Need to hang mirror, AC detected from stud finder I'm a rookie with any sort of home renovation / improvement.

My wife asked me to try and mount a mirror, its heavy, about 40 pounds.

The mirror has two d-rings on the back and a big warning not to use wires for hanging. The recommendation is "L" hook for wood / struts , or anchors for plaster.

One of the d-rings would be exactly centered over a stud, which i figured is good, except that the AC detector happens to go crazy over this point.  I scanned around this point, and about 4 inches above and below, the AC detector beeps / flashes loudly.  A little further away the AC light turns on, but doesn't beep.  A little more further away, there is no warning.

I figure there is a wire going through the stud?  Maybe there is a chance I hit it?

I'm not sure how to get around this problem.  I thought maybe move the d-rings up?  They are about 12 inches from the top of the frame.

Will appreciate suggestions, thanks

If the mounting hardware would hit a cable, you need only move the mirror a few inches to avoid it.

Cut a small hole in the drywall / plaster and look in the wall.  See where the cables go and hang the mirror in a way that doesn't hurt them.  Cut the hole in a place that the mirror will cover, and you don't need to worry about doing a good repair job on it.


Household Wire Insulation (Asbestos Risk?) So I am redoing light fixtures in my 1946 house located in the USA. I guess I'm overly scared of asbestos, and just wondering on your opinion if this household branch wire is asbestos containing.

It is hard to find images on the internet showing examples of what is and what is not. I could get this tested, but at the same time, My exposure would be very limited I think.

Would it be worth while to mist the wires with water (electricity off) to reduce dust? How do you all deal with things like this?

I've been in the industry for over 40 years and have never heard of asbestos in the old wiring insulation. It is oil-impregnated cloth I believe. The more pressing problems that I see from your photo are that the cloth insulation may start to crumble off the copper conductors when you manipulate the wires and that the junction box appears to be overfilled. If the conductors have been run through metal conduit then you should be able to pull new wires if necessary. If the conductors are encased in armored cable conduit aka BX then you may need to call in a real sparky. If the box is indeed overfilled then you can install an extension ring and get creative with the fabrication of a little frame around the extension ring before installing the new fixture.


Can I have GFCI receptacles on the same circuit as normal receptacles? I am looking at a few books and they all show samples of circuits, but never tell or show if you can mix receptacle types.

I have a circuit running to 2 bedrooms for my power outlets. The are on 12/2 and a total of 6 outlets. I wanted to add 2 GFCI outlets for the deck outside and wanted to know if it was ok to add those outlets to this circuit since I can still add 4 more outlets?

Can't seem to find sample diagrams.

Yes it is accepted and code.  The GFCI will only protect what is downstream though.

Also as picture shows you must connect duplex to load for it to be protected.  The load will be labeled on the receptacle.


PEX Manifold with existing piping? Our home has a large addition on it and i'm thinking of running newer lines throughout our original house that has copper. There are many bends at various points and some are starting leak (probably 40+ years old). The original part of the house would need 6 hot and 9 cold runs setup whereas the addition would need an additional 6 hot and 8 cold. There's two 3/4" main lines (one hot, one cold) that feeds the addition of CPVC. I'm curious if I switch over to use a home run PEX manifold setup just for our original house if that would cause a pressure drop on the addition side or pose any other problems. Additionally here's a rough diagram (excuse the resemblance to pre-school art) of what i'm looking to accomplish.

I realize too switching out the copper for PEX may pose an issue with the grounding of our house so that will be verified by an electrician unless anyone has any tips on confirming this.

plumbing diagram http://www.yukoncreative.com/remedy/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/plumb-diagram.png

That looks perfectly suitable. One additional thing you should be aware of, though - if your existing plumbing contains any yellow brass fittings, they really need to come out because of a chemical quirk of PEX; the zinc gets leached out of yellow brass, leaving behind only soft copper, and the fittings may either leak or plug solid. You can use RED brass, just not YELLOW brass.

The manifold should be one size larger than the pipe supplying it.

If there's any question at all about grounding, a solid ground rod can be driven... with the result of giving you a better ground than you ever had by grounding through copper pipe.

Like copper, PEX requires a 1/4" drop per foot (never install it level or wavy), and requires a drain at every low point so the house can be winterized if necessary.

Is there any particular reason for going with PEX instead of tending to leaky fittings as you find them? I suspect that those fittings were always leaky because they were never sweated together correctly in the first place. I ask this question because replumbing the entire house in PEX is really a large, expensive job... while replacing (or resweating) one fitting at a time is relatively cheap.


Can you use gloss polyurethane for first coat when finishing floors? When I had my hardwood floors professionally sanded and refinished, the contractor put down satin polyurethane for the base coat, then gloss for the top coat.

I'm now refinishing a floor myself. Is there any reason why I shouldn't use the same gloss for both coats? I want the top coat to be gloss, and it's cheaper for me to buy a big bucket of gloss polyurethane and use it for both coats, instead of smaller buckets in different sheens.

Yes, but you better be right on the money with your re-coat times.

A second layer of paint bonds to the first layer one of two ways.  Either Mechanically by the paint grabbing onto the last coat, or chemically by the paint diffusing into the last coat.

"Chemically" requires that you hit very specific "re-coat windows" that are documented on the paint label/instructions.

"Mechanical" doesn't work on gloss paint, because it has a finish like glass.

Their use of flat paint is partly to "cover" them against missing their re-coat window.

However gloss paint can be made re-paint-able by scuff-sanding it, i.e. sanding it with something like a Scotchbrite pad to remove the gloss.  (if you're removing layers of paint at corners and edges, you're sanding much too hard).  This roughens the surface to give it some "tooth" for the next coat to bond to.  I am the master of missing my re-coat window, and that's how I handle that.

Paint also tends to be quite soft and vulnerable during the re-coat window, so unless you're Tom Cruise, painting a floor might be a bit of a problem!


Can a standard 15A receptacle outlet handle a 15A draw on each outlet simultaneously? For more color, I have 2x UPSes that are each rated at 15A (each has their own built in 15A fuse).  The current plan is to install a dedicated 30A circuit breaker and use 10/2 NM to a regular double outlet 15A receptacle.  I'm assuming that since the receptacle can be run with 2 hot wires by breaking the tab that it is designed to handle 15A at each outlet and not as a whole.  Just wanted to run this by someone else.  I searched around and didn't see any answers for this question posted.

No can do. You can't have a 30 Amp breaker feeding 15 Amp outlets. You can run a 14/3 NM and have a MWBC with two hot legs,different legs, a neutral and a double pole 15 Amp breaker. You can pull 15 amps on each plug because being on two different legs the outlet only sees 15 amps at a time. using the same leg would put 30 amps on the outlet and that would way overload it. Naturally, this circuit will be grounded. 12/3 NB and a 20 Amp breaker would be better


Wiring Aprilaire 700 Humidifier to York TG9* Furnace I've read the related posts, but they don't answer my questions.
Please, help!

We had contractors installed:
* Aprilaire-700 Humidifier with Auto/Manual Humidistat-Control Knob (non-digital)
* York Heating-Furnace Model TG9S080C22MP11 s Serial W1B4453800 - newly installed.

Humidifier has Wires:
Yellow, Blue - to 24VAC;
Green - unused to no where;
Red & White - to Humidifier;
Red & White - to Outdoor Temperature Sensor.

The YORK furnace is working fine, new upgrade. The slick contractor left the humidifier wires unconnected back to the new furnace, following replacement.

The Furnace works fine! But:
Q1. How do I know which humidistat wires to connect to Furnace Control Board Terminals?
Q2, Q3.  Exactly which Terminals on the Furnace Control Board - which ones and how?

The children are all getting sick with dry throat, bleeding nose, dry eyes, even getting dizzy & disoriented. Please, HELP!  Thanks.

There's two ways to wire this up. The first method is to take advantage of the HUM terminal on the furnace control board. This terminal will supply 120 volts when the furnace is running in heat mode, so you'll have to use an additional transformer.

You'll hook the primary side of the transformer to the HUM, and Neutral terminals in the furnace. Then you'll connect the 24VAC terminals of the humidistat, to the secondary of the transformer.

The other method, is to use the furnaces transformer to provide power to the humidistat. However, you'll have to make sure the transformer is large enough to supply the load.

With this setup, you'll connect the 24VAC terminals of the humidistat to the C and W terminals on the furnace control board.  That way when the thermostat calls for heat, the humidistat will be powered by the furnaces transformer.


Why is my dishwasher causing the dishes to have an odor? I have a GE Profile Triton XL dishwasher and the dishes come out clean but have an odor to them, it's a metallic/sour smell.  Any idea on the proper way to clean it?  There is no built in clean cycle.  There's no food trap either (as far as I can tell).

Dishwasher cleaners are available - I use this one every six months or so - it has a range of chemicals in it which get in around all the bits that might be moldy and gives them a good clean.

Once cleaned, the following tips I found over at wikihow will help prevent this in future:

Run the garbage disposal before starting the dishwasher. The dishwasher drains into the same pipe as your sink, so that drain must be clear.
Run a bit of hot water in your sink before running the dishwasher. You will get cleaner dishes if the water starts hot. You can collect the water you run and use it for watering plants or other purposes. Run the water until what comes out of the tap feels hot.
Make sure your water starts hot enough. Set the thermostat on your water heater to 120F (50C). Water that is cooler than this won't do a good job cleaning. Water that is hotter could scald.
Load your dishwasher properly, stacking items facing downward and inwards. Check that all the arms can spin freely before running the dishwasher.
Run full loads to conserve water and energy, but don't pack dishes too tightly. Dishwashers wash dishes by spraying water over them, so the water needs to be able to get to the dishes to clean them.
Don't wash containers with labels that could come loose. Scrape heavy debris and large particles off dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.
Don't pre-rinse too much. Dishwashers and detergents have both improved. If you haven't tried putting dishes in dirty lately, try it again. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Not all dishwasher detergents work the same. The next time you buy a new container of detergent, try a different brand and see if you get better results. Look for ratings and reviews, too. At the very least, favor powders and tablets over gels and liquids, and keep them dry and free of excess moisture prior to use.
Wash small items in the basket with your forks and knives so they don't slip through the racks and end up in the bottom. Some dishwashers even have enclosed baskets just for small items.
For dried-on gunk, get the area wet or spray the cleaner, then let it sit and dissolve for a few minutes before wiping. You'll save yourself a lot of scraping and scrubbing.


What are some causes/solutions for poor drainage? What are some causes/solutions for poor drainage?

It seems that our house tends to drain water very slowly. The bathroom sink could probably overflow if the water was left on, the bathtub also seems to take a while. Even the kitchen sink seems to drain slowly (though turning on the garbage disposal seems to help).

I've already poured Sulphuric acid down the bathtub, but that hasn't made much of a difference that I could tell.

edit:

We have public sewer

Since all of your drains are slow, you could have blocked or broken connection to the sewer system. There are companies you can hire that will come in and put a camera down the drain pipe so you can see blockages or breaks. It's been quite awhile since I had it done, so I can't remember exactly what it cost, but it seems like it was $200-$300.


Is it acceptable to cut studs to install an electrical panel? Our electrician cut out 2 by 4's to install an electrical panel between them.  He put a screw through the box into the cut end of the 2 by 4 in only three places.  I don't believe it's a load bearing wall, but is this right?

It's not likely a problem. However, it would be preferable to at least box the area with a flat header and sill. This will help reduce movement that could crack drywall joints later, and will keep the drywall more stable around the box.


Flush Mounted PVC Electrical Junction Box or alternative ideas to supply two sub-panels I'm not an electrician, but I am a pretty aggressive DIYer that wants to do things the right way (i.e. I plan on getting a permit and everything inspected but I need a gameplan first).

I have a 200A service panel in my garage and I want to add two sub-panels (the house is almost new and the builder left me with no extra space).  My plan was to add a panel next to the existing and move my AC (I have two 240v units) breakers to the new sub so that I can have room in the main for the two new 100A feeder circuit breakers.  The AC breakers are at the bottom of the panel so I think I'll have enough slack to move those Romex cables over to the new panel at one of the top positions. The other new sub panel will be in a detached shop that I'll run wire underground through 2" PVC.

My question is how to get the two large feeder cables out of the panel and off to the two new panels without going completely surface mount.  My garage is framed with 2x6 construction and the builder insulated and sheetrocked the whole place.  I would like to keep it looking nice so I thought some kind of flush mounted PVC pull box below the existing panel would help get the wires down from the existing panel and routed in the horizontal direction to cross through the studs.

I know its probably way easier to do this with conduit on the surface but I want it to be super clean and don't care about the cost or time.

EDIT:  I believe the existing panel is the Homeline HOM3060M200PC by Schneider Electric

I added this new picture below to show the obstacles to getting conduit from the service panel area into the rear yard where I can more easily trench.  This unknown (at least to me in my mind) was what was driving me to want to have everything run inside the wall.

You'll have to bore the stud anyway, so I'd just nipple between the two panels

Since you'll have to put a hole in the stud no matter what you do, I'd make that hole count as much as possible.  How? Well, we start by scrapping the junction box and using a rigid metal conduit nipple between the adjacent sides of the two panels.  This gets rid of a wire and a nailplate, as the conduit provides physical protection while serving as a grounding means provided appropriate bonding locknuts and insulating bushings are used.

It also means we can use the 60% fill rule for nipples under 24" in length, which allows us to fit 3 250kcmil XHHW-2 aluminum wires (enough for a 200A feeder!) down a 1.5" RMC nipple (which is small enough to stay within the 40% stud boring rules).

As to that feeder run to the shed...

Running the feeder to the shed in conduit is a good idea; however, you don't need the junction boxes.  I'd simply run straight out the opposite side of the panel if at all possible, then to a LB with its cover protruding from the drywall that is nippled to the LB on the outside.  If that doesn't work, you can come out the bottom then use a LR to turn the corner to the lateral run to the LB, again with the conduit body's cover protruding from the drywall.

As to the feeder wires themselves, you have two choices.  One would be to get a bunch of 1/0 Al XHHW-2 and run that for your hots and neutral with a 6AWG bare copper ground; this gives you a 125A-capable feeder, but requires a bit more labor than using a multiplexed cable in conduit.  The other option would be to use a 2-2-2-4 mobile home feeder (tri-rated USE/RHH/RHW-2) multiplex cable to get you a 90A feeder to the shed; while this compromises a bit on ampacity, it does get you the convenience of a multiplex cable, as 1/0-1/0-1/0-2 is not available in mobile home feeder and quadruplex URD can't be used for a feeder in conduit as it's made of the old, nasty AA-1350 aluminum, which isn't legal for the conductor types generally usable in conduit as per NEC 310.106(B) and 310.10.  Running SER in conduit is also a bad idea; while technically legal, it's a nightmare from a conduit fill and pulling perspective, to the point where using individual wires is a far better solution.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

The single most important thing with this installation, no matter what else you do, is to not skimp on panel sizing the way your builder did to put you in this pickle to begin with.  I would go with a 200A or 225A, 40-space or 42-space, main lug panel as a minimum for the house subpanel, using the aforementioned 250kcmil feeder wires landing on main lugs in the subpanel and a 200A breaker in the main panel to provide a shutoff for the subpanel.  In Homeline, this would require a HOM2200BB for the feeder breaker and a HOM4080L225PC with a PK27GTA field-fitted (or a HOM4080L225PGC, if you can find it for a good price) for the subpanel.

For the shed panel, you'll want a 100A or 125A, 24-space or 30-space, main breaker panel, as the main breaker serves as a local shutoff for the building.  In Homeline, this would be a HOM3060M125PC with a PK23GTA field-fitted to it, or a HOM2448M125PRB if you need an outdoor panel for the shed, again with a PK23GTA field-fitted to it.

In both subpanels, you'll need to make sure the neutral-to-ground bonding screw is removed, by the way.  The shed will also need a grounding electrode system; two ground rods driven 8' deep and 8' apart, connected to the panel using a run of 8AWG bare copper wire, will typically suffice.

TORQUE ALL LUGS TO SPEC

One other thing you'll need to do when installing this is torque all the breaker and loadcenter lug setscrews to their manufacturer specified installation torques; this is required by 2017 NEC 110.14(D), and is a very good idea anyway lest your electrical system develop a case of the loose lugnuts...


What else should I check to troubleshoot an outdoor post light? Bulb quit working in outdoor light post, changed bulb. Still did not work.  Changed the light post eye control, nothing. Re checked all wiring.  Circuit breaker also controls porch lights, works.  What else should be checked?

Check on the walls of your garage, inside and out for a GFCI outlet. Also check at the base of the light post. GFCI's are usually used for light posts and are usually to blame for what you're experiencing.


Solar panel setup with battery The electricity where I live is pretty expensive at about almost 30 cents a KWh, so I'm considering setting up a solar system. I got 3 100 Watt Polycrystalline solar panels a while ago, pretty cheap. I live in the Caribbean, so I have access to a lot of sun. I am planning to connect my 1 HP well pump to the system. It runs about 350 Watts and starts at about 800 Watts. I plan to maybe connect my refrigerator later on which runs at about the same wattage.

I was thinking of getting an MPPT Solar Controller. Not sure if 60 amps is too much. I plan to get more solar panels later on with higher wattage. Also thinking of getting either a 2,000 or 3,000 Power Inverter. Still not sure which battery to get.

Could you guys give me some recommendations on a good setup for what I plan to power and some room to grow.

Thanks.

There are two types of problems you'll need to overcome:

High instantaneous loads, such as compressors and some well pumps, require high-output batteries and inverter. Though you state startup requires 800 W, for a second or so, it might draw several times as much power. A 3 kW inverter probably can handle that, using a few batteries in parallel. This should work, since well pumps run intermittently and likely won't deplete the battery in the long run.
Refrigeration loads run frequently, and are often the biggest energy consumer in a household. You'd need a large photovoltaic array to charge in daylight, and large capacity batteries to run the fridge at night and when the sun is not at optimum angle. You might be better off using a small automotive refrigerator or marine refrigerator, designed to run directly from batteries sans inverter. They have less room, and likely cannot keep ice cream solid, but are generally more practical off-the-grid.

A home rerigerator might use ~30-150 kW-Hours/mo, ~1-5 kW-hours/day, and you'd need about three times that capacity in solar generation, because panels are rated for peak output, in direct, perpendicular, sunlight. You'll also need additional storage capacity for rainy periods. For a 0.4 cubic meter (14 cubic foot) high-efficiency home refrigerator, that comes to ~3,000 watts in photovoltaic panels, and ~3,000 watt/hours (250 ampere-hours at 12 volts) in batteries to run just the fridge daily and for two rainy days. You can perform the same calculations for a specific high-efficiency automotive or marine refrigerator. If you have access to cold ocean water, some marine fridges can use that to cool the condenser unit, making the device more efficient.

Hint: If the power fails, eat the ice cream first. ;-)

However, if you're already wired into a local energy supplier, can you sell back any excess electricity generated? That obviates the need for expensive storage batteries with limited life-span. In the USA, for example, "With a grid-connected system, when your renewable energy system generates more electricity than you can use at that moment, the electricity goes onto the electric grid for your utility to use elsewhere. The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act... requires power providers to purchase excess power..." Look into option this in the Caribbean, where you live,


How to secure a stacked ikea kura bed So I have 2 kura beds

I want to stack them on top of each other. Something similar to image below. My question is how do I secure it. It will just be 1 bed, so the top kura bed will not have to support any weight other than the toddler leaning on it (hanging on it when I'm not looking?).

My initial thoughts are:

Gorilla glue all along the edge
Some kind of brace between them in addition (what kind of would I need?)
Secure it to the wall along the studs

Would the above be secure enough for toddler use?

IKEA furniture is pretty well engineered, and by that I mean, they make it just about strong enough to be used as intended by the manufacturer.  There isn't a lot of overstrength to accommodate weird uses.  If the manufacturer intended that to be done, Both these would be true:

An explanation on how to do it would be included in the instructions for the bed.  And
A testing lab such as UL, TUV, CSA, etc. will have tested the design, and certified it to be safe.

If either of those things is not true, then either a) do not do it, or b) build a cantilevered or ceiling-hung platform to carry the weight of the upper bed even if the lower one is removed.


Is it normal for my boiler transformer to show intermittent drops in voltage? Since I installed a Nest-E I've seen my Weil-McLain boiler cut power to the R-wire and C-wire intermittently.

Voltage drops to nearly 0 and the Nest-E errors with E-195 no power. Other times thermostat works fine to control heat.

I'm trying to figure out if the transformer is bad or if the Nest is just not a good fit for this system.

How do I know if the transformer is going kaput?

The voltage drop I saw was due to the triggering of the low water cut off system. When the LWCO kicked on it dropped power to the thermostat. Thank you for the tip @ThreePhaseEel !

Gotta get some of those leaky radiators fixed.

As a side-note, the Ecobee handles the power drop better than the Nest. I tried two different Nest-E units and they both read 5-6 degree lower ambient temps while recovering from the power drop. The Ecobee stayed constant.


Upgrading a heat pump to a larger heat strip Our heat pump is having trouble keeping up on colder mornings.  It's not just defrost kicking in, as it's blowing cold (less than the target temperature) for an hour or two some days.  The heat strip is functioning, but I believe it's too small for our conditions:

35-40° outdoor temp
trying to maintain 65° indoor temp
~1400 sq ft, Pacific NW

The unit has a 10kw heat strip, and has a list of supported models on the side (the upper end being 10kw).  Assuming electrical can handle it (currently 60A breaker, 6AWG - I believe I'll need to add a 2nd 60A circuit), is there a reason I can't or shouldn't use a 15 or 20kw here?  There are compatible models that look like they should work, aside from the exclusion on the label.

Hold on. This doesn't make any sense.

You seem to be assuming that operation of the heat strip is a normal state of affairs and this is where your heat comes from on a 35-40 degree day.  No, no, that would be entirely pointless!  It would defeat the purpose of even having a heat pump.  At that point you might as well just have an air conditioner added to a pure resistive electric furnace.

Something is wrong with your heat pump.  I know that's not what you want to hear, but the repairman will be cheaper than the electric bills all winter long from running resistive heat.  What an expensive way to heat!!!!

I mean, if you really want that, you can just install a bunch of $50 Cadet style electric baseboard heaters at 2000 watts a heater, as many as you plese. Feed them from a contactor operated by the same 24V signal that kicks the emergency heat on. Easy peasy.  But you'll hate me when the bill comes.

The only other possibility is that the heat pump was wildly mis-specced for your location, which needs to be hashed out with the installer if it's a new install, or the previous owner has just been living with for years.  But that seems insane; you have the worst of both worlds.  The maintenance expense of a heat pump system with none of the cost/efficiency savings.


Soldering soft copper to hard fitting I'm trying to solder a soft copper coil to a regular fitting and its not working, (I did already a lot of soldering and never had a problem)  is there any tips or tricks for soft copper? Do I have to work with it in a special way?
Thanks for any reply.

My guess is either the joint wasn't cleaned enough and/or not fluxed properly. I have had problems when my old tub of flux got dirt in it. When heating, the dirt burned and ruined the flux preventing a good solder joint. Check your flux and flux brush for dirt and replace or clean as needed. Then clean all of your joints thoroughly with one of those wire brush cleaners for copper tube or scotch bright.


How should I insulate around pipe/cable holes in drywall? Notice the gaps between the pipes and the drywall in the pictures above?  These gaps appear in both the walls and the ceiling, and I feel like in at least one case, I've noticed a difference in air temperature if I stick my finger in the gap.

Should I try to plug up these gaps?  If so, are there any recommendations for how to go about it?  Note that I'd need to seal around:

electric cabling (for a dishwasher and for a hot water heater)
a hot water pipe (warm to the touch)
drain for a kitchen sink/dishwasher
flexible dryer vent hose (not very strong)

My first thought was just to spray in some of that expanding foam, but I'm concerned that it might not be appropriate for electric, hot pipes, or that it might crush the dryer vent when it expanded.

I am proceeding on the assumption that these aren't visible areas, so looks do not matter.

I think you were right the first time, I'd use expanding foam for those jobs. I've used it in all sorts of cases like yours and it has done well. It isn't going to crush anything, even flexible dryer hose.

The alternative would be to cut pieces of drywall with the right diameter holes and to screw and/or glue them into place around this material. You'd need to move those wires around some if you have enough slack. Once the drywall is in place you'd just use caulk or silicone on the remaining small gaps.


Ice buildup inside Samsung RF266 refrigerator Per the suggestion to the question Samsung RF266 refrigerator not cooling - Fan making noise I completely defrosted the refrigerator. The issue went away for a few days, but re-surfaced again. So I decided to disassemble to refrigerator understand the root cause of the problem. Yes there is Ice build up. Here are some images.

As you see in the image below. There is a good amount of ice buildup.

What are any suggestion to try fixing the issue? How can one test to verify if the fan is still working.

Had same issue with my Samsung refrigerator for a while was defrosting the fridge to work but was lucky to find repair kit for this issue and now not icing anymore for over 4 months now so decided upload my recommendation here.
please use link to view the lifesaver kit :)
Samsung Refrigerator Defrost Booster Kit -Ice Buildup, Noises and cooling issues repair kit, Samsung ice buildup repair kit
good luck guys


Do I have to remove the thinset before re-installing new cermic tiles I have just pulled up my old ceramic tiles from my bathroom an there is the thinset on the subfloor an some grout left on it.  Do I need to clean that before putting new thinset on it?

Yes, you should remove the thinset. You can usually chisel it up with a hammer and cold chisel.


Recessed lighting wiring questions I have installed (5) recessed lights to my ceiling. I just wanted to double check two questions.

Is my wiring sequence correct?

Switch to light #1 (3 blacks, 3 whites, 3 grounds in #1),

light #1 to light #2 (3 blacks, 3 whites, 3 grounds in #2),

.... and so on until,

light #4 to light #5 (2 blacks, 2 whites, 2 grounds in light #5). The wires terminate at light #5.

I used the push connectors provided by the housing. If I cut the 12G wires' harness too long (about an inch) that when I inserted them into the push connector, some wire is still exposed at the base of the connector, can I just wrap electrical tape around the base of the connector with the wires? I know you can do this for a wire nut, but I haven't seen people do it with push connectors so I'm just making sure it's completely okay.

I know I can just remove the wire, cut it and reinsert but im afraid of loosening the push connector's grip by doing that.

Apologies for the noob questions. :)

Cable colors are black white bare simply because that is how cables are manufactured, the colors do not reflect the functional purpose of each wire.

You may do wiring in either a string configuration or a tree configuration where unlimited branching is allowed.  (In fact a string is just a kind of tree configuration).  The tree layout means any number of cables can come together in a box.  So 3 cables at the switch and 3 cables at a light is not weird.  This is allowed:

               /-----------Lt1
 Supply -----SW                          /-----Lt3------------Lt5
               \                        /
                \--------------------Lt2-------------Lt4

However, are you including the cable from the light itself among the 3 wires/cables?  In that case you are simply doing the in-wall wiring in a string, and branching a very short branch out to the light itself.  That is fine and normal.   Counting the wires of the light itself, for instance in the above diagram, Lt2 would have 4 of each color wire.

You mentioned 3 cables at the switch.  I can only account for two:

Supply (always-hot, neutral, and ground)
Switched to the lamps (switched-hot, neutral and ground)

I cannot fathom what the third might be.  It might be a branched circuit to the lights (as in example above) or it may be

onward supply to another point-of-use (always-hot, neutral, and ground).

This starts to get confusing, so I like to use colored tape.  For instance the conventional color of choice for switched-hot wires is red.  Always mark a wire on both ends at the same time, when you mark wire.


Light won't switch off after blowing fuse I recently tried to change a bulb using an adaptor (converting from a E27 to B22 fitting). After switching on the light fitting the fuse had blown. After inspection it turns out the adapter is faulty and must have caused a short-circuit.

After removing the bulb and resetting the switch in the main fuse box, I am now unable to operate the switch on the wall to turn the fitting off (the switch physically won't click).

Is there something I can do to fix the problem?

Thanks,

What happened is that when you turned the switch on, the shorted adaptor drew an enormous surge of current through the switch. The fuse almost immediately blew and prevented a fire, but not before the switch contacts were welded together, forever locking the switch on.

The fact that the switch no longer "click"s is another symptom of the problem. The switch lever may still move, because they're generally connected to the contacts through a spring; this is to give them a "snap" action, but also allows the lever to move when the contacts won't.

You'll at least have to replace the switch; you may want to get an electrician to look over the entire circuit for damage.

Edit: here's some more info. First, an "autopsy" of a toggle switch whose contacts welded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B306JLFjpqs

Second, a switch manufacturer's FAQ on the causes of contact welding: http://www.omron.com.au/service_support/FAQ/FAQ02182/index.asp


WaterProofing (and WeatherProofing) gaps in roof Our house roof consists is made up of roofing metal and cement sheets.
Out of the total area of the roof 50% is covered with metal sheets. This part of the roof also has good slopes for the rain water to drain off (This is because this part has a small tent shaped attic). The other 50% roof comprises of cement sheets. This part of the roof is more like flat surface with minimal slope for the rain water to drain off.
There is a gap between where the metal and cement sheets meet. As they both have uneven surface and they do not match, hence even in the slightest rains there is leakage from this part of the roof. This is further aggravated by the difference in slope between these 2 surfaces.

How do I fill this gap with water proof material ? As this is exposed to the sun it would also need to be heat/sun resistant and crack resistant due to change in the metal length due to heat.

Note: Completely redoing the roof is not possible as the building itself is more than 80+ years old and other financial constraints.

The best way to remedy this is to remove the portion of metal over the transition to cement roof, add a transition flashing that goes over the cement roof. It should cover at least the first row of exposed cement tile at the top and the metal is folded so it turns up the higher pitch, but goes under the metal roof at least as high as a few inches above the first row of fasteners at the bottom of the metal. Do not fasten the metal flashing through to the cement tile. The metal needs to be bent so it presses in place onto the cement tile. You may be able to remove just enough metal fasteners, if they are exposed to ease up the metal roof enough to slip the transition flashing under it without removing all of the metal. Your biggest issue will be working off the cement roof without cracking the tiles. A picture of the trouble spot may help fashion a better answer.


Are bricks better insulator than vinyl? I’m thinking of building a new home 2500 sqft, and my budget doesn’t allow for luxury build however I want to invest on where its really worth and going to provide value to home.

Could you please advice regarding exterior siding.

does it provide more than look n feel, safety in case of house burndown?
does it really save on energy bills better?
does it really up the resale value significantly??
what is best alternative to brick ? N will that have a resale value ??
how much does brick cost approx for 2500 sqft?

A brief google search indicated R value of vinyl siding is 0.6 and that of brick is 0.8 (https://www.archtoolbox.com/materials-systems/thermal-moisture-protection/rvalues.html).

So yes, brick is a slightly better insulator than vinyl. This website may prove useful: https://www.remodelingcalculator.org/brick-prices/      Less than 0.5 R-value difference alone cannot justify the cost differential. Many other factors must be taken into account to determine whether it is worth it--including install costs, time to install, projected length of ownership, and many subjective considerations. Good luck in making the best decision for your circumstances. The 'best alternative' is impossible to state objectively given the myriad variables and subjective considerations involved.


What's the meaning of "expansive trim package"? When I read a house description, there is this line "Features include: expansive trim package, granite, tile, hardwoods, french doors". Can anyone help me on "expansive trim package", what is it?

I would expect it to mean more than just simple baseboards, door and window trim.

This may include crown moldings, wainscoting, perhaps even a 3 piece base instead of one or two piece, chair rail or maybe even a more elaborate trim around windows and doors.


Making a Solar Power Battery Backup Unit Ok, so this is a small battery backup unit.

I want to just start small and see if I can get the idea working.

I'll buy this 20 watt solar panel with charge control

http://www.amazon.com/20W-12V-Solar-System-Polycrystalline/dp/B00PFGP0EA/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1455399393&sr=8-14&keywords=12v+solar+panel

Then hook that directly up to a 12v 18ah sla or a 12v 35ah sla battery.

Then buy this converter to hook up things like lights, tv's, etc

http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Outlets-Inverter-Battery-Cigarette/dp/B007SLDDHQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1455404843&sr=8-3&keywords=12+volt+power+inverter

Am I missing anything or is it that simple?

Also, to get a 12 volt cigarette lighter socket, could I just wire a simple cig socket adapter directly to the battery or should I use some sort of fuse and then wire this to the fuse:

And how do I monitor battery power so I don't kill the battery?

You have the basic concept down.  Your challenge will be sizing.

What's the minimum possible load you can put on the system?  For instance, don't use an inverter to run lighting.  Run the lighting direct off 12V, and there's a huge variety of 12 volt LED lighting: from screw-in bulbs, spot or flood lights, LED strips that let you freestyle your lighting, etc.  No problem getting iPad chargers for 12v, every gas station has them. A surprising number of internet routers and TVs will also run on 12V directly (partly, this is for campers).
Inverters are not efficient. Put every load you possibly can on 12 volts direct. Simply at idle, with no load at all, it consumes 12-15 watts, or all the power your solar panel makes on an average sunny day.  Obviously you only want to run it only when absolutely necessary for loads you can't get in 12v versions.
It is usually cheaper to make loads efficient than to make your system bigger to handle inefficiency.
If it's forgotten and left on, put it on a timing mechanism.
Once you have your loads down to practical minimums, you can think about sizing the battery and solar panel for your loads.
Make your battery's amp-hours 3-4 times bigger than your expected load.  If you "bottom" a lead-acid battery regularly, you will greatly shorten its life.  It's unfair but true.
Size your battery for your "burst" usage, i.e. so it can make it through your hardest day's usage, and so typical days' usage use less than 30% of its capacity.
"Battery protectors" are readily available, the best are probably those which disconnect your car's battery while it still has enough juice to start your car.   The solar panel (charger) should go straight to the battery (fused of course).
Size your solar panel to fully recharge your battery in between uses.
How many days can the system function with no usable sun? (how often will this happen?)
How quickly will it recover from a deeply run down battery?
Fuse everything, to protect your wires and battery from catching fire or taking damage.

It really all depends on your situation.  I have an application with a fairly large battery (about 300 pounds, NiFe) that burns a 60 watt spotlight for 3-6 hours a weekend, then has all week to recharge.  A 20 watt panel is plenty, even when laid horizontal and covered with plexiglas and dirt.


Can I replace a plug with a switch? I have a dilemma. In my kitchen, there has always been an unused electrical box in the ceiling. On the wall in my kitchen, there has always been a switch that doesn't control anything. I always assumed that the switch controlled the ceiling box. (I know what happens when you assume, but hey...)

So I built a fixture that holds 5 pendant lights (led). I wired the fixture to the ceiling box yesterday and the lights worked perfectly. However, the switch doesn't control the lights.

I figured out that the ceiling box wire connects to a wall box that has two standard side-by-side plugs, and three lines coming into it. (See drawing)

My question is, what should I do? Can I replace one of the plugs with a switch? Is there a remote control that I could hook up to the wiring in the fixture itself?

Thank you so much.

Chris

Here is one plan for replacing the right hand receptacle with a switch to have a switched light. I think this is correct, but it would be prudent for you to verify it or have someone else here comment in agreement before you make these changes.

Disconnect the three whites from the receptacle and connect the three whites together. They will not be connected to the switch.
Disconnect the black on the upper screw of the receptacle and connect it to one of the contacts on the switch. This will be the switched hot to the light.
Disconnect the two blacks from the lower contact of the receptacle and connect the two together with a short (~6 in) length of black wire (called a pigtail) giving 3 blacks in one wire nut. Connect the other end of the black pigtail to the other contact on the switch. This connects an always hot (line hot) to the other side of the switch.

Note if you get a good quality switch which allows good connection of multiple wires on one contact, then you can dispense with the pigtail and just put the lower two blacks in contacts which connect them to each other, but do NOT use the ordinary backstab connections for this. Do this only if the back connections are secured by screw pressure. (I don't know if there are switches which have this feature, but if there are, it will save room and be easier.

You could put the two blacks under one screw like it evidently is on the receptacle, but it is not recommended to put two wires under one screw unless the device is rated for multiple wires under one contact.


How can I seal an interior door One of my bedroom doors has gaps at the bottom and side. How can I close or seal these gaps. I would like to heat only this room and prevent loss of heat to other rooms.

The gap at the bottom is from 1/2 to 3/4 inch. The floor of the room has a carpet.

The gap on the side with the door knob is the largest.

Weather striping products and door sweeps seem to be for external doors.

Self-adhesive foam tape and bristle-type weather sealing options (including sweeps) abound at your local hardware store or big box retailer. What makes a particular product "for external doors"? Seems like that's exactly what you need.

I'd opt for the softest foam available or a felt or bristle product to minimize impact noise and closing effort.


Best way to wire for recessed lighting We are considering installing recessed lighting on a ceiling that has another floor above it.  The ceiling currently has no light fixtures except a central ceiling fan.
I can't access the ceiling from the floor above.  I'd like to avoid having to rip down the entire ceiling to get at the joists and run wires perpendicular to them.
No, I don't have any other "special access" like around the edges of the ceiling. I will have to do everything from underneath it, while inside the room.
What are some good tools and methods for running wires from one recessed lighting fixture to the next?  Fishing from one fixture to another in the same joist bay seems pretty straightforward, but how do I get wiring through the joists across multiple bays?  The ceilings are higher than a normal room, so it's likely that I will have to run through 3 or 4 bays between lighting fixtures.
I'd also appreciate any advice on things to watch out for. I already know that there is no ducting or piping in the ceiling, but there may be wiring.  How do I ensure that I don't run into existing wiring?

I'm sure many of the experts will have their own tricks. Here are a few from a non expert. Use thumbtacks to position your light locations. Get a straightened out hanger and bend a piece equal to the radius of the hole you'll be cutting 90 degrees. Shove the radius piece through the ceiling at the center of your proposed light cutout. Work it in so the radius piece is now laying on top of the ceiling. Spin the hanger around while pushing it further up into the ceiling space. If you hit something, you'll know the light won't fit there and you can adjust the location.
Once you've checked out all your locations, you can start cutting the holes. Running the wires along the joists will be the easiest part. You can use a fish tape but I usually just use a tape measure because it lays flat and easy to navigate. The wires across the joists are more of a problem. You'll have to cut the ceiling at each joist location and notch the joist. Fish the wire through and around the joist and into the notch. Cover the notch with a nail plate. If a joist is close enough to the hole, you might be able to get up there with a drill and drill your hole through the joist. When all done, repair the ceiling with some mud and tape.
I've seen many ceilings that had the drywall attached to furring strips installed perpendicular to the jousts due to joists not being "perfectly" installed. Then your wires would just go between the drywall and joist..... you won't know until you look in a hole.


Convert USB powered lamp to a remote controlled lamp I have a bedside lamp that I own which is powered via USB and has a On/Off switch at the back. This is fairly inconvenient to turn on and off from bed.

Is there any way to adjust the hardware of this lamp to add on a remote control functionality to turn it on rather than a manual switch on the lamp itself?

The exact lamp I have is found here

The lamp has no brain; it's just using USB as a power source. You would have to add some form of receiver and control circuit either between lamp and USB, or between USB and wall.


My kitchen faucet is barely running my faucet when i woke this morning barely has water running out of it in the kitchen. What would cause this all  of a sudden. It was fine last night

If the faucets throughout the rest of the home are fine, then just unscrew the cap at the end of the faucet. Within it is an aerator - basically a metal and plastic filter that also slows the water down. You've probably gotten a bit of something from within the pipes stuck in it. Typically they just pop open and can be cleaned out with a toothpick or such, but you can also soak it in vinegar for an hour to eat away the junk from within it.

Once it's clean, screw it back in and you should be fine. (If this was the cause)


How can I add thermal mass to my house? We're part of a real-time pricing program with our electric utility company, and a good strategy for offsetting electricity use during peak demand times is to pre-cool the house.  The more thermal mass that our house has, the more effective the pre-cooling will be.

I've read about phase-change materials and the promise of Thermal Core PCM drywall, but it seems like the development into a commercial product isn't going to happen any time soon.  I've seen various vessels filled with room-temperature PCMs for sale, but I have no idea how much I would have to buy in order to make a noticeable difference in thermal mass of a house.

Is there a practical way to add thermal mass to my house?  I've heard of people suggesting adding large drums of water, though I'd be leery about doing so due to the possibility of structural damage and/or leakage.  I also considered loading up our side crawl with bricks, but I'm not sure how much I could safely add without again running into structural concerns.

I have about 50 55-gallon drums stacked in my basement, all filled with water.  They are stacked one on top of the other (bottom row/top row) along our north basement wall.  I have two in floor-mounted fans, one pushing, one pulling, mounted in the ground-floor joist cavity (from above they just look like floor mounted cold air returns).  During the day, the fans circulate the air around the house.  Our furnace has a bypass door on the cold-air return that opens a door into the basement cold-air return.  This way, during the summer the furnace fan (on 365 days a year) pulls all the intake air from the basement.  With so much air coming from the basement, our 2 to 3 ton AC units run maybe 6 days in the entire summer.

The system is cheap to run (about 1/4 of our cooling costs with just the AC units).  I got all the barrels for about $200, and I have emergency water for years if i need it.  Plus, my house won't blow away in a gale.


What is that dripping noise I hear in the wall whenever cold water is used after sitting awhile? I live in a condo...upstairs with another unit behind me with the plumbing in the shared wall between us.  Whenever it's been awhile (say 45 minutes to an hour) since any cold water has been used, if I flush either of 2 toilets or run any cold water faucet, I hear a dripping sound that is loudest in the wall of the kitchen.

It starts about 15 seconds after the water starts (flush or open faucet), drips (tapping sound) very quickly and then slows down and stops.  After that, I won't hear it again until the water has been sitting unused for awhile.  It's only cold water.  The only thing I hear when hot water is used, is the slight knocking from heat expansion after it's running for 30 sec. (it's winter).

There is no apparent water leak upstairs in the kitchen or downstairs in another unit.  This just started about 6 weeks ago.  It's almost as if water is accumulating somewhere in the pipe and using the water pushes this accumulation out of the way.

I don't know if it has any bearing (or just coincidence that it started around the same time), but I believe the vent to the roof has something blocking it, as my toilet water levels (especially 1 toilet) go down at varying rates.  Sometimes I'll come home and find a tiny little something that backed up into the toilets.  A plumber has already checked for a toilet leak and it's all dry.  I'm waiting for the Spring until someone goes up onto the roof to check that out.

I was reading the explanation provided here:

https://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/t30903/

I have the same problem and agree with most likely the fact that is expansion of pipes.


Does the thickness of insulation on the cooling pipe of an air contioner make a difference to preventing mould and condensation We have an apartment in Port Hedland WA.( Extreme humidity and heat)   It's  relatively new( 3 years old)  but there was mold all over the ceiling and along the walls following the air con pipes to the  out door unit.
 When we got it repaired   the repairman  said it was insulated with the wrong material.. He changed it to a thicker material. The builder said it was because the air con was a bit dirty and needs cleaning more frequently in hotter conditions. .
 I have pictures of before and after and can send so you can see what was before and what is now...  but would really like some input as to what caused the mold. any ideas..  ? Thanks
 liz
 Hope you can help  Liz

Yes, if it wasn't insulating nor tight to the pipe & therefore trapping & holding the condensation water. You basically had a very thick & long wet sock in the room that never dried.

Now that the correct insulation material & method has been employed. Completely spray & let soak for a few minutes & then sponge wash the moldy areas with a solution of 1-part Bleach to 3-parts water. Re-painting may be needed if the walls are on the darker side.


How to wire GCFI's with 2 Hots and a single Neutral I'm getting my house that was built in 1978 ready to sell. I'd tried adding GFCI's in the kitchen. I have an L shaped counter. I have 3 outlets on one wall and 2 outlets on the other. The long wall used to have a frig to the right of the sink. This outlet box has 1 Bk, 1 Red and 1 White coming from the basement. Bk is connected the Circuit Breaker in slot 1 and Red is connected to Circuit Breaker in slot 2. Black and White connect to the duplex outlet. The Bk and White then go to another box towards the left. The Red is wire nutted and goes up the same pipe as the Bk and White.

This 2nd box; with the same 3 wires has another duplex outlet and a switch for the sink light. This 2nd duplex is also connected to the Bk wire. These same 3 wires also go to the left and land in another box on the other side of the sink. This 3rd box also contains another duplex outlet connected to the Bk wire. The Red is again nutted in box 2 and box 3.

So, I replaced the duplex outlet in box 1 with a GFCI. I used the Bk and White wire from breaker 1 and connected to the Line side. I used the load to feed box 2. When I turned the light on it tripped the GFCI. Putting a circuit tester in the outlet in box 3 also tripped the GFCI.

Looking closer, I noticed the light switch was connected to the Red wire from breaker 2. So I moved the switch to the hot on the duplex outlet. The light now works. Using a circuit tester, the GFCI and duplexes on both sides of the sink check good.

Going around the corner to the left are 2 outlets on ether sides of a stove. This next outlet in line (box 4) has a Red wire for hot. So, I replaced it with a 2nd GFCI. The green light came on and all was fine; until I plugged my circuit tester in. That caused GFCI 1 to trip. Now this 4th box has a Red coming in and a Red going out. It also has the Bk wire nutted. Looking at box 5, I see the outlet has Bk wires and the Red is nutted and going somewhere. It may be going to an outlet near the door where there used to be another counter/island. (New Frig location)

So now I'm lost. I fixed the light problem by putting it on the same circuit as the other outlets. (Using the Bk circuit) I'm thinking this outlet is causing the same issue as the switch when it used the Red. I think GFCI 1 sees a current draw on its neutral and trips whenever I try to use the Red circuit 2. Any suggestions?

This is an old house with #12 solid wire in conduit running into the attic for all of the hops. Please tell me I can fix this without pulling another wire. That looks painful. Will switching from GFCI outlets to breakers buy me anything?

Thanks in advance to any and all who can help.

Bob

In your situation where you have one neutral shared between two circuits, you can't use the "load" side of the GFCI receptacle.

That's because stuff downstream on the other circuit will feed return current on the neutral, so the GFCI will see an imbalance and trip. To put it another way, if you have 5A of current on the red wire and 2A on the black wire, you'll have 3A on the neutral wire (the red & black cancel, with the remainder on the neutral). Since the current on the black & neutral aren't in balance, the GFCI trips.

There are two options in this situation:

Install a 240V double-pole GFCI in the breaker panel. This type accounts for varying amperages in the two "hot" wires. This is also the expensive solution, and it's not ideal because if you trip one circuit the other one trips, too.
Replace all of the receptacles on the circuit with GFCI, using only the "line" side of the GFCI. Use wire nuts & pigtail jumpers to join the wires coming in & going out of the box. This option is more work, but may be cheaper. It's also more convenient because if you trip the GFCI on one receptacle, only that receptacle should be affected.

The refrigerator ideally should NOT be on a GFCI, because you don't want it to trip and ruin all your food. However, if the fridge is plugged into a GFCI that's within 6 feet of the sink, it still must be GFCI protected because of the proximity to the sink (though it may not be a problem if it's behind the fridge or is a single rather than duplex receptacle).

Here's a good primer on how GFCI works.


Furnace Fan (Heat Pump) having issues when starting sometimes with a buzzing noise We have a Central Electric Furnace model # EB12B.  It is paired with a heat pump.  We noticed the issue when we were running the A/C this year and is has continued while running the heater.

When the heat pump comes on, the inside fan for the air handler/furnace will sometimes come on with no issues and other times will start, stop, start (often multiple times) before finally coming on and running as normal. At times, the start up issues are accompanied by a buzzing noise.  On several occasions this summer it occurred in the middle of a run cycle (buzzing, fan cutting off/on/off/on).

The outside unit of the heat pump was replaced 2 years ago along with the interior A-coil.  The HVAC techs checked the interior unit and said that the rest of it was in good condition.

When this issue started this year we contacted the same company who replaced the heat pump.  They couldn't find anything wrong and of course the issue did not present itself while the tech was there and he didn't do a lot of testing.  He stated that it he thought is was the thermostat.

The second company we called did more testing and replaced the run capacitor in the furnace.  The unit was fine (based upon what I heard when I was home) for about 2 weeks and started doing the same thing again.  At that time we turned the fan into ON mode instead of AUTO (unable to continue with service call fees with no fixes) and it ran fine that way until 12/29/19.  At that time the fan went bad (cage separated from shaft, etc.).

A third company was called for service.  They replaced the fan and checked everything else out based upon the previous issues.  He found nothing but based upon the system responding immediately to the signals from the thermostat he did not feel that was the issue.  The unit ran fine for about 2 weeks and has started with the same symptoms (occasional fan start/stop/start, etc. with the buzzing sometimes).

Please note that the system runs fine 90% or more of the time with no issues on startup.  Can anyone help with this?  Am I better trying to replace parts at this point or bit the bullet and replace the entire furnace (hate to do that with new A-coil and blower).  What to try next?  Our next thoughts go to the sequencer, the relay or limit switches.  All help is appreciated!

It sounds like the contactor, relay, for the fan is intermittently missing a beat. This is usually caused by pitted contacts that develop from normal use. Sometime they make contact, sometimes they don't. You can try cleaning the contacts with emery paper for a temp fix but replacing it is a simple task. Turn off all the power before doing anything.


Hot/Cold Water Faucet Dripping I have a water heating system in my kitchen sink (picture below) that is about 4 years old.  All of a sudden the faucet is dripping water.  I am trying to figure out how to fix it. I tried cleaning the levers but that did not help since I was unable to reach deep inside.  How can I disassemble the levers so I can clean it very well and see if the dropping stops.  Any pointers or videos would be appreciated

There should be a mounting nut on the faucet stem which holds the faucet from below (under the counter). You will need to shut off water heater AND the water to the heater, and disconnect the supply pipes. Take the mounting nut off and pull the faucet out. When you look inside you will find something similar to the armature for pop-up drain plugs (I think). Basically you should be able to see how everything goes in and how to take it apart once the faucet is has been taken off the counter. There should be a rubber ring that can be replaced. If you can't figure it out once the faucet is off, take a picture of the inner workings and post it so that someone here will be able to help.


A cornucopia of doubts on ballasts? I want to buy and use some 54W T5 lamps. I have found some ballasts in a nearby shop. I have the following questions:

One of them advises 1x110W T10/T12 or 1X85W T12. Can I use it on two 54W T5 lamps? In general, can we use ballasts for T12 - for example - on T5's - considering the wattage matches?
Some of them are advised for T5/T8 lamps, others are for TL5 lamps. Is there any difference?
Suppose I have a 54W lamp, can I use - for example - two ballasts of 30W and 24W? That is: Can we combine lower wattage ballasts in some way such that it could power a higher wattage lamp?
Some of them are even advised only as 1x54W, without the Tn indicator. Can I use them on T5's?
Can I use ballasts of one manufacturer with lamps from another manufacturer?
There was a very cheap ballast for two 54W T5s and one (more expensive) for just one T5. Is it possible that this single lamp ballast will result in more light output?

If it is helpful, below there is a photo of the ballasts I found more promising for my purpose. Perhaps these questions are extremely common, but the seller didn't look to know about it and when I Googled a bit, there was a lot of doubt.

In lighting, The letter "T" represents the shape of the bulb, which is tubular. The number represents the diameter of the bulb in eighths of an inch. I/E: A T5 is a tubular bulb that is 5/8" diameter. Lengths of these different bulbs (T5, T6, T8, T9, T10, T12) can vary because the wider the bulb, the longer the bulb can be manufactured. There are also some "D" and "U" shaped bulbs. This is why different fixtures require certain bulb types.

Fluorescent tube bulbs have low pressure gas in them (argon) that require ballasts. When power is introduced, the bulb warms up the gas. The ballast then kicks up the voltage in order for the light to start burning brightly. Old fixtures required a ballast and a separate starter to get the bulb brighter, but newer ballasts have the starter built in. Once the bulb is fully lit, the newer ballasts will reduce the line voltage to a normal operating level.

Fluorescent tube fixtures usually require a specific ballast and tube type. Some fixtures can be upgraded to use a different bulb type but the ballast and the sockets would have to be changed. I have mixed different brands of ballasts with different fixture brands. Bulbs can be any brand as long as the voltage and wattage fall within the parameters the fixture calls for. If you want to save energy and modernize your fixture you can eliminate the need for a ballast by switching to LED lights and bypass the ballast.


How to remove old wires of utility companies I have a bunch of old wires between my house and a pole across the street.  How do I get rid of them?  I don't even know what companies they belong to.  I only know that I use the electricity cable and the FIOS cable and everything else is something I'm not likely to ever need in my life and in the life of anyone who buys or rents the house from me.

I'm talking about 5 or 6 different cables which I'd gladly get rid of at least from the point where they touch my house.  What options do I have?

If they are a very thin pair they might be phone cable otherwise they are probably power.
You don't really want to go climbing a pole and cutting through unknown power cables - not least because they probably belong to the power company.

Call the local electric company and tell them you want them removed. They would probably be glad of the copper - with the metal price at the moment they are suffering from vandelism as people steal copper


Where can I find a replacement for a Sylvania F40CW/SS fluorescent tube? I tried Home Depot, Batteries and Bulbs, Amazon, and just Googling it and I found nowhere that sells this kind of florescent bulb anymore:

4' Sylvania Super Saver Cool White F40CW/SS. Rapid Start 34W

I've found other Sylvania bulbs that are close, but none that are F40CW/SS.

Now I don't care about any of that Rapidstart Cool White stuff, I just want some light. Will another bulb of another wattage/style work?

Any common T12 bulb is what you need.

You surely have the most common 4' T12 bi-pin type.  They are everywhere.

You have a wide choice of color temperature (4100k is standard fluorescent color, 5100k is more LED color, 2700K is incandescent color).

And CRI (color rendering index), nobody will sell you less than 80 anymore, but you can get as high as 98.  Your old tubes were probably 50-60 CRI, the difference will blow you away.

Tube sizes

The 4-foot bi-pin type bulb is far-and-away the most common.  They come in two primary types that you'll spot in an instant:

T12 (literally 12/8 inch or 1.5" diameter) - what you have in your hand.
T8 - notably smaller (8/8" or 1" diam.), will physically fit, but won't work properly.
T5 - a very small Euro bulb which is an inch too short with too-narrow pins. This is definitely the wrong thing.

Base types

It's rare, but on occasion you will run into an oddball base type. The 8-foot fluorescent tubes use different styles of base, and some idiot made a 4‘ long version of that - complicating everything. Most of these critters are T12. Just for the record, here are the three base types that are possible:

normal bi-pin: two plain pins 1/2" apart.  Universal on any tube shorter than 4‘.
monopin: one little nub maybe 1/4” across.  Universal on 8’ style tubes.
High-Output dual-pin: an odd plastic casing about 1/2" wide shielding two little pins. Used on exotic high-output 8' tubes mostly.

Consider LED

You can now get "tubes" which are in fact a row of LED lights.  They come in a variety of color temperatures and CRIs (not as good as you can buy in real fluorescent).  Don't just throw a pair in the cart, they take some wiring.

"Plug-n-Play" types use an existing ballast.  The problem is, it may not be your type of ballast (there are several).  Which will leave you in the painful position of having to change ballasts for a technology that shouldn't even use them.
"Direct wire" definitely require rewiring the fixture.  But then you get the old ballast out of there for good.


What is the best way to attach a timber block to IKEA Linnmon desktop? I want to fix a metal wire cable tray to an Ikea Linnmon desktop with screws, however the desktop has honeycomb filling therefore it is not suitable for screws. I think maybe attaching a timber block to the desktop then fixing the tray to the block will be a solution. What is the best way to do that? I am thinking of glue, but which type of glue? The material of the desktop is Fibreboard, Acrylic paint, according to Ikea website. The timber block I plan to use would be untreated (I guess?)
Thanks in advance!

you probably don't need the timber block, just Use "Molly"s  (hollow wall anchors) or banana-peel rivets.


Can I install a USB-charger receptacle on a GFCI-protected circuit? I want to replace a standard duplex receptacle in my kitchen with one that provides integrated USB ports. The existing receptacle is protected by a GFCI receptacle upstream in the circuit. Is this against the NEC? Will I encounter any problems with this setup?

There is no fundamental reason why you should not be able use an integrated USB outlet on a GFCI circuit.  There should be no stray current going elsewhere that would trigger the GFCI, and the 5V USB output is isolated from the mains current anyway.


How do you remove a lot of wall tiles? How do I quickly remove a lot of wall tiles without damaging the wall?

I tried the screwdriver and chisel technique with some tiles in a flat in Brighton... and quickly gave up once I found there were three layers of tiles there! So I invested in a cheapish power chisel - like a hammer drill, only it doesn't go around - and finished the job in a weekend.

If you go this route, it's definitely worth buying ear defenders and a good strong set of goggles as tile chips are sharp. I used my chainsaw helmet and got a couple of dings in it.


Is 20 amp line needed for washer and gas powered dryer? I pulled some really old and rigged-up shady wiring out of my laundry room and replaced it.  It was a two-wire 15 amp line to a 15-amp breaker.  On it were two GFI (possibly GFCI) outlets.  One was used for the washer and dryer and the other wasn't being used.  I removed the second outlet and old wiring connecting it and hooked up the GFI for the washer/dryer to a new 14 gauge grounded line to the same 15 amp breaker.  It's now the only thing on the circuit.

I've been told that the washer and dryer should be hooked up to a 20-amp line.  Is that really necessary for a gas dryer?  The main draw on the power is coming from the motors in the washer and dryer. In the 4 years or so we've been in the house, the breaker has never tripped.  I'm considering adding one more outlet to the circuit for recharging a hand vac and maybe a CO/gas detector.  Is it possible I'll start having issues if I do that while the washer and dryer are running?

According to the National Electrical Code, yes it should be a 20 ampere branch circuit. This circuit should also not have any other outlets, other than the ones for "laundry equipment".
So keep the 15 ampere circuit for your general use receptacles, and run a new 20 ampere circuit for the "laundry equipment".
Also note that the receptacles in the laundry area must be GFCI and AFCI protected (210.8(A)(10), 210.12(A)), as well as tamper resistant (406.12(A)).

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 2 Wiring and Protection
Article 210 Branch Circuits.
210.11 Branch Circuits Required.
(C) Dwelling Units.
(2) Laundry Branch Circuits. In addition to the number of branch circuits required by other parts of this section, at least one additional 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided to supply the laundry outlet(s) required by 210.52(F). This circuit shall have no other outlets.
210.52 Dwelling Unit Receptacle Outlets.
(F) Laundry Areas. In dwelling units, at least one receptacle outlet shall be installed in areas designated for the installation of laundry equipment.


How to switch 40A timer used for outdoor lighting and direct 120V outdoor lighting I am redoing my outdoor lighting and need to move 3 wall switches used for outdoor 120V lighting to a different place within the house. The issue is that the inground wire is 10/2 UF but the inside wires going to the wall switches and a timer is 12/2 on a 20A breaker. Should I keep as it is, if so what will be the pros and cons. Or should I rewire it through with 10 gauge wire on a 30A breaker. If so, what type of wall switch should be used and can I still use regular 15A lighting switches?

The key is to provide protection at the lowest level needed.

Wire - smallest size (highest AWG) determines necessary protection. So with 10 and 12, you breaker for 12 == 20A max.
Switches - lowest current rating determines necessary protection. 20A switches are more expensive than 15A switches, but they are readily available. Moving down to 15A is likely just fine if you switch from other lighting to LEDs, but then your breaker will have to go down to 15A. Oops. According to Harper, switch rating depends on loads. So as long as the switched load is lights only (because if it includes a receptacle then you need to allow for that potential load), if you are using LEDs (or other types with a real max. of 1,440 W) then you can stick to 15A switches but still have a  20A circuit with a 20A breaker.
Timers and other devices - a 40A timer can work on a 15A or 20A circuit just fine.
Lights - the total of all lights should be <= 80% of the breaker. 80% of 15A x 120V = 1,440 W. 80% of 20A x 120V = 1,920 W. That isn't much for incandescent, but (as noted by Ed Beal) is a lot for LEDs.

In the end, the lowest common denominator - likely switches in your case - determines the breaker size. The breaker size then determines the maximum lighting load.

One caution: 10 AWG is non-standard enough that anyone looking at it will hopefully not assume that the circuit is really a 30A circuit all the way end-to-end. But 12 AWG is standard enough that if you use a 15A breaker then someone looking at it later may not realize there are 15A requirements in the circuit, see the 12 AWG wire and decide to upgrade the breaker to 20A (e.g., to support some receptacles in addition to the lighting). So if you downsize to 15A then label it in the panel as a warning to not assume 12 AWG = 20 A.


How to eliminate vibration noise that started after replacing blower motor? I have a Trane XR80 furnace, circa 2002. The blower motor died today.

I purchased a new motor and replaced it. Started the A/C and it blows great, but now on the first floor above the furnace I have what sounds like the washing machine on spin cycle.

I looked in and spun it and it doesn't seem to be wobbling or hitting anything. The set screw is tight, I even went around the furnace and tightened every screw.

Any ideas on what to look for or how to fix? It seems out of balance, but everything went in the way it came out

If the motor uses a belt to connect to the fan it is possible that:

A bearing went bad along with the original motor and now under speed and the air drive load that the new motor taxes that bearing toward the point of destruction.
The motor pulley is not lined up perfectly with the pulley on the air circulation fan. As a result the V-Belt may be causing a vibration as the belt alternately tries to climb out of the pulleys and then fully engages the pulleys whilst running at speed.
The set screw that attaches the pulley to the motor shaft may not be tight.
The hole in the pulley may be worn such that it is not a secure and smooth fit on the motor shaft.
The belt may be damaged and has a weak spot that twangs each time it goes around at speed.

If the fan rotors directly mount on the motor shaft it is possible:

Sometimes there are two motor shafts, one on each side of the motor. Two separate fan rotors would be mounted on the two shafts. The two rotors in such case may have been originally balanced by adding small clip on weights to the blades of the fans. If they were re-assembled to the new motor with a different rotated offset from one another than the original then the balance weights may now be creating an imbalance.
If the fan rotor is a type that has a single mount to the motor shaft it is common that this mount is to a centered (from side to side) support plate on the rotor assembly. It is possible that the plate is made of cheap thin metal and can be bent just enough that the fan rotor gets a run out variation as it makes each turn. Even a small apparent run out of say an eighth inch or so can create quite a vibration at full speed.


Bottom stair riser on top of new flooring or gap with trim to cover? I can't find anything on the internet to help me with this and my husband and I can't agree.

We are installing both new flooring (bamboo) and replacing our carpeted stairs with hardwood. My husband says we should cut the flooring just short of the base of the stairs and leave a small gap away from the bottom riser that we'll cover with a piece of trim in case anyone ever wants to replace the flooring in the future.

I think the flooring should go all the way underneath the new riser so there is a clean joining of the floor and the stairs. If the floors do get replaced in the future it seems the boards would slide out easily enough.

The picture shows our new flooring cut just short of where the new stairs will be installed (those are the old stairs that were covered with carpet). Thanks for your input.

Remember, the maximum difference between risers is 3/8” from smallest to largest by Code. (See ICC R311.5.3.1)


New thermostat wire: maximum number of wires? Background:

I'm upgrading from a failing ecobee smart thermostat to an ecobee3.  The ecobee3 requires all wires for the components it controls to be run all the way to the thermostat (including humidifiers, dehumidifiers, etc).

I currently have 5 wires running to the unit, but I need the following for my setup:

R
G (fan control)
Y1 (single stage cool)
W1 (single stage heat)
W2 (second stage heat)
C (constant power for thermostat)
ACC+ (humidifier)
ACC- (humidifier)

Since I will be pulling new wire, I want to ensure I future-proof as much as possible for any future components I may add (such as a dehumidifier).

Question:

What thermostat wiring should I buy to get the maximum number of wires from the control board to the thermostat?  What gauge/specs/etc?

I found 18/10 "sprinkler" wire on home depot's website.  I also see that they have 18/8 thermostat wiring.  Wondering what my options are and if it ever makes sense to run 2 sets of wires (such as an 18/8 and another 18/8).

Since your question relates to "future proofing," it all depends on where you think thermostat technology is headed.  These days, I would not ever install less than 18/7 thermostat wire if I had a choice.  This also happens to be the number of wires that you need for your setup if you tie your humidifier common to the system common and use the ecobee3 "1-wire configuration" for the accessory setup instead of using the 2-wire configuration that assigns the accessory terminals as independent dry contacts.

The future is probably digital.  If you want to cover all likely residential possibilities then pull two cables, an 18/8 thermostat wire and a CAT5 (or better) network wire.


How many posts for a shed? Living in the northern side of Georgia, it's somewhat difficult to find a flat spot to build on so I have some general questions about building a shed on a slope like this or like that -- specifically how many posts will I need?

My initial plans are for a basic 12x10 (biggest allowed w/o a permit) and probably a small deck (wood pile and such) and there's tons of info on how to do those ... but I can't seem to find how many posts I will need.

I won't be storing a lawn tractor in there but I do have a number of gas powered tools (chipper/shredder, tiller, etc) so is there some kind of formula or "rule" that I should follow?

All structures in the US State of Georgia are required to be constructed in accordance with the International Building Code series*...the requirements of საქართველო in the Caucuses were not immediately available online, unfortunately.

General requirements for foundations are stated in the applicable code. Site specific requirements depend upon multiple factors and require soils analysis as well as accounting for whatever wind, seismic, and snow loads the code anticipates for your local.

Be aware that exemption from a permit does not equate to exemption from the building code...nor as a practical matter does the issuance of a permit or passing inspections mean that a building actually meets code...and as always the code only specifies the worst legally acceptable building.


Proper way to connect joist to top plate? What's the proper way to connect an element like this:

I was thinking hurricane ties but was wondering if there was a better connector.

The answer ultimately depends upon your local climate/weather (heavy wind loading?), but generally the way to handle that situation is to span the joists at the top plate with a "rim joist", then toenail all the joists to the top plate.

BTW... you might want your top plate to extend over the top of that corner post instead of nailing to its side.

SketchUp's neat stuff, isn't it? 8)


Why do fluorescent lighting tombstones melt? I am fixing the lighting in an older building and one of the plastic tombstones has melted.

There are approximately 100+ tombstones and one has melted.  A search found a forum discussion that indicated:

  lamps that were supplied to me were made for magnetic ballasts not
  electronic ballasts

I would think that it takes a combination of significant power and current to generate the heat necessary to melt plastic. I have new bulbs of unknown age for replacing bulb failures and in this case tombstone failure: the bulb was removed before my custody of the project.

QUESTIONS

How can I determine if the bulb is made for a magnetic ballast an
not electronic ballast?
Can I determine if the ballast is magnetic or electronic with
minimal effort (i.e. not opening the fixture and measuring from the
tombstone)?
Are there any other reasons that would cause a meltdown and how can
I test / confirm

UPDATES

Wiring configuration is dual-ended
T5 Bulbs

Keep that is the guess of some yo-yo's on a discussion forum, and even though it's an electrician forum, fluorescent internals are not really their bailiwick.  (Being unclear on whether T8 and T12 have same pin spacing? Please.)

But it's not untrue; instant-start ballasts can have some fairly impressive arcing, since they see bad contact in a tombstone as the lamp being unstruck, so they bump the voltage to strike the lamp.  This is series arcing.  That is a bug in instant-start (one wire per lamp end) ballasts, and I have not seen it in rapid-start or programmed-start ballasts.

The root cause is still a tombstone or lamp fitment problem.

And by the way, that kind of burn-up is why I do not like the idea of 120V on a tombstone, as single-ended LED tubes require.

All electronic ballasts can be excluded by the fact that they flicker much faster than 120 Hz.  Spin a pinwheel or anything like that with the light in the background, even just waving your hand across may suffice.  If you get the stroboscopic  "wagon wheels going backwards" effect, it's magnetic.


What thickness metal for ramp/walkway? I need to construct an outdoor shallow ramp approx 4m long and 1.5m wide for a 1:12 gradient.
I'm considering metal sheeting for the walkway rather than decking but I don't know what thickness of aluminium or steel would be adequate or considered typical?

I'm not sure "thickness" really matters as much as the overall design of the ramp. U-Haul trucks come with 12' long aluminum ramps that one person can lift and they are made of pretty thin aluminum.  They are rated at over 500lbs because of the overall design of the ramp.

Thickness really only matters when talking about one single unsupported span, and that is dependent on overall design.  You could have a 24" unsupported span with 1/4" steel or a 6" span with 1/8" aluminum (all made up numbers).

A better approach would be to find an affordable metal that is suitable for the purpose of a walkway, then decide what design would allow you to use that based on its weight and flexibility.  Once that is done, you can look at the cost of a more typical surface (wood decking), compare costs, and see if metal really makes sense.


How do you comply with NEC receptacle requirements in row homes with brick walls? I'm rewiring a Philadelphia row home, which like many others, has brick and cinder block for the side walls.  There is no framing, just lath and plaster.  I know some flippers will put in 2x3 studs to make things easier, but I'd prefer to avoid this for reasons of both cost and space.

What they Originally did was chisel away part of a brick and install the receptacles in the base trim.  At the time they made small, narrow boxes, probably only 1 1/4" deep and completely flat on the front with wings made to nail into the trim.  I have looked all over for these.  I can't even find a picture of one.  How are people handling this in renovations?  The only other solution I can think of is that ugly plastic channeling that runs on the outside of the wall.

I see two options. What I see in the US quite a bit is instead of running the plastic channels on the wall surface, people will use steel conduit. It gives kind of a rustic/industrial look. Receptacles would then be mounted in steel boxes on the wall surface as well.

What is typical in Germany, where most walls are block and plaster, is that grooves are cut into the plaster, conduit laid into the grooves, and then the whole thing gets covered with plaster again. There are specific tools for this called wall chasers, they have a set of blades kind of like a dado set that let you cut a groove into the plaster. This would obviously be more work and much more messy than the first option. In addition to cutting the channel for the conduit, you would of course also need to chisel out holes for the boxes that would probably go through both the plaster and partially into the brick.
As Harper points out, in the US, it is probably required by code to use conduit, and either way, it would be common sense to do so for protection of the cable, as well as future replacement.


fixing lead boot on waste vent The lead boot around the waste vent has worn away. I have no idea how it happened, but I need to fix it. I was thinking of just buying another boot, cutting the bottom off, cutting the top of the existing boot off, and sliding the new boot over the old one.

I that a good way to fix it? If so, should I affix the new bolt to the old one somehow? If not, what is a better way to fix it?

From the photo you posted I can see you have a different problem from what you may think. The reason the vent pipe is damaged is because a "critter" has ben gnawing it away!  The most likely suspects in the animal world (in N.A.) would be in the rodent species: squirrel, rat, chipmunks, porcupines to name just a few. You can see the small serration grooves cut by their continually growing front and lower teeth.  What is extremely astounding is that the material is lead. A soft metal! You have a very determined and serious critter wanting 'in' to your house! Normally I would suggest en-circling the pipe with a wire mesh, but I would think it could rip through it and come back for seconds!    Repair or replace the vent as easiest and best you can. To stop the chewing apply a coating of roof patch to the pipe, covering it completely. I would try to catch the pest to prevent it from future damage elsewhere and from infiltrating your home.


Can I Remove a Brick Chimney and Replace With Something Else? I am buying an old home (~130 years). I had the home inspection yesterday and the chimney is essentially a death trap. It is the victim of both poor maintenance and bad DIY work.

The chimney on the roof needs to be removed and rebuilt.
The water heater and boiler in the basement vent into the chimney entirely incorrectly, exhausting in the the home.

To maintain it, I need to pay an expert to rebuild the chimney, and a plumber to fix the hot water situation.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, I am wondering if I can or should just remove the chimney outright.

First, I'd move the water heater and boiler away from the chimney in the center of the house and power vent them straight outside. This has the added advantage of opening up the center of the basement a bit, where they are currently located.

Then we'd simply remove the chimney. That would also leave us with a shaft through the center of the home to run central air in the future.

The only complication is that my wife likes the current fireplace in the living room. Can we attach some form of smaller, non-brick chimney to the existing fire box? We'd be willing to change it to a gas fire place in the process.

As a follow on, the bricks for the chimney extends all the way to the basement currently. If I want to leave the first floor fireplace in place, do I need to leave the bricks under it in place, or can I support them some other way?

If I was doing this I would remove it down to the basement put in new flooring and start out with a free standing stove. My current home has a river rock hearth & chimney in the center of the house. No fire brick lining the chimney, It will come out to the ground level within the next year. You could use an insert and run pipe through the roof. Make sure to get a permit for the new unit and have it inspected. I know in my state fireplaces installed without permits are not covered by home owners insurance if a fire occurs. This includes inserts as some sales folks don't know the code and provide single wall flex pipe for inserts and this is not legal in Oregon even inside an existing chimney.


Condensation/moisture on AC Unit Is there any particular reason why there is so much moisture/condensation coming from this AC unit?

Added context: it rained the entire day before this photo was taken, but the unit is located underneath a deck. Furthermore, there is a piece of corrugated metal above the unit to prevent rain from falling on it.

Moisture or condensation is a normal part of an AC system, the outside unit only has a little area that be cold, the larger line into the compressor is the suction line this line should be insulated as it will sweat and drip when the system is running, very little of the suction line should be exposed. The part that really generates the water is the inside unit. This is where the cooled high pressure Freon is released to low pressure by an orifice or thermostatic valve. This creates cold and pulled the moisture out of the air the moisture drips into a tray and is drained into the house water drains or outside which ever is easily done. In a humid climate , just after a rain the inside unit can easily create 10 gallons a day on a 5 ton system and this may be the source of the water if draining outside on the pad. The outside unit if creating very much at all needs more or some insulation added and this will increase efficiency saving $ and reducing moisture from the outside unit.


LED strip forgets last setting when turned off In the staircase at my home an electrician installed a LED strip in the handle. I can dim the lights to desired intensity using a springloaded switch and a timer turns on the light in the morning and off at night.

The problem is that every time the light is turned on it's on full blast which is really annoying in the morning.

Can I solve this using the hardware I have without having to call in an electrician?

Driver: LED dimtrafo MDR 12V  specs

Timer: Theben  TR610 top2 specs

Photo of timer, driver and switch overview

Closeup photo of driver

The controller needs to be continuously powered in order to remember the dimmer setting. Unfortunately, the electrician wired the timer so that it interrupts power to the controller.

One way to fix this would be to purchase a relay that has a 230V coil and contacts rated to handle the DC current at the output of the controller.

Wire the controller's AC input directly to the mains.

Wire the output of the timer to the relay coil.

Wire the relay contacts in series with the output of the controller (i.e., between the controller and the LED strip).


Connecting Ceiling Fan Power source in fixture. Two 3-way switches. How do I get constant hot to ceiling fan and work the light with both switches.

If both switches are not working correctly someone messed up the wiring! We will need a schematic to figure it out.

A schematic is a explanation of the wiring in each of the switch boxes and at the light fixture.

Many times it is a simple screwup when a new switch was installed the person swapped the common with a traveler .

We need pics or a full description, but can help, @harper has some good 3 way posts if you don’t want to provide photos reading up on one of these will give you a path forward.


How can I calculate the Btus needed for a single room A/C unit? How many Btus is recommended for a room about 35 square meters? I have 2 units with 13,000 Btus each. I'm thinking it should be enough, but the room is just so-so cool. I can never say it's COLD in the room.

I found this link, which is for a whole house:  http://www.northernac.com/newcalc.htm

This one is for a single room.  Assume the room direction is for the northern hemisphere.  Reverse North and South if you're in the south.  http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/advice/measuring-materials/window-air-conditioner-size-calculator/>

From the comment by mike:

This calculator is a bit better in that regard, but does not take into account climate: thisoldhouse.com/toh/calculator –  mike


cleats vs. staples for hardwood flooring I'm installing a new hardwood floor, and I'm thinking about using cleats rather than staples.  Are there any advantages to using cleats over staples?

Yes! Cleats are pretty much the standard in hardwood flooring. Typically, hardwood floors have 'tongue & groove' joints that interlock. First, some definitions of terms that I've used in my answer:

Tongue: the part that sticks out of the hardwood piece is called the 'tongue'.

Groove: the slot it fits into is the 'groove'.

Face: the part of the piece that will eventually be the floor is called the 'face'.

Floor joists: these are horizontal panels that run from one end of the room to the other and rest on beams under them. These provide support and you'll install the flooring on the joists, perpendicular to the direction in which they run.

CLEATS

With cleats, you drive the nail through the tongue onto the floor joists at a 45 degree angle. The cleats (which need to be set in) get hidden by the next piece that overlaps the previous one. The advantage is that all except the last piece in the room will have no nail markings on the surface.

The only con is that you'll need a specialized hardwood floor nailer, that can be pretty expensive to buy ($400-500 for a pneumatic one and $200-300 for a manual one). Needless to say, the pneumatic one is less work (but then again, you'll need to get a compressor for it) than the manual (you'll need a 5lbs mallet to drive a 1.5"-2" cleat in fully). However, these tools are easily available for hire at your local HomeDepot/Lowes (assuming you're in the US).

STAPLES

Now, I've never heard of anyone using staples for hardwood floors. It's more a carpet layer's tool. With staples, you'll also have to nail in through the face, thereby leaving marks all over the floor and ruining the appearance. You can probably use staples to lay down the backer board under the hardwood floor (if you're in a cold weather/windy area, this will help insulate the house by preventing airflow through the slots in the floorboard). Using them on hardwood floors is a terrible idea, and wouldn't recommend it under any circumstances.


Insulation basement (Rigid Foam). What to do in the unfinished area I'm planning to finish my basement. Most of it will be finished but there will be some areas that are unfinished for storage. I'm planning to use rigid foam insulation and seal it up.

What should I do in unfinished spaces?  If I run the rigid foam into those areas, it needs a fire block --> so I have to put drywall in front of it.

What are people doing for the unfinished space?  Can imagine putting up additional walls just to cover the foam?

Should I stop the foam and seal it off vertically?  Do I then insulate the interior wall that will border the unfinished space?  Since it's an open area should the moisture have air movement to dry up?

When I partially finished my basement, I insulated the exterior walls of the finished part, and left the interior walls and the unfinished without any insulation. My AHJ (in Ohio) approved this, stating that there was no need by code to insulate the unfinished part, nor insulate between the finished and unfinished parts. He did insist on insulating the rim joist in the finished part, which is very sound advice - that is the bulk of heat loss in a basement (unless your frost depth covers most of the basement height).

If your AHJ allows for insulating only the finished area, I would do just that, and leave the walls to the unfinished area without insulation.

In my basement I have around 420 sqft finished area, an adjacent 320 sqft unfinished area and another walled off unfinished area of 220 sqft. The finished area has a single heating vent at the ceiling. The finished area is slightly cooler than the rest of the house, but is noticeably warmer than the adjacent unfinished area. The walled off unfinished area is again colder than the unfinished area that is next to the finished area, so the heat gradient is fairly obvious. However, even during the coldest weather the coldest part of the basement is still fairly warm, and with a frost depth of only 32 inches my experience might not apply to colder climates.


What can I replace my generator's starter cord with that will last longer? I broke the cord on my generator and I want to replace it with something stronger than typical rope. Does anyone have experience with another material?

If you use stronger cord, you'll just break something harder to replace next time. The cord is a "mechanical fuse" - a "weak link" - if it's breaking, it's either quite old, or you are doing something wrong when starting the generator.

Replace it with the same stuff, don't yank it past the point where it turns the generator, and it should last for many years.