, wood, or equivalent protective covering.


Aprilaire 700 install no outlet for 120vac hookup? I purchased an Aprilaire 700 to install soon. I have been looking over the documents and it has an automatic setting with a sensor that goes outside and a digital control, so it will need continuous power.  It has a plug to plug into a wall outlet, but I don't have an outlet convenient to plug into. They would require an extension cord which id rather not do. Can i some how tap into the power from the furnace?

I have a brand new construction home that I moved in this past April, it has a Lennox furnace, which gets its power from the box that the overhead ceiling light is connected to. There is also a switch connected to the box to cut the power to the furnace, but a separate switch to turn on and off the basement lights. There is also a transformer connected to it that either the doorbell connects to or the thermostat wire connects to.

Any information would be appreciated.

Pictures:

I will be putting on the right side here in the picture, as that's really the only place with room to do it on the supply. I don't want to do it on the return:

light box with current transformer:

Model:

Electrical supply to furnace:

Front of unit:

Inside unit:

https://imageshack.com/i/pnB6Dbdwj

https://imageshack.com/i/pndefoeFj

https://imageshack.com/i/poNj8Q1ej

Edit, inside light box:
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/4453/p7sCdk.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/1553/06sSY7.jpg

second update inside light box:
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/6752/T8RPYD.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/5521/5hKYYU.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5690/hC5ABS.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/1246/TxVeJD.jpg

Alright -- while that box looks pretty stuffed, best I can tell, it has enough room for a couple more wires (being a big ol' 4-square with a mudring to boot).  If you can get an EMT conduit run from where that box is to where you're sticking your humidifier (half-inch'll do quite nicely as all you're shoving through it are 2 14AWGs) and some black (or some other color than white, grey, or green) and white 14AWG THHN run through it, you're 90% of the way there.

From there, just get a self-grounding, single, 15A receptacle (not a duplex receptacle) and whack it in a surface mounted single gang "handy box" attached to the wall -- black to brass, white to silver, and let the EMT be your ground.  In the ceiling box, with the power off of course, cut the orange wire in two, strip the ends, pull some slack out on the orange wires, connect your new black to the cut ends  of the orange wires, and connect the new white in with the big bundle of white wires. Once everything's hooked up, flip the power back on, and you're good to go.

This arrangement is allowed by 422.12 Exception 1:

  422.12 Central Heating Equipment. Central heating
  equipment other than fixed electric space-heating equipment shall be supplied by an individual branch circuit.

  Exception No. 1: Auxiliary equipment, such as a pump,
  valve, humidifier, or electrostatic air cleaner directly associated with the heating equipment, shall be permitted to be
  connected to the same branch circuit.

  Exception No.2: Permanently connected air-conditioning
  equipment shall be permitted to be connected to the same
  branch circuit.


Pool pump wiring - 115v motor okay with L5-20 125V 20A Receptacle? I have a pool pump that I recently bought used to replace a failing pump. The motor is rated for either 115v or 230v (low/hi switch) operation.

My previous pump was wired with a 12 gauge line to a L5-20 125V 20A receptacle.
So, I replaced the standard 110v three prong line on the new pump with the 12 gauge line.

Will having the 125v wired into the 115v pump leads cause a problem with the motor?
Meaning, is that additional 10v going to burn out the motor?

L5-20 plug:

1) American house-current power is commonly described as anything from 110VAC to 120VAC.(Similarly, the higher voltage obtained by using both phases is called everything from 220VAC to 240VAC.) I believe this is mostly a historical artifact, and appliances labelled for anything in the respective range should work with any voltage within that range.

2) Fittings are overdesigned slightly for safety. So a receptacle intended for use with American house-current power will typically be rated for 125VAC. That doesn't mean it necessarily supplies 125VAC, only that it's tested and promised to be safe up to that (higher-than-needed) voltage.


How to find "doorskin"? Regarding this question: What exactly is doorskin?

Mine is not a duplicate because the one above does not fully answer my question, exactly how can I find this product or something similar?

I'm trying to make templates for countertops and all online references mention using strips of doorskin.  They even go so far to say that it can be found at any hardware store or home center.  I live near Chicago and cannot locate anything called "doorskin" at Ace, Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards.  They also do not sell any plywood thinner than ¼".  Nor ⅛" luan, nor single-ply plywood, or anything else like that.  One answer mentions Lowes, but I cannot find anything called "doorskin" at Lowes online or in their stores.

I found 5 mm thick hardboard in 4x8 sheets at Home Depot, but that is far too hard/dense and way too thick.  The whole point of doorskin for countertop templates is that it's cheap and thin; cheap enough to throw away when done and thin enough to cut with heavy scissors or utility knife.

If the experts are correct and this product can be obtained from a chain home center, then why is this not listed online as a SKU on any of their websites?

I'm looking for help with how I can find "doorskin", or a suggestion for a reasonably priced substitute (not cardboard since it would be too flimsy for accuracy).

EDIT:  Not necessarily looking for shopping advice, but advice that will help me locate this product.

What else might this be called?  So far, keywords such as "doorskin" or "⅛ luan" have yielded nothing productive.  (Google search results for "doorskin" are cluttered with car doors!)  Does a brand name come to mind for this?
What kind of material could be used in place of this to make a suitable counter-top template?

EDIT:

This will do.  Cheap and in stock locally at Menards.

¼" x 4' x 8' Sanded Utility Plywood
(Actual Size .185" x 48" x 95-7/8")
Menards® SKU: 1252006

⅛" would have been even better, but it's special order.

I'm surprised that you can't find 1/8" plywood (luan), but have you asked about Thermo-ply? It's a thick waxed cardboard, supposedly for sheathing (ha!) but suitable for your application.

Ramboard (somewhat thick cardboard, sold on the roll) would be suitable if you used entire sheets (as opposed to strips). The factory edge on this is handy for straight lines.

Also possible (but a pain to cut into strips) would be countertop laminate material... a good lumberyard would probably have some old/kicked around product for cheap. (But then, if you had a good lumberyard, you'd already have some 1/8 luan...)


Roof mount a schedule 40 PVC pipe, looking for angled/adjustable roof flange I bought a telescoping flag pole kit from Harbor Freight and am using it for a small anemometer.  The kit comes with a piece of schedule 40 PVC pipe that the pole slides into.  I'd like to mount this on my roof, re-using some supports from an old satellite dish.  I plan to angle cut the pipe to the roof angle but also need some sort of flange that the pipe will actually sit in, then I'll clamp it down to the satellite mounts.  Most roof mount flanges I find are pretty piddly and only meant for exhaust ductwork and such.  Can someone recommend a flange for roof mounting stuff that's pretty heavy duty?
edit:
Photo of the current satellite mount.  My idea is for the schedule 40 PVC to go right alongside the main satellite mount, attaching to the roof, and then I'll attach the top of the PVC to the top of the satellite mount so it's attached in two places.

I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out the terms. It seems that when you write "roof mount flange .. meant for exhaust ductwork" you might be referring to a roof flashing like this: (image from oatey.com)

Those flashings aren't intended to support a pipe at all; they merely keep water out of the roof. I don't think they'd be of any use for mounting your pipe.
When you write of "supports from an old satellite dish" I think of an antenna mount like this one made by Laird: (image from streakwave.com)

I can see the foot of that mount working well to anchor the bottom of your mast. I use those alone for mounting small (14 inch diameter) antennas, but for your taller mast, a brace like this one used for satellite dish mounts might be useful: (image from summitsource.com)


Is it a bad idea to temporarily caulk a toilet base leak? We've discovered that our toilet is leaking at the base (related question: How can I repair a toilet that is leaking at the base?) and needs repair. However, whoever installed the toilet originally decided to concrete it down to the floor, so a DIY repair isn't that simple.

We've decided to use it as an excuse to get the whole bathroom refitted. But obviously this'll take time (several months). We need to use the toilet in the mean time, so how bad an idea is it to caulk around the base to stop the dirty water dribbling out onto the floor until we can get the whole thing replaced?

It's on the ground floor, if that makes any difference.

It is a very bad idea to caulk around the base of a toilet.

It is an even worse idea to caulk around the base of a toilet with a known seal leak.

Do not wait, pull the toilet up and replace the seal and make whatever necessary repairs as soon as possible. You don't know where that nasty waste water will end up if you seal it in.


How to remove this broken latch and handles? I am trying to remove this door handle and latch, but I cannot figure out how to. I have removed all the screws, and I think the thing still holding it in place is the lock.

The lock appears to have one side that should screw off, but it doesn't budge. There is little purchase on the lock "screw", though I managed to get some with a 50 pence piece and some pliers - the 50p broke.

What now?

It is definitely the privacy lock that's holding it in place, there's a metal rod that connects the outside, flat head part to the inside knob. If you don't want to re-use the fixture then just saw through it using a hacksaw, dremel or angle grinder (be careful to protect the door from the sparks. If you do want to keep the fixture then you've got to get the screw out using penetrating fluid and a lot of elbow grease. I'd try getting a screwdriver in there and then pounding on it with a hammer to loosen it up and make my own flat head groove, however by the time you're done you may damage it so much you need to replace it anyway.


How do I equalize the oscillating cold and hot water pressure in shower? Background

Hi there. Newbie here from South Africa.
A couple of years back we moved into our first home. We have this problem where the water in our shower keeps oscillating between too hot and too cold.
Adjusting the water requires very slight adjustments on the taps to correct. The correction is delayed and overshooting is common. The hot water tap needs to be opened up a lot and the cold water tap only needs slight cranking.
The geyser is a low pressure keyser with a pressure regulating valve (Latco Valve) on the input of the geyser only.
The cold water is feed directly from the water main line.

Question:

What can I do to fix this oscillation?

What I have tried:

From Google I have seen a drawing where the "Latco" low pressure regulating valve is installed before the geyser input AND before the cold water that goes to the showers and rest of the systems in the house.
I am however not sure if this is a good or correct way to install the pressure regulating valve.  All the previous installations I have seen the valve was only installed on the geyser input.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

Stating the obvious -

Your issue is that there's a significant difference in pressures of the hot and cold supplies to the shower. This means that the 'sensitivity' of the two valves i.e. the change in flow for a given angle of opening is different, so that makes it difficult to control.

Using a monoblock mixer instead of separate taps in this situation doesn't help much - you end up with the control almost all the way to the 'hot' end and it's still very sensitive.

Options -

Take the cold supply from the same supply as the supply to the geyser - this is the solution you found by search. This does work.
Add a second pressure regulator to the cold supply so that it holds it down to the same pressure as the one feeding the geyser.
Thermostatic mixers have a bimetallic element built into the valve that automatically shifts the valve to keep the outlet temperature constant. The control then sets the desired temperature, not the mix directly. I've found that these are also a bit slow to respond to changes in pressure, say from someone flushing a toilet, though they will still have better control over temperature than a regular mixer in this situation.
Pressure balance mixers have a spool valve (there are other kinds, but this is the type I've used) which can move to partially block off either supply to the mixer if the pressure falls on the other supply. There's then a regular mixer valve as part of the same valve body. I've found that these work very well - it's the pressure that can change rapidly, not the temperature of the water, and in your case would serve to equalize the supply pressures.

And finally, my solution, since I live alone and there's no-one else to complain about it... I set the thermostat on the water heater so that it's comfortable for the shower with no addition of cold water. It's still hot enough for the washing machine - I set that to 'hot wash' where I'd normally use 'warm wash'. Dishwasher has its own heater. The downside on systems that have a hot water tank is that the amount of heat stored in the tank is less, you use more of the contents of the tank per shower, so it'll run out sooner if multiple showers are taken in succession. The upside is that less heat is lost while there's no usage.


Can i use 1 ground wire to ground 2 outlets? (Before I start, I am not worried about the NEC.) I have 2 outlets in my room. 1 of them has a ground wire that is run along the baseboard through the wall and down the side of my house to the basement connected to a copper pipe. I want to connect the other outlets ground to the same wire, Can i do that? Should i run my ground wire back to the Breaker panel and make it complete or is a copper pipe good enough?

If the water pipe is used as a grounding electrode for the electric service, AND the point to which you're attaching the ground wire is electrically continuous back to where the grounding electrode conductor attaches to the pipe, AND the grounding electrode conductor between the pipe and the service is properly sized.

Then yes, you can attach a properly sized grounding conductor to the water pipe. That grounding conductor can then be used as the grounding conductor for multiple outlets.

This is exactly what Harper said in their answer, on your other question. See NEC 250.130(C)(1).


Can I use a single wire and run two jumpers to two gcfi outlets and on the other side run two wires off the single wire to two gcfi circuit breakers? Situation: Have a jetted bathtub that requires 2 15A gfci outlets each to its own breaker. Problem only have one wire running into tub area (would have to tear up.newly installed floor to run another. Is it possible to use that single wire and connect two wires and run to the outlets and connect two wires to the other end of the wire (wire is approx 8 ft) and run those to the breaker box and attach to two gcfi breakers

NO WAY!!!!
If I understand you correctly, you want to run 2 15A circuits over one cable. You can't do that. (There are certain exceptions involving a 3-wire cable, but I assume you are describing an ordinary 2-wire (plus ground) cable.) Depending on how you wire up those two circuits, you would either end up overloading the wires (30A on wires designed for 15A) or just outright zapping everything by ending up with 240V when you want 120V.
Following up a bit more based on comments:
Assuming that each device specified by the manufacturer only actually uses 7.5A, that would be too much for a single 15A circuit (therefore requiring two separate circuits) but small enough (15A is less than the 16A continuous limit for a 20A circuit) to fit on a 20A circuit, and therefore on 12 AWG wire.
However, aside from being a violation of the manufacturer's instructions, which is a big no-no on permanently wired devices, there is a potentially fatal flaw:
If you slam two circuits into one, you have no way to control which circuit actually carries the load! It might go 50/50 (as planned) but it might not. In addition, if one of those wires comes out, you now have all 15A of load going over a single circuit. While technically OK in the short-term, that is exactly what the manufacturer is trying to avoid by having you use two circuits in the first place. In addition, if there are any startup loads then there could be real honest-to-goodness overloads involved as well.
But wait, there's more! This will probably not actually work anyway because not only do you want to nominally split the circuits 50/50 for load purposes, you must split the loads consistently on hot and neutral. That just ain't gonna happen. Which means you may end up with frequent GFCI trips. Which inevitably leads to "who needs this GFCI stuff anyway". Which leads to taking out the GFCI and replacing with regular breakers "just for a little while to test things". Which of course becomes permanent. Which results in serious (possibly fatal) problems when there actually is a ground fault in a bathtub.
NO @#()$@&#$)!@@# WAY!


Prepping sill for new granite steps I am having granite steps installed. The platform will be 7" from the threshold but currently there is a 10" board sill/kickplate (white) with OSB behind it.
I think the proper way is to remove both boards and replace with composite. I am slightly hesitant to do that simply because the kickplate appears to be supporting the metal base of the door and I want to keep things simple for now. Is that just a silly thing to be hesitant about?
Would it be unwise to take a circular saw to cut some of the two existing boards off so that the new steps would fit under them against the foundation and deal with the now shortened kick plate later? This is assuming the concrete is at that height. If it isn't, I would put a composite board against the  foundation for the steps to rest on. Any advice is appreciated.

The metal threshold will support itself over that span with no issue. You won't want to leave it without the boards under it for the long term, though, as it will bend under the weight of people stepping on the unsupported metal, but for the short term of the construction project (where it's getting little to no use and you can remember to not step on it) it will be just fine.
Also, I highly doubt you'll need a saw to remove that wood there, just the careful application of a pry bar. Those pieces should be nailed to the wall and there shouldn't be any attachment to the threshold or the ends of the siding.
Also, check with your contractor - what does he expect to find when she gets there to do the actual install?

Will he butt the granite directly against the foundation?

Then don't put anything in their way.

Will she install a joint expansion strip?

Is this something you could do for them?

Is there anything else you can do to make their job easier, or do they want you to stay away so they don't have to correct anything that's not to their spec (and a potential cause for disagreement later if something goes wrong).

You will definitely want to replace the trim after the steps are installed. This way you can ensure that you have a nice tight fit under the door and to the top of the step. If you install it before hand, it might be in the way or even get damaged during the installation.
Composite/PVC trim would be an appropriate material to use here when you do replace that trim material. You'll probably need 2 layers to bring it back out from the outside wall of the house to be flush with the bottom of the threshold.

Be sure to caulk the ends of the trim pieces (both of them) where they butt up against the siding to ensure water can't leak behind.

Be sure to apply a thick bead of caulk to the top of the trim where it meets up with the bottom of the threshold.

To get the boards slipped between the step and threshold while not wiping all the caulk off, cut a bit of a bevel on the bottom of the trim board so it can go in at a slight angle, top first, then be pushed nice & tight against the wall, the step and the threshold.

Attach each board individually to the wall, just be sure to offset the screws to that you don't run the outer board's screws into the ones beneath.

Ask the contractor what kind of sealant they recommend between the bottom of the trim and the top of the step (if any).

Not putting a sealant here might be preferred as it allows a path for water to escape if it should happen to get behind the trim. Again, ask them.

You can get screws (with a driver bit) specifically for PVC trim. The ones I got included a driver with a depth stop and a set of plugs to cover the screw heads. They're essentially invisible once the plugs are in place. Worth the extra few bucks in my opinion.

I don't think nails are really recommended for PVC trim - it's too easy to over drive them and the hammer will dent the material if you miss.


Removing Dimmer Switch, 3 wires I want to remove a dimmer switch and cap off the wires. This switch will no longer be used - my question - I have two black hot wires and a red wire.  I believe the black wires will be capped together but what about the red wire? In this instance the white wires are capped off and in the background. This room has two switches thus the irregular configuration. To be more clear - I am putting a flat plate over the box because we are moving a large cabinet in that spot - so I just want to cap off the wires correctly.

Identify which two wires are the messengers and which is the common.

You would rely on markings on the old dimmer switch for that.

You can also look in the back of the box to see how the wires group in conduit or cable: if two are in one cable and the third is not, the two together are the messengers.

Join one messenger and the common.

If the other switch(es) now turn on in a position you don't like, use the other messenger.

Cap off the unused messenger.

It will be hot whenever the light is off!!!


Changing fluorescent tube: how many degrees to turn? I have a broken fluorescent tube (housing is intact, but it flickers instead of lighting up properly) that I have to change (bottommost type in the image).

I can turn it about 20 degrees, but it does not come off easily. Is there a rule (of thumb) on how many degrees one has to rotate such lamps? In other words: do I have to rotate further or apply more downwards force to remove the lamp from the brackets? I don't want to break the glass...

The bottom two are bi-pin fluorescent tubes. There are two types of bi-pin socket you will encounter on straight tube T5, T8 and T12 fluorescent lights.

This type requires 90 degree rotation.

Removal can be a real pain the first time you do it as the pins can weld to the brass contacts and you will end up breaking the socket if you get rough with them. I use silicone spray with a straw to shoot some into the socket when I encounter one that's semi-spotwelded itself in. It's non-conductive and prevents future issues. Rotate the tube 90 degrees so they align with the slot and pull out. Also, if the tube is too long to allow it to drop out of the fixture opening, there often will be a slot in one end to drop the pins into so the other end will clear the opening.

Align the pins vertical, insert the tube until it stops and rotate until you feel both pins click in place, it is possible to have only one set engage in the indent in the brass contacts that are visible.

This type pushes straight into the socket and removal is straightforward.

The top two tubes in that picture are compact fluorescent and pull straight out of the socket.


Wood posts: install on concrete slab OR dig hole and bury them? I am putting a shade sail up over a concrete slab that buts up against the back of the house. I am going to attach the sail cloth to the house (brick), and then put up 2 posts for the anchor points away from the house. I'm wondering if I can just put up 4X4 posts and anchor them to the concrete slab, or whether I need to install the posts by digging the holes just beyond the slab and bury them in concrete? Can the posts being mounted on top of the slab hold up to the tension or is it safer to go with the dig post holes and bury them?
Thanks for your help!

1: Can the posts being mounted on top of the slab hold up to the tension ?

  Since you are only talking about placing the 4 x 4's above the slab
  with no other means of support other than the mounting to the slab -
  your shade sail will eventually fall if not right away.

2: Is it safer to go with the dig post holes and bury them?

  Digging your post holes into the ground and bury the poles will work
  you should dig at least 1 to 2 feet.

Additional Suggestion and Info:

Given you might be using wood, I will make a suggestion wood has many flaws in the outdoors under the sun - if you are in Florida you will notice how rapidly a pretty wood fence turns into an ugly repair project. I will suggest engineered plastic 4 x 4's not only can you bury the 4 x 4 in the ground, but also pour concrete down the hollow center giving you a very stable post. The plastic engineered 4 x 4 will last in the wind, the heat, the humidity and the rain.

How do I know ?

I have made a single pane privacy fence for a home in Florida. The posts have endured 3 Hurricanes and 19 years of grueling summer heat and high humidity. The posts still look good - almost like new and are holding just fine!


Sealing foundation blocks and gap between drywall I am trying to paint my garage and noticed that there are gaps where drywall meets cinder blocks and between drywall and concrete slab in the garage. Is there a way I can seal and paint the cinder blocks to make it look uniform. Also it makes life easy by not holding on to dust and cob webs when the blocks are sealed, not to mention the ease of cleaning with water when needed.
Whenever I do some woodwork in the garage, its a challenge to clean the area, on top it the blocks appear to absorb water when washed with hose.

For the exact reason you touched upon you don't want to bring those two components together. The drywall will leach water from the concrete, breaking it down and creating stains.

Instead, finish each separately with appropriate paint and use a plastic T-molding or other transition to cover the seam. I'd consider using the epoxy that I see on your slab to do the block.


Sagging Floors and loose floorboards My house is about 118 years old and I can tell from all around the house that there seems to be a sagging on my floors in one specific area. This sagging is obvious in the first and second floor. Now I just want to make sure that this is normal and if it needs to be fixed who should i call and for what price.

The sagging goes down to about a max of 2 inches and the floorboard feel loose throughout the entire second floor because of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The short answer is call in a structural engineer to get a grasp of the problem and the scope of work necessary to fix it. I have a similar situation with a 170 year old home. The 1st floor foundation work was done by a licensed foundation company from the area. The 2nd floor sagging issues are being tackled by a licensed general contractor with a background in structural engineering. We contacted 5-6 companies for estimates on the repairs and got 6 different solutions. It's hard to compare quotes when the scope of work is different from quote to quote and we are not qualified to know which is the right solution. With a structural engineer on board, the engineer sets the scope of work and the companies bid on doing it exactly the way the engineer's report states. It's the only way to be sure the structural solution is the correct solution and compare quotes fairly.


Can a GFI receptacle die coincidentally at the same time as wall drilling? A little background:

I just moved into a rental house and a week later the property owner had a new wall-mounted AC/heating unit that required a bit of drilling through the wall installed. I opened the door for them, went to work, and came back about 5 hours later to make sure things were locked up. The electricity in about half the (small) house was dead (for about a week), and the breaker switch would not stay on. After talking to the electricians the HVAC company hired, we assumed that the guys had drilled through something.

Fast forward, electricity restored and the cooling system was working, but I had a really bad experience with them, so I left a bad review online. Later that day, I was met by the owner of the company at my house who bullied me into removing the review, claiming none of the bad things were their fault and that the electrical problems were coincidental - in the 5 hours I was gone while they were working on installing the units, a GFCI receptacle had apparently died through no fault of their own, though they generously replaced it on their dime.

Obviously this is possible, but I find it very unlikely. How long do GFCI receptacles normally last, and what are the possible ways these guys could have caused or triggered the electrical problems I experienced? I'm looking for explanations to help me understand what happened, or if I should take their word for it.

I agree that the question is a bit vague. I get the impression you're looking to either accept or absolve yourself of blame for the blowup with the HVAC company. My thoughts:

Sure, coincidences happen. You don't need us to tell you that. GFCI receptacles can last from zero to many days.

It's unlikely that the receptacle was damaged remotely without a heavy load on it, such as a refrigerator. Either a cable was shorted, and that resulted in damaging current through it to some load, or the receptacle itself was damaged. You'd know if the latter was the case, and without forensic analysis you can't know about the former. Of course, it's possible that there are factors you and I don't know about.

Finally, it's odd that you as a tenant got so involved. In the future, let your landowner handle it. Go get a pizza. :)


With a vapor barrier installed, how critical is slashing/destroying faced insulation underneath? After installing a vapor barrier, forgot to slash/destroy the faced batts of insulation within some wall cavities and/or ceiling areas.  Am I in "OMG deep doo-doo" for not slashing the batts, or should I hassle with removing any/all vapor barrier for destroying the faced insulation?

My guess, happens all the time with faced insulation installs, and try not to worry too much unless it's a violation of building codes and/or the environment is unique.  (eg. Most people would likely entirely forget and move on.)

Once the vapor barrier or plastic is installed/stapled over the faced insulation while forgetting to destroy/slash insulation facing underneath, three likely possibilities exist for destroying/slashing the insulation facing beneath the plastic or vapor barrier.

1) Possible to pull-up the vapor barrier at the top and bottom, only destroying the vapor barrier at the points of stapling.  After destroying/slashing the insulation facing, tape the vapor barrier using vapor barrier tape.

2) If only a few wall/ceiling cavities have faced insulation not destroyed/slashed, can slash through the tops and bottoms of the wall/ceiling cavity's vapor barrier AND insulation facing with a blade.  Then, further cross slash the insulation facing in the event the vapor barrier tape adheres to the insulation facing closing the cut.  Finish with taping the vapor barrier using vapor barrier tape.

TIP: Think ahead and make initial vertical slashes using the slashing method, and then the second slash destroying the insulation facing will then be good horizontal cut not adhere or closing after taping!

3) Completely forget about the slight oversight.  If all else fails, blame your hired worker (for whom you paid good money) for forgetting to remind you the proper methods.

TODO: Not sure if required to entirely slash/destroy the entire faced insulation, or if just the tops and bottoms are necessary.  Likely it is preferable to slash the entire facing.  Likely depends on your climate, and your unique scenario building requirements.

TIP: Can destroy the entire facing by pulling a blade using a carpet shapped blade underneath a (clear) vapor barrier, with a string attached to the blade tool.

For my task, option number two was needed, as the ceiling plastic significantly overlapped areas, and I only had forgotten to destroy the insulation facing on several wall cavities.


What temperatures can a heat gun raise a material up to? I found a Thule Motion XT cargo box that has a large dent and crack in it. I learned from a documentary manufacturing video on how Thule cargo boxes are made that they are essentially

  utility grade all-purpose acrylic. The acrylic pieces are heated in a massive rotary oven the...where the material is heated to roughly 340 degrees. After being heated in the oven the acrylic has gone from sturdy to pliable perfect for vacuum molding

I'm wondering if a standard heat gun could focus enough hot air into a corner of the cargo box to make it pliable enough to push out a dent with. It looks like 340 degrees is the target spec. Might be tough to achieve that with outdoor temperatures and a breeze I'd imagine. Anyone know what's possible with a heat gun for making plastic pliable again, specifically acrylic?

Worth sharing the following details on acrylic for others who may come across this

What are the Characteristics of Acrylic (PMMA)?

  Now that we know what it is used for, let’s examine some of the key properties of Acrylic. PMMA is classified as a “thermoplastic” (as opposed to “thermoset”), and the name has to do with the way the plastic responds to heat. Thermoplastic materials become liquid at their melting point (160 degrees Celsius in the case of Acrylic). A major useful attribute about thermoplastics is that they can be heated to their melting point, cooled, and reheated again without significant degradation.
  https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/injection-mold-3d-print-cnc-acrylic-plastic-pmma

YES a common "garage" type heat gun will heat up the material enough to reshape it. In fact, I know from experience that many household heat guns will heat up plastic enough to melt it, so be very careful.

You say the dent is "large" but with no detail. I would say you could, with a helper, probably un-dent a fairly large area by pusing/shaping while simultaneously heating. But I am sure there are limits so it would depend on your "large".

P.S.-There is no such thing as a "standard heat gun"; they come in all sorts of wattage/heat level configurations.


How do I attach hinges to a media console? I have an old media console with a door that used be attached via a sliding mechanism that I'd like to replace with hinges. I'd like for the door to open just like you'd open a cabinet.
I'm trying to think through which hinges to buy and where exactly to attach them to make sure everything is aligned.

I found some old Ikea cabinet hinges lying around, my guess is that I have a carve out a huge piece of the media console to install them, but perhaps I'm wrong. I don't mind at all buying new hinges for this project, but found these so figured I'd ask.

Many thanks for the tips / advice!

Provided the frame is thick enough to hold the hinges, the tool of choice is usually a Forstner bit:

You don't need a whole set - if you know exactly what you need, you can just get one size.
There are also plenty of hinges that simply use screws and don't require a big hole. Depending on the specifics, that may be better.


Cutting a Custom Threshold: Best Tool for the Job? I am in the process of creating a custom threshold to go from a tiled surface down to a carpeted surface. The tile is about an inch above the carpeted floor, so I decided to make a custom threshold in order to introduce a nice slope. This should help protect the exposed tile edge from too much stress and avoid a lot of stubbed toes, which were a problem with that transition even before the added height of the new tile.

To start, I glued together two 7'-long 1"x4" boards with a 1" offset. I want to cut along the length of these boards to create a nice angle for the transition. Here's an image of a very rough mock-up of the layout.

The problem comes with the longer cut on the boards. It's about a 4" deep cut and needs to be at approximately 30 degrees (from the base). I'm not sure which tool I should use for the cut. I think it's a bit too deep for most table saws and I'm not sure if that angle would be recommended on a band saw.

Does anyone have any advice on what tool would be best for this cut? Or, if there's a better way to smooth out a 7'-long, 1"-deep transition, I'd be open to trying something else. I'm willing to buy new machinery to pull this off, so almost any reasonable suggestion is fair game.

Yeah, that 4" would be a long cut.  It could be done in two passes, one from each side.  The middle area would have a bit of an overlap and maybe a blade mark, but that could be sanded down.  Plus you are probably going to finish it anyways.

What I would recommend though is changing the shape of your transition piece to make it easier to cut, and would also make it more pleasant to walk ok.  I posted a similar question regarding a transition from tile to hardwood.  Although your question is different, some of the answers there might help you out.  For example, take a look at the shape of this transition piece:

In your case, this would be 3 separate cuts instead of one long one.  Also the flat top surface will make it more pleasant to walk on vs. the angle (point) you have at the top of your example.


LED Bulbs into Pre-existing Light Fixtures Why will LED bulbs not work in candlabra light fixtures where incandescent was working fine immediately prior to putting in LED.  In some cases I can screw down until I'm afraid of breaking bulb and it will work.  In others, I screw 1/2 way in and can jiggle the bulb around and it will light when I hold it cocked to one side.

They do work.  What's stopping you is probably the paper insulator and/or candle sleeve is not pushed down enough to allow the bulb to make a solid connection.  They should be flush with the top of the socket.


What conductor and burial depth are appropriate for my garage subpanel circuit? We are building a 2-story detached garage. The upstairs will be my wife's studio. She is a painter and quilter. The lower level will be a standard garage for tools, etc. I do not plan to weld but who knows about the future.

I am thinking a 60 amp subpanel. The distance would be 70 feet or less from main panel to sub panel. I plan to run PVC pipe underground. What depth does that have to be in Kentucky? Also would using burial cable inside the PVC be added protection? Number of conductors and size? We will have a hotel type air conditioner heater that calls for 208V-230V

PVC is inexpensive conduit, which can be good, but it requires an expensive trench (whether or not you are in Kentucky) when running power.

More expensive Rigid or IMC steel conduit may let you have a less expensive trench, and also serves as the Grounding (not Grounded) conductor. You need 4 conductors for typical 120/240 USA/Canada service - Two Hots, one Grounded (Neutral), one Equipment Grounding Conductor (which can be the conduit for steel conduit. Otherwise, it's 4 actual wires.)

The minimum cover requirement (general) is 6" for Rigid or IMC, and 18" for NMC (that is, PVC or other non-metallic conduit.) That is from the surface to the closest part of the conduit (not the bottom of the trench, the top of the conduit.)

Depth can be reduced by adding concrete on top. Depth increases (generally) for running under driveways, though for "one or two family dwelling driveways used only for dweling related purposes" it remains at 18" for NMC (but it increases to 18" if using rigid or IMC.)

Using cable (rather than individual conductors) inside conduit is madness, generally speaking, as it's very hard to pull and greatly increases the size of conduit you need for the fill calculations. If you want to "add protection" use only schedule 80, no schedule 40, and carefully backfill with sand or finely screened material around the conduit rather than pushing dirt/rocks back on top of the conduit. Or contemplate concrete cover, and save on the trench depth.

Add a separate communications conduit (possibly empty at present, but so handy if you ever run network wire or fiber) while you have a trench open, and be sure to place "buried electric line below" tape in the top 6" of the trench.

As for wire size, it depends on what you would actually like to allow for - if only 60A service, 3 gauge aluminum would be adequate and far cheaper than copper - 2, 1, or 1/0 would allow more amperage if desired at some point in the future (or now, since it's cheaper in the long run to simply buy a bigger panel once, than to buy a smaller panel and replace it with a bigger panel later.) The amperage draw of your air conditioner may be a deciding factor, and you have not provided that information - if it uses potentially 30 amps and you want a typical "shop service" of 50-60 amps available without having to worry about whether the air conditioner is running, you might want to plan for 100 amps to be safe. If it's only 15 amps, that might not be as much of a concern, or you could go for 75 amps (but it's an odd size - a 100 amp panel may be cheaper, due to volume of sales.)

For the average home electrical worker, I think it's safest to run all the wire, then hire an electrician for a short stint actually making the aluminum connections - the newer alloys are not the scary stuff the old 10/12Ga aluminum was, but it's still a bit of a process connecting them properly, and experience in doing that is worth paying a pro to do, in my opinion. If not, read up carefully on the proper procedure and follow it, including joint goop, stainless steel brushes, and using a torque wrench on the connecting bolts.

2 inch schedule 80 provides plenty of room for 4 1/0 conductors. You can downsize the grounding conductor and possibly get down to an acceptable fill for 1-1/2", but it will be a miserable pull, so I'd stick with 2 inch and a comfortable pull. If going with 2 or 3 AWG, 1-1/4 inch would do, but 1-1/2 inch (or 2 inch) would be easier.  Your grounding conductor only needs to be 6 or 8 AWG aluminum for 100 or 60 amp service (i.e. 3x 1/0 and 1x 6AWG is perfectly acceptable for 100 amps.)


Will oil stains on my driveway ruin my driveway sealer? I just finished power washing my driveway after scrubbing it with Krud Kutter oil remover solvent. The stains are better, but they aren't all the way gone.

Will the presence of these stains prevent the driveway sealer from adhering? I've given a good 5-10 min scrub to each bad spot with a deck brush and Krud Kutter concentrate. Should I go until it's spotless? I just want the sealant to stick!

I sealed the drive about 7 weeks ago now and it seems that the work I did cleaning the oil spots was sufficient.

My unprofessional conclusion from this experience is that if a power washer AND solvent AND 20 minutes of scrubbing doesn't get it out, it's probably a permanent part of your driveway now.

I'm pretty sure that the asphalt beneath that stain is actually imbued with the chemicals that cause the discoloration. I cleaned off what I could and the sealant stuck just fine.


One of my 3 pin socket is not working I have a dual 3 pin plug socket which one of them is not working now. Previously, all I had to do was to kind of palm-slap onto the plug of my laptop a couple of times to get it working and sometimes would hear some small electrifying noises but as the time goes, the method gradually became useless.

What should I do now? Should I go get another dual 3 pin plug socket faceplate or there could be something else wrong with the whole electrical wiring system?

Thanks!

the "electric noises" is very likely arcing.

If the other one works normally then the fix is to replace the entire outlet (the face plate is just a cosmetic cover).


Wait how long after applying wood stain before urethane pass? I am wondering how long after applying the stain do I need to wait before applying urethane. The weather in my parts is a bit capricious, so I am keen to keep wood outside as little as possible.

The stain needs to be dry but also make sure the wood does not absorb moisture.
Normally wood for interior use needs to be kept indoors / under cover within temperature and humidity limits otherwise it can start to bend.


How to winterize window AC unit from inside? I have a bunch of AC units in my house that I can't remove during the summer. The windows are too high up for me to access from outside the house. What can I use to seal the window unit - including the "accordion" side pieces, to minimize how much cold air will get in?

You shouldn't need to remove them from the outside; these things are generally designed to be installed and removed from inside the house (perhaps with enough strong people helping).


What is that burning smell in transformer? When I plugged in a 250VA load to the left transformer. I can smell something burning and the case is super hot.

What causes the burning smell? What part of transformer can produce burning smell?

And does it mean the transformer is already ruined? If one would continue using it.. maybe it can fail suddenly or does the burning not produce permanent damage?

Both are rated 500VA.. but I think the small one that has smell is not a real 500VA capacity transformer. It is inside a voltage regulator. Maybe a voltage regulator especially boost buck type doesn't need a full capacity transformer because it's only adding or subtracting some voltage?

The burning smell is the insulation of the winding conductors burning and is generally indicative of irreparable damage. It may still function, for a while, but has been severely compromised. Further failure often results in flames...


Do we really need rain gutters? Every year I have to get on the roof and clean out debris, mostly pine needles from the gutters surrounding our roof.  I didn't go up on the highest 2nd floor roof for safety reasons, so those gutters never got cleaned for years.  Last winter, these gutters got so heavy from all the accumulated debris that the long gutter screws came out and I had to bring them down.

The 2nd floor roof has gutters on only one side now.  The missing gutter does not seem to be exposing that side of the house to more moisture.  The rain just comes down evenly over the sidewalk and garden below.  In fact, the roses are blooming from the constant moisture which we formerly had to apply by hand.

Do the gutters provide any protective function or are they only there to route moisture to a particular path?  Is there any risk that some of the moisture will get into the soffit and fascia and rot them over time?

You don't need gutters. However, you will want to move water away from the home, as well as reduce any damaging effects of the water dropping from the roof.
Reduce damage from water
When it rains, all the water that lands on the roof will be shed off the edge of the roof.  This can be quite a bit of water, even with a small roof. If the water falls on a roof or structure below, it will cause excessive wear. If the water falls on the ground (soil, grass, concrete, etc.), it will eventually cut a line into the ground.
To mitigate this, you could install a louvered style gutter, rather than the traditional trough style gutter. This type of system allow the water and debris to fall through the gutter, but breaks up the sheet of water into smaller less damaging droplets.
The down side is, you'll be putting large amounts of water near your foundation.
Move the water away
If you're not using trough style gutters to move water away from the foundation, you're going to have to use other methods to do so.  The easiest method, is to maintain a grade that slopes away from the home.
Depending on the amount of rain in your area, you might have to be a bit more aggressive than simply grading away. In these situations, a french drain (or other draining system) may be a wise choice.
So do you need trough style gutters? No. However, you do have to mitigate the damage caused by sheets of water shedding from the roof. You'll also have to  move all that water away from the home. If you can achieve these things without a trough gutter system, then there's no reason to have trough gutters.
NOTE: This is not an endorsement of RainHandler products, they were simply the first brand of louvered gutter I found while doing a Google search.


Why do some oil heaters ("red diesel") use also electricity and some not? I would like to install a small heater, for heating one room, that runs on heating oil, i.e. "red diesel".

After a brief look on what is available for sale, I noticed some of them require also an electrical connection, and use from 10W to 50W of electricity, and some others don't require any electricity.

For example the Webasto AirTop2000 diesel heater uses 14 to 29 W: http://www.webasto-outdoors.com/service/faq-knowledge-database.html#c163

Also the wikipedia article on "Heating oil" says:

  For efficient burning, the oil is drawn from the tank into a pump and
  pressurized (residential) to 1,034 kPa (150 psi) and forced through a
  filtered (specific to appliance) nozzle, into an atomized spray
  pattern. It is then ignited through the use of a step-up transformer,
  taking 120 or 240 V AC and stepping it up to 10,000 V AC.

which implies that generally oil-heaters use electricity, but then I see many oil heaters of this kind:

This does not have any electricity connection at all, so I am a bit confused. Can someone explain me what is the difference, and are there any significant benefits on using the types which use electricity?

In my application the only electricity that comes is also from a diesel generator, so I would like to avoid having the heater use any electricity, unless there is any significant benefit, like better efficiency which offsets the diesel used for generating the electricity it uses.

Also, what type of oil heaters can you recommend?
I would like to be able to burn different types of oil in it too, like diesel fuel from the petrol station, rapeseed cooking oil, kerosene, used engine oil, just anything similar - are there heaters which will burn all of that?

The Webasto-type heater uses a high-pressure electric pump to atomize the fuel, and an electrically-powered glow-spark plug to preheat it.

The burner your link points to is a gravity-fed burner (i.e. there is no electric pump). It exists in two variants:

1- yellow-flame type = a less efficient, but less complicated system.

2- blue-flame type = a more efficient, but more complex system. The blue-flame system works like the multifuel expedition stove: after a period of preheating, the pipe bringing the fuel to the fuel jet becomes very hot, so the fuel it is transporting vaporizes; the pressure of the gasified fuel rises, and the resulting high-pressure gas exits the burner jet and combusts with an efficient blue flame.

The latter system thus requires no electricity, but needs a brief preheat period to begin working. During this time the flame is yellow, and may produce some smoke.


How to attach ground wire for ceiling fixture, if mounting bracket does not have a green ground screw, and no ground wire coming from junction box? My ceiling metal junction box has 2 white wires(twisted together) and 1 black wire. No copper or ground wire inside that I can see?  The new fixture has a black, white and green/yellow ground wire.  The provided new metal mounting strap bracket does not have a green ground screw.
What can I attach the green/yellow ground wire from the fixture to??

Although 2 whites and a black would be unusual.
In the US code allows for a grounding conductor to be pulled from the service, or any point fed from that service panel.
2 wire fixtures did not have grounds for the first 75 years of electrical code so many fixtures were not grounded.
If fed by conduit and individual wires the box may be grounded through the conduit.


What's the height limit of a wood framed building? Using conventional light framing construction techniques, what is the maximum height of a wood framed building (in floors above grade)?

I'm looking for any limitations in current building code, and actual limits based on the strength of the building material.

There are probably various limitations per region and per type of code. It also depends on what we mean by 'conventional' framing.
For stick framing (platform) it appears the limit is 5 stories primarily due to fire code:

Source


Is this wall load bearing and if so what are options to eliminate? Trying to determine if wall between kitchen and family room can be removed.

Yes, the wall can be removed, but you have several issues: 1) transfer of vertical load from second floor, 2) transfer of load to posts and footings, 3) horizontal load transfer.

Because the wall was originally an exterior wall, it is considered a load bearing wall, whether it has floor joists resting on the wall or not. Removing the wall will require a new beam across the opening.

The new beam will need to be supported on each end with posts. The connection between the posts and beam will need to be correctly selected. In addition, the posts will need a connection to the floor with approximately sized connector. You are lucky that that wall was an exterior wall, so it has an existing footing. However, depending on the load from above, the footing may need to be reinforced.

Exterior walls act as horizontal shear walls (whether they’re encapsulated into interior walls or not.) Removing the wall decreases the horizontal resistance. If you live in a high wind area or seismic zone, this could be a problem.

This is a structural change and therefore requires a Building Permit with adequate plans and specifications. As others have said, I’d use an architect or structural engineer (not a civil engineer) to prepare the drawings. If you’re in a hurry, ask them when they’ll be done. This is a small job for them and could sit on someone’s desk for months before finishing it. Put this key phrase in the contract “Plans and specs suitable for a Building Permit completed by ???? “


ok to use led ceiling fan bulb in table lamp? Just want to be sure it is safe to use a 25w LED bulb marked as ceiling fan in a regular table lamp.

You can use the bulb in a normal table lamp so long as ...

Fitting:The fitting is the same (E.g. standard Edison screw in US)
Voltage: The bulb is marked the same voltage as your household standard voltage (120 V in US). The voltage is approximate, sometimes you will see 110 V - that's a small enough difference that it doesn't matter for our purposes.
Wattage: The bulb wattage (25W) does not exceed the rating marked on the lamp-holder (unlikely to be a problem for any lamp-holder designed for traditional  standard plain ordinary old inefficient incandescent tungsten filament light bulbs like your grandfather used.) Lamp-holders are often marked something like "Max 40W".
Cooling: There is room for air to flow around the bulb. LED bulbs can overheat in some types of small fully enclosed light fittings. This is unlikely to be a problem in any normal type of table lamp where the shade is open at top and bottom.

Nowadays  there are many different types of bulb. Some are designed for 12 V DC instead of 120 or 230 or 240 V AC. We can't see your ceiling fan so we can't be sure it isn't a weird one. That's why you should check markings on the bulb.

Footnotes:

Wattage is a guide to how much heat the bulb produces. It is no longer a useful guide to how much light the bulb produces. Sometimes the bulbs are marked with an "equivalent" wattage which you should be careful about understanding - it means "this bulb is roughly as bright as an old-fashioned incandescent tungsten filament bulb that produced this amount of heat". Ignore that and look for the real Wattage. Wattage is really a measure of heat-producing power.

Lumens tells you how much light the bulb produces.


What accessories, aside from faucets, fit into sink faucet holes? I'm going to replace an existing 3-hole faucet with a single hole faucet in my kitchen sink.  I plan on installing a soap dispenser into one of the other holes, but that will still leave me with one empty hole.  Aside from faucets what accessories are available that fit into faucet holes?

The most common I've seen.

Sprayer.
Soap/lotion dispenser.
Filtered water faucet.
A Plug to fill the unused hole.

Most single hole faucets come with an extra base piece that covers up the old unused holes.


How can I mount a desk on a wall with L-brackets? I'm currently planning a new wall-mounted computer desk and intend to use something similar to this as the top:

However, my end goal is for a wall-mounted desk, using L-Bracket mounts. I've never built a wall-mounted anything. So some of my questions are:

Using 2 x 10 dimensional lumber, I'm going to have a 27.75" deep desk. However, I can't seem to find an L-Bracket above 22". I feel that this is a huge overhang given the top isn't a solid sheet, but I'm not sure.
Is mounting the L-brackets at every other stud sufficient?
Do I need to run a support between the brackets (mounted 1 x 6 or equivalent)?

If anyone has a suggestion that I seem to be completely missing, I'm all ears :).

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the ends of each desk will not have a wall for support, so the entire weight will be supported by the L-brackets themselves. Overall I expect the length of the desk to be around 5' in each direction from the corner.

L Brackets are not going to be a good idea for this type of project. As a minumum you will need to have a triangle type bracket - if you can find something large enough. If you want to avoid any type of legs right at the front edge you could build your own equivalent of a triangle bracket out of wood.

If I was setting out to make a built in unit mounted onto a wall I would secure a wood piece along the wall to every stud at the table height minus the top thickness. Then I would use this horizontal strip as the rear side mount for the table top. Then I would install supports under the table from near the front edge and angle them down toward the bottom of the wall where they could be fastened into the wall stud and/or the floor.

At the end of the day I would really suggest that you step back and evaluate if it really necessary to fasten your table to the wall. Having it sit on its own supports makes for a huge bunch of flexibility. It can be moved, taken away when all computers of the future fit into a pocket and a computer desk is no longer needed, and lastly you can easily get it away if you ever want to sell the house.