Need to cut copper pipe after removing push pull valve and replacing with sharkbite? I'm working on replacing a kitchen sink faucet, home is 5 years old, and all of the valves are push/pull and plastic attached to 1/2" copper (I'm assuming that's the standard from online research). I replaced the faucet but now each time the motion sensor faucet shuts off while on cold, it kind of slams shut and the valve pops up, shutting the supply off. My plan is to remove the plastic push/pulls and replace them with 1/2" SharkBite x 3/8" OD (compression), metal 1/4 turn valves (link).

2 questions from this:

1) Is that a good idea? Replacing a valve that pops up when the water shuts off? Or could there be a bigger problem?

2) When I remove the push/pull plastic valve (by twisting it counter-clockwise until it comes off as I've read and seen on YouTube), do I need to cut back the copper pipe for the SharkBite to latch correctly? I'm worried about there being grooves or teeth marks from the previous plastic valve.

Thanks in advance

It sounds like do to the nature of your faucet that when the water shuts off it shuts off so abruptly that it creates a serious amount of pressure against your valve. While in theory your sharkbite should hold up to that pressure  i would be worried that over time it may get weaker.

For piece of mind i would install quarter turn compression valves, they are not hard to install and do not require soldering. Either way you should make sure that your copper is in good condition, no burrs or scars. Use some emery cloth to burnish/clean it up to see if it in good condition and not deformed.

You do not want anything that can damage the rubber o-ring in the sharkbite when you slide it onto the copper.

If you decide to go with the sharkbite you may want to install water hammer arrestor's to absorb the shock when the water shuts off.


Is a sealed attic appropriate for Southern California? I have a two-story house. Half the house has a cathedral ceiling (which will be left as is) and the other half has a traditional attic with no soffits. The only ventilation in the attic comes from two gable vents at each end of the house.

How should I insulate this type of attic?  I am contemplating adding insulation to the bottom of the roof deck and adding more insulation to flooring in attic; I think this is called a sealed attic.  Is this appropriate for my climate?

If I were building the house in southern California then I wouldn't do this, especially if you were using asphalt shingles.

An unventilated attic in a warm climate like this can get extremely hot and will greatly decrease the life expectancy of asphalt shingles.  Over time they will start to curl prematurely from the heat.  If I were to do this I would insist the following courses of action:

Heavily insulate without sealing gables
Have at least a 1 foot overhang with ventilated soffits
If 1 foot overhang is not possible, then install an attic fan to assist in proper ventilation of the attic
If neither of these are possible then forgo asphalt shingles for something more appropriate for extreme heat like terracotta or slate shingles.


Needs to fix this bed, this lock is keep on turning, did not tighten up, can anybody guide me? I was trying to fix this lock but its not working, out of four one was intact and it locks right away, I am looking for new locks or to fix old locks.

Those fasteners are called cam locks or cam bolts. Here are photos of a cam lock nut and a cam lock bolt (or screw, or stud).

Your photo shows quite a large gap, especially at the lower left. Cam lock fasteners are not intended to draw a joint closed; they really should only hold it snug after the pieces have been fully pressed together. Try rotating the nuts to their open position, then press the pieces together to eliminate the gap, and finally rotate the cam to lock things together.
Finding the "open position," meaning that part of the nut where there's open space before the fingers engage, can be a bit of a trick. If you can disassemble the parts then you can look down inside to check its position. Sometimes the lock nut can be wiggled out of the wood and re-inserted at the right angle. If you have help, you may be able to have one person press the pieces together somewhat lightly while the other rotates the lock nut. Once it is into the open position the wood parts should move together.
It is possible that your cam lock nut and/or bolt is broken. Full disassembly is probably required to check for this, and definitely required if repairs are needed.


How many power cables can a coaxial cable cross? I am running coax RG6Q to my FiOS box. I know to cross electrical cables perpendicular, but is there a limit to how many wires I can cross in a short area? See my picture: the coax is the black line going horizontally to the vertical power wires. Is this a disaster waiting to happen? Can I test the interference before I commit to this line?

Edit: I have been running this configuration for over two years now. I can say that I have experienced no noticeable degradation of signal during this time. Thanks!

If you cross perpendicular to the power there will be no problems no matter how many cables you cross each cable basically cancels when perpendicular.


Drywall stain bleeding thru after 5 coats of paint My drywall was wet before due to a leak. It has a stain mark. But after 5 coats of white paint from Behr brand and Kilz primer, the yellow stain is still bleeding thru

In the past, I remember I had to scrape off the paper and put new mud/sand again. Then prime, paint.

Now it is all done already with texture and paint. Is there a better way to fix this?

I am thinking about getting the white color from Sherwin Williams but I am not sure if it does any difference.

Fortunately there are not many things that are soluble in both oil and water.

If it's a water stain use an oil based undercoat, or a shellac based sealer.

If it's an oil, grease, or wax, stain use a water based undercoat.

Use two coats of undercoat to get a good seal.


Buying Land and tree cleaning I want to buy land in the Alameda County in California.  The land I saw on the market has lots of trees.   I am not looking for big development but just a small parcel <.5 acre for a single family house.
 - What are the general procedure for tree cleaning?
 - Does contractor also do tree cleaning?
 - What else should I keep an eye out other than zoning?

Thanks

1- Cut them down & haul the corpses away. But, the Governing Body may limit how much you can clear & your Architect or Builder will have other requirements.

2- Yes, the Contractor is there to do whatever it takes to get your money, he'll Sub-Contract the tree removal out to an experienced guy or firm.

3- Electricity, Septic System, Heating Oil or Gas (if not electric), 911 Service, Fire Dept. access or abilities & thereby Insurance Costs, Environmental Impact Control Costs, Water Retention & Driveway Path...meaning, will it be easy for many vehicles to park or big long trucks to deliver materials or will costs & problems arise from difficult access.


How to properly close a chimney hole in the basement I recently removed the old unused wood stove in my basement. I now want to properly condemn the chimney.

I found this question which answers what to do with the chimney outside, but I am still unsure about this hole in my basement.

Behind the gray brick wall is the concrete wall of my basement. (The brick wall will be removed when I get to remodeling the basement). My first idea was to simply brick and mortar the hole, but is it a good way to do this? And should I remove the cast iron ring?

Assuming the flue is not shared by any other devices of combustion on the first floor or above, you can use anything temporarily to block the draft and keep vermin out. you can use some mortar with a metal backing plate. Cut a piece of sheet metal in a rectangular shape slightly narrower than the hole diameter and a few inches taller than the hole. Put a long skinny bolt in the center to use as a handle.  Insert the metal and move it until it is flush against the back blocking the hole. You can then put a scrap of wood with a hole drilled in the center over the bolt and use a nut to secure the metal plate against the back of the hole in the flue.  This will stop your mortar from falling down into the flue and allow you to fill the void completely.  To make it look OK until you renovate, cover the repair with a thimble cover.  There is no need to remove the flue adapter ring.


Building a well-rounded set of bits First and foremost, please my ignorance as I'm new to the whole DIY thing. I bought a cheap set of drill bits, munched through them like butter, and so have now decided to make the investment into a proper selection. Happy to spend some more money on top-notch stuff.

My understanding is that to be well-rounded, I will want 3 sets:

Cobalt drill bits with a 135 degree tip for metal drilling
HSS tipped brad point drill bits with pilot point type things for wood
drilling
Carbide tipped (or diamond?) bits for tiles, brick and
concrete drilling.

Is this correct?

Does a titanium coating added to cobalt drill bits make a big difference; my understanding is it wears off quickly.

Secondary question is what to look for when buying impact-ready screwdriver bits. Common sense says I should look for cobalt drill bits to ensure they don't get munched up. Does a titanium coating make a difference here?

Availability of quality bits here in Bangkok is limited. I have found one company which sells Irwin bits. Are these considered quality bits? Or do they offer little more over brands like DeWalt?

Thanks,
Rob

--- PS comments

For metal drilling, I feel TPP bits would be a great purchase.
Thoughts?
For wood drilling, I feel Irwin bits would be a great
purchase. Thoughts?
Still looking for the masonry bits.

For ordinary casual woodworking and household maintenance, almost any drill bit is sufficient. Fancy coatings make little difference for light-duty use. "Split points" can make drilling in exactly the right place easier on difficult materials; I haven't noticed much difference when drilling wood.

The kind of bit, in larger sizes, will make more difference -- above half an inch you start having to choose between spade bits (inexpensive), hole saws (mid priced, cleaner cuts), and Forstner-and-similar (more expensive, clean holes, can do some things neither of the others can,  but drill sliwer than hole saws; they're more often used on drill presses), or a few other less-common variations in the theme. (I own bits in all three of those categories, for different tasks).

I haven't used impact drivers enough to have opinions on those yet.


Sagging Floor Joist in House Built in 1925 My daughter is in the process of buying her first home and she paid for an inspection. The inspector found that the joists under one of the bedrooms in the center of the house that sits on a basement foundation is sagging. We both have been told this is very easily fixed however I feel like she is getting ready to buy a problem. There are one inch holes drilled along the walls of the entire basement foundation and the ENTIRE underside of the floor system was “conveniently” covered in black plastic to where the inspector could not observe the flooring of the entire house. I have been researching and feel like it’s possible that the seller is trying to cover up at least termite damage if not something worse. Does anyone have any advice regarding this type of issue or had experience in the repair of?

It's not unusual to see sagging floor joists on houses that are nearly 100 years old. Sagging joists can be adjusted with jacks, then permanently supported with a wall in the basement (or knee wall in a crawl space). This sort of thing is often best done by professionals though, because if done on your own too quickly you can cause other damage, or if done without permits, it can become a liability to a future sale of the property.

Black plastic may have been added as a vapor barrier over under-floor insulation, the 1" holes may have been part of a radon remediation effort. In other words don't jump to conclusions about fraud.


What could cause water to leak from the top of the fridge? It appears that once a day, there is some water streaming from the top of the fridge (on the inside). I collect about a small cup of water nearly every day that comes out from roughly the same spot (it then turns into ice if I don't pour it out fast enough). The fridge seems to work "fine" otherwise. This seems to have started when I made the temperature in the fridge (Kenmore) a bit colder. What could be the cause of it?

The drain line that usually leads from under the condensor coils to a pan under the fridge may have frozen solid when you turned the temp down. That'd let water accumulate between freezer and fridge compartments. Try defrosting w doors open for a few hours. That should clear the tube.


Is using a single hanger plus a framing angle on a double member sufficient I recently had a deck built.  The deck has a few places where double joists are used between beams to allow cutouts for trees.  The framers used single joist hangers for the 2x6 16" oc joists.
On the doubled member they just added another member to the joist that was already hung with a single hanger.  Is this common practice? - I would never have thought of doing that.
2x6s are less than 7' span between deck beams.  Deck beams are 19' 2x12s on outside.  11 7/8 PSL at house and in middle.
Blue arrows to area with doubles framing around tree.

No, it is lazy. A double joist hanger should be used for a double joist with few exceptions. Whether it is legal or not depends on how your state and local community have developed, adopted, and interpret building codes. From a structural standpoint it may be insignificant under certain conditions.
Is it worrisome: an engineer would be your best source but generally no if the structure is maintained and you inspect it regularly. Joist hangers are a component of a system and their absence or improper installation don't mean catastrophic failure by themselves. It is not uncommon in older structures to see double joists tied into single joists to avoid an obstacle. All without hangers.


Joists have different height I'm first time homeowner and bought a house (built in 1999) in fall of 2015 (Philadelphia suburb). During inspection of the house I noticed squeaky floors and inspector said its due to nails rubbing against the joist making the noise and its minor issue.

The other day I was in the basement (unfinished) to check floor sections which squeaked the most. Just out of curiosity I put 4 feet level at the bottom of the joists (across joists) and to my surprise there were gap between joists and the level (for the most joists I checked) - it range from 1/8 to 1/2. I don't see any sag on length of the joists but level is off across the joists. Joists are resting on sill plate and its in good condition (no rotting or anything). Joists are 2X10 (not engineered joist) and they do not span more than 16 feet. To me it seems like joists are of different height/depth. When you look at the cross section of the joist - it appears they have bend slightly (like forming letter C if you see the end of joist - but very slight). I don't see any signs of house settling, basement is poured concrete and no cracks or anything like that. Basement is currently dry but I'm not sure if previous owner had any moisture issue in the basement in past or not (although quite elaborate battery backup sump pump for unfinished basement may be due to some water issues in past, will find out in spring). Floor sheathing is 3/4" (i think plywood and osb). Most of load bearing walls (like second floor wall) tend to line up against perimeter of the foundation or the metal beam that passes through middle of the basement.

We started notice that some section of the main floor is uneven and we are observing similar issues on second floor as well (first floor and second floor unevenness do not match). I'm guessing its due to joists of having different height. In general house is leveled - inspector checked with level at few spots. I checked with 4 feet level and found some high and low spots on the floor (may 1/8 to 1/4 hi/low spots) and those spot run across the joist.

Is there any way to fix this? Is this a very serious issue - like house is falling apart - this is my first house so I don't know what's normal and what's very serious issue. I know foundation settling is a big issue and I ask inspector to check on it during house purchase process and he thought house foundation and framing is pretty sound (what ever his opinion worth...).
Most of the house is carpeted - so I was thinking about using those  squeak end kit (where you drive the screw in joist and take off the top part). But with uneven joist - would it make the floor even more uneven? Is there any other way to stop squeak?
Carpet in some area is really bad and I thought I would install laminated floor in near future. But with uneven floor I don't think it will work well. what would be best flooring option for uneven floors (other than carpet and vynal)?
I'm not in finical situation to hire a contractor or a structural inspector to access the situation in near term, if this is a serious issue what time frame I should consider to address it?

Thanks in advance.

Dimensional lumber when green can vary in size depending on the day it is cut as it dries it gets worse because some beams are tighter grain than others. Since you have good access you could shim the areas that have the squeak with wood shims. Put some gorilla glue or wood glue on the shims and slide 1 in from either side. Don’t drive them in two far or the squeak will move. This is normal for dimensional lumber joist. Many builders now use LVL I beams to create a squeak less floors. By taking a few hours and shimming the gaps your floors will feel solid and the cost is minimal.
If you screw down without the shims the problem will get worse and your floor will show the uneven surface.


What kind of glove offers the best protection when using an angle grinder? I wanted to start doing metalworking for a long time and I finally got an angle grinder of 4 1\2". I also bought the appropriate safety equipment face shield, some safety glasses and I'm planning to use a thick leather jacket that I always use in the workshop.
Though I'm very confused about the gloves, I always intend to use both of my hands to handle the device with the guard on at all time so I'm not worried about my gloves getting caught in the disc, what I am mainly worried about is that the disc explodes and lacerates or cuts off my fingers. I've seen that the most common gloves are leather gloves mostly goat skin but I've seen videos of people putting a glove against an angle grinder and it goes through it like it's nothing. Also also I've read that some people want to feel how the blade is behaving so that's another fact to take into consideration.
I don't know which is better a leather MIG welding glove or an ANSI A9 cut resistant glove??, I want to keep my fingers as they are.

You want moderately heavy leather (or an abrasion-resistant alternative), and you want a good fit.
Firstly, angle grinders aren't very dangerous. Abrasive wheels can go through leather fairly quickly, but it takes a lot of force. The vast majority of hand contact will be quick and light. You won't even notice it. I've even bumped bare skin against abrasive and diamond wheels with no real injury. If the wheel disintegrates, the guard should take the hit.
Any halfway thick leather is fine. You don't want Isotoners, and you don't want leather so thick you can't bend or feel anything.
Just as importantly, you want a good fit. You want the glove to stay in position for a good grip, and you don't want loose material hanging where it'll get caught in the machine.
Finally, don't wear gloves when using toothed, rotating blades. I recently violated this long-known rule and almost paid dearly for it. My glove slipped a bit and got nicked by a 12" miter saw. Had it grabbed the glove's fabric more aggressively it could've pulled my fingers right in. Foolishness noted.


Asbestos in concrete foundation Clear and simple: is it possible that there is asbestos in the poured concrete foundation of a US home built in 1951?

I am worried about this, because I want to drill holes in the basement concrete walls and I'm worried that I might release asbestos fibers if it was added to the concrete. I read somewhere that asbestos was added to concrete in order to strengthen it, but I don't know if this was the case in concrete used as the foundation of a home.

Possible, yes.

Likely in a residential foundation, no.

To know for sure, spend money testing - unfortunately the only way to know, as there are no visible clues in this application, evidently.

http://www.concreteconstruction.net/industrial-projects/asbestos-and-old-buildings.aspx


What is the best option for hiding wires to wall mounted TV? This is similar to this question, but in my case I'm not looking for the easiest solution but the most professional solution.

I am torn between modular wall plates, and the type that just have a hole and let you feed the cables through.

What is the preferred method the pros use? Is there a solution I have not thought of yet?

I'm a fan of the recessed media box that monoprice sells. I installed it pre-drywall which I'm sure is easier, but it does have the ability to be installed as a retrofit (you don't say in your question which way you're doing this).

There's two major issues with having actual connectors in the wall behind the TV: you have two additional connections per wire (there is a connector on both front and back), and you have to manage cables behind the TV. Connectors are bad because they can become loose and are bulky. Wire management is an issue of getting long enough cables that you can actually plug them in before the TV is mounted, and not having an unsightly mess behind once it is.

The media box solves both of these problems, because the wires just hang out, and you can push the extra back in after you've mounted the TV.

In my case, I ran cables from the box back to some regular wall jacks, which then go to my receiver and other gear. I used a couple pieces of central vac conduit I had left over, which go over about 4' to the furnace room, which is a non-finished wall and directly behind where my actual receiver etc is (off to the side of the TV). This also makes it easy to add additional wires, but of course it depends on your setup if you'll be able to do this.


Which of these will strongest connect three panels? I'd like to assemble essentially a cube made of aluminum panel walls (30 cm x 30 cm x 4 mm sheets), with an emphasis on stability/strength of the cube.

Since I don't have welding knowledge, I'd prefer to use (internal) connector brackets to connect each corner of every three panels; i.e., a total of 8 corners.

Based on research of easily/inexpensively available parts, I've come up with the following three options. (The idea being I'd use multiple of these, taking care of all inner-corner combinations of my panels.)

Question: How would these rank; will one of these be significantly stronger than the others in connecting the three aluminum panels?

B seems like the obvious choice.

You can easily rule out A because it will require two brackets, minimum, and even with those two, one of the seams will be weak.  To make that seam strong, would require a third bracket, and it is generally undesirable to increase part count when you can achieve similar results with a smaller part count.  (But I'll admit you didn't say that was part of your criteria).

C has the same problem.   Two of the panels will be tightly connected to one of the panels, but one of the seams is weak and can flex open more than the other two.

The obvious advantage to B is that each panel will be directly tied to the other two panels, which means every seam will be much tougher to separate (flex open) than A and C.

Another thought:  B in the corners with A at the midpoint of the panels would be a really nice tight box.


Will a short length of smaller size pipe affect flow rate or pressure? Today a contractor installed a water line from the main to my house. During the tie in, the pipe continued to leak. The fitting thread was found to be defective, so the contractor placed  3/4 line about 16 inches from the main to the 1 inch line, and then fed the 1 inch to the house and water meter.

Will this 3/4 to 1 inch affect my flow or pressure? Is this ok to do? I am not 100% sure this was right.

You're right to be suspicious. I'm not sure about code, but to me this just looks unprofessional. Narrower pipe does result in pressure and flow loss. Expansion also has the potential to create eddy currents which could accelerate erosion of fittings on the output side of the final 1" fitting... that said, contraction/expansion happens normally at most fittings anyway. The good news is, this is such a short section of pipe, that even if you absolutely require a 1" main the effect is entirely negligible. Since you effectively have a 3/4" main inside the house, doubly so.


Can I safely hang pegboard between studs, rather than across them? I want to hang pegboard in my shed, which has exposed wooden studs (2x4). Most instructions for hanging pegboard say to screw them to the outward facing side of the studs (the 1.5" side) to span the studs.
What I want to do is hang the pegboard inside the 'box' made by the studs, so I can inset it 2-3" (most instructions I'm seeing say you need 1/2" behind the pegboard). It's a small shed, and the 2-3" of extra space I would get by having things hang between the studs would be welcome.
I figured I would just use corner braces, bolt them to the pegboard and screw into the sides of the studs and crossbeams (was thinking 1/2" screws, so I could hang on both sides of a given stud), but I couldn't find examples of anyone doing that, so I wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad idea. Is that going to be too weak?
Here's a diagram of what I want to do - the pegboard would fill the whole 'box,' but I cut it halfway so  you can see it is offset from the back. The braces are just on there willy-nilly for illustrative, not planning, purposes.

Yes, you can place pegboard between studs, but as you stated, you need some clearance behind the pegboard. You could use 1x1 attached to the side of the studs to screw into. This will give you better holding power than brackets alone.
When I did mine, I used 1x2, but I screwed them in across their width, so I'd have more surface area to screw to. My studs were not exactly spaced and straight so I needed a bit more area to attach.
No glue in my opinion.


Yet another 3-way smart switch question Upstairs, I have a 2-gang with 2 different circuits. This question relates only to the left side of that box. It appears to have 4 drops, /3 /2 /2 /3, with the 2 left neutrals and 2 right neutrals separately capped together. All 4 grounds are capped together, so pretty straightforward to this point.

Then I opened up the downstairs box, which I expected to be the remote side. But, rather than one /3 or a /3 and /2, there are two /3 /3, with both sets of red/black wired to the switch. I got a very faint tone downstairs from the upstairs 2-gang on the top red/black pair, but where would the bottom red/black pair connected to the switch be going? There is only one light controlled by these switches and there does not appear to be any visual indication on the switch itself as to what terminal is what other than some appear to be brass, while others appear to be copper.

Taking Harper's advice from a previous post, but in lieu of colored tape, I have opted for colored wire ties. I believe red-pink and black-pink are the travelers, black-yellow is line and the 2-gang is the main box. But, I am hoping someone can advise me as to what the could be going on in the downstairs box as the extra wires are concerning.
EDIT:
I believe my question, at this point, is how to bring the travelers to the remote switches.

Assuming that both holes on the traveler terminal can be used, connect both red-pink and black-pink, tie black together in the first remote box and connect red-pink there, and then use black-pink in the farthest remote box.
Connect just red-pink in the main box, and then both reds in the first remote box, and the single red in the far box.

#2 seems the simpler and more elegant method, but it assumes the terminal will bridge the two reds together in the first box. Will the signalling work with that setup?
EDIT: So, the suggestion to check the 3rd box was 100% correct, as I had the main box wrong. The 3rd box (front door) was actually the main and the upstairs box was a traveler w/ load. My final setup, in case it helps someone else or I've done something incredibly stupid is:
Neutrals and grounds all used normally...

Front door: main switch with line, traveler black changed to load, traveler red as traveler
Downstairs 1 gang: add-on switch, both red travelers as travler, tie black travelers together as load
Upstairs 2 gang: add-on switch, red traveler as traveler, tie black travelers as load

Edit:
The diagram at the bottom is my final setup. I got the wrong color wall plates, so I'll end up taking them apart again in the near future if you need  pictures of the boxes, but the summary from the second Edit should be accurate. For this set of switches, it all came down to the upstairs looking like it should be the main box because of the /3 /2 /2 /3, and for the right side of that box, it is the main. But the /2 on the left is out to the light, so I had to cap the black wires in that box and the other downstairs box together for the "load". The bottom 2 gang picture is of the last box I located near the front door which turned out to be the main. It had to be since both this circuit and the front porch light are wired from the same black line.

Normal use of neutrals/ground.
Line @ front door, re-task red to traveler.
Red as traveler in downstairs 1-gang. Tie both blacks together as "load" from main box.
Red as traveler in upstairs 2-gang. Tie both blacks together as "load" from main box.

Shout out to @hHarper - Reinstate Monica and @ThreePhaseEel for the assistance.


Which cement or mortar will give best result when creating low water diversion barriers? I want to build up a short dam of maybe half an inch in height, to control where water is flowing.  The water flows as a small, steady trickle.  Right now it fans across a large-ish area.  I'd like to concentrate its flow to a specific area.

What kind of cement or mortar should I use to direct the flow?  I was thinking of hydraulic cement, but I wanted to check first.  The area is wet.  I want to make sure the new cement sticks to the existing thin cement floor in the cellar.

I also have some quick set mortar powder on hand, as well as some resurfacing cement.  If none of the products I have on hand is the right thing, I can buy something new.

I don't care about the aesthetics in this case.

Hydraulic cement sticks to wet fine, but you may need to abrade the surface to get to clean concrete, as it won't like a greasy, dirty or otherwise befouled surface.

However, what I would actually do (and have actually done) to direct water on a concrete floor is to use a diamond saw to cut a small channel into the surface - much neater and tidier - also easier to walk or roll over. And much less wet area.


gurgling sound in the power vent pipe My Furnace is a high eff furnace with a power vent. There is a gurgling sound in the power vent pipe, when it is  running.  I noticed that the vent slopes up then has a 90 elbow then slopes down before it goes outside.  I suspect water is being trapped should i fix this so the water flows back to the furnace so it can go into the drain.

There should be a slope so all the water can drain. With enough water in the pipe to gurgle the back pressure may cause the system problems including shutdown and early fan failure.


Paint for microwave interior I accidently removed our microwave's interior paint by spraying the interior with an oven cleaner (my wife told me to do it).
What paint can I use to to repaint the interior? Our microwave is expensive so I prefer to repaint it if possible. I searched Amazon for "microwave cavity paint" but it's either out-of-stock or discontinued.
I read in the Internet that I can use Enamel paint. Is that correct?

Microwave cavity paint comes up on my Amazon page...
QB Products 98QBP0302 Microwave Cavity Paint, 6 oz, Snow White
by Appliance Pros
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IU6MNAG/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_uKlMFb0DB31Q0


Dehumidifier with multiple float switches I just bought a dehumidifier for my soon to be finished basement. Based on the basement layout I also got a condensate pump so I can pump up the water to drain it above the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier has wiring terminals for a normally closed float switch (which the condensate pump has built in) that will shut off the dehumidifier if there is a problem. I was hoping to put the whole setup in a condensate pan in case something goes wrong with the dehumidifier/drain (is this overkill?). The installation manual says:

  Install a condensate overflow safety switch (i.e. float switch) in the condensate pan, remove the factory installed jumper wire between the Float Switch terminals on the control and wire the float switch to the dehumidifier as shown in figure 10. Overflow safety switches on condensate pumps can be wired to the Float Switch terminals in a similar fashion.

Which to my naive reading sounds like they are suggesting putting the switches in parallel. Am I correct that since the switches are normally closed, they need to go in series?

Your instructions are basically telling you this:

Remove the JUMPER from Float Switch terminals.
Wire the Float Switch to the terminals (you should have two wires - one wire goes to one terminal the other wire to the other terminal) Does not matter which wire just that they are wired one to one terminal and the other wire to the other terminal.
The Switch makes the connection or breaks the connection.  Considering it is Jumpered you want the Switch to open when the overflow level is reached.

To Answer your question about series or parallel:

Both Switches Normally Closed in Series.
A AND B = ON

A Closed / B Open = OFF ,
A Open / B Closed = OFF ,
A Closed / B Closed = ON ,
A Open/ B Open = OFF.

Both Switches Normally Closed in Parallel.
A OR B = ON

A Closed / B Open = ON,
A Open / B Closed = ON,
A Closed / B Closed = ON ,
A Open/ B Open = OFF.


Does a Split Central AC condenser circuit breaker need to be GFCI protected? Is the sub-panel circuit breaker feeding a disconnect to a 3 ton AC Condenser required to be a GFCI breaker, or just a standard 30A double pole breaker.

A standard breaker will do just fine

Since a condensing unit isn't a dishwasher or a boat hoist, and it does not plug into a 120V or 240V, 15 or 20A receptacle, it does not fall into any of the categories listed in 210.8 that apply to dwelling units.  This means that GFCI protection is not required, and you can safely use a standard circuit breaker of the appropriate type as a result.


How to wire a double wall light I would like to install a double wall light where I'm told there used to be one previously. However, the wires in the wall and the wires of the light are both confusing me, and I'm not sure the best way to connect everything up. I have wired lights to a wall before, but it was a simple live to live, neutral to neutral etc., and this has a lot more going on. This question is in two parts.
Firstly, the double wall light arrived with the wires arranged like so:

There is a live and a neutral wire running along the arm of each light, and a single earth wire. The wires have already come twisted together like this:

Is this correct? Should the live and neutral for each light be twisted together? Or should both the lives be twisted together and both the neutrals be twisted together?
Secondly, this is the state of the wires coming out of the wall:

It looks as though a cable has been cut, and then both lives twisted together, both neutrals twisted together, and both earths twisted together, to allow the wires of a light to be attached. My second question is, do I leave these twisted together when I install the wall light? Do these need altering at all for installing a double wall light?
Since the wall is in a bit of a state from the previous owner I am considering hiring a professional for this one, but wanted to have a go myself first. If someone could tell me just how the wires should be for this installation I'd be very grateful, I can't really find any diagrams of how to do it online through Googling. I can provide any extra info if requested.

Well you have 1 circuit in and one out (or a ring) to connect the light connect both browns to the reds, both blues to the neutrals and the green yellow to the earth. This should get you hooked up correctly.


How to handle a 2" step into bathroom? I am renovating my entire second floor.  Due to some plumbing issues I had to raise the bathroom floor a bit plus added cement board and ceramic tile leading to the 2+ inch step you see below.  I will be having carpet installed everywhere else.  Any suggestions on how I can handle this step before the carpet installer shows up?

Thanks!

Here is the layout of the rest of the floor to help see what I am working with.  There is hardwood under the existing carpet but it is in bad shape and appears to have a thin (1/4" maybe) sub floor on top.  The bathroom is the small room in the lower left of the image.

It has been a while since this post but I thought I'd share the finished product using isherwood's answer.

Given the nearby stairs and doorways, raising the floor outside the bathroom obviously isn't a good option. The only thing to do now is fashion a transition strip.

Given the already extreme height of the transition, a typical L-molding (that would lap onto the tile) is inadvisable. I'd use a heavy piece of finished hardwood that coordinates with your home's trim and simply stand it along the face of the step. It could be 3/4" stock, but 5/4 or two-by would probably look better at that height.

____________________
           |         \
           |          \
  bathroom |  trans.   |
  floor    |  strip    |
           |           |
           |           |
           |           |
           |           |

How much bevel you use depends on the orientation of the transition with respect to the door opening. I'd consider tapering it down up to an inch if you have room inside the door jamb. I'd seek to avoid having the transition strip protrude into the hallway past the jamb edges.

Use construction adhesive to fasten it in place, then use a color-matched caulk to act as grout between the tile and the wood. A smaller gap is better here, regardless of the grout line width.


How do we replace an old 3-wire thermostat with a 4-wire one? How do we replace an old 3 wire thermostat with a 4 wire one?  We have an AC/heating unit, but the wiring for the thermostat does not have a yellow wire.

What can we do?

Run a new cable
If you want to add cooling, you're likely going to have to run a new cable. Depending on when and how the current cable is installed, you may be able to use the current cable to pull the new cable. If not, you may be able to fish the new cable along side the current cable.
Use an existing wire
The other option, is to repurpose one of the wires in the cable. The down sides to this approach are that it may not be supported by some control boards, and you won't be able to control the blower fan independently.
Before you decided to add A/C, your furnace thermostat relationship looked something like this.

You had a 3 wire cable that ran between the two, and that's all you needed. Now that you've decided to add A/C, the picture has changed a bit.

So now you need to find a way to connect the Y terminals, so your thermostat can tell the A/C when to turn on and off.  You could run a new cable with an extra wire; which is the more correct way to do it, or you can use an existing wire.  Start by disconnecting the wire from the G terminal in the thermostat, and connecting it to the Y terminal instead.  Next, do the same in the furnace.  Now you have a wire that the thermostat can use to tell the A/C unit when to turn on/off, but you're not quite done.  When the A/C comes on, the furnace blower needs to be on too, so the cool air can circulate throughout the house.  To accomplish this, you'll simply install a jumper between the Y and G terminals in the furnace.  Now whenever the thermostat sends the signal for cool, the furnace also receives the single to turn the fan on.

As stated above, if you do this the FAN setting on the thermostat will do diddly squat. You should also check with the furnace manufacturer before doing this, to make sure they support this configuration. Also, don't forget to shut off the breaker for the furnace before working on the furnace or thermostat.
More information on this solution; including a video, can be found in this answer.


How should kitchen units be fitted to accommodate walls not perpendicular? So I got a carpenter to fit a stud wall which butts up against a brick wall of the house.  (I could've done it but I thought I'd get a pro so it was perfectly plumb and straight.)

It's all plastered with the plumbing and wiring behind, so now I assemble the kitchen units to go into the corner where the stud wall meets the house and I find it's 100 degrees rather than perpendicular!

So if I put the units flush to the walls, there's a triangular gap between them where they join, tapering out away from the wall.  Or if I screw them together at 90 degrees, the units will meet the walls in the very corner but at least one of them must come out an inch away from the wall by the time it gets a metre from the corner.

What's the best way to accommodate this?  I'm thinking I have no choice but to put the units flush to both walls and then join the worktops over the top at 100 degrees too!

This is what 1/4 round is for 10 degrees is larger than most I have delt with bit it will hide the gap almost all homes have some areas that are not perfectly square.


Is it ok to install vinyl windows from several different manufacturers? We are looking at replacing all of the windows in our home which are original aluminum from 1963. We were going to go with all Milgard retrofit (aluminum out of budget) but unfortunately they don't carry three windows/sliding glass doors that are large enough. The only window manufacturer who does retrofit that would fit the size is Jeld-Wen. Would you recommend mixing the two brands (large windows/door in Jeld-Wen and all other windows Milgard---do they look enough alike it will not look terrible?) or go with all Jeld-Wen windows/doors? I cannot tell from the Jeld-Wen website alone if they would match and there is no showroom near us. I should mention that we already have two Milgard Tuscany sliding doors and one window that will not be replaced from a previous kitchen renovation. We live in SoCal so weather not an issue. Thank you!

I had similar questions on a new building project. I couldn't see enough difference in the frame designs to worry about, so the primary concern was keeping the same color of windows throughout the home. The window companies were glad to give small color samples for comparisons.  My research taught me that there were primarily 2 colors of vinyl windows on the market: white and almond, with very limited variations. The reason for the limited choice has to do with thermal expansion, as color tinted vinyl windows result in too many warranty claims. (Wouldn't it be nice get brown, or wood-toned vinyl windows?)

I went with 3 different window manufactures, got the function I wanted and saved over a thousand dollars. I chose frames that all had a similar exterior reveal (similar frame widths). I also stayed with the same mullion pattern for every window.  Most of the interior sides of the windows were covered with curtains or blinds. After installation, I never gave any thought to the minor differences in the window constructions. Nor did I ever hear any comments about the window manufacture mix, just comments on the nice light.


Burnt wire in GE stove I spilled some water on the knobs of my GE stove. 5 minutes later, I heard some buzzing and then there was a brief fire from a knob for 30 seconds. I turned off the gas and electricity, opened the stove, and saw that the wire from that knob to its indicator light was completely fried. The rest is fine, and the stove works fine except for that light.
Do I need to remove the wire to the light? Or can I leave it there without danger. I’m fine with the current function of the stove without that indicator light.

If the wire is fried, it's probably weak and should be removed and replaced. The indicator lights serve as a safety device to give you a visual that the oven/stove is on. It would not be wise to just disconnect it. Cut the burnt piece of wire and disconnect it from the light and take it to an appliance repair shop to get the proper heat range wire and connector. Then hook it back up with a wire nut. Never smart to bypass safety lights, someone could get burned real bad or it could just start a fire.


What should I consider with new electrical lines in an old house? When I had our breaker box rewired, I had the electrician run a few extra lines (disconnected in the panel into the attic). I now need to run one of them downstairs through a wall.

Two questions:

1) I need a junction box, as the line I have in the attic isn't nearly long enough. It's an old house, I'm planning to have cellulose insulation blown in eventually. How can I properly mount the junction box for visibility, since I know the joists will be covered with a thick layer of insulation?

2) Since I don't have a way to tie the romex down to a stud as it goes through the wall, do I need to run it in grey plastic conduit down through the wall?

The answer to your first question is YES. You need to have the junction in a box. Can you mount the box higher on the roof or a rafter or a gable end stud? if you don't have enough wire, then practically speaking, the box will have to live under the insulation. Technically it is not enclosed as in being sheetrocked over, so it is not a code violation in an older house.  but when you do bring out the new wire, be sure it appears above the insulation before you go back down into a wall. you could also tag the wire with a label.

The answer to question two is very simple. You do not need to run NM cable (Romex) in a conduit in a residential framed wall. You also do not need to secure fished wire except in the actual devise box entry hole.


Why does wand shower head drain at unusual times? We recently moved from using a stationary shower head to a new version that has a wand. While I love the new one we have noticed that the wand shower head will release water at random times.

For example, in the middle of the night up to 15 hours after being used maybe 1-2 cups of water will drain from the shower head.  It's not the most fun to hear when sleeping.  It will also sometimes drain after a toilet flush.

Once the water is released it will not happen until after the shower is used again. I would expect the draining immediately after a shower but the odd hours/times are the frustrating part.

Additional details:

this is a standup shower
there is no lower tub faucet
The house is on city water
We never had this issue until we switched to the shower head with the wand.

Are there any steps that I can take to resolve this?

If I had to guess, it's draining some of the water that was still caught up in the shower head after you turned it off (and held there by atmospheric pressure). After enough of the remaining water has evaporated/etc to break the seal, the rest of the water comes out. We have a similar problem with our shower head (a flat "rain" shower head on an articulated arm). In our case the problem is depends on the position of the head and arm...oddly enough it happens when the head is not horizontal. All the other details are the same as yours (it never happened with the old head, no lower faucet, etc).

In our case it's not draining 1-2 cups since it sure sounds like it at 3AM in the morning and scared my wife on many occasions :-). You could verify the amount of drainage by putting a pan or something in the shower...if yours is indeed draining 1-2 cups it may not be the same issue unless it's somehow siphoning water out of the hose.


Retaining wall repair and conversion to tiers I've got a retaining wall made from 6"x6" timber that is falling in.  It would appear that when it was built there was no backfill and now the wood is rotting.  Unfortunately, it's supporting part of my deck, and the part that's falling in is pretty close to a deck post.

I was thinking about digging out sections of the garden supported by the wall and doing a more gradual tiered approach instead, probably with stone or blocks.

Is this a bad idea?  Can the wall be compromised by removing dirt from adjacent parts?  Is there a better approach?  Is it a huge project?  Am I insane?

Not sure that the cause here is "no backfill" as it looks full in back of the wall. Also, although it is difficult to tell for sure from pictures, the wood does not look rotten.

It seems as though you have 2 problems:

the wall timbers were not adequately tied together vertically and are now moving horizontally independently.
the wall was not adequately secured with some type of 'tie-back" scheme.

Both issues could be resolved, but whether it is a "huge job" depends on perspective. A professional contractor could likely force the timbers back in place (using mechanical or hydraulic jacks or other means) and auger through them from the top down, hammering in rebar to tie them together.

Also, one could trench up-slope and install tie-backs or use one of the several available "retro-fit" tie back gadgets.


What is "workmanlike manner"? I have to ask this because I have been doing a ton of electrical work in my house.  Will get inspected soon.

I am pretty neat - everything is stapled uniformly and ran at the same height- but I don't always make my cables face the same way.  They have some twists.  My framing holes are off by an inch here and there.

So my question is - what is workmanlike manner?  What is the cut-off?  If you have pictures of something that didn't pass because of this please show it - especially if you think it was workmanlike.

Workmanlike manner is a really subjective term. It is a catch all for neat, orderly and following the rules. A lot of inspectors fail an inspection using that term when actually specific violations are numerous.  Common items such as not securing wires close enough to plastic boxes, crossbeaming, sagging cable, holes drilled too close to the edge of joists, lack of nail protection plates, bla bla bla.  Typically a lot of the look nice, finish up work can fall into this category. If your work looks neat, tight, and orderly, you should be fine. If the inspector finds some minor problems, thank him or her for pointing them out and if small enouth, fix them while they are still there. Debating with an inspector is futile and will invite a much more intense evaluation that could result in a lot more findings.  Ask them for advise and treat it like a learning experience.  Good Luck.


How to hang a canvas art using these nails? Just received my canvas wall art, and it came with the following parts:

I have never in my life seen that kind of wall hanging kit. What are those nails?

They seem unnecessarily thick...
What are those plastic gears on them for?

Ironically enough, the instructions that came with this, say to use the 3-pin hanger - clearly not what was provided in the package... But since that's what it came with, I figured I might as well use it.
My only question is... how? Do I screw the sawtooth thingy to the frame, hammer the nail into the wall at an angle (including the weird plastic gear around it), and then hang the canvas on the... gear??
Any advice is appreciated!

Stick to the screws, and buy something appropriate to your wall-type at the hardware store to hang from.
The serrated bits are a form of picture hanger that normally mounts on the wooden frame (top center, usually just one, the serrations allow you to move it on a nail or screw until it hangs straight. If you use more than one, you have to get the things in the wall exactly right for the art to hang straight, as then there's no adjusting that way.)


Bedroom door has started sticking I am a new to me house (built in the 70's) and lately one of the bedroom doors, a wooden door, has started sticking in the upper corner furthest away from the hinge.  The bolts going through the hinge are all the way in and we have had some rain lately so the humidity is up which I assume could cause expansion but I would like to prevent this from happening.  We live in an area with solid foundations so foundation shift is not a likely issue.

Are their any options other than reposition the hinges or use a plane to shave off some of the top of the door?

A trick I've used in the past is to take a candle and rub the wax on the door and frame where they stick. Make sure to apply a thin enough coat where the color of the wax doesn't show up on the door or frame, if that's an issue. To prevent that, use a candle that's as close of a match to the door and frame as possible .

Depending on how often the door is opened, you may have to reapply the wax every month or so.


Why is my new Legrand Radiant smart dimmer switch not dimming? I need help figuring out why my new smart dimmer switch’s dimming function is not working. I followed the installation instructions from the manual exactly. I am replacing a regular light switch with the smart dimmer so I can dim my kitchen lights.
This dimmer is in a box with 2 other light switches: one switch controls the under-cabinet lighting and the other controls a hallway light.
I found the hot, load, and ground wires and connected those to the appropriate wires on the dimmer. This dimmer requires a white neutral wire. The old switch was not using a white wire. I found a bundle of white wires in the box all joined together and capped. I removed the wire cap and connected the white wire coming from the dimmer to the entire bundle of white wires and reinstalled the wire cap.
I then flipped the breaker back on and tested the switch. The lights turn on and off perfectly. However the dimmer function does not work at all. Thinking it may be the light bulbs, I swapped all four out with four other bulbs that I’m sure are dimmable because I tested them first in my dining room dimmable light fixture. Same problem. Dimming function does not work.
I’ve attached a few photos of the box configuration. From left to right, the switches are as follows:

New Legrand Radiant smart dimmer;
Hallway light;
Under-cabinet lights.

Why is the dimming function not working?
Box configuration

Back of new dimmer:

Instructions

I figured it out finally after trying different bulbs. I finally registered the smart switch and downloaded the Smart Lights app. I was playing with the settings and when I changed the phase from “forward” to “reverse,” the dimmer function started working (see photo below). I wish Legrand would have that somewhere in a FAQ but it’s website is not useful at all.


Wiring a sub-panel with an equal sized breaker on each end of the feed, which will trip first? I'm wiring up a small backyard tiny house for use as a rental.  Main power will be supplied by a 30A breaker and 10/2 wire coming from the main house, to an RV box, then to an RV plug, then into the sub panel in the tiny house where it feeds a couple of 20A circuits.

So heres the issue, with this amount of power, popping the breaker will happen from time to time, and I want the person in the house to be able to reset it there. (I can't be the first person to have this issue with sub panels)

If I didn't care about electrical code, I'd just go ahead and put an oversized breaker at the main panel and backfeed the sub panel through a 30A single pole breaker.   I like to keep things as compliant as I can though, so I'm trying to figure out if there is a different way to do this.  It's too bad they don't make 29 amp breakers or I could just backfeed the subpanel with one of those and the problem would be solved!  Maybe it's not an issue?  in this scenario if I had a 30 amp breaker on BOTH ends of the 100' 10/2 line, which breaker would trip first, the one in the main panel or the one in the sub panel?  Any ideas for how to do what I'm trying to do here?

thanks for any replies!

If you're anticipating overload, this is a sign you've underdesigned your electrical system

The fact you are anticipating breaker trips from overloads is a sign you are about to underprovision the circuit in question.  A better alternative would be to simply provision more power to the location; I would simply trench in a 2" PVC conduit, as that will let you run as much power as you'll ever need out to your tiny-house, anything from the RV-sized 30A@120V you're considering to a full 200A residential service, with a simple change of wire and breakers required if you want to upgrade later.  (Using direct buried cables means you have to dig up the cable in order to upgrade, and who wants to rent a trencher again six months down the road?)

Selectively Discoordinated Breakers (or, don't try to make any guarantees here, because you can't)

In most electrical distribution systems, there will be at least two breakers in series between the service point and any given outlet (light fixture, receptacle, etc).  This means that your situation isn't all that odd.  However, you cannot make any guarantees or predictions about which breaker will trip first here, as the properties of breakers connected in series are complex to predict.  Unpredictable dynamic arc impedances during the trip process, variations in magnetic trip coil and contact timing, and tolerances during thermal trip calibration all will cause variations in breaker trip timing.

This is undesirable in some situations, such as those involving emergency power systems or continuous industrial processes.  Hence, the major makers of commercial/industrial (i.e. molded case) circuit breakers publish tables that can be used by an engineer to select compatible sets of circuit breakers from the same model and series so that the furthest-downstream breaker trips first on a short circuit.  This process is called selective coordination.

However, it's considered impractical to selectively coordinate the loadcenter-type miniature circuit breakers used in residential and light commercial applications; their trip characteristics are not as well documented, and selective coordination requires significant engineering effort vs. the mere nuisance an upstream trip poses in a residential environment.  Compare this to the stakes of an inadvertent feeder trip in a hospital emergency room, where critical life-support equipment could be taken offline, or a continuous industrial process, which could cause a serious safety hazard due to a disorderly shutdown.

There is also the factor that selective coordination only works for short circuits; in fact, the upstream overcurrent protection device needs to be somewhere around twice as large, or larger, to have a hope for selective coordination to work at all.  Two equal-sized breakers simply cannot be coordinated on overloads due to the limitations of trip calibration.


Is there a case where nails are better than screws, from an engineering/structural standpoint? Is there a case where nails are better than screws, from a structural standpoint?

For instance: Say you used screws instead of nails on a backyard deck, when the design specifically called for nails. Would the result be inferior? Could it fail inspection? Would nails absolutely be preferable in this instance?

Assume the screws are at least as thick/long as the intended nails. Are there any rules of thumb about when to use screws vs. nails?

Screws are a "superior" fastener over a nail (they have far superior tensile strength) - especially if you're talking about screwing down decking.

However there are many scenarios where a nail is the proper fastener for the application (attaching joists is one example - screws are brittle and will fail when subjected to the forces of a shear loaded application)

Using your deck example - you should use nails to attach the joists to the deck framing but use screws to fasten down the decking itself.

Also keep in mind that screws take a longer time to install - think of a nail gun versus a drill...


Can I get rid of my sump pump? My job moved me cross country and we bought a house (3 yrs old) that sits on a hill.  It has a walk-out basement and the hill slopes away from there, yet the house was built with basement drainage going to a centralized pit and sump pump.

We are going to finish the basement, so I want to make sure it never floods, but the power can easily go out in bad weather. Instead of buying a secondary pump, battery backup, etc, can I just tap into the current drainage bed and use gravity to drain down the hill?  Could I dig down near the low corner of the house, find the drain pipe that feeds into the sump well and connect a drainpipe that goes away from the house and down the hill instead?

I know the drain pipes currently in place are sloped to drain toward the centrally located sump well, but as long as they are all below basement floor level, then they could “back up” to my new connection point and drain down the hill without the water level rising high enough to flood the basement, right?

The only negative I can think of is that the water in the sump well (and the other drain pipes leading to it) may get stagnant since they won’t ever empty (my downhill drain would essentially drain from the top of the current system), am I missing anything?

I guess I could break the concrete slab and dig a trench from the current low point (sump well) out that side of the house and drain down the hill, but I would like to avoid all that concrete work if possible.

I would say yes you should be able to get rid of the pump if it is not needed . I have had homes with a similar setup and no pump. I would probably seal the sump so if the water starts smelling it is not stinking up the house. With natural drainage I believe the system would be safer with regards to possible flooding with natural drainage especially in an area prone to power outages. Natural drainage will also have less impact on the power bill so for me that would be a win win.


Basement bottom plate has no vapour barrier, should I replace it? I bought a new house last August and now I'm in the process of developing the basement.

A few walls were already in when I bought the house, the walls under the staircase. You can clearly see they were put in first, with a plastic vapour barrier under it, and then concrete floor was poured around it.

But the builder has also furred the concrete walls. I have a townhouse so the front and back outside walls are insulated and have a vapour barrier.

But the 2 party wall are just framed, but I don't see that there is any plastic under the bottom plate, between the concrete and the wood. The wood looks like regular framing, not pressure treated. They are nailed to the concrete.

I am a bit worried that the outside walls also don't have a vapour barrier between the concrete and the bottom plate.

Should I be worried?

If you are inside your home's warranty period, now is the time to check with your local building authority to see if pressure treated lumber is required for plates in contact with concrete. There's a good chance the answer is yes.

If the builder has to come back and fix, its pretty straightforward to change a plate.


Does black iron pipe need to be cleaned before installation? Black iron pipe comes coated in oil, presumably to prevent rust but possibly as a side-effect of having been machined. Does that oil need to be removed from the threads before assembly with thread compound?
My concern is that any contaminant will affect the thread compound bond.

My answer is yes threads need to be clean. However
it probably depends on what is used for sealing. Black pipe is normally used for gas. I don’t want any leaks and pipe dope both gas rated and regular state the threads need to be clean and dry.
I don’t remember ever seeing info on white or yellow tape but I have wiped the threads as I use oil when threading so it has become a practice to wipe fittings for gas if I thread them or not and with either tape or dope.


Gas Pilots going out I have a unique problem with the gas pilots in my house. They all seem to be going out. One day I found both pilots in my fireplaces out. Didn't think much of it. I then found the pilot on my hot water heater out. I turned it on and next day its out again...did that a few days then decided to change the thermocouple. Did that and still same thing happening. Then I called a plumber and he changed the gas valve and thermostat on the water heater. The same thing kept happening. I then remembered the pilots on the fireplace. I turned them both on and turned the water heater pilot on and within 30 minutes all are off again. The next morning I was heating tea on my gas stove and the burner went out.

I don't understand whats happening. I told the plumber what happened and he said I might have negative pressure in my house ( don't know what that means).

Does anyone have any ideas? Please I'm desperate.

thank you

Sam

A healthy home pulls in air, circulates it, and releases it. You have negative pressure when you are releasing more air than you are pulling in. This could be caused by a blocked intake or an over-working exhaust system. The most common, for a stove, would be a vent hood pulling too much air from your home than it can pull in to keep the fire going (see figure 1 above.) However, since this is happening throughout the house, it could be multiple fans that are leading to the overall problem. The best way to test this, no joke, is to open a window near one of the fires and see if it can stay lit then. If it can, then it is negative air pressure within the home. If it goes out, you might be having issues with your gas line.. possibly a partially closed valve somewhere or issues further down with your meter even.

This is most common with wood fires as they draw a lot of air to keep going, but it's the same concept for any fire. Try opening a window and see where that gets you.

As for fixing negative pressure.. that comes down to the systems in your home. Either you're not getting enough air coming into the home, or your house is pulling too much out. Have you had any changes to your HVAC system?


Is my Heat pump and gas furnace installation incorrect? I moved into a house about 2.5 years ago, and the previous owners had a heat pump installed, together with a gas furnace.  Recently I had my furnace repaired (faulty igniter) and the HVAC technician said the installation was done against code because the heat pump was connected to the return air pipe, instead of on top of the furnace.  He said I could be "red tagged" with a B-type warning and be required to fix this within 45 days.

Is that true?  Why would they have installed it into the return air pipe if that's against code?   are there health risks with this?  I use the heat pump (hot mode) when it's between 0 to 15 degrees C outside, just the furnace when it is below 0, and the cold mode heat pump when it's above 35 C.

What are my alternatives for fixing this?  Can a contractor just fix the pipe to go to the right place?

I am located in Toronto, Canada.

The tech made it sound worse than it is. It's not in the wrong air flow, just the wrong order, so moving the pipe will not help. It's a fair sized duct, not a pipe.

There is a restriction in at least the International Mechanical Code about heat exchanger coils being before the furnace. It is because in cooling mode, the resulting condensate can be corrosive. In heating mode the physics involved are not really a problem, but that doesn't change the code.

There is an exception to this requirement, it is OK to configure the system this way if the appliances are listed for such configuration. You would need to obtain the installation instructions and see if this is indicated as an option.

The only practical way to fix this if you cannot prove the current configuration is allowable is to relocate the heat pump coils upstream of the furnace.

Note that the direction of airflow is the criteria for placement, not above or below.


Old electric baseboard heater thermostat wiring I have a question about an old federal pacific baseboard heater thermostat's wiring.
I disconnected this thermostat 2 weeks ago, thinking that we were going to remove the heater. Now we've decided to keep the heater, and I don't remember how the thermostat was wired.
The therm box has two lines in it: one in, one out. Each line has 1 black, one white, and one bare ground.
I have attached a pic of the back of the thermostat. It only has 3 places to connect. Poles 2, 3, and 4.
Can anyone help me out and tell me what hooks to each pole?

This is 240V split-phase, so both hots are equivalent.  The white wire should be remarked one of the 8 legal hot colors, since it is not a neutral.  If I were wiring this in conduit, with the choice of any of 8 colors, I would use black and black because the hots are interchangeable; no need to distinguish hots from each other.

This thermostat is single pole.  They make a double-pole version where terminal 1 is populated, that one connects 1-3 and also 2-4.  This one simply leaves in terminal 3 as a convenient splice block, it connects to no other terminal ever.

Pick one wire from each cable; join them (I don't care how as long as it's code legal; feel free to use terminal 3 as a splice block).

Of the two remaining wires, put one on each of the terminals 1 and 3.


How should I mount relays in junction boxes? If one had a typical AC relay (120/240VAC contacts, 120VAC or 24VAC coil, chassis mount), how would they mount it inside a junction box (assume a blank faceplate) and attach wires to it in a way that's Code compliant?

I would use a 6x6x4 junction box and mount the relay to the back with Tek (drill point) screws. This should give you plenty of room for wiring and terminations.


Replacing ceiling fan bracket I'm replacing an old ceiling fan. The old one wobbled a lot even after tightening the blades and trying to balance it. Right now the electrical box is just a plastic one that appears to be screwed into the ceiling joist. Will replacing the box with a brace like this one help with the wobbling?

Here is a picture of what the old fan was attached to. I haven't taken off the old fan bracket yet.

I'm not sure what happened to the ceiling where the fan touched it. It looks like it melted or they installed the fan when the paint was still wet.

Edit

So when I took the metal piece off the electrical box fell down. Looks like there is already a brace there.

Assuming that this box isn't tied directly to a joist, then yes, a replacement bracket like you've shown could help.  Either way, you should take off the shiny bracket and confirm how this box is mounted, and check if it is sturdy or not.

However, most "wobbles" are caused by blade imbalances, not from the mounting box.  The faster they run, the more susceptible they are to wobbling.  They do have balancing kits for sale at local places usually.  They use peel and stick weights, and a slide-on clip, to help figure out where the peel-and-stick weights go on (on the side towards the ceiling of course.)

The paint "melting" look is from a previous fan being in place, and years of repainting around it got it stuck to the old escutcheon/cover plate....


Re-wiring an old Slater 3 way switch with new Leviton I have an old Slater 20a switch with 3 screws (no ground). The wires to it are one black, one red, and one white (which was spliced to an orange wire at the end for some reason).
It is a 3 way switch that works the utility room light and another switch works it from the other side of the room.
The positions are (looking at switch from the front) black bottom right, red bottom left, white top right.
The new switch has 4 screws (plus ground of course) - black on bottom and copper on top.
Where should I put these 3 wires on the new switch?
First pic of the front of switch, Orange is white.
Second pic of the back of switch

Common is the black screw. Travelers are the brass screws.
And position does not matter at all on a 3-way switch.  You can buy 6 different brands of 3-way switch out of the bins at Home Depot and find 6 different positionings of those screws.
3-way switches have 3 screws + ground
A switch with 4 screws + ground is the wrong switch.
If it is a "4-way switch" (2 brass 2 black), by good fortune, you can wire it exactly the same way - 2 travelers on brass and third wire on one of the black screws.  Normally these things matter, but it happens to work out with 4-ways that it doesn't matter which black screw.  However, only use a 4-way for a 3-way if you enjoy paying $10 for a switch instead of $2.
If it's a "smart switch", lighted, motion sensor etc., then it's more complicated.  You need to study your 3-way layout carefully and figure out where in the circuit it's possible for it to go.  At that point we'd need photos of the wires in the backs of the boxes, without anything disconnected (photos of a bunch of loose wires splayed out in every direction are worse than useless, and destroy the necessary information of "how it was connected before").


Are those hooks usable for hanging coats and hats? I'm not sure whether this is the right site to ask for design of everyday things like this. I have found the following solution quite appealing and simplistic, however I have doubts whether it would be effective for hanging coats. I have impression coats can often fall down.

Particularly, comparing to traditional hooks, which also seem to store more: both hats and coats.

Can the first solution be designed in such a way, it is still simple but more functional?

To prevent stuff from sliding off the poles, yet keep the same look, you can try spraying the exposed poles with some kind of clear rubberized coating like this


Do I have to run an extra wire all the way to my new thermostat, or just to the "router"? I've got an older home (plaster walls) and an older furnace, It's a Peerless.  My current thermostat is located on my main floor and only has 2 wires to it, red and white.  I should mention that my heating system is hot water with radiators.  Anyway, I want to get a new wireless thermostat installed.  I'm pretty sure I will need a new thermostat wire with a C wire in it, but can I just install that straight from the furnace?  The "router" or base will be located in the furnace room so I'm not worried about having to snake it through the walls but I'm wondering if I have 24v coming from the furnace and if I can easily replace my current thermostat wire with a newer one with a dedicated C wire.

Trace where the wires from the thermostat to your furnace. You'll find that one connects to a relay and the other connects to a terminal on a transformer. R is the wire from the transformer, W is the wire to the relay. (Your thermostat may be connected to the wire backwards, but that doesn't matter.)

Your new C wire will be the other terminal on the transformer. Or if the transformer has multiple taps/terminals, then it will likely be labeled COM or -.

I suggest instead of trying to monkey with the wire to your existing thermostat that you just investigate where it's connected to and make new connections. That way if you run in to problems you can simply reconnect the old thermostat easily.


Does cement smell/gas off after a few hours? I may use cement to fill some deep holes.  I read that it cures in 30 days and will gas off for 30 days.  This may however mean after a few hours it will mostly be cured and then it will gas off an unnoticeable amount but Im not sure.
I need to pick an appropriate product as I am sensitive to smells and vocs.
Regardless of whether it takes 30 days to fully dry/gas off, how long would you say before the smell from cement becomes unnoticeable?
Thanks.

I have never heard of concrete "off gassing". It takes 28 days to reach is major compressive strength and to loose most of its moisture when curing properly, but the only thing I have ever know concrete to give of is moisture, lots of it, since water is one of the main components.
I have never noticed concrete/cement to have an odor that was a VOC concern. The materials that make up concrete are lime based or naturally occurring products. It has been around for centuries. I think the Roman Empire used concrete in some of their work. Seriously, I just found this out just a few years ago myself.


Hardwired Towel Warmer I have a new 100W Towel Warmer to be installed in the bathroom. The towel warmer is a plug-in type but can apparently be converted to a hard wired model.

I want to install it within reach of the shower, and control it with an electronic timer near the bathroom door (6' from the shower). Power would come from the GFCI outlet next to the sink to the switch then to the towel warmer.

Questions:

I think the location of the towel warmer being within reach of the shower is code compliant as it is outside the footprint of the shower/tub. Am I correct in thinking that this is code compliant?
Any issues with pulling power from the bathroom GFCI to the electronic timer then to the towel warmer?

Your #1 and #2 have a deep relationship so let's answer those together. Your GFCI has a LINE and a LOAD side. The LOAD side is protected by the GFCI. As long as your electrical device is not in an area it would directly come into contact with water (i.e. inside the shower/tub), and is attached to the LOAD side of the GFCI, it is compliant. In other words, it isn't just a good idea to hook it to the GFCI, it is required by code.

Your third part is a bit confusing. The answer stands if you're hard wiring it in, or just adding an outlet the rack can reach. As a matter of course, I would recommend wiring up an outlet rather than hard wiring the rack. If something happens to the rack, you still have a functional receptacle, rather than a strange box with capped off wires and a blank face plate.


Will outlet tests downstream of a GFCI outlet show open ground? To correct receptacles testing as open ground, I could put a GFCI as first receptacle, my understanding, if I install everything right, the load after the GFCI, should correct (or protect) the open ground on the following receptacles in that circuit, depending on the GFCI specs.
My question is: How do the receptacles test after the GFCI is installed. Will they still test as an open ground? That's why you put the stickers on. Or should it test Good. And if still testing as an open ground and it should not be after installing the GFCI, what could be the problem?
Thanks for any help.
yamiacaveman

The stickers are mandatory.  If you don't like the aesthetic of the ones that come in the GFCI box, feel free to "brew your own". They only need to say the words.  And while you're at it, have them state where the reset is located.
If you properly install 3-prong receptacles without ground after a GFCI device, you should expect that a 3-light tester will read up 1 yellow light only (no second yellow). If you read the sticker that interprets "1 yellow", that will suggest "open ground'... but all those interpretations are useless, misleading and a waste of your time. Ignore them.
If you push the "GFCI test" button, it will be normal for it to fail to trip the GFCI.
Keep in mind that novices are poorly equipped to recognize two exceptional situations:

No ground wires, but there is metal conduit or metal jacketed cable which is an approved grounding path.  It is normal not to see ground wires in this case.
There is flex metal conduit or metal jacketed cable which is not an approved grounding path, but does connect ground well enough to operate the 2nd yellow light, to trip the GFCI, and provide transient ESD protection to equipment.

An example of unapproved grounding paths is BX cable, which has a spiral shield with poor electrical conductivity across the spirals. So it isn't like a wire of its width, more like a much longer spiral ribbon resistor.  Good enough for ESD and GFCI... but if a dead hot-ground short occurs, a common condition, it will not flow the 100-200A needed to get an instant trip from the breaker.  Instead it will "glow cherry red", potentially starting a fire.


Why can I no longer turn the knob of my self-locking door from the inside? I live in an old apartment and the door knob on my front door has been having problems for a while. In theory, the door locks from the outside automatically, but can always be opened from the inside. But recently the knobs came loose, so that the door was almost impossible to open from the inside - you had to pull the knob all the way towards you before turning it, and even that only worked sometimes.

This morning, the knobs were so loose that I gave up on opening the door and just went out the back. When I got home I tightened the set screws on both the inside and outside knobs so that both knobs were flush with the door, but then the door couldn't be opened from either the inside or outside.

So I took everything apart to try to figure out how it worked, but no matter how I put it back together I just couldn't fix it.

As shown below, the shaft is squared and has a slight twist in the center, presumably so that the knob can be turned from the inside but not the outside. The second image shows the place where the shaft is inserted. Though there's one hole, there are actually two separate metal plates with square holes in them, one (the outside) which is stationary, and the other (the inside) which can be turned in order to open the door. I can unlock the door by inserting the shaft (or any small rigid object, like a screwdriver) partway, so that it only contacts the inside hole, but if it's properly inserted I can't turn it at all in any direction.

I just don't fully understand the mechanism - if one of the plates is stationary, how can the knob ever be turned at all? More importantly, if it was working before, and all the parts are still there, why has it stopped working? Please help - I really miss being able to use my front door!

There's a pivot joint in the middle of the knob shaft which lets the two ends rotate relative to each other. You need to get things lined up so each end of the shaft engages just its side of the lockset. That may take some experimentation to get the amount screwed into each of the knobs just right to balance this out, though the cross-pin should help you find the right position.


Goodman gas burner not lighting Goodman warm air gas furnace. Gas burner would not light.Status code light blinked continuously. Igniter glows red hot.  I cleaned flame sensor with fine grade sand paper.  Checked transformer line voltage 110 volts in and 26 volts out. Sufficient power to open the gas valve. Gas burner still did not light. I have not checked air filter but I will replace it anyway. Any ideas you may have concerning my dilemma will be greatly appreciated.

Try playing with the pressure switch on the inducer blower.

Test all sensors for continuity.

Verify the gas assembly control valve is still functional.


Replace corroded copper water pipe The shutoff valve for my water main has cracked.

As part of replacing it, I'd like to also replace the corroded copper pipe connected to it.

What would be the best way to replace the valve and corroded pipe without damaging the connecting pipes? What type of pipe should I replace it with?

Edit: cleaned up the pipes with some wire brushes and sand paper, and they're actually copper pipes!

In addition, I finally got a good picture of the "crack" in the shutoff valve, and it almost looks like there used to be a screw or bolt there...

I recommend that you first get to work with a spade or shovel and remove a lot of the soil in that area so you have room to work and better access to more of the piping that is shown.
THEN, shut off the water at the street meter and find a suitable place to cut out the old pipe and valve and replace with new material.
Then put a valve box around the repair instead of putting the soil back in the hole.


Home thermostat woes I tried to switch to a new smart thermostat in my home. When I was adding it, something happened. The new thermostat didn't show any power (And yes, the C wire was plugged in). Not knowing what else to do, I tried to back out and put in the old system, but I'm still having the same issue of nothing seeming to work. To try and diagnose things further, I turned off the power via the fuse box, and measured the resistance between each of the 5 sets of wires. I noticed that the R, C, and Y all appear to be shorted to each other, while the G and W wires appear to not be connected to anything. I know that there is AC power magic, so a DC short doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I am somewhat worried that the C and R appear to be shorted to each other.

Also of some note is I can't detect any AC voltage between C and R, even when everything is powered on

Bottom line, does this mean I broke something, and if so, what do I need to replace? My suspicion is that I blew out a transformer that will need to be replaced, but I would like to confirm this if possible. Thanks!

Open the furnace so you see the control panel.

Manually depress the kill-switch that powers down the system when the panel you took off is absent.

Meter across the secondary terminals of the transformer.  24V?  You're problem isn't the transformer.

No voltage?  Meter across the primary terminals.  Got voltage? You need another transformer.


is there a way to nail hardwood floor where ceiling meets floor at 45 degree angle I am putting in hardwood flooring in a room that has a sloping ceiling that meets the floor at 45 degrees.  It's not very useful space, and at some point I will build a knee wall and storage cabinets of some sort.  However, in the meantime, I want to extend the floor all the way to the corner of wall and ceiling.

There is obviously very little space to work (e.g. 8" away from corner has 8" of clearance above).  I have enough room to swing a hammer to blind nail and then top nail most rows, but as I get close to the edge, I don't think I will even be able to top nail the last couple of rows.

Is there a clever trick that I am unaware of?  Is there a way to nail them?  Or is my only option to glue?

Thank you.

Get the last rows you can nail in through the pre-drilled nail holes or with a nail gun. Toe nailing will not be critical here. The last 3 rows of any nail down floor I seen always has the last few rows surface nailed anyway. After that determine how much vertical space you have to the angled ceiling and rip a piece of material with an angle on the top to create a very short knee wall. Lay out the the rafters first to know where to nail the "knee wall". Do all the probing for the rafters if needed, behind the line that the knee wall will cover.


Remodel Recessed Lighting in New Basement? I am finishing my basement and will be installing a drop ceiling.  Right now the ceiling is open.  I purchased some recessed lighting on clearance at Home Depot for $5.00, normally $20.  After doing some research online, it seems that I should not use them on my open ceiling.  Most people say that "new construction" lighting should be used.  So, my question is, because I got such a good deal on these lights, is there any way I can use them?  I purchased some hangers, but I'm not sure if the remodel lights will attach to them.  Thanks for any help.

Corey

Remodel recessed lighting can be installed on drop ceiling tiles - I have done this a few times.  You can cut out holes and install them from an adjacent tile.  The install is pretty easy - but your drop ceiling has to be properly installed so it can take the extra weight.  If you have problems installing on your drop ceiling just ask on here.


Is an Aluminium or Plastic Paint Container Better for Air Painting? I'm interested in buying an air paint gun (Probably from Harbor Freight), and I'm curious as to whether there are any advantages or disadvantages to using an aluminium paint container in a gravity fed paint gun, or should I use a plastic one? I would think that the possibility of a plastic container would be nice, but sticking with an aluminium one might be cheaper and more environmentally friendly, and maybe a plastic one would be easier to clean? I'm not sure. Is there a noticeable trade off between the two?

Honestly I use a plastic cup and haven't had any problems, despite the fact that I shoot a 2-part LPU (what Boeing paints the Dreamliner with) and the solvent for the stuff is so caustic it's a paint stripper for latex and some aklyds. I expected it would have wrecked the cup, but it didn't.

I am partial to a very well rated touch up gun I found on Amazon.  Despite being cheap Cheese, it's a bulletproof little thing and about $35.


Would using a Y hose connector to join rain barrel water with tap water be a good idea to boost the water pressure? Something like this:

but with it designed for the opposite flow of water.

I have a rain barrel that is usually at least half full and it provides enough pressure to use but it's not enough to water my garden efficiently.

Any advice?

I wouldn't risk connecting the rain barrel to your house's plumbing because you don't want to risk getting non-potable water into your pipes.  This sort of arrangement might even be illegal where you live.

What if, instead, you just use a garden hose to add more water to the barrel as needed?  Then you don't need to worry about running out.  Or, use a quick connect fitting to make it really easy to disconnect your watering hose from barrel and connect it to another source.


How do you frame a wall more than 8-10 feet tall? I am capable of framing a "simple" 8' wide 8' tall 4" thick wall out of 2x4 lumber, then attaching plywood or drywall or OSB or any other sheet material to the frame. Making the wall wider is a trivial change. Making it significantly taller, however, seems not. Should I build multiple 'copies' of this frame and stack them, or build a single tall frame with 2x4x16' studs, or something else?

I see from your other question, that you are rehabing an industrial space. Personally, I'd use steel studs in this application. You can build them to 16 ft, no problem. You will need to install horizontal stiffeners as Mike mentions, unless you go wider that the 4 inches of wall thickness. It is very difficult to build and handle a wood framed wall of that size, but stacking is an alternative. Finding 2X4's that are not waned or bowed will be a challenge as well. 2X6's would be better, but steel would be the best.


Attic ladder for tight space, little clearance Overview

Cozy (small!) wartime house ca. 1942. The cover to the attic is showing signs of wear, replacing the cover with a maple hatch would be easy. Who wants easy, though?

Problem

There isn't a lot of clearance for stairs. The following image illustrates the dimensions in context:

The red lines show that a space-limiting beam extends down to the same height as the top of the door frames. The beam restricts the amount of space available for a ladder. The short blue line shows the distance between the beam and the edge of the attic entrance--this is a straight measurement flush with the ceiling.

The long blue line shows the distance between the bottom of the beam and the hinge-side edge of the attic hatch. Pythagoras suggests that the beam's height is 15.5" and the angle (from the would-be hatch's hinge-side to beam bottom) is 28.7 degrees.

Hot Water Tank

Speaking of degrees... There's a stainless steel hot water tank in the attic that, presumably, will need to come down some year. This implies that the installation must be reasonably easy to remove or not significantly reduce the miserly 26" of clearance.

Question

What types of attic ladders--or other built-in solutions--would accommodate such a cramped space (e.g., scissor attic ladders)?

Telescopic ladders are available that fit in a very tight space


C wire for a smart thermostat I would like to buy a smart thermostat and I am confused about the C wire. I went to check my furnace in the attic and I saw a white wire connected to the C, I was excited as I thought that that was the C wire,  but then behind the thermostat, I have only 4 wires connected, a white one connected to W, a yellow connected to Y and green connected to G. There is another cut blue wire that is not connected. Is that the C wire? If the blue wire behind the thermostat is the C wire, why I don't see any blue wire connected to the furnace?    I am attaching a picture in the hope that someone can help me. Thank you in advance

Somebody was thoughtful
The good news is that somebody was thoughtful and ran a thermostat cable with extra wires in it, so you have the spare wire you now need.  So, take that blue wire, land it on the C terminal on your furnace board alongside the existing C connection from your air conditioner (if you need to extend it, just get some blue 18AWG TFFN and nut it to the existing blue wire, then land this pigtail on the C terminal screw, being careful not to undo the existing connection of course), hook the blue wire up to the C terminal on your new thermostat, turn the furnace back on, and enjoy!


How can I prevent/divert rain water from dripping on a flat flashing? I'm helping maintain a set of townhome units and the homeowners are reporting an annoying drip sound just outside their bedroom when it lightly rains (which is quite often). Apparently the sound is loud enough and at just the right frequency that it is quite audible with the windows closed.

I managed to recreate the problem with a hose and found that when water trickles down the rooftop patio railing, it drips onto a flashing that rests flat on top of a brick finish (see picture below).

What is the ideal way to fix this? And what is a quick fix we could do to fix this in the short-term?

What you need is a set of gargoyles:

  Definition and Origin of Gargoyles and Grotesques
  Gargoyles came into gothic architecture in the early 13th century and are defined as "a waterspout, projecting from an upper part of a building or a roof gutter to throw water clear of walls or foundations." The origins of the word 'gargoyle' are derived from the old French word 'gargouille' meaning throat.

A simple length of wire, extending down and outward from the point where the drop originates, should move the water clear of the brick and flashing.  A few inches should be enough.

More ornate structures

are optional


Is my plan for mounting a child safety gate feasible? As seen in picture below, this sliding kitchen door is not long enough in width. Red arrows indicate how much it falls short.

I am thinking of drilling four holes and mounting with screws instead. Red circles indicate where screws are to be drilled in.

Then I will raise it up to ensure it is not touching the floor therefore have enough space to allow sliding. Red arrows indicate where I will hold it up.

Is my approach feasible?

The metal brackets near the points of your red arrows are intended to be mounted to the wall and act as hinges for the entire gate. I would turn them 90° to the gate and mount them to the green cabinet where you had planned on using the screws. This will allow the gate to swing in one direction at least. You may not be able to swing it into the kitchen as it will bind. At least the gate will function as it was designed.


What size uncaulked gap should be left at the bottom of a shower tile job, to allow draining? The contractor's intent was to leave a gap at the bottom of this tile job, to allow drainage, and as an alternative to a caulk job requiring periodic maintenance:

However it did not work, the gap is too small. A bead of water forms (via surface tension) and sticks there long enough it's still wet by the next shower.

The tile is talavera style, unglazed at the edges and relatively porous.
The lip on the shower pan goes up about 15mm.  The present gap is about 3-5mm.  There's hardy board behind the tile.

I'm thinking a larger vertical gap would have worked.
If you were going for a no-caulk tile in a case like this, how high would you have set the first course?

Fire your contractor. The tiles aren't set square, the grout lines look HUGE, and the grout is discolored.
Caulk the entire perimeter. You might allow a 1 inch horizontal gap on each side for a weep hole as suggested by @freshop.


Ice maker control arm front slot location? Bottom freezer ice maker control is not attached in the front. Experienced repairman knows where the slot is for reattaching. For those that do not have that experience he suggests removing the entire ice maker. Not going to happen here.

How far from the top is the whole? How far from the right is the hole?

Amana Refrigerator Repair - The Ice Maker Arm Is Not Attached - ARB2257CW Video

Location can be located via a photo. Well placed quality image can be handle by taking a selfie with a phone so that location in image, focus and lighting can be easily improved. Then the additional info like the fact that the hole is actually a slot will allow for moving the wire into the correct rotation along with the point of contact identified by relation to angled indent and protruding circle. With this knowledge and confidence in the positioning force can be tried and found to be needed.

fixer1234 hand mirror suggestion provoked the solution. A mirror in such close quarters with bifocals is problematic.


Do I need joist hangers for deck frame on gravel pad? What is the nail size? I am building 12'x14' detached deck in backyard and away from the house. Frame will be of pressure treated wood sitting on gravel pad. Essentially a rectangle build of 4x6 with one 4x6 in the middle and 8 2x6 joists spaced 16" OC.

Since I have solid support under the entire frame, do I still need joist hangers or is it ok to just use nails at the angle from inside (toe-nail)?

If so, what is recommended nail size? Ideally, I would like to use nail gun to quickly attach those joists.

You don't need joist hangers.  Joist hangers are for use in spots where you're unable to put the nails directly through the frame into the joist already.

I built a shed with much the same construction, only my base frame sits on 2 6xx treated railroad ties embedded in the gravel bed, and I haven't had any problems.