Troubleshooting LED refresh rate or flicker We bought a older home that had all the bulbs and fixtures replaced with LED lights of one kind or another. I have a ceiling fan light fixture and two pot lights in the living room that bother me. Particularly when I play with my dogs I can see the refresh rate of the bulbs. None of these lights are attached to a dimmer. Before I start buying up new bulbs, fixtures or switches I want to know exactly what I'm searching for.

I took these videos on my iPhone 6S Plus with the slow motion feature at 240 fps to clearly illustrate what I am seeing. Each video shows just a single light source being on at once. In the pot lights video the fan and fan light is off. I don't know what Youtube encoding would do to it.

Ceiling Fan light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DddB_0QrV_8

Pot lights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FFI1atKoLE

The question I have is what exactly am I looking at. What is the terminology I need to use to describe the issue and how do I identify a solution for it? I've spent a few hours over a few weeks now reading and searching on the subject but 99% of the results are for LED lights connected to dimmer switches. Again these are not on dimmer switches.

Well in the UK, the first of your videos is called strobing the second is flickering. My own (non clinical) tests show that dimmable light bulbs (even when not on dimmers) and both halogen and LED seem to do eiter flickering or strobing to varying degrees, some bulbs more so than others, even when on simple on off switches. I don't know if it's bad for you though, but I would rather not find out long term, so I have tested many bulbs dimmable and not and found a few bulbs which don't strobe or flicker at all, not even a small flicker, even at iphone slow motion record of 240. Unfortunately, they are all higher-end NON dimmable Led bulbs. Must be the technology used on dimmable bulbs that allow some movement within the bulb. I have not yet found even 1 dimmable bulbs of any shape or size or make that does not at least flicker to some degree (even on on/off switches) when viewed in slow motion record. Thats why I dont use any dimmers at home which is a shame but if you ever find a dimmable bulb that doesn't flicker, I would love to know :)


Breaker trips after attempting to install a new outlet I was updating my daughters bedroom and decided to replace all the outlets with new ones. (the old ones were painted over) everything was good until I got to the last outlet and tried to reconnect the new one it immediately sparked and tripped the breaker. I thought maybe I had maybe I had wired it incorrectly, had a bad outlet or a nick in the wire but no. I am baffled as I didn't add anything at all to this circuit to increase the load. Also one weird thing.... the breaker stays on and the rest of the outlets work fine as long as the hot and neutral on this outlet don't touch. I have them capped off separately and everything else is fine. Now what? Could it be that the breaker itself is faulty?

Are you saying that you were changing outlets when they were hot? Or simply that the last outlet sparked? If the latter, it could be a defective outlet or defective install. And it's possible that the sparking incident damaged a previously functional outlet. Don't re-install something that's charred. Look closely again for nicks in the insulation.

I'd try again with a new receptacle, but leave the outlet hanging out of the junction box temporarily and see what happens. If that works, then turn off the power, mount the receptacle and see what happens.

It should go without saying that all circuits should be off when you're working on them.


Nut &bolt or nail for railing construction the railing im making will use nails, but the question came to mind:

advantages and disadvantages?

between using a  nut and bolt to connect two pieces of wood

and using a nail to connect two pieces of wood

You always want railings to be very strong. Folks seem to have a natural trust of railing, and you don't want to break that trust. When somebody leans against your railing, you don't want the railing to give way and allow the person to fall.

Depending on the design of the railing, you'll want to use bolts and/or screws wherever possible. Nails will pull out far more easily than either screws or bolts.


Smoothening masonry surface Is there an appropriate grinder blade, or another tool, with which I can iron out masonry surfaces like this? Sort of like a masonry equivalent of a planer or a belt sander.

Yes, you can purchase "masonry sanding disks" or sheets for common sanders. Just watch out for the dust.

Here the wall has a lot of irregularities.  Consider a chisel to get the bad stuff knocked down, then a professional skim coat of plaster over the top.


Neutralizing concrete floor after cleaning cream with muriatic acid I am prepping my concrete floors for epoxy. After removing whatever I can do mechanically with a grinder and cup brush, I was going to soak it in muriatic acid.

I did something similar to my exposed brick walls and the effects were fantastic, thar thing does clean. But I remember that I neutralized the ph factor with baking soda in water solution. Is this the right approach with concrete floors as well or should I use something else? If yes, about which ratio of baking soda vs water should I use?

I have rinsed with clear water and a large rubber squeegee 3 times. On the inside basements I cleaned I made a u shaped dam slightly wider than my squeegee, I set my shop vac to suck the water as I pushed it in, it really worked better than I thought it would, I used some scrap angle iron but I bet some 2x4 scraps would work.
On the basement I may have rinsed it 4 times.
But on all the garages I spray & squeegee 3 times. This probably depends on the strength you used. I usually use ~15% depending on how bad the floor is. Baking soda will neutralize the acid but still need to rinsed. The reaction actually dose change the ph but not totally, I started using 3 rinse cycles after working with acid processing equipment (3 rinses is what they required).


How to keep my air conditioner from freezing when it is cool outside? My bedroom is the hottest room in the house, and even with all the windows open and fans in them doesn't cool off as much as I would like when it's an acceptable temperature outside.  And I prefer to sleep in a rather cool room since I find it easier to breath.

I have a window air conditioner that works perfectly in the summer, keeping the room nice and cool.  But in the spring and fall, when it's cool outside (but not cool enough for me to be comfortable!) the AC will freeze over quickly.

What can I do to prevent it from freezing?

Are some window air conditioners better at working with lower outside temperatures?  If so what would I be looking for?

A typical AC shouldn't freeze over in that temperature range unless it's running 24x7. Try turning it onto energy save mode and adjusting the thermostat so that it turns off for at least 10-15 minutes every 2 hours.


Recessed Lighting Stopped Working I've got a problem with some recessed lighting.

We have 8 recessed lights on a circuit that is controlled by a timer so we can leave them on/off for set periods.  Five lights are indoors and three are outdoors, under an extended overhang.  When we moved into this location, one of the three outside lights did not work.  This one is positioned on the right.  After we were here a year, all of the old floodlight bulbs were replaced with LED bulbs.  Some time in the year after that, the light in the center stopped working as well.  Currently, only the leftmost exterior light works and all of the interior lights work.  There is no attic access to this area.  All of the bulbs have been tested and work fine elsewhere.  Never had a breaker trip.  Tested the sockets of the two nonworking bulbs with my voltage indicator and it agreed with the bulbs - no power.

The boxes for these lights are all mounted right beside them up in the fiberglass filled hellhole of an overhang but I can't see them or see how to get them loose.  I've managed to get a horrible picture or dozen with my phone - enough to see that the wiring looks to be in good shape and that any connections must be actually in the boxes (never know with these really old buildings).

Where's my best bet for trying to solve this and get the lights working?  I've put away a lot of the more pressing projects and I'd like to get these back in commission before the long dark of winter.

Recessed light that are for incandescents have a built in thermal detector, over the years the eventually give up and the can stops working. The outside has more extreme conditions so it stands to reason they would give up first. The detectors are generally located on the exterior of the can. If these cans are original installations and not remodel cans, you can actually remove the small screws towards the bottom of the can. You may have to remove the trim first.

Once that is done you will be able to see the detector on the side and the junction box mounted on the can frame. This box has snap off covers so you can get to the wiring. Check to see if you have power to this box.  Unfortunately they stopped making replacement thermal protectors so you will need to replace the can, if you find power in the box. If you do not have power in the box then I am afraid the only way you can find the problem is to track it down (see Michael Karas).


Wiring diagram for light switch, GFCI, timer and bathroom fan I have a 3-gang box, There are 3 14/2 NM cables coming inside box. One is the power supply, the other 2 are for the light switch and bathroom fan. I want to install a timer switch for the bathroom fan and also want GFCI protection for the fan. Is my wiring diagram correct?
Also, the timer switch has 4 stranded wire coming out of it, Should I directly connect black wire to GFCI load side or should I use wire connector to join them ?

Timer | GFCI

This looks correct to me. Key pieces:

All grounds together.
Light is switched and powered not on GFCI. This is normal and generally preferred, with the exception if the light is directly over a tub/shower.
GFCI blank face. My preference generally would be to make use of it as a receptacle for almost no extra cost. However, since bathroom receptacle circuits are supposed to be 20A, while existing 15A receptacles would be grandfathered I think new receptacles would not be. (Changing to 20A would require 12 AWG wire.)
Timer after the GFCI. Note that timer actually probably does not need to be GFCI-protected, unless the fan is over a wet area (tub/shower). But if it is going to be on a GFCI, it should be after (as you have it), not before.

I would recommend using wire nuts and a pigtail rather than directly connecting the timer to the GFCI. That will make any repairs/replacement easier.


Fluorescent Light issue I have a 4 bulb light fixture which suddenly just went out.  I checked and there was power to it. I changed all the bulbs in case one was bad and still nothing. So I purchased a new ballast and installed that.  Nothing.  There is power to the ballast and power in all the wiring going to the bulbs.  So I have no idea what to check for next!  Any ideas?

If the ballast is wired correctly make sure the connections to the bulbs aren't loose.  You could replace a pair of connectors as a test if your fixture allows.


Repair bottom plate rot in bathroom interior wall Just started a bathroom renovation in my (new to us) 1961 ranch house built over crawlspace in NC. I planned on new floor, new vanity & sink, new toilet, but I want to keep the cast iron enameled tub and the tile surround on the walls above the tub.  The old flooring consisted of 3 layers of linoleum, and a 23/32 plywood underlayment. The subfloor is diagonally laid 1x6 planks over 2x8 joists roughly 16" on center.

After I took up all the linoleum, it was clear that there was flooring water damage in the tub x wall corner on the side w/the showerhead.  The underlayment was shot, and so was the subfloor plank in the corner.  I trimmed the damaged plank off at the nearest joist and blocked the 2 joists w/2x6.  But...turns out that the rot got to the bottom plate of the interior bathroom wall too.  There's about a 10 inch stretch of the bottom plate w/moderate to severe rot.  This particular bottom plate runs parallel to and directly above two doubled joists (not sure what to call them...they're not fastened but they are set less than 1 inch apart).  By visual inspection in the crawlspace there is zero rot on the joists

The problem is...part of the rot is located behind the tub.  Again, I'd rather not take out the tub or the tile surround above it.  Below is a picture of the bottom plate damage. Any ideas or advice?  Can I repair the bottom plate rot and keep my tub & tile?

Best to remove the tub as there may be more, but if you can see the rot, and reach it without the removal of the tub, then I would say fix it up. Just make sure to seal the replacement and the area around it just in case the rot does actually go deeper than you can see.


Odd Problem Testing Series Outlets I recently purchased a new outlet tester and was randomly going around the house happy that all outlets were showing GREEN (correct).

Then I came to one of the outlets in my kitchen.

I have three outlets that are wired in series. To my knowledge these are the last three outlets in the run from the panel.

Scenario One:

Outlet #1 - GFCI Outlet - Tester = GREEN (correct)
The rest of the outlets are fed from the load terminals correctly

Outlet #2 - Normal Outlet - Tester = YELLOW/GREEN (open neutral)
When tested the yellow/green lights come on and the GFCI trips immediately.

Outlet #3 - Normal Outlet - Test = GREEN (correct)

Scenario Two:

Outlet #1 - GFCI Outlet -Tester = GREEN (correct)
The rest of the outlets are fed from the load terminals correctly

Outlet #2 - Normal Outlet - Tester = YELLOW/RED (hot/neutral reversed)
When tested the yellow/red lights come on and after a second or two the GFCI trips.

Outlet #3 - Outlet three (the last outlet in the run) is removed and no outlet is connecting the hot and neutral wires (they are wire nutted off separately). I did this as a method of removing one point at a time to try and narrow things down. I did not expect this to alter outlet #2.

I am utter baffled at how the above scenarios can change and what exactly that means and what the best course of action is to correct the situation.

I am not sure how removing outlet #3 from the equation alters the "issue" that outlet #2 is having.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

My first impression, if I wanted to trust what the tester says, is you have a neutral that is damaged/skinned/possibly partially broken.

However, never trust gadgetry. That is only for possible diagnosis, not actuality.

Open up the offending receptacle and visually confirm what the gadgetry says. You may find a simple issue.


Kitchen dimmer dims lights in adjacent room, but not always I have a weird wiring fault.

The kitchen and the dining room each have dimmer switches that work fine individually. However, if the dining room dimmer is on and within a certain range of positions (about halfway), the kitchen dimmer dims both sets of lights (not fully, but to some extent).

I can't imagine this being by design. What type of miswiring could explain these symptoms?

edit: Both lights are on the same circuit.

Looking inside, the kitchen dimmer looks uninteresting:

The back box in the dining room is, frankly, a mess:

Suspiciously, the dining room dimmer has two wires connected to the L1 terminal:

I've not yet attempted to trace what goes where, but would love to hear your thoughts on what might be going on here.

P.S. The dining room has a single LED bulb which is well below the 60W minimum the dimmer is rated for. I doubt that's relevant, but am mentioning for completeness.

In case someone runs into a similar problem, here is what I found and how I fixed the fault.

In the dining room, it turned out that the L1 terminal was connected to line and C to the load. This is the opposite to what I'd expect but I think is fine electrically (do correct me if I'm wrong). Anyway, swapping them round made no difference.

What did make a difference was replacing the dimmer in the dining room with one that's rated for the load (a single LED bulb). That made the problem go away completely.

(I'd still love to understand how the dimmer was picking up what was going on in another part of the circuit though.)


How can I eliminate one 3-way switch to leave just one switch on the lighting circuit it's on? I have two sets of lights in my kitchen. At one end of the kitchen, I have a 2 Gang light switch which operates both sets of lights, and at the other end I have a single light switch which operates the lights at that end of the kitchen. I want to eliminate the single gang light switch totally so it just leaves the 2 gang light switch to control both sets of  lights.

How do I do that?

Your circuit contains two 3-way switches. Referring to the diagram below:

if the switch with the incoming "hot" is the one you want single control from (shown at left)-

1) replace that switch with a single-pole switch

2) connect either of the "traveler" wires to the load side

3) remove the other (unwanted) switch and connect the traveler wire used in step-2 to the "switched hot" wire that goes to the lights.

4) the unused "traveler" wire is abandoned

If the switch without the incoming "hot" is the one you want single control from (shown at right)-

1) remove the switch with the incoming hot (shown at left) and connect the incoming hot to either of the "traveler" wires

2) replace the other switch (shown at right) with a single-pole switch

3) connect the "traveler" wire used in step 1 to one side of the switch

4) connect the "switched hot" that goes to the lights to the other side of the switch.

5) the unused "traveler" wire is abandoned


Plugging up ceiling vent hole...using backer wood to attach drywall We have a bathroom vent that is covered by a thin metal screen. It vents directly into the attic. I want to cover it with drywall. The ceiling is plaster.

I need a piece of backer wood so the drywall can attach to something. This is what I did.

I basically screwed the wood to the attic side of the plaster ceiling. It actually goes across the screen frame.

Should I have attached the wood to the wood beams instead.  Note: a couple of small pieces of plaster ceiling fell off into the bathroom because of the screws.

I already screwed in the drywall piece from the bathroom.

Using backer strips to hold on drywall patches is a standard repair technique. Often the screws holding the backer boards are inserted through sound plaster or plasterboard from the finished room side.

Your approach seems fairly sound, but I would add a few screws from the good side, being careful not to crack the plaster too much as you install. Since you seem to have real plaster, I would predrill the holes, although when screwing through drywall, it is not necessary.

Finally, are you making some arrangement for a real vent to the outside? Moisture vented to an attic space is simply wrong, leading to possible moisture damage and mold. Closing off the bad vent is a start, but not the full solution for the problem. As @JamesOlson points out in his comment, an openable window is adequate ventilation; but if there is none, some other exterior vent is needed.


Trying to fix/replace a ceiling light -- seen this type of mounting bracket anywhere? A ceiling light was held in place by this plastic bracket and finally broke away.

Been searching all over trying to find a generic replacement bracket but everything seems to attach upwards. This fixture uses side screws to attach. I realize that part of the issue is that whoever installed the light used drywall screws which probably didnt help so I wont use those again. But any ideas where I could find a replacement for this bracket? I guess if nothing else I could try to drill holes and attach upwards using some of the generic brackets I have found at various home improvement stores.

That fixture was not made to use those screws; somebody rigged that by drilling pilot holes into a plastic pancake ceiling box, then used drywall screws.

They did this because the part of the fixture that was designed to attach to a ceiling box was missing. The original screws were machine thread screws and were supposed to "side screw" into the missing mating piece.

You might have some legit mounting options if there is an electrical box in the ceiling, behind that busted plastic box...


What screen to use to keep flies and gnats out at night? Every Summer, I like having the windows open in my house. The problem is that if there is a light on, small flies and gnats always come in through the window screen as they are drawn to the light. I think that the flies are smaller than the holes in the screen. Does anyone know if there is a window screen to prevent them from coming in?

Bugs come in a lot of sizes, so unless you measure the bodies of the ones that get through in your area, it's hard to give you a specific size.  In general, though, screen fabric comes in a few nominal meshes intended to handle the typical-sized bugs.

I would start by just seeing if your screens are coarser than the "fine" mesh sold in your area.  Measure the holes or count the "threads per inch".  Compare that to the finest mesh they sell at the local store.  If you use threads per inch, be sure to compare against similar weight screening because different diameter wire or filament will have different gaps between them for the same count per inch.

If the finest they sell has a substantially smaller opening, I would just assume that it's fine enough. If you already have what's considered a fine mesh, you may need to do some research, like measuring bug bodies, or finding out what insect the local pest actually is and how small they are.

If you need openings smaller than the fine mesh sold in your area, you can get screen fabric online that goes down to almost microscopic size.  Some very fine mesh fabric is available for window screens.  The super-fine mesh is typically used for purposes other than keeping bugs out of your house, and can get expensive.


Is it within code to branch an exterior outlet off an interior outlet in the middle of a circuit? My city adheres to the 2008 NEC.  I've got a run of outlets around a basement room on one circuit.  On an exterior wall I've got a weatherproof outlet that's on a different circuit and somewhere in between two of the interior circuits.  Is it within code to remove that exterior outlet from its current circuit and "branch" it off the interior circuit?  I thought I remembered hearing once that there are limitations to branching circuits.

Additionally, are there any specific code requirements pertaining to exterior outlets that I should be aware of?

The outdoor receptacle will have to be GFCI protected.

  NEC 210.8 At dwellings, ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI)
  protection  shall be provided for all receptacle outlets installed in
  bathrooms, garages, grade-level  portions of unfinished accessory
  buildings, crawl spaces, unfinished basements, kitchen  countertops,
  wet-bar sinks, boathouses and outdoors. Receptacles that are not
  readily  accessible may be exempt from the GFCI requirement

The receptacle will also have to be contained in a weatherproof enclosure, and if something will be plugged in for extended periods (Christmas lights for example) the enclosure should be labeled as "watertight while in use".

  NEC 406.8 15 and 20 amp, 125 and 250 volt receptacles installed
  outdoors in a wet location shall have an enclosure that is
  weatherproof whether or not the attachment  plug is inserted

It should not be a problem branching from an interior circuit, but you'll want to seal the hole where the cable enters the house to prevent moisture from entering.


can I run 6/3 from a 60amp breaker on my meter loop to my shop 50ft to supply 120v/220v my old sub panel has 3 single strand 4awg which is ran to my meter loop on a 50amp breaker. Someone had cut a leg on both ends so now I can only get 120. Its only a 4 space sub. When I tried to add a third breaker for some reason it wouldn't work. also how do I wire in the new wires in the new sub box from the main?

Yes #6 wire would be fine on a 50 amp breaker. Today’s code requires 4 wire and you will need a grounding electrode at the the shop.   I would verify that the original #4 is not serviceable prior to spending the $ on a new UF cable or putting in conduit and wires, over the years I have found several feeders like yours that were cut because the owner was afraid of 220/240v. Most don’t realize the voltage to ground is only 120v there is only 220/240 between the 2 hot’s. I had a friend do the same because he did not understand and realized his welder would not work and asked me to fix it, prior to that I wondered why someone would do this (I have seen it about 5 times) where there was no damage to the feeder.


How to protect new car from garage scuffs The entrance to my garage faces the side of my house and my driveway is narrow.  So when I pull in I have to turn 90 degrees.  With my old Jeep I have brushed the front outside corner bumper against the garage wall resulting in paint damage to the car and wall. I've also clipped the inside with the same result. The only safe way is to pull in a bit, back up, straighten out, and then pull in. Which is annoying.  Now I have a new Jeep, which is larger and I really don't want to damage it.

I'm wondering if anyone has:

An idea for something I could use for guidance - so I know I'm not cutting it too tight or too wide
Or something I could put on the wall that the car would slide against so it doesn't damage the paint (as much)

Greatly appreciated!

You've provided an answer which you deem annoying, yet works. Contact with a motor vehicle means damage in almost all cases. There is no way to allow one large mass to slide against another without damage. (Item 2 in your post)

In an unrealistic response, you would drive your vehicle onto a caddy, lock the wheels in place and press a button. The caddy would then motor into the garage on a predetermined track, touching nothing and causing no damage. Helicopter pilots use a system similar to this for moving a powered-down helicopter into the hanger, although it's not automated.

Realistically, one could place a convex mirror on the outside of the garage near the area expected to take impact. The convex mirror is similar to those found in stores allowing the cashier to observe a wide area for traffic. In the case of the garage mounting, it permits the operator of the motor vehicle to observe the vehicle perimeters along with the building limitations and to keep the two apart.

Depending on the steering geometry and wheelbase of your vehicle and other mechanical parameters, you may have no option other than the back-and-fill method of positioning your vehicle for entry. This is a common practice used in many driving situations.

Depending on your driving skills, you may be able accomplish a garage entry in a single pass by reversing into the garage. This increases the risk of contact with the building if your reversing skills are poor and may also require multiple passes to align the vehicle with the intended destination.


Upgrade Service or Sub Panel or? I just moved into a small home (~1150sf) that currently has 150 amp service. The disconnect is outside by the meter (pictured). The meter is attached to the side of the carport, which I'm about to convert into a garage.

The sub panel is inside in the middle of the house (pictured). Though I have some room if I replace some of the breakers with doubles, she's pretty full.

I need significant power in the new garage. Here are the circuits I'd like to install in the new garage. Some of the items can be run on the same receptacle and few, if any, of the 220v tools will be run simultaneously:

120v for A/C
30a, 220v for table saw
30a, 220v for plasma cutter
60a, 220v for welder
(8) 120v receptacles for various woodworking tools

In every other house I've lived in, I've had room in my panel and have wired the circuits I've needed myself.

I guess I can run a sub panel to the garage from the sub in the house and then wire up the circuits, but since the disconnect is about 5' from the garage, I was wondering if there are other options.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

There is already over 200amps in circuit breakers. To add 60amps a new panel is needed and the entrance upgraded to at lease 200amps (300 is better).


Why does my furnace only work after power reset? I’m having issues with my furnace sometimes not kicking on.

I hear the furnace start, But then it will not fire.

However, If I go down to the basement and flip the power switch off and on the furnace starts and runs great.
It happens at least a few times a week.

Is the problem in the thermostat or the furnace?

Where should I start troubleshooting?

It is an older Natural gas, forced air furnace that works great when it is functioning properly.
Installed in 1995, I think its a Honeywell.

Your furnace controller board is very likely indicating a trouble situation and shutting itself down. This is the equivalent of a car turning on its check engine light and not wanting to move. Shutting the main power off clears the error code and allows it to work temporarily but doesn’t fix what’s actually at fault.

First, change out your furnace filter. Many error codes are simply because the homeowner never changed the  filter. Check the manual to see if there’s a filter timer reset button.

If the shutdowns still happen then the next time the furnace shuts down, keep the power on to the furnace so that you can read the error code. Your furnace should have a visible status led that is blinking (otherwise carefully take the cover off your furnace, avoiding any live wires, and look at the controller board). Count how many times the status led is blinking  each cycle (sometimes how quickly it is flashing is also important). Reference your service manual to diagnose the error code. You may have a faulty sensor, sticky motor, bad controller board, too many closed dampers, a blocked air return, incomplete combustion, cracked heat exchanger, blocked condensate line, etc etc. some of these things are life-critical situations. The blickenlights will tell you.

Ps. Since this is a gas furnace, make sure your carbon monoxide detectors are working and don’t continue to operate it in this unstable and potentially dangerous state. It could be leaking carbon monoxide into your home which leads to permanent nighty-nights.


Fireplace project- how to lower the top of the fireplace I decided to hummer down my old-style boulder-faced fireplace.
The project took two days, but when I was finished, i realized, the the actual fireplace opening is bigger that it was before, because it was faced over the top of the opening.
Now, I can’t just leave it, since I need to put TV over it, and currently there is not enough ceiling height (and no one wants to watch TV 10’ in the air).
Any advice on what can I do to cover the opening and make it like 30” instead of 36”? Maybe do metal framing and durock it? I am stuck.

I have modified several fireplaces using angle iron4”.  The angle is about 3” longer than the opening. Cut 1-1/2” of 1 web on both ends.  Move down to the mortar joint at the level or close to what you want. Cut the mortar out 1-1/2” deep. Slip the angle in with the cut web up and the lower longer web creating a shelf. Use refractory cement as a mortar and fill the joint where you cut out the mortar.
Now figure out how many layers so your staggers are correct as you will be starting at the bottom and working up.

Put down a layer of refractory cement followed by bricks ( butter the ends and bottoms with the cement, once the layer is in put a layer of cement on top of the layer and complete each layer the same as the first but with a stagger, the top corse of brick the hard part is filling the gap with refractory cement.

For additional strength the end brick if 1/2 can be removed but it looks like all your bricks are 1/2 so I would use caution trying this.
I have used this method many times, I have tried to use fire clay but had issues with cracking where refractory cement worked much better.  The 4” angle iron provides the support for the span , on a narrow fireplace I have used 3” but prefer the 4” and you really can’t see it.


Trying to switch 2 prong socket to 3 prong socket I am trying switch an outlet (in Guatemala) from 2 prong to 3 prong. I am not an electrician by trade, but I have read a few books, and have done it a few times at my house in the 'states. But this is a whole 'nother beast.

Coming out of the wall I have two white wires, a black wire, and a bare copper wire. All four go into the 2-prong outlet, I have white and black at the tip, and white and the bare wire on bottom. There are  two wires that run in between them.

I am used to the grounding wire being the bare wire. I am also used to just having one positive and negative wire, or live and neutral as is the case with this new outlet (3-prong).  I only have one black wire... so I put that in the neutral, the two whites in the live, and the bare in the grounding spot. It tripped the breaker as soon as I turned power back on!  I switched the white and black wires, same result. What I am missing here?

If I just can't put in a 3-prong, that is fine.

Not sure if it matters, but both sockets are made by a company called Bticino. I don't know the model of the 2-prong, but the 3-prong is a Domino Avant p1228.

Guatemala uses the same power standards as the USA.  Anyone can do anything, but I'd expect to see US style wiring colors, and not old UK style.  In the US:

Ground = green or bare  (green screw)
Neutral = white or gray (silver screw)
Hot = any other color (brass screw)

Ever buy a new smart phone and the buttons and headphone jack are in totally different positions? Electrical outlets are like that too, every manufacturer puts the screws in different positions.  A common newbie mistake is plugging wires into the new socket based on their position on the old.  Nope, you're looking at the wrong thing. Look at the color of the screw terminals.

Now you know how to identify and move wires from an old outlet to a new one.

If you are using the backstab/wire-jab connections, don't, even if the last guy did.  If they are backstabs that must be tightened by turning the nearest screw, those are OK.

Looking at wires coming up to the outlet matters too.  Look at what else is happening inside the box itself.  Also look at how the wires coming into the box are grouped.

Only one green/ground is normal, as all the grounds areenormally spliced together inside the box, with a lone pigtail coming out to the outlet.   Two whites but only one black is unusual.  Find out what's going on there.  It could be that someone is abusing a bare wire as a neutral.

If you want us to help get to the bottom of it, tell us the map of how the wires enter the box, and in what groups, and any splices occurring inside the box.


What is the purpose of these roof joists/braces in old house can they be removed I am working with builder to replace the ceiling in the loft of my 200 year old house.
The old ceiling has been taken down and we are going to put joists between rafters for the new ceiling, attaching to the rafter just above the existing purlins.
In the loft room two purlins run down each side of the room each purlins runs from the gable wall to a central structure that supports the other end. But there also two additional braces that traverse the room and run under the two northern purlins and the builder says it is okay to remove since when we add the two new celing joists these will tie pairs of rafters together and provide further support, but Im not so sure. Each brace is notched out to run under the purlin  and bolted to the purlin from the bottom on one side and then attched to the rafter on the other side. So one brace is attached to the left purlin and one to the right purlin.
I know purlins mainly support the rafters (and it turn is supported by load bearing walls), but since each has a v notch under each purlin it seems it is intended to somehow support the purlin rather than tie the rafter to the purlin. Since the main central brace that supports the central structure  also has these vnotches and this is clearly intended to support the purlin.
Note I use the word brace and vnotch for the want of a better word.

All 3 braces (furthest two be removed)

brace 1 left side

brace 1 right side

brace 2 left side

brace 2 right side

Those at least appear to be collar ties, a very important part of the roof system. Do not remove them. The squarish looking beam running perpendicular to the rafters appears to be a strong back or purlin. It helps unify the rafters so if one takes a load, it is distributed over many. Also an important component, they are held in place by the collar ties. everything would need to be rebuilt with a design by a structural engineer before any of this can be removed.


Home cinema: Convert HDMI to HDMI + Audio I have the following devices:

Projector [HDMI]
Sub Woofer [Stereo Audio]
Media Center [HDMI]

I need to split the output of the Media Center into HDMI for the Projector and Stereo Audio for the Sub Woofer.

Research I make on the subject seems to always lead to VGA plugs, which I do not want.

What would an example adapter / splitter be for this kind of scenario?

Additional information:

I am aware that HDMI contains Audio, my intention is to take the Audio out of the HDMI (if that makes sense) and send it through a different type of cable so my Sub Woofer can use it. The setup I have used to work great, I had an XBox with a separate output for Audio. However, that died on me, so I am replacing it with this other device.

What I am intending to do:

I am very open to changing the wiring, if need be!

My Sub Woofer:

My Media Center - A tiny Android device with an HDMI IN and HDMI OUT port, but no separate audio output:

My Projector - lots of input for audio / etc, however it uses inbuilt speakers in the Projector which are terrible quality:

HDMI includes audio in it's signal.  Splitting off the audio isn't very hard, but recombining is, so most systems use one of two methods:

Some audio equipment has HDMI inputs and outputs.  These pass through the video to your projector and do the audio themselves.
Many (most?) projectors and TVs that have an HDMI input also have an audio output, either a headphone jack or optical output, that can be hooked up to your sound system.  This will pass the HDMI audio to the speakers.


Spray can pole extender I have a hornets' nest that I want to spray with insecticide.

The hive is approximately 20-25ft from ground level.

The insecticide that I have is in a aerosol spray can with a large actuator.

While the product is marketed as having a range of 20ft, I have found this claim to be false. In reality it only has a range of 6ft.

I would prefer not to climb up to the area on a ladder, for fear of being in swarming range of the hornets.

Instead, I would like to build a pole-based contraption that would allow me trigger and spray the can from the end of a 10ft pole.

My height + arms length =  8ft
Pole                    = 10ft
Spray range             =  6ft

Sum                     = 24ft

How can I make such a contraption?

Edit: I live in Canada, where specialty products like this take a long time to be delivered, and are hard to find locally.

That's from Best of Wordless Workshop by Ray Doty; the original was a monthly column in Popular Science. (Published sometime between 1971-1985)

The retail versions probably make more sense, but you can hum the theme from the A-Team while exterminating with this one. Besides, Wordless Workshop was a great feature.


What kind of siding and install type is this? The siding looks like its not one flat piece but made of multiple flat layers? There are different siding installment methods. What does this one look like?

If I was going to search home depot for a similar arrangement/type of siding, what would I look for?

Your siding is shiplap, you can see that the grain pattern continues from the face of the board onto the lapped edge. Normally the boards are milled so that the faces fit close together, so it could be called "lap and gap" for clarity. I've no idea if that's a regional term or not.

If it had actually been made of two layers it would be board and batten, which may offer you some visually similar style products in your search. Traditionally though the batts are much smaller than the boards, and the siding is installed vertically to shed water.


Can I put a window a/c through the wall? Does anyone know the difference between a window and a wall air conditioner? The window unit is much cheaper.  I see several units here that appear to be window units and through the wall...there is no "sleeve" on them. Thank you!

Apparently window and wall a/c units are not interchangeable, although
I don't have the details of the difference.

EDIT Window units are designed to take advantage of the fact that a window is a thin partition; vents on the outside of the a/c case can be close to the inside part of the a/c unit, but still be outside (where they have to be). This may allow the window units to be cheaper. In contrast a wall can be 6" thick or more; wall units must have all vents close to the back of the unit. BTW I always thought that the vents in the side of a window unit were for intake of air at ambient temperature to then be directed through the condenser coil at the back plane of the unit to be exhausted out the back (now hotter than ambient), but in fact some of the side vent area may also be used for expelling air which cools motors. It could be that in a window unit the venting on one side is devoted to intake of air for the condenser coil and the venting on the other side is for exhaust. This would prevent the hot exhaust air being pulled in the intake for the condenser cooling air.

  Window ACs vs. Through-the-Wall ACs

  It's easy to compare window and thru-wall ACs, because they're similar
  in cooling capacity and size, but through-the-wall units tend to be
  slightly more efficient because they create an airtight seal in the
  room.

  The major differences between these ACs involve installation and
  venting. Window ACs fit through a window and don’t require permanent
  installation, while thru-wall ACs are actually built into the
  wall—making them popular in rooms without windows or for people who
  prefer to leave their windows alone.

  Wall air conditioners typically only vent warm air through the back of
  the unit, while window ACs vent from the sides and back. For this
  reason, window and thru-wall models are not interchangeable (even if
  they're the same size). In most cases, if a window unit vents out its
  side, the wall will block the vents and cause overheating. Select
  window AC models can be installed through a wall, but only if they
  have a slide-out chassis wall sleeve. Read more on wall sleeves.

https://www.sylvane.com/thru-wall-air-conditioner-buying-guide.html#vs
.


Sanding Screens vs Sandpaper for Cedar Deck sanding I am sanding my cedar deck.

The deck has been stained and in places it is worn away leaving bare cedar that has weathered and turned silver.

I have the sander for the weekend,  ( 12x18 ) inches and the only sheets I can find that size are sanding screens - 80 grit.

Will it work like 80 grit sandpaper and sand through the stain like sandpaper ?

80 grit is 80 grit and will work to some level but I would be worried about the life of the abrasive. 80 should rip the old stain up well but is really rough and  screens on a deck sounds like the wrong tool to me.


Ceiling fan w/no light - to fan w/lights & remote cntrl - single switch? We currently have a single switch to a ceiling fan with with no light. We would like to change it to ceiling fan with lights and remote control. Do we need additional switch to control light / fan separately,  or can we just use the single switch and remote control to control the other features of the fan?

You only need a single switch.  This switch will cut all power to the unit.  The fan and lights can be controlled via the remote control.  Usually there are also pull strings to manually switch the lights and fan.


Ground wire arcing in breaker box While inspecting the breaker box in my shop area I noticed inside the breaker box was a ground wire that was loose inside the box.

The other circuits had grounds connected to the neutral bar.

Upon further inspection I noticed the loose ground wire had touched the inside edge of the breaker box and at some point had arced against the breaker box itself.

Upon even further inspection it appears the ground wire itself was presently hot.. although nothing was plugged into the single outlet for this circuit (30 amp 125v travel trailer hookup)

I turned off the circuit breaker and traced the circuit to an outdoor outlet that looks very old.

My question:

was the problem likely with the outlet? (many dead bugs and webs inside the outlet)

Can I just order a new outlet and hook it up ? Should I go ahead and reconnect the ground to the neutral bar?

The shop was built long ago by the person I bought the house from.. the breaker box doesn't appear to have a grounding bar at all which makes sense because there is no grounding electrode outside. The shop has independent electricity with it's own drop not connected to the house main box.

I'm a certified home inspector (took a class for my own benefit not for a profession) but I was trained to simply notice when it isn't correct and tell them to get an electrician to inspect it further.

What do you think about a new outlet and hooking the ground back up to the box?

The starting point here is that your building does not have a Grounding Electrode System.

Every outbuilding is required to have one.
Your wiring has been done in the style of a separate service, even though it's more of a split service with the house.  Not only does a service need a GES, it also needs a Neutral-Ground equipotential bond to peg neutral to earth potential. Yours has none of that.

So you need to drive 2 ground rods 8' long, at least 6' apart and preferably on opposite corners of the building.  Then run some, let's say #6 bare copper wire from the ground rods to the panel. Must be continuous, no splicing.   At that point I would obtain an accessory ground bar for your panel and land them on that accessory bar, then also add a #6 strap from the accessory ground bar to the neutral bar.  This assures you have a neutral-ground equipotential bond.  There's no harm in having more than one as long as it's in the main panel, however, having only one allows a neat diagnostic trick.

That will bring your "main panel" up to Code.

I would also move all my grounds to the new ground bar (or to a ground bar tied to chassis). This is not a Code requirement for a main panel (it is for a subpanel), but it allows a neat diagnostic trick.  Now that all grounds are on the ground bar, look for any neutral-ground screws (green) or straps that are on the neutral bar.  You want to isolate neutral from chassis/ground  (except for that #6 strap you installed).  Now, you can put a clamp ammeter around that strap.  It better say 0 amps.  If it does not, you have a ground fault.  Chase that by shutting off breakers until it goes  away, then divide the faulty circuit until you find the particular problem.


Red wire spliced into a bundle of blacks? This switch currently provides power to the top half of an outlet, through a junction box.  I installed some pot lights and want to tie into the circuit, at the junction box.  I attach the black feeding the pot lights to the black at the junction box, and the white of the pot lights  to the switched power (red) circuit at the junction box but nothing...when I look at the switch, it seems to me the red mixed in the black is strange.  Why is that red getting constant power? House built in 90's.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks
Jbob

To review the color codes:

Green, yellow/green, or bare are grounds.
white or gray are neutral, but if the wire is in a cable, it can be used as a hot if it is re-marked with paint or tape.  Many people forget the marking, but don't do it.
every other native wire color can only be used for hot.

Your lamp needs genuine neutral. Attaching it’s white wire to a hot will not work. If it does work, it's because something really weird has happened, like putting it in series with another light.  Fix that.

You have a big problem with "box fill"

In the octagon box, I see four /3 cables and two /2 cables terminating there.  (The /3 cables are round-ish with twisted wires). That is 4x3 + 2x2 conductors, or 16. All the grounds together are counted as 1 wire.  You also need to allocate 1 “wire” for all the cable clamps.   That adds up to 18.

#14 wire must be given 2 cubic inches per wire.  #12 wire needs 2.25 cubic inches.   So I count 36 cubic inches that you need.

A common 1-1/2” deep octagon box is 15.5 cubic inches.  A deep octagon box is 21.5.  So you need, at the least, one octagon box extension to give you the cubic inches you need.  There's no credit for shortening wires, so don't nip off wires to "make room".  In fact you need the length to clear the now-taller box.

Likewise the switch box has issues there too. That kind of deep steel 1-gang box is typically 18 cubic inches, or nine #14 wires.  A device like a switch or outlet takes 2 “wires", all grounds take 1 and all clamps take 1, so that leaves only 5 actual conductor wires allowable in that box. Fortunately, pigtails are free.

The easiest way to add cubic inches to a switch box is with a Legrand Wiremold "surface conduit starter kit".


Is there a way to add an additional thermostat in an office building? We work in an office building with individual offices and an outer office.  Our office windows face East (catching ALL the morning sun) causing the offices to become extremely warm.  The problem is the ONE office that sits adjacent to these other offices catching NO morning sun is the office where the thermostat is installed.

It can be 80 in the outer room and other offices however, it's not that warm in the office with the thermostat so the A/C won't turn on unless we manually force the temperature down.  If there was a thermostat in the outer office will could it recognize the temperature then work automatically keeping the outer office and other interior offices cool?

Hope this makes sense.

Thank you.

While it makes sense, it's probably not possible without MAJOR expense, though it's probably worth some investigating to get a ballpark on just how difficult or expensive it might actually be for your specific case.

If there's one thermostat for the whole floor (or suite of offices) there's probably only one heating/cooling zone for the whole floor (or suite of offices.) Zoning a system that was not set up with zones (smaller areas controlled by individual thermostats) after the fact is rarely easy or cheap.

You could perhaps move the thermostat, but then the office it's in now would be cold...that might be OK if you move the person who likes it coolest in there, and it keeps most of the other folks happier - if your office politics allow for that sort of arrangement.


Should I put a moisture barrier under tile on a basement floor? I bought porcelain tile for my basement.. Should I put Ditra down in order to prevent any moisture? Is there a cheaper way? I had tile put in the other room and there is white powder that comes up through the grout. I don't want this happening in the other rooms.

There are waterproofing/isolation membranes that can be painted on such as RedGuard and Mapelastic. They're coatings you paint on.

Much cheaper and easier to use than sheet style barriers. The sheet membranes like ditra provide better waterproofing and isolation to prevent cracks which are important in areas with a lot of moisture like showers or slabs with cracks.

Years ago when I tiled my basement with porcelain tile I used a penetrating concrete sealer that you just spray on. Haven't had any problems.


Did I remove more caulk then I should have at shower door frame end? I'm in the process of recaulking a shower. In removing the old caulking, I got to where the door frame meets the wall and shower pan. There was some caulk there and it was a bit damp, so I started removing it. I quickly discovered it went deeper than I expected.

I'm worried I shouldn't have messed with it. The door frame is a U-channel, and I assumed it had something at the end to keep any accumulated water from leaking out the end and instead exit at the weep holes. But now that the old silicone is removed, I'm concerned the only thing that was doing that was the silicone caulk, which I've removed some of. This picture shows the current state.

What should I do? Removing and reinstalling the door frame is beyond my DIY-level. Is it ok to just recaulk and be sure to squeeze in enough in the gap to cover the area well?

Here are a few more pics, zoomed out to give context and also of the other side. On the other side, there actually was a bit of gap between the tile and shower pan, and you can see a small amount of caulking there that started coming out. If it matters, this is a second floor bathroom, so my paranoia about water damage into the subfloor is heightened.

I think squeezing in enough caulk will fill the gap.  You can tape part of the opening to seal it so that you can build a bit of pressure up in there to fill all the crevasses.  It’s important to seal it from the inside too if you can, however keep an eye on the area for a couple weeks, especially right after you do the repair.


Achoring with Drill versus Anchoring with Spanner I'm trying to anchor a bench onto stone. Through holes I've drilled into my bench posts, and holes that I will have drilled into concrete, I plan to drive lag screws.

A fail-proof procedure calls for me to drill the lag screws. Unfortunately, I can't find the socket that would connect my drill and lag screw.

As an alternative to using a socket and drill, I plan to drive the lags using a spanner. A spanner would join the bench and stone less securely, but I'm concerned that the attachment won't be stable enough. Is my concern well founded?

First, just a general note - driving lag screws like the one pictured above into concrete or stone would need an anchor drilled and set into the concrete, and you'd also want a washer. If you don't have anchors underneath, you'd probably want a concrete anchor screw or another type of fastener.

That said, you'll likely be able to apply more torque with a spanner than you will with a drill. The drill will make driving it go faster and easier, but if you're concerned with hold, I'd finish with the spanner regardless. Sounds like all you really need is a square-drive socket adapter:


Isolation relay for Ecobee smart thermostat: NC or NO? I've been looking for "isolation relays" to install an Ecobee 3 smart thermostat on my 2-wire T/T furnace (replacing a Honeywell round thermostat). I know I want to use the 24VAC transformer/relay method (option 2) detailed on the Ecobee site, but I can't seem to find any details on the isolation relay required. Looking at the pictures, the relay is a SPST relay (see image), but it has two sets of contacts, one for NC and one for NO setups. I'd like to know what the proper default is for this situation.

My instincts say NO (I assume closing the loop tells the furnace to turn on), but I won't have a chance to check the setup (2 hours away) for a month. Would a SPST-NO relay like this be appropriate, or am I going down the wrong path?

You're correct, you'll use the normally open (NO) terminal. When the thermostat calls for heat, it will energize the relay coil. The energized coil will close the contact in the relay between common (C, COM, etc.) and normally open (NO).

When the coil is not energized, the contact connects the common (C) terminal to the normally closed (NC) terminal. When the coil is energized, the contact connects the common (C) terminal to the normally open (NO) terminal.

NOTES:

When looking at schematics/wiring diagrams, all the components will be shown in the "normal state" ("shelf state").  That is to say, they'll be shown as if they were laying on a storage shelf, with no power sources connected to them.

The relay you linked to should work, however, it's probably a bit overkill.  If you're only switching the thermostat terminals from a boiler, you're probably talking about milliamps @ 24 VAC. The relay in the link can switch 10 amps @ 240 VAC.


Shower Curb Penetrations The person who installed my frameless shower glass mounted two brackets directly into the shower curb. There is some silicone visible around the brackets... I'm not sure if silicone was used in the screw holes.

The curb is made of quartz composite and the waterproofing underneath is hot mop.

The glass was over a year ago, and I haven't seen signs of moisture damage yet, but it does concern me. Is this a big problem?

Thanks.

Edit: Here is a photo of one of the brackets

There doesn't seem to be anything out of place there.   The shower curb is there to keep water from exiting the shower.   The silicone is used so that water doesn't go under the bracket.   There isn't much the silicone is doing as waterproofing, although it is keeping the bracket from being damaged and maybe a tiny bit of water in.    There is nothing that concerns me in that photo.


Rusted gas pipe elbows on new house The gas connection into my new house (less than a year old) was heavily painted but the paint is peeling revealing rusted and pitted pipe, especially the elbow pipe.  Also, the gas pipe connection for a gas barbeque is not painted and is very rusted and pitted.  What should I do about this?  Should I contact the builder and require a replacement of the rusted pipes?

Gas pipe is usually ductile iron pipe, not galvanized, because the galvanizing can flake off and clog gas fittings. So not being protected with the zinc coating, it rusts. It will likely take decades to become rusted through enough to become a problem however and as mentioned, a simple wire brush cleaning and new paint will prolong its life greatly.


hot / cold copper water pipes located above main electrical panel The Pipes are about 7.5 feet above the basement floor.   I am in Canada.

. The pipes are about total 2 feet in vertical length as measured from the 90 degrees turn from the basement, popping up the main floor laundry room, jutting up the floor by 3/4 foot ending in shutoff valves.   As shown in the picture, the shutoff valves shut water supply to the w/m hoses.

We have been living in the house for 17 years now (bought new), and i have always wondered about the water pipes located above the main electrical panel in the basement.   The hot / cold copper water pipes lead to the main floor laundry room supplying water to the washing machine and dryer.   There is shutoff valve (both cold and hotwater) where the washer/dryer hose pipes connect for the water supply.
It has been nagging my mind if this is safe, and sometimes have me worry the fact that the water pipes are sitting right above the main electrical panel of our home.
Few things:  (1) is this safe ?  (2) Need advice to install shutoff valves (for both) in the basement where I can shut off the water supply in case of a leak, which will prevent water spillage down on the electircal box.  (3) Install water leak sensor.
2 PICTURES ATTACHED.

Mind you, all I've seen of Canadian basements was on TV (a really good show), so take this with a grain of salt. However, I can't say this is terribly unusual based on that (in later shows he did a fair amount of basement work).

Local codes might have something else to say, but generally your pipes run inside the basement (which is one of the primary purposes of basements), as well as your electrical panel is typically there (because it's out of the way). So it seems that it is assumed your pipes will be near your panel. It's also worth noting that if your pipes start leaking, you'll have larger issues than an electrical panel.

You can always install a whole house water leak shutoff valve (most of the ones I've seen are for 1" water lines, not the 1/2" line in the photo). It would stop a serious leak, but not a dribble. If you really want a cutoff valve in the basement, you can cut the pipes and put in a Sharkbite (push connect) valve.


What is the proper way to run wires along/across basement ceiling joists? I want to add an electrical outlet in my unfinished basement.  It makes sense to run the wire along the ceiling because that's where all the other wires are.  What is the proper way to install NM cable either parallel to or perpendicular to the ceiling joists, given that the ceiling is not insulated and the joists are exposed?

The current situation is a bit mixed.  Parallel wires are sometimes stapled to the edge of the joist and sometimes to the side, but not generally as far as 19 mm (3/4 in) from the edge.  Perpendicular wires are mostly stapled to each joist and hanging freely between, but sometimes stapled to a board.

I live in Massachusetts, and therefore subject to NEC 2008 with these amendments.

I realize this is an old question, however I just wanted to mention something... Tester101 indicated not to drill too many holes within the joist, as it could weaken it and cause structural damage.  I thought I should clarify something... The principal force that is applied to a floor joist is moment.  With that, you get tensile along the bottom edge, and compression along the top edge.  The other force would be shear, however moment is your main one.  Being that it is primarily a moment force, the relative force implied to the joist would zero-out the closer you are to the centre (width).  In other words, the centre (width) of the joist is your pivot point.  That being said, as long as you drill in the centre, or as close to the centre as possible, you won't significantly reduce the joist's load-bearing capacity.  (Just think of a truss joist, or an I-joist... that will give you an idea of how little the force is in the centre).  So for a 2x10 joist, you would drill about 4.25" from the bottom or top, as that should be smack in the centre.  The amount of holes doesn't matter, as long as you don't touch the edges.  Of course, this is within reason, if you drill out 90% of the entire centre you would leave very little shear resistance.  Coincidentally, this is also why an I-beam is shaped that way.  There's relatively little load in the centre (the thin part), whereas most of the loading is tension along the bottom and compression along the top.  I should also note that if the joist is cantilevered, than the whole thing reverses on the cantilevered section (compress along bottom, tension along top).

As a structural engineer, I can tell you that the worst thing you can do is "notch" the joist.  By that I mean cutting out a section of the bottom or top edge of the joist.  If you cut out a section of the bottom edge, which becomes under tension when a moment is applied, the joist would be significantly weakened.  Similarly, if you cut out a section of the top edge, which would be under compression when a moment is applied, the joist would be significantly weakened.

Sorry for the long answer... it's a slow day.  But hopefully this knowledge comes to good use for someone.


Pilot won't stay lit after replacing thermocouple The pilot won't stay lit on my furnace, when I release the button it just goes out.  This started occurring after I did some gas plumbing and had to relight the pilot.  I suspected the thermocouple and replaced it, but this didn't fix the problem.  I've used this furnace for over 15 years without replacing the thermocouple.  Can someone recommend the next best course of action to keep my pilot lit?

Some things to note:

The new thermocouple is a cheap "universal" thermocouple that I purchased from Amazon and it doesn't seem to sit in place tight but I don't think it's moving.
There seems to be a secondary thermocouple-type wire running alongside the thermocouple and pilot gas line, though I ensured the thermocouple is not in contact with anything else.
While holding the pilot light button down I get a blue flame with a yellow tip that's over an inch in length. I've held the button down for over the recommended 60 seconds.
The thermocouple is below the pilot light, but the flame is definitely touching it.
The furnace is definitely over 30 years old and was likely installed in the 60's.

If their is a good flame on the thermocouple then it is a bad gas valve. Sometimes if the gas valve is just barely bad a hotter thermocouple will work for a short time but finding a hotter thermocouple is just hit and miss. I have seen people try 4 thermocouples and the fifth one worked then they claimed the other four were bad. The furnace of course stopped working a few months later after the thermocouple mellowed a little.


slab heat pipes and radon reduction My house has slab heat and the pipes come out of the dirt and go to the heating unit.  This is located in my basement and I'm wondering how to seal it to help reduce radon entering the house.

Unless you have had your house professionallly tested for radon and got a positive (i.e bad) result, do nothing.

If you do have high levels of radon, it's much simpler to install an exhaust fan system, either in the basement or (more properly) by cutting a hole in the basement floor and dropping a 6-inch pvc tube down into the dirt.  That acts as the source for a closed-system exhaust fan that should be ducted to the outside.


Double light switch issue We have just wired a new 2 way, 2 gang, switch plate, which works, but for one side the 'on' position is up, and for the other it's down, which looks odd and is impractical. Is this a problem with the new switch itself, or something we've done wrong? (These switches are the only ones that control these 2 lights)

Flip one side from L1 to L2

Your switches are intended for both single-pole and multi-way (multi-location) applications; as a result, both the "up" and the "down" positions on the switch connect COM to another terminal (either L1 or L2, depending on which position we're talking about), instead of having only one position that connects the terminals together, with the other position leaving them open-circuited.

So, fixing this is simple: turn the breaker off at the distribution board, switch one of the wires on L1 to the L2 terminal for that switch (not the other switch's L2!), button the box up, turn the breaker back on at the distribution board, and enjoy your light switches!


Is it possible to convert a junction box with 4 sets of wires into a standard duplex receptacle I have very basic electrical knowledge and I'm struggling to know what to do.

I have recently bought a house and there is an electrical box that has been covered up. It is higher up on the wall so I'm guessing it was a light switch.

I've taken the cover off and below is what I'm dealing with. I've also attempted to draw out how it's all connected.

Is it possible to wire in a standard power receptacle/plug outlet to this?

Yes, I see a big problem with crossed neutrals.  If the blacks are separated for some reason, the neutrals MUST also be separated.

Nobody cares about the grounds being all together.  Unfortunately some people get carnal knowledge that all neutrals and grounds are in direct contact in the main panel, and that makes them tend to think of neutrals and grounds as the same thing.  That's not true at all.  Ground is a safety shield and power flows only during fault conditions. Current flows in loops and neutral is the other half of the loop!

Thus, as Scott mentions, where the blacks are separated, the whites must be separated likewise.

Could you put a receptacle there? Yes, but only if you also add a "box extension" there as well.  A typical box extension would be a Legrand Wiremold Surface Conduit Starter Kit.

Since you have separated the hots and neutrals into 2 groups, place the receptacle on only one of those groups (hot and neutral pair).


Driveway expansion joints are rotting wood: What to replace the wood? My driveway was poured in sections with lengths of 2x4 which remained between the slabs as expansion joints.  Due to heaving and moisture many of these are in poor shape.  I replaced one once by carefully carving a 2x4 on a table saw to fit the oddly shaped gap, but I'd like a better solution.

Is there some pourable product I can use to replace these joints?  Should I just grout them now with additional concrete?

I have been caulking expansion joints in concrete for 15 years.
This is what you do:

Get the wood out
Clean the top 3/4" of the interior walls of the joint with a wire brush
Install "closed cell" backer rod into the joint. You want it to be about 1/8"-1/4" larger than the joint. Roll it down in from the side is easiest. The top of the rod should be about 3/4" below the top of the concrete.
Blow the crack out with a leaf blower. (the backer rod should fit tight enough to stay in place as long as you dont blast it head on)
Use professional grade urethane or silicone caulk for concrete. The best thing is probably Dow 888 silicone but its very expensive. Urethanes are cheaper and almost as good. Sika brand Sikaflex 1a or Sonneborn brand NP1 are great
Caulk depth in the center of the joint should be 1/2 the width of the joint but no deeper than 1/2". People are tempted to think deeper is better but it will cause bubbling and premature failure. If it is too thick it will not stretch easily and therefore pull away from the concrete.
Tooling the caulk is necessary. It will force the caulk into the pores of the concrete and it will smooth out lumpiness. Use a metal or rubber spatula or a tablespoon.
Self levelling urethanes are available but the have the consistency of pancake batter so your joints have to be pretty level to use it. You'll also have to dam up the ends of your joints. Plus you will have to be on the lookout for rain, bugs, and blowing leaves for a couple of hours after you finish.
2x4s are a lousy choice for expansion joint because they are so wide. You are going to use a lot of caulk.


Checking damage for a mini fridge that is plugged in without waiting I got a new mini fridge yesterday. As it is my first fridge ever, I had no idea about the oil settling time waiting so I just plugged it in immediately. It is most probably transported in the correct upright position but I can’t be 100% sure.

Now I wonder is there a way that I could check if I somehow damaged it? It seems like working and cooling is okay. Makes a bit weird noises while running but it might be normal I guess.

And would it make sense to plug it off now and wait? Would it help with the oil settling or is it too late now?

No way to know, those weird noises might be noises of imminent failure in the next 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or year... who can tell...

I seriously doubt if there is anything to be gained in turning it off now - any damage is there. However, you might be lucky and it may run for years and it is just normal noise.


Can I replace a standard outlet that's protected with an upstream GFCI to prevent nuisance trips? I have a GFI outlet in one bathroom controlling a non-GFI outlet in another bathroom. Can I replace the non-GFI with a GFI and will that stop the non-GFI from shutting down or do I need to have and electrician install another breaker for the new GFI?

If I were you, I'd remove the GFCI from the circuit (nut the wires together and make it separate, as in don't use the LOAD screws) and then put a separate GFCI in the other bathroom in the same way. It's expensive (and unnecessary) but you avoid having a bathroom outlet inexplicably going dead (trip the GFCI bathroom outlet directly and your normal outlet goes out). This way, each GFCI can trip independently of the other.

As to nuisance trips, assuming you have no wiring issues, the GFCI might be going bad. Replacing it isn't a bad idea.


How can I build shelves that are 66" wide? I want to build a bookcase as part of a large built-in, and due to the geometry of the situation, it would be desirable to have one column of shelves be 66" wide. The problem is that even using hardwood boards, a shelf 66" will sag under the weight of heavy books.

So, the natural solution is to use a a steel flat or angle to reinforce the front edge of the shelf and then hide it somehow so it cannot be seen.

How can I do this?

You can put a 1/2"-thick wooden board over the metal piece to camouflage it. And if the shelf is really that long, you'll need something strong for the metal piece. A structural engineer could probably tell you the minimum dimensions, but I would guess a 1.5" angle, or square tube, would do it. And that means you're limiting access to the shelf below that.

If this was my shelf, I'd focus on finding shelf supports that take up as little space as possible. Something like this:


Corroded wiring casing in basement - cause? I just had our annual furnace tune-up and the guy who performed the inspection gave us a B tag violation because the electrical supply wire to our gas furnace is corroded and copper wiring is exposed.  I am going to contact the company who installed it to look at fixing ASAP but the technician who found the issue said he has never seen it before and can't say what caused it.
The furnace is located in our basement near the foundation wall, and being an older house, there is some dampness/potential leaking happening (will have to wait for our first spring before we know the full extent) so my first guess would have been water damage, but could it have damaged the wiring this badly? And what is that white crusty stuff?
Furnace installed and all the electrical was redone in 2017 when previous owner flipped the house.
I am just wondering if anyone has seen something like this before and can confirm the cause, and if it's something I should be worried about reoccurring after the wire is replaced.

2017 - probably MC-Lite (aluminum armor) which you could verify by magnet, but the fact that the corrosion is primarily white leans heavily that way.
Given that much corrosion in 3 years, I'd suspect that it's getting something like acidic condensate from the furnace flue (or condensate drain) dripped or splashed on it, or there's water softener salt/brine getting onto it.
A third possibility would be if there was any concrete work associated with the "flipping" and concrete/cement got onto the cable and was not removed - concrete and aluminum are highly incompatible.
Aside from correcting whatever is contaminating the cable, or if you can't figure out what that is, this might be a place where liquidtight conduit and THWN would be a better bet than MC-Lite.


Home Inspector reported two 20 amp breakers not allowed in panel per manufacturer? Home Inspector reported two 20 amp breakers are not allowed in electrical panel per manufacturer (Eaton MB1212L200BTSA).  He said there must be single bar over  both breaker to connect together?  Is there a clip that I can attach to make both breakers trip at same time?
Here is pic from inspection report.

See the red arrows, he said these two 20 amps must be tandem and a clip connecting both switches?

One 20 amp powers a GFI receptacle the other 20 amp powers a platform lift.  I need to keep power separate for 110 volt.  I do not want 220 volt.  Do I need a double-pole 20 amp that has handle ties?

The electrical panel was installed in 2012.  Is it correct to install a BR220 and use it for two 110 volt circuits?
Going out to purchase BR220 breaker, anything special to know about attaching wires from the two single points to double poles?

One throw too far

Your meter-main was designed to use a set of smaller sub-main disconnects instead of a single main disconnecting means, in accordance with NEC 230.71:

  230.71 Maximum Number of Disconnects.

  (A) General. The service disconnecting means for each
  service permitted by 230.2, or for each set of service-entrance conductors permitted by 230.40, Exception No.1,
  3, 4, or 5, shall consist of not more than six switches or sets
  of circuit breakers, or a combination of not more than six
  switches and sets of circuit breakers, mounted in a single
  enclosure, in a group of separate enclosures, or in or on a
  switchboard or in switchgear. There shall be not more than
  six sets of disconnects per service grouped in any one location.

  For the purpose of this section, disconnecting means
  installed as part of listed equipment and used solely for the
  following shall not be considered a service disconnecting
  means:

  (1) Power monitoring equipment

  (2) Surge-protective device(s)

  (3) Control circuit of the ground-fault protection system

  (4) Power-operable service disconnecting means

  (B) Single-Pole Units. Two or three single-pole switches
  or breakers, capable of individual operation, shall be permitted on multiwire circuits, one pole for each ungrounded
  conductor, as one multipole disconnect, provided they are
  equipped with identified handle ties or a master handle to
  disconnect all conductors of the service with no more than
  six operations of the hand.

However, the pair of single pole breakers in the lower-right that the inspector complained about means that you need 7 breaker throws to turn all the power off, which is one too many.

Evict the aliens!

Furthermore, the culprit breakers are a violation by themselves as they are GE THQLs, which are not listed to go in an Eaton BR panel.  At this point, you might as well get a BR220 from the nearest supplier and have it slapped in in place of the culprits, killing two violations with one fix.

And yes, a two pole breaker can feed two completely separate 110V circuits

There is nothing in the NEC that prohibits a two pole breaker from feeding two independent branch circuits from the opposite legs it provides.


What is causing a whistling sound coming from my upstairs bathroom? My upstairs shower is causing a high-pitched whistling sound when it's running and there is a showerhead attached. If I remove the showerhead, but keep the water flowing, the whistling noise stops. It might have something to do with the faucet handles, but I'm not sure. This has happened with different types of showerheads. Also, when the shower is running and I turn the sink on and off (which is next to the shower), the whistling noise will change pitch.

Any ideas?

Water pressure:
This could be caused by higher than normal water pressure, that's why the noise changes when you turn on the sink (you reduce the flow to the shower).
Solution:
You could adjust the Pressure Reducing Valve   for the whole house (if you have one), or install one on the line to the shower.

Reducing Washer:
In most newer shower heads, there is a washer that reduces the water flow to save water.
Solution:
Removing this washer and replacing it with a normal one should fix the problem (but then you'll be "wasting" water).

Diverter:
This might also be caused by the diverter (the mechanism that diverts the water to the shower head, rather than the tub spout), if the valve is not functioning properly it could cause noise as the water passes through it. This may be accompanied by a small amount of water still flowing from the tub spout when the shower is on (basically it could be creating a "water whistle", similar to how a flute works but with water instead of air).
Solution:
Replace the diverter.

Loose Pipes:
The noise could be increased by improperly secured plumbing, as the pipes are allowed to resonate freely.
Solution:
Properly fastening the pipes using clamps, may reduce the sound.


What's the best way to resolve multiple circuits going to a single outlet? I'm not sure the title is the best, but it's the best I can come up with right now.
I've been replacing all the outlets and switches in my house, and for the second time found an electrical box with multiple circuits running to it, with the neutrals tied together.  Last time I could fix it semi-logically because it was a multi gang box, and I could separate the circuits.  This time, I fixed it, but I'm not sure if it's clear what's happening, for someone looking in the future.
From what I can tell, what happened was that the bedrooms used to just have a switched outlet.  At some point, they added overhead fans, and tied those to the already existing switches.  In this room, the power initially came from circuit 1, to the switch, then to the outlet.  When they added the fan, they ran that cable to the outlet, not the switch, and for reasons I'm unsure of, also connected the outlet to circuit 10.  Maybe so you could have a switched outlet and an outlet that always got power, not that it was wired that way.
The upshot was that the fan, outlet, and switch were all tied in to both circuit 1 and circuit 10.  To fix this, I capped off the wires from circuit 1 in the switch, and cleaned up the wiring in the outlet, so that they're all only being fed from circuit 10, and the switch only controls the fan.
Is there a better way to fix this?  I don't want to mix multiple circuits together, which is why I removed circuit 1 entirely, but it means that the wiring for the fan is tied to an outlet it would seem to have no real connection to.  Should I leave a little note for a future person, explaining what's going on and that it wasn't my fault?

Based on your description, I would disconnect the outlet from circuit 10. That way everything electrical you can see (switches, receptacles, ceiling light/fan, etc.) is connected to circuit 1, in a way that makes sense.
You'll need to attach wire caps to circuit 10 so it's safe. Unfortunately the only way to remove that circuit properly is to cut open the wall, which is a much bigger mess.


Does crown direction really matter when framing a wall? When framing a wall is it really important to have the crown of each stud in the same direction?

Yes it is.  If all your studs are oriented the same way, you'll have a gentle bow to the wall (either in or out) that is more or less consistent across the width of a wall.

On the other hand, if you have them so that one stud curves in and the next curves out, you're going to have irregularities in your wall that are the twice the size of the curvature of the studs, and that will be much more noticeable.

Here's an article that explains it well.


Cold water tank overflowing like crazy then stopped so I have a normal non combi boiler and in my loft a cold water tank, then in my airing cupboard I have a hot water tank with an overflow/pressure release pipe that runs up and to the cold water tank for when the water expands (the hot tank is fed from the cold water tank).

The other day I got a call from the neighbour saying my overflow pipe was gushing, and it was really going for it, not just a trickle but like there was a tap on directly connected to the outside!

Wife came home and turned off the mains water and I came home soon as I could a couple hours later to take a look.  I looked at the water tank in the loft and the level was a good 4-5 inches up past the overflow pipe!  I ran the water for a while to get the water level to drop, turned on mains again and it refilled without any issues...  Hasn't happened since, as yet...

I cannot for the life of me work out how this might have occurred, the only thing I can think of is that the water mains pressure was somehow so high that it forced past the float valve somehow?

I noticed that the hot water tank was also cold, I didn't check at the time but there's a chance the water had risen so high it had started pouring into the hot water tank from the hot tank outlet possibly, but I don't think it's related to how the cold water tank got full in the first place...

Anyone ever had anything like this?  Could the valve just had seated a bit dodgy and not sealed off properly perhaps?  If so how could I check this, it seems fine now checked it earlier today and at most there is a very irregular tiny drop coming from it that's it...

If you have a shower mixer that lets through it is possible for mains pressure cold water to backflow through the mixer and into the hot water tank system.


Is a plug adapter considered an "extension cord" under the NEC? Is an adapter from a plug (say a NEMA 14-50) to a different socket (say a NEMA 6-20 or L14-20, or even a NEMA 6-50 for that matter) considered an extension cord by the 2014 NEC? If it isn't, then what type of device would it be, and would it matter if it was a listed assembly vs. a field-fabricated assembly?

As to the use of "extension cord" in the NEC, see 240.5(B)(3)/(4) for an example:

  (3) Extension Cord Sets. Flexible cord used in listed extension cord sets shall be considered to be protected when
  applied within the extension cord listing requirements.

  (4) Field Assembled Extension Cord Sets. Flexible cord
  used in extension cords made with separately listed and
  installed components shall be permitted to be supplied by a
  branch circuit in accordance with the following:

  20-ampere circuits - 16 AWG and larger

I'm not sure the term "extension cord" appears in the NEC at all. There are provisions for "flexible wiring" (section 400) but those are probably not relevant for what you're talking about. (In fact, what are you talking about?)

The closest thing I can think of would be an "attachment plugs" and "cord connectors", which is discussed in section 406.7. Among other requirements are that they be listed. I would think that if you are field-assembling something out of existing plugs that as long as the plugs themselves are listed and the wiring conforms to the rest of NEC (suitable gauge, protection from damage, etc) that would be OK.


Prevent puddling on patios I am considering building a masonry patio and am concerned about puddling.

Is it standard practice to build patios on a grade to prevent puddling? If so, what is the typical grade? How is the grade made?

Standard engineering advice for "flat" exterior surfaces is that they actually be sloped at 1/8" per foot (which is close enough to 1cm/meter as to make either perfectly acceptable) for drainage purposes, rather than be "dead flat."

Method is to make the base that shape, using anything from laser levels to stakes and strings. The base needs also to be stable and compacted so that it stays that shape over time. Stability in cold climates may involve thick layers of well-draining material and sub-surface drains to prevent frost-heaving.


How do I replace a door hinge with no screws? Any ideas on how I can remove this ugly looking hinge that snapped. One end of the hinge has no screws and is soldered onto the door. Any help is much appreciated.

EDIT:

Ok, I followed @Chris Cudmore 's suggestion and found the same hinge. However as shown in the photo the broken part is completely rusted, what would be the easiest way to slide this out, would WD-40 suffice ?

That hinge is welded on. The only way to remove it is to take a grinder with a carbide wheel to the welds, then An abrasive disk to clean it up and smooth the metal frame.  You will then have to drill pilot holes for the new hinges.


Legrand USB Outlet (USB socket dead after minimal use) Does anyone know how to troubleshoot these wall outlets? Both USB ports are dead however the wall outlet port works just fine. Prior to this I was able to successfully charge from USB port for about a week, and there has been no change in wiring.  Is there a fuse ? Tendency to overheat?

Unfortunately these USB sockets fail regularly. We constantly seem to be replacing them. The irritating thing is that the failures aren't all from crap brands. Market leading brands like MK and Legrand fail just as much as the cheap china knock offs. I have never seen any of these sockets to be fused before. But, clearly they are overloading. iPads and other tablets seem to be the largest culprit as they draw way more than standard current. However, It's a disappointment from the mainstream brands that they do not have a self resetting overload function or at a basic level a simple fuse. Crazy how smaller electronics companies can make robust chargers yet they cant.

As for diagnosing. There really inst anything to diagnose unless you try a different cable and device to check for charging. Normally it will require replacement. I would ask though what are you charging in this device. And secondly do you have the socket part number as the socket will have a data sheet with its maximum rated current for the USB socket part.


How can I plane a half inch off the rough surface of a wooden table top? I have a 6'x 3' table made from old railway sleepers that is very pitted. I would like to remove approx 1/2" from the top to smooth the surface (we keep tipping over wine glasses!). Final surface doesn't need to be dead flat or level. I'm guessing that a block plane / scrub plane is the fastest way, but does anyone have any better suggestions?

Turn it over and drag it down the street behind your truck. Have a friend ride on it to minimize the bouncing. Then finish up with the scrub plane.


Framing basement ceiling with concrete slab I want to finish a room underneath my back balcony. Currently four concrete walls and ceiling are bare. Real cold in winter and warm in the summer. Goal would be to turn into a storage room with some temperature control.
Room 12 ft by 13 ft. Will insulate with rigid foam and batt insulation.
I'm not sure how to frame the ceiling because there are no joists to work with. Considering fastening 2x6 wood studs to create ceiling joists on the ceiling cement.
Would be interested in understanding what other options to consider.
Thanks
Frank

Install a suspended ceiling.
attach eye anchors to the masonry and use wires to suport the channel which supports the drywall
pack your batts above the channels then attach the rigid foam and the drywall using screws.


100 amp sub-panel replacing old fuse box I have this old fuse box in the attic (pictured, basically acting as a junction box) and 6 wires total running into it, 4 are knob and tube, so two are hot, two neutral, they all go dead when one 15 A breaker is tripped in the basement, and the other two wires are more Romex-like wires with hot, neutral, ground all bundled together, they are run on a 15A breaker and a 20A breaker in the basement. I wanna connect the knob and tubes to the Arc-fault breaker I got in the new square D sub-panel which will go in he attic, the knob and tube aren't in the basement for me to put the arc fault breaker in down there and connect to them

I agree with Harper and RME. You do not need a sub-panel.

A junction box will work just fine especially in an attic even if it is a walk-in attic.

The National Electrical Code requires, with few exceptions, that a conductor be protected at the point where it receives its supply.

The fact that you can shut all of this off with three breakers in the basement means that they are already protected.

If you wish to add AFCI protection then just replace the breaker or breakers in question with an AFCI breaker. Much easier and cheaper.

Good luck and stay safe!


Repairing bubbling (blown) plaster on an interior wall I have no idea what kind of wall this is. Both my walls that are near radiators have this bubbling plaster look. I have read that painting with temperature differences may cause the bubbling (such as painting in the winter and then the heater is turned on). It was recommended to paint in the summer when the windows can be left open to equilibrate the temperature as the paint dries.

Not sure what to do about the bottom. How do I repair this wall? It seems to be paint --> very thin layer of plaster --> concrete. Does the whole wall need to be taken down? Should I just scrape off the plaster and respackle? I was thinking of sanding down the bubbles, respackle, and repainting. Does the whole wall need to come off?

Bottom of wall

Top of wall

I suspect that it is caused by moisture migration through the plaster. I would definitely scrape off the damaged paint and sub material first. Check for moisture, better to use a moisture meter if possible. Look for other areas below the floor for any evidence of water infiltration.  May have been a one time thing, but I would be looking for the root cause, which I think may be water. Once you are satisfied the area is dry, remove all loose or crumbly plaster down to a solid base. If the voids are deep, I would use a thinset, setting type filler first, then a Spackle or drywall compound to get a smooth finish.


Separating a circuit with existing 12-3 wiring I have 12-3 electrical wire running from the main panel on one end of my ranch-style house to feed both the basement lights and the living room lights/outlets upstairs (opposite ends from the main panel).  The red wire is connected to a breaker and used as the hot for the circuit while the black wire is not connected to a breaker in the main panel, it is simply capped off.  If I were to connect the black wire to a separate circuit breaker (opposite phase, of course), could I safely branch off at the first receptacle/light in the circuit and use the black hot for the living room and keep the red hot for the basement lights and just "share" the neutrals?  I want the areas of the house to be on separate circuits, and thought I may be able to avoid a new run of cable the full length of the house.

Yes.  This is the last person planning ahead.  They made sure you would be able to do this.  This would create a multi-wire branch circuit and you must follow the rules for MWBCs.

There must be 240V across the hots, so neutral carries differential current not the sum of both currents.
The breakers must have common maintenance shutoff.  It will be impossible to shut off one and not the other; one hand action does both.

This will almost certainly have a side-effect of common trip, meaning if one side overloads, it knocks out the other side.  In fact, the most normal (idiot-proof) way to wire these is to simply use a 2-pole breaker, because they are readily available everywhere, instead of UL-listed handle-ties for those breakers, which are a specialty, hard-to-find item.
This must not be a duplex/twin/tandem breaker, which does not have 240V across it!

Neutrals must be pigtailed. You may be accustomed to using the two screws on each side of a receptacle for a splice to extend the circuit.  Can't do that on a neutral, because removing the receptacle etc. would then create a "lost neutral" situation downstream!  The appliances on the two half-legs would be in series with each other at 240V, and one leg could rise to as high as 240V.

If you are past the point where the halves have split for good, then you don't need to worry about this requirement.

AFCIs normally go in the service panel, to protect wires.  Here, consult your panel's manufacturer (or the maker of UL-classified breakers for your panel) for how to do 2-pole AFCI breakers in their system.  Some simply offer 2-pole AFCI; others have you handle-tie two singles.
There are only 2 possible places to put GFCI protection: As a 2-pole GFCI breaker at the service panel, or as a device serving only one leg of the GFCI.  You can't share the neutral past a GFCI.


How to remove freezer frost? I have some frost on the back wall of my old GE side by side. I've attached two pictures. Is a hair dryer the best method of removal for this case? Thank you.Picture: frost inside freezer ;
Picture: Old GE side by side

Remove all the food, then turn off or unplug the freezer, and prop the door open. This will allow it to warm up and all the ice will melt all by itself.
Every modern fridge/freezer I've ever seen (modern as in 1970s or newer) has a drain hole at the bottom of the compartment and a hose that runs to the drip pan that's behind the trim plate at the bottom of the fridge. Generally a good tug will remove the trim plate, though if yours doesn't come off easily you may want to look for screws.
Remove the trim plate and you'll see the drip pan under there for catching any drips that go down the drains in either compartment. Keep an eye on this catch pan to ensure it doesn't overflow. Soak the water out with some towels that you can ring out over the tub, or scoop it out with a small cup if there's enough room. It's possible that the water will evaporate out nearly as fast as it melts in if your room is warm enough.
Once all the ice is melted out, plug in/turn on the unit, let it get cold, put the food back in.


Do the abbreviations O, N, F mean anything on the electric meter terminals? I am trying to troubleshoot a dual-energy heating installation.  I found this diagram from the electrical company.  The terminals below the meter face are labeled O, N, F, 12, and VCA.  12 I think is 12 volts, VCA is alternating current.  These are in French so I'm guessing O, N and F are as well.  If it helps: two of these terminals should act like a thermostat and close the circuit at a certain temperature (not sure which two,that's what I'm trying to troubleshoot).  I'm not sure what the third one does.

The answer awoke me at 4am: It's a three way switch.  N = Neutre (neutral).  O = Ouvert (Open, this circuit is open in the diagram), F = Fermé (Closed, this circuit is closed in the diagram).


How do I properly wire a 5-wire thermostat? What is this ambiguous '4' label? I took the old thermostat off, and had G,Y,W,Rc and '4' terminals connected to the Green, Yellow, White, Red and Black wires respectively.

Voltage from Rc to G|Y|W was 24VAC
as well      '4' to G|Y|W was 24VAC

all other combos read less than one volt, so I'll assume that's just noise.

The new Thermostat requires GYW, Rc and Rh (or a wire to Rc and a jumper to Rh)

So, what's  the Black wire for?  Do I just tape it off and ignore it?

I found the manual for the old thermostat on the web.

Turns out '4' is an alternative label for Rh on some old models.

I guess I needed that.


How to cut a 1 inch thick 12x48 plank in half (thickness)? I was wondering how you would go about doing this. I have a 48x12x1 Bamboo blank. I'd like to cut the thickness in half so I have 2 planks. Perfect 0.5 width (with blade) does not matter as long as it's cut in half.

My first thought was to square up the 12" high plank on a table saw and use blade 6-8" high, then cut and flip then planer? Do table saw blades even go that high?

There's a Woodworking club nearby I could use. If I can't do it myself, I can ask one of the guys, but I'd like to give this a go.

Thanks for any help.

Sounds like what you're after is resawing-- which is typically done on a band saw with a wide blade. Then you have to clean up the saw marks, which does take some thickness away. So you may end up with two 3/8" pieces rather than 1/2".