Running a new kitchen light circuit from a receptacle with a "traveller." I'd like to power a set of three ceiling-mounted down-lights from an existing receptacle in a kitchen reno. A picture of the existing receptacle is attached. My confusion is it has a fourth wire (red), which I believe is called a traveller. I think it indicates this receptacle is part of a switched circuit, but I can find no such switch in my old house and according to my breaker box, this receptacle has a circuit all to itself.
Anyway, I just want to power this string of LEDs. Can I tap into this receptacle to get the power without disturbing the rest of the universe?  And how do I do it?
Sincere thanks!

Before you terminate and dead end the red wire in the box there a couple of things to consider. Since there are obviously two hots providing power to a split outlet (i.e. tab removed) it does NOT necessarily mean that half the outlet is switched. It could just be that two separate circuits supply power from two circuit breakers. The red wire may come from one breaker. It is a possibility that all of the kitchen outlets may have been split and two circuits provide good capacity to the kitchen.

On the other hand the black wire you have may already be daisy chained to other outlets and the red specifically routed to half of this outlet for a single point dedicated load.

Another thing to consider, from your comment that you are discontinuing this outlet completely, is that it is rare that you have too many outlets in a kitchen. Do not put yourself in a situation a few years from now wishing you still had that outlet.

Lastly if you do succumb to the drive to eliminate the outlet completely do be aware that you cannot cover up and how the now unused junction box. The cover has to be fairly accessible and not like walled over or hidden behind permanently installed fixtures.


how to level uneven plywood floor for tiling? I have an old house that's built on pillars and has shifted a little over time.  We are remodeling the kitchen and just ripped up many layers of creatively installed flooring.  We are down to the bottom layer of plywood and it dips on one side of the room (8"x 15" room) and then kind of comes back up.

We aren't sure how to tell how sloped it is or how much leveling is really necessary.  We have heard that if we don't level it the tiles will eventually crack so we want to prevent that.

We are planning on putting down backer board in between the plywood and the tiles, will that be enough support or is it important to do some sort of leveling first?  If we level with something like cement will we need another layer of plywood or can we put the backer board right on top?

Any advice appreciated, thanks so much!

You did hear correctly: the floor must be as flat as possible (and as rigid) in order to support the tile. You mentioned the floor being supported on posts. If there is enough head room  a better repair is to shim-up the low spot from below. Depending on how severe the floor depression is this may entail hammering some store bought shims under the joists or installing concrete footings so as to support new posts.

The quick easy solution is to outline the low-spot  of floor , mix-up a bag of self leveling floor mix, and trowel it into the depression feathering the edges.

It would also be a smart idea to check the other sections of floor that will get covered by tile for any squeaks, bounce or shifting. Nail or screw to secure them to joists.

When you are ready to begin installing the cement board it would be wise to embed the 3' x 5' x 1/2" cement boards in a thin slurry of thinset for complete support. Use cement board screws to affix them to the floor.


10' PVC Schedule 40 vs ABS sun sail support post. Life expectancy, wind and UV damage I'm setting some 6' T-posts deeper then usual ( down to like 4') for a simple fence project and i have a few spots where i want set up sun sail triangle from 10' high to 8' in about a 15' x 15' area.

I was thinking of just finding 3 regular  1 1/2 or 2" x 10' (depending on fit) Schedule 40 PCV pipes.. painting them for aesthetics and possible UV protection and then slipping them over the T-Posts and putting in some pins or screws to keep them in place and possible pushing them a foot into the ground as well.

The site is in Central Florida.

How much of benefit for the extra cost of ABS vs PVC if i plan to paint them?  Any particular paint going to work best ? last longer?

Would 6' of pipe with no support bend too much with the wind?  sched 40 is pretty rigid. The T-post are in really strong.

I would never even consider using 1.5" or 2" PVC or ABS piping of any schedule as a structural member; expecially for the application that you describe. These materials can flex and given some aging or overextended stress could fail dramatically.

Sure you may be able to make 5" or 6" diameter thick walled piping work in this application but the cost of that type of product should easily guide you back to some type of steel tubing whether that be square, round or rectangular cross section.


My dishwasher keeps jamming, it's not draining water, has sitting water in the bottom Not sure if this is my dishwasher or my clogged drains. A few years back, my dishwasher stopped draining; I called my neighbor, I tried all home remedies, my neighbor took the Bosch dishwasher apart and the hose inside was full of grease, so much that there was no way we could clean it. I ordered another one and replaced it. Still the water wasn't draining.
He climbed my roof, looked thru the drain pipe and said he sees clogged drain, hair and stuff, cleared that out and everything was good for good 2 years I would say.

Now, I have the same issue again. My neighbor has moved.
I'm not sure why this is happening. Should I call a plumber or a dishwasher person?

I'm afraid of termites due to standing water. This is Long Island, New York. Termites are a big issue. What should I do?

First, check and clean the drain filter in your dishwasher. This is a screen that can be pulled out from inside the dishwasher, designed to prevent food particles from getting sucked into the washing and drainage systems. Consult your manual for detailed instructions. This is something everyone should do regularly (every few months or more) to keep their dishwasher working well.

If that doesn't help, call a plumber. These issues can compound each other. If your drain line is clogged, your dishwasher will be struggling to run its drain pump. This will wear the pump out sooner, and the slow drainage will mean that any dirt that might flow out the drain will be more likely to cling to the walls of the drainage hose.

You should also look at how your dishwasher drain is connected. Usually it is attached to the same drain as your kitchen sink. Try filling up your sink with a stopper, then pull the stopper and see if it drains fast. If that is slow, then you most likely have a drain or venting issue which would affect the dishwasher as well. A plumber can fix that for you too.

The only reason you'd need a dishwasher tech is if the drain pump in the dishwasher needs to be replaced. That is a possibility, but less likely than the others. If that does turn out to be the issue, then plumber should at least be able to figure it out definitely.


Should I level the subfloor before or after adding another layer of subfloor? When laying a second layer of plywood subfloor to support granite tiles, does the original plywood subfloor need to be leveled first or just level the floor after adding the second layer? I have about a 1/4” dip.

Also, if the new layer is 3/8” plywood, is it necessary to remove the toilet flange, or is an extender sufficient?

Since you are after subfloor strength I think you'd want to level after you put the other layer down.  I assume you are gluing and screwing the 2nd layer to the first.

TCNA typically wants 1 1/4" thick subfloor.  After you install your 3/8" ply do you meet this thickness?

This sounds like a bathroom how big is it?  Are your floor joists sized for L360?  How large is the area that dips 1/4"?


Adding Combo Switch to Existing Switch Loop This is lighting diagram for a room.
The existing wiring (Lamp A) is a switched loop.
The switch is a combo switch (Blue Box) and I want to use the unused second switch for the new lamp.
What I want to add is in the orange box. (Lamp B)
All the wiring is in the attic which I can access.
Since this is a switched loop, the terminals at the existing
switch are hot.
I have the black and white wires running to the unused switch.
Where do I connect back to neutral?
Are there any wiring diagrams for this arrangement?
How should I wire the new switch and wiring?

You don't.
When you have a traditional "switch loop" like that, you can't extend anything off it.
The essential wires you'd need for anything else to come off it, simply are not there.
A lot of people get confused because they see black and white wires and think "those are the wires I need".  No.  The wires are black and white because that's how cables are made. In any given circuit, the black and white are reassigned to the needs of the moment depending on where it is.
On a switch loop, there is no neutral.  White has been re-tasked to be always-hot. Black is switched-hot.  No neutral, no circuit extension possible.


How can I remove this strange bath vanity light? I want to change   the lighting above our bathroom vanity but i perplexed with the existing   strange fixture. (see Image below)
I am at a loss how to remove it.  I do not see any type of markings or model number.
Any help would be appreciated

That looks to be a built in LED light. No (easy) way to replace the light when it burns out, you are supposed to get a whole new light. This is a newish trend in lighting that I'm not in favor of. Its great for the manufactures, not for consumers or the environment.

If you are handy with electronics and know how to solder, you can replace it.

The white chip on the bottom of the large heat sink, that is the LED. Desolder it and see if there are any identification marks on it. If not  you will have to figure out what new LED chip to get from the power supply in the light. Look at the voltage and the wattage it supplies.

Assuming you can deduce the correct replacement chip, and you found a source to buy one. Then you will need to apply a thermal paste to the new chip before you screw it back down to the heat sink. Last resolder the electrical connections.

Is it worth it? Sadly, probably not.
Just get a new light fixture.


What is this driver-related attachment? I have a hand driver set from iFixit. There's a part included that I can't identify, and because it's an older version of their set, isn't listed on the parts list for the product when I look it up now. In the photos below it's the black cylindrical part.

One end has an opening to fit a 4mm hex bit (this is the interface for all the other bits in the kit). The other end has a completely circular opening, slightly smaller than would take an H4. There's a stop in the middle, and it's magnetic.

I can't put the other driver heads from the kit in the round end, and it has no ability to apply any torque to anything that would connect, because it's round. What is it, and what is it for?

I believe the component you have is defective. I have what I believe is the same set of tools, and is the same brand name.

It is an extension for the main handle.

I am unable to separate the hexagonal portion from the black cylinder. The joined area of my tool appears to have epoxy or similar material bonding the two pieces together.

I would not have expected epoxy as the only bonding material, although I have yet to over-torque anything and have the bond break.

If you are able to insert the cylinder end on the hexagonal portion and engage some of the hex portion of the cylinder, you too can epoxy them together and have a working tool again.

EDIT: added two photos by request.


How can I open this bathroom light fixture with an arrow and tiny hole - Asonia Round Brushed My bathroom has a light fixture with an arrow and a small hole on the other side.  How can I open it?  I don't want to damage it but I have tried some clockwise rotating.

I am not sure what the arrow indicates or what needs to be done with that hole on the other side.

Some photos:

Edit - tried counterclockwise too, not budging.  I tried sticking a small screwdriver in the hole but there's nothing catching.

Edit - I believe it is an Asonia Round Brushed chrome effect Bathroom ceiling light from B&Q.

Edit - I went to a B&Q and quietly opened a box and took this photo of the manual.

Edit - success! It was counter-clockwise rotation and required a lot of force.  The fixture that comes off is very heavy so be careful.

And if anyone is ever reading this, don't buy this dull, useless light fixture for your bathroom.

According to step 5.3 of the manual you posted:

it appears that you push the cover up and turn to the right (clockwise) with 1.91kg of force (which is very specific, but doesn't strike me as much, but I've not seen force noted that way before) to install the cover*. That implies that to remove the cover, you rotate to the left (counter/anti-clockwise), then pull down.

This appears to be borne out by step 1.2 on the furthest right panel of the instructions.

If you'll note the section of the instructions I've highlighted:

There appears to be an angled slot that will pull the lamp cover up into place as it is turned and lower it away from a key on the base as it is removed. You may need to pull down very slightly as you turn it.

Also, note that in the instructions, there is an arrow on the base (screwed into the ceiling) that points down, and an arrow on the lamp cover that points up. In the instructions snippet I highlighted above, you'll note that if you turn the lamp cover too far that's indicated as being a bad thing. Your pictures of the fixture only show the arrow pointing down - it's possible that the previous installer turned the lamp cover too far and that the lamp cover is now somewhat jammed and will require greater force than was originally intended to remove. Have you looked around the lamp cover to see if there is a line-up arrow on it that isn't properly lined up?

It's also possible that the lamp cover has been in place for a while. Since you don't know how to remove it, I'm assuming that this is the first time you've changed a bulb in this fixture. If it's been there a while, it's possible that there's just been an accumulation of crud built up around the joint between the cover and the base and that it's just a bit sticky and will require a bit of extra force or some wiggling and gentle prying to remove. (Note - the fixture does look very clean, but that doesn't mean there isn't some small stuff that has settled into the joint line that's causing it to stick.)

In general, I think that it's just going to take more force to unscrew the cover than you've been applying.

If you're renting, have the landlord come take care of changing the light bulb - if he asks, indicate that it's stuck and you don't want to be responsible for breaking it.
If you own, keep applying force until something happens. Either it will come off and you'll know how hard you have to turn it, or it will break and you'll know that it probably wasn't installed properly. If it breaks, you already know where to go to buy a replacement! Either way, you'll end up with a working light bulb in the fixture. If you don't you'll have a non-working fixture that will annoy you for the rest of the time you live there.

* It just occurred to me - maybe the warning is that the lamp cover weighs 1.91Kg. That would be a very heavy cover and would most certainly warrant a warning as it looks like very light plastic that maybe weighs 100gm.


Why might a central heating programmer no longer override a room thermostat? My central heating and hot water is governed by a Danfoss FP715 Si. Using this I can set the time each day when the central heating and the hot water come on and off. When the central heating is on it is further governed by a Honeywell DT92E wireless room thermostat in the living room. This was working fine until a few months ago. Now the central heating only listens to the room thermostat. It does not matter what the Danfoss programmer is set to, if the temperature in the living room falls bellow the value set on the thermostat the heating clicks on, even at 3 in the morning.

What's gone wrong? How do I diagnose the problem? How can I fix it so that the heating only comes on when the Danfoss says it can?

sounds like the room stat is a new addition? If so may have been functioned to switch on boiler and pump at same time ? If boiler is newish then will only heat water when tap is used. therefor room temp controlled by room stat and turn it down at night or programme when to come on?


Why can't I remove this trim board? I'm re-surfacing our deck. On one section where it meets the house, this piece of 1x12 trim had rotted a way on the bottom where it met the deck. I believe it is cedar, which is what the rest of the deck is. I'm replacing the deck with TimberTech composite. Also was planning on replacing this trim board with a PVC composite, due to this piece rotting. But now I'm stuck because I can't get this trim out. I've pulled out the nails, but it seems to be somehow anchored within this piece of metal above it that it is tucked in to. I tried bending it and even tore out a small section. But that didn't loosen the trim board at all. I also wonder if it's tied in to the trim on the right. That's the trim on a screened in porch. Where this trim meets that trim, that trim is somewhat rotted as well.

One of the installers from the deck store came out to give me some tips. On this rotted trim board that I'm trying to remove, he said that piece of metal above it might be some kind of flashing or rain guard, to try to keep the water out, and that I might want to keep it, if I can.

It looks like this 'rain guard'/flashing, is tied in or secured by the vertical cedar siding above it. I hope that's not the case, because I don't want this to turn into an even bigger job. Any ideas or suggestions?

The z flashing probably has a good pinch on the top of that 1x12. Also dried paint likely has bonded to the surface

Try to get a thin putty knife worked under the lip to separate the flashing from the trim board.
Be aware that your idea for a new trim board will only work if the new one is same thickness as the old one.
Try to avoid deforming the z flashing.


Do I need to do more prep work on this cement floor before putting in new tile? In my basement i have a poured concrete floor, and we're re-doing the bathroom down there. It used to have Vinyl flooring, and we ripped it all up. The top vinyl part came up easily, but it left a bit of the paper backing glued to the floor. I've scraped as much as i can, but there's still a thin layer remaining. I'm wondering if I need do anything more, or if it will be ok to put down tile over top of that?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Edit: Would it be worthwhile to throw a coat of paint over it to clean things up a bit? Just thinking out loud....

The paper backing can be cleaned off with a solvent paint stripper and then wash the old glue off with trisodium phosphate and a scrub brush. Then wash several times with water to remove the residue of both operations. Tile thin set in most cases may not adhere to old glue, especially if you have to use unmodified thin set because you are planning on using an uncoupling membrane like DITRA.


Why is there a line connecting two light switches I am trying to install a new z-wave light switch. But I have encountered something I can't figure out. I have two light switches in the same box. They both have a hot and neutral wire connected to them. But there is also a wire that goes between the two (I think hot) terminals. They are the old kind of switch so they don't have screws, so the extra wire is just jammed into one of the terminals. Do I need this extra wire? What is it for?

All the wires that come out of the switches and out of the picture, go into the wall, beyond that I don't know what they do.

The black wire coming in from the top and attaching to the right terminal of the left switch is likely the "incoming" hot wire from the panel or upstream somewhere.

The black wire on the left side of the left switch is the switch leg for one receptacle, and the black wire on the right side of the right switch is the switch leg for another receptacle.

The second wire connecting the two is simply there to bring electricity from the left switch's hot to the right switch. It is possible to daisy chain switches this way, or one could use a wire nut and two tails to connect to the switches (this is how I would do it, easier to rewire later if e.g. a switch fails or if you want to swap one for an upgrade like you are now).

Note: your question says there are neutrals going to the switches, but these appear to be black (hot) wires with white paint on them.

The Z-wave switch appears to require a neutral based on images of the product, so you will need to tap into a neutral.

Be careful that you are using a real neutral and not a hot with white paint on it (this is one reason to put painter's tape over receptacle boxes when painting).
The neutral must be on the same circuit as the hot being switched. If only one circuit feeds this box there is no problem.


When building drywalls with suspended ceiling do I need wall height to actual ceiling? I'm building classrooms in the large basement of our home; we're in Spain and have an English school we're expanding.

Room to room sound insulation and resonance are the major concerns I have to consider, as well as costs. The actual ceiling is over three metres high and I plan on using acoustic ceiling tiles to help with echo, which currently is a major issue.

Does it make sense to build dry wall, say, two and a half metres tall with suspended ceiling lowered inside and insulated above with glass wool or similar? That would mean there would be a large open space above the classrooms which would be sound insulated from below. This would save (insulated) dry wall costs and glass wool is pretty cheap.

If sound proofing is your primary concern then you should build the walls all the way up to the roof, past the suspended ceiling.  You should insulate the walls with sound-dampening insulation. If you are willing to spend more money and time, you should look into isolating channels that the drywall attaches to.  This prevents sound from being carried through the walls and studs (normally sound hits drywall and vibrations are carried through the studs to the other side.  The isolating channels prevent this).

I do not think a suspended ceiling will be able to hold the weight of the insulation.  As well, usually a big benefit of a suspended ceiling is easy access to the plenum space above for running wires, accessing hvac/plumbing/fire equiptment, etc.  If you have insulation on top, everytime you need to take a panel out, you'd also have to take out a lot of insulation. It would also be hard to get it back in properly after removing only a single tile.  The tiles themselves should help eliminate the echo.


How to tighten an optical fiber to the wall? I would like to lengthen my optical fiber so I can put my Internet box on a proper shelf. That's quite easy, I'll just have to buy a longer fiber.

The problem is that I don't want it to hang everywhere ! What is the best way to tighten a cable (well an optical fiber in my case) against the wall ? I want it to be discrete, and I want it to hold.

I would use a surface mount wire mold like this or a stick on one. It would protect the fiber and look better than sticking a wire on the wall. Make sure not to bend the fiber two tightly or it will break.


Remote Access to Circuit Breaker Every once in a while I have a breaker trip when I'm not home.

I have a series of computers running cpu intensive programs and sometimes alt coins which can also be hogs :-). At times there is a huge surge in power consumption and the breakers trip.

Right now the system goes from

the computer's power supply unit to a
wemo which in turn is connected to an
outlet which goes directly to the circuit breaker.

A Belkin Wemo is a device that can be accessed remotely and can be used to turn an outlet on or off. My wemos are connected to a laptop which allows me to turn on  devices remotely.

Every once in a while the circuit breaker trips and I have to wait until I get home to flip things back on. Usually this doesn't matter but if I'm away for a few days it does.

I'm looking for a solution.

I'm thinking about a "something" that would be tripped if there is a surge and I can use a wemo to flip back on. The wemo would be on another circuit.

Computer (PSU) -----> "something"
                           |
                           |
                          wemo

If there is a surge the "something" trips (not the circuit breaker).
I'll have a wemo pinging this "something." If there is no response for x seconds then the wemo shuts it off and turns it back on, effectively resetting the "something."

If your device is drawing too much power, and is causing the breaker to trip. It means the device is too large for the circuit, and the breaker is doing the job it was designed to do.  Making an "automatic breaker turner on-er" is not likely the best solution.
There's two possibilities for why you'd trip the thermal protection of a circuit breaker. If the breaker is faulty, it could be tripping at a lower current than it is designed to trip at. In this case, the solution is to replace the breaker.  If the breaker is not faulty, it means that your device is drawing a sufficient amount of current, for long enough to trip the breaker.  If this is the case, then your circuit is likely undersized.
If your device is tripping the magnetic protection of the circuit breaker, there's a larger problem with the circuit and/or device.  The magnetic protection of a circuit breaker should not kick in, unless the circuit is drawing many times the rated current (think short-circuit).  If this is the case, you likely have a faulty device and/or wiring.
If your device is tripping the GFCI or AFCI protection of the breaker, then you'll have to investigate that further.  If the device is connected to a surge protector, the normal functioning of the surge suppressor may cause a GFCI device to trip.
You'll likely want to start by monitoring the system to determine the normal current draw, as well as the peak current draw.  From there, you can decide how to proceed. Without knowing the actual current draw, or why the breaker is tripping. There's not much you can do to remedy the situation.
It's not likely that an "automatic breaker turner on-er" exists, or ever would exist.  What if there was a major problem causing the breaker to trip, and you continually remotely reset it?  You're not there, so you can't see that a couple wires came loose and are laying in a pool of gasoline. You keep resetting the breaker, which causes an arc between the gasoline soaked wires. You'll probably continue to try and reset the breaker, as your house burns to the ground. </Dramatization>

It's not clear to me whether or not this is a single device, or multiple devices. Dividing the load across multiple individual 20 ampere circuits, might be a solution. This is much more straight forward if you're powering multiple devices, though is not impossible if it's a single device.

NOTES:
Reclosers
While reclosers do exist, they are only used on the distribution side of the electrical system. They are not available for residential systems, for the reasons mentioned above.
Circuit breaker thermal protection
The thermal protection device within a circuit breaker is quite basic, yet also quite effective.  It simply opens the circuit when it gets too hot, which is hopefully before the branch circuit wires are burning.  It makes no difference what type of load is connected, if the wires are getting too hot, the thermal protection opens the circuit.
This is the reason why conductor size matters. If you have 12 AWG copper conductors connected to a 20 ampere breaker, the thermal protection will open before the wires are burning (as long as the breaker is functioning properly).  If you had smaller wire connected to the 20 ampere breaker, there's a possibility that the wire could be on fire before the thermal protection kicks in.


Plastering a badly damaged wall The plaster in our rented apartment was falling off the wall in two places. In the entrance hall huge lumps of plaster were coming off in our hands. This wall is next to a room which is under the steps of the main house and literally has water running into it when it rains. The house is well over a 100 years old, and I think renovations in the past were basically skin deep.
The other problem area is the hallway which has plaster coming off in a line outside the bathroom - presumably from a pipe is leaking in the wall behind.
We've stripped much of the crumbling plaster off the wall at the entrance, the plaster seems to have been applied in multiple layers, and at some places it's corroded all the way through to the brick. So there are the remains of hard flat layers, some crumbling plaster, and some exposed brick. We haven't touched the other wall yet.
Here's my question - whats the cheapest, longest lasting solution we can do ourselves (as DIY noobs). Can we just throw up some kind of plaster, or plasterboard on both the entrance and corridor? If what, which one should we get and what tools do we need to apply it.
Pictures and video of both areas here - https://imgur.com/a/XaNGMkX
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Edit - re: questions about the landlord. It's not possible to get the landlord to help, or pay for the repairs in this case. Reasons are too complicated to go into here. But while we're not likely to get in trouble for any repairs made, we also can't expect any help.
Edit - re: leak. There isn't a 'leak' per say. The water is coming in from a completely uninsulated 'scullery' type 'room' under the houses external steps. This would cost a huge amount to have repaired, and that's simply not happening any time soon. So this is a stopgap.

As commenters have suggested, there are 2 things unusual about your plan:

You're renting this place, and typically repairs on a rental are the duty of the landlord and not the tenant
As tenants, you're unable/unwilling to fully repair the cause of the crumbling plaster (moisture through the wall)

So this advice is for your particular situation, rather than generally advisable to anyone. Other readers will have much better luck and results getting their landlord to perform repairs, as this is their job.
You will quickly have mold problems with any repair unless you properly deal with moisture from the wall. The fastest way to do this is a moisture blocking "paint" such as Drylok. Note that this is not a permanent solution and mold is likely eventually, but these look like open spaces where you can monitor the surface.
Second and slightly better, you could apply sheets of rigid foam insulation directly to these walls and normal paint on that foam surface. The visible cracks and gaps may not be to your liking.
A more permanent and advisable way to cover these walls would be to clear any plaster remaining on the surface, then attach metal studs to the wall, insulate between with rigid foam (NOT fiberglass or cloth-based insulation which absorbs water) and then "drywall" with a paper-free non-nutrient wallboard (here we use Dens-Armor Plus) and then finish with paint.
The key is to not use components which absorb or interact with the continuous moisture you have, or mold will develop and you'll need to replace the surface again in short order.


Pouring concrete on top of old chunks and other larger rock I need to fill in alot of area next to the driveway and have access to alot of rock and some old concrete. Can I port 4-5 inches on top and let it bleed into the crevaces or am I better off just using crusher???

Use crushed stone and compact it, definitely if it's outside. Drainage and weather, and any type of weight on it will expose weak points where the uneven subsurface is lying.


What's the correct way to attach stovepipe to a wood stove? Look where the stovepipe sits on the flue collar of this woodstove. I don't see any way to secure the pipe to the stove. There is a gap because the stovepipe is not perfectly round.

At the other end of the stovepipe I will use 3 sheetmetal screws, but that won't work here.

The manufacturer's manual for the stove doesn't say anything.

How should I secure the stovepipe to the stove?

How should I seal the joint?

(click for full size)

I didn't see it before, but there were two small holes in the stove's flue collar. I put sheet metal screws through the holes in to the stovepipe, and things feel really solid.

Before inserting the pipe, I put some fire cement on the crimped end. After inserting, I spread some more around the joint, like caulking around a bathtub.

(click for full size)


Support for shelves already on L brackets I have constructed two 6 feet by 19 inches shelves using 3 heavy duty brackets which have diagonal support , which is screwed into stud using 3 inch steel self drilling lag from spax. The floor of shelves is made out of laying 5 2x4 pressure treated lumber. The wall outer construction is drywall, the shelves are in garage with room upstairs.

There is no sagging and it feels solid after putting around 150 lbs my questions are:

How many can I add similar shelves vertically using same stud safely
Does it provide any extra support if I add a 2 vertical 2x4 from both sides of shelves edge to the ground

You should be able to install 4 or 5 such shelves, each having three brackets and being similarly loaded, with no ill effects. Some minor deflection of the wall is expected, but it should be negligible. The wall is not in danger of being torn apart.
Yes, legs would remove the bulk of the stress from the wall. I don't consider it necessary in this case, however.


Mid project finishing basement: should I rip out new framing? I am learning that the wood framing that has just been installed (glued) in my basement really should have come after putting in continuous foam board insulation against the wall, separating the wood from the exterior (DryLock painted) cinder block. Instead, our plan had been to install 2.5"(R 12.5) unfaced XPS insulation between the new studs. There is an intentional gap between the bottom of the framing and the cement floor. Our goal is to have finished living space at the end of this project.

My question:
Is having the wood framing against the painted cinder block wall going to create moisture buildup in the basement wall through condensation, or is it sufficient at this point to leave the framing as is, glued directly to the painted cinder block, and insulate between the studs?

I don't want to gloss over a problem now and regret it later, if the studs against cinder block is going to create a condensation problem over time.

Still, I don't want to hammer out all of that brand new framing, if the disadvantage of our arrangement is negligible.

Your concerns are valid.

If condensate does form, you will also likely have to deal with mold. I would definitely rip it out and add high density foam. Not sure why glue was used, but am guessing that it'd be a lot easier to use Power loads to nail the framing after the insulation is installed.

I treated my basement framing with anti-fungal/anti-mold treatment as an additional precaution.


If I do not have any fuel burning devices, do I need a carbon monoxide detector? Is there any reason that a home without any fuel burning devices would need a carbon-monoxide detector?

Considering the low cost of these devices and how deadly CO can be, why wouldn't you want one?  That's like saying you don't want a smoke detector because you don't think anything will catch on fire.

Just because you don't have any of the items @Steve Jackson mentioned doesn't mean you can't be impacted by CO.  For example, maybe a delivery truck is parked and running in your driveway putting off all sorts of CO that is being sucked into your house.  Maybe your neighbours garage leaks near your air intakes.

One thing you can count on, if something ever did happen relating to CO, your insurance company would be the first one to find out you didn't have a detector!


How tight should a screw be screwed in? Might sound as a simple question, but I am still confused. As a new learning DIYer, I want to know in more detail on which application how much a screw should be tighten.

For example, if I want to put wall anchors in hollow brick (those vertically perforated with a few walls inside), I will put in a plastic anchor, so how much should I tighten a screw into the anchor?

How much should I tighten a screw in a brick wall anchor?

How much should I tighten a screw in plain wood?

How tight in a drywall?

How much should I tighten a screw in a metal object?

And etc., also I do know that some screws, like a Philips one, is actually meant to be stripped under high torque, and Torx are more intended for higher torque, but I want to focus more on how much is it recommended for a screw to be screwed in the material without damaging that material or making it less strong, for example if I am screwing a hinge in a wooden door, I do not want my door to be more prone to breaking because the screw is more tight than it should be, I want a good balance.

So let me know from your experience what are the general guidelines for tightening screws in different materials and some tips and indicators for that. Also what are recommended tools, like comparing manual driver to using a electric drill/Impact driver.

Screwing in to drywall is really the only thing on your list of questions to worry about. A drywall screw should be screwed in to where the head is just barely under the paper on it's face. They make drills, and drill accessory bits, specifically for this task.

For everything else, run the screw in until your material is tight.

As for what tools to use... This is actually personal preference. I personally use an impact driver 95% of the time. But, I've been building houses for 30 years. An impact driver, compared to a drill driver, is better for driving screws in to dense materials. A drill driver will work also but requires more force on the tool to get the results of an impact. For someone inexperienced, I'd recommend getting use to using a drill driver, utilizing it's different clutch settings, before moving on to an impact driver.


Basement framing low pipe ceiling Cleaned out the basement to start framing walls. 1950s house with a lot of water pipes below the floor joists.  The main wall has a pipe about 5 inches away from the wall but runs along the majority of the wall.  Would you recommend:

Building the wall up to the floor joist behind the pipe, then build a soffit around the pipe.
build the wall in front of the pipe, potentially losing about half a foot of space across the room.
Build the wall up to a lower point then the floor joist and build a soffit from the floor joist to the top of the wall

See the picture for the area I'm referring to.

Personally, I would enclose it in a soffit from the pipe to the wall (option 3). That way you may not have to rerun your power cables as long as the window doesn't interfere. Also the drywalling will be simpler.
Edit
You will need to frame out the soffit with 2x4s same as you would do if you framed a wall but it'll be a lot less work and material. Hard to tell from the picture but you may need to move those cables to frame your wall. You'll have to butt the header up against the ceiling joists and they may interfere.
Again, you need to figure out how to frame around that window, especially with the soffit. You need to maintain enough clearance. If the soffit interferes with the window you may have to just wrap the pipes with the soffit.


Leak above window during rain, is this caused by a masonry drainage problem? I've lived in the same brick rowhouse for about 2 years. It's been raining for 36 of the last 48 hours, heavily at times, and I am seeing some rain leaking to the inside: above one of the larger windows on the first floor of the house. This has never happened before. I believe this is a masonry problem and there are two reasons water is coming into the house, I'm hoping someone can tell me I'm right or wrong so I can hire the right specialist to fix it.

The problems I think I have:

There is no drip edge/flashing/weep holes above the window opening
that I can see.
The steel lintel has a layer of mortar above it,
which is damming moisture to the inside.

I'm basing this on my own limited understanding of how masonry walls (all the house's exterior walls are brick) and drainage work: basically, they aren't waterproof and water is going to get in sometimes, so you have to give the water a way out of the house. I also came across this article, with this passage which describes my problem perfectly:

  I regularly get calls from people who recently had their house or
  building re-pointed (tuck pointed) and now have water coming in above
  their windows.  The masons saw a space and filled it with mortar.
  This causes the water to backup and finally drain inside.

I didn't get the bricks re-pointed, but it was obviously done on this house in the recent past. Also, it looks like there were awnings or some other drainage control installed above the windows at one point, there are remnants of caulk above this window (and other windows on the house).

Water is coming through the drywall above the window and dripping onto the windowsill. I haven't yet torn the drywall down to see what's going on behind it. The heaviest moisture is in the center of the top of window opening, where the paint was drooping (I pulled it off to stop water from building up behind it). There is some moisture on either side of the top of the window opening, but the drywall on the sides of the opening is solid and dry. There is some moisture in the corners at the edge of the windowsill, I'm pretty sure that was caused by the pooled water on the sill and not by water running down the sides of the opening (because the sides seem solid and dry). When it stops raining, the leak stops soon after.

I can fix the drywall, my main concern is fixing the source of the leak.

Some photos:

Looking up at the top of the window opening, inside the house:

The top of this window opening, from outside of the house:

Closeup of the lintel, mortar, and recent pointing:

Side of the house, looking up (it's still raining!)

This turned out to be due to a problem with the installation of the window directly above the window where the water was evident. That upper window (the one in the last photo in the question) had a gap between the sill and the flashing at the bottom of that window was not caulked. Some of the rainwater that gathered on the sill found its way back into the wall through that gap and ran down the inside of the brick wall, ultimately draining out through the drywall above the lower window opening.


PVC leak-free joints without glue I am interested in installing a PVC tubing conduction (80 mm diameter, no longer than 1 m.), with two 90 degree joints. I would like to know if there is a way to fix the joints without the use of glues of any kind, instead I am interested in mechanical methods like o-rings or threads, the conduction will not be under pressure and it will not conduct water at full capacity, it will conduce a small amount of cold water.

You could probably use Flex Couplings like these:

To connect a pipe to an elbow, you'd have to find a coupling
which fits both the outside diameter of the pipe, as well as the outside diameter of the elbow.
Something like this one might be flexible enough to both stretch over the elbow and still clamp tightly onto the pipe:

https://www.plasticpipeshop.co.uk/75-89mm-EPDM-Adaptor_p_6140.html
or otherwise possibly one of the reducing versions which have a different size on each side.


Not to be used in totally enclosed or recessed luminaires My question centers or the word "OR".
Should this be thought of
A) totally enclosed luminaires
   OR totally enclosed recessed luminaires
B) totally enclosed luminaires
   OR recessed luminaires.

Basically are NON enclosed recessed luminaires ok?
E.g., a ceiling with a recessed opening for a light but
      no cover of the recessed ceiling "hole"

If you want to fight over legalese, you'll be thrilled to know that the courts have ruled in favor of the Oxford comma. The instructions probably predate the court ruling, but after the Court date, the lights should be totally OK in recessed luminaires which are not totally enclosed. Just be aware this has been appealed. If the Supreme Court reverses, your lights will instantly burn out or start a fire.

Seriously, though...

The issue is about cooling.  The lamp needs to be cool to function safely.  Either:

It is an incandescent or HID lamp, and the concern is the high temperature of the bulb starting a fire -- the bulbs love heat, and are happy-dappy at temperatures that would melt nuclear fuel.
If it is a CFL lamp, (in 2020? Why?) the concern is the electronic driver circuit being cooked to death.
If it is an LED, that too, but mainly LED emitter temperature management.  The LED emitter makes all its heat in a tiny spot no larger than a dime.  They don't use much energy, true, but when you have 9 watts focused on a spot that small, it becomes difficult to heat-sink.  LEDs are happiest at 25C, are specced at 85C junction temp (at the emitter itself), some can endure 125C, but fry themselves at higher temps.

So all of them depend on either radiant heating (dissipating through the fixture) or convection cooling (air taking away the heat, then moving on through).  Radiant heating is often enough for incandescents and HID, and most older fixtures are built only for this.  They are not made for the additional cooling required by efficient bulbs.


60 degree corner molding I have a corner joint I need hidden, for which I'd normally use a quarter round molding, but because this is part of a cathedral ceiling, the angle is much narrower than 90 degrees, it's 60 degrees. So, I'd need a "sixth round molding". Is that usually sold in large hardware stores or is this some custom thing?

Took me a couple of minutes to figure out what you were asking, but think I know what your asking.  You need a molding to fit against the ridge beam at the top of a cathedral ceiling? Well my friend, you are not going to find one that is not 90 degrees at a box store. I'm afraid the only good solution is to find a friend with a decent table saw and cut a piece of trim to fit. Use a bevel square and a protractor to measure the angle exactly, then depending on the stock you use, either transfer the angle to the saw for a single triangle trim, or divide it in half and do a double back cut to preserve a front detail of the trim.  Sorry, not enough time or space to do a complete table saw angle cutting primer for ya, but I think you understand the concept.


Correct gauge and jacket type for feeder wire to subpanel? I need to install a 200A panel about 100 feet from the meter base.  I have 400A service coming to the building, broken out at the meter base into two 200A exterior disconnects.  One disconnect is currently unused, leaving it available for this project.  The loads on this panel will be: lighting/receptacles, HVAC units drawing 75A max, 2 clothes dryers, and 1 electric oven.  (Gas cooktop and water heater will be used.)

I'm seeing conflicting information about the size and type of wire to use in this run.

According to the 2011 NEC sizing table, 4/0 aluminum is the correct size to use, but max distance is not discussed.  Calculations show that there should be about 1.5% voltage drop across this distance at full current, which I believe is within the acceptable limits.

However, 2014 NEC and newer remove the sizing table, instead instituting the 83% size rule.

Cerrowire's ampacity chart shows 4/0 aluminum to be capable of 180A at 75*C, which does meet the 83% rule.  However, no voltage drops or additional heat due to increased resistance of longer distance wires are mentioned.

Also, I'm finding varying information about whether it's OK to run SE inside a building.  This page seems to indicate SE cables are fine, but if run through insulation, the ampacities at 60*C must be used.  In my installation, no insulation would be present, and the run would be through engineered wood I-joists between lower and upper floors of a single-family residential dwelling, so I am assuming I can use the 75*C ampacity numbers.

I discussed this with the electrical inspector, who seemed to be fine with 4/0 SER in this application.  However, I'm trying to understand whether I missed anything that can come back to bite me later.

I would appreciate your comments and suggestions on wire size and type in this application.

Thanks!

The 83% derate only applies if it is all the service to a single dwelling unit.  With 75A of A/C and two dryers, that sounds like something else.  So let's ignore the 83% derate.

Suppose we use 4/0 wire

First, a couple common errors in sizing voltage drop are calculating ampacity on breaker trip - you should actually calculate it on practical daily load -- and presuming 3.000% is a hard number. (the voltage drop calcs online will hurt you there; they treat 3.01% as cause for a wire size bump!) 3.0% is a nonsense number not mentioned anywhere in Code. What the Code really wants is less than 8% from meter to final outlet.

4/0 (aluminum, of course) wire, indeed, has a rating of 180 amps.  You will need to breaker this run for 180--- Oh, snap! Nobody makes a 180A breaker for that panel! You'll have go upward to the next breaker size available. It's 200A.


What is the proper way to install/paint baseboard? I've installed some new baseboards, though I'm not really sure I have the right method down. Here's what I do:

Paint baseboard
Paint walls
Cut and install baseboard (using brad nailer and/or liquid nails)
Sand outside corners so they're not as pointy
Go over nail holes and straight joins with putty, and seal corners with caulk
Sand putty with high grit (just to smooth it out)
Touch-up paint on all the putty/caulk

The downside of this method is that there is a (in some places) small but noticeable gap between the top of the baseboard and the wall. Pretty much anywhere if you wanted to, you could push a piece of paper behind the baseboard. Most new construction I've seen doesn't have this gap, and generally if the walls/trim is re-painted at some point, that also seals up the gap.

Is there a step I'm skipping where people caulk the top edge all the way around? Or am I doing this completely wrong?

You would usually caulk the gap between the baseboard and the wall.  This is why I usually don't bother painting the trim before putting it up (unless I'm staining it).

Usually I would prime the wall first, then put up the trim, putty/caulk, paint the trim, then finally paint the walls.


Bathroom Drain Venting I've been trying to figure out the difference between the following solutions. I'm sure that Option 1 is the best, given it's a short direct route to the vent, but I can't justify to myself why the others are bad? From what I can read it's usually the distance from the fixture to the start of the dry vent that matters, not how long the vent itself is.

Given that the sink (where the P trap is located on the right) is too far away from the main vent (far left), what would be the major differences in the following solutions?

(Blue = Vents)
(Black = Drains)

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

How about this:

Or, if permitted by code an air admittance valve (AAV). The AAV is a simple in wall or under sink vent that allows air to vent when needed but blocks water and sewer gas from escaping. Just remember, the AAV must be accessible and are usually covered by an access panel for inspection.

Option #2 is also fine. It's called a "Chicago Loop" and used for sinks on kitchen islands.

Option #3 wont allow the sink to properly vent causing drainage problems.

If that sink is near an exterior wall, you may vent it directly outside, code permitting of course.


When should I worry about icicles on my gutters? I've lived in my house for 9.5 years, and originally had cheap mesh screens on the gutters. I would see maybe one or two icicles on the roof after a bad storm, but nothing serious.

A few years ago the screens collapsed from the weight of the leaves, so we replaced them with Gutterglove guards. We haven't had any major snowfall until this past week. Yesterday I noticed probably 2 dozen small (finger-sized) icicles on my roofline (it's a townhouse, so about a 20 foot wide section). My neighbors (with no guards or cheap guards similar to what I used to have) had 2-5 icicles.

My icicles were on the front lip of the gutter (away from my house). My neighbor without any guards had icicles between the house and the gutter, and my neighbor with guards hand them on the front lip (like mine).

Should I worry about ice dams with this number of icicles? Should I call the installation company?

The icicles are caused by heat escaping from your house, into the attic. This melts the snow on your roof causing icicles. It has nothing to do with your gutters.

If you want to reduce or eliminate the icicles, the best thing you can do is add insulation to your attic and seal other means of air escaping (non-sealed recessed lights leak a lot of air).

If you would rather just tackle the ice dams then you might want to consider electric heating wires on the roof which will melt the ice and prevent it from freezing on the roof and gutters.


What finish could be applied to a wood project with paper on top to seal and preserve the paper without discoloration or damage The goal is to finish a handmade box (slightly curved top and bottom) with hinged lid covered with stamps. Without getting into the yak shaving of stamp adhesives, is there a material that can be used to coat the project over top of the stamp paper that will preserve the paper?

Ideas have included shellac, fiberglass (clear, without the mat), epoxy and water-based Polyurethane. Ideally, I'd like to have something that could sit on the shelf (with occasional interaction) for years without seriously falling apart. There should be no exposure to water (e.g. condensation from a glass or otherwise) nor heat (e.g. hot mug), but there might be sunlight hitting the location daily.

Epoxy.

I looked for, but could not find, a link to the special electrical fibre glass- it's aluminum oxide instead of silicon dioxide, made in a finer grid, and is practically transparent when soaked and placed on the surface. It's also used for boats/canoes and shows the would perfectly. It is not, however, 100% optically clear so would obscure fine detail.

If you want perfectly clear you'll want one of those countertop type epoxy, and there are plenty of videos on that out there.


What are these things that appeared in my backyard and front lawn? These things appeared all around my house. It was done while I was away. I live in The Woodlands, TX

It is a termite bait station, used to give subterranean termites an easy way to get what they think is food, carry it back to their nest and distribute it to all, killing the entire colony.

Most likely your property has a lot of dead wood on it and is harboring termite colonies that are then migrating and attacking your neighbors, so they put the stations out in your property because you were not there. I've had to do that myself when a neighbor basically negleted her house and the entire thing became one giant termite colony.


How do you connect a light switch with no wires available? House built in the early 70's..  Wiring/Light issue.

In ceiling light junction of master bedroom is power source.  From there a wire leads to one wall outlet without further wires and a light switch on the wall.  From light switch there are two more wires.  One heads to another wall outlet.  The other sends power to the bathroom, other bedroom and a light at the landing.

Problem:  'maintenance guy' disconnected too many wires at the ceiling light in master and at the wall switch and can't wire it back together.  I need power to stay on for all the other rooms but the switch (single leg?) needs to turn only the light on and off without shutting power off to the other rooms...  There is no extra set of wires meant just for the light and switch.  They were part of everything and are not to be taken out of the loops so all other rooms and outlets work properly with constant power.  How do I achieve this without adding a wire?

You don't have enough wires between switch and lamp to use hardwired controls.

However, you do have "always-hot" and neutral going to each relevant location.

It's time to go with "smart devices".  You need a smart lamp fixture (or a plain lamp with a smart module), and a smart switch capable of remote-controlling said lamp or module without the use of hard wiring.  Such things either communicate wirelessly, or they induce signals onto the power wires.

It's difficult to give a product recommendation, as these things are blossoming onto the market very rapidly, and the options are ever-changing.  (for that reason, SE's format is to focus on durable advice and not to give specific product recommendations as they are quickly outdated.)

I'm quite sure what your 'maintenance guy' did was intentionally misconfigure your wiring so the light misused the safety ground wire as a neutral/return.  That is an illegal and dangerous thing to do, and we won't recommend it here.  Not least, any wiring problem can put 120V on the light switch cover screws and electrocute you!


Identifying old cabinet latch I bought an old piece of furniture with two cabinet doors. One of them is missing a catch, and I am having a hard time identifying it. The overall dimensions of the latch are about 1" x 0.5".  I have included a picture of the catch on the other door.
I am hoping to find out what kind of catch this is, and how I can obtain a replacement for the missing one. If these aren't available anymore then a close approximation would also be helpful.

Edit: Here is a picture of what hooks onto the catch. It's basically just a screw.

It looks like a vintage roller catch, similar to this:


King wall heater - fan works but no heat The other day our King wall heater stopped working.  The fan spins but no heat.  I took it apart and cleaned it, I also reset the breaker and the unit itself (via the instructions to turn off the thermostat for 10seconds).  However nothing has fixed it.

During cleaning there seemed to be some bits of the heating coil so Im thinking that somehow that broke.

Is there any way to replace just the coils?  I couldn't find them anywhere.

Barring replacement of just the coil I need to replace the whole unit, but I dont understand these stickers and what model I actually have installed.

This seems like the right replacement model but the measurements dont line up (am I missing something)?
Amazon replacement

damaged coils:

the measurements I read are 11.5" x 8.75"

I finally heard back from King today (very helpful once you get a response).  It answers my questions.
also i verified it was the heating "element" by taking it out of a working one, so i only had to replace that!!!

response from King (manufacturer):

  Yes this is our W series https://www.king-electric.com/pdfs/W_WEB.pdf
  These have a 1 year warranty.

  Here is the element
  http://www.morelectricheating.com/default.aspx?page=item+detail&itemcode=KINGELECTRIC50303&catlist=1363&parent=7983

  Its best to go by our catalog for dimensions. Other sites are popular
  for getting the diminsions wrong. The dimensions have been the same
  since the unit came out in 1992

  Here is the unit you need
  http://www.morelectricheating.com/default.aspx?page=item+detail&itemcode=KINGELECTRIC12743&catlist=262&parent=1366


How should I remove closed cell spray foam insulation which has shifted the framing? We had our basement spray foamed last week and when the foam expanded it pushed out a 2foot section abound an inch from the block wall is there an easy way to remove part of that foam and push the wall back or would I be better off just trimming the board back so I can put up my sheetrock?

That's the problem with splitting a plate but not under a stud. There should be a stud where your plate is cut. You have 2 options...

Dig out the insulation, lower 8 - 12 " or so, and drive the plate back in place then secure it to your slab.
Trim the plate as you've suggested. However, that's not really straight forward as your framing is now out of whack. Check to see if the stud to the right of the split in the plate is still plumb. It may need a "shave" too.


Is using epoxy this way on a kitchen sink installation/repair acceptable? I had a new quartz countertop installed, and everything looked very nice. But one day washing the sink I saw that some water was getting between the sink and counter top. I thought, no problem, I'll just get some silicone. But in the process I saw that one corner of the sink had this fiberglass "junction" (my guess is that the screw hole got ripped out and instead of fixing that they just glued the corner using fiberglass). This is a new job, and it has a year warranty, and everything seems to be holding fine (I had actually filled up the whole sink with water while I was doing dishes and it seemed to hold up?). But it seems kinda like a botched job. Is this an acceptable repair/installation? Or should I try to request a more "clean" repair/installation?

Edit: added the "normal" fastener on one of the other corners (this is looking at the bottom just in case that isn't clear)

Considering you are having a problem and this unit was installed professionally and has a warranty on it. Call them back out to fix the thing right . If it had screws to retain it and one broke off on installation and now they need to fix it - too bad for them - they should fix it - why should you have to live with a problem or potential problems - you probably worked hard for your money - depends on how much you value what you paid for.

What I am guessing (from my experience) is that there was a mounting screw attached to the sink that held it in place and the screw popped off the sink itself - of course there could have been a metal piece attached to the quartz as well usually with an epoxy.

  What does the other mount side look like a picture of that would
  make it easier for people to know exactly what you are talking about. There should be at least 2 mounts if not 4.

I would call them back and say hey I have a problem and I thought to go fix it myself but this is what I found .. I want the thing fixed and fixed right. Where fixed right means you should not have a problem with it - especially with in one year!

EDIT 11/15/2017
Using your posted picture I wanted to outline something I noticed .. notice the ring outline near the repair - in your second photo with a correct mount shown you can see the metal ring - in the first photo you posted you see an outline where something was but it is gone - I am thinking the fish docks are wafting some air - smells fishy to me.


Must I switch both live and neutral on equipment that is not part of a permanent installation? I've learned that you always switch live in electronics. But today I realized that if you are using equipment that have a regular wall-wart plug that can be inserted either way you have no chance of knowing if the polarity is switched.

This may be an obvious question, but am I right that in equipment that is connected to wall outlets you have to switch both neutral and live? Or is there some other clever way around this?

Edit: I should add that I am based in Denmark and live in an older apartment where the wall outlets are not grounded and the plugs that go in them are not polarized.

In the case of a Class II power supply (wall wart) -- there is no power switch, and the equipment frankly doesn't care which way it's plugged in as it treats the mains as if it were floating and all the user-touchable parts are well-insulated from the mains.

For other equipment, a polarized plug is used that can only go into its mating mains receptacle one way around.  This means that the appliance designer can safely assume that the hot wire is hot and the neutral wire is neutral, instead of having to design defensively against being plugged in the other way around.

Since your wall sockets are old, crusty, and not polarized, though -- you'll have to have them replaced by polarized sockets in order to deal with this though, or switch both poles in the appliance.  Check what your national electrical regulations have to say on this.


Some powdery substance on roof rafters I notice some powder substance on roof rafters in the attic. Its only at few places. Does anyone know what exactly it can be?

It's just cellulose insulation dust from when it was blown in. It's identical to what's below.

Your recessed can should be covered better, by the way. There should be as much above the can as there is above the ceiling elsewhere. You could also overlay some fiberglass batts.

Lee Sam says, "If the cans aren't rated for insulation contact (IC), I’d build a box out of gypsum board or wood that is a minimum of 2” away from the light on the sides and 6” away from the light on top. Then, cover the box with insulation."


Building a Retaining Wall Next to Fence I would like to replace an existing retaining wall (pictured) which is falling apart with one that is as close as possible to the fence line to reclaim some of our back yard from the drive way. Our plan would be to then cut the asphalt back from 14' to the side fence to ~10' and increase the grass area. It is presently about 3' tall.

The look we are going for is Quikwall on cinder blocks, painted white.

We live in Canada and the frost line where we live is 48". My first question is if I want to build a wall of the similar height out of cinder blocks/mortar/rebar, do I really need to dig down 4 feet and pour a 16" wide concrete footing?

My other question is, when digging up the existing wall, should I brace the fence with 45 degree 2x4s?

I'm open to suggestions and have the manpower, time, and some friends who are landscapers to help out, but if I have to lay more than 2 courses beneath the ground I can see the costs escalating very quickly and would like to avoid that if possible.

Thanks.

http://imgur.com/a/fDVWCm3

I would not be going 4’ deep. For a small wall like that I would want a wider footing 16” sounds good but would go 18”deep max , I don’t see any way for there to be hydraulic issues that may require a deeper footing. I would have rebar in every other hole and back fill them all with concrete. On the back side I would lay a drain in a sock at the footing or base of the wall and fill around it with rock and cover the rock with landscape fabric. Then the only thing you have is the dirt and 18” should hold up fine possibly 12” depending on how hard it freezes in your area.


How do you close a Sash Weight Window? I have two ropes apparently attached to weights inside the wall that come down on pulleys and they are attached to a window in my house on both sides.

I cannot close the window.  I hear the weights when I try and plaster and old paint fall down when I attempt to close it.

Other previous owners have attempted to close the window and have apparently had success as there are small bits of glass missing from said window, which must have resulted from taking a hard swing downward and a big slam at the bottom.

This is the dumbest invention I have ever seen and I don’t understand the purpose of such a window apparatus.

I’m told that in the event that you have two Sache Weight Windows together, that they can even share a weight betwixt them;  but mine only has one Window.

It seems that the one pulley turns while the other does nothing at all.  The one rope moves and the pulley turns but the other is stuck fast.

Your windows are very old and things have worn out, warped, etc.  The sash weights are there to counterbalance the weight of the window. When the tracks (guides on each side of the frame) are clear and the pulleys are not frozen, these windows move quite smoothly.  Unless some major incorrect repair was done on the window, it'll stop fully open, fully closed, or anywhere in between because it's in balance with the weights.

If one pulley & rope is not moving, then of course there'll be slack somewhere and the counterbalancing sash weight doesn't come into play.

That said, they are infamous for not sealing well. That's the price of having a wooden guide with a wooden runner.   At some  point someone will have to cough up installing new energy-efficient windows and frames.


What's the best way to replace this sink supply line? When removing a pedestal sink to put tile underneath, I busted one of the supply lines. I know I can get a flexible mesh supply line at the store, but I don't see any threaded connection on my wall side. Is this a normal way of installing supply lines? What's the best way to proceed from here?
Also, what are the pros and cons of the new mesh style vs the ribbed style I have now?

The broken supply line appears to be integral to the shutoff valve.  You will need to replace the valve with something like this

You may wish to consider replacing both of them and installing new flexible supply lines.


How to keep buried deck posts from rotting This is related to a question I asked earlier regarding my deck footings.

I had a pool deck built last fall. The footings are 4' deep and 12" diameter. There are metal post brackets attached to the concrete, and the PT 4x4s are attached to those brackets.

The builder only poured the concrete to about 6" below grade. So now my posts are buried about 6" below grade. Well, not exactly buried, as the footings were dug out and left as holes. Those holes filled up with rain and are now my posts are sitting in blocks of ice. I assume I should fill the holes with something in ther spring when the ground thaws.

Is there anything I can do to help my wood posts from rotting? I know I need to regrade the area so water drains away from the footings, but I don't know if it's ok for the bottom of the posts to be buried. And if so, what material do i use to fill in the footing holes (sand, crushed stone, gravel, etc)? Should i coat the posts with some type of rubberized sealant to keeo away water?

I attached a photo (from the fall, it is all frozen now) for reference. Thank you!

I'm answering from Australia so building practices may be different.

I'd call your builder and insist that he come back and install the footings properly. Post brackets are expressly to keep the posts above ground so the bottoms do not rot.

Installing them below ground is not a very good idea.

Edit

This need not be a difficult fix but it is my strong view it is the builder's responsibility. I'd wait for a time when the ground is reasonably dry. It will be a pain in the butt.

Instead of replacing the footings:

Support the deck on jacks / trusses.
Dig out around each post footing until the top of the existing footing and the bracket is exposed.
Cut off the bottom of the post at the desired height, 4" - 6" above grade, or in line with local best practice .
Unbolt the cut end of the post from the existing bracket.
Obtain and, to the top of the existing bracket - bottom of the post, bolt an extension bracket. If some diligent fossicking at the local hardware store does not turn something suitable up you may need to get them fabricated. They should be externally and internally galvanised(a).
Into the existing footing drill 4 x 5/8" holes at a 6" pitch ~12" deep.
Smack a 2'(b) length of 5/8" rebar into each hole.
Box the top of the existing footing to the appropriate height.
Apply concrete.
When cured release the support jacks(c).

a.  This is a must. Copper Arsenate is a typical pressure treatment. In direct contact with steel (iron), depending on the pH of your soil, weird electrolytic things can happen.

b. The top of the rebar should be ~2" below the new top of the footing. 2' is a guestimate. Adjust appropriately.

c. Take some care with this. The post bracket extension must be installed firm so that the deck does not sag when the support is released. You may need to shim. A small piece of fibre cement sheet works a treat.

Good luck.


How to fix a ventilation pipe to the wall? I'm doing some renovations in my toilet/bathroom, and am currently pondering the ventilation. Here's the current situation (click pictures to get bigger versions):
My toilet and bathroom are right next to each other (yes, they're tiny. It's a Soviet-era building). The bathroom is on the left, the toilet on the right:
http://valts.21.lv/problem/fan/pic1_thumb.jpg
The toilet has a 10cm by 20cm hole in the wall between it and the bathroom:

(source: valts.21.lv)
On the other side of the wall there's a metal pipe placed in the hole:

(source: valts.21.lv)
The pipe spans the width of the bathroom and enters a similar hole on the opposite wall:

(source: valts.21.lv)
That's where the ventilation shaft is. You can also see a smaller hole beneath the pipe - that's the ventilation hole for the bathroom itself.
What I want to do is place fans in both ventilation holes (for the toilet and for the bathroom). The only fans I could find where of this type:

(source: valts.21.lv)
The smallest one had a diameter of 10cm; it's depth was greater than the thickness of the wall between toilet and bathroom (the rear end sticks out a good deal on the other side); and the face-plate (being a square) doesn't fully cover the hole in the wall. I even had to knock the holes in the wall a few mm bigger for the fan to fit in there at all; and the current metal pipe is about 1cm less wide than the hole, which means that the fan cannot possibly fit in it.
That pretty much means I'll need a new pipe. I don't mind, because the old one is pretty unsightly anyway. The new pipe will most likely be circular (I haven't seen rectangular ones like this in the store) and unlike the old one it won't be able to support itself by being placed inside the hole (since the hole is barely wide enough for the fan, there's no room for the pipe). That means that it will need to be somehow attached to the wall and the remainders of all the holes closed.
What is the best way to do this? I can imagine buying the right length of the pipe (which will then need to be very precise in length), and maybe three metal (or plastic?) plates with appropriate holes cut out... but how to stick it all together? And it would also very much then depend on the pipe being the proper length (exactly the width of the bathroom). A few mm longer or shorter, and it's unusable. That worries me.
Is there some other approach or some tricks that can help me?

There's a number of things you could do, this is one I would do in your situation. These fans are made to fit inside sheet metal ducts. Go ahead and get 2 lengths of this stuff. You will end up with a joint somewhere in the room, but then the duct can run fully through both walls and there's enough slop in the fit that precise cutting is not needed.

Because of the joint, you will need a hanger support that anchors into the ceiling, which I assume is concrete. You would need a hammer drill to make the hole necessary to insert an anchor stud to which the hanger can be attached.

This is not the most attractive thing in the world, but it can be painted so that it's not too objectionable. Painting exposed ductwork is done intentionally sometimes as a desirable (to some) "look". You could also construct a soffit box to contain the duct, you end up with a sort of stair step on the ceiling. Given the extra work for this, it's easier to like the painted duct look.

To fill in the holes, get some cement backer board and cut to the size of each opening. Also cut holes to fit the duct or fan. For the size involved, the boards can just be glued in place with construction adhesive. You can also glue in some backup cleats behind the boards to increase the glued surface area if you like. The boards should be recessed about 15mm from the wall surface. The remaining space is filled with portland cement plaster in 2 or 3 coats. It is an obvious patch, but it sort of matches the wall and would be hardly noticeable if the walls are to be painted.


how to properly seal protective sleeve entering electric panel There is a good picture of what my panel will look like at https://www.ecmweb.com/qampa/stumped-code-2

I don't want to copy their picture over here so I'll describe the situation: I'm adding electric service to my pole barn.  The inspector has said that since I have unfinished walls I should sleeve cables below 8' for protection.  The electric code allows for this but one of the rules is that the sleeve for the panel is to be sealed.  I don't see any specific products for sealing conduit with NM cables in it so I wonder if I'm supposed to run all cables and then squirt a bunch of expanding foam into the top of the pipe?  That seems messy so I assume that there is something better.

Is there a proper way to seal this protective sleeve with the NM in it?

Thank you.

You're looking for "duct seal" in the electrical section

The correct product for sealing the ends of conduits is something that's called "duct seal" of all things -- it's a soft putty that can be molded around the cables and stuffed into the conduit.  It's available just about anywhere electrical supplies are sold.


My ex came in the house, unplugged the garage door opener and jammed the doorknob of the door into the garage. How do i get the garage door open My ex came into the house and disabled the garage door.   How do I get it open from the outside

Virtually all doors that are between the house and garage open into the house. This means that the hinges are visible from the house side. One alternative is to remove the hinge pins and the door should be able to be pulled inwards toward the house. Modern doors of this type will be a fire break type of door and may be fairly heavy so get assistance if needed to handle moving the thing.

Now you can then figure out the door knob issue from both sides now. If the knob has been broken to the state of non-usability you can replace it at fairly low cost. If necessary there are semi-destructive ways to cut off and removing a broken knob if it has been damaged beyond normal removal methods.

Do yourself a huge favor and get the other entry door locks re-keyed or replaced as soon as possible to prevent access by unauthorized persons that may have copies of the original keys.


What is your best wire management solution for an entertainment system and a home office? What gadgets or devices have you used to help manage wires or cords at home for the entertainment system are and for the home office?

It's by no means an all-in-one solution but I've personally found Velcro Cable Ties to be INVALUABLE. You can reuse them over and over; great for those "oh darn!" moments when you need to remove or replace a cable.

-M


What type of filler to replace a gasket but not permanently? I have a connection that has a custom-shaped hard plastic gasket with strong adhesive to hold the two sides together. The gasket is meant to fill the gap between the two pieces and the adhesive bonds them together.

I have to do repair on this connection which requires that the gasket be completely removed from both ends which damages it in the process and it cannot be reused.

Is there some form of soft silicone or other kind of adhesive that I can use to fill this void that is strong enough to bind the two ends but not permanently in case I need to remove it again? I can't use a normal glue because it flows too easily and I don't want to use epoxy because I'm afraid that I won't be able to separate the parts again.

Permatex markets a variety of gasket sealants, depending on exactly what you're sealing. Of particular note in this situation are the various High Tack branded ones which combine gasket and adhesive. It's more likely you'll find them in an automotive parts dealer than at the hardware store.


How to find a neutral to ground short on my main panel I've just installed a subpanel in my attached garage. The rough in has passed inspection, however my main panel has standard breakers and has never had fault finding interrupter breakers in it, and was installed in 1990's.
The subpanel has the bonding screw removed and the ground is terminated to the subpanel box and goes to the main panel box with the neutral connected to the subpanel neutral bar and goes to the main panel neutral bar. The 2 hot wires go to a double poled breaker on the main panel bus. The main panel does have its bonding screw installed as required.
The main panel has the house ground attached to the neutral bar and then there is a ground wire running form the natural gas pipe then it connects to the copper water pipe and proceeds to the main panel and connects to the panel box.
The situation is when the arc fault breakers are installed in the subpanel and turned on everything is fine until a load is applied to the subpanel circuit and the breaker trips immediately.
The loads used at the time was a chop saw, garage lights, and plugging my iPhone into its charger on the circuit.
When trouble shooting I have also disconnected the neutral and ground lines feeding the subpanel and checked between the neutral and ground for any shorts. None of the grounds have any shorts to the neutral.
I've been reading up on what could cause this and have not found a concrete answer to this problem. What I have come up with are these 2-thoughts.

On the circuits of the subpanel has one switch box that is fed by two separate supply circuits. One runs the garage lights and the other runs outside lighting and accent lights in the studio in the garage.
Would having the grounds at this box from both circuits being joined together and including the switch box cause this kind of problem?
Could a neutral short to ground in one of the circuits of the main panel case this problem?
If so then how does one find the circuit with the short?

Now if I were to turn the main breaker off in the main panel, remove the incoming neutral wire from the neutral bar, remove the bonding screw, unplug everything that has a plug in the house and then with my meter see if the ground and neutral are isolated from each other or is there a neutral short to ground in one of the circuits keeping them connected. I know this doesn't tell me which one, or is there a very simple way of detecting a Neutral to Ground Short with in multiple circuits?

AFCI's do have GFCI-like characteristics, because most of them include a "mini-GFCI" for detecting hot-ground and neutral-ground arc faults. That means you must handle their neutrals like a GFCI.  (certain GE breakers are an exception).  However, an AFCI will only trip due to neutral or ground mishandling downline of the AFCI.  You need not search for neutral/ground challenges on the panel side; even if you wrongly put the subpanel's neutral-ground bond back in, the AFCI wouldn't notice that.
It sounds like your subpanel's neutrals and grounds are wired correctly based on your description.
Neutral is not ground.  All grounds should be connected together.  Neutrals should only be connected when their partner hots (the ones in the same cable) are connected via wirenut, device, switch etc.  When 2 circuits are in the same box, their neutrals must be kept carefully separated.  "Gray" is an allowable color for neutral, so feel free to mark one circuit's neutrals with gray tape.
Next, you need to carefully review the instructions for the AFCI and assure you installed it correctly.  Seriously.
Next, it is a matter of "divide and conquer".   You have left several appliances plugged in and haven't tried unplugging them.  You really ought to try that!   Now try removing circuit hot and neutral from the AFCI device - if the AFCI still trips, that tells you quite a lot. Then, re-add parts of the circuit one segment at a time until it trips - that tells you what part of the circuit it is in.
Steady on; ask questions.


Is there some flexible cement-based mortar? I live in an apartment in a multistoried building. The building is assembled of huge enforced concrete plates - one plate is size of a wall of a room. One of the inter-plate seams has a crack in it due to a slight basement slump (the code allows that) that lets the cold from the outside (the atmosphere) into the apartment.

I need to choose some compound to seal the seam from the inside of the apartment. The crack is about two millimeters wide and I could use ordinary cement-based mortar, but the problem I see is mortar is not elastic, so if the building continues to slump the crack will surely reappear and I'll have to start anew.

I could use silicone-based sealant, but it is not fireproof and I don't like the idea of a fire suddenly bursting from inside a wall if there's a fire in some other apartment.

So I'd like to have something like a cement-based mortar (fireproof) yet flexible enough to compensate fro future slumps. Are there such compounds?

I'd opt for a fire resistant silicone sealant such as this one >>
http://www.bostik.co.uk/construction/product/bostik/Fireseal-Silicone-Joint-Sealant/340

That's from a UK site, but I'm sure there are similar products in your part of the world.

When it comes to cement then flexibility is usually imparted by including lime in the mortar - although that's a slow process involving the exposed lime within a crack recalcifying over time so not really suitable in your scenario.


How to smooth/flatten a butcher block I have an old piece of butcher block that I want to use as a small bit of countertop -- planning to build what is essentially a small kitchen island (18" x 24", based on the size of the butcher block).

Unfortunately, the butcher block is not perfectly smooth. That's probably why we got it for $8 at a garage sale 10 years ago. ;-) You can see one corner floating about 5 mm (1/4") above the floor here:

Another way of looking at it is head on to the edge grain:

Anyways, I want this thing to sit flat. I've been reading about various techniques to correct a warped/cupped/bowed butcher block by adding or removing moisture, and I'm not sure how applicable those techniques are here. This seems to me more complex than warping, as you can see from the edge profile.

So I think I want to remove the excess material, but I'm not sure of the right tool for the job. Belt sander? Random orbital sander? Hand plane? Something else entirely?

FWIW, I own none of these tools. I can easily rent a belt sander or a random orbital sander, but I'm not sure about a plane.

Finding a shop with a large enough planer or drum sander would be your best bet.   But I have found when I plane a rough, warped board I end up with a smooth, warped board!  To do it properly, you may need to make a "sled" and support the board so it doesn't rock.   Run it thru the planer or sander and get one side truly flat, then remove it from the sled and plane/sand the other side. Sounds like a lot of work for an $8 garage sale find. Up to you of course. If it's not badly warped, just planing it might get the job done.  Good luck!


What should I do about my toilet flapper sticking open? The flapper valve in the toilet in my apartment was recently replaced, since it had a small leak. The new one has a perfectly good seal, but sometimes just gets stuck open. It looks like it's just gripping a bit too tightly on the hinge - when  it tries to close, it moves partway down and just hangs there, and a little jiggle of the lever is enough to make it drop. What should I do about it?

If you purchased one of the generic replacements, they usually come with both the slide on and hinge mounting rubber parts attached.  If your mounting is the two side pin type, then you must cut the connecting tabs of rubber that hold the slide on rubber ring, and discard it. If you slide the flapper on with the ring and also use the side hinges, it will not work properly.  You can only use one mount type..  slide on or side hinge.   Hope this is your situation, easy fix.


Shade Netting Car Port - has a small tear - how to stop it from getting bigger? Is there a way to "repair" or stop a small hole in a shade netting car port from getting bigger?

Depends in part on why it has a hole.

If it's old and getting degraded by the sun, it will just tear somewhere else, and wholesale replacement is going to be the best option.

If it was cut by something but is in generally good shape, you can sew a patch to it, overlapping the holed/torn area. You MAY also be able to just melt the edges if it's a small hole.


Within code, can I notch a joist block? I'm replaceing a portion of drywall on the ceiling between floors 1 and 2. For the drywall, I plan to add backer boards on edges. The issue is there are joist blocker boards running perpendicular between the joists. Can I "legally" notch a quarter inch within the center one-third of the perpendicular joist blocker board?

You are adding nailing edges to the edges of the existing drywall to provide support for the edge of the new drywall sheet and the edge of the existing.  A lot of people will just get some 1x4 and span the old sheet to the new sheet.  The two sheets then align at the joint.  They might not be "sucked up" as much as if you adding a nailing edge that was connected to the joists but sheets of drywall are typically supported 16" on center so at most the existing sheet will have support < 16" away and the new sheet will have support < 16" away.  The 1x4 between the sheets then lends support from one sheet to the other.  These pieces don't even have to be continuous.  You also have texture on the ceiling which works to hide all kinds of defects so your work can be even less precise.
As far as your question goes, you can notch the blocking between the joists.  The solid blocking between the joists allows your floor assembly to work as a single unit.  Often cross bridging is installed instead of solid blocking and they have comparable performance.  Blocking is also routinely knocked out by plumbers.  A notch to the bottom of the blocking is not going to effect the function.  The bottom of the blocking is not being loaded in tension.  If you are worried about it


Sand Texture Ceilings What is the easiest and efficent way to smooth a sand textured ceiling? this house is a prebuilt house about 40 yrs old with ceilings 7 1/2' high.

It would depend on how much effort and cost you are willing to invest. Also how large an area is another factor. One way (depending on your DIY skills) is to cover the texture with drywall. Drywall would need to be taped and sanded and primed and painted. I've removed popcorn texture by spraying it with water from a pump sprayer, letting soak-in, and scraping the texture into a plastic bag. I found a scraper made specifically for this work at Lowes. Scraping with water involves plastic drop clothes and afterwards skim coating dents with spackle. I would think both suggestions take about the same time. Drywall might be a bit more costly and labor intensive. Scraping can be accomplished solo with minimum dust produced. But when removing or working with suspicious (or unknown) material that can be inhaled (like 40 year old texture) take precautions by using protective equipment.


What is the minimum distance an electrical outlet can be from an exterior door? I have an interior wall that sits perpendicular to an exterior patio door starting about 8 inches from it. (See diagram below).  I've been looking all over and haven't found any rules about how close an outlet can be to an exterior door, sliding or otherwise.  Is there a minimum distance?  The outlet is currently 24 inches from the door, but when moved will only be 10 inches.  I have to move this outlet further down to fit pocket french doors into the living room.

eHow had an article about maximum distance, and I tried wading through building code but didn't find anything in particular to Washington State or in the NEC.

There is no minimum distance specified in the NEC. It can be as close as is physically possible given the constraints of framing, trim, etc. There's several rules about maximum distance and spacing and when to include door swings or not, and what constitutes a usable wall requiring outlets in the first place. But no minimum.

Now, conceivably, someone could interpret that since the outlet is within 6 feet of a "damp" area (patio) that it may need to be GFCI protected. I personally believe this stretching the intent of the NEC too far since the theoretical appliance in a damp area would have it's cord running through an open exterior door into a different room.

There could be other requirements by Washington state or your local jurisdiction. The NEC is mute on this matter, but you should inquire with your local building authority to be absolutely sure there are no other applicable requirements or "creative" interpretations of GFCI requirements.


Can i install condenser unit of split air conditioner in a rotated position? I have to install a 1.5 ton split AC in my home. Due to some space constraints I can't install the condenser unit (the external unit) as instructed. Can I install it by rotating it by 90 degrees.

I am asking if it will create any problem in working of AC?

Probably not. The problem is there is a compressor in there and that uses gravity to keep the oil in the compressor. Have you ever heard that you need to let a refrigerator stand upright after moving it if it was laid on its side or back. This is to allow the oil time to drain back to the compressor. And usually takes 4 hours to 24 hours.
 If the unit is placed on its side it it will fail in a very short period of time, I do not know of any models that can allow to be run other than 1 position.


Stove element gets hot, but not red hot. Why? I have a GE slide-in electric range. The front right (large) burner stopped working completely. I replaced the infinite switch and the burner works but the element doesn't get red hot like the others. It can barely boil water.

I noticed the insulation on the top blue wire was slightly darkened and stiff ( so I cut the wire back and soldered the spade onto freshly exposed wire (I couldn't bend the spade clamps back and I didn't have an extra spade). Could this solder job be why the burner is not getting as hot? I've switched the element with the other and they both will get red hot on the functioning left-side pod.

Any ideas? Many thanks!

Different burners need different infinite switches. My large burners require a switch rated for 8.9-11A while the smaller burners require a lower current (4-7A if I remember correctly). If you bought a switch designed for a small burner to operate your large burner, it will get warm but not very hot.


Converting an outdoor light socket into a light socket and outlet I've just moved into a new apartment on the top floor of an old home. It's got a balcony / porch area big enough to put some seating out on, and the whole place is surrounded by tall trees. What I'd love to do is run a string of lights around the porch, possibly out into one of the trees and back.

The problem is that there are no outdoor electrical outlets. Expected, being so it's a much older home. There IS a bare light bulb mounted to the wall, however.

I'm wondering if it would be possible to retrofit this with a socket-to-outlet adapter (possibly one that still allows me to screw a light bulb in), while still keeping it safe from the weather (both rain and snow).

Here's what we're dealing with:

I'm not sure if I'll be able to switch out the holder, because as I understand it, that would require turning the power off, yeah? And the breaker would be in the downstairs tenants' apartment. I could always ask them, but I'm also very cautious of doing rewiring with heavy voltages like this.

What are my options?

Thankfully, since it's a 4" pancake, you're in luck.  You can attach a weatherproof extension to it, then attach a new weatherproof light fixture to the extension (since the one you have is disintegrating), and then you can use the extension ring as a splice point to tap off wires for a new outlet box -- use THWN run though a 1/2" conduit nipple for this, and a weatherproof surface mount single gang box with a matching in-use "bubble" cover for the receptacle itself.

Don't forget to turn the breaker off before making these changes!

(Linked parts are simply examples of what can be used)


How well does a single A\C unit provide 2 zone cooling? My 2,900 square foot house currently has two separate AC systems (one upstairs, one downstairs).  They're both very old and need to be replaced.

One of the four HVAC salesman that provided quotes suggested using a single Lennox XC21 system and claimed it can provide 2 cooling zones.  They'd merge the supply ductwork and install dampers to allow one or the other or both zones to be cooled.

How well does this actually work?  Is the Lennox XC21 a good unit?  Based on the other info I've gotten, it seems the XC21 is spec'd out correctly as far as tonnage (5) and SEER (21) go.

On a side note, the salesman said I would NOT be able to use my Nest thermostat with the XC21 because there's some kind of humidity controller in the unit that the Nest won't be able to control.  Anyone know if this is really true or if there's a workaround?  I've become a bit addicted to my Nest!

Using a single HVAC unit with zone dampers is pretty well-established and can save the trouble of having multiple separate units.
Some things to discuss with your salesman (and if s/he doesn't have detailed answers, ask for someone with detailed knowledge):

If your cooling needs will often only require one zone or the other (i.e., daytime downstairs, nighttime upstairs), will the system cool that single zone too rapidly to allow proper dehumidification?
will it have the capacity to cool both zones effectively when needed? (balancing this with the first point may require careful sizing of the system)
if the system fails, you have no cooling.   With two separate systems, you're likely to have some cooling in the house with one system running.
this might give you the option for a third zone, if your current ductwork allows (i.e., split one of the zones into two).   This could be a cost savings if you are currently cooling space that's not used full-time.

We've been in a house with three zones on one system for 13 years  and it's served us quite well.

I can't comment on that specific unit or the Nest.